Chapter 6: Rebirth, Merit Surpassing the Master

“Father, Mother.” As soon as Chu Junhan ducked into the tent, she called out to the flushed couple before her in a soft, milky voice.

The innate charm of a child, paired with her gentle, childish tone, immediately halted their quarrel.

“My little Ruyan, come to Father,” Chu Xiong said, a broad, honest smile spreading across his face as he reached out to embrace his precious daughter.

Seeing this, Xifeng quickly swept Chu Junhan into her arms. “My little Ruyan, you’re here. Tell Mother, would you like to see Pingzhou? They say it’s like spring all year round.”

Chu Junhan cocked her little head, pretending not to understand, while her mind raced to find a way to refuse.

She remembered that her father and the current Emperor of Tianwu had sworn brotherhood. Even before her mother conceived her, a marriage was arranged between them and the royal family.

It sounded noble—a betrothal by fate—but in truth, it was a ploy to restrain her father’s freedom. But if they openly defied the imperial decree, wouldn’t that hand the dog Emperor a perfect excuse to strip her father of his command?

“Mother, just now I read a story in a book,” Chu Junhan deflected, not answering Xifeng directly.

A satisfied smile played at Xifeng’s lips. Though she herself was illiterate, having a daughter who loved to read filled her with pride. “What story did you read today, Ruyan?”

“The story of the cunning rabbit, which, once dead, sees the hound boiled in the pot,” Chu Junhan replied, her voice still soft and childish, yet carrying a certain compelling sadness, as if recounting a tale of sorrow.

At these words, Chu Xiong stiffened in alarm. “The cunning rabbit dies, and the hound is boiled!”

Xifeng, the daughter of a hunter whom Chu Xiong had rescued at the frontier, had little schooling. She knew the story but not its deeper meaning.

But Chu Xiong was different. Once a noble of the Great Kang Dynasty, now, after its fall, he had risen in rebellion with his sworn brother, founding the Kingdom of Tianqing in Pingzhou.

“The cunning rabbit dies, and the hound is boiled!” Chu Xiong had served loyally for years, fighting countless battles. If someone else had reminded him, he would have dismissed it as sowing discord. But these words came from his own daughter.

Seeing the strange light in her father’s eyes, Chu Junhan pressed on while the iron was hot. “Mother, when I read that story, I also learned a new phrase.”

Though illiterate, Xifeng was no fool and sensed the strange tension in the tent. But for her daughter’s sake, she coaxed gently, “You’re such a clever girl, Ruyan. Tell Mother what you learned.”

“A hero’s merit eclipses his lord,” Chu Junhan enunciated clearly.

At these words, even Xifeng drew in a sharp breath.

Such a simple truth—when a subject’s achievements outshine the ruler’s—how could Xifeng not understand? Throughout history, how many outstanding figures met ruin because their brilliance provoked royal suspicion? And which of their endings was not tragic?

Seeing her parents fall silent, Chu Junhan added, “I don’t understand. In the story, when the hound is no longer needed, the hunter boils it. How is that related to a hero’s merit eclipsing his lord? Father, do you know?”

Chu Xiong’s face had gone ashen. Even his young daughter grasped this simple truth—if he, Chu Xiong, did not guard against the royal family and bared his heart without reserve, then he truly would be nothing but a fool.

Though he was a man of honor with no ulterior motives, some things simply could not be ignored.

“Mother just now said she wanted Ruyan to go to Pingzhou. Will Father and Mother go as well?”

Still reeling from the previous implication, the couple was struck again by their daughter’s words.

Would they go?