The Sixth Year of Shenchu
Recruit Volunteers
Alai retracted her hand from the water, staring fixedly at the ship.
The ship was wide and short. On the bow, an unfamiliar, long-bearded, gray-robed man stood with his arms crossed, looking down at her from his great height. He appeared to be in his early forties. As the ship drew near, the man called out in a clear voice,
“My little fair lady, did you sleep well?”
Alai scanned the ship and found there were no identifying flags or decorations, so she couldn’t determine which clan the ship belonged to. On the hull, on the left side, there was a rectangular mark that was a little lighter in color than the rest of the ship, suggesting that the clan’s identifying mark had recently been removed. It seemed the other party was deliberately trying to conceal their identity.
Alai glared at him and questioned, “Who are you? Where’s my mother? Where have you taken her?”
The gray-robed man stroked his long beard and chuckled, “Your mother is safe, my lady, so you needn’t worry. If you listen to me obediently, I will release you and your mother.”
Hearing this, Alai abruptly calmed down and asked, “First tell me who you are, and what you want me to do.”
The gray-robed man bowed his hands towards the sky. “I am a minor official serving under the county magistrate of Qixian, Sun Mingyi. My humble name is not worth mentioning. Magistrate Sun has always been an upright and diligent official who has served the people, yet he has come to such an end. The Xie family are treacherous and merciless, blatantly acting against the law. They deserve to die a thousand deaths! I need you to assassinate Xie Taihang, the Prefect of Suichuan!”
After Alai heard this, she ignored him entirely and let out a cold laugh instead.
The gray-robed man asked, “What are you laughing at?”
Alai held onto the awning and lifted her small face up towards him. She curled her lips into a smile and said,
“You’re not one of Sun Mingyi’s men at all. Sun Mingyi is from Wuzhang. The subordinates he brought with him are all his fellow villagers from Wuzhang who’ve fought by his side for many years. Although they’ve been in Qixian for five or six years, their accents haven’t changed. When Sun Mingyi first arrived in Qixian with his subordinates, he informed everyone of their backgrounds, so all the people of Qixian know about this. But you have the accent of someone from Zhuxian in Suichuan, exactly like Grandmother Lin in the Xie household. How could you be a subordinate of Sun Mingyi? Furthermore, if you really wanted to avenge County Magistrate Sun, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Xie family would be much more valuable than me. Why not seize Ah Xun and threaten the Xie family with her? Xie Taihang values Ah Xun most, so you could definitely force him to submit. What use is there in capturing me, an escaped slave of the Xie family? Wouldn’t that be picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon? Additionally, although my mother and I planned to escape, we never mentioned it to anyone, and our plan changed when Uncle Dong died. The route we took later on was also decided at the spur of the moment. To be able to capture us shows that you had planned this in advance and had been following our trail the whole time. If Sun Mingyi’s men had such capabilities, they wouldn’t have ended up being falsely accused, dismissed from office, and sent to the capital to be punished. These flaws are obvious, yet you made no attempt to cover them up, so I suppose your master must have told you to test me. Am I wrong about any of this?”
(LP: picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon = someone who focuses on small gains while missing out on much bigger opportunities.)
Alai pressed him question after question. Instead of getting angry, the gray-robed man laughed, “Ha ha ha ha ha, what sharp and eloquent words. You’re right.” He turned and called out towards the cabin of the ship, “Sir, you truly did not choose the wrong person. This young lady is exceptionally quick-witted, and perhaps she really will be able to take on this important task.”
His laughter subsided, and two more people exited the cabin. The one walking in front wore a wide-sleeved, ankle-length robe of dark gray with a subtle pattern. He had a gaunt face and a white beard, and his entire person was thin and frail with a purplish complexion. Yet his eyes were extraordinarily piercing, as if they could see through everything.
Alai recognized this person.
Lord Yunmeng!
And the person standing behind him surprised her even more: it was Xie Taihang!
“You…” Alai was shocked at first, but then she reflected on it for a moment. Her mother and they seemed to have had some kind of deal in the past. Although she didn’t know why things had changed now, it wasn’t hard to believe.
Xie Taihang was wearing a large black cloak and a fox fur hat. He laughed heartily in the cold wind, and his eyes held an unfamiliar kindness as he looked at Alai.
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“As expected of my daughter. I could tell from a young age that you were destined for greatness . I kept you in the Xie household and painstakingly groomed you, and now you have finally lived up to my expectations. I am very pleased.”
