Un cœur pur dans un pot de jade

Chapitre 62

I took a deep breath and walked towards the door.

“Don’t pick it up, you savage!” She bent down and grabbed his hand, only to find that his hand was trembling and his fingertips were red from the heat.

"What are you doing?!" I said angrily.

He looked up, paused for two seconds, and then laughed and said, "My hand slipped, and I broke the bowl."

"So what if it's smashed!" I shook off his hand, making him throw away the shards. I pulled him up, choked back a sob, and finally said in a hoarse voice, "Um... life and death are in the hands of fate, don't be too sad..."

"What do you mean by life and death being determined by fate?" he retorted, still looking down at the spilled soup as if he felt it was a pity. Then he looked up at me as if nothing had happened and said, "There's no lotus seed soup or porridge for you today."

"I don't drink lotus seed soup," I said seriously, "I hate the taste!"

The savage laughed, "...I cooked it."

"Huh?" I wanted to laugh too, but my lips twitched stiffly. "When did you become so domestic?" I asked him. "I'd forgotten you could boil water and cook rice?"

The savage said helplessly, "Actually, I don't know how. I did it for you before..."

"Tch! Smooth talker!"

So they changed the subject, and when they sat down to eat, everyone tried to make the already cheerful atmosphere even more lively. Then the wild man asked, "Sun Qingshan, are you full?" He kept putting food on my plate, and the meaning of his question was all too clear: Whether you're full or not, you have to eat all the food I put on you!

"Are you even being reasonable?" I complained. "Everyone in the world knows that women shouldn't eat dinner."

"Why do you say that?" Sister Hongbao didn't quite understand.

He glared at the woman with the large breasts and small buttocks, "You don't need to understand."

Hongbao was therefore very displeased.

The savage picked up the bowl and spoon and turned to feed me. “You’re not a woman now,” he said, “you’re a mother now.”

*Clatter*—Song Guan's chopsticks fell to the ground.

"What are you saying, Mr. Shao?!" I glared at the savage, both amused and exasperated. "Don't get any bad ideas. I'm still young, and I don't want to have children yet!"

The savage replaced the spoon with chopsticks, placed one hand underneath, picked up some greens and brought them to my mouth, teasing me with a smile: "So, how old do you want to be to have children?"

"Hmm... actually, twenty-five is the peak age, but I... wasn't mentally prepared for it...!"

He remembered those words: "Being an older mother can be dangerous."

"Why don't you learn from this?!" I glared at him. "Having a child before marriage, aren't you afraid people will say I'm morally depraved?"

"I'm afraid you'll get uterine cancer."

"Pfft—!" I sprayed a mouthful of vegetables all over his face.

Chapter 84

I feel nothing for the lives lost. As for the savage's actions... I actually think he's the one who should be comforted. I've seen through him; he's just a person who can't think straight and lives a very pathetic life.

But I'm more pathetic than him, because I just like this kind of person.

When we went to Sheshou Mountain, the wild man carried me in a sedan chair. I leaned against him and asked, "Do you need me to give you some psychological counseling?"

“…No need.” He replied after a long pause.

“What would you say if I didn’t want children?” I asked him.

It was quiet, except for the two men carrying the sedan chair, who were chatting with each other in an accent I didn't recognize.

"I hate kids!" I said again.

“…Qingshan…” he called me, and after a long pause, he said, “I… don’t like children either…” in a trembling voice.

"How pitiful." She rubbed his face with the back of her hand. "Even if it's just on the surface, you don't need to put on a face like you're being bullied by me."

The savage lowered his eyes.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking,” I laughed. “You said you don’t like children, so the next thing you’ll say is that you should have fewer children, so you don’t have to have a dozen every three years—right?”

“Two…” the savage said sullenly.

"Go to hell!" I said sternly.

"Then...try your best, this time...if it's twins..." He placed his hand on my lower abdomen, and I placed my hand in his, comforting him, "This one's a backup plan, just testing the waters, we'll have the real birth next time, this time..."

The savage seemed not to hear me at all, his face full of tenderness—"Don't you have another daughter?" I suddenly remembered, "That little girl is quite cute."

The savage immediately frowned. "She is the Holy Maiden of the Chen Gang Palace, not my daughter."

"No family ties!" I ignored him, pulled out the handwritten copy of the Analects I'd bought from a street vendor, flipped through a couple of pages, and slammed the book shut. I exclaimed, "Is it the 2000 edition that has so many errors, or is this 1000-year-old version of the Analects just utter nonsense?!"

The savage's attention was successfully diverted, and he asked me, "Where are you talking nonsense?"

“Listen to this sentence,” I said, and turned to a page to read it aloud: “Confucius said: ‘How despicable is this, Yao lamented this.’ What does this mean, you, an ancient person—do you understand it?”

