Why Does Mr. Xie Favor Me? Chapter 53
byChapter 53 Silver Hairpin Ruler
The silver hairpin ruler is plain, and it can’t write the story of a daughter in troubled times.
The main hall of the military camp was temporarily converted into a meeting place for military aircraft.Where the calligraphy and paintings were originally hung, a huge map of the northern border was now hung, with dense cinnabar marks on it.The long desk was piled with secret reports from various places, some of which were stained with snow, and some of which were stained with blood.
Xie Heng stood in front of the map, with his back to everyone, holding a thin pen in his hand, but he didn’t put it down for a long time.His back looked particularly thin in the dim light of the winter morning, and the dazzling white frost on his temples became clearer against the backdrop of his plain clothes.
There were more than twenty people standing in the hall. In addition to generals such as Xiao Jue, Chen Yu, and Yang Lie, there were also the core members of the old Beifu Army who had arrived in the past few days, as well as several scribes who had good reputations in the north.Everyone waited with bated breath. The air was so thick that it could squeeze out water.
After a long time, Xie Heng finally turned around, his face expressionless.He placed the fine pen in his hand on the case, picked up a volume of plain silk that had been written next to it, and slowly unfolded it.
That was an appeal.
There are no gorgeous words, no complicated allusions, just lines of words that speak volumes on the back of the paper.
“Qing the emperor’s side, punishing the traitors and creating peace.”
Xie Heng’s voice rang out, echoing in the silent main hall: “I will weep with blood and bow a hundred times, and tell the world: Since the death of the late emperor, the Holy Lord came to the court, hoping that the sea, Yan, and rivers would be clear, and we would see the days of Yao, Tian, and Shun again. However, the traitors stole the handle and blocked the holy hearing. The Wang family and others,Cliques were formed for personal gain, corruption was rampant, and loyalty was undermined, resulting in chaos in the government and ineffective border preparations.The soldiers in the northern border fought bloody battles, and their five thousand loyal souls were buried in the snow.
Today, the tigers in the north are watching, and the border towns are in danger.The soldiers have no food, the common people have no clothes, the old and the weak end up dying in the ravines, and the strong change their sons to eat.But above the temple, there are still factions fighting among themselves, treating the people’s lives like grass, and hoarding people’s wealth like sand.
The king treats the people like grass and grass, and the people treat the king like a bandit.This is not the disloyalty of the ministers, but actually the king forcing the ministers to rebel, and the officials forcing the people to rebel!
Today, I, Xie Heng, and General Xiao Jue, would like to lead the soldiers in the northern border and raise the army in weeping blood, not for personal gain or wealth.I only wish that the world would be governed by Qingming officials.
All our people in the Southern Dynasties, whether they are scholars, farmers, industrialists or merchants, but who have not lost their blood and have conscience, can all raise the banner of righteousness together.Anyone who helps Zhou to commit cruelty or acts as an aide to a tiger will be punished without mercy!
This heart is clear, and you can learn from the sun and the moon.This ambition will not change until death!”
As the last word fell, there was dead silence in the main hall.Some people’s eyes turned red, some clenched their fists, and some looked at Xie Heng’s white hair on the temples and shed tears.
Xiao Jue stepped forward and stood side by side with Xie Heng.He took the scroll and held it high, “Preach it to the world!”
“Yes!”
Chen Yu, Yang Lie and others knelt down on one knee and agreed in unison, the sound shaking the roof tiles.
On that day, hundreds of copies of the memorandum were sent to all directions.Some took official roads, some took small roads, some mixed into caravans, and some were carried by dead soldiers. They traveled day and night to various states and governments, to aristocratic families, to rivers and lakes, and to… the nine-layered palace.
When Guzang City was still immersed in the silence of the night, the first copy of the memorandum was quietly placed on Wang Yuzong’s desk.
The next day, the proclamation shocked the world.
The atmosphere in Xie’s mansion was extremely oppressive. The servants walked on tiptoes and did not dare to speak loudly. Even the naughtiest little maid became much quieter.Everyone knows that the Xie family’s century-old mansion is standing on the edge of a cliff.
Xie Nanqiao was sitting in the warm pavilion where his mother used to sit during her lifetime, with withered wintersweet outside the window.She held a volume of account books in her hands, but she couldn’t read a single word.
How painful must my brother’s heart be when he writes in his message that the king treats the people like grass and the people treat the king like bandits?The brother who taught her to be loyal and patriotic from an early age, Xie Heng, who swore before her father’s death to honor her family, now wrote the oath of rebellion with her own hands.
