Chapter 14
Master of the eyes of God
Suddenly, a group of ninja assassins arrived at the Xie household and surrounded the house.
Yueshen's father already knew this would happen, so before it was too late, he had sent his daughter and grandson to the safest place where they could be protected without too many questions.
He sent them to his sister, Tai Furen, who was currently the third concubine of the Yuwen household, and raising her 3-year-old son, Yuwen Huai.
The mother and child hurried to the Yuwen household on her father's horse as fast as they could, hiding the baby securely in her bosom.
Lady Yueshen arrived in her Qinghai Palace dress with a long fur-lined hooded coat, but she left her household wearing her servant's peony dress.
"Brother, please take care of him," she said, handing him the Po Yue Jian sword.
Lady Yueshen kissed the baby prince's forehead, who was sweetly sleeping, placed paper snow in his small lap, and, unable to stop the tears in her eyes, handed the baby prince to her brother.
"I'll meet you there. As we part ways, you take Juwei Street, and I'll take the Yuwen backdoor," her brother said.
Yueshen nodded, and in a bitter voice, she said, "If anything happens, do not hesitate."
"I won't. For my nephew, I'm ready to fight," her brother replied. He then turned to the sleeping baby and said, "Don't worry, my little one, your uncle is a sword master. Who dares challenge the mighty Xie household?"
The two disappeared into the deep snow until Yueshen could no longer see them.
Her horse neighed and began to run in the opposite direction from her son.
Yuwen Hao, dressed in his usual aristocratic attire dark blue silk with two Qiu's on both arms and criss-cross ties on both hands, had just finished his evening practice.
He was about to retire for the day when he heard a moan. Grabbing his bow and arrow, he stepped outside his room. Yuwen Hao did not let his guard down, even though he knew the perimeter was secured. He walked confidently, as if hunting deer in his own backyard.
Not far from where he stood, Yuwen Hao spotted a baby lying on the ground.
The baby was wrapped in a rough canvas material, with no sign of his princely attire, except for a piece of dark purple silk on his right side. Yuwen Hao's senses sharpened as he smelled blood a sign that someone nearby had been wounded and likely caught in the traps set around the perimeter.
His eyes followed the trail of blood dripping on the floor.
After a while, a man emerged from hiding and began to run. Unfortunately, two arrows struck his back, sending him into shock. Despite the pain, the man ran as far as he could, leaving the Green Hills courtyard.
"My little prince, I have done my part. Your life is now in your hands." The man collapsed in the snowy forest, closed his eyes, and breathed his last.
Yuwen Hao did not pursue the masked man, as the baby began to stir and stretch. Standing near the child, Yuwen Hao was momentarily unsure of what to do, but the child's helplessness and angelic aura suddenly stirred his fatherly instincts.
It was unlike Yuwen Hao to welcome a baby at night, but this child seemed to disarm him completely. Just then...
Whoosh!
An arrow flew toward them.
Yuwen Hao quickly leaped, grabbing the baby just as the arrow was about to strike. He couldn't tell where the arrow had come from but knew it wasn't part of the household's planted traps, it had come from outside the Yuwen household.
Yuwen Hao didn't alert the entire household, fearing that if he did, the baby he was holding might not survive another day. Too late, he realized he had been shot in the arm while protecting the child. Despite the pain, he grabbed the black silk by his side, choosing to save the baby before attending to himself, something he had never done before.
Yuwen Hao placed the baby on the grand sofa bed. He hid the black silk in a secret compartment under the bed, closed the lid, and pulled down the dark blue see-through curtain. Just then, his servant entered and was about to scream, but Yuwen Hao quickly placed his hand over the servant's mouth and whispered, "If you dare, I will kill you here."
"Master, I do not dare, but please let me help you," the servant pleaded, still in shock, unaccustomed to seeing his master wounded by an arrow.
In fact, he couldn't recall ever handling a situation like this before.
The servant was worried because if his master wasn't treated immediately, the deep wounds might worsen. The arrow embedded in Yuwen Hao's right arm needed to be removed, and if the master's condition deteriorated, the servant feared he might lose his life, his head could be chopped off, and he might not live to see the sun tomorrow.
