Chapter 01 – Jing Shun

Autumn of the 48th year of Jing Shun in the Great Zhou Dynasty

The sun hung high in the sky. Although the night dew was getting colder by the day, there were no clouds in the afternoon, and the sun was still very strong. Perhaps some carriages had just passed by on the official road, the air was still filled with the smell of dust. It was not so comfortable to breathe.

A group of people dressed in embroidered clothes were parched by the sun.

“We’re not far now.” Among the group, the youngest wiped away his sweat and raised his whip, pointing ahead, “There should be a tea stall up ahead …”

This youth was a half-grown boy. His appearance was so beautiful that it was difficult to distinguish his gender. He should be at the age where his voice had changed, but his voice was sharp and a bit higher pitched than a normal young boy. Just as he finished speaking, he saw the corner of the tea stall.

“I told you we’re not far.” The youth was happy. He squeezed the horse’s belly and took the lead.

The others scolded, “Xiao An, what are you fighting for? The tea stall isn’t going anywhere.” He joked and followed suit.

Under the cool shade of the tea stall, a waiter was talking to a female customer. “… At the next intersection, you must take the left path. The right path also leads to Changsha Prefecture, but it’s a long detour.”

The female customer wanted to ask in detail, but the sound of horse hooves sounded urgent. Xiao An galloped over and pulled the reins outside the tea stall. The horse came to a steady stop.

He performed the maneuver beautifully, earning applause from the customers. Xiao An was proud. He jumped off the horse and shouted in a shrill voice, “Shopkeeper!”

The female customer had braided hair and was about the same age as Xiao An. She was still a young girl. Seeing the youth’s exquisite horsemanship, she couldn’t help but take another look.

Before Xiao An’s voice had faded, the shop assistant threw a towel over his shoulder and quickly walked over in a loud voice. Xiao An looked over. The young girl turned her head, allowing Xiao An to catch a glimpse of her charming nose and profile.

It’s a bit tan, Xiao An thought. In the past, when he walked through the inner courtyard, the older sisters he saw were all as white as water tofu. It made him somewhat picky when it came to women.

The shop assistant smiled and welcomed him, “Guest, please come inside.”

Although he said “inside”, he took the reins, handed them to the waiter, and led Xiao An towards the cool shade. At this time of the year, as long as there was no scorching sun, there would be a cool breeze. It was very comfortable. It was perfect under the cool shade.

A moment later, Xiao An’s companions had caught up. A stout man jumped off his horse and shouted, “Shopkeeper, give me a pot of cold tea first. My throat is on fire!”

Xiao An sat there and tossed peanuts into his mouth. He smiled and said, “It’s already on its way!” He then scolded, “You think I’m in a hurry? If I’m not in a hurry. Do you think you’ll be able to have tea as soon as you sit down?”

The stout man came up and hit the back of his head. Xiao An nimbly shrunk his neck and dodged. He lifted his foot to kick the man, revealing his black boots with white soles.

“How dare you kick your Big Brother Kang Shun!” Fatty scolded jokingly.

Someone else said, “Stop fooling around. Yong Ping, you should control them.”

The group of men who had just taken their seats were all in their prime, and the oldest one looked to be in his early thirties. They were wearing fine silk clothes and leather boots, but they did not act like young masters. They all called each other ‘Xiao An’, ‘Kang Shun’, ‘Yong Ping’, and other auspicious names. The shop assistant came over with the candied fruits. His eyes swept across the table, and his ears perked up. After hearing a few words, he had a rough idea.

Rich servants.

Rich servants under nobles. They were often dressed in brighter clothes than ordinary rich people.

Among this group of rich servants, the one called ‘Yong Ping’ was a young man in his age of a crown. He was born with handsome eyebrows and slender eyes. His appearance should have been very handsome, but there was a gloomy aura between his brows. Without a hint of a smile on his face, reducing his heroic spirit and adding a hint of coldness.

Xiao An was the youngest and was very mischievous. He used to be a member of the inner court, and his identity was a little special. Therefore, although he was young and weak in martial arts, no one dared to slight him. Instead, they were very close to him.

However, he was only willing to listen to Yong Ping. No one could do anything to him.