The personal maid walked in gently, with a worried look on her face, “Female Master, several old stewards are waiting in the front hall again, saying they have important matters to discuss.”
Xie Nanqiao put down the account book and took a deep breath: “Invite them to the front yard of the ancestral hall.”
“Ancestral hall?” The maid was stunned.
Xie Nanqiao stood up, walked to the dressing table, and opened a black lacquer mother-of-pearl jewelry box.There was no jewelry inside, just a simple bronze seal and an ebony ruler.
She picked up the seal and held it in her palm.The cold and hard touch calmed her chaotic mind a little.She looked in the mirror and straightened her plain dress. She didn’t wear any jewelry, and only tied up her long hair with a white jade hairpin.
“Let’s go.”
The ancestral hall is located on the central axis of Xie’s mansion and is the most solemn and solemn place in the mansion.At this moment, more than twenty people were standing on the Qingshiyuanba in front of the ancestral hall.In addition to the six senior stewards who had served in the Xie Mansion for many years, there were also servant chiefs from each house and courtyard, and even several uncles from the branch also came after hearing the news and stood behind the crowd to watch.
The leader, Steward Sun, was over fifty years old and had been in charge of internal affairs in the Xie Mansion for thirty years. At this moment, he had the usual respect on his face, but there was a trace of imperceptible arrogance in his eyes.He took a step forward, cupped his hands and said: “My dear, the new year is approaching, and the annual accounts of all the villages and shops have been sent in. The old slave is thinking that the young lady is young and may not be familiar with these trivial foreign affairs, so why not…”
“Why not?” Xie Nanqiao interrupted, his voice calm.
Manager Sun paused for a moment and continued: “Why don’t we let the old servants sort through it first, make a rough idea, and then report it to the young master for a decision. There are also farm deeds, land deeds, and house deeds in the warehouse. We should take advantage of the New Year to take stock of them to avoid omissions.”
The words were high-sounding, but the meaning was very clear. They wanted to take over the Xie family’s core industry and accounts.
There was a slight commotion in the crowd, some showed dissatisfaction, some bowed their heads and remained silent, and more people looked at Xie Nanqiao to see how she would respond.
Xie Nanqiao did not answer immediately. She slowly walked to the steps of the main entrance of the ancestral hall and faced everyone.The pale winter sunshine shone on her plain face, and her eyes, which were very similar to Xie Heng’s, were clear and firm at the moment.
“Steward Sun is right,” she said in a low voice, “I am indeed young, not as experienced as you, and not as familiar with external affairs as you are.”
A trace of amusement flashed in Steward Sun’s eyes.But Xie Nanqiao’s next words instantly froze that arousal. She raised the bronze seal in her hand and slowly glanced at everyone present, “My surname is Xie. Before my brother left Guzang, he handed this seal to me and asked me to take care of the family temporarily. This seal is the letter from the head of the Xie family.”
She paused, put the seal back into her sleeve, and picked up the ebony ruler: “Today, anyone who wants to go beyond me and check the core accounts of my Xie family without authorization, or touch the ancestral land deed of my Xie family, is a traitor.”
“According to Article 3 of the “Xie Family Rules”: What should be done with a slave who is in trouble and betrays his master…” Xie Nanqiao’s eyes fell on Steward Sun’s face and asked word by word, “Steward Sun, you have been in my Xie family for thirty years, you should know better than me, right?”
Steward Sun’s face turned pale, and several old stewards behind him also panicked and looked at each other.
Article 3 of the “Xie Family Rules”: A slave who messes with the family will be kicked out with a stick, or sent to the officials for investigation, life or death.
It was deathly silent in front of the ancestral hall, except for the cold wind blowing through the eaves, making a whining sound.
Manager Sun staggered and knelt down, resting his forehead on the cold bluestone: “Old slave…Old slave is confused! Please forgive me, young master!”
As soon as he knelt down, the people behind him knelt down and cheered.
Xie Nanqiao’s hand holding the ruler was covered with cold sweat, but she stood up straight and her voice remained steady: “Everyone, get up. Everything is complicated right now and you all need to work together. I will personally take care of the accounts and land deeds, but I also need your help.Starting from today, all the accounts of the villas and shops will be collected and sent to my office every five days.The deeds of the land and houses will be opened and checked by Manager Sun and Manager You tomorrow, and the records will be made in triplicate, and I, the accountant, and the ancestral hall will each keep one copy.”
She gave instructions clearly and clearly, as if she were the head of the family.
“Do you understand everything?”
“Understood!” Everyone responded in unison, and no one dared to object.
As soon as the internal troubles were suppressed, external difficulties followed one after another.