Yuwen Hao's face showed visible pain, so the servant discreetly left his master's hall. He walked to another hall, showed his carved jade stone hanging from his belt to the guard, and entered Yuwen's Cǎoyào (herbal medicine) room.
The servant carefully read the labels on the medicine cabinet, opened a small drawer, picked up a pair of tongs, and selected two tiny jade ceramic bowls. He then went over to choose various antiseptic herbs.
After taking a few steps to another cabinet, he grabbed a Celadon bottle labeledKàngshēngsù(antibiotic). He also collected gauze pads made from soft pure canvas, some cotton balls, and a medium-sized glass bottle labeledLěngquán shuǐ(cold spring water, or something like alcohol). Finally, before he forgot, he picked up a rolled 2-inch wide bandage.
Back at Yuwen Hao's side, the servant slowly removed the arrow. Dark red blood gushed out, but the servant quickly cleaned the wound withLěngquán shuǐ, wiping it with a clean white handkerchief inscribed with the household name 宇文浩, meaning Yuwen Hao.
A little relieved, Yuwen Hao glanced toward the baby under the see-through curtains, his concern for the child outweighing the pain in his arm.
"What happened, Master?" the servant asked while applying the antiseptic herbs and a balm-like antibiotic to his master's wound, allowing it to penetrate the skin for a while.
"I made a mistake with one of the traps, and this is the result," Yuwen Hao replied curtly.
His brief, bland response suggested he was lying, and the servant knew his master was concealing something. Yuwen Hao didn't want to make a big deal of it.
Yuwen Hao was a perfectionist, and he was highly skilled at setting traps. Never before had he missed or injured himself, especially not in the Eyes of God repository or while navigating the Merlin stratagems until today.
The servants all knew their master was a master of traps, someone who had designed the structures and knew them inside and out. The servant found it surprising to hear his master's anxious voice. Yuwen Hao usually spoke in a formal, low tone, never sounding unsettled.
The servant raised an eyebrow but remained quiet, refraining from asking further questions, which seemed to bring Yuwen Hao some relief.
"Hold on, Master, almost done," the servant finally said while finishing the bandaging.
"You are not to tell anyone about what you saw or did for me tonight," Yuwen Hao said in a cold, threatening tone.
"Yes, Master Hao," the servant replied.
"You may leave," Yuwen Hao ordered, and the servant bowed his head before departing.
Once the servant was gone, Yuwen Hao hurried to his bed. He looked at the baby and felt an overwhelming, unfamiliar sense of joy that he couldn't fully express at the moment.
All he wanted now was to protect the baby, and he began forming a plan in his mind.
Despite his pain, Yuwen Hao took his robe, covered his injured arm, and walked toward the east corner of the room. He pulled a string.
Clang, clang, clang!!!
The bell rang, summoning the young maidservants of Green Hills Courtyard. The head of the maidservants rushed into his hall.
"Master, I came quickly because I heard the east corner bell ring three times consecutively," the head maidservant said. She was a fine, beautiful maid who carried herself with grace. Many noblemen occasionally visited Yuwen Hao to inquire about her. She had come in such haste that she was still wearing only a thin nightgown, her small slippers exposing her feet.
Yuwen Hao was known to have a fetish for women's feet, and the maidservant was fully aware of this. However, due to the urgency of the bell's call, she rushed over without bothering to make herself more presentable. Three consecutive bell sounds indicated that Master Yuwen Hao needed immediate attention, while two bells would summon the grandmaster, Yuwen Gao, though these SOS bells were rarely used until tonight.
Yuwen Hao was lying on his back when the head maidservant entered the room. Despite his aristocratic look, he addressed her in his usual gentlemanly manner. "Come."
"Master..." the young maidservant stammered, her voice trembling. She was paralyzed with fear, her knees weak as she stood frozen, unable to move. Yuwen Hao's eyes were fixed on her small, delicate feet.
Clearly pleased with her pearly white skin and small feet, Yuwen Hao spoke again, this time more insistently but still polite. "I said, come here."
His gaze led her toward his grand sofa bed, the curtains slightly parted. The hall was dimly lit, and the room was filled with a soothing aroma, inviting sleep.
