Chapter 55 Attendants Twenty-Three
The Nian army's grain transport team instantly became the target of everyone's criticism.
The leader suddenly remembered the haste when he left the granary, and recalled being stopped and questioned by his father-in-law along the way. He was extremely uneasy and regretted not having carefully checked the grain. If the mob had indeed found problematic grain, then everything would be over.
Now, revealing it is not an option, nor is not revealing it; Chun Chun is caught in this dilemma.
As the standoff continued, the people began to forcibly tear open the grain sacks. The leading general hurriedly ordered his soldiers to stop them. Seeing this, the people of Dawn City tore even more vigorously. Several ringleaders quietly retreated to the back of the crowd and shouted at the top of their lungs, "If you don't let people see, you're guilty! See, we were right!"
The grain sacks were torn open by the frantic tearing, spilling the yellowish-brown dried rations onto the ground, staining it with blood. The people of Dawn City crouched down to look, their faces initially showing either grim or frantic skepticism, but moments later, their expressions transformed into a desperate thirst for food. Someone, seemingly unconcerned about the filth, began to wrap the spilled grain in their clothes, picking it up without a second thought.
Immediately, everyone started looting. The grain transport team then realized that there was nothing wrong with the grain and hurriedly stepped forward to stop them.
The strategist observing from the tower was pondering how to deal with this meticulously designed trap, but when he rushed over, the situation had already spiraled out of control. After a moment's thought, he immediately ordered his soldiers to drive away the troublemakers, allowing only those who hadn't participated in the disturbance to receive their rations.
Those who managed to seize the grain clutched their sacks tightly, shouting and cursing incessantly, some even continuing to incite resistance. But this time, the silent majority did not stand by their side. Instead, they watched helplessly as one troublemaker after another was pinned to the ground by the soldiers, and as the grain in their hands was taken back and distributed to them.
The rebellion that was brewing in Dawn City was extinguished before it could even spread.
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The silver moon hung high in the sky, with a few wisps of leaden clouds sweeping by, obscuring a corner of the moon, but soon they were washed away by the strong wind and cast their clear light again.
It was nearly midnight when the King of Zhen returned to his camp. Zhen Su was meditating on his bed when he noticed the commotion outside the tent. He instinctively wanted to get up and go to the tent door to greet him, but then he remembered the King of Zhen's parting words, "I'll deal with you when I get back." He barely managed to pull his feet back from the edge of the bed and simply lay down on it, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.
The sound of armor clashing came from outside the tent. When the King of Zhen entered with several generals, they were still discussing matters. But after catching a glimpse of someone sleeping on the bed, he stopped talking abruptly. The King of Zhen waved his hand to dismiss the others and said to them in a very low voice, "You can decide the rest of the matters yourselves. Report back if there are any important matters."
Although the generals were bewildered by the emperor's fickle heart—he had just said he had important matters to discuss and needed them to come into the tent, but now he didn't need them—they believed that the emperor must have his reasons for doing so. Therefore, they clasped their hands in apology and withdrew.
Although Shinjuku's eyes were closed, his divine sense was active, and he could see everything clearly.
The King of Poison slowly walked to the bedside, lowered his eyes and stared at him. After a long while, he suddenly took off his blood-stained cloak, which startled Shinju so much that his heart tightened and his eyelashes trembled slightly.
Unexpectedly, the King of Poison bent down, reached his hands through the back of his neck and the back of his knees, and intended to pick him up.
When he was still conscious, his weight was about the same as that of an ordinary adult. When he was abducted and put on a horse earlier, he was afraid of breaking the King of Zhen's back, so he took the initiative to use his internal energy to make himself lighter. Now he pretended to be asleep, so he let the King of Zhen support his heavy body.
He wanted to see what the King of Poison intended to do.
Then he learned that the King of Zhen carried him to a makeshift bed next to him, placed him on a soft wool blanket, and gently covered him with a rabbit fur quilt.
After tucking the blankets in, the King of Zhen sat down on the next bed, turned his head and stared at Shinju for a long while, his eyes filled with nothing but pure, dark ink. Shinju met his gaze with his divine sense, and felt as if that focused gaze could see right through him. Feeling a little guilty, he simply withdrew his divine sense and stopped looking.
After a moment of silence in the tent, Shinju heard a barely perceptible sigh from beside him, followed by the distinctive creaking of the bamboo couch, mixed with the rustling of clothing. Shinju guessed that the King of Poison must have fallen asleep on the couch.
The bed and the couch were right next to each other. After Zhen Su lay down, he felt that the occasional cold wind that seeped into the tent was completely blocked. This corner suddenly became peaceful and warm, as if there was a kind of tranquility that he had never felt when he was alone.
