She clutched the bottle and sank to the floor in front of him. The white dog growled and bared its teeth.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, she looked up at Zhang Duo.
A fleeting flicker of rage crossed his face before he composed himself. He roughly tore off the tattered robe, revealing his bare chest. Beneath the fresh whip marks were older scars.
"Xi... Yin," he called.
"Y-yes... yes," she stammered.
Ignoring her hesitation, he adjusted his robe and spoke with a hint of regret, "If only you could read, you could have ended my life tonight." He tossed the robe aside indifferently and handed her the other jade bottle.
She sat there, frozen, unable to take it.
"It's simple," he said. "Wherever there's a wound, apply the medicine."
Without waiting for her response, he placed the bottle on the floor and leaned against the table, exposing his injured back. "Here," he mumbled.
The dog barked, startling her. She grabbed the bottle and scrambled to her feet, instinctively moving closer to him.
Their bare skin touched, and he frowned but said nothing.
After a long moment, she felt the sharp sting of the medicine on his back, and he shuddered. Despite his efforts to remain still, his body trembled.
She watched his knuckles turn white as he gripped the table, knowing how much pain he must be in. "Does it hurt?" she asked softly.
He shook his head without speaking.
Hesitantly, she knelt beside him and began to gently blow on the wound to cool it.
His young, broken skin glistened with sweat.
She had seen many noblemen drunk and naked, but she had never seen anyone as scarred and as hardened as him.
"Does it feel better?" she asked.
He nodded slightly and spat out the cloth. Sitting up straight, he asked, "Why would you ask why I was so badly beaten?"
"I... I don't know," she mumbled.
"In this world, there are a hundred ways to make someone tell the truth," he said.
She swallowed hard. "You're the Zhongshujian. Who would dare to beat you like that?"
He glanced at the bandaged wound on his shoulder and smiled bitterly. "It's nothing more than a family matter, between ruler and subject, father and son."
. Xi Yin was stunned. She hadn't expected Zhang Duo to respond, let alone mention the Privy Council so casually.
Although she had never met the renowned Zhongshujian in person, she had heard from her brother that the Zhang family was of noble descent from Hebei, tracing their roots back to a famous official of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Their family was deeply rooted and had a long-standing tradition of scholarship. In addition to Zhang Duo, his father, Zhang Xi, served as Sima(3) and held a powerful position in the court for many years. During the Xingqing era, the father and son practically controlled the court. However, their personalities and principles were vastly different.
Zhang Xi was a Confucian scholar who also studied Xuanxue(4) philosophy. He was known for his eloquence and often hosted gatherings of intellectuals in his estate. In contrast, his eldest son, Zhang Duo, was criticized by the political circles as a cruel official.
In the second year of the Xingqing era, Chen Wang, the then Zhongshujian, was accused of treason and imprisoned. It was Zhang Duo who interrogated him and extracted a confession.
This major case caused a rift between the Eastern and Western regions, and the trial lasted for half a year. Eventually, the entire Chen clan was executed, including over three hundred members. It was said that Chen Wang was cut in half at the waist, his legs broken, and his tongue burned with hot coals. He died with a look of resentment on his face, staring at Zhang Duo until the very end.
After Chen Wang's death, his clan members were also executed, and no one claimed their bodies.
Later, Zhang Xi, in the city of Luoyang, had Chen Wang buried and then forced Zhang Duo to kneel before the coffin, where he wept bitterly and denounced his son's cruelty. He even whipped Zhang Duo until he vomited blood.
This public display of grief earned Zhang Xi the reputation of a benevolent official. However, it also branded his son as a cruel tyrant. Such actions seemed out of character for a father.
There were rumors that Zhang Duo was not Zhang Xi's biological son but the child of Zhang Xi's concubine, Xu Wan, and her previous husband. Because he was said to have an unlucky birth chart, he was abandoned at a market as a child and later adopted by the Zhang family.
There were always rumors surrounding people caught in such a vortex. Xi Yin had heard these stories from her brother, but she didn't believe every word.
Now, as she looked at him, covered in wounds, she began to believe those rumors.
"Go to that chest and get me a robe," he said suddenly.
Startled, Xi Yin turned to him.
"Didn't you hear me?"
Zhang Duo's voice was cold and indifferent, making her shiver. She quickly went to the chest.
Unsure which robe to choose, she turned back to him. "Which one..."
He waved his hand and glanced at her lower body. "Any of them. Just take one."
Feeling ashamed, she buried her face in the chest and rummaged around.
The men's robes were all very large, and any one of them would cover her completely. She carefully tied the belt around her waist and turned to see him closing his eyes. She didn't dare make a sound, so she curled up in the corner opposite the white dog, watching its sharp teeth.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"Nothing... I'm not thinking about anything," she replied.
"Heh," he chuckled. "Do you have parents?"
"No."
"Are they dead?"
"I don't know."
She leaned closer to the fire and glanced at him. Seeing that he had his eyes closed, she reached out her hand.
"I don't know who my parents are. My brother found me in an alley."
He was silent for a long time before he scoffed, "So you were found too."
"But my brother was very kind to me..."
"Kind? He let you be stripped naked and chased by the Imperial Guards! You had to climb into a stranger's carriage to save your life!"
He suddenly raised his voice, startling Xi Yin. She didn't understand why he was so angry. She looked at him, her voice trembling, "My brother... he has a vision problem. Although he can't see very well, he can play the Guangling San(5) and the qing(6). He taught me how to play the fifty-stringed zither and sing the Yuefu(7) songs... He wanted to teach me how to read, but his eyesight got worse, and he couldn't read or write anymore. But he was always so gentle with me. He's a very good person. I'm not like this because of him."
She seemed desperate to defend her brother, and her voice grew louder.
"A good person? Ha..."
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I haven't seen a good person in Luoyang for ten years. What's your brother's name?"
"Cen Zhao," she replied.
She knelt down. "Master, without me, my brother won't be able to survive. Please let me go back. I'll serve you for the rest of my life to repay your kindness."
"But I only plan to give you ten days," he said.
She was speechless.
"You have to understand, I didn't save you because I'm kind. I just don't want anyone to see me like this. These wounds will take ten days to heal. Xi Yin, you have ten days to live. After that, I'll kill you. And as for your brother... good people don't deserve to live in Luoyang. Life and death are natural laws. Don't ask for too much."
Sima(3): has deep historical roots in Chinese civilization. It was originally an ancient government position, primarily responsible for military and administrative affairs. As history progressed, the duties and responsibilities associated with the Sima position expanded significantly, evolving differently across various dynasties.
Xuanxue(4): a philosophical bloom that emerged during the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties, stands as a unique and exquisite chapter in the annals of Chinese philosophy.
Guangling San(5): it is a famous ancient music piece in China
qing(6): a stringed music instrument
Yuefu(7): Chinese Classical Poetry