spoiled brat

Chapter 86, Section 85: The Lost Boat (Part 5)

The Imperial Guards drew their swords and stood protectively in front of Yi Xing.

He stood behind the blade, speaking calmly, "Xiu Yi, is it worth ruining our relationship for these insignificant people? Think of Xiu Ning, think of the Prince, are you planning to rebel?"

The cries below grew increasingly frantic. Xiu Yi gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his knuckles turning blue. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness and weakness washed over him, and he collapsed. He braced himself against the tea table to steady himself. His vision blurred, but the cup of tea that Yi Xing had handed him remained remarkably clear.

There's something wrong with the tea.

Yi Xing raised his hand, and the Imperial Guards sheathed their swords.

"Anyone who dares to utter a word about what just happened will be punished severely." He glared coldly down at the ants beneath his feet. "Make your move."

The giant drum on the city wall was struck, its deafening beat echoing throughout the heavens and earth. This was an order to kill!

Nearly a hundred soldiers rushed out of the unclosed city gate and forcibly dragged away the guards who were standing by. The refugees tried to escape, but it was too late. A dozen or so Imperial Guards armed with swords surrounded them from behind and blocked their way.

"We've fallen into a trap..." All around were cries and screams. Everyone huddled together, hiding in terror from the approaching Imperial Guards. "The court really wants to kill us!"

In the chaos, Zhao Zhao was pushed out of the crowd. She looked up and saw angry faces. She looked back and saw the Imperial Guards with sharp blades approaching.

In the darkness, only the lanterns on the city tower swayed in the wind. Zhao Zhao shouted at those few faint lights, "You said you would let them live!"

The night wind howled and the drums beat deafeningly, yet Xiu Yi still heard Zhao Zhao's shouts.

His eyes were filled with hatred, but he couldn't muster any strength. He struggled to stay upright and refused to faint.

"Take a nap, Xiu Yi." Yi Xing smiled and helped him sit up straight. "When you wake up, you and He Bi will be in the Prince's mansion."

The dizziness in his head grew stronger and stronger. Xiu Yi didn't even have the strength to lift a finger. His consciousness gradually faded, and he could barely hear the terrified cries from below the city wall. Before he passed out, Zhao Zhao's voice came from the wind: "Don't run! There are over a hundred of us. Are we afraid of a dozen or so of them?"

Zhao Zhao held a dagger in both hands, blood seeping from the wound on her arm. She stood at the front, but no one dared to stand beside her.

Before them stood the Imperial Guards wielding sharp blades, and behind them trembled the elderly, women, and children, who cried and cursed, "We wanted to run away, but you coaxed us into following you, and now look what happened... now look what happened!"

Zhao Zhao thought that perhaps she had really harmed them.

The drumbeats on the city wall stopped, and almost instantly, the Imperial Guards, who had been waiting for their chance, drew their swords and rushed forward. Countless cold glints, like waves of snow, rushed towards the refugees who were huddled together for warmth. With each strike, hot blood splattered.

The refugees, powerless to resist, were like ants crushed in an instant, their bodies littering the ground with mangled limbs. Like fish in a net, they were helpless; wherever the blade struck, heads fell like ears of wheat. A few refugees managed to escape the onslaught, only to be instantly pierced through the heart by archers on the city walls.

This is a one-sided massacre.

A young man, wiping the blood from his blade, took a moment to rest. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a corpse moving, seemingly not quite dead, and went over with his knife. Just as he approached, the corpse suddenly sprang up, a flash of cold light, and the icy dagger plunged straight into his chest.

She was a young girl with cat-like eyes. He remembered her; before the killing began, she stood at the front of the crowd with a dagger, shouting for the refugees to fight back... He had been treating the little girl as a joke, but now, the dagger in her hand severed his heart meridian cleanly and swiftly.

The crossbowmen on the city wall noticed her, and a dozen cold arrows were aimed at her head. Just as they were about to fire, Yi Xing said, "Wait."

He picked up the binoculars, and a disheveled Zhao Zhao came into view. She was fleeing, several Imperial Guards had her as their target. He wondered where this little girl got the strength, but she had actually managed to escape to the most crowded place. Inspired by her feat of single-handedly killing the Imperial Guards, everyone began to fight back like cornered beasts. Even if her hands were cut off, she still had her feet and teeth. As long as she had a breath left, there was no reason for her to be killed like an animal!