He usually didn't really fall asleep at night, always cultivating all night long, but today he felt sleepiness creeping in. He slept soundly in the warm rabbit fur quilt, feeling like he was being embraced and wrapped up. After falling into a deep sleep, he unconsciously raised his eyebrows and eyes.
Two steady auras gradually merged.
The next morning, as soon as Shinju woke up, he noticed that the King of the Abyss was sleeping on the bed with his arms crossed, without even a blanket covering him. He couldn't help but reach out and touch the King of the Abyss's forehead and neck. Fortunately, they were neither too cold nor too warm, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, Masaya quietly got out of bed, took the rabbit fur comforter, and covered the King of Blades with it.
As soon as the lid was put on, the King of Poison lifted his eyelids and stared straight at the True Monk.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." Shinju put on his shoes and straightened his clothes. "Does Your Majesty wish to get up now? If so, I will go and fetch your toiletries."
King Zhen stared at Shinjuku without speaking for a long time.
"Your Majesty?" Shinju had no choice but to ask again.
The King of Hell blinked hard, clearly still half-asleep and dazed. Shinju had never seen the King of Hell like this before and found it quite novel. After a moment, the King of Hell was about to lift the rabbit fur quilt to get up, but then it caught a whiff of the lingering scent of agarwood and stopped abruptly, saying only, "Hmm, I'll get up in a bit."
Shinju turned and walked out of the tent, and the two guards standing outside the tent immediately bowed to him.
Good morning, Eunuch Qing.
"Lord Qing, you're up so early?"
Shinju replied, "Good morning, both of you. His Majesty is about to rise, so I will go and prepare his toiletries."
The guards understood, a hint of admiration flashing in their eyes.
Inside the military camp, everything was hastily arranged. Not only were the food, drink, and sanitation basic, but the daytime heat was unbearable, and the nights were bitterly cold; even with charcoal braziers lit, the chill was still penetrating to the bone. Even these rough men, accustomed to making do with what they had, were finding it quite difficult to endure. It was a mystery how this young attendant eunuch had managed to present himself so respectably; he looked remarkably well, and just as when he arrived, he was still exquisitely beautiful, like a jade statue from a painting.
The guards watched him leave, but after a short while, they saw him return carrying a bucket of hot water in one hand and a cloth and copper basin in the other. He smiled at them and then pushed open the curtain to enter the tent.
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The cities that Fang had captured were not yet secure. Although the people of Dawn City had received their rations and had not yet caused any trouble, judging from their expressions, most of them were secretly hoping that Feng's army would come to their rescue.
However, no one expected that instead of their heavenly soldiers, Dawn City would be attacked by the other two border cities that had been conquered by the Nian Kingdom.
"How is this possible?!" The Emperor of Feng Kingdom had just received the extremely arrogant challenge from Nian Kingdom the day before yesterday, and was furious, cursing for a whole day before calming down. Who would have thought that today, intelligence would arrive that everything predicted in the challenge had come true, causing him, the emperor of the great Feng Kingdom, to lose all face.
The Emperor of Feng Kingdom could not swallow this insult. In a fit of rage, he drew his sword and beheaded two high-ranking officials who resembled secretaries of the Privy Council.
The imperial court was filled with dread.
The Emperor of Feng Kingdom's eyes widened like copper bells, his bloodthirsty gaze sweeping over his subjects. "Wasn't our army the one with the upper hand before, swallowing two of their cities?! How has it turned into our entire border falling in the blink of an eye?! You are all good-for-nothings!! You can't even defeat a mere Nian Kingdom! How dare you stand here?! Believe me, I will exterminate every single one of you, your entire clan! You are truly a bunch of useless slaves!"
What's even more infuriating is that the Nian Kingdom seized two of their most important cities: one rich in minerals, with abundant high-quality iron ore and extremely rare silver mines, and the other containing salt-producing areas and top-quality tea-producing regions. These two cities guarded the vital trade route between the Northern Kingdom and the Nian Kingdom, and once they were taken by the Nian Kingdom, it would be impossible to stop their trade with the Northern Kingdom.
The more the Emperor of Feng Kingdom thought about it, the more his blood surged. His chest felt so tight that he swept all the precious artifacts and treasures off the ground. The eunuch who came to help him was slapped and lost two of his molars.
The ministers broke out in a cold sweat, utterly perplexed: the Nian Kingdom's court was clearly rife with parasites, filled with self-serving spies and powerful maternal relatives who had provided Feng Kingdom with comprehensive assistance and concessions, even secretly helping them acquire Yun City and Tianhe City. Could it be that those parasites were all faking it?! They couldn't possibly have been turned; what ruler would tolerate such traitors?
The messenger knelt on the ground, feeling a chill on the back of his neck. The severed head had rolled to his feet, and his lower garment was already soaked with urine. The stench wafted through the air, but he paid no heed, his mind preoccupied with the second half of his intelligence report. He dared not speak, nor dared he remain silent; he could only kneel and beg the emperor to ignore him.
