"If I receive a drop of kindness, I shall repay it with a gushing spring!" Zhou Fugui said, kneeling before Murong Qing. "Your Highness the Empress need not speak of any vine-like entanglements. However, I wish to repay you with unwavering loyalty, yet I have only this one life!"
"Heh heh..." Murong Qing smiled, satisfied. She placed her slender, fair hand on Zhou Fugui's broad shoulder and said, "What use would I have for your life? Commander Zhou, you lead troops with skill and fight bravely. I want you alive, to continue leading your troops."
"I am about to be banished to Xue Lin City. Whether I can return to You Zhou is yet unknown, so how can I lead troops?" Zhou Fugui chuckled bitterly.
"Xue Lin City?" Murong Qing said softly. "Once you go, can you not return? It depends on whether you wish to return."
"I understand," Zhou Fugui nodded.
"Mmm..." Murong Qing nodded with satisfaction, then leaned back on the resting carpet, looking at Zhou Fugui and smiling, "In the palace, Commander Zhou, you would rather break than bend, unwilling to dance. Today, will you dance for me?"
On the table in the room were some clothes and masks. These were the very items used by the dwarfs of the Yan Palace at the time.
...
"This humble servant greets Your Highness!"
As Zhou Fugui walked away in shame and anger, he ran into Murong Kang. He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and bowed, saying, "Your Highness's great kindness, I have no way to repay. Therefore, I will not offer thanks, but will engrave it in my heart."
After Murong Wang's death, Murong Kang inherited the princely title.
Murong Kang had bared his chest and led a sheep to beg for mercy for Zhou Fugui. Regardless of his motives, the reality was that Zhou Fugui had narrowly escaped death, and therefore, Zhou Fugui was grateful.
"Heh heh, Commander Zhou, there is no need for such formalities," Murong Kang said with a smile. "During the battle of Niuzhu, you stood your ground against the pursuing enemy for me and my father. This act of mine is simply a repayment."
"I am ashamed," Zhou Fugui bowed.
Zhou Fugui was indeed a little ashamed. As soon as Murong Wang and Murong Kang left, Zhou Fugui and his White Tiger Battalion had slipped away, never considering protecting the Right Virtuous King or Murong Kang. They had not stood against the pursuing enemy for them at all.
"It is a pity that my abilities are limited, and I could not completely save Commander Zhou," Murong Kang said. "You are going to Xue Lin City. I hope you take good care of yourself."
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhou Fugui nodded. "I am but a humble person. Having received such treatment from Your Highness, I am already content and grateful, and dare not harbor any other thoughts."
Murong Kang nodded. Zhou Fugui then bowed and took his leave, quickly departing from this humiliating place.
Murong Kang looked at Zhou Fugui's retreating back with a complex expression, then turned and entered the room.
...
"Big Rouge, did you see him?" Murong Kang asked Murong Qing in the room.
Murong Qing nodded.
"Why did you want to see him?" Murong Kang asked again.
"Your Highness, must I ask your permission to see whom I wish?" Murong Qing retorted, displeased.
"Big Rouge..." Murong Kang said, "Your subject does not intend disrespect, but I find this man to be merely a lowly slave who survived by chance. Why would Big Rouge bother to see him? And now he is being sent to Xue Lin City, so I truly do not understand Big Rouge's intentions."
"Kang'er..." Murong Qing said softly, "The multitude of beings can be divided into two kinds of people: gentlemen and villains. Or one can divide them into the noble and the lowly. Both gentlemen and the noble have their uses, and villains and the lowly also have their uses. Do you understand?"
Murong Kang nodded.
What Murong Qing said made sense. The deeds of gentlemen or the noble could not be accomplished by villains or the lowly, and the things that villains or the lowly did, gentlemen or the noble could not accomplish.
"Sister, do you truly intend to..." Murong Kang then asked.
"Mmm..." In front of her own brother, Murong Qing no longer concealed her feelings. They were now sharing each other's fortunes, prospering and perishing together. She said with some bitterness and anger, "Kang'er, he actually brought up the matter of Princess Gouge of Han to me."
What? Murong Kang's mouth dropped open in shock. For a long time, he was speechless.
Emperor Murong Xi of Yan mentioning this matter indicated that he already intended to establish a new crown prince. But after this, Murong Qing would be executed.
...
"Brothers, let us drink, drink..." In a side room of a dilapidated courtyard, Zhou Fugui held a bowl of wine and said to Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, and Li Qing, "Today, we brothers will only drink. We shall not return until we are drunk."
Xu Mancang, Suo Dacheng, and Li Qing were Zhou Fugui's closest brothers.
"Good!" The three responded in unison. Xu Mancang and Suo Dacheng drained their bowls, while Li Qing drank with great difficulty, crying out in pain from the sting, which made Xu Mancang and Suo Dacheng roar with laughter.
Zhou Fugui also drank it down in one gulp. The inferior wine felt like a knife, slicing through his throat as it went into his stomach.
The fine wine was sweet and delicious, but Zhou Fugui would rather drink this harsh liquor.