The savage took my hand and said calmly, "Confucius is an ancient person, I am a modern person."

"You're a modern person?" I burst out laughing, then realized the savage remained completely serious, so I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You're the most secretly flirtatious man I've ever met!"

"So what?" he retorted.

"Only I can stand you." I said smugly.

“Sun Qingshan,” the savage pinched my chin, “…”

I became serious. "What's wrong?"

"One day, you will disappear from my sight, just like everyone else..."

Shaking his head, "I won't!"

"Then don't leave me..."

He nodded, "I won't leave you."

"Take me with you wherever you go..."

He laughed, "I'll put you in my pocket."

"Swear it."

"I swear."

He slowly smiled, as if finally relieved, tilted his head and looked at me seriously for a while, then pulled me into his arms.

However, it wasn't until soon after that I realized that at that moment, when I couldn't see him, the savage's expression in his eyes was...despair.

...

Below the altar, in a royal courtyard resembling a palace, the leader of the Green Mountain Alliance and his group of five, including the alien village chief who insisted on joining in, finally received a summons from the emperor. Taking small, quick steps, with their heads bowed and bodies bent, they passed through layers of dense guards and met Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Zhao Huan, a historically significant figure.

In my booklet of one-sentence reviews of emperors throughout history, historians' evaluation of this person focused half a sentence on his self-aggrandizement and self-deception regarding his forging of celestial books and his trip to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony.

Before even raising his head, he knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" When he stood up, he found himself still four or five meters away from the Emperor. The Emperor was wearing a red robe and sitting in a spacious garden in the late autumn afternoon, basking in the sun. The woman on the same stage with him was dressed in bright colors and looked ten years older than Emperor Zhenzong, who was in his forties or fifties.

"Where is Sun Qingshan?" After offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, everyone was relaxed. The eunuchs were resting, and the palace maids were waiting in the distance. Not a single minister was seen. The one who spoke was Emperor Zhenzong of Song himself, who was holding a cup of tea.

I stepped forward, and the others stepped aside. Originally, Sun Qingshan was supposed to be Sister Hongbao, not me. But since I'm already here, I can't let this trip be in vain.

I looked up and saw a large pot of green chrysanthemums behind Emperor Zhenzong of Song. Emperor Zhenzong had a small mustache that showed his wisdom and seniority. This was my first impression of him.

Before speaking, I let out a soft hum to make sure I wasn't nervous, and then, following the etiquette I had in mind, I curtsied and said, "This servant, Sun Qingshan, greets Your Majesty."

Chapter 85

The four newcomers are: the Hall Master of Chen Gang Palace, the Left and Right Protectors, and a young girl with extraordinary lightness skills—the Holy Maiden of Chen Gang Palace whom the savages refuse to acknowledge.

These men swiftly captured the head eunuch, subdued the guard leader and archers, and then the ghostly members of the Chen Gang Palace—the black-clad figures who had intruded into the scene—instantly took control of the situation.

As many rumors have revealed, the Demonic Sect's Chen Gang Palace had ties with the Liao Kingdom. The usually arrogant and seemingly untainted wild girl still had to prostrate herself before Empress Xiao, just like the real thing.

Empress Dowager Xiao's visit to Song was originally intended for peaceful negotiations, hoping to add clauses to the alliance, just like how we go to Jinshatan to sign treaties. To show her sincerity, the Empress Dowager personally came to Mount Tai.

Both the Song and Liao dynasties loved treasures. Emperor Zhenzong of Song clearly understood this, which is why he insisted on summoning the leader of the martial arts alliance to ascertain the situation before recruiting him. The treasures would then become his own capital, used in exchange with the Liao. Even more ingenious was that this new, humiliating condition of bowing and offering tribute to the Liao had nothing to do with the court; it was entirely the independent action of the martial arts practitioners. Emperor Zhenzong wouldn't have to bear the infamy of losing national sovereignty and could continue his ceremonies, celebrating peace and prosperity throughout the land.

However, Emperor Zhenzong was not Empress Xiao, and he did not know what Empress Xiao was thinking.

Empress Xiao was already quite old, frail and plagued by numerous ailments. She probably had her own plans; if she could live another year or two, it would be a bonus. Therefore, before she died, she always wanted to do something magnificent and heroic, to fight for her life's work, so that her hard work would not have been in vain, all for the sake of the Liao people's eternal dominance over the Central Plains.

Therefore, at such a sensitive time, if someone proposed an extremely radical but highly beneficial risky method—such as assassinating the Song emperor and shaking the court—it is hard to say that the Empress Dowager had never thought of it. Thus, when the ideas were aligned, the concept was eventually brought to the present.

Right now, after the Holy Maiden of Chen Gang Palace finished paying her respects to the Empress Dowager, her first words upon rising were to ask the savage, "Why haven't you made your move yet? When are you going to do it?"

