The Jin family's world changed overnight!
Xiaobao was flipped onto the ground from his slumber, barely able to see a blurry figure raising something thick and black above him through his half-closed eyes. Before he could even shout, the object had already struck his waist, numbing half his body. Xiaobao screamed in pain, rolling on the ground as the object hit him repeatedly.
It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice that he could open his eyes. It was his mother, who had fallen to the ground with a thud, crying out, "Master, master, please stop hitting him, I beg you, don't hit him anymore, you'll kill him."
Xiaobao then saw clearly that the person holding the purple sandalwood cane was his father. The lights outside the window were bright, and the voices of people were incessant. His father's face, illuminated by the light, was twisted and pale, his aged eyes filled with bitterness. His mother knelt in front of his father, grabbing his sleeve, while Zhao Cai and Jin Bao stood beside them, their eyes red and faces pale.
Xiaobao's mind went blank. He had caused many troubles growing up, but his father, no matter how angry, would only threaten to discipline him with family law, at worst hitting him with the sole of a shoe, never truly willing to hurt him. What could have made his father so angry? Xiaobao was lost in confusion, his memory and cognition like broken strings, not understanding what had happened.
He saw his father panting heavily, swatting away his mother's hand, and raising the cane high, his voice filled with sorrow and trembling, "Today, I will kill this unfilial son! Kill this disappointing creature!"
Then his mother crawled from the ground and threw herself on him, turning back to cry out to his father, "If you must hit someone, hit me first, how can you blame Xiaobao for everything? It's all our own doing! It's all our own doing!"
His father seemed to have all his strength drained in an instant, his legs buckling as if he was about to fall to the ground. Zhao Cai and Jin Bao quickly supported him and helped him to a chair.
Xiaobao's head buzzed, his eyes unfocused as he looked at his mother, asking in a daze, "Mother, what's wrong, what's happened?"
Madam Jin's face was covered in tears, and with a slap, she said, "Do you know who you've brought back? The Jin family is finished!" After saying this, she hugged him and wept bitterly.
A flash of white light before his eyes, and it felt as if something in his chest had burst open. He instinctively knew what his mother was talking about, about that person, who had been tender and intimate with him, and then disappeared without a trace, Zong Zheng... Zong Zheng Huai En...
Zong Zheng was a royal surname. Why tell him this? What had happened to his family? Who exactly was Huai En? From beginning to end, what had he experienced?
Xiaobao shook his mother's shoulders, "Mother, what's happened, I don't understand, what's happened, tell me, what's happened to the Jin family, what's happened to Huai En, what exactly has happened, tell me!"
Madam Jin took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and looked at Xiaobao with a trembling voice, "Mother doesn't have time to explain. That person has stolen the ledger, taken Xiao Yu, and the emperor's envoy Li Gongxiang is already near Suzhou city. You must leave immediately with Zhao Cai and Jin Bao, head north, and the Su family will meet you. Don't ever come back."
"Mother, what are you talking about? What ledger? What's wrong with Xiao Yu? Why did he take Xiao Yu? What envoy? I don't understand, mother, what are you talking about?!"
Just the day before, everything was peaceful and happy, how could it all fall apart overnight? He couldn't bear this sudden change. Huai En had a royal surname? Xiao Yu was taken away? The Jin family was finished? His parents wanted him to leave? What had happened to the world?
His mother grabbed a cloth bag from the table and pushed it into his arms, her voice filled with sorrow, "You must leave quickly, it's too late, forget everything from before, think of your parents as already dead."
Xiaobao staggered to his feet, shaking his head incessantly, "I don't understand what you're saying, mother, I won't leave, what's happened, father?" Xiaobao rushed to his father's side, "Father? What's happened, the Jin family was fine, what's happened?"
Old Master Jin held Xiaobao's face, tears streaming down, "Xiaobao, father shouldn't have hit you, the Jin family is no more, father can't protect you anymore, you must leave quickly, the Jin family only has you as the sole heir, you can't end our lineage."
Xiaobao felt the world spinning, as if everything was being obliterated, the sudden and unexpected change leaving him at a loss, instinctively unable to believe, "What's happened, you're not telling me anything?
Telling me to leave? Where do I go? This is my home, where should I go? I won't leave!! Zhao Cai! Jin Bao!! Do you know what's happened? Tell me, what's happened!! Speak!! Speak!!"
