Chapter 18 Unlucky Fellow

Chapter 18: The Unlucky One

The night was deep, the dew heavy, and the chill biting. The streets were long deserted, leaving only a blanket of gray mist swirling in the air.

Within the palace walls, aside from the occasional patrolling guards, only a few flickering palace lanterns lined the sides of the corridors.

Suddenly, a hurried set of footsteps shattered the quiet, the rush of wind causing the candle flames to waver.

Fang Fengshi barged into the hall, ignoring Ling Shan's attempts to stop him, and shook Xiao Yan awake.

He spoke rapidly, with an unusual edge of panic in his voice.

"Disaster! The Zhang residence is on fire!"

Xiao Yan hadn't been sleeping deeply; he had even stirred awake when the hurried footsteps first sounded in the courtyard.

Sitting up, he came face to face with Fang Fengshi's deeply anxious expression.

A vague sense of unease surged within him. Xiao Yan grasped Fang Fengshi's wrist.

"The Zhang residence? Which Zhang residence?!"

"The Minister of Revenue, Zhang Songyun."

"Has the fire been put out?!"

Fang Fengshi shook his head.

Although the fire watchtower was manned at night, because it was New Year's Eve, the discovery was not timely.

Furthermore, the late hour and strong winds caused the fire to spread rapidly, making it impossible for anyone to get close. Not only was the Zhang residence burned down, but the surrounding commoners' houses were also affected to varying degrees.

The fire was not yet completely extinguished, and the exact number of casualties was unknown. However, judging from those who had managed to escape the Zhang residence so far, there was no sign of Zhang Songyun.

His chances of survival were slim.

Xiao Yan rolled out of bed. Without time to properly dress, he just snatched up a cloak and strode out into the thick darkness.

He had just promoted Zhang Songyun, and not a few days later, his home caught fire and burned down?

What a coincidence.

*

Jiang Wang stood alone in the middle of the street, covered from head to toe in grayish-black soot as if he'd been pulled from the ashes.

His once brand-new clothes were scorched with several large holes. A wound on his shoulder was particularly bad; the edges of the torn fabric were curled back, and the beads of blood that had seeped out had long since congealed, mixing with the pervasive black ash to form dark scabs.

Yet Jiang Wang seemed oblivious to the pain. He stared blankly and fixedly at his small courtyard, now collapsed from the fire. Tears slowly welled up in his eyes until they could hold no more, finally tracing a clear path down his cheeks.

His home was gone.

He had thought that with the arrival of the new year, everything would get better.

He had bought new clothes, bought new furniture, enjoyed a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner, and even planned to hire someone in the spring to repair the courtyard and plant some flowers and plants.

But fate had played such a cruel joke on him.

Only now did he realize that on the other side of his small courtyard, separated by just a single wall, was the residence of the current Minister of Revenue, Lord Zhang.

Lord Zhang's home had caught fire, and he was the unlucky one who suffered the worst.

Last night, after he groggily woke up, the fire had grown so large it was like a ferocious beast with gaping jaws chasing at their heels.

Jiang Wang only had time to drag the sleeping Changle up and run with him; he couldn't spare a thought for anything else.

Childish as it sounds, he had even thought about going back when the fire died down a bit to salvage any valuable items he could carry out.

He never used to understand why people would rush back into a fire to save mere worldly possessions; he laughed at them as fools. But now he knew.

Because those things were his entire worldly wealth. If they were gone, he would truly have nothing.

Now, he had become the "fool" he used to mock.

Apart from his soot-covered, wretched appearance, he had nothing left.

Jiang Wang couldn't understand. Why, just when he thought things couldn't get worse, just when he believed life could improve, was there always some greater misfortune waiting for him...

He couldn't hold it in any longer. Right there on the main street, he squatted down, buried his head in his arms, and began to wail loudly.

But people came and went around him, and not a single soul stopped for him.

Others had their own houses to repair, their own families to comfort. It seemed only he was utterly alone in this world.

It was as if this happened just to show him that despite all his efforts, he still didn't belong here.

Bitterness and grievance exploded in his heart, and Jiang Wang cried even harder.

He seemed to be using all his strength, crying with reckless abandon, his voice growing hoarse.

But just as he was immersed in his sorrow, something soft and furry nudged his hand.

Jiang Wang looked up and saw a large, chubby cat—the same one that had appeared in his courtyard a couple of days ago.

Seeing it had his attention, the kitten rubbed against him even more vigorously, almost knocking the squatting Jiang Wang over.

Helpless, Jiang Wang reached out to pat the cat's head, only to gag on the dust hidden in its fur and start coughing.

"Cough, cough."

He took a couple of steps back, barely escaping the assault of the black soot.

The little cat looked quite clean; who would have thought it could harbor so much dust.

The cat's interruption shifted Jiang Wang's attention away from his burned-down house and onto the kitten instead.

"What are you doing here?" Jiang Wang scratched under the cat's chin. "Are you from Lord Zhang's household?"

The cat let out a "meow." He didn't know what that "meow" meant, so he assumed it meant yes.

Besides, Lord Zhang's residence was the most severely burned, followed by his own.

If it had an owner, it should have been kept safe by them, not running around here.

Jiang Wang sighed and gently pushed the cat away. "Go on. I can't afford to keep you. I can barely support myself as it is."

Better to find a good family unaffected by this fire, where it might live carefree for life. With him having neither food nor shelter, following him would only mean hardship.

But the kitten didn't leave. Pushed away, it circled around and came back, sitting down gracefully beside Jiang Wang and licking its own sooty little paw.

Just as Jiang Wang was about to push the cat away again, a familiar voice suddenly rang out not far away.

"Young master! Young master!"