In the afternoon of the next day, the concierge came to report that the housekeeper of the Langya Wang family had come to visit.
Xie Nanqiao was checking the account books when she heard the words and paused with her pen. “Please come to the main hall and serve tea.” She put down her pen, looked in the mirror and straightened her clothes. She changed into a more formal light green dress with a curly train and a dark jade hairpin in her hair, and then walked slowly towards the main hall.
In the main hall, the housekeeper of the Wang family has been waiting for about an incense stick, with some impatience on his face.Seeing Xie Nanqiao come in, he cupped his hands perfunctorily: “Thank you, madam.”
Xie Nanqiao sat down at the main seat and smiled slightly: “Butler Wang, I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
She motioned to the maid to serve tea, and she slowly began to order tea.His movements were elegant and calm, as if he was not a malicious visitor with ulterior motives, but an ordinary gentleman visiting a friend.
Butler Wang looked at her unhurried movements and frowned more and more.He couldn’t help but say: “I came today because I have a business to discuss with your government.”
Xie Nanqiao raised his eyes and poured water into the teapot in his hand steadily, “Oh? I’d like to hear the details.”
“I heard that your mansion has several farms in the west and north of the city. It must be difficult to take care of them recently.” Butler Wang said with a smile, “My master is kind-hearted and is willing to offer to take over the farm, so that your mansion can lighten some of its burden. The price is naturally fair, at 50% of the market price.”
Fifty percent?That’s a steal!
The maid standing by was so angry that her face turned pale, but Xie Nanqiao’s expression remained unchanged and she continued to brew tea until the tea was fragrant. Then she poured a cup with her own hands and pushed it to Butler Wang: “Steward Wang, please use the tea.”
Butler Wang glanced at the cup of tea and didn’t move: “What do you think?”
Xie Nanqiao then put down the teapot and looked at him calmly: “If I remember correctly, those farms mentioned by Steward Wang are not the private property of the Xie family.”
“It was the third year of Yonghe, and the late emperor gave it to my grandfather.” Xie Nanqiao’s tone was still gentle.
She picked up the tea cup in front of her and blew the tea foam gently: “What Butler Wang did today is to deceive me that the Xie family has no one in charge, and women can be bullied? Or is it to question the late emperor’s unclear rewards and punishments, and that the things given by the emperor can be bought and sold at will?”
Butler Wang’s expression suddenly changed, and he suddenly broke out in cold sweat.
Questioning the late emperor?With this hat on, not to mention him as a housekeeper, the entire Langya Wang family cannot afford it.
“Thank you, thank you, madam!” He stood up hurriedly, the arrogance on his face disappeared, “I…I just heard that your house has been in difficulty recently, and I want to do my best. I have no other intentions! Since it is a gift from the emperor, I naturally dare not make any arbitrary comments! I say goodbye! Say goodbye!”
After saying that, he almost trotted out of the main hall, in a state of embarrassment.
Xie Nanqiao looked at his hurried back and slowly put down the teacup.There was also a layer of cold sweat on the palms of my hands.
The maid on the side breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her with admiration: “You are so amazing!”
Xie Nanqiao shook his head and whispered: “I just used the late emperor’s reputation to temporarily scare Xiaoxiao away. The real difficulty… is still to come.”
She looked out the window at the gloomy sky, and the storm was about to come.
On the fifth day after the message spread throughout the world, the emperor was furious and issued an edict to label Xie Heng and Xiao Jue as traitors, and ordered soldiers and horses from all over the country to attack them.At the same time, the oppression of the Xie family in Guzang City also suddenly escalated.
The next day, before dawn, Xie’s mansion was suddenly surrounded by a large number of forbidden troops. “We have been ordered to search the traitor Xie Heng’s mansion! Everyone in the mansion is not allowed to act rashly! Violators will be shot without mercy!”
A rough roar cut through the silence of dawn, and a heavy knock on the door immediately sounded.
A pot exploded in Xie’s mansion instantly. The servants were running around in panic, the female family members were crying and screaming, and everything was in chaos.
“Why panic!” Xie Nanqiao’s voice sounded in the front yard. She had changed into a neat narrow-sleeved dress, her long hair was tied up high, and she was holding the family head’s seal in her hand. She was standing on the stone steps in the center of the courtyard with a calm expression.
“All men, over sixteen and under fifty, gather in the front yard! The martial arts guardians and the rest are behind! Uncle Cheng, take all the maids and ladies to the backyard, count the inventory materials, and gather them in the ancestral hall warehouse! Mother Zhang, lead people to block the doors and windows of each courtyard with tables and chairs, leaving only the front door, side door and back door passage!”