Compared to their appearance, Xie Taihang’s opening remarks were even more strange. In the past ten years or more, to say nothing of praising her, Xie Taihang had never even looked at her directly. What was he up to now?
Although she didn’t understand Xie Taihang’s intentions, seeing that he was the one who had planned this scheme, it was clear that Ah Xun was not in danger. Alai felt slightly relieved.
“My mother is in your hands, isn’t she? What exactly do you want?” Alai already felt that something was amiss. No one does favors without a reason. There must be a conspiracy.
“I want you to kill someone. Of course, it’s not me.”
“Who is it?”
“Surname Wei, given name Zizhuo.”
“What does he look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know anything about him, how can you kill him?” Alai said. “Besides, I’ve never killed anyone before. I’m not going.”
Alai’s refusal was swift and merciless. Xie Taihang had long anticipated that she would say this, and showed no sign of irritation. He continued to smile and said, “My dear daughter, do not be hasty. Hear your father out first. Have you ever heard of the Pingcang Wei family?”
“No.”
“Father will tell you about them in detail. The Pingcang Wei family is the most powerful aristocratic clan in Pingcang Commandery. Their ancestor, Duke Ping, followed Taizu to establish the Da Yu Dynasty. They have occupied Pingcang Commandery for a hundred years, and their roots run deep. The Wei family has produced three dukes in four generations, and their power has been unrivaled. During the reign of the late Emperor, they relied on their influence in the court to disregard the Emperor and act rebelliously. Now, they have joined forces with the Grand Princess and the Empress Dowager’s faction, and are plotting to depose the Emperor and seize the world. The upright officials of Da Yu, including the Xie family, can never allow these treacherous women to succeed. However, the Wei family is cunning and treacherous, and has many advisors and assassins. Their son, Wei Zizhuo, is the mastermind behind the Wei family’s schemes. If we can eliminate him, we can greatly weaken the Wei family’s power. But Wei Zizhuo is elusive and has no fixed abode. To this day, no one has seen his true face… or rather, there should be someone who has. Our faction of upright officials has spared no effort and repeatedly sent assassins to his side to try to assassinate him. However, the strange thing is that no matter what appearance or identity the person has, Wei Zizhuo has always seen through their disguise and killed anyone who has seen his face.”
“Wei Zizhuo is cruel and eccentric, and his behavior is abnormal. Lord Yunmeng’s nephew, Bo Chao, spent a year suffering untold hardships to approach him as an aide. Just when he was about to see Wei Zizhuo’s true face, he failed at the last moment and was tortured to death by Wei Zizhuo’s henchmen.”
“Wheel torture?” Alai asked, puzzled.
“This punishment is inhumane. It involves locking a person’s limbs to the ground and using an iron hammer to smash and break all of their bones and meridians, turning them into a pile of mangled flesh. They are then tied to a giant wheel, naked, and left outside to be exposed to the sun or the cold. Birds, insects, and ants will gnaw their flesh, and the executioners will feed them water and rice. The victim will suffer unimaginable pain but will not die immediately, and will remain conscious even after half of their body has become white bones. This behavior is no different from that of a demon!”
“How do you know that he died from wheel torture?”
Xie Taihang was in the midst of speaking righteously and was completely unprepared for her question. He was momentarily speechless. Before he could answer, Alai had already guessed: “Oh… so you actually sent more than one person at a time. It’s possible that two spies approached Wei Zizhuo at the same time, because there’s more hope with an extra person, right? If both of them succeeded, they could also look out for each other. If one of them was killed, the other one could still send a message. Most importantly, spies are usually very secretive, and it takes a lot of effort to expose them. By the time the spies are exposed, there will naturally be a sense of relief, as if a hard battle has just been fought. It’s hard to imagine that there are still spies around.”
Xie Taihang frowned and interrupted her: “Those who eliminate traitors and punish evil are not spies, they should be called righteous people.”
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Alai shrugged. “I don’t want to be a spy or a righteous person, and I’m not interested in killing. I just want to live in peace with my mother. Where have you hidden her?”
Xie Taihang and Lord Yunmeng exchanged glances. Lord Yunmeng touched his nose, and Xie Taihang turned around and continued patiently:
“Alai, this matter concerns the fate of the country. It cannot be treated as a joke!”
“I’m just a child. I only know how to play jokes.”
“Don’t you care about the survival of Da Yu?!”