However, while the emperor forgot, some people did not, and even thought that there might still be room for maneuver in the intelligence, so they urged the messenger to report it down.
Upon hearing this, the messenger felt a wave of dizziness. Noticing the emperor's venomous gaze, he managed to steady himself and said in a trembling voice, "Of the two cities that Nian Kingdom will conquer, one will be renamed Yongshun City, and the other will be named Huaiqing City..."
A moment of silence fell over the entire Feng Kingdom court. The messenger caught a glimpse of a flash of silver light out of the corner of his eye, but then could not sense anything else.
The three border cities of Feng Kingdom have taken a completely different turn from what is recorded in history. Today, they have been incorporated into the territory of Nian Kingdom and have become a new buffer zone between Nian Kingdom and Feng Kingdom.
“Yongshun City, Huaiqing City… Your Majesty is very thoughtful.” General Xi stroked the map and smiled with relief. “Fengshun, Second Brother, it’s my turn next.”
Upon hearing this, the strategist turned around abruptly and grabbed Xi Tongzhao. "General, you—this Dawn City has only just been captured and is far from stable! No, there's also Lang City, and even the entire frontier; everyone needs you!"
General Xi insisted on prying off the strategist's hand, gripping it tightly, then letting it go. The fine lines at the corners of his eyes gradually squeezed into deep furrows, until they became slightly curved arcs. "They'll be lonely in the afterlife, unable to see me."
"Without your planning and help, Yingli, I would have been a withered corpse on the battlefield long ago. Thank you."
The strategist couldn't hold back the tears streaming down his face, his voice almost breaking, "You've listened to me so many times, can't you listen to me this time?"
Xi Tongzhao remained silent, only looking at him with gentle eyes. The strategist knew that his eyes were already empty, his gaze unable to find anything real, and he choked up for a moment.
Without a word, the strategist knew his choice.
A deathly silence spread among them, but was suddenly broken by the sound of footsteps.
Xi Tongzhao turned his head and saw that the King of Zhen, wearing a cloak, walked in through the door, followed by a young man dressed as a servant.
The King of Zhen's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he slowly said, "You've grown so old."
Xi Tongzhao was nearly fifty years old, including the traditional Chinese age reckoning, but he was a full twelve years older than the King of Zhen. At this moment, the King of Zhen could hardly recognize the person in front of him.
Xi Tongzhao immediately knelt down, but the King of Zhen was too late to stop him.
"Didn't I exempt you from the kneeling ceremony? Why are you still kneeling? It's been so long since we last met, have you become so distant from me?" The Prince of Zhen feigned displeasure, but his tone softened slightly.
"Your Majesty once said that if I have lived up to the expectations of the people on the frontier, I will not have to kneel... But I have failed to uphold my principles..." Xi Tongzhao's face was filled with sorrow, and a hint of real pain and distortion finally surfaced in his desolate eyes.
The King of Zhen clenched his fists, and after a moment, he finally sighed silently, "I have kept you here on the frontier for more than ten years. You have done a great job protecting the country all these years. If anyone has wronged the people on the frontier, it is I who have wronged you. I failed to protect your family and put all the blame on you. Tongzhao, you did nothing wrong. It is I who have wronged you."
Xi Tongzhao felt as if his throat was being choked, rendering him speechless. After a long while, he burst into tears.
He had been complaining for so long, all because he was waiting for this one sentence from the Poison King.
Before long, he was crying so hard that his head ached. Xi Tongzhao almost fell because he was unsteady on his feet. The Prince of Zhen caught him in time. He was like a drowning person clinging to a piece of duckweed. His nails dug deep into the Prince of Zhen's arm. "Your Majesty, my second brother... the only son of the Feng family... and my mother, my father, and everyone in Langcheng, I have failed them all!! I have no face to live on!"
A flicker of pain and reluctance crossed the King of Zhen's eyes, but he quickly blinked it away, saying only, "If death can bring you relief, I will not stop you. I wish it so too... but not everyone can just walk away like that. Tongzhao, your mission is over. This time, you can make your own choice."
Upon hearing this, Xi Tongzhao slowly raised his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
"It is my good fortune to have met a wise ruler and to be stationed on the frontier. I have never regretted following Your Majesty!"
King Zhen closed his eyes, took a deep breath to steady his breathing, turned his back, gestured for Zhen Su to follow, and finally said, "Feng Shuo, Xi Luo and Xi Chu, I will consult their wishes before making arrangements. I will never go back on my word."
The King of Zhen left with Zhen Su, leaving behind only Xi Tongzhao, who bowed deeply, and the strategist, who hung his head and wept.
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Author's note: We've surpassed 500 comments! Whew, thank you to everyone who left a message.
The war is finally over, and after the victory banquet, we can almost return to the palace.
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