Chapter 26: Scheming.
After Emperor Jiahe's death, the world, which had been intimidated by his past achievements, seemed to awaken from its transparent shell, gradually revealing its cruel and turbulent nature.
The Seventh Prince declared himself emperor in Hengzhou, establishing the Fengtian Kingdom. However, the expected scene of officials paying homage after the Crown Prince's death never materialized. Moreover, even the states of Danzhou and Xuzhou, who had once supported him, began to feign compliance while secretly rebelling. They were like vicious dogs raised on blood and gore; without Emperor Jiahe, the states they had previously annexed were no longer enough to satisfy their appetites, and they began to instigate conflict in other states.
Meanwhile, the imperial court was in complete chaos.
After the Crown Prince died, he left behind two young sons: one was the eldest son born to the Crown Princess, and the other was the legitimate son born to the Crown Princess.
One was the eldest son, and the other was the legitimate heir. Although the Crown Princess had Xie Yu and Grand Secretary Cui behind her, the Crown Consort was also a daughter of a marquis. Those who were unwilling to watch Xie Yu and Grand Secretary Cui join forces to control the government all supported the eldest son and even tried to win over Geng Qing.
Although they were numerous, they each had their own agendas and were no match for Xie Yu and Grand Secretary Cui.
However, Consort Zhuang had a twelfth prince under her wing, who was already approaching twenty.
When the Crown Prince was alive, because of the Sixteenth Princess, Grand Secretary Cui would inevitably side with the Crown Prince.
But nowadays, how can one be as close as one's own nephew when it comes to one's nephew-in-law's nephew?
Moreover, the Crown Prince has two children, one five years old and the other not even two. The court greatly fears a young ruler and a suspicious court, and his words immediately garnered considerable support. —Although the Crown Prince is the Crown Prince, he has not yet ascended the throne. Even according to etiquette, it is inappropriate to bypass the other princes and establish his son as emperor. Furthermore, the Seven Princes outside are eyeing the throne covetously; it would be better to directly establish one prince as emperor to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.
Everyone has their own considerations and interests; they either associate with each other to curry favor or attack each other.
The court was in chaos, everyone wanted the credit for supporting the emperor, and very few were willing to work diligently.
Xie Yu sat in his study, unable to hide his exhaustion. He still couldn't understand why the Crown Prince insisted on personally leading the troops to attack Hengzhou.
Mingming, the Crown Prince has never liked riding and archery since he was a child, nor has he ever intended to achieve merit on horseback.
He had clearly calculated everything. The death of Emperor Jiahe was the best thing for the Crown Prince, who could immediately ascend the throne in the capital.
After ascending the throne, his decrees and orders to the various prefectures became more legitimate. He planned everything perfectly, and all he needed was time for the court to recover and for the newly trained soldiers to be available. Then he could launch a decisive attack on Hengzhou and suppress Xu and Dan. Everything was under his control.
But as if drawn by an invisible force, the Crown Prince not only led his troops into battle, but also stubbornly attacked Yuling Pass until his death.
Afterwards, Cui Ge Lao and Geng Qing betrayed him one after another, and the situation became difficult to control.
He was lost in thought when a servant came to announce, "Young master, the princess has arrived."
Although he was the only adult male left in the household, the servants still habitually called him "Young Master".
Xie Yu composed himself and said, "Please invite the princess in."
The sixteenth princess came over with a food box and took out a few dishes of congee and side dishes. "I know you don't want to eat in the evening, but these days the lights in the study are often not turned off until dawn, so you need to eat something to stay awake."
Xie Yu smiled and said, "Thank you, Princess."
The sixteenth princess said, "I only made a few simple dishes, I don't know if they will suit your taste."
Xie Yu said gently, "I like anything the princess makes."
The sixteenth princess blushed slightly, sat aside and waited for him to finish eating before clearing away the dishes and preparing to leave.
