Xiao Rong still didn’t know that Agusejia had set her sights on him. He was trying hard to keep his gaze steady, but he couldn’t help sneaking glances at the woman behind Agusejia.

She wore the plainest hemp clothes, with no adornments whatsoever. Her hair was gathered up in a thick wooden hairpin, with stray hairs falling out. Her hair was dry and brittle, a clear sign of someone who was malnourished. What caught Xiao Rong’s attention first wasn’t her hair—it was the fact that this woman had white hair.

Not a small amount of white hair. Along her hairline, even when the white mixed with the black, it was very noticeable.

Agusejia didn’t have white hair, and yet this woman was only 27 years old. How could she look so aged?

The difference between early white hair and white hair caused by later factors was completely distinct. A person with early white hair, even with a full head of white hair, still looked youthful, while this woman didn’t give off that impression. Even without looking at her hair, she appeared to be in her thirties or forties.

Even though she looked much older, the woman was still beautiful—she had the gentle elegance of a Jiangnan woman. However, Qu Yunmie had said she was from the North and that her family had once been well-off, with her father being an official. Later, her family was destroyed by an accident, and after a flood of refugees overwhelmed her family, she had become a beggar on the streets.

The rise and fall of her life was vividly reflected in this woman. It was no wonder she had become what she was today.

Agusejia glanced at the woman behind her and spoke for her. “This is Sang Yan, Danran’s mother.”

When Sang Yan heard her name, her expression didn’t change at all. She kept her head lowered and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

Normally, a woman like this would be referred to as “Madam Qu,” or, if of lower status, as “Lady Sang.” If she were a relative or of the same generation, calling her “Sang Shi” (Lady Sang) would be acceptable.

However, Sang Yan had always lived among the Butewu tribe, and these people all called her “Yan.” Besides the Butewu people, no one else usually saw her, so there was no need to worry about the form of address.

This left Xiao Rong in a dilemma—how was he supposed to address this woman? He didn’t dare call her “Madam Qu” for fear of upsetting her.

However, he quickly realized he was overthinking. After a moment of being stared at by a group of strangers, Sang Yan couldn’t help but start rubbing her arms. When Agusejia saw this, she immediately took her away.

Danran hurriedly followed, but before leaving, she waved at Xiao Rong and Gao Xunzhi.

Gao Xunzhi also smiled and nodded. After their figures disappeared, he turned to Xiao Rong and said, “Yan—”

Before Gao Xunzhi could finish, Xiao Rong, already anticipating his words, spoke up. “It’s fine, His Majesty already told me. The royal residence is so big, it’s not like we’ll run into each other. After I return, I’ll tell the maids at my grandmother’s to take good care of her and not disturb the ladies.”

Gao Xunzhi looked relieved, and the two exchanged smiles before turning their attention to the person sitting beside Xiao Rong—Song Shuo.

Song Shuo, lost in thought, suddenly found four eyes fixed on him. He couldn’t help but ask, “What are you staring at me for?”

Xiao Rong raised an eyebrow: “You’re not planning to sneak over when no one’s looking—”

Song Shuo, misunderstanding, snorted indignantly. “What do you think I am, a flower thief? I wouldn’t do something like that!”

Xiao Rong raised an eyebrow. “I was just asking, why are you so upset?”

Song Shuo: “…”

He wanted to say, ‘Why don’t you ask Buddha’s son?’ but then realized that there was probably no need to ask.

……

After a few people left, a few more entered, and it turned out that the number of people in the royal residence hadn’t changed at all. The guards patrolled day and night, and Xiao Rong’s chief guard had now become the chief of all the guards in the royal residence. Di Fazeng no longer followed Xiao Rong around but instead focused on monitoring the movements inside and outside the city.

Zhang Biezhi both envied and disliked him. He would occasionally come to Xiao Rong to cause trouble.

Xiao Rong looked at him helplessly. “If you want me to dislike someone, don’t use such low-level tricks. I know you and Di Fazeng don’t get along, so naturally, I wouldn’t believe what you say. Provoking people requires skill, come back when you’ve learned how.”

Zhang Biezhi: “…”

After leaving Xiao Rong’s side, Zhang Biezhi actually began to think about whose words he should trust. He went through the list of people who frequently interacted with Xiao Rong and his eyes suddenly lit up. He turned and went off to find that person.

That evening, as Xiao Rong was eating, Chen Shi, who had been eating heartily, suddenly froze, quickly wiping her mouth before turning to Xiao Rong and saying, “Little Rong, Di Fazeng has been inappropriate with me.”

Xiao Yi, who had been eating a piece of pork rib, almost choked.

Xiao Rong: “…”

He froze with his chopsticks in mid-air. After a long pause, he calmly turned to his grandmother and asked, “Grandmother, how exactly did he act inappropriately?”

Xiao Yi finally cleared his throat and heard Xiao Rong calmly repeat those two words. He began coughing violently again.

Chen Shi, recalling what Zhang Biezhi had taught her, continued, “I spoke to him, but he ignored me. He didn’t even look at me.”

She then added, “but Biezhi is nice. That boy likes talking to me, and he even brought me two duck legs.”

Xiao Rong smiled. “Grandmother, eat more. If you want duck, I’ll have the kitchen make a whole one for you tomorrow.”

Chen Shi happily nodded. “Okay, okay, okay.”

….

The next day, Zhang Biezhi, as usual, came to the royal residence. He walked into Xiao Rong’s courtyard, full of excitement, but within a short time, less than a cup of tea, he ran out of the courtyard in tears.

