The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 75
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 75
No sound could be heard.
Only silence lingered.
Only the sound of silk hangings fluttering in the wind could be heard.
Even the quiet murmuring of guests that had been flowing across the floor was no longer audible.
‘The Rebel King.’
That name alone made everyone tremble.
The events in Guizhou had imprinted one clear thing on the people of the Central Plains.
‘The Imperial Court is not dead yet.’
Who had called the Imperial Guards a ragtag bunch?
Those who had commanded private soldiers and built their own power hastily covered their tracks and bowed low.
Court orders that had been delayed time and again proceeded swiftly at the mere mention of the Crown Prince’s arrival.
Thus, the Leiwei.
The group that dared to follow only the Crown Prince even over the Emperor had even earned a name.
Their scale had grown larger and larger to reach this point.
And yet the Crown Prince, who had been wandering the frontiers, returned and spoke of the Rebel King?
“…Spare us, please spare us.”
Without anyone taking the lead, the people who had been bowing and watching for signs knelt and pressed their heads down.
They were people based in Jinan. If word spread wrongly, Shandong would become a sea of blood.
What floated in their minds was the disaster in Guizhou that they had only heard about in rumors.
“That’s not true.”
“Not true?”
“Yes.”
Even the Household Head and family members of the Huangbo Family, who had maintained their dignity while bowing before the Crown Prince, were shaken, but only Xie Baowei stood without wavering.
His eyes looked directly at the Crown Prince.
“So the rumors say.”
“Didn’t you see it yourself?”
Suppressing a bit of anger, Xie Baowei spoke as if spitting out the words.
The Crown Prince nodded.
“I saw it myself.”
Though he had not personally taken up a sword, he had been present at every battlefield.
He had confirmed with his own eyes the orders he had given with his own mouth.
When he said kill, they died; when he said sweep away, they were swept away.
He had said to kill everyone related to the Rebel King,
and they all died.
“Then why do you speak such nonsense?”
“How dare you.”
Shing.
As soon as Xie Baowei finished speaking, a sword was drawn and touched his neck.
It was the captain who stood on the right among the two people closest to the Crown Prince.
Yet Xie Baowei did not look back at him.
The Crown Prince met Xie Baowei’s eyes and then turned his head.
“Is that the child?”
At the end of his gaze stood Yingying.
Like Xie Baowei and Huangbo Lüli, a beautifully dressed girl stood quietly in one corner of the banquet hall.
The Huangbo Family children were blocking in front of the girl, but she couldn’t help but stand out.
Not because of her exotic appearance that was clearly noticeable despite her young age, but because of the look in her eyes as she held her head high and gazed at the Crown Prince.
“…She resembles him.”
The Crown Prince’s lips curved upward again.
Looking back and forth between Xie Baowei and the child, he commanded the child.
“Come closer.”
“Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince raised his hand to stop Xie Baowei from stepping forward.
His neck was scratched by the well-sharpened blade, and drops of blood formed.
The children tried not to let her through, but Yingying managed to slip between them.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the child.
The child walked with dignity nonetheless and knelt before the Crown Prince.
“I am Yingying from Anshun in Guizhou.”
Once again, it was a time of suffocating silence.
Guizhou…, Anshun…
…The Li clan
A strange light appeared in the Crown Prince’s eyes as well.
“Hmm.”
His head turned back.
“Guard Captain Fang. Were there any of the Rebel Li’s bloodline that we missed?”
Though his tone was calm, the listeners’ reactions were different.
A faint tension flowed, and the person called Guard Captain Fang approached and whispered in the eunuch’s ear.
Eunuch Zhao Guang approached and stood beside the Crown Prince.
“It was handled perfectly. We exterminated nine generations and burned the surrounding area, leaving no remnants. We confirmed it twice and thrice.
“That’s right. I saw that myself.”
The Crown Prince scratched his chin. The rough texture was irritating.