"Useless." Yi Xing put down the binoculars, glanced at Xiu Yi who was unconscious beside him, and recalled the image of the two riding side by side. "Who is that little girl?"

The imperial guard pulled a painting from his sleeve; the person depicted in the painting was Zhao Zhao. He replied, "A courtesan from the brothel, given to Xu Feng by the military commander You Ming. She conspired with Wang Liuer and Shi Gang to assassinate him. Furthermore..." His voice trailed off, "A few days ago, the young master went to the Xu residence. Rumor has it that he took a liking to this young courtesan and, in front of Xu Feng..."

"How can you live if you know too much?" Yi Xing sighed softly. "Release the arrow."

The crossbowmen drew their bows and nocked their arrows. Rhinoceros-eyed men searched for Zhao Zhao's figure in the chaotic crowd. She was too agile, like a black cat escaping in the night, impossible to catch no matter how they aimed.

Suddenly, a ray of light appeared on the horizon, as dazzling as the rising sun. Along with the light came the sound of galloping hooves and swirling dust, which swept over like a flood.

"Soldiers!" the imperial guards shouted.

Almost in the blink of an eye, three or four hundred riders had galloped to within five hundred paces. Yi Xing, his expression gloomy, raised his binoculars. In the dust kicked up by the horses' hooves, he saw a frail man dressed in white, his silver bow gleaming coldly in the moonlight. The icy arrow flashed for a moment before shooting straight toward the city wall!
The arrow seemed to possess sentience, obeying its master's command to fly against the wind. However, while it had the aim, it lacked the power, and it floated to the ground in front of Yi Xing with a thud.

The Imperial Guards protected Yixing, shouting, "Your Highness, be careful!"

"No need." Yi Xing stared thoughtfully at the arrow. "Everyone, stop."

The imperial guard asked, puzzled, "Your Highness?"

Yi Xing coldly glanced at him and said, "Stop."

Three drumbeats sounded from the city tower. The bloodthirsty Imperial Guards, like dogs with their necks strangled, quickly pulled away, raising their blood-stained blades and cautiously watching the trapped refugees struggling before them.

Zhao Zhao didn't know why they stopped, and she put away the crossbows that were waiting above her head. The refugees behind her said proudly, "These bastards are afraid of us now!"

But then came the sound of galloping hooves from the horizon, and torches burning brightly in the sandstorm rolled in like a red tide to the foot of the city wall. Looking at the hundreds of tall horses, the refugees huddled in the corner were frightened, shrinking even closer together. Someone stammered, "Could it be another band of soldiers coming to kill us?"

“No, no,” Zhao Zhao said softly, “they’ve come to save us.”

"How do you know?" Everyone suspected that Zhaozhao was talking nonsense again, but seeing her staring blankly in one direction, they also looked over.

The solemn cavalrymen parted to the sides, creating a straight path, and a black horse slowly stepped out.

Such a grand spectacle should have featured a majestic general, but the girl on horseback was pale and frail, one hand gripping the reins, the other holding a silver bow. The hand holding the bow was injured, blood dripping along the way. Xiu Ning, it was Xiu Ning again.

With a loud rumble, the tightly closed city gates were flung open.

Yi Xing appeared with the Imperial Guards, still holding the arrow Xiu Ning had shot in his hand, and smiled casually: "The princess's charm is as good as ever. If the force had been a little stronger, it might have relieved my hatred."

Xiu Ning stood on the ground, coldly staring at him, just staring.

Ignoring everyone's gaze, Yi Xing casually walked up to Xiu Ning and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Were you really trying to kill me just now, or—"

Before he could finish speaking, Yi Xing was slapped hard across the face.

"Your Highness!" The Imperial Guards behind him made a move to step forward, but Yi Xing coldly said, "Step back."

He remained motionless, head tilted to the side. Xiu Ning slapped him with his bleeding hand; the blood was warm, emitting a faint fragrance, like a red snake biting his face and burrowing into his lips… Yi Xing slowly looked at Xiu Ning, his gaze revealing either long-simmering resentment or deep affection, and said with a smile, “One slap, is that enough?”

Xiu Ning remained silent.

Yi Xing drew the sword from his waist and handed the hilt to Xiu Ning, coaxing and persuading, "Didn't you want to kill me? Come on, come on."