It was only when Yong Ping finally opened his mouth and calmly said, “Stop messing around.” Only then did the frisky monkey quiet down.

He then used his elbow to nudge Kang Shun.

Kang Shun asked, “What?”

Xiao An winked and leaned his chin in one direction. He lowered his voice and said, “Look at that little girl over there.”

Everyone glanced in the direction of his chin and laughed. Kang Shun almost spat out his tea, “Little girl? How old are you to say she’s little?”

Xiao An straightened his neck and said, “She’s definitely not reached adulthood yet. I’m turning fifteen soon, definitely older than her!”

Kang Shun laughed and wanted to rub his head again. Xiao An was annoyed and hit him a few times. He said angrily, “Don’t mess around! Look at her carrying that long rod. She’s trained.”

The “little girl” he mentioned was the girl who had asked the waiter for directions to Changsha Prefecture.

Her back was facing Xiao An’s table. They could barely see her profile. She indeed looked like a young girl. Slim shoulder and slender waist. There was a long rod on the bench next to her. This was the rod that Xiao An wanted everyone to see.

“Of course.” Kang Shun said, “If she didn’t have some martial arts, would a young girl dare to venture alone?”

They had been sitting for a while. The girl remained alone at her table. There was only one cup. It was obvious that she was traveling alone.

Xiao An was the youngest and his martial arts were the weakest. He couldn’t help but feel itchy and tempted to meet someone around his age who knew martial arts.

After a while, he asked, “Who do you think is better, me or her?”

After a while, he asked again, “Should I go and spar with her?” His mouth kept muttering while his bottom couldn’t sit still, showing his intention to get up immediately and challenge the girl.

Yong Ping glanced at him, “Behave yourself.”

Xiao An could only be obedient.

Everyone shushed him.

They had already eaten lunch. They were just resting here to let the horses avoid the worst part of the sun. While they were eating snacks and drinking herbal tea, they suddenly heard someone raise his voice, “These damn eunuchs! I hate that I can’t hold a three-foot sword and kill these people!”

When these words entered their ears, the faces of the people at the table changed. They looked coldly at the person who spoke.

Xiao An’s hand gripped the hilt of his sword. His eyes were fierce.

That person did not seem to notice and continued to chatter, “Lord Shen’s request to establish a crown prince is the responsibility of the Cabinet Elder. Even if it angered the emperor, it shouldn’t be like this. It’s all because of Niu Zhong, that eunuch, abusing his power! Lord Shen’s two sons and four grandsons all died tragically… Lord Shen, at this age, lost both his son and grandsons. I heard he’s bedridden and won’t last long… Alas!”

His table mate then said, “The Crown Prince has been dead for eight years. If he had chosen a new Crown Prince earlier, there wouldn’t have been the rebellion of Prince Lu…”

The shop assistant trotted over with a big pot. While pouring water, he hurriedly said, “Sir, please don’t discuss state affairs! Please have some tea, have some tea!”

“What’s there to be afraid of? This is Huguang. The capital is far away. Niu Zhong’s hands can’t reach here. He’s not a clairvoyant.”

Although they said this, the voices at that table still lowered. After serving tea, they really stopped talking about the capital and succession.

The shop assistant lowered his voice and said, “Sir, you may not know this, but it’s said that one of the Eight Tigers, Ma Yingchun, is coming to supervise the tax collection. In the future, we have to be more careful with what we say. “

This type of shop assistant was the most well-informed. Hearing him say this, the group of people sighed, “Sigh, are they coming to cause trouble for Huguang?”

Xiao An and the others had noticed as well that although this table seemed to be concerned about the country and the people and was full of righteousness, they were actually just a few scholars in white robes and low-class scholars. What they loved to do the most was to point out the country and speak passionately.

Xiao An let go of his knife and cleared his throat, “What a worthless kid. All he does is worry about the Emperor and his ministers.”

Just as he picked up his cup and took a sip of his tea, the group of arrogant scholars suddenly changed the topic, “Since ancient times, how many eunuchs have had a good ending?”