“Who is your father?”
“His name is Ying.”
“What was his occupation?”
“I don’t know exactly since I’m young, but he would leave in the morning with a pickaxe and return late at night with a blackened face.”
“Your mother?”
“She was called Aine. However, in the village she was known as Huaying.”
Similar people at a similar time.
That could be possible.
It wasn’t impossible in the vast Central Plains.
But in the same space, the same place?
It was incomprehensible.
“Do you know the names Lee Hamin and Hualan?”
“I know Aunt Hualan.”
“How do you know her?”
“…When my mother died and my father was taken away, Aunt helped me leave Anshun.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. She only said one thing.”
“What did she say?”
“People may see your mother and me as rivals, but I regarded your mother as an older sister. Her burning red hair reminded me of my family.”
Yingying spoke without hesitation.
The Crown Prince looked at the child with his mouth slightly open, as if momentarily impressed.
The child looked straight into his eyes.
In those eyes was neither fear nor anger, only an inexplicable turbulence.
The Crown Prince asked.
“How old are you?”
“My birthday passed recently, so I’m six.”
“Quite clever. But aren’t you afraid of me? Or perhaps angry?”
Curiosity must be satisfied.
The Crown Prince asked as if genuinely curious.
It was an unusually clear question for someone who held the girl’s life and death in his hands.
Nevertheless, the girl answered calmly.
“Yes.”
“Why is that?”
“My parents’ death is not Your Highness’s fault, so I’m not angry…”
The girl’s eyes briefly turned toward Xie Baowei and Huangbo Lüli before returning.
“I’ve done nothing wrong in my life, so I’m not afraid.”
Haha.
The Crown Prince laughed clearly. Without any pretense or exaggeration.
It was a truly clear laugh.
He asked again while keeping his smile.
“Then what is contained in those eyes that look at me?”
“…Weariness.”
“Weariness?”
“Yes. What more can I do about this damn situation that isn’t even my fault? If I have any wish, it’s only to cast off the dirty greed that has stained me. So please, end this quickly.”
Ha.
The Crown Prince lost his words for a moment, glared briefly at Xie Baowei for that choice of words, pondered something again, fell silent, and finally opened his mouth.
He no longer smiled. No, he couldn’t.
“Don’t you feel wronged?”
“I do feel wronged.”
“Don’t you resent anyone?”
“…No.”
“Why not?”
This time the girl briefly forgot her words.
Her large eyes closed, reminisced, welled up, gazed, and resolved.
The silence wasn’t long.
“Because I learned what it means to be loved, learned that I deserve to be loved, and learned what love is.”
“Huh… Better than adults.”
Truly a clever child.
How wonderful it would be if his own son grew up like this.
The Crown Prince scratched his cheek again. It was no longer rough.
He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Xie Baowei with an awkward expression.
“The child has grown well. Your wife taught her well.”
“…I raised her with my own hands.”
“You probably taught her words like ‘damn’ too.”
The Crown Prince said this and chuckled.
He nodded his head, turned his back, and mounted his horse again.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall became considerably lighter.
The crisis seemed to be over.
At this rate, the family’s prestige would soar greatly.
However.
“I’m sorry, Wei. The child must die.”
“Your Highness!”
The Crown Prince said while looking up at the sky.
One of the guards drew his sword and approached the child.
Yingying looked at Xie Baowei one last time and tightly closed her eyes.
Xie Baowei stepped forward again.
A long line of blood was drawn across his neck.
“It’s already finished!”
The Crown Prince looked down at him with a smile. His eyes were sad.
“We made peace in the heart of the Northern Barbarians’ territory.”
“It is Your Highness’s grace.”
“Hmph. We were just about to thrust a blade into their hearts. But now, it seems Annam and Mian are causing trouble. They must think Yunnan and Guizhou are poorly defended after the recent chaos.”
“…Your Highness.”
