gnovel Chapter 256 The Human Touch: This is the Real Qin Mu
Chapter 256 The Human Touch: This is the Real Qin Mu
In the center of the square, a crowd gathered, and cheers and applause could be heard from time to time.
Qin Mu pulled her through the crowd.
Inside, a variety show troupe was performing.
A little girl in a red dress is stacking herself up like a human pyramid.
She stood on the shoulders of a strong man, and another little girl climbed up and stood on her shoulders.
Layer upon layer.
There were five layers stacked on top of each other.
The little girl at the very top, only seven or eight years old, had two pigtails and a nervous yet excited smile on her face.
At the highest point, she slowly opened her arms.
Stand on one leg.
The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Qin Mu also clapped and cheered loudly.
"good!"
His voice blended into the crowd, so ordinary, so commonplace.
Looking at his absorbed expression, Xu Fenghua felt an even stronger sense of absurdity.
After the performance, the little girls jumped down, holding gongs and asking the audience for tips.
Qin Mu took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and threw it into the gong with a "clang".
That silver ingot weighed a full two taels.
That's enough for this circus troupe to earn for half a month.
The little girl's eyes lit up, and she bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude.
Qin Mu smiled and waved his hand, then pulled Xu Fenghua out of the crowd.
……
After leaving the square, Qin Mu took her to a teahouse.
The teahouse was small, with a faded signboard hanging at the entrance that read "Tingyuxuan" (Listening to the Rain Pavilion).
Stepping into the teahouse, the light was dim, and the air was filled with the aroma of tea and a faint scent of sandalwood.
In the very center, there was a small stage.
On the stage, a storyteller dressed in a long gown is holding a gavel and vividly recounting something.
Below the stage, seven or eight tea drinkers sat scattered about, listening to the story while drinking tea.
Qin Mu led Xu Fenghua to a corner where they sat down.
The waiter quickly brought over two cups of tea and a dish of peanuts.
Qin Mu picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
The gaze fell upon the stage.
The storyteller is telling the tale of a chivalrous knight-errant.
When he got to the most exciting part of his story, he struck the gavel with a resounding thud.
"Then came the swordsman, alone with his sword, who charged into the enemy ranks! A flash of sword light, and the enemy general's head fell to the ground!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but clap his hands and cheer.
"good!"
His voice echoed in the teahouse, attracting the attention of several tea drinkers.
But he was completely oblivious, his eyes fixed intently on the stage, his gaze filled with excitement.
Xu Fenghua sat down next to him, looking at him like this.
The complex emotions in my heart were so intense that they were almost overflowing.
She suddenly realized that she had never truly known this man.
She thought he was a high and mighty emperor, untouched by worldly concerns.
Yet he could navigate the streets with ease, chatting and laughing with the vendors and laborers.
She thought he was a cold-blooded tyrant who only knew how to use power and force to oppress people.
But he would cheer loudly for a variety show and applaud for a storyteller.
She thought he was an unfathomable chess player, with every move concealing a scheme.
But his smile at that moment was so real, so pure.
Which one is the real him?
This is what it says——
All of them?
Xu Fenghua didn't know.
All she knew was that sitting here, watching his absorbed expression, the deep-seated hatred in her heart seemed to have softened slightly.
The loosening was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible.
But it does exist.
Like a block of solid ice, a tiny crack has appeared at its deepest point.
……
After telling a story, the storyteller would take a short break.
The tea drinkers in the teahouse began to whisper among themselves.
Xu Fenghua pricked up her ears to listen to their conversation.
They were chatting about everyday things.
Whose son got married, whose daughter had a baby, whose shop was doing well, whose elderly person was sick and bedridden.
Some people even talked about politics.
They say taxes have been reduced again this year, and people's lives have become much better.
They say the dikes in Jiangnan are well-built, and there was nothing wrong with them during this year's plum rain season.
It is said that a victory was won in the western border region, and General Lü Bu, the General Who Guards the West, has once again rendered meritorious service.
It seems that Xu's army in the northern border has been relatively quiet lately.
Every word was like a needle piercing Xu Fenghua's heart.
She looked around.
Among the tea drinkers were porters dressed in coarse cloth short jackets, accountants in blue cloth long gowns, elderly men with white hair, and women holding children.
Their faces showed no sorrow, no resentment, no oppressive misery as she had imagined.
There was only one kind she had never seen before...
peaceful.
It is a kind of inner peace and contentment with life.
It is a kind of peace that can only be found in times of peace and prosperity.
Xu Fenghua's vision suddenly became blurry.
She thought of the North.
I think of the soldiers who guarded the border in the wind and snow, and the people who cultivated the land in the wilderness.
What kind of life did they lead?
The biting cold wind and food shortages meant that many people froze and starved to death every winter.
Xu Longxiang told them that as long as they could get through these few years, everything would be alright once their great cause was accomplished.
They believed it.
They gritted their teeth, endured the hardship, and waited for that day.
But now, sitting in this small teahouse, listening to the casual chatter of ordinary people.
She suddenly thought—
If the great cause succeeds, will the people of the North be able to live such a life?
Can we, like the common people of Beijing, drink tea and listen to storytelling in teahouses, chatting about who got married and who had a baby?
Xu Fenghua didn't know.
All she knew was that the pillar that had always supported her in her heart was swaying slightly.
……
Just then, she overheard a conversation at the next table.
A middle-aged man wearing a blue cloth robe was talking quietly with his friend at the table.
"Have you heard? They've won another battle in the west."