Xie Yu said, "I've been busy lately, so I'm leaving the household and the children in your care. Please eat more, rest more, and take good care of yourself."
Upon hearing this, the sixteenth princess's eyes reddened slightly, and she couldn't help but say, "Yulang, I went to the palace to see my mother today. I asked her to persuade my uncle, but she refused. I...I...I know that my uncle has made things difficult for you several times recently, and I'm afraid you'll blame me..."
Xie Yu wiped away her tears with his sleeve. "The affairs of the court are matters for us men. You must not worry about them, and you need not blame yourself for them. Just remember that no matter who wins or loses, you will always be my wife, Xie Yu, and your mother's daughter. That's enough."
Upon hearing this, the sixteenth princess could no longer contain herself and nestled in his arms, sobbing softly.
Xie Yu patted her shoulder gently: "Alright, alright, crying too much is bad for your health. You go back first, I'll go back to my room to rest after I'm busy for a while."
.
The border of Ningzhou has been in chaos recently, because after Xuzhou annexed Qingzhou, it naturally wanted to occupy Huangzhou, which has a considerable area.
So, a battle broke out there with the White Lotus Sect.
When it comes to military campaigns, the White Lotus Sect is no match for any other sect. They only managed to keep the Danzhou troops outside Huangzhou by relying on the fearlessness of their followers.
Qin Lie and Qin Hong watched from afar, while Sun Yuebin behind them stuck out her tongue in fright. "I've never seen a battle where losing isn't enough, but everyone has to die. Even if Danzhou wins, the losses will be heavy, and I'm afraid it will be a losing proposition."
Qin Hong said, "But if we don't take Huangzhou, we'll have to face Hengzhou and Danzhou. Compared to those two prefectures, Huangzhou is easier to take."
Qin Lie asked, "If it were you, what would you do?"
Qin Hong said, "The Danzhou army is still too weak. If I were leading the Jizhou army, we would have taken at least three counties in Huangzhou by now!"
Qin Lie remained silent, which meant he was dissatisfied.
Sun Yuebin just chuckled and didn't answer.
Qin Hong got annoyed: "Spit it out if you have something to say, what are you laughing at?"
Sun Yuebin observed Qin Lie's expression and said carefully, "Actually, this matter is difficult in some ways, but simple in others. Xuzhou attacked Huangzhou for people, land, and wealth. It seems we can't take the people, so taking the land and wealth is easy, right? Drive those people into a city, set it on fire, or even better, poison their water. Once everyone is dead, the land and wealth will be ours for the taking."
Upon hearing this, Qin Lie's lips curled slightly. He reined in his horse, turned it around, and galloped towards Ningzhou.
Qin Hong rode up behind, while Sun Yuebin lagged far behind. Qin Hong said, "Third Brother, this kid is really too strange. Sometimes when I hear him talk, I feel a chill."
Qin Lie nodded, "This person is insidious; stay away from him."
Qin Hong didn't understand: "Then why does Third Brother still value him so highly?"
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people."
Qin Hong was unaware of what extraordinary circumstances this was, since no matter how others fought, no one dared to provoke the Qin family.
What he didn't understand even more was, "Third brother, what have you been doing in Ningzhou all this time, except for going to Chenzhou once? You didn't even go back for my father's birthday last month. It can't be that you're here to fight alongside me against a common enemy."
His third brother treated him like family, but not to the point of forgetting proper etiquette.
When his father celebrated his birthday, his third brother didn't actually have anything important to do in Ningzhou. If it were in the past, he would have gone back early in the morning, but this time he found an excuse. At the time, he was touched, but now looking back, it seems that his third brother didn't really want to support him, but rather didn't want to go back to Jizhou.
He reasonably guessed: "Did Grandmother also ask you to look after those young ladies?"
That's why he didn't want to go back. If his grandmother caught him, he would have to attend banquets, big and small, and be admired by people, and he would have to pretend to be a refined scholar.