The maidservant remained frozen in place, her arms crossed over her chest, hugging herself in a protective gesture. She felt cold and nervous. As a virgin, she feared what her master might be asking of her by calling her to his bed.
Growing impatient, Yuwen Hao moved closer to her and pulled at her thin nightgown. In an instant, she was nearly naked, left only in her undergarments. Yuwen Hao's eyes widened, but before he could act further, he stretched out his injured arm and, realizing what she might be thinking, quickly covered her with her discarded nightgown.
It dawned on Yuwen Hao what the maidservant must have assumed, and when he looked at her, he saw tears streaming down her face as she knelt on the floor.
"Master, please spare me tonight, and do not take my life tomorrow," she begged. "I am under the red moon." The term "red moon" was her way of saying that she had just started her monthly menstrual period, a time when she could not perform the dances or other duties of a bedchamber maid.
Yuwen Hao had chosen the finest maids in the Yuwen household for his bedchamber, but none had been able to bear his child.
Broadening his shoulders, Yuwen Hao decided to play along with her dramatic plea.
"Do I look like a vampire, ready to claim a blooming flower such as yourself under the red moon?" he asked with a playful grin. His droopy eyes and teasing tone hinted at his desire to engage in a seductive push-and-pull game. His dark blue robe, slightly open at the chest, revealed his broad, bare torso.
The maidservant, still wary of her master's foxy look, quickly wrapped herself in her nightgown once more. She stood on her tiptoes like a ballerina, poised and waiting for Yuwen Hao's next move.
Yuwen Hao found himself in an awkward position, unable to think clearly. Though this was not his first time in such an encounter, he felt his manhood stirring, longing for release as he gazed at the maidservant's red lips, as tempting as a ripe gala apple. Her brief, indecent exposure had captivated him.
Before he could make another move, a soft cry broke the tension. Glancing toward the bed, Yuwen Hao saw two tiny feet stretch out from beneath the curtain, followed by another faint, but unmistakable, sound from the baby.
The maidservant, surprised, craned her long neck to peek at her master's bed, then looked back at Yuwen Hao, feeling confused.
Yuwen Hao felt embarrassed but gave her a stern look. Regaining his composure, he returned to his usual aristocratic look and ordered the maid to pick up the baby, telling her he would wait for her in his library room.
Yuwen Hao proceeded to the library, where he burned incense and lit a tea candle. Sitting in a squat-like posture, he began to think deeply, quickly forgetting the steamy situation that had just transpired.
The maidservant, momentarily forgetting the earlier incident, went to the master's bedchamber. Her eyes widened with surprise and delight when she saw the sleeping baby.
"He looks like a god," she murmured, unable to keep her thoughts to herself upon seeing the child's divine appearance.
Leaving the baby peacefully asleep in Yuwen Hao's bed, she proceeded to the library. Upon entering, she noticed that her master now seemed much calmer, like a low tide at sea.
"I want you to listen and follow my instructions exactly as I say," Yuwen Hao commanded in a formal, serious tone.
"Yes, Master. Please accept my apology. I was too narrow-minded earlier and am now ashamed of myself," she said humbly, bowing her head to the carpet.
Yuwen Hao, in his aristocratic manner, replied, "If it was a test, you've already passed."
His words, though sarcastic, carried a note of appreciation. The maidservant, feeling relieved by his unexpected compliment, raised her head from the floor.
"The baby you saw earlier is my child. Tomorrow, at dawn, you will leave, and you are never to speak to anyone about this. When you pass by Red Hills Courtyard, say nothing, and find a way to dismiss any interrogation. Then, find me a smart maiden to care for my child. I will issue an order to assign them to the old shrine of the Yuwen household. There, the child will stay and grow until the time comes for him to be taught how to rule and become the future master of the Eyes of God."
The maidservant, surprised by the news, was overjoyed to learn that Master Yuwen Hao had a child who would one day inherit the Yuwen household and the Eyes of God. The identity of the mother intrigued her, but she pushed her questions aside. She had no choice but to follow her master's orders. "Yes, Master, as you wish. It shall be done."
"For the night, you will sleep in my bedchamber and watch over my son until you leave at dawn," Yuwen Hao added.
"You may leave," he dismissed her.
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