The savage chuckled silently, raised his hand, and was about to slap Emperor Zhenzong, who was kneeling on the ground, on the forehead. But he suddenly stopped and asked as if to himself, "Do you think that after this slap, the first one to show up to save people will be Fang Ning or the bandits from Liangshan?"

It turns out he had been waiting all along—I finally understood, he was waiting for everyone to gather, waiting for the moment to take revenge.

And he really did lie to me. Before today, he talked about abandoning everything, not wanting his father's debts to be repaid by his son, giving up revenge on Yan Tuliu... I was the most foolish one, naively believing that he was telling the truth. If it were true, I wouldn't have gone to great lengths to come to Shandong to find him, while he came to Mount Tai without ever thinking of looking for me.

But why did the Chen Gang Palace insist on using the savages? After all, the Palace Master was tricked by the savages again and again. Was it still for the treasure, or something else?

The savage really went all out, cooperating with the Liao people and plotting with a tiger for its skin. But he tricked me into joining him in the assassination. Wasn't he afraid that I would be in danger? Wasn't he afraid that I would stop him and ruin his plans? Wasn't he afraid that if I found out everything, I would never forgive him again?

Or had he decided to perish together with me, so he dragged me down with him? — But all I know is that if he were still the savage I knew, he would never do such a thing, not even think about it!

Everyone at the scene was waiting; some were holding their breath, while others didn't know what they were waiting for.

In the Xth lecture of the required course for the leader, the savage told me that when masters of martial arts reach a certain level and fight, victory or defeat depends not only on strength but also often on the timing of the strike. A single, decisive blow is crucial, and it is all about the moment when momentum reaches its peak. This applies not only to martial arts but also to doing things and marching the army; one must find the right moment to strike with full force.

Given that the barbarians have already captured Emperor Zhenzong of Song and gained the upper hand, any attempt to rescue him will undoubtedly be made at the most critical moment—and at this moment, as the barbarians' hand, which had been paused, suddenly slammed towards Emperor Zhenzong, don't tell me—it's now!!

"Little Green Mountain—!" I thought a few more people would descend from the sky to save the emperor, but who knew that at the crucial moment, it would be a ridiculous opening line from Hong Hong: "...Little Green Mountain, Little Green Mountain... It's been so long, I've missed you so much... I'm so nervous about seeing you again... I want to say something, but I'm too shy to speak..."

"Mingming..." A magnificent voice, though unseen, chuckled strangely, "Mingming, say something too, Little Green Mountain loves listening to you talk..."

Everyone's expression turned strange. The savage withdrew his hand, looked at the eaves protruding from the eleven o'clock direction, raised his chin, and the lines of his profile clearly showed a sinister desire to kill.

"I told you this trick would work!" Yan Chaohong appeared from behind the eaves and waved vigorously at me. At the same time, at the opposite five o'clock position, a person suddenly flew down from the tree and blocked the combined attack of the Lord of the Chouhuang Palace and the two guardians on the left and right, successfully placing the sword against Empress Xiao's neck.

"Mingming, Mingming—!" Yan Chaohong looked down at me and pointed to the man in black beside Empress Xiao, as if afraid I hadn't seen him. A flash of light appeared at the Empress's neck, and the man holding the sword said to me shyly, "Young lady Qingshan, the young master was just joking with you. He was not trying to be frivolous. You... don't be offended."

This, this, this—I'm speechless. This move is terrible. Is Yan Chaohong trying to anger the savage to death? If the situation weren't really urgent, I would have thought that Yan Chaohong was just trying to annoy the savage on purpose—after all, the two are rivals in love.

"You brat! Get down here now!" one of the men roared with full force. Yan Chaohong on the roof dared not wave his hand wildly anymore. At the same time, the people of Qiuhuang Palace made way, and the soldiers made way. A man with a thick beard and bushy cheeks stepped out from behind the crowd. He stepped aside, and then came the main character—an old man with white eyebrows and a white beard wearing a blue Taoist robe. He was tall and straight, and his steps were silent. Accompanied by exclamations, the old man walked up to the savage and suddenly knelt down—"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to save Your Majesty. Please forgive me."

He breathed a sigh of relief—it turned out he wasn't kneeling before a savage.

"I, Yan Tuliu, have come with the help of the Liangshan stronghold to rescue Your Majesty." A man with a bushy beard and delicate features also knelt down.

I became alert, and hearing breathing beside me, I asked in a low voice without turning my head, "Is that person your biological father?"

The person next to him immediately replied, "His biological father is good, but he's not as close to me as... Xiao Qingshan."

Upon hearing this, I turned and glared at her—suddenly seeing Yan Zhaohong again, the autumn air was crisp and clear, and the little red girl in my eyes was just as before, her delicate features still gorgeous. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, and I felt half relieved.