Changle ran over, holding a bowl of water in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, and crouched down beside Jiang Wang.

"Young master, I borrowed some water from someone else. Please drink a little. Look, your lips are cracked."

As he spoke, Changle reached out with his other hand, intending to wipe Jiang Wang's face.

But instead, Jiang Wang grasped his hand and used it to wipe Changle's own face.

Jiang Wang managed a teary smile, though his voice remained a bit hoarse. "Don't wipe mine, wipe your own. Your face is even more smudged than this cat's."

Just as he said this, the cat pressed closer, even nearer than before.

Jiang Wang went ahead and touched the cat's most sensitive spot—its tail. Yet, it still showed no sign of wanting to bite, instead leaning in to affectionately rub against him.

"Hmm? Still not leaving? Have you decided on me?"

Jiang Wang sighed softly and simply scooped the little dirty cat into his arms.

"How about... you try following me?"

To be honest, he wasn't sure. His house was burned, his money was gone, he couldn't even find a single intact piece of clothing to wear, let alone afford to take care of an extra cat.

But the kitten just clung to him, refusing to leave. He couldn't just coldly abandon it, could he?

It was so cold now. If no one wanted this cat, it would probably freeze to death.

Jiang Wang carefully observed the kitten. Its body was entirely orange, with only its belly and four paws having some white fur.

He thought for a moment and said, "How about I call you... Big Orange?"

After saying this, he nodded to himself, satisfied. It was simple, easy to remember, and perfectly suited the cat's characteristics—simply perfect.

"Big Orange~ Big Orange~"

Jiang Wang called the cat's new name twice. The cat seemed to understand it was being called and responded enthusiastically, stretching out a paw to press against Jiang Wang's chest as if trying to climb onto his shoulder.

However, instead of feeling the cat's soft paw pads, Jiang Wang felt something hard pressing painfully against his chest.

He took it out to look—it was actually that pouch! And inside the pouch were several gold and silver ingots!

He must have casually put it in his robe when he went to buy mutton in the evening and then forgotten to take it out later.

Jiang Wang no longer cared whether the cat was dirty or not; he hugged it close and gave it a vigorous nuzzle.

"Big Orange, oh Big Orange, you really are my lucky star."

Although he would have discovered the pouch sooner or later, at this moment, it held a special significance for him.

Just moments ago, he had been completely immersed in the sorrow of being utterly alone, having nothing, and having the worst luck imaginable. But now, he felt that none of that really mattered anymore.

Although the house was gone, Changle was still by his side. He still had a little bit of savings, and he even had a cat now.

All of this... didn't seem so bad after all.

Jiang Wang composed himself and stood up, ready to confront fate once more and give it another big slap.

But as he stood up too quickly, his vision went black, and he nearly fell to the ground again.

Yet, the expected pain didn't come. Instead, he fell into someone else's arms.

As the darkness before his eyes faded, he met a pair of familiar eyes.

Jiang Wang stammered, "Y-Your... Your Majesty?"

Why was Xiao Yan here?

No, perhaps the more pressing question at this moment was: Why was Xiao Yan holding him?!

*

Xiao Yan and Fang Fengshi had left the palace in the middle of the night and ridden here on horseback.

On the way, Fang Fengshi had given a general overview of the situation.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, when he could see the blazing flames lighting up the sky from afar, Xiao Yan's heart still sank unavoidably.

If it were a natural fire, how could it have spread to such an uncontrollable state in such a short time?

If it were man-made... Then the mastermind behind this was truly ruthless and cruel, showing no regard for human life whatsoever.

Presumably, after Zhang Songyun's promotion, the initial developments had aligned roughly with Xiao Yan's expectations.

Zhang Songyun's own ambitions had clashed with those of the mastermind. However, later on, the situation had changed.

Xiao Yan had originally thought that after this internal conflict within the shadowy organization arose, there would be a period of division and chaos, during which he could seize the opportunity to gather information about them for a breakthrough.

But now it seemed that the mastermind had directly taken action and killed Zhang Songyun.

Not only that, but they had also disguised the murder scene as an accidental fire, destroying all possible evidence and traces.

Even if this act might harm some innocent civilians, they had shown no hesitation.

Xiao Yan stood in the shadows of a narrow alley, silently watching the Zhang residence not far away, which had almost been burned to the ground. The water from the fire brigade seemed as ineffective as a child's toy against the fierce flames.

He had underestimated his enemy.

Xiao Yan's Adam's apple bobbed, his jawline taut as stone. His clenched fist scraped against the rough wall, even drawing blood without him noticing.

He should have realized earlier that someone capable of poisoning his elder brother naturally had a heart of venom. The current situation was entirely due to his own negligence.

If he had investigated a little more thoroughly, could he have prevented this fire?

Zhang Songyun was dead. The clues related to that mastermind were now severed.

So, what should he do next? How should he continue the search?

Xiao Yan lowered his gaze, deep in thought, when a loud, wailing cry suddenly came from nearby, interrupting his train of thought.

He focused his gaze and discovered Jiang Wang crouched there, crying into a ball.

That thin, small back was full of helplessness and grievance. His shoulders shook with each sob, his sorrow seeming to overflow, appearing utterly pitiful.

However, with the "comfort" of a young man and a cat, Jiang Wang seemed to smile again.

But just as he stood up, there was a faint tendency for him to stumble and fall.

Instinctively, Xiao Yan quickly stepped forward and reached out to catch Jiang Wang by the waist.

"Jiang Wang!"

"Y-Your Majesty?!"

Along with the shock in his eyes, tears also began to well up.

"Your Majesty, you're pressing on my wound—it hurts."

Author's note:

Poor Jiang Wang, but it's okay; after hitting rock bottom, things will start looking up.