A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 26.2

Guan Ren’s pupils contracted, and his eyes were bloodshot with fury. “An explanation? Chen Yuanqing and the Chief were sworn brothers of the same master, but didn’t he turn against the Chief for that damn Emperor? Do you wait for him to come and give us justice? All these years, he has aided the tyrant, stabilizing his kingdom, when has he ever spared a moment to think of us? Is the scar on the Chief’s face not enough to wake you up? When has he ever shown mercy to his former brother? Now he is a Marquis, and we are bandits. There is a world of difference between us. How can he care about our justice?”

The two guards could not hold out. The woodshed door exploded, shattering into pieces on the ground.

The ghouls surrounded Chen Liangyu and Zhai Ji in the small woodshed.

A-Yin arrived, running and out of breath. She grabbed Guan Ren’s arm, panting, “Uncle Guan, stop quickly! There is no more medicine. The mountain is full of soldiers, and we can’t get supplies up here. If you don’t stop, they will die! Uncle Guan!”

Guan Ren was reluctant to let go of this chance to kill them, but after A-Yin’s plea, he actually showed some restraint and ordered the ghouls to cease their attack.

Chen Liangyu shielded Zhai Ji behind her and faced Guan Ren. “How exactly did they become like this? And what does it have to do with my father?”

Guan Ren scoffed, his eyes blazing with hatred.

“How do you think Xie Lin ascended the throne? During the Chaos of the Five Princes, he failed to seize the throne quickly, so he had that dog Xun Xian find a drug and a book of arcane arts from a medicinal manor in Liangxi City. He captured hundreds of children for experimentation. Those who couldn’t endure and died were taken away and burned. Those who survived were turned into monsters who only listen to orders to kill. He assassinated Prince Fengde, who was ahead of him, and the throne fell into his hands! I was fighting for him on the front lines, but my own child was captured, tortured, and died! Tell me, what justice is there in this world?”

“The crematory! The bones of hundreds of children were incinerated into ash in the crematory! When Marshal Lin rushed there to save the people, Chen Yuanqing blocked the road and intercepted him. Now, his descendants come to exterminate us bandits in the name of righteousness. I ask you, if we could have a steady meal and three feet of space to live, who would willingly hide in this deep mountain forest as a bandit? If there truly were justice in this world, would a scoundrel like Xie Lin become the ruler of this land?”

Zhai Ji shrank back behind Chen Liangyu, grabbing her hair braid like a child. “Your Central Lin really has… great national prestige.”

He then realized his life was still in someone else’s hands and quickly shut his mouth.

“Retreat!”

Guan Ren gave the order. The ghouls obediently stepped back, and with a leap and a bound, they vanished, hiding from sight.

However, Guan Ren pulled down his hood, and the handle of the long saber in his hand rubbed against his palm, making a creaking sound.

He intended to kill her and Zhai Ji himself.

Chen Liangyu prepared for a fight. Then come on. Let’s see if you have the ability to kill me.

“Guan Ren, stop!”

Lin Jianshu strode in through the doorway. Unlike when Chen Liangyu last saw him, the look in his eyes now lacked its former benevolence, instead revealing disappointment.

A person trailed behind him.

That person walked forward step by step, his skinny frame somewhat shrinking beneath his cloak.

“Second Brother?”

It was Chen Luan. The Second Brother whom Uncle Guan had brought back and raised in the second residence.

Why did Father send him here? With his frail body, he’d struggle to kill a chicken; how could he be expected to kill a bandit?

“I told you long ago, Chen Yuanqing wouldn’t come.”

Guan Ren sneered. His thick, black palm pressed down on Chen Luan’s weak shoulder. With a forceful grip, Chen Luan’s brows twisted in pain. He hunched over and tried desperately to lower his body, but the iron hand seemed welded to his shoulder, showing no sign of letting go. It felt as if one could hear the sound of his joint dislocating.

“Boy, Chen Yuanqing sent you here to die, and you actually dared to come.”

“I… I want to save my sister!” Under the bone-crushing pain, sweat poured down Chen Luan’s face.

“Fine, you can die here with her.”

“Guan Ren,” Lin Jianshu interjected.

Guan Ren ignored him, until A-Yin ran back into the farmhouse from outside. “Uncle Guan, we have medicine! He brought a lot of medicine, and the quality is better than what we use.”

