The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

Chapter 296 Concerned about the Country and its People

The little girl, her skin as white as blood, was surrounded in the center, her entire body pointed at by official knives. With just one order, her frail body would be chopped into mud.

Jiang Xiaotao didn't care at all; she just stared intently at the candied hawthorn in her hand, looking both aggrieved and angry.

The other end of the candied hawthorn was held in the hand of a little boy with a runny nose, dressed in fine clothes. His expression was ferocious, and he was obviously using all his strength.

Xiao Tao was holding the end of the candied hawthorn skewer, afraid of crushing it, so she didn't dare to use force. Otherwise, how could this little boy still be standing here safely?

But this also shows that Jiang Xiaotao was the one who forcibly snatched the candied hawthorn from someone else.

"Why can't I trade this for your candied hawthorn? Oh, just give me the candied hawthorn!"

The little boy, covered in sweat, gritted his teeth and said with difficulty, "You...you...that thing, I...I can't even lift it...what's the use of it?"

He was referring, of course, to the towering black sword on the ground.

The officers and soldiers shouted sternly, "Little girl, if you don't let go, we'll have to use force!"

In Xiao Tao's eyes, their words, like their people, were all nonsense.

Suddenly, a burly soldier, eight feet tall, grabbed Xiao Tao from behind and tried to throw her away.

But Xiao Tao didn't move at all. Suddenly she exerted her strength, and the strong soldier was sent flying with a scream, as if he had been hit by a rhinoceros.

The officers and soldiers were horrified and rushed forward, four of them grabbing her arms and legs.

Xiao Tao remained unmoved, while this time, the four soldiers flew out one on top of the other.

The leading officer, his face contorted with rage, shouted, "Chop her up!!"

The soldiers charged forward, their swords slashing down in unison.

In an instant, they felt a flash of rainbow light, and a chilling sensation ran down their throats.

At that moment, it was as if they had gone to the deepest hell, and just as they were falling into the bottomless abyss, they were forcibly pulled back.

They were clearly surrounding Xiao Tao, yet they themselves were enveloped by an invisible and intangible killing intent.

The knives froze in mid-air, for each of them had seen the thin line of blood on the other's throat.

They touched their throats with trembling hands; a thin line of blood told them they were still alive.

Cold sweat had unknowingly covered his entire body. If the wound had deepened even a little bit, their rendezvous at the brothel that night would have to be rescheduled for the underworld.

Turning his head, he saw that the tough captain, who was always defiant, now had trembling eyes, cold sweat dripping down his forehead, and a sharp sword reflecting his pale face was pressed against his throat.

The swordsman stood beside him, with a bunch of candied hawthorns on his shoulder.

"Don't move, this is for your own good." Chang'an smiled, but his tone was icy cold.

How could these arrogant and domineering soldiers stand such humiliation? But the sword marks on their throats constantly reminded them that they had to be tough and resilient men now!

Eight men, eight official swords, are now all subdued by a broken sword in Chang'an's hand.

The captain forced a smile. "Wow... such a fast sword. As expected... heroes emerge from among the young."

Chang'an sneered, "If I am a hero, then what are you?"

These officers and soldiers, who represented the royal family, kept their mouths shut. After all, those who could be pointed at with a sword by a hero were usually not good people.

Chang'an continued, "If you ask me, you bunch of cowards should kowtow to this little girl a few times."

"Seniors can be killed, but not humiliated!"

The captain regretted it as soon as he finished speaking, wishing he could kneel down and kowtow right then and there.

The officers and soldiers were on tenterhooks, knowing full well that an invisible sword was hanging over their throats.

To everyone's surprise, Chang'an sneered, "Very well, your master only taught you 'a scholar can be killed but not humiliated,' but didn't he teach you to repay kindness?"

The captain swallowed hard, trying to remain calm: "Hmm? Could it be... the mercy of not killing me?"

Chang'an replied with a smile, "No, no, no, my dear junior sister has been a great help to you all."

The officers and soldiers didn't dare to breathe loudly, and they all obediently pricked up their ears to listen to what Chang'an had to say.

Chang'an continued, "You eat the emperor's food and do not think about serving the country, yet you dare to try to chop a young girl into mincemeat in broad daylight. You are truly audacious!"

“People like you, who bully the people in the streets by day and enjoy yourselves in brothels at night, would never know that bandits are rampant around Yancheng, causing untold suffering to the people who come and go!”

The officers and soldiers blushed and trembled all over, not because of shame, but because of fear of death.

Chang'an continued, "Fortunately, my junior sister happened to pass by and slaughtered all those wicked bandits for you."

The captain's eyes widened in shock. "She was just a little girl, and she... killed them all?"

Chang'an retorted sharply, "Of course! Whose blood do you think is on her skirt? Yours?!"

Upon hearing this, all the officers and soldiers knelt down and kowtowed, saying respectfully, "Thank you so much, heroine! Thank you so much, heroine!"

During this time, Xiaotao, like the boy, only had eyes for that pitiful string of candied hawthorns, ignoring everything around her.

Chang'an strode up to his junior sister, his serious expression vanishing as he revealed a whole stick of candied hawthorns slung over his shoulder. He laughed and said, "Little Tao, look what your senior brother brought you."

Xiao Tao pouted and said coquettishly, "No, I only want this string of candied hawthorns in his hand! What I want, I must have!"

Could there be some secret behind this string of candied hawthorns?

But then I thought, in a child's eyes, other people's things always smell much better than their own.

Aren't adults the same?

Helpless, Chang'an walked over to the little boy who was pulling the candied hawthorn stick with his eyes closed and said, "If you let go, this whole stick of candied hawthorns is yours."

Upon hearing this, he immediately opened his eyes, let go of his hand, and took the candied hawthorn from Chang'an.

This is clearly a very mature little boy!

Xiao Tao was also overjoyed, hugging the candied hawthorn that others had left over and cheering excitedly.

She only ate one candied hawthorn before her tongue lolled out from the sourness. "Ugh, it's awful!"

It turns out that other people's things aren't as fragrant as I imagined.

She threw the candied hawthorn on the ground, stomped her little feet, and said angrily, "How boring! I'm going to watch the dancing again."

Seeing the candied hawthorn on the ground, the little boy panicked and said, "Don't waste it! Quick! Help me pick it up... Huh? Why are you all kneeling on the ground? Hurry up... Get up!"

The officers and soldiers raised their heads, looked at each other, and no one dared to speak or stand up.

Only then did Chang'an realize that the little boy's identity was not simple, and it was no wonder that the soldiers were working so hard to string candied hawthorns together.

"Get up, everyone, haha." After Chang'an finished speaking, the soldiers carefully stood up, and the little boy finally smiled and stuffed a string of candied hawthorns into his mouth.

Chang'an asked with a smile, "Little friend, what's your name?"

"My surname is Du, and my given name is Zimei. What about you? What's your name?"

The boy was eating a candied hawthorn, his smile both innocent and carefree.

"My name is simple: Chang'an."

Du Zimei laughed and said, "Qin Chuan is the majestic residence of the emperor, Hangu Pass is the magnificent imperial abode. The capital is indeed a wonderful place."

“That is, after all, my hometown,” Chang’an said with a smile.

Du Zimei picked off several more strings of candied hawthorns and handed them to Chang'an and the group of soldiers, saying with a smile, "Here, you should try some too."

There are also people in this world who like to share everything, but if someone tries to take it away, they resolutely refuse to give it up.

Clearly, Du Zimei was this kind of person—a person who possessed both benevolence and unyielding spirit.