Chapter 0055 Hurry Up and Die

Chapter 0055 Hurry Up and Die

After returning to their residence, Zhang Biezhi followed Xiao Rong into his room.

Xiao Rong hadn’t called for him; it was Zhang Biezhi who had come on his own. They were staying in a place close to the palace, which seemed to be a special guesthouse reserved for honored guests. However, they weren't the only ones residing there; there were also many servants, who claimed to serve them, though no one knew if they were also eavesdropping during their service.

Xiao Rong didn’t mind Zhang Biezhi following him. Upon entering the room, he sat down and took a deep breath. Ah Shu ran over to pour him some tea. Xiao Rong picked up the cup and slowly sipped, letting the hot tea cool slightly before swallowing.

He was recalling how he had performed that day. During such tense moments, he couldn’t analyze others’ reactions, so he had to remember quickly and ponder later.

Ah Shu was used to this. Whenever Xiao Rong was deep in thought, he became exceptionally focused, almost oblivious to the outside world.

Ah Shu didn’t disturb him but looked at Zhang Biezhi with confusion, wondering why he was still there.

He kept staring at Xiao Rong without speaking. When he noticed Ah Shu’s gaze, he turned to look at him, his expression subtly changing.

Ah Shu: "…" He was shocked.

Because the usual irritating expression was gone, replaced by a downturned mouth and wet eyes filled with grievance.

Ah Shu’s face was full of horror. This bullied look was so out of character for Zhang Biezhi; he should stop it!

But Zhang Biezhi didn’t know what Ah Shu was thinking, so Ah Shu turned his head away. Seeing Ah Shu’s reaction made Zhang Biezhi even more upset.

What kind of days had he been having!...

After about fifteen minutes, Xiao Rong finally finished recalling everyone’s reactions. He picked up his teacup again, now lukewarm, and was about to take a big sip when he saw someone standing like a door god opposite him.

Xiao Rong: "...What are you doing here?"

Zhang Biezhi had been waiting for him to notice. Hearing this, he got furious: "You nearly broke my foot!"

Xiao Rong blinked: "Is that so? Take off your shoes and let me see."

Zhang Biezhi’s eyes widened: "Take off, take off?!"

Xiao Rong looked at him matter-of-factly: "Yes, you said I nearly broke your foot. Take off your shoes so I can see how serious it is."

He meant nothing else by it. He had stepped on Zhang Biezhi to prevent him from messing up, knowing he had used some force, but not enough to break bones. He just wanted to check if he was really hurt.

If he was injured, it needed immediate treatment, after all, he was Jian Qiao’s brother-in-law.

With that, Xiao Rong stood up and walked to Zhang Biezhi, intending to lift his robe to examine his foot. But Zhang Biezhi recoiled as if electrocuted, taking a big step back.

Xiao Rong straightened up, puzzled, seeing Zhang Biezhi’s face turn red: "No need, it’s not that painful. I... I’ll go out."

Xiao Rong was confused. He knew men shouldn’t undress women, but did that apply to other men too?

Had he unintentionally acted like a lecher?

Xiao Rong asked Ah Shu, who looked complicated: "It’s not that... but undressing and removing boots are usually done by servants. If not servants, then only parents or close relatives do such things. Master has honored him too much."

Xiao Rong: "..."

He didn’t know this, so it wasn’t really an honor.

Glancing at the door, Xiao Rong decided not to dwell on it. He instructed Ah Shu: "Have dinner brought up. After eating, I’ll sleep. Tomorrow will be busy."

Ah Shu wanted to say it wasn’t good to sleep right after eating, but seeing Xiao Rong’s determined look, he swallowed his words.

Xiao Rong’s execution was always strong. After dinner, he took a hot bath and comfortably lay on the bed. ...

Meanwhile, in the neighboring room, Zhang Biezhi was unusually restless.

He had never met such a strange scholar.

In his view, scholars should be like Xiao Yi, but even Xiao Yi wasn’t a standard scholar. The true scholars he had seen in Jinling’s palace were aloof, pontificating about the world, unwilling to give him a glance, and showing disdain if they accidentally met. They would throw away their clothes after encountering him.

Zhang Biezhi hated those who bullied him.

Like when he was young, his father was forced, but other kids insisted his father had betrayed them, calling his family traitors, throwing mud at him, pushing him into the mud pit.

If not for an adult passing by, he might have died in that small mud pit.

Later, he started fighting back. At first, he was beaten more, but eventually, he beat others more. The day he knocked down the person who had bullied him the most, the joy he felt could never be replicated. Winning felt that good.

