Chapter 211.1 - I Became the Legendary Emperor Throughout the Ages After I Started Giving Away My Territory

The protagonist of the story, Xi’er, was born into a poor peasant family.

Her father, named Yang Bailao, was like the vast majority of ordinary peasants, uneducated and made a living by farming.

He faced the ground and turned his back to the sky all his life, working from sunrise to sunset.

Although Xi’er was not considered a peerless beauty, she was still quite pretty and charming, and she depended on her father for survival.

Their neighbor had a child named Wang Dachun, also a child of a peasant family, honest and straightforward, kind and naive, and he grew up with Xi’er as childhood sweetheart, innocent of the ways of the world.

If nothing unexpected happened, the two of them would eventually be together and have children.

For an ordinary woman, this was the best possible outcome.

However, a noble family’s son called Huang Shiren took a fancy to Xi’er and wanted to possess her.

So he schemed and made her father, Yang Bailao, fall into a huge debt.

……

“Damn it! To be targeted by that noble family’s son, Huang Shiren!”

“Being beautiful is a mistake! The little girl from my neighbor’s house, who is just like Xi’er, was also fancied by the landlord’s foolish son, who also wanted to take her as a concubine! In the end… alas!”

“Such a good girl, Xi’er, how could she fall into the hands of a villainous wolf?”

“What happened next? Did Huang Shiren succeed?”

“Did Xi’er manage to overcome him?”

Everyone was moved and asked the storytelle eagerly.

The storyteller sighed: “Because he couldn’t repay the debt, Huang Shiren forced Yang Bailao to sell Xi’er to settle the debt in the end!”

The crowd spoke up again, indignant.

“Despicable! I knew it would end like this! The lovely Xi’er ultimately fell into Huang Shiren’s hands!”

“It’s not the thief who steals that I fear, but the thief who covets!”

(TLN: Maybe the act of theft itself can be dealt with, but the persistent intent of a thief to steal poses more threat? idk.)

“That Yang Bailao is too useless! He can’t even protect his own daughter!”

“We should say that Huang Shiren is too cunning. Yang Bailao is an honest farmer, how could he possibly outwit a noble family’s son?”

“Yeah, how can an ordinary common person possibly stand up to a noble family?”

“What happened to Xi’er later?”

“And what about Yang Bailao, that worthless man who failed in his fatherly duties?”

After taking a sip of tea, the storyteller continued: “Later, Yang Bailao was so grief-stricken that he felt he had let down his daughter. After returning home, he took his own life! That night was New Year’s Eve, a time for family reunions! Yang Bailao left this world, leaving behind his only daughter! Alas!”

“Yang Bailao… died? Just like that?” The crowd opened their mouths with much to say.

But the words were stuck at the tip of their tongues, and they couldn’t speak, feeling very conflicted.

Yang Bailao was truly a man who inspired both love and hate.

Although he was illiterate, he was hardworking, honest, and kind. He had endured hardships for over a decade to raise Xi’er, which was not easy and commanded respect.

As a father, he fulfilled his responsibilities.

But it was also he who indirectly pushed his own daughter into the clutches of a demon.

And then, he just died!

“How could he commit suicide? He loved Xi’er so much. He should have continued to protect her, not let her fall into Huang Shiren’s hands!”

“But even if he were alive, what could he have done?”

“He was just an ordinary farmer, after all. The moment Huang Shiren set his sights on Xi’er, he had already lost!”

“He had no power or influence; he really… couldn’t do anything!”

“In the end, filled with despair, he could only seek death! Alas~~”

All the helplessness turned into a sigh.

At this moment, everyone was startled awake!

This Yang Bailao, isn’t that themselves?

They too are hardworking, honest, and kind, toiling diligently all their lives, never complaining to anyone.

They also have loved ones to cherish and protect, be it Xi’er or someone else, they are the motivation for their struggle.

But just the same, they can be exploited by the landlord noble family.

If those landlord noble families want to bully their “Xi’er,” they too are powerless to do anything.

Any resistance is futile; there’s only the path of death!!!

“Alas! Such is the fate of the poor!”

“What happened to Xi’er later?” someone asked.

“Later…”

The storyteller spoke slowly, “On the second day, the first day of the New Year, Xi’er was snatched away by Huang Shiren before she had time to arrange the funeral He forcibly took her for himself!”

“Alas!” Everyone sighed again, feeling a sense of powerlessness.

Although they had guessed the ending, hearing it spoken aloud still made them unbearably heartbroken.

It was as if someone close to them had been taken away.

“Damn that Huang Shiren!”

“Damn that noble family!”

“I don’t want to share the same sky with you!”

Everyone was grinding their teeth in anger, wishing they could flay Huang Shiren’s skin.

The storyteller continued.

Afterward, Xi’er lived in Huang’s residence, bullied by Huang Shiren every day, enduring endless torment.

To sever Xi’er’s affection for Wang Dachun, Huang Shiren used his power to take away the Wang family’s land and drive them out, leaving them to lead a life of refugees and suffering.

Everyone listened with heartache and sorrow.

Such a good Xi’er!

Such a perfect match!

And yet, they were torn apart alive!

“Damn that Huang Shiren!”

“Damn that noble family!”

The storyteller went on.

Due to repeated violations, Xi’er became pregnant, and her life was basically ruined.

Later, with the help of kind people, she finally escaped, but the baby she gave birth to on the way died young.

She ran into the deep mountains, living in the wild, and due to lack of nutrition, her once black and shiny hair all turned white, making her look like a ghost and feared by everyone.

“I see, Xi’er is The White-Haired Girl!”

“To look like a ghost at such a young age, her life was completely ruined!”

“What a pitiful child, who will go help her?”

“Damn that Huang Shiren! Damn that noble family!”

Everyone was gnashing their teeth in anger.

They saw themselves in Xi’er, as well as what their own “Xi’er” would look like.

They wished they could flay Huang Shiren alive and devour his flesh and blood.

At this moment, the storyteller picked up his erhu and began to play slowly, a melancholy and mournful tune gradually filling the air.

This piece was called “Moon Reflected on the Second Spring” and had been incorporated into the novel by Lin Beifan.

As everyone listened to this sorrowful melody, images of Xi’er’s miserable and downtrodden life came to mind, and they couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness.

“Damn that Huang Shiren! Damn that noble family!”

……

Just like that, the story of “The White-Haired Girl” quickly became popular among the common people at the bottom of society.

With each retelling, their hatred for the noble families above them grew stronger!

Their hatred for the vast number of noble families’s “Huang Shirens” intensified!

And with the addition of several other storybooks, the effect was tremendous!

***