Guan Ren’s expression softened slightly. His large hand, which had been pressing on Chen Luan’s slumped shoulder, suddenly yanked him upwards. Chen Luan was forced to stand upright.

Lin Jianshu’s meaningful gaze drifted from Chen Liangyu’s face to Zhai Ji’s.

Zhai Ji was terrified and tugged at Chen Liangyu. “You might not be able to defeat this man. If you can’t win, admit defeat.”

“You… siblings, have very similar temperaments.”

Lin Jianshu stared blankly at Chen Luan and said as much.

“You and my father are also very similar.”

An uneasy premonition arose in Chen Liangyu’s heart. Lin Jianshu probably intended to use Chen Liangyu to force Chen Yuanqing to come and clarify the twenty-year-old incident. Chen Yuanqing had not come as hoped.

He had already realized that the truth of this matter would never see the light of day.

Zhai Ji was making noise again behind her. “I told you to admit defeat, not to acknowledge him as your father.”

No one paid him any attention.

Lin Jianshu grabbed the arm that Guan Ren had dislocated and fixed it with a crack.

His gaze lingered on Chen Luan’s face for a moment. He reached out his hand and then lowered it, finally just lightly patting his shoulder before leaving, taking Guan Ren with him.

How could the Son of Heaven, a Divine Sage, be a tyrant who harms his own people? If a ruler loses his virtue before the world, his authority will be difficult to uphold, and if those in power are scorned by the people, the realm will immediately fall into another abyss of war and suffering.

They were all afraid of the chaos during the Rebellion of the Five Princes, the time of both internal strife and external threat.

Therefore, this matter had to be kept secret, concealed from the masses, and they would quietly wait for those who knew the truth to die. After that, this unsavory past would eventually be buried in the rolling dust of history.

“General Lin!”

Lin Jianshu did not stop walking.

Only the two guards and A-Yin remained in the farmhouse, watching over her and Zhai Ji. Oh, no, now Chen Luan had been added to the group.

The three of them huddled in the doorless woodshed, and Chen Liangyu was muttering to herself. I was the only one captured before; now there are two more. From now on, Big Brother will be the only one left in the family. If Big Sister-in-law never gets pregnant, well, that’s the end of the line!

Chen Liangyu asked, “How did you end up here?”

Chen Luan replied, “Father gave me a letter and told me to present it to the bandit leader in person.”

“What was written in the letter?”

“I don’t know.”

“What was General Lin’s reaction after reading the letter?”

“The bandit leader didn’t read it.”

“Didn’t read it?”

Chen Luan nodded. “He just kept looking at me, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time, I don’t know why.”

“Did he ask you anything?”

Chen Luan shook his head. “He didn’t ask anything. He just brought me here.” As he spoke, he involuntarily moved his shoulder, rubbing it a few times; the pain still lingered.

The woodshed fell into silence.

Chen Liangyu picked up a piece of firewood on the ground and began drawing and writing.

If we could have a steady meal and three feet of space to live, who would willingly hide in this deep mountain forest as a bandit?

Guan Ren’s words enlightened her.

“The small bandit nests we previously wiped out were mostly displaced people,” Chen Liangyu said while drawing. “The Western Ridge is mostly barren mountains, but the place we escaped from has cultivated land.”

The large expanse of farmland at the edge of the forest had plump green sprouts.

Zhai Ji immediately understood what she meant and said excitedly, “Reclamation? If we drive the bandits away now, they will still have no means of living and will eventually go back to being bandits. This cycle will repeat endlessly.”

Chen Liangyu said, “What if we gave them the land? The land belongs to whoever cultivates it, giving them their own livelihood. The Crown Prince is implementing a new tax system. Newly reclaimed farmland, like private land, will have a tax reduction, no, a tax exemption for three years…”

Zhai Ji added, “Then, under the name of the Imperial Court, we lend them the first year’s seeds without charging interest. After one year, they can repay the court’s grain and seed. With land to cultivate, they will have surplus grain in two or three years.”

He spoke with great enthusiasm, appearing even more excited than Chen Liangyu.

Chen Liangyu said, “Why are you so worked up? The reclaimed land won’t belong to your North Yong.”

Zhai Ji scoffed at her and sat back down on his plank bed. “The conflict between two nations does not extend to the common people. I am happy when the people have food to eat.”