A series of clear and decisive orders instantly stabilized people’s hearts.Half an hour later, the Xie Mansion was initially organized.
“Young lady, they started knocking on the door!” A servant rushed from the front door to report.
Xie Nanqiao quickly walked to the gatehouse in the front yard and looked out through the crack in the door.I saw the black and dense Forbidden Army had formed a formation, and the wood was hitting the heavy door, and the door latch groaned under the weight.
“Pour boiling oil!” she ordered coldly.
The big pot that had been prepared was carried up to the gatehouse, and the hot oil poured down.A shrill scream suddenly sounded outside the door, and the momentum of banging on the door stalled.
But the imperial army was obviously well prepared, and soon the shield men came forward to cover, and the archers began to throw arrows at the gate tower.
“Lower your head! Raise your shield!”
The simple wooden shield prepared by the Xie Mansion was raised, but some people were still injured by arrows.Screams sounded from the gatehouse.
Xie Nanqiao gritted his teeth and bent the bow and arrow himself.This is what her elder brother taught her when she was a child, saying that for the children of the Xie family, literary masters can bring peace to the world with their pens, and martial arts masters can draw the bow and regulate the world.She held her breath and aimed at the commanding officer below.
The arrow left the string and hit the gap in the officer’s shoulder armor.Although it was not fatal, it left the opponent in disarray.
“Good archery skills!” The servants cheered up.
But the disparity in strength cannot be made up after all. The Forbidden Army has a total of five hundred people and is well-equipped, while the Xie Mansion only has a hundred capable warriors, and their weapons are only ordinary swords and sticks.Soon the side door was opened through a gap, and several forbidden soldiers squeezed in.
“Block it!” The servant and his men resisted desperately, and the two sides started a bloody hand-to-hand battle in the narrow doorway.
At this critical moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the house.
A team of about two hundred people came out from the street corner and rushed straight to the flank of the Forbidden Army.Those people wore variegated clothes and did not look like officers and soldiers, but they were all strong and brave.The leader was a capable young man, holding two swords and charging forward.
“Xu Da Sinong’s people are here!” Someone on the gate tower shouted in surprise.
Xie Nanqiao was shocked and tightened the bow in his hand.With these two hundred people from the Xu family, the offensive of the Forbidden Army was temporarily contained.But the deputy commander obviously refused to give up, and quickly mobilized more troops to surround the Xie Mansion and the Xu family.
The fighting lasted from early morning to dusk.The bluestone slab in the front yard of Xie Mansion was stained red with blood, and the arrows on the gate tower were like locusts.The weapons stored in the government were quickly exhausted, and casualties were increasing.
At nightfall, the imperial troops temporarily retreated and recamped outside the mansion, apparently intending to besiege him.
The main hall of Xie’s mansion was temporarily converted into a place for treating injuries. The injured lay on the floor, moaning endlessly.Xie Nanqiao bandaged a young servant who had an arrow in his abdomen.Her hands were steady, but her eyes could not hide her fatigue.
The servant looked at her and said in a weak voice, “Can we…can hold on?”
Xie Nanqiao paused in the bandaging action, then raised his head, looked out at the dark night outside the hall, and said word by word: “Yes.”
She stood up, walked to the courtyard, and said loudly to everyone who could still stand: “My brother is in the north, fighting for the injustice of the world. I am here to protect this family for him! The Xie family is here, and the character of the Xie family is there! Tonight, I will live and die with you all!”
Her voice was clear and firm, carried in the bloody night wind.
The tired people raised their heads and looked at the girl standing in the middle of the courtyard covered in blood but with a straight spine, and the fire was rekindled in their eyes.
That night, Xu Shuhuai took Shi Meng and others and sneaked into Xie’s mansion through a secret passage that only he knew.
The two met in a side hall of the ancestral hall full of wounded people. Xu Shuhuai was also injured. His left arm was wrapped in a bandage and his face had traces of smoke.
“How did you…” Xie Nanqiao wanted to ask, but didn’t know where to start.
Xu Shuhuai’s eyes fell on her blood-stained sleeves, “Are you injured?”
“The skin injury is fine.” Xie Nanqiao shook his head and asked eagerly, “How is the situation outside?”
“The Forbidden Army has increased its troops, and now there are at least a thousand people. The Wang family has also mobilized private soldiers.” Xu Shuhuai looked solemn, “We can last three days at most.”
He paused and lowered his voice: “I have received news that His Majesty has issued a secret order to arrest all family members of officials related to Xie and Xiao. I’m afraid… it will be the Xu family’s turn soon.”
