Chapter 37
In the distant capital city of Wangjing, flowers and willows flourish, cicadas chirp incessantly, pleasure boats and painted barges cruise the lake day and night, the sound of pipa echoes on the water, and singers and dancers laugh and frolic.
The court no longer reports on people's livelihoods, but only discusses matters related to summer retreats. Last year, due to the late emperor's passing, Emperor Xingde observed mourning and did not leave the palace to escape the summer heat. This year, seeing the peaceful and prosperous times, with singing and dancing, Emperor Xingde is full of pride and is determined to make the trip.
The emperor's procession leaving the palace was naturally not to be taken lightly. Since the concubines and court officials also had to accompany him, the Imperial Guards, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Court of Imperial Stud all gathered together, with the number of guards alone exceeding ten thousand. Xie Qingzhou was among them, leaving early and returning late every day. He was frequently summoned to the palace, and Emperor Xingde seemed to rely on him greatly, promoting him to a higher official rank.
But when he returned home that day, he looked somber. That evening, he met with his father and brothers in the study to discuss matters. He then dropped a bombshell: "Today, when I entered the palace, His Majesty led me to see the Yue King's sword. I feel that the Yue King's sword is probably fake."
Xie Qingya remained silent, his expression thoughtful. Xie Wen lowered his eyelids, absently twirling his prayer beads. Xie Qingzhou, unlike his father and brothers, was not as composed. He almost frowned, saying, "I thought it was good that we found it, but if this sword is fake, then where is the real one?"
If it were just a sword, its authenticity wouldn't matter. But the Yue King's Sword is no ordinary weapon. It was the personal sword of the founding emperor of the Sheng Kingdom. He used it to assassinate the previous dynasty's tyrannical ruler and then command the heroes. After the founding emperor ascended the throne, he bestowed the Yue King's Sword upon his top general, Pei Xingyu. Later, rumors began to circulate that the sword was malevolent and that its owner would inevitably be bewitched and fantasize about establishing his own independent regime.
The Pei family was cautious, and during the reign of the late emperor, they presented the sword to the royal family to quell the rumors. This Pei family was the same Pei family as the Prince of the South.
Therefore, when the Yue King's sword was stolen from the palace last time, Xie Qingzhou, like everyone else, believed that it was the Southern Prince's son who had plotted against it. Later, when it was found in the palace, he thought he had misunderstood. Now that the Yue King's sword in the palace is fake, his suspicious gaze immediately turned to Pei Du.
Xie Qingzhou grew increasingly anxious: "We can't let Ayao marry Pei Du. If she gets involved in this, how can she escape?"
Xie Qingya, however, calmly picked up her teacup and took a sip, then lowered her voice to scold him: "Why are you so flustered? You say that sword is fake, so you're accusing Prince Pei without any evidence? You only had the good fortune to touch it last year, but His Majesty has been watching it every day. Even His Majesty's all-seeing eye has not said it's fake. How can your words convince the public?"
Xie Qingzhou's eyes widened, and in a flash, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. He thought he had been in the officialdom for two years, and had seen all kinds of flattery, sycophancy, shirking responsibility, and taking credit, but he never expected that his father and brother, though of noble character, were actually as cunning as a deep abyss.
He couldn't believe it: "You all know why you want A-Yao to marry him? Even if His Majesty arranged the marriage, if we don't want to, can you force us?"
Xie Wen paused, the prayer beads he had just been handling sliding down the string and striking the beads below with a soft sound. He raised his eyelids, staring at the flickering candlelight, and sighed deeply: "The heart of an emperor is unfathomable, and signs of national chaos are already emerging. My Xie family would gladly die for our country, but I have long worried about your mother and your sister. After much thought, the southern lands do seem like a good place for them."
"The mountains stretch endlessly, the pontoon bridges sway gently, and a light boat can cross countless mountains. There is no need to rely on a bridge to cross the boundless land. The barbarians already have the intention to invade. If one day the mountains and rivers collapse, neither the noble families nor the common people in this capital will be able to survive."
Xie Qingzhou remained silent for a long time. Before today, he had longed to fight the Hu people with swords and spears, but he had never realized what the destruction of the country meant to ordinary people. The Hu people were barbaric by nature since their tribal origins and often massacred cities. Even after establishing a country, they did not change their ways, which is why the Sheng Dynasty called them "Tusha".
"Let's leave this matter at that. Don't say anything more to your sister. Let her and her daughter stay in Huaizhou for a while longer."
Xie Qingzhou nodded in agreement, but one thing remained unclear: "How did the Yue King's sword get lost?"
Xie Wen said, "This sword has a spirit; there's no need to worry about it anymore."
——
Huaizhou was also very lively in the summer. The cicadas chirped so loudly that people couldn't rest for a while. Xie Qinghong leaned against the couch and read a book. She had been reading a wide variety of books lately, including painting and literature, astronomy and geography, agriculture and industry. However, she hadn't touched any travelogues.
The travelogue, once she got excited, longed to go on a trip immediately. However, the summer sun was scorching, and she felt like she would melt if she stood in the sun for even a moment. She didn't want to step out of the house and relied on ice to cool off every day. Yuan Qingqing also said that it was too hot and they needed to wait a couple of days before trying to plant it.
Fortunately, there was a cool breeze from time to time today, and Xie Qinghong was quite comfortable leaning against the window enjoying the breeze. Suddenly, she heard a soft sound outside the window. She subconsciously looked up and saw something fall from the roof, which startled the guards who went to investigate.
She peeked out to look, but before she could see what it was, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind. Caught off guard, she turned around, gasped, and instinctively threw the book she was holding at the person.
The man simply grabbed the heavy book, and it landed in his hand as if it were weightless.
Xie Qinghong was shocked and pale: "How did you get in?!"
Pei Du turned around and gestured to the window on the other side, then very naturally stepped forward and closed the window facing the courtyard gate before saying, "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
Xie Qinghong looked at his series of actions with a face full of doubt. Either he had a problem or Pei Du had a problem—he obviously didn't have a problem, so it must be Pei Du who had a problem!
"I don't want to go." She stood up straight, facing the cold and ruthless Pei, and even showed a bit of the unyielding spirit of someone who had been forcibly taken from her.
However, the Pei family was full of tyrants, and he didn't even frown at the girl's unwavering loyalty: "Didn't you say you wanted to clear land and farm? There's a nice mountain not far from Huaizhou, I'll take you there to seize it."
Xie Qinghong: "...Isn't the word 'robbery' a bit inappropriate?"
Pei Du's murderous aura proved that the word "robbery" was used very appropriately: "There is a bandit's den in that mountain. Qiu Min has tried to raid it several times but has failed each time. Since you are short of land now, take down that bandit's den first."
Xie Qinghong was bewildered in silence. Would anyone really bring their fiancée to raid a bandit's den?
He truly lives up to the legendary Prince Pei, the peerless war god who, at the age of sixteen, could wipe out two bandit dens and behead seventy or eighty people in one night.
She sincerely declined, saying, "You can go, I'm afraid I'll get in your way."
Pei Du looked at her intently for a moment: "Don't worry, you won't get in the way."
His words were casual, yet they silently revealed a hint of arrogance, as if to say that even the heaviest burdens and stumbling blocks were not worth mentioning.
Xie Qinghong tilted his head back and asked a insightful question: "So you insist that I go, just to show off your heroic figure in front of me?"
Pei Du looked down at her in surprise, unsure how to answer, when a blush crept up his ears. Seeing the fierce yet blushing peerless war god, Xie Qinghong blinked innocently.
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