Zhao Qian, arms crossed and posture rigid, patiently said, "Is there any good flesh left on your back? Mei Xinlin hasn't been able to leave his room for days. How are you treating your wounds? Just enduring it?"
Leaning to the side, he reached for a censer and lit the incense. The smoke curled out from the carved mountain burner, enveloping them both. Their brows softened slightly.
"Ten days and it will heal. You don't need to worry."
"If Chen Xiao were still alive, you wouldn't say that."
The moment he uttered Chen Xiao's name, Zhao Qian himself was startled.
Chen Xiao had died ten years ago, during the case of the Chen clan's annihilation.
Back then, Zhang Xi had prepared a coffin for Chen Wang and had severely whipped Zhang Duo in front of the coffin. Afterward, Zhang Duo, bearing grave injuries, had personally collected the bones of Chen Xiao, Chen Wang's son.
Beneath the North Mang Mountain, there was an unmarked grave where the once renowned young man of Luoyang was buried.
In this chaotic world, the word YingXiong (hero) was often broken apart and pursued separately. "Ying", the first character, suggested a fleeting brilliance, a sense of regret for what could have been. Chen Xiao was such a person.
Dongjun, where the Chen clan had thrived was known for producing beautiful women, but its men were no less captivating.
Chen Xiao was exceptionally handsome. With his zither and fine robes, he could perform the Guangling San(5) alone, and with a flick of his finger, he could summon birds to sing. Born into a distinguished family from Dongjun, he was humble and modest. From the imperial family to the common people, everyone in Luoyang admired his appearance and character. Even ten years after his death, there were still men and women who visited his unmarked grave in North Mang Mountain to pay their respects.
Zhang Duo, on the other hand, was a different kind of person.
Born into a noble family and holding a high position, the first ten years of his life were shrouded in mystery. No one knew where he had lived or how he had survived, not even Zhao Qian. And he didn't like people discussing his past, so no one in Luoyang dared to pry or gossip about him.
Even though he had destroyed the Chen clan and personally buried Chen Xiao.
Could one privately criticize him for his hypocrisy?
Or perhaps one could privately speculate that he pitied Chen Xiao or that he had been forced to do it by Zhang Xi.
There were countless private opinions, but once people stepped onto Tongtuo Street, they all kept quiet.
So, he could openly murder and then openly accept punishment and humiliation at Chen's grave, and yet he could continue to walk the streets of Luoyang, covered in blood and scandal, yet people would still avoid him.
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"
The cold words, aimed directly at him, brought Zhao Qian back to his senses.
He quickly took a sip of tea and stood up. "I'll go back to the Imperial Guards and accept my punishment. Farewell." He took a few steps forward, then paused and turned back. "But, Zhang Tuohan..."
He hesitated before continuing. "I know you don't like talking about this, but... why did your father treat you so cruelly?"
Zhang Duo looked up at him. "I've told you, I'm at peace with it. In a way, it's like I've repaid my father's debt. Now, I owe the Zhang family nothing."
A chill ran down Zhao Qian's neck. After a long pause, he tried again. "But, Zhang..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Duo had already left.
The incense from the censer continued to burn, filling the room with a lingering fragrance.
***
In the Quiet Study, the first incense coil had just been lit.
Before leaving, Zhang Duo had given Xi Yin an instruction: "With the incense burning, you must not make a single mistake. If you do, you will be whipped."
She had witnessed his words turning into actions on Tongtuo Street, and so she worked diligently all day. She folded quilts, arranged the plum blossoms, swept the floor, wiped the bottles, and finally finished before sunset. She lit the incense coil, closed the lid, and knelt on the floor, her robe wrapped around her, in front of the bronze censer with its gold bamboo-shaped handle. As she breathed heavily, she stared at the incense smoke curling up from the censer. The scent was deep and rich, a far cry from the cheap fragrances sold in the markets. After inhaling it for a long time, she began to feel drowsy, and her knees gave way, revealing her smooth, porcelain-like skin. The cold made her shiver, and she quickly pulled her robe to cover herself.
Zhang Duo didn't seem to intend to let her live for ten days, and he didn't even bother to provide her with proper clothing. The man's robe she was wearing had no lining, and as she sat, it naturally parted, revealing a glimpse of her body. She wasn't wearing any undergarments, and she felt more exposed than a prostitute. Yet, the man didn't even glance at her, either because he was too self-possessed or because he despised her so much.