Qin Lie didn't bother to answer, spurred his horse, shook off Qin Hong, and rode forward.
When Qin Lie returned to Jizhou, Lingyi was wearing an early summer dress, her lower abdomen slightly protruding, revealing an indistinct curve.
Seeing him approach, she felt a mix of unease and slight relief, and greeted him softly, "The General is back."
His gaze shifted from her abdomen to her face; she had gained a little weight, but her spirits were still not very high.
"Is the child still bothering you?" he asked.
"Thankfully, he's stopped vomiting so much." She said as she removed his light armor and helped him change into regular clothes.
He then asked, "What did you just eat?"
He stood there for a while, while she listlessly ate, putting one piece after another into her mouth, lost in thought.
"Plum, would the general like some?" she asked.
Qin Lie remained silent, so Ling Yi took the small jar from him. Qin Lie pinched a piece and put it in his mouth, but the sourness made him unable to maintain his usual cold expression.
Lingyi couldn't help but laugh, her eyebrows curving and her smile radiant, looking like an innocent young girl, not at all like someone who was going to be a mother.
The thought of the child made Qin Lie's face darken again. He walked into the house with his hands behind his back, ignoring everyone else.
Lingyi frowned again.
The two finished their dinner in silence. Qin Lie increasingly regretted not returning directly to the Prince's Mansion, but instead coming back here first.
He was always decisive and efficient, never hesitant or indecisive. Even when he made up his mind, he had a clear plan in mind. But this child... He made up his mind several times, but then postponed his return trip. This time, he finally made up his mind, but when he actually arrived, he still couldn't help but hesitate.
I thought to myself, no wonder the ancients said, even a tiger won't eat its cubs, it really makes it hard to decide.
Feeling a tightness in his chest that he couldn't relieve, Qin Lie's face grew increasingly dark. After rinsing his mouth, he prepared to return to his residence in the princess's mansion.
As I turned around, someone grabbed my sleeve; I knew who it was without even looking.
He raised an eyebrow: "You want me to stay?"
She knew perfectly well why he came here each time and what they were doing. Now that she was heavily pregnant, how could she dare to keep him around?
Lingyi didn't speak, but gently pulled his belt to the bedside, and with a gentle push, he fell back onto the bed.
After a long, long time, he lifted her up, panting heavily, gently wiped the white fluid from the corner of her mouth, and said in a deep voice, "You deserve to die."
Lingyi's face immediately turned deathly pale. He knew she had misunderstood, and pulled her into his arms. "Before, I had to serve you until you were comfortable, begging and coaxing you before you would even do something like this. Today I realize that what difference was there between you and a three-year-old child back then? Tell me, do you deserve to die?"
She didn't speak, but snuggled gently against him, whether out of shyness or resentment, it was hard to tell.
Qin Lie was enjoying the long-lost feeling of relaxation when he suddenly felt something strange in his chest that he couldn't ignore.
He lifted the face of the person in his arms, and what he saw were two eyes red from crying. She didn't want him to see, so she turned her face away, but he grabbed her chin and pulled her back, exposing her to his gaze.
He bluntly said, "You want to please people, but you also feel wronged. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
Lingyi stammered, "I am not wronged. I am serving the general willingly."
Upon hearing her call him General, Qin Lie's mind raced, and he immediately got up to get dressed and leave.
When he got out of bed, she grabbed him again, looking at him with a bewildered and helpless expression, her fear evident.
Qin Lie now knew why she was always so listless—she was preoccupied with too many thoughts.
He stared at her for a while, then took off his outer robe, lay back on the bed, and reached out, and she nestled obediently into his arms.
Although he had returned, he was still resentful. "Liu Lingyi, since you are so unwilling, there is no need to pretend. Do you think I would lack women to serve me without you?" He changed the subject and sneered, "When you were seducing and flattering that Commander Zhang, did you feel this wronged?"