"I've heard about it. General Lü Bu is truly formidable; he utterly annihilated those Xiliang people."
"That's right. My cousin, who works in the Ministry of War, told me that although His Majesty doesn't attend court often, he personally reviews every single military report on the western border war. He's incredibly decisive in deploying troops and making strategic plans."
"Really? I thought His Majesty only knew how to enjoy himself in the harem."
"You don't understand. His Majesty is simply hiding his true abilities. Look at these past few years: taxes have been reduced, corrupt officials have disappeared, and the people's lives have improved. Could a foolish ruler have accomplished that?"
"That's true. We ordinary people don't ask for anything else, just a peaceful life. It doesn't matter who the emperor is, as long as he can feed us and clothe us, he's a good emperor."
"Yes, yes, yes."
As Xu Fenghua listened to these words, her fingers slowly tightened inside her sleeve.
My fingernails dug deep into my palm, sending a sharp pain through me.
But that pain was nothing compared to the turbulent waves surging in her heart.
Even ordinary people in the capital know this—
Qin Mu was not a foolish ruler.
He was just pretending to be unconscious.
He is a man of few words and deep thoughts.
He was in control of everything in secret.
And what about Xu Longxiang?
That arrogant, self-assured prince of the North, who thought he had everything figured out and was confident of victory.
The younger brother who thought Qin Mu was just bluffing and that he could find out the truth by sending assassins to test him.
Does he know what kind of opponent he is facing?
Did he realize that every step he took might have been within Qin Mu's expectations?
Does he know—
His grand undertaking may have had no chance of success from the very beginning.
Xu Fenghua's face grew paler and paler.
Countless images flashed through her mind.
Those were the pieces of information she had gathered in the inner palace all these days.
Those messages she thought she could pass on to Xu Longxiang and help him plan.
Those pieces of information that she thought could be her bargaining chips to turn the tide.
Looking back now, it seems so ridiculous.
How could someone like that not know Xu Longxiang's plans?
How could someone like that not take precautions early on?
Xu Fenghua closed her eyes.
A deep sorrow welled up in my heart.
That sorrow was not for herself.
It was for his younger brother, who was struggling to survive in the North.
The younger brother who thought he could rebuild after destruction, who thought he had seen through everything, and who thought he could finally avenge his previous humiliation.
Does he know what kind of opponent he is facing?
Does he realize that every move he makes is on the opponent's chessboard?
Does he know—
His grand undertaking may have been a trap destined to fail from the very beginning.
Xu Fenghua almost burst into tears.
She bit her lip hard, forcing back the tears.
Can't cry.
You absolutely must not cry.
You absolutely must not cry in front of Qin Mu.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
Her gaze fell on the man opposite her.
Qin Mu was holding a teacup, sipping his tea gently.
His gaze was fixed on the stage, focused and absorbed.
It was as if he hadn't heard a word of the tea drinkers' conversation.
But Xu Fenghua knew that he must have heard it.
This man never misses any information.
His "focus" at this moment is just a facade.
A disguise that made her lower her guard.
Xu Fenghua looked at him, at that handsome, ever-composed face.
The complex emotions in my heart grew stronger and stronger.
She suddenly remembered what Qin Mu had said in the pavilion earlier.
"My beloved consort, come with me for a walk."
At that time, she thought he was going to humiliate and torment her again.
But now that I think about it—
Was he doing it on purpose?
He deliberately took her out of the palace, deliberately took her to these places, and deliberately let her hear the people's gossip.
Let her see for herself what kind of life her people are living.
Let her hear firsthand how his people evaluate him.
Let her—
Recognize reality.
Xu Fenghua's fingers tightened again.
The fingernails dug deep into the palm, almost piercing the skin.
But she could no longer feel the pain.
Because the surging waves in my heart had already submerged everything.
……
After resting enough, the storyteller returned to the stage.
With a strike of the gavel, the story continues.
Qin Mu listened intently again, clapping and cheering from time to time.
Xu Fenghua sat beside him, but couldn't hear a single word he said.
The words of those tea drinkers echoed repeatedly in her mind.
"His Majesty is a man of great talent and cunning."
"In recent years, taxes have been reduced, corrupt officials have disappeared, and people's lives have improved."
"A good emperor is one who can feed and clothe us well."
And there was that increasingly clear thought in her own mind—
If Xu Longxiang succeeds, will the people of the North be able to live such a life?
she does not know.
She really doesn't know.
All she knew was that sitting in this small teahouse, watching the satisfied smiles on the faces of ordinary people.
She suddenly felt so tired.
very tired.
Those things she always believed in, those goals she always strived for, those things she always told herself were "worth it"—
At this moment, everything is collapsing little by little.
……
The sun is setting in the west.
Qin Mu finally finished listening to the storyteller's last story.
He stood up and stretched.
He looked at Xu Fenghua.
"Let's go," he said, his voice tinged with a satisfied languor. "It's time to go back."
Xu Fenghua nodded and stood up.
The two walked out of the teahouse and onto the still bustling street.
The setting sun bathed everything in a golden glow.
The vendors' stalls, the figures of pedestrians, and the shop signs all gleamed with a warm light under the setting sun.
Qin Mu held Xu Fenghua's hand as they walked through the crowd.
His pace was neither hurried nor slow.
Xu Fenghua followed behind him, her gaze fixed on his back.
His back was as straight as a pine tree, stretched very long in the setting sun.
As she watched that figure disappear into the distance, the complex emotions in her heart almost overflowed.