“Such a person has disgraced his ancestors and can’t even enter his ancestral grave. Other than gaining money and power, what else can he do in life? Isn’t he doing all sorts of evil deeds?”

“I heard the Emperor even allowed Niu Zhong to take a wife and let him keep many concubines!”

“What a waste. He’s just an eunuch. What’s the use of having so many concubines?”

“Sigh, they’re very useful. I’ve heard …”

These people who were just chatting moments ago about national affairs and ideals suddenly shifted their conversation towards “eunuchs.” They made sarcastic remarks about “physical impairment” which sounded like they were mocking and insulting. To Yong Ping and the others, every word felt like a stab in the heart.

When the shop assistant and the shopkeeper saw this, their faces turned pale. As businessmen, they were the best at observing people. They had already noticed that none of the men in brocade had facial hair.

There was a vassal in the Changsha Prefecture.

There were also ‘servants’ in the vassal’s manor.

The more the people at the table spoke, the more outrageous they became. With a crack, the young man named “Yong Ping” crushed his teacup. His handsome face was like a black shadow, and his eyes were like poison.

Yong Ping was not the oldest in this group of people, but he was the leader. This sound was like a signal that ignited everyone’s anger. Kang Shun, Xiao An, and the others slammed their palms on the table and were about to stand up and curse!

Who knew that along with a “bang” sound, a clear angry shout sounded first, “Shut up!”

Kang Shun and the others didn’t have time to curse and almost lost their breath!

They looked sideways and saw the girl who they were talking about just now standing in front of the group of arrogant scholars with her long rod.

The “bang” just now was the sound of the long rod hitting the ground and splashing the soil.

The arrogant scholars were stunned. One of them said unhappily, “Which family’s little miss is this? How can she be so rude?” They were having a nice conversation and were interrupted. If it weren’t for the young girl’s good looks, they would have scolded her.

The young girl was originally sitting at the table next to them with her back facing Xiao An’s table. Now that she stood up, Xiao An’s table could clearly see her face.

Her age was about the same as Xiao An’s and she indeed looked like she hadn’t reached adulthood. Her face was bright and beautiful. Although she wasn’t as delicate and charming as the sisters Xiao An saw in the manor, there was a natural heroic spirit between her eyebrows. This was something Xiao An couldn’t see in the ordinary women in the manor.

The young girl’s long, shapely eyebrows rose, “Your mouth is full of filthy words and you accuse others of being rude? You scholars really have manners.”

The people at the table knew that their words just now were indeed inappropriate, but they refused to admit defeat. They said stubbornly, “Even if we were a little careless with our words, we were cursing those castrated men with a crippled body. What does that have to do with you?”

The young girl said, “Discuss the matter if you must, but when it comes to people, discuss them as individuals. If you want to curse that Niu guy, go ahead, but don’t drag others into it.”

One of them said, “Other people? We didn’t talk about other people. We were all talking about that dog eunuch.”

Hearing the word ‘dog eunuch’, anger flashed in the young girl’s eyes. She said, “Which family’s children aren’t born and raised by their mother and father? They were like you, grew up with love. If it weren’t for the great change, who would be willing to disgrace their ancestors with a physical impairment? Since you’re all educated, why don’t you know how to be virtuous with your words and pity other people’s sufferings? Have all the books gone to the dogs’ stomachs?!”

A few arrogant scholars were originally people who liked to spout nonsense to gain attention. When they heard this, they were furious. One of them had a particularly harsh mouth. He immediately sized up the young girl and clicked his tongue, “Look at how furious this little girl is. Could it be that your lover has been dragged away and … was cut? Hahaha!”

Several people laughed, “Then this little miss should quickly find herself a new lover. Since he’s castrated, he’s not a man. How can he and this Little Miss do … the deed? Hahaha!”

There was another person who was a pervert. Although he saw that the young girl’s expression had changed after the words fell, his heart couldn’t help but ripple. Then he thought about how she was a woman traveling alone and assumed she wasn’t from a respectable family. He stood up and stretched out his hand, wanting to molest her, “Come on, forget about the past. Let this brother take care of you …”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a blur in front of his eyes.

The long rod the girl had been holding all along came at him like a serpent, striking towards him!