Chapter 405: Sin and Iniquity

Shao Dengyun leaned against the railing and looked at the son before him: a young man whose hair had already gone more than half white, a son coughing blood, a son who had just shouted at his own father. Slowly, Shao Dengyun shook his head. His silence said more than words could. Once his breathing settled, Shao Pingbo seemed to realize he should not have spoken to his father that way. His tone softened again.

"Even if we retreat ten thousand steps, the Shao family has already reached a point where there is no road back. We cannot retreat. One step backward means utter ruin. Who would spare us? Whether the State of Yan or the State of Han, both would uproot the Shao family down to the last blade of grass. If the Shao family collapses, Father should be able to imagine what will become of Liuer. Will those people simply pretend nothing happened and let her go? Would you truly be willing to see Liuer become a prostitute in some brothel, left for anyone to violate? Father, as long as the Shao family still stands, no one can touch Liuer. As long as the power behind her remains, Hao Zhen will have no choice but to treat her well, even if the affection he shows her is false."

"Father, listen to me. Liuer marrying Hao Zhen is not a bad thing. I truly am thinking for her sake. Even if the Shao family eventually falls, once Liuer has become a princess consort, she will at least never lack food or clothing. Even if she must die, she can die with dignity rather than be humiliated by others."

"Father, there are some things we have no choice about. If Liuer has suffered, then all one can say is that she was born to a bitter fate and should never have been born into the Shao family. Back when Father served the State of Yan, if you had refused to betray Yan, you know perfectly well what Liuer's fate would have been. The same is true now. Once the Shao family collapses, Liuer will be unable to escape disaster either. From the day she was born into the Shao family, many things were already destined for her to face. It isn't that I'm trying to harm her!"

Shao Dengyun's face was full of grief. "Reasons! Excuses! Why don't you ask Liuer herself whether she's willing? Go explain all these grand principles to her and let her choose for herself. See whether she wants the glory and wealth you're arranging for her."

Shao Pingbo said, "Liuer knows nothing of the ways of the world. Right now, she cannot make a rational choice. As her family, we have a responsibility to help guide her. I'd rather she regret something for a time than regret it for the rest of her life."

Shao Dengyun gritted his teeth. "Are you planning to force her into this marriage?"

Shao Pingbo shook his head. "Father can rest assured. It will be entirely voluntary. I am only giving her a choice. I will never force her. If she is willing to marry, then she marries. If she is unwilling, I absolutely will not compel her."

Both Shao Dengyun and Yang Shuang froze. They almost wondered whether they had misheard. Given Liuer's personality, how could she possibly agree to marry under circumstances like this? Everything had already been settled with the State of Qi. Could Shao Pingbo truly allow such an accident to happen?

Shao Dengyun immediately pressed him. "Are you serious?"

Shao Pingbo said, "As long as Father agrees to let Liuer make the decision herself and does not interfere with whatever she chooses, then I can promise Father that I will never force her."

"Good!" Shao Dengyun pointed at him. "You said it yourself."

Shao Pingbo said, "I will not break my word."

Just then, Shao Sansheng, who had been waiting outside, hurried in and reported, "Master, Eldest Young Master, Young Mistress is outside asking to see you."

Shao Dengyun pointed at Shao Pingbo. "There. The person looking for you has arrived. Explain it to her yourself."

His daughter had already come crying to demand an explanation. Shao Dengyun himself had not known exactly what was going on and had been unable to give her any answer. He had told her to wait until her elder brother returned and ask him then.

"Cough, cough." Shao Pingbo covered his mouth with a fist and coughed once, then turned his head. "Invite her in."

"Yes!" Shao Sansheng withdrew.

Before long, Shao Liuer came striding in. Only a year or two had passed, yet she had grown increasingly graceful and mature, with less of the childish innocence she once carried.

"Father!" Shao Liuer saluted only Shao Dengyun. She did not greet her elder brother at all. Instead, she demanded directly, "Elder Brother, there are rumors outside that you intend to marry me off to Prince Ying of Qi as his second wife. Is that true or not?"

Shao Pingbo took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Then he slowly cleaned the vivid red blood he had coughed into his palm.

Calmly, he said, "There is such a matter. When I went to Qi, Hao Zhen happened to have lost his wife. I therefore proposed your marriage to Emperor Hao Yuntu of Qi, and the emperor has already agreed."

"I returned this time intending to tell you the happy news myself. I didn't expect you to come looking for me so impatiently."

Hearing the confirmation from his own mouth chilled Shao Liuer's heart.

She said angrily, "Has Elder Brother forgotten the promise you made me?"

Shao Pingbo glanced sideways. "A promise? What promise?"

"Tan Yaoxian!" Shao Liuer said. "Elder Brother promised him three years. You said that if, after three years, he could make something of himself, you would agree to let me marry him."

"The three-year limit hasn't passed yet. Why are you going back on your word?"

"Tan Yaoxian?" Shao Pingbo continued wiping his palm with the handkerchief. "Liuer, forget that man. He will never come back to find you."

Shao Liuer said indignantly, "What right do you have to say that about him? I promised to wait three years for him. Until those three years are over, I won't marry anyone. If anyone dares force me, I'll die in front of them!"

Shao Pingbo said, "Forget three years. Even after thirty years, he will not return."

"On the day the two of you tried to elope, after he left you, I received news. That useless scholar ran into bandits. A man without the strength to bind a chicken was hacked to death beneath their blades."

"He can't come back."

Shao Dengyun and Yang Shuang both looked sharply at him. Both seemed to realize something.

Shao Liuer shouted, "You're lying!"

"It's true," Shao Pingbo said. "I only kept it from you at the time because I was afraid you would be devastated."