But he knew he couldn’t always win. He always criticized other scholars, despising Xiao Rong whenever he heard his name, saying he could never win against him in a fight. This was because he knew he could only win in this aspect, and his arrogance masked his insecurity. Bullying others was a way to avoid being bullied himself.

Xiao Rong treated him poorly, calling him worse than a monkey, threatening his life, and using his brother-in-law to pressure him. Thinking about these made Zhang Biezhi grind his teeth.

He thought Xiao Rong must hate him. After all, he knew he had spoken ill of Xiao Rong, so hating him was justified. Yet, despite hating him, Xiao Rong would bend down in front of him, even offering to remove his shoes to check his injuries.

His brother-in-law never did that. His sister used to do it before marriage, but not afterward.

This reminded him of his childhood, when he was often bullied but still lived with his family. His father would hit him, his mother would scold him, but living under their care was truly beautiful.

His sister and brother-in-law were nice, but something always felt lacking. Perhaps it was because at home, he could feel secure being a burden, whereas at his brother-in-law’s house, he felt uneasy.

Most people’s rebellious phase was around fourteen or fifteen, but Zhang Biezhi was late-blooming, still rebellious at eighteen. He knew everything, and perhaps in a few years, after this abnormal period, he would mature and repay his sister and brother-in-law, like many dogs turning from little devils to little angels at two.

However, history didn’t give him that chance. As for now, he was starting to think about things he never considered before, so no one knew what he would become.

Tossing and turning in bed, Zhang Biezhi suddenly heard a sound and sat up, grabbing a knife and placing it across his chest.

The person entering was one of Xiao Rong’s guards, carrying a basin of warm water. He paused, then approached with the wooden basin: "I heard General’s foot is injured. I brought a basin of hot water for you to soak it."

Zhang Biezhi was surprised, not expecting Qu Yunmie’s guard to treat him so kindly. Hadn’t they ignored him all along?

A normal person would suspect something, but Zhang Biezhi was not normal, so he happily agreed and asked the man to place the basin beside the bed.

Next, Zhang Biezhi started to soak his feet. This person didn't leave, saying he would wait until he was done before taking the basin out. Naturally, Zhang Biezhi had no objections, but just sitting there doing nothing was a bit boring, so they began to talk.

This person's approach was quite cunning. He first asked Zhang Biezhi why he was injured, wasn't he supposed to have gone into the palace? Could it be that someone in the palace had hurt him? As soon as the topic of the palace came up, Zhang Biezhi felt a surge of anger, and he immediately told this person everything that had happened in the palace.

As he listened, the person occasionally reacted, sometimes even asking questions from rather sharp angles. It seemed like he was asking about Zhang Biezhi, but to answer, Zhang Biezhi had to mention Xiao Rong.

Facing his own people, Zhang Biezhi had no guard up at all. Not only did he say what he should, but he also said what he shouldn't, including how Xiao Rong planned to personally examine his injuries.

Upon hearing this, the person across from him was startled. Scholars were the most proud; if ordered to remove another's boots, they would consider it a great humiliation. Xiao Rong actually took the initiative to lower himself—good heavens, did he care for Zhang Biezhi that much? ...But why? Wasn't Zhang Biezhi known to be a fool?

It made no sense, absolutely no sense. Mr. Xiao's thoughts were truly beyond ordinary people's comprehension. Perhaps he saw some extraordinary qualities in Zhang Biezhi. With this thought in mind, after returning, he meticulously wrote down all the information he had gathered on paper and then handed the letter to another person, instructing them to send it out the next morning.

Thus, the next day, when Xiao Rong requested an audience with the Grand Marshal, the letter that betrayed him completely was delivered into Qu Yunmie's hands on the other side of the Huai River.

Last time, upon receiving the letter, he nearly exploded in rage, but ultimately he managed to hold back. However, his expression was so terrifying that it scared the horses outside from eating their feed. ...

This time, he sat calmly on the mat, calmly read through the entire letter, and never showed any extreme emotions. Yu Shaocheng, watching by his side, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

No one knew what the previous letter contained that had angered The King so much. Now that he wasn't angry, it seemed things in Jinling were going smoothly.

However, he soon realized he had relaxed too soon.

Putting down the letter, Qu Yunmie looked up and instructed Yu Shaocheng, "Send someone back to tell Jian Qiao to come and collect his brother-in-law's body."

Yu Shaocheng was shocked. "Does The King mean something happened in Jinling? Is Zhang Biezhi dead?!"

Qu Yunmie smiled faintly. "Not yet, but it will happen soon."

Daring to make his most valued advisor remove his boots, huh...

Die, die quickly.