Zhao Cai just shook his head with tears, "Young master, there's no time to explain, come with us quickly, staying here means death!"
Xiaobao angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about! The Jin family is wealthy and powerful, who dares to kill us! What are you talking about! Father! Mother!!"
Madam Jin picked up the cloth bag and hung it on Xiaobao's shoulder, pushing him towards the door, "My child, Li Gongxiang carries the emperor's secret decree to investigate the Richun Merchant Association for selling illegal salt and mining privately. He has been secretly stationed in Jiangnan for over a month, plotting for a long time, just waiting for the evidence. Now that the ledger is stolen, the situation is dire, he's about to enter the city, and the Jin family will be raided and exterminated. Do you understand? You're still so young, mother can't watch you die, you must leave quickly, consider it your father and mother begging you, please go!!"
Xiaobao stumbled and fell to the ground, Zhao Cai and Jin Bao lifted his arms to pull him out, but Xiaobao, not knowing where he got the strength, shook off their restraint, his eyes hollow as he looked at his familiar room, familiar furnishings, familiar relatives, yet feeling an unfamiliarity he had never experienced before, "What... Li... Gongxiang... who... Richun Merchant Association? I've never heard of it... What illegal salt... private mines... this is a capital offense... The Jin family does legitimate business...
Father, mother, what are you talking about..."
He only saw his parents turn their heads away in sorrow and shame.
Xiaobao's head buzzed, he turned and pushed open the door, staggering out.
The once bustling and prosperous Jin mansion had become empty in the blink of an eye, he could even hear the voices gradually fading away, feeling the air suddenly turn cold. His father, leaning on a cane, came up behind him, choking up, "Father has already dismissed everyone in the mansion, staying is a dead end... Xiaobao, father is sorry, you can't be the young master anymore, go to the Su family, they won't mistreat you, they can keep you safe, dawn is approaching, you must leave quickly."
Xiaobao turned around, tears streaming down his cheeks, his gaze empty, "Father... was it... Huai En who stole that... ledger?"
Old Master Jin nodded.
"Was this all... planned?"
"It was all planned, long ago... ah... don't waste time, it's almost dawn, you leave through the secret passage, the horses are ready..."
"I won't leave."
"What?"
Xiaobao wiped his face, his entire being as if his soul had been drained, "I won't leave, I caused the trouble, if I leave, I'll never see father and mother again, we're a family, we die together."
Old Master Jin slapped him hard, "What are you fussing about now, do you think you're still the young master, to be so willful!! Zhao Cai, Jin Bao, take him away!!"
Xiaobao stepped back, shouting, "I won't leave!! I won't leave!!"
Old Master Jin turned and shouted, "Zhao Cai, Jin Bao!!"
The two moved like shadows, appearing beside Xiaobao in an instant, Zhao Cai hit his pressure point, and Jin Bao carried him on his shoulder, ready to run to the residence.
As dawn broke, the sound of chaotic footsteps approached from afar, and the bright torches illuminated the dim and desolate Jin mansion as bright as day, soldiers in court attire pouring in from the main gate.
Madam Jin collapsed on the ground, covering her face and weeping bitterly.
Zhao Cai and Jin Bao were also stunned, realizing it was impossible to escape while carrying someone with so many people around.
Jin Bao quickly released Xiaobao's pressure point, pulling him towards the main courtyard, hoping to escape through the secret passage.
But Xiaobao shook off Jin Bao's hand, pushing them away, "You go quickly, you can't escape with me."
Jin Bao held onto Xiaobao urgently, "Young master this is not the time to be stubborn, I will definitely get you out of here, my entire family owes their lives to the Jin family, I... I..."
Xiaobao struggled with him, refusing to leave. Zhao Cai looked at the closing circle of soldiers, bit his lip, and grabbed Jin Bao, "Jin Bao, we must go, otherwise none of us will escape. Young master, we will come back for you, wait for us!"
Knowing the urgency of the situation, Jin Bao leaped onto the roof with Zhao Cai, shouting back, "Young master, wait for us!"
Xiaobao watched silently as they fought with the pursuers, not lingering in battle, quickly disappearing from his sight.
He collapsed to the ground, the world spinning around him, his vision a blur of defeat, the entire world crumbling before him. He wished that Huai En's last act before leaving would let him never wake up again.
Authors note : the first half of this novel is complete. On to part 2!