He pressed closer step by step, while Xiu Ning retreated step by step. There was no affection or even disgust in her eyes when she looked at him; they were like a stagnant pool without a ripple. Yi Xing couldn't find his own reflection in her eyes and laughed absurdly: "You actually want to kill me because of these people... these people who are worse than pigs and dogs!"

Xiu Ning stopped retreating, and with a resounding hum, the sword slid out from behind the scabbard, its blade pointing directly at Yi Xing.

"Your Highness!!!" The Imperial Guards were so anxious they wanted to draw their swords to protect him, but Yi Xing didn't even turn his head and shouted, "Step back!"

He walked towards the blade, its cold glint falling on his brows and eyes, growing brighter as he approached.

"Xiu Ning, I am now the crown prince and will become the emperor in the future."

The tip of the knife touched the center of the brow, and a drop of blood, as red as jade, seeped out, sliding down the bridge of the nose to the tip of the lip.

Yi Xing smiled faintly: "If you really want me dead, this is your only chance."

As long as he lives, the two of them cannot simply let fate decide their relationship.

A night wind rises, howling and sobbing, as if countless people are crying in the distance.

Xiu Ning held her sword, silent and indifferent. The wind blew into her clothes, making her white robes flutter like clouds and mist... Drip, drip, it was unclear whether it was blood falling from the tip of the sword or blood flowing from her hand that had broken while drawing the bowstring.

The sword blade between her brows was removed, and she felt overjoyed, but then she saw a hint of mockery in Xiu Ning's cold expression. She used the sword blade to draw a line of words on the ground.

Yi Xing's heart grew colder and colder. The words on that page read:

I knew it was you.

Three years ago, following the Crown Prince's rebellion, Yi Xing's only elder brother, the Emperor, went to the front lines to oversee the army but was killed by a spy. The spy wasn't a spy, and Yi Xing's heart-wrenching cries weren't genuine grief.

The night before the funeral procession, Yi Xing, who had fallen asleep in the mourning hall, was having a beautiful dream. In his dream, Xiu Ning was there. She was gentle and quiet, and she personally dressed him in a dragon robe. The two of them stood side by side on the top of the mountains, with thousands of people bowing down at their feet.

But when he woke up in the middle of the night, the cold mourning hall was filled with the suffocating atmosphere of death. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Just then, the door opened and Xiu Ning, covered in rain and wind, walked in carrying wine.

She said, "Seventh Brother, come drink with me."

The two men, each clutching a jar of plum wine from Jiangnan, sat on the damp, cold railing, gazing at the boundless black wind and turbid rain, and reluctantly became drunk. They didn't speak, only laughed, each laughing with their own thoughts.

In the long, intense gaze, Yi Xing recalled his dream, and then he remembered that the Crown Prince was dead, and his fourth and sixth brothers were also dead. He could deal with his few lesser brothers who were not to be feared. He had no rivals left, both in front of him and behind him. He was so smug that he even forgot that the remains of his own brothers were still lying in the mourning hall. He took Xiu Ning's hand in his drunken state and spoke like a hero who had overcome all obstacles: "From now on, whatever you want, your seventh brother can give it to you."

Yi Xing still remembers Xiu Ning's expression at that time. She smiled silently, with regret and self-mockery, "I want you to kill the most deserving person in the world."

At that time, she was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Her voice was still childish, and even the sharpest words didn't sound harsh. Instead, they had a strange hint of reproach.

Yi Xing asked, "Who is the most deserving person to die in the world?"

Xiu Ning leaned closer to him, her warm breath brushing against his face, carrying her unique fragrance.

She said, "Of course it's my seventh brother."

In an instant, Yi Xing's mind was filled with endless fantasies, but then she heard her continue, "Seventh Brother, this is the last time we drink together. Goodbye."

With those words, she walked into the misty rain. She never saw him again.

When bribing the maid to poison him, Yi Xing did hesitate. In the long silence, he thought of the emperor—the emperor who clearly possessed the world, yet dared to remain silent in front of a broken painting—he admonished himself that he should make a clean break, and it was reasonable to destroy the person he could not have.

But as Xiu Ning lay dying, his gaze pierced through the layers of imperial physicians and landed on her pale face, and a ridiculous and laughable thought popped into his mind.

He wanted to use all his power, even his life, to exchange for the carefree days they once shared.

If God still has mercy on him and is willing to give him a chance, then...

"Yes, I did it."