What did she take me for? A performer, or her lowly slave? A vine? Why should I be a vine, clinging to existence? Bitch, you underestimate me too much!
This humiliation today, I will repay a hundredfold in the future!
"Drink!" Zhou Fugui, feeling an unbearable闷闷, picked up another bowl of wine and said.
"Fu Gui ge, are you alright? Today you..." The four had already finished two jars of wine, but Zhou Fugui said little, only drinking in silence. The three had long felt that something was wrong, so Xu Mancang asked.
Li Qing and Xu Mancang looked at Zhou Fugui with confusion, awaiting his answer.
"What if we raise an army?" Zhou Fugui, speaking with the courage of drunkenness, uttered words that shocked the three.
"Slap!" A moment later, Xu Mancang slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Rebellion it is! Mancang will follow Brother Fu Gui! What is there to fear? Big bowls of wine, big pieces of meat, big scales of gold and silver – wouldn't that be delightful?"
"Idiot, you want to be a bandit?" Li Qing glared at Xu Mancang and then said to Zhou Fugui, "I don't know what you've been through, but Camp Commander, today your words are as if we haven't heard them. You must not say them again."
Zhou Fugui also felt he had spoken out of turn and quickly nodded. Suo Dacheng also nodded.
Any uprising requires favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and popular support to have even a slight chance of success. Even then, those who attempted it often ended in failure, resulting in ruined families and executions.
As for becoming bandits and ruling over mountains, it was also impossible, unless one dared to lead their families into the wilderness and risk constant beheading.
Zhou Fugui understood this. His words today were likely spoken in a fit of rage, fueled by alcohol.
"A small lack of patience can ruin great plans!" Li Qing continued, "Camp Commander, you are a capable person, with extraordinary insight, skilled in commanding troops, brave and resolute, and deeply loyal. Such a person would not be content to be subordinate for long, but you have a fatal weakness."
"Is it impulsiveness?" Zhou Fugui mused.
"Precisely!" Li Qing nodded. "Today, having had some wine, Li Qing speaks his mind freely."
"Whoosh!" Xu Mancang, holding a wine jar, refilled Li Qing's bowl and chuckled, "You sour scholar, have two more bowls, and your courage will grow even bolder."
"Haha!" Suo Dacheng couldn't help but laugh.
"Slap!" Zhou Fugui kicked Xu Mancang and then clasped his hands to Li Qing, saying, "Brother Li, please enlighten me!"
"During the Spring and Autumn period, Goujian was humiliated by Wu, even tasting the king of Wu's excrement to diagnose his illness. This earned him permission to return to Yue. Goujian endured hardship and patiently awaited his opportunity. When Wu was in chaos, he struck, conquering the state of Wu; Han Xin, who endured the humiliation of crawling between men's legs, became one of the three heroes of Han and a generation's war god. 'A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind; a person who is higher than others will be criticized by the masses.' Therefore, those who achieve great things must first learn the word 'endurance'." Li Qing's throat became dry, and he took a large gulp of wine, choking slightly.
Zhou Fugui, Xu Mancang, and Suo Dacheng no longer laughed at him. They all pondered his words in silence, especially Zhou Fugui, who was deeply reflecting.
"The Camp Commander's family suffered misfortune. Qing also feels immense hatred and wishes to strike down the villains with his own hands... But afterward, did the Camp Commander carefully consider whether this was truly a foolproof plan? There are many ways to seek revenge, why did the Camp Commander choose such an inferior method?" Li Qing continued.
"Brother Li's words are most pertinent..." Zhou Fugui sighed. "At that time... at that time... alas, it was indeed inappropriate, and I implicated my brothers."
"Camp Commander, your brothers are already on the same boat as you," Li Qing said indignantly. "If the Camp Commander prospers, so do we. If the Camp Commander falls, we fall with him. What do you mean by implicating?"
"Yes, Fu Gui ge..." Xu Mancang exclaimed in agreement. "Mancang is a rough man, not as eloquent as the sour scholar. Mancang respects you, but you cannot lead your brothers into a ditch!"
"Slap! You brute..." Suo Dacheng slapped Xu Mancang's hand and said, "Can't you shut your mouth even while drinking? The Camp Commander has always been loyal and righteous. I deeply admire him. From now on, wherever the Camp Commander goes, I will follow. Even through mountains of knives and seas of fire, I will not flinch."
"Thank you, my two brothers!" Zhou Fugui stood up, thanked Suo Dacheng and Xu Mancang, then clasped his hands to Li Qing and said, "Brother Li's words today are like a refreshing rain, enlightening me. Zhou Fugui now knows what to do."
The word "endure" is a knife on the heart, a bloody knife. Zhou Fugui has awakened and recognized his weakness or flaw, but can he bear it? With this knife cutting at his heart every day, can Zhou Fugui endure it?
Everything remains uncertain!
Bearing humiliation and shouldering burdens, moving forward with heavy loads, enduring hardship, etc. Zhou Fugui can do all of these now. But like Goujian eating excrement, Zhou Fugui cannot do it...