Chapter 50
Outside Jin City, inside the main tent where the "Qin" flag fluttered, the atmosphere was solemn.
Qin Moxuan frowned, his gaze fixed on the location of Jincheng on the military map, his eyes filled with unbearable grief and deep self-blame.
"That boy, Manyan, fought against the powerful and wealthy with the newly reborn Jincheng, buying us this precious opportunity. If only we could have acted a little faster..." His unfinished words were filled with heavy regret.
"Act within your capabilities; there's no need to strive for perfection."
Shen Qingyuan walked to her husband's side and gently stroked his face, which had become drastically thin from overwork over the past three months.
Even with her unwavering resilience, a subtle hint of heartache crept into her voice at that moment.
"If you exhaust yourself by striving for perfection, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse, and even more so, a sin?"
She looked out of the tent, her tone calm and firm.
"Now that the 'Southern District Alliance' has been established, the thirty-six towns in the Southern District are united as one, sharing resources. We are already going all out."
The couple had secretly operated in this corrupt and decadent Cangzhou for over twenty years, managing to construct such a new prototype of order amidst numerous shackles, which required almost all their effort and scheming.
The gaze returned to the tent.
Two days ago, their men stationed outside Jincheng found their seriously injured and unconscious son, who was then placed in this tent.
At that moment, Qin Moxuan, a man nearing forty and known for his composure, gently wiped away the dried blood from his son's face with trembling hands.
Looking at his son's pale yet resolute sleeping face, he finally couldn't hold back, and hot tears silently streamed down his face.
Over the years, they have kept their son in the public eye, attracting attention from all sides, while they themselves have been secretly making their plans.
This heavy guilt and worry turned into silent tears.
"My child, you have suffered."
Qin Moxuan murmured softly, as if he wanted to pour out all the emotions that had been pent up for many years.
"Leave the rest to Father and Mother."
When Qin Lingfeng awoke from his coma, disregarding his injuries, his first priority was to return to Jincheng.
Qin Moxuan and Shen Qingyuan exchanged a glance, offering no dissuasion, but without hesitation solemnly placing the tiger tally, symbolizing the highest military power in Yancheng, into their son's hands.
Needless to say, this unconditional support is the strongest force they can give their son.
— — — —
Inside the Allied Forces' main tent.
Battle reports piled up like mountains, the atmosphere heavy. Jiang Manyan entered slowly without being announced.
Song Guansui did not look up; his pen swept across the military map, his voice cold and sharp.
"Yan'er, why aren't you resting? What are you doing here?"
Jiang Manyan ignored the sharpness in his words, and simply walked to the desk, calmly gazing at him.
"elder brother"
His voice was still soft and pleasant to listen to.
"I am aware of the news of the attack on Yancheng."
Song Guansui raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, filled with scrutiny and mockery.
"Oh? Then you should be overjoyed. Qin Lingfeng's parents, your natural allies, are leading their troops to you."
He deliberately emphasized the words "for you".
Jiang Manyan slowly shook her head, her honey-brown eyes showing no joy, only a deep weariness and earnestness.
"I can't be happy, brother."
His voice was soft, yet it reached Song Guansui's ears clearly.
“I just had a very long dream. There was no war or fighting in the dream... only the lotus pond in the central area where we were children, where the flowers were in full bloom.”
He took a small step forward, gently placing his hands on the unfolded map to block out the menacing symbols representing the army.
"How long are we going to fight? With Yan Cheng joining the fray and the Qin family lying low for years, even if we win this battle, it will inevitably result in a field littered with corpses and rivers of blood."
"What will Cangzhou be like then? Even in the central area, will we still be able to live in peace?"
Song Guansui remained silent, simply staring at him with unfathomable eyes.
Jiang Manyan met his gaze, her tone becoming more sincere, even carrying a hint of pleading. She cleverly concealed her true motives, replacing them with a more "personal" reason.
"I'm tired, brother. I'm really tired. I've had enough of this life of wandering and struggling."
"I don't want to care about Jincheng or Yancheng anymore, nor do I want to argue about right and wrong or winning and losing."
He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and said the most crucial words.
“Let’s make peace. Let’s stop all this. I think… let’s go back to the Song residence. Let’s go back to the central area, back to… our home.”
He disguised his yearning for peace and compassion for the people as a somewhat weak plea from a weary traveler longing to return home.
A long, deathly silence fell over the study.
Song Guansui's gaze was like the finest carving knife, scraping inch by inch across Jiang Manyan's face, trying to find any trace of hypocrisy or scheming.
What he saw was only genuine exhaustion and a kind of indifference that seemed to have seen through the strife of the world.
Time passed slowly, and the air became so still it was suffocating.
Finally, Song Guansui slowly leaned back in his chair. He let out a very soft, ambiguous chuckle.
"go home?"
He repeated those two words, his tone complex and difficult to decipher.
Then, he changed the subject, his tone carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.
"Okay. Since this is what you want..."
He suddenly raised his hand and threw a black iron token, representing the authority to mobilize troops, onto the table, making a crisp sound.
"Issue the order to halt all military movements. In my name, invite the envoy from Yancheng to Wangyantai in three days for peace talks!"
He spoke the last two words with absolute certainty.