Xie Baowei gripped the Cheongeum Spear tightly.
The Crown Prince spoke as if spitting out the words.
It was an ominous voice.
“I’m leaving for Sichuan again. I’ll probably stay in the south.”
The Crown Prince’s eyes were cold when he looked again.
Xie Baowei was at a loss for words.
Sichuan… Guizhou… the south…
…Yibin.
Chenggu!
“I thought it was over. But it continues, doesn’t it?”
They say the Crown Prince’s ears and eyes pierce a thousand li.
He truly sees far and hears wide.
Xie Baowei frowned deeply.
“She’s just one child. An innocent one at that.”
“If that one child is a symbol, then it becomes a problem. Didn’t I tell you? Sometimes, being born itself can be a sin.”
-Ah. I survived in the end. That’s when I realized it. Heaven wants to keep me alive. I have received Heaven’s will. I was born to stand above others! So you see. Sometimes, just being born can be a sin.
This was when he was just treating Xie Baowei like some insolent officer.
There was a time when Xie Baowei’s unit saved him after he was abandoned in the middle of enemy territory, and they wandered through hostile lands.
They took turns carrying him on their backs through hundreds of li all night long as he suffered from a broken leg and fever.
They abandoned the dead and lost even the living.
The Crown Prince struggled desperately to survive until the end, and Xie Baowei never gave up on him.
One day, while being carried on his back, he cried while talking about his half-brother, the youngest.
Xie Baowei just thought he was a selfish madman who had grown up pampered.
“You cried when you said those words.”
“Have you gone mad? I was hungry then, but I didn’t know I was that out of my mind.”
“Damn it! If this rebellion could be ended by killing one child, it never would have started in the first place!”
“Rather than killing all the people of Shandong because we can’t kill one child, wouldn’t one child be better?”
Damn it!
Xie Baowei shouted again.
His eyes blazed like fire.
“Then please show mercy for the price of the life I saved.”
“I’m already paying you a generous salary. Plus I’m giving you this much leave. Do you see the looks in these people’s eyes around me? They all hate you. What do you think that’s all about?”
“Is that compensation?”
“To me, it’s quite significant.”
“Only to Your Highness.”
“Then what more do you need?”
Damn it!
He truly is insane. This was why he had left.
He suddenly understood the guards’ looks. They must be sick to their stomachs seeing someone playing around while they suffer like dogs.
Xie Baowei squeezed his eyes shut and let out a long sigh.
His eyes alternated between looking at Huangbo Lüli and Yingying.
Haah…
Thud!
The Cheongeum Spear shot up toward the sky, then was planted in the ground.
Three soldiers flew over and thrust their swords forward.
“…Li.”
How could he find love like this.
Xie Baowei thought.
It was Lüli who painted color onto his fleeting life.
It was Lüli who clothed him with dreams.
It was Lüli who brought him happiness.
So this was purely for loving her completely.
“I’m sorry.”
Xie Baowei walked steadily with bare hands and stood beside Yingying.
The child looked at Xie Baowei with trembling eyes.
He smiled gently at the girl, then turned his head and spoke in a firm voice.
“You’ll have to kill me first.”
If he abandoned Yingying now, he felt he would lose himself forever.
Could he smile at Lüli as a coward?
“Ha. You think I won’t kill you?”
“I know well enough that you’re twisted enough to actually kill me.”
Xie Baowei stood protecting the child.
While his eyes scanned the gaps in the banquet hall,
Lüli, who had been glaring at Xie Baowei, walked steadily and stood beside him.
“How could a wife not follow the path her husband takes?”
“…Li.”
“You will never make decisions alone again.”
Lüli’s elbow dug into his ribs.
A sharp pain pierced to the bone.
He would never do that again. This was when Xie Baowei made his resolution.
“The Hwangbo do not make the same mistake twice.”
Hwangbo Yeonhwi stood in front of Lüli and Xie Baowei.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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