Di Fazeng was just patrolling with his troops and saw Zhang Biezhi running farther and farther away. Di Fazeng remained silent for a long time before he snorted lightly and continued walking forward.

……

Back home, Zhang Biezhi cried to his sister. “He scolded me! He told me my brain isn’t good enough, and I should go exchange brains with a pig. Even a pig’s brain is better than mine. He hasn’t scolded me like that in a long time. It’s all because of Di Fazeng. I’ve had so many arguments with Di Fazeng before, and he never scolded me! Woo woo woo, sister, I’m so sad.”

Zhang Shi: “…”

“You shouldn’t have gone to find Old Madam Xiao and told her bad things about Di Fazeng. You and Di Fazeng are colleagues. Colleagues can tease each other, but you can’t scheme against each other. Honestly, do you really hate Di Fazeng this much?”

Zhang Biezhi gritted his teeth and said, “Yes, I really hate him!”

The next second, he sniffled, and quietly added, “but Old Madam Xiao, who would take her words seriously?”

Zhang Shi looked at her brother. Seeing him crying like this, she knew that Xiao Rong must have scolded him badly today, but her brother wasn’t the kind of person to hold grudges. So, after he cried enough, he gradually recovered.

He even reflected. “Bringing others into this, I shouldn’t have done that. But Xiao Rong went too far! Why couldn’t he just talk to me calmly? Why did he have to scold me? Woo—”

Seeing him about to cry again, Zhang Shi, feeling a headache, said, “Because things are different now.”

Zhang Biezhi, with his eyes swollen and red, looked at his sister in confusion.

Zhang Shi sighed. “After the King and the others left, everything in the city was entrusted to Master Xiao and Mr. Gao. Now, Mr. Gao isn’t in charge of as much anymore, so whether Chenliu remains peaceful depends on whether Master Xiao can hold the fort here. Think about it, that’s a huge responsibility. Master Xiao is about the same age as you. Do you remember when you first led the troops alone to escort the prisoners? Without your brother-in-law’s care, how nervous were you back then? Have you forgotten? For Master Xiao, this is also his first time taking on such a big responsibility. In the past, the King would cover for him, but now he’s the King’s backup. When someone is worried, their temper flares.”

After saying this, Zhang Shi lowered her eyes. Her husband was also a general who had gone on a military campaign. Although she had been married to Jian Qiao for many years, she still couldn’t get used to this life of staying home and waiting for her husband’s return.

Zhang Biezhi looked at his sister, stunned. “Guarding Chenliu isn’t just Master Xiao’s responsibility. This city is also the King’s backup, and also my brother-in-law’s, and all the soldiers’.”

Zhang Shi raised her head, listening to her brother’s words. She smiled gently. “That’s right. So, you should work hard to help Master Xiao. We all have someone we’re waiting for and a home we need to protect.”

Zhang Biezhi pursed his lips and nodded silently.

*

From that day on, Zhang Biezhi became more well-behaved. Xiao Rong didn’t know about this conversation behind his back. He still thought that Zhang Biezhi had been scolded into behaving. When he thought about that day, he was still angry. He didn’t even want to repeat those two words to Zhang Biezhi. He had made a confused old lady say such things. Zhang Biezhi, you deserved to be scolded!

……

This beautiful misunderstanding was formed like this. The army continued its march, and Chenliu began to arrange various matters in an orderly manner. The weather grew cooler, and after an autumn rain, the fifteenth day of the seventh month arrived.

At this time, the concept of a Ghost Festival didn’t exist yet, but even without the name, the fifteenth day of the seventh month had always been a day for people to worship their ancestors and remember their loved ones. The Buddhists called this day the Ullambana Festival. The names were different, but the meaning was similar.

However, for the royal residence, the fifteenth day of the seventh month had another special meaning—it was the last day of the summer residence. After this day, Buddha’s son could go out.

Xiao Rong had been so busy lately that he had completely forgotten about this matter, but no worries, someone would remind him.

It had been raining these past few days, and the morning was chilly. The ground was muddy, but the royal residence had laid down gravel, so it was somewhat better. However, some mud and water still stuck to the shoes.

Xiao Rong yawned and got out of bed to wash up. As he stood outside and was about to brush his teeth, he heard a faint noise. He lived deep within the royal residence, far from the main gate, so if he could hear the noise, it must have been quite loud outside.

Xiao Rong was stunned and immediately went outside. The closer he got to the main gate, the more he could hear people talking. By the time he reached the front courtyard, the noise was so loud it was as if an uproar had erupted.

Di Fazeng was standing there with his troops, on high alert, while Gao Xunzhi looked helplessly at the scene outside. It didn’t seem like a disturbance, but Xiao Rong walked forward, puzzled. When he saw what was going on, he was stunned.

At least a hundred monks were sitting at the entrance of the royal residence, chanting scriptures. In the distance, there were monks who had been bowing every few steps and were now walking toward the crowd, ready to join them. The real source of the noise wasn’t the monks, it was the common people who were kneeling on the ground.

On the first day after the summer residence, the Buddha’s son’s fanatical followers had finally lost patience. They surrounded the royal residence, crying and begging for Buddha’s son to show himself. Some even started throwing money into the air, calling out the Buddha’s son’s name as they did.

Xiao Rong: “…”

At that moment, the power of the Buddha’s son finally became tangible.

Damn it, Qu Yunmie isn’t here! He should see for himself just how much stronger the Buddha’s son is than he is in this regard!!

 

Edited by: Antiope

 

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