Jiang Manyan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
He knew that this devastating disaster might be avoided.
He gave Song Guansui a deep look.
"Thank you...brother."
Then, he turned and left, his back still slender, yet it seemed as if he had unloaded a heavy burden.
After he left, Song Guansui gazed at the token alone.
Her sensual lips curved into a smile that no one could understand, a smile that was a mixture of self-deprecation and knowing wisdom.
He was well aware of the true feelings behind Jiang Manyan's "longing for home" rhetoric, but in the end, he still chose to grant her wish of "benevolence."
...
When Yancheng launched its powerful attack, everyone thought a major battle was imminent, but Song Guansui advocated for negotiations.
Upon hearing this news, Qin Moxuan and his wife were actually pleasantly surprised.
They have been lying low for many years, but their overall strength is still far inferior to that of the central district, which has ruled for a thousand years.
To win, one must pay a heavy price.
...
Looking towards Yantai, the atmosphere inside the makeshift peace negotiation tent was so heavy it seemed to drip water.
Representatives from the Central District Alliance, Jincheng, and Yancheng sat on either side.
All eyes were drawn, intentionally or unintentionally, to the main seat—where Song Guansui leaned back comfortably in the large chair, while Jiang Manyan, the city lord of Jincheng, was forcibly held in his arms in an absolutely possessive manner, sitting on his lap.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, especially feeling the scorching gaze from the other side that seemed to pierce through him.
Jiang Manyan, who was usually calm, felt extremely uneasy at this moment.
He instinctively tried to turn his head away to avoid that heartbreaking gaze, his neck tensing slightly, revealing a delicate and beautiful line.
Across from him, Qin Lingfeng sat upright, his posture still as straight as a pine tree, but his usually sharp or smiling eyes were now fixed on Jiang Manyan, filled with suppressed longing, pain, and almost out-of-control anger.
His fists were clenched tightly under the table, his nails digging deep into his palms.
Song Guansui took in all of this.
He first glanced at Qin Lingfeng slowly, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.
Immediately, he looked down at the person in his arms who was trying to escape, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. He suddenly raised his large hand and pressed it against the back of Jiang Manyan's neck with irresistible force, pressing his head even more heavily and intimately against his chest.
"Why are you hiding?"
His deep voice rang in Jiang Manyan's ear, not loud, but loud enough for anyone nearby to hear clearly, carrying a kind of affectionate reproach.
"Lean against something when you're tired."
This action completely exposed Jiang Manyan's long, slender neck.
On that fair skin, a clear, scabbed dark teeth mark caught everyone's eye—a declaration, a declaration of ownership, a mark carrying the connotations of punishment and lust.
Qin Lingfeng's pupils suddenly contracted, his breath caught in his throat, as if the teeth marks had bitten into his own heart, causing him excruciating pain that made his blood almost flow backward. He glared at Song Guansui, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent.
Song Guansui met his gaze without fear, even slightly curving his lips into a cold and cruel smile.
He tightened his grip on Jiang Manyan's waist, his fingertips even stroking her intentionally or unintentionally, as if to soothe her, or perhaps to show off.
Jiang Manyan was forced to lean against Song Guansui's chest, the familiar yet suffocating cold fragrance emanating from him lingering around her nose.
He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling violently, like a butterfly with broken wings.
He could feel Qin Lingfeng's almost tangible pain in his eyes, and he could also feel Song Guansui's controlling embrace.
He found himself at the eye of this silent storm, his body stiff, his heart already torn apart.
The tent was deathly silent.
Before peace talks even began, the smoke of war had already spread between these three men in the most brutal way.
The deathly silence inside the tent continued to spread, as if one could hear the hissing sound of charcoal fire devouring the air.
Finally, it was Shen Qingyuan, who was sitting next to Qin Lingfeng, who broke the suffocating silence.
Her gaze calmly swept over the extremely insulting scene on the main seat, finally settling on Song Guansui's face, her voice steady and revealing no emotion.
"Alliance Leader Song, now that all parties have gathered, why not begin discussing the details of the peace talks? What are the Song family's plans regarding the scope of autonomy for the three southeastern cities, taxes, and the allocation of military power?"
Song Guansui then slightly shifted his attention away from Jiang Manyan in his arms. He lazily lifted his eyelids, his fingertips still idly twirling Jiang Manyan's dark hair that was draped behind her.
"autonomy?"
He chuckled softly, his tone carrying a condescending, playful air.
"Since you acknowledge my identity as Alliance Leader Song, then the garrison forces of the three cities must be reduced by 70%, and the central district will send someone to supervise them. As for taxes... whatever they were before, they must not be reduced by a single penny in the future."
Upon hearing this, not only did Qin Moxuan and his wife's faces darken, but even Qin Lingfeng, who had been holding back, suddenly raised his head.
Reducing the garrison by 70% is tantamount to crippling oneself, while continuing to impose taxes is an even heavier form of exploitation.
"Young Master Song, these conditions are far too harsh!"
Qin Lingfeng's voice was hoarse and low, suppressed with anger, "Such 'autonomy,' how is it any different from surrender?"
Song Guansui's gaze finally met Qin Lingfeng's, his eyes filled with a playful, cat-and-mouse expression.
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