Shao Liuer stared at him, seemingly trying to read truth or falsehood from his face. After a moment, her eyelids twitched. Something seemed to occur to her.

Her face went white in an instant, and her voice trembled. "What bandits? You did it. You did it, didn't you?"

Shao Pingbo folded the handkerchief and slowly tucked it back into his sleeve. He looked at her calmly, neither admitting nor denying it. In truth, that was as good as an admission. Shao Dengyun closed his eyes and raised his face toward Heaven.

"Ah! I'll kill you! You beast! Shao Pingbo, I'll kill you..."

Shao Liuer suddenly went mad. She threw herself at Shao Pingbo and clamped both hands around his throat, squeezing with all her strength, as though she wanted to crush his neck on the spot. Shao Pingbo did not resist. He let her choke him and simply looked at her in silence. The hatred in his younger sister's eyes, almost as though she were staring at a mortal enemy, hurt him as well. The Dachan Mountain guards watching from a distance could not simply let this continue.

To Dachan Mountain, Shao Liuer's value could not compare with Shao Pingbo's. How could they allow Shao Pingbo to die at her hands? Two cultivators flashed over, restrained Shao Liuer directly, and dragged her away.

"Shao Pingbo, may you die a horrible death..."

Even as she was dragged away, Shao Liuer continued cursing him viciously.

"Cough, cough..."

Shao Pingbo clutched his throat and coughed twice. Once he had caught his breath, he said, "Liuer, whether you marry into the State of Qi is your own decision. I won't force you."

He removed his hand from his throat and waved it lightly.

"Shao Pingbo..."

Shao Liuer's anguished scream echoed as she was dragged away. Still covered in the dust of his journey, Shao Pingbo stood where he was and silently watched her leave. A pain impossible to describe lay hidden in his eyes.

Shao Dengyun's voice suddenly sounded old. "Now even your own younger sister regards you as an enemy. Are you satisfied?"

With his back still turned, Shao Pingbo said, "Tan Yaoxian was only a passing traveler in her life. When she is old, he will be nothing more than one memory whose sweetness or bitterness has yet to be decided. One brief experience cannot represent an entire lifetime."

"She has always lived beneath the protection of her father and elder brother, with little reason to worry. She cannot see the road farther ahead. I can understand why her eyes now hold only love between man and woman."

"But after she marries into Qi, after she truly experiences honor and disgrace, after she has children of her own, she will understand what she really needs."

"At that time, she will no longer hate this elder brother. She will need this elder brother's help."

"The future?" Shao Dengyun gave a hollow laugh. "Do you really think she'll still agree to marry into the State of Qi after this?"

Shao Pingbo asked in return, "If she stays in the Shao family, does she have the ability to take revenge?"

"If she doesn't hate me, would she willingly marry into the State of Qi?"

"She is my younger sister. I watched her grow up. I understand her. She will agree. She will want to borrow Hao Zhen's power to avenge Tan Yaoxian. Because of that, once she marries Hao Zhen, she will devote herself to pleasing him. My younger sister is no helpless fool either. She will do very well. She will live properly with Hao Zhen. Father does not need to worry that she'll cry and make scenes over there. She will become very sensible. Tonight, she'll think everything through. Tomorrow, she will come find Father and tell you she is willing to marry into the State of Qi. She will ask Father to honor his promise and not obstruct her."

Yang Shuang stared at him, dumbfounded. Shao Dengyun's eyes widened as well. Only now did he finally understand what Shao Pingbo meant when he said he would never force Shao Liuer. No wonder he had dared propose the marriage to the Emperor of Qi without consulting anyone.

Shao Dengyun's heart tightened painfully. "If you already know she wants revenge, aren't you afraid she'll cause trouble for you in the State of Qi later?"

Shao Pingbo turned around.

"Hao Zhen is no mediocre man. He knows what he wants and can distinguish what matters from what does not. How could he allow Liuer to act recklessly? Affairs beneath Heaven will tolerate her whims even less. As I said, given enough time, Liuer herself will gradually understand. She will come to need this elder brother of hers. What hatred will remain then? If one day she has the opportunity to become mother of the realm in the State of Qi, sooner or later she will have to make similar choices for her own children. At that point, will a mere Tan Yaoxian still matter to her?"

"Father, you do not need to worry about this matter anymore. Leave Liuer's marriage to me."

"The Shao family has no road back. You can be the good man. Let me be the villain."

"All the sin and iniquity, I will bear alone."

With that, he turned to leave. His son's wings had hardened. Shao Dengyun discovered that he could no longer hold him down. He truly could not.

Helpless and grief-stricken, he said, "I remember when you were a child. You were extraordinarily clever, obedient, and sensible. Why did you become like this?"

Shao Pingbo stopped.

After a long silence, he asked with his back still turned, "You've asked me many times why I became this way. Why, all these years, have you never once asked what I went through?"

Shao Dengyun said, "You never lacked food or clothing from childhood. What hardship did I ever make you endure?"

"Father, that is only what you saw."

"After you married Madam Ruan, and after she gave birth to children of her own, she behaved perfectly whenever you were present. You cannot imagine how much humiliation I endured."

"That year, when you followed Prince Ning with an isolated force to rescue the emperor, many people said you would never return. Madam Ruan became even harsher."

"Liuer was still young and ignorant. She broke a bowl. For that alone, the two of us were locked inside a cold, damp cellar."

"Liuer was too little to understand anything. She only knew how to cry. I held her. I was frightened too, because someone threw a great many rats into the cellar."

"The first thing I did was cover Liuer's eyes."

"Liuer cried that she was hungry. No one gave us food."

"Do you know how Liuer and I survived?"

"Rats."

"Raw flesh and blood."

"We survived by eating living rats."

"That was how we endured until news came that you were returning."

[End of Chapter 405]