spoiled brat

Chapter 45, Section 44: Flying Catkins (Part 4)

The crowded and noisy city is like a vat of warm, greasy lard, while this mournful melody is like a red-hot knife, tearing apart all the superficial prosperity.

As she sang with deep emotion, the blind woman's voice was filled with grief and indignation: "The capital of Yao, the land of Shun, the fiefdom of Yu. Within these places, there must be one or two shameful subjects of the barbarians. Ten thousand miles of stench and bloodshed, where are the heroic spirits of the past? When will this mighty force be restored? Why ask about the fate of the barbarians? The blazing sun shines directly upon us!"

The crowd clapped and cheered, vying to throw coins into the porcelain bowl in front of the blind woman.

The blind girl adjusted her pitch, intending to continue singing the next song, but was suddenly stopped by several soldiers: "Stop singing! Let's go!"

They kicked over the bowl of reward money in front of the blind girl, not caring whether she was truly blind or not. They shoved and shoved her, pulled her up, and threw her aside, cursing, "You unlucky thing!"

The blind woman fell to the ground, her frail body standing tall and unyielding: "Since so many people like to listen, why are you driving me away? You receive salaries from the imperial court, yet you don't fight on the front lines, and you also try to silence the people from crying!"

Upon hearing this, the noisy little world instantly darkened; the passersby stopped laughing, and the soldiers stopped being fierce.

"Seven cities have already been lost in the north, and you're still indulging in song and dance," the blind woman said coldly. "Prince Ning commands 100,000 troops, so why has he retreated south to the Central Plains instead of daring to advance north?"

Upon hearing this, the officers and soldiers paused for a moment, then a malicious smile spread across their faces as they said in a feignedly fierce tone, "How dare you insult our Prince!"

The blind girl, unable to see or distinguish whether the people before her were government soldiers or the Dingbei Army retreating from the north, continued to mock, "Is Prince Ning feigning ignorance, or is he simply unwilling to act to protect himself?!"

The officers and soldiers deliberately provoked her with a few more words, which made the blind girl even more grief-stricken and indignant. She then plucked the strings and sang a song again.

More and more passersby gathered to watch the show, and a cacophony of discussions arose from the crowd.

Some say that Prince Ning was too greedy for wealth and comfort to go north; others say that Prince Ning used all the military funds to enrich himself; still others say that Prince Ning intended to emulate Sima Rui of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, to stay in one place and conserve his strength, so that once the imperial court moved south, he would not have to bear the crime of usurping the throne and could sit firmly on the throne.

Manager Sun and the old woman didn't like crowds, but Wang Liuer enjoyed watching the show. She leaned against the carriage window, cracking sunflower seeds, and laughed, "If she were really that cunning, she wouldn't have been banished to this poor, remote place."

A hand landed on her shoulder. Turning around, Zhao Zhao unexpectedly leaned closer: "Sister Liu'er, your insight is brilliant. As the saying goes, extraordinary achievements can become crimes—"

"Have you forgotten your place?" Manager Sun glared at them coldly. "Two whores from a brothel are gossiping about noblemen!"

Passersby all turned to watch the spectacle from where the blind girl was, and the carriage was finally able to move. But before the wheels had even turned a few times, a red light flashed past Zhao Zhao's eyes. She looked in the direction of the light and saw that a large lantern not far away had suddenly been hit by a rocket, instantly turning into a fireball and crashing to the ground, scaring away the crowd of onlookers.

The soldiers who had caused the trouble were almost hit by the fireball. While putting out the fire, they looked around with red necks, asking, "Which bastard shot that arrow!"

The crowd scattered like birds and beasts, creating a noisy scene. From the end of the street, a clear voice rang out: "Your old man is me."

Deja vu.

Zhao Zhao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small bamboo sedan chair parked at the end of the street. Inside sat a young man with a flushed face and a handsome appearance. He was none other than He Bi, who had shouted that he would cut off Zhao Zhao's hand that night.

No one knew where he came from; he wore a narrow-sleeved black robe, and a row of daggers of varying lengths were stuck into the small calfskin armor on his chest, giving him a menacing aura.

He held the bow of the guard beside him in one hand and pointed at the soldiers with the other, coldly saying, "If you dare to cause trouble again, don't blame me for chopping you up and feeding you to the dogs."

Since the relocation of their fiefdom, the Dingbei Army and the local officials and soldiers have been at odds, with friction and discord escalating, and private fights and brawls becoming commonplace.

Among the officers and soldiers was one with a powerful background who didn't take He Bi seriously and retorted defiantly, "Just because you're the young master's close attendant, you act all high and mighty outside, biting people indiscriminately. I wonder what rank you hold? How dare you be so arrogant!"

Why remain silent? Draw your bow, nock an arrow, and aim for the man's head.

Zhao Zhao inwardly realized something was wrong. This mad dog was biting people indiscriminately, regardless of the situation. The common people were unaware of what was happening above, making them easily provoked. Wouldn't it be even more hateful for someone from the Ning Prince's Mansion to act so arrogantly outside?

The arrow didn't blow the man's head off; instead, it stuck straight in his hat, the fletching trembling.

The man was both angry and afraid. It took him a while to come to his senses. With his veins bulging, he ripped off the hat with the arrow stuck in it and threw it on the ground. He drew his knife and angrily stepped forward, shouting, "You think I'm afraid of you?!"

How could he possibly be a match for He Bi?
Why use a Miao sword and the Xinyou sword technique, every move a deadly strike with no superfluous detail? He looked down on this soldier, not even drawing his sword from its sheath, using it merely as a staff. In just a few moves, he knocked the soldier down, trampled him under his foot, and sneered disdainfully:

"When the north was recruiting soldiers, you southerners hid far away, and when you lost cities and territories, you cursed us from behind! If it weren't for us shedding blood and sweat on the front lines, how could you cowards who can't even hold a knife properly sleep peacefully with your wives?! Not only do you not remember our kindness, but you also always feel that we came south and took over your territory and shared your profits, so you make things difficult for us at every turn!"

(End of this chapter)