Although she was young, she had seen too many men lust after her. She had relied on catering to their desires to support her blind brother, and so she had never been disgusted by their greed. But she had never seen anyone like Zhang Duo before, someone as cold and indifferent as a crow on a winter branch, someone who could look at her beauty without a flicker of emotion, as if he could wring her neck at any moment without a second thought.
As dusk fell, a dog barked outside. Xi Yin trembled and stood up. Before she could turn around, the door was pushed open. Zhang Duo, who had apparently gone out, returned wearing his official robes.
He didn't come inside. Instead, he looked at her through the curtain.
"Come out," he ordered.
Xi Yin didn't hesitate. She had no shoes, and her bare feet felt cold on the stone steps.
Before she could feel sorry for herself, she saw a noose hanging from the dwarf plum tree in the courtyard. Jiang Ling stood beside the tree, holding a thin whip.
Zhang Duo turned and sat down at the door, extending his hand to Jiang Ling. "Throw it."
Jiang Ling hesitated, seeing Xi Yin's intertwined, trembling toes.
"Jiang Ling," Zhang Duo said, his voice calm but firm. Jiang Ling knew better than anyone that when Zhang Duo gave an order, it was to be obeyed. With a sigh, he threw the whip.
The whip whistled past Xi Yin's face. The man behind her caught it, holding it by both ends. "You go out," he said calmly. "No matter what you hear, don't come back in."
"Yes," Jiang Ling replied.
In the courtyard, there were two of them.
One was elegantly dressed, the other was disheveled.
The cold fragrance of plum blossoms mingled with the warm, sweet scent of the sandalwood incense inside, carried by the gentle evening breeze.
"Go over there," he said, pointing his whip at the dwarf plum tree.
Xi Yin's legs turned to jelly, and she took a step back involuntarily.
He didn't strike her or yell at her. He simply held the whip, his eyes fixed on hers.
Fear gripped her, clear and undeniable.
He lowered his hand. Without saying a word, he had frightened her so badly that she ran down the steps and stood under the plum tree. Before he could speak, she tiptoed and slipped her wrist into the noose.
"Did I tell you to hang yourself?"
She trembled, hastily pulling her hand back. She stood under the plum tree, her hands and feet at a loss.
It was a striking scene. The plum blossoms fell gently in the wind, and the fading sunlight cast a golden glow over the tree and the figure beneath it. Her sash had come loose, and the long ends fluttered like a giant bird's tail.
"Take off your robe."
Hearing this, her ears turned red. She clutched at her robe, not daring to look at Zhang Duo, or at herself. The white dog, Xue Longsha, barked sharply from the corner, and she almost jumped. In her panic, she pulled the sash from her waist, and a small package fell out. But she didn't care about it now.
As she loosened her robe, her fair skin was exposed to the dim light. Only a small piece of cloth covered her modesty, and she tried to cover herself with her hands, but he coldly commanded, "Don't cover yourself!"
"Yes, yes..."
She was almost crying. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she raised them and hurriedly slipped her wrist into the noose on the plum tree.
A breathtaking sight unfolded before Zhang Duo.
Her skin, as white as snow, was flawless except for a bruise on her knee. Her legs were crossed as she tried in vain to protect herself, but her young body trembled, her long, dark hair falling over her shoulders, catching the occasional falling plum blossom.
With a single strike of his whip, he could ignite this beauty.
However, Zhang Duo simply sat on the stone steps, ten meters away, scanning her body. He slapped the whip against his palm.
"Aren't you going to resist?"
She didn't understand what he was asking, and she didn't understand why he was doing this. She stood shivering in the cold wind, her voice trembling. "Please don't kill me... I can't die... My brother won't be able to live if he doesn't see me..."
He stood up and walked towards her, until he was standing right in front of her. Then he laughed coldly. "You're afraid of death? You're afraid of death, yet you dared to assassinate the emperor?"
With that, he raised his whip and struck her lower body.
She cried out in pain, and the white dog barked.
"Aren't you going to dodge?"
Her teeth chattered as she gripped the rope tightly. "Please spare me, I want to live... My brother won't be able to live long if he doesn't see me..."
He sneered, "Who told you to dress like that?"