Chapter 3: The Edict of Confession and the Red Book of Iron
Chu Yian had even thought about how undignified her death would be, but things didn't seem to develop as she expected.
The man covered her mouth and whispered in her ear in a low voice, "I'm going to let you go. Don't shout. I have something to talk to you about."
Chu Yian:?
Chu Yian's eyes lit up and he nodded quickly.
He's not here to kill her, nor is he a flower thief?
That's good, that's good. As long as you don't kill her, we can discuss everything.
The man looked at Chu Yian for a few seconds, as if to confirm whether she was lying, and then withdrew his hand and let her go.
Chu Yian was free and quickly moved away from the man, almost hitting him in the face with the lantern in his hand.
After seeing what the man looked like, Chu Yian was stunned, his voice full of disbelief: "Qin Sheng?"
The person who came into her room to scare her in the middle of the night was actually Qin Sheng? Her naughty little fiancé?
Qin Sheng raised his eyebrows, chuckled, walked past Chu Yian, sat down at the table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
Chu Yian looked at the closed door, then looked at the leisurely Qin Sheng, and was a little hesitant whether to run away now or stay and listen to what he had to say.
After thinking about it, I moved to the table.
She wanted to break off the engagement with Qin Sheng, and maybe Qin Sheng came over tonight because of this.
If one of these two younger generations doesn't want to get married and the other doesn't want to get married, the Duke of Qin's Mansion shouldn't make things difficult for them.
Thinking of this, Chu Yian's heart suddenly lost its scruples. After sitting down, he looked at Qin Sheng with shining eyes and asked, "Did you come to me to talk to me about breaking off the engagement?"
Qin Sheng looked at Chu Yian, seemingly puzzled: "Why should I cancel the engagement?"
Chu Yian:?
Chu Yian was stunned: "Why did you come to me if you didn't cancel the engagement? And don't you like men?" She was not a man, so the gender was wrong.
Qin Sheng had a faint smile on his face and was not annoyed by her straightforward words. After all, Chu Yian had seen him perform live.
"You're really direct, but what does my marriage to you have to do with whether I like men or women?"
Chu Yian's pupils trembled. She couldn't believe it, and at the same time, a surge of anger surged in her heart. This rag actually wanted her to be a gay wife?
Before Chu Yian could curse, Qin Sheng said, "But I came to see you tonight because of this."
Chu Yian sneered: "There is nothing else we can talk about except breaking off the engagement."
Qin Sheng: "Well, so let's not talk about breaking off the engagement, let's talk about getting married."
Chu Yian: ...
Doesn't this person understand what people are saying? She doesn't even want to talk about breaking off the engagement now, so can Qin Sheng just get out?
Qin Sheng couldn't. He spoke slowly, but the moment he said it, it was like he was throwing a nuclear bomb at Chu Yian: "You know, our marriage has been approved by the higher-ups."
Chu Yian didn't react for a moment and asked stupidly: "What do you mean by above?"
Qin Sheng pointed to the sky and saw the look of shock on Chu Yian's face as he wished, and he was satisfied.
"So do you understand? You can't cancel the engagement. You can only marry me."
Chu Yian felt his head buzz, and after a few seconds of silence, he exploded: "Is he crazy? I'm just the daughter of a sixth-rank imperial censor. Why is he staring at me? Am I some kind of destined phoenix girl who deserves his attention?"
It was quite interesting to see Chu Yian getting angry at Qin Sheng. After all, there were not many people in the world who were so rebellious as to dare to scold the emperor.
He could understand why Chu Yian was so angry.
Well, I've seen his live performances, and he's always different. And I want to marry him, so it's normal to be angry.
But I still need to remind you: "Calm down. If this gets out, you might lose your head."
Chu Yian immediately turned his attention to Qin Sheng: "If you don't like women, why did you marry me? Why didn't you stop the Qin family from proposing marriage?"
"Are you taking revenge on me for seeing you with someone else..."
"Qin Sheng, are you still a man? Even if I saw it, I never told anyone that you were not a man."
"And it was obviously your fault that you weren't paying attention. What's wrong with me going out shopping?"
"Isn't it your problem that you guys started doing it on the street?"
Qin Sheng: ...
He never thought that one day he would have to discuss this kind of issue with a girl.
Qin Sheng knew that Chu Yian had a hot temper and sometimes a little spark could ignite her.
But when this girl gets anxious, she'll say anything.
He leaned back in his chair, a bit of laziness on his face: “I know you are angry, but yelling won’t solve anything.”
Chu Yian nodded and calmed down a little: "I know, it's okay as long as I can vent."
Qin Sheng was slightly stunned when he heard this. It was the first time he heard this point of view. After thinking about it, he found that it made a lot of sense.
"Yes, let's get back to business. I've implicated you in this matter. The Emperor has been keeping an eye on Duke Qin's Mansion for a long time."