Upon hearing this, both of them fell silent; even Qin Lie hadn't expected to utter those words.
The two had never mentioned this before, but they couldn't pretend it had never happened.
This was a thorn in his side. The thought of his woman seducing and flattering such a despicable man, holding his hand, hugging him, and kissing him, even in the dead of night, made Qin Lie want to dig that man out of the ground and tear him to pieces.
And Liu Lingyi, that harlot... is now pregnant with his child again, and is using the same old tricks on him, thinking that by using her beauty to seduce him, he can be like that man, at her beck and call.
The moment this thought arose, Qin Lie felt an overwhelming surge of hatred in his chest, a desire to strangle her right before his eyes.
But she can't die, how can she die so easily? He wants her to be like him, to tossing and turning in bed every night, filled with unbearable hatred, a heart-wrenching pain that's hard to shake off!
The hatred in his eyes was so obvious that Lingyi couldn't help but shrink back, placing her hand on her lower abdomen, filled with despair.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" he pressed. "What were you thinking back then? Were you proud that yet another person had fallen for you, or did you feel wronged and sad like you do now? Or perhaps..." He found a reason for her and slowly said, "Those things were done by Xie San Niang, who was impersonating you. It has nothing to do with you?"
“It’s not her, it’s me,” Lingyi said.
He paused, then said sarcastically, "You're finally being honest now."
"Qin Lie." She called his name for the first time and said slowly, "I'm not lying to you. Those things were not only done by me, but they were all my ideas. No one instigated or guided me. It was all my deliberate plan to leave the princess's residence."
Qin Lie could barely maintain his mocking smile, and could only let out a cold snort.
“The situation was urgent at the time, and I resorted to this desperate measure. I didn’t feel wronged or sad afterwards. I just felt…” She carefully chose her words, “…disdain. I despise that person, and I despise myself even more. After leaving Jizhou, I felt disgusted when I thought about it again, and I secretly vomited a few times behind Xie Sanniang’s back.”
Qin Lie asked sarcastically, "So now you despise yourself and me, and then secretly vomit after I leave?"
"No." Lingyi looked directly into his eyes. "I lied to you just now. I... I really felt wronged, that's why I cried."
Why?
"Because you are different from him."
"What's the difference?" he pressed.
Lingyi looked away and did not answer.
Qin Lie placed his hand on her lower abdomen and threatened, "Liu Lingyi, tell the truth."
“You are different from everyone else because…” Lingyi lowered her eyelashes, her voice soft and gentle, “From the day I married you, I have regarded you as my husband.”
She spoke with embarrassment and sadness, tears streaming from her eyes like broken pearls, falling onto his chest and burning his heart.
He had never seen a woman shed so many tears, and the tears were so perfectly timed—his heart, which had been hardened just moments before, immediately softened again.
He knew he shouldn't have come back!
After a moment, he gently patted her back and offered a dry, comforting remark: "Don't cry, go to sleep early."
Lingyi falls asleep very quickly. She hasn't been sleeping well lately, either dreaming that he suddenly comes back and cuts open her stomach, or dreaming that Qin Xiaohu is holding a bowl of medicine and pouring it directly into her mouth.
Then I woke up with a heart palpitation and couldn't fall back asleep.
She was afraid he would come back, but even more afraid he wouldn't.
If he comes back, there is still room for maneuver.
But if she doesn't come back and directly orders Qin Xiaohu to force-feed her medicine, she will be powerless to save her.
He's back now, and although there have been some twists and turns, at least the child is safe these days.
Lingyi slept well that night, which was a rare treat.
In her dream, she saw Aunt Liu Cui again, in Chonghua Palace before her marriage. Her aunt was giving her hair a makeover while teaching her.
Men are all self-righteous scoundrels.
Even if you don't love him, you should make him feel that you love him at least 70%.
If you love him too much, you should make him feel that you only love him seven-tenths of the time.
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