Xie Nanqiao’s heart sank.At this moment, a Xu family guard hurried in with a pale face and a blood-stained letter in his hand: “…The master and his wife were arrested and now…have been imprisoned!”
Xu Shuhuai shook his body and grabbed the letter.The letter was in his mother’s handwriting and contained only one line: “Do the right thing and leave us alone.”
The handwriting was scrawled, obviously written in a hurry, and the last bit of ink was blurred, like a dry tear.
Xu Shuhuai stared at the words and did not move for a long time.He slowly folded the letter and put it into his arms. When he raised his head again, all the hesitation and struggle in his eyes had disappeared, leaving only determination.
He looked at Xie Nanqiao and said in a hoarse voice: “Do the right thing.”
Xie Nanqiao’s eyes were red. She reached out to hold his cold hand and nodded vigorously: “Okay.”
That night, no one in Xie’s house slept. Xie Nanqiao inspected every defense line again, changed dressings for the injured, and counted the remaining supplies.Xu Shuhuai led Shi Meng and others to strengthen defenses, set up traps, and turned every lane and courtyard into a battlefield.
At the darkest moment before dawn, Xie Nanqiao climbed to the highest gate tower alone.There is already a faint line of white in the eastern sky, and the campfires of the Forbidden Army outside the mansion are dotted like wolves besieging an isolated city.
She picked up her pen and wrote two lines of large characters on the wooden pillars inside the gatehouse: “My brother rebels for the world——”
A sharp stroke of pen penetrates the wood grain:
“I will guard this courtyard so that Xie’s courtyard will burn brightly.”
The handwriting is beautiful, but it has its own strong character.
The morning light first appeared, shining on those two lines of words and also on Xie Nanqiao’s straight back.
This ray of light struggled to squeeze through the narrow high window, folded into the deep corridor, and finally collapsed weakly on the cold ground of the death row cell.
Where the light and shadow separate, Xu’s mother is sitting against the cold stone wall. She is only wearing the thin clothes she wore when she was imprisoned. Her lips are purple from the cold, but her expression is unusually calm.
Xu’s father was imprisoned next door. He was severely tortured the day before and fell into a coma.The jailer obeyed the Wang family’s orders and refused to treat him at all.
The iron chain of the cell door rang, and a jailer came in with half a bowl of sour porridge and threw it on the ground: “Eat it, you Xu family has been rich for half your life, you should also have a taste of this pig food.”
Xu’s mother didn’t look at the bowl of porridge. She just raised her eyes and looked at the jailer. Although her voice was weak, she said clearly: “Master, can you do me a favor and give me a piece of charcoal and half a piece of paper?”
The jailer sneered: “You still want to write a letter? What a dream!”
Xu’s mother said slowly, “This silver hairpin on my head should be worth a few bucks. Master Cha took it to get a drink. All I want is some charcoal scraps of paper so that I can…leave a message to my son.”
The jailer glanced at the simple silver hairpin in her hair. It was of good quality and worth one or two taels of silver.He hesitated for a moment, but in the end greed took over and muttered: “Wait.”
After a while, he brought a small piece of leftover charcoal and a palm-sized piece of torn paper.
Xu’s mother took it, her hands trembling slightly. She used the faint light in the corridor outside the cell to write the words on the torn paper with difficulty:
“The lintel of the Xu family is not made of tiles, but broken jade. My son, please remember that you would rather burn your body for the sake of the people of the world than out of personal filial piety.”
After she finished writing, she carefully folded it and handed it to the jailer: “Please, sir, find a way to deliver it to my son Xu Shuhuai.
The jailer collected the silver hairpin, stuffed the paper into his arms, gave a vague response, turned around and walked to a place where she could not see, and threw the paper into the brazier and turned it into ashes.
Xu’s mother leaned against the wall and slowly closed her eyes.She knew that this letter would probably not be delivered to Shuhuai.
But she still has to write.
The child Shuhuai has had ideas since he was a child, but he also values feelings.She was afraid that in order to save his parents, he would make a wrong choice or fall into unnecessary guilt.
“Do the right thing.”
This is the last and only support she can give her son as a mother.
There were faint cries outside the cell, and it was unknown which family members were dragged in.In this dark prison, life and death are staged every moment.
Xu’s mother clenched her cold hands and prayed silently in her heart:
May my son be safe.
May there be fewer thorns on the road he chooses.
May this turbid world finally become clear one day.
A tear slipped silently down her pale and thin cheek, falling into the dirty straw beneath her body and disappearing without a trace.
Thousands of miles away in the north, the beacon fire is already burning and the war drums are about to beat.The new era is tearing open the curtain of the old world in the most tragic way and roaring towards us.