"Back then, our Qin family's ancestors followed Emperor Taizu in his campaigns and founded the Dashun Dynasty. Taizu then named our ancestors the King of Qin, and the throne became hereditary."
"But later, Emperor Xuanwu ascended the throne. In his later years, he deprived the Qin family of their throne and executed several of their generals, citing several battles they had lost."
"For a long time afterwards, the Qin family was not reused. It was not until the border war became tense and the emperor had no one to use that he thought of the Qin family again."
"Although the Qin family was once again valued, the emperor was too suspicious. As soon as the disaster was over, he found an excuse to execute the general who led the army at that time."
"General Qin Yi was disheartened and moved the Qin family out of Shengjing. He also warned the Qin family members not to lead troops into battle again. Those who violated the order would be expelled from the Qin family."
"The Xiongnu army is most wary of my Qin family. After learning that the Qin family was demoted and General Qin Yi was unwilling to return to the government, they returned and attacked again. In just one month, they lost three cities in the northern border."
"The Xiongnu are still attacking, and they are making unstoppable progress. However, within a year, the Xiongnu army almost reached the gates of Shengjing."
"The court is a bunch of good-for-nothings, all they do is push those useless people out and negotiate peace. They even want to pay tribute to the Xiongnu and offer their princess as a marriage."
"The court has no one available, so the emperor sent someone to the Qin family and asked me, the Qin family's son, to lead the army again."
"But the Qin family has long been heartbroken by the royal family. General Qin Yi frankly stated that he was injured on the battlefield a few years ago and can no longer fight."
"The other disciples have never learned the art of war and don't know how to repel the enemy."
"It's rare that the emperor realizes how much they owe my Qin family and personally came to persuade them. He visited us three times in a row, but was turned away each time."
"General Qin Yi has a strong character. He would rather the entire Qin family be executed than work for the imperial family again."
"It's not that our ancestors were unwilling to defend their country, but the price they paid was always too heavy. My Qin family members protected the people of Dashun with their flesh and blood, but in the end, not a single one of them met a good end."
"The Emperor knew that threatening the lives of Qin's clan members to force General Qin Yi to go to war was futile. By then, the Dashun Empire was on the verge of collapse. He had no other choice but to issue an edict of apology to the world and grant a red-lettered iron certificate."
"I promise that as long as the Qin family doesn't rebel, no matter what mistakes the Qin family's descendants make in the future, the red seal and iron certificate will protect the lives of my Qin family's children nine times over."
"But General Qin Yi still refused to lead the troops into battle, declaring that anyone who dared to go would be expelled from the Qin family and would never be allowed to call themselves a member of the Qin family again."
"The situation was extremely critical at the time. The Dashun Empire was on the verge of collapse. Every day of delay would have resulted in countless deaths."
"The country is on the verge of collapse, starving people are everywhere, and the people are displaced and forced to leave their homes."
"In the end, someone in the Qin family couldn't bear to see the situation continue to develop and stood up. He was my grandfather, General Qin Huaimao, and the younger brother of General Qin Yi."
"General Qin Yi is indeed as hard as stone. Just as he said, he expelled my grandfather and our branch from the Qin family and severed all ties with them."
Qin Sheng stopped talking here.
Chu Yian's heart ached when he heard this.
How many military generals have had a good ending since ancient times?
No matter how great their military achievements were or how talented they were, in the end, weren't they killed or injured because of the emperor's suspicion?
Bai Qi, Zhou Yafu, Han Xin, Yue Fei, Lai Chen, Feng Sheng...
How many generals' deaths have left generations indignant? They even became a historical regret, with countless people wishing they could travel back in time and die in their place so they could continue their conquests.
Qin Sheng took a sip of tea and continued, "In fact, my grandfather led the army to the war not only because he didn't want to see the people displaced, but also to protect the Qin family."
"The Emperor has already made the greatest concessions, even issuing an edict of apology and granting a red seal and iron certificate."
"If no one from the Qin family stands up, he will definitely order the massacre of the entire Qin family."
"My great-grandfather was indeed a genius. Furthermore, the Xiongnu army was wary of the Qin family, so he quickly turned defeat into victory."
"It took more than ten years to finally recover the lost land bit by bit."
"This time, the emperor kept his promise and did not do anything to the Qin family. However, he did not dare to confer the title of king on the Qin family and only conferred the title of duke."
"After the death of the previous emperor, the current emperor succeeded to the throne and has used both kindness and force on the Qin family over the years."
"Although he hasn't done anything to the Qin family yet, the Danshu Tiequan in our Qin family's hands has always been a thorn in the emperor's heart."
"The Red Book and Iron Certificate can save your life, but more often than not, it can hasten your death."
"He just hasn't found the opportunity yet. When he does, he will definitely slaughter my Qin family members just like all the previous emperors did. And then he will tell us that the thunder and rain are all the emperor's grace, and it is my Qin family that is wrong."
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