Yang Xiaohai

"Clang—" The trembling gong sound traveled far into the distance. The back door of the kitchen was suddenly pushed open, and Yang Xiaohai, still pulling up his pants, hurriedly rushed toward the direction of the sound.

The prolonged gong soon drew everyone in Niuxin Village. By the time Yang Xiaohai arrived, he saw that in front of the orderly convoy, a group of eunuchs were carrying various things into the village.

Among them were live pigs, sheep, and cattle, bolts of silk and satin, and stacks upon stacks of gold and silver.

Seeing this, the other villagers gasped in amazement, their discussions growing heated.

"Did I hear that right? The emperor gave all this to us?"

"It's not for us—it's for that Taoist master's household."

"Good heavens, so Gouwa wasn't just bragging after all? The emperor really is his senior brother? Then that means we're connected to the emperor too, right?"

"What's going on? What happened?"

Yang Xiaohai craned his neck and squeezed through the crowd just in time to see his Senior Brother Li speaking to an old eunuch holding a golden horsetail whisk. "Go back and tell Gao Zhijian he doesn't need to worry about Niuxin Village. I'm here. Everything is fine. Besides, Niuxin Village isn't poor."

"Instead of sending all this stuff, he'd do better to learn how to be a proper emperor."

"If the emperor of Liang is a good emperor, then it's not just Niuxin Village—the lives of all the common people under heaven will be better."

"Yes, this servant understands. When I return, I will report this to His Majesty." The old eunuch, his face powdered white, bowed respectfully to Li Huowang.

When the old eunuch noticed Yang Xiaohai looking at him, he excused himself to Li Huowang, tucked his whisk under his arm, and walked over.

"Child, you are Yang Xiaohai, aren't you?" Seeing the eunuch's deliberately kind smile, Yang Xiaohai nodded blankly.

Glancing at the lively crowd around them, the old eunuch continued, "It's crowded and loud here. Let's find somewhere to talk. It's about your parents."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaohai's mind went blank. A sudden fear surged in his heart, as if he didn't dare to face it.

"Come." The pear-faced woman caught up from behind, took his hand, and followed the departing eunuch.

The New Year had just passed, and the fields were still frozen solid. Standing between the ridges, the old eunuch silently stopped, pulled a piece of paper from his chest, and handed it over. "Here. Read it yourself."

Yang Xiaohai took the paper with trembling hands. After hesitating for a moment, he shakily held it back out to the eunuch. "Your Excellency, would you mind reading it for me? I'm... I'm afraid to look."

"Ah, what's there to be afraid of?" The old eunuch extended his right hand, its long fingernails prominent, took back the paper, and began to read.

"The letter says that your father and mother are not from Liang. They are from Later Shu. That's why it took so long to investigate. Going back three generations, your family were all Dan-min."

"Your Excellency, what is a Dan-min?"

"Dan-min are people who live on the sea and own no land. The women dive for pearls, the men cast nets to fish. You understand now?"

"I... I understand." Yang Xiaohai nodded vaguely.

"Then how did my parents lose me?" As soon as he finished speaking, the woman beside him gently supported his right arm.

The old eunuch glanced at Yang Xiaohai, then at the letter in his hand. "In the years you were born, there weren't many fish or pearls in the sea. Your father couldn't afford to raise you, so he sold you."

Yang Xiaohai's face turned deathly pale. If the woman hadn't been holding him up, he would have collapsed. "Your Excellency... is that it? They just... sold me?"

In all this time, he had imagined all sorts of possibilities, but he never expected the truth to be so simple. So brutally simple.

"What else could it be? Your family had nine children. When you can't raise them all, selling one is normal. In my own family, we couldn't make ends meet either, so I was castrated and sent to the palace to be a eunuch." As he spoke, the old eunuch stuffed the paper into Yang Xiaohai's chest.

"Because she spent so long diving for pearls underwater, your mother went deaf and her body is weak. She probably doesn't have many years left. Your father is still out at sea fishing. Of your nine brothers and sisters, two were sold, three died young, and four remain. Half a year ago, your eldest brother went out fishing and never came back. They are all Dan-min."

"Which sea they fish and dive for pearls in is written on the paper. If you want to find them, find someone literate to read it to you. This servant has other business to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

With that, the old eunuch turned and left with his golden whisk, leaving only Yang Xiaohai and the woman standing between the field ridges.

Yang Xiaohai pulled out the paper and stared at it intently, even though he couldn't recognize many of the characters.

After a long while, he folded the paper neatly and tucked it back into his chest.

He looked up at the woman and forced a sheepish smile. "See? I thought I was the descendant of some great figure, like Senior Brother Gao. Turns out I was just... sold."

He turned around and started walking back toward Niuxin Village.

But the woman grabbed him from behind. "Don't hold it in. If you want to cry, just cry. There's nothing wrong with it."

The moment she said this, Yang Xiaohai crouched down and burst into bitter, wailing sobs.

In the eyes of the other senior and junior brothers, Yang Xiaohai had always been mature and sensible. But Yang Xiaohai himself had never wanted to be that sensible.

It was just that, aside from this woman, no one else had ever noticed.

The woman held him, gently patting his back in silent comfort.

Yang Xiaohai cried for a long time before finally standing up again. He took the woman's hand and walked back toward Niuxin Village.

"Hey, Xiaohai! Where did you go? Look at this—these sheep are so fat! Let's roast one tonight!"

"I've never been able to forget that roast lamb we had in Qingqiu. Roasting it over a fire tastes incredible!"

"Sounds good, Brother Cao! With so many people, one sheep won't be enough. We'll have to roast several."

Putting on a smile just like everyone else, Yang Xiaohai walked into the kitchen and pulled out his butchering tools.

He set up the whetstone and began sharpening his blade in quick, rhythmic strokes when suddenly his finger slipped against the edge, cutting deep into the flesh. Blood gushed out.

"What happened? Don't move. I'll go find some wound medicine." Just as the woman was about to run to the kitchen, Yang Xiaohai, clutching his bleeding finger, spoke a single sentence that made her stop.

"I want to go see them. See my family."

Looking at the firm determination in Yang Xiaohai's eyes, the woman nodded gently. "Alright. Wherever you go, I go."

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Next chapter update at 23:30.