“I don’t care.”
“Don’t you even listen to your father?!”
Alai gasped when she heard this. She found it extremely laughable. “My father died six years ago from overwork. But I still remember that when he passed away, Master Xie was unwilling to let even a cheap coffin enter the Xie household. He said that the coffin was inauspicious, and he wouldn’t even let my mother and I carry his body through the Xie household. This continued on for many days. It was the height of summer, and the smell of my father’s body is still fresh in my memory.”
“You’re being too nitpicky by bringing up these old grudges now. He was just a slave of my Xie household. He had long ago been sold to my family. His life and death were all up to me. What’s wrong with that? In the end, I am your biological father. The blood that flows in your veins is my Xie Taihang’s blood. ‘Luxuriant and verdant are the rushes, but they are not my rushes. My parents are to be pitied, having given birth to me through suffering.’ All these years, I have indeed been somewhat cold to you in order to train you, but the kinship between us cannot be replaced. Alai, if the Wei family is not eliminated and Wei Zizhuo is not killed, Da Yu will collapse sooner or later. When the nest is destroyed, the eggs will be broken. At that time, you, your mother, and even Ah Xun, will not be spared. Is this the outcome you want to see? After this matter is successful, you will be my Xie family’s legitimate daughter, and you will also be able to enter the Xie family genealogy. In the future, I will also choose a good marriage for you.”
Alai was silent, her gaze falling on the iron chain that bound her.
She should have realized it long ago. This iron chain also came from the Xie household. It was the iron chain that Xie Suishan used to tie up dogs.
Xie Taihang’s sweet words were in her ears, but his actions over the years had been completely different. Kinship? Father? No, Xie Taihang had never been either of those things.
Alai understood that her own existence was a disgrace. She was the most tangible proof that Xie Taihang had taken advantage of her mother when she was injured and humiliated her.
This man would frame loyal officials in order to protect his son. His words were absolutely untrustworthy. The Xie family genealogy and the enviable marriage were nothing but cages made of human flesh and bones. She had never longed for them, and she would never be trapped in them. Moreover, if she were really able to be fortunate enough to accomplish this matter, how could Xie Taihang possibly allow her to live in this world as a weakness?
The only thing that made her feel uneasy about the whole thing was Ah Xun. If Ah Xun were to encounter any difficulties in the future, she would definitely risk her life to save her.
After thinking this through, Alai calmly raised her head and shook the iron chain on her feet, deliberately making it make a harsh noise.
“Your Xie family’s affairs have nothing to do with me.”
When the two of them looked at each other, Xie Taihang retracted his loving gaze, and the painstaking exhortation just now was indeed all an act.
He stopped speaking and waved his wide sleeves with a cold snort, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
Lord Yunmeng walked up from his side, and the two burly men dragged a person out of the cabin with him.
That person was Xiaoshi.
“Mother!” When she suddenly saw her mother, Alai let out a heartbreaking cry, almost swallowed by the pain of her broken bones.
Xiaoshi’s long hair was disheveled and her body was weak. After the two men dragged her out, they threw her directly on the bow.
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One of her arms hung in the air, and a terrible bloody hole in her forehead seemed to still be bleeding. Before being dragged out, Xiaoshi had been in a deep coma, and only regained some consciousness when she hit the deck.
Blurrily, she heard Alai’s voice calling her name. Xiaoshi tried her best to slowly raise her head and saw her daughter on the small boat. Her lips, which were cracked and bleeding, moved. She wanted to speak, but had no strength.
“What are you doing!” Alai was furious. The small boat was within fifty steps of the ship. If it weren’t for the iron chain, she would have been able to fly onto the ship in one step and make Xie Taihang and the others roll around in their own urine, “Shameless villains! Let my mother go!”
Lord Yunmeng stood behind Xiaoshi completely unmoved, his turbid and sinister eyes in his blue-black eye sockets staring at Alai:
“Kill, or not to kill.”
Alai was unable to answer for a moment, and Lord Yunmeng’s eyelids sank. A strong man squatted down, clasped Xiaoshi’s hand, and inserted a crowbar into her fingers, forcibly spreading her five fingers open.
Before Alai could open her mouth to stop him, another strong man pulled out a dagger, squatted down suddenly, and cut off Xiaoshi’s little finger.
LP: Motherf*cker, can’t people just leave this mother and child alone! Σ(ﾟДﾟ；)
