Chapter 887 Clash of Brothers (First Update)
Although Xiao Heng did not announce his arrival to anyone beforehand, he entered the city early in the morning as the eldest grandson of the emperor. With General Xuanyuan Qi in charge of the city lord's mansion, the news of the eldest grandson's arrival was naturally sent there immediately.
Shangguan Qing was originally recuperating at the City Lord's Mansion, and he had been feeling unwell for the past few days. But when he heard that his bookish younger brother had arrived, he immediately perked up and brought his underlings over to show off!
By this time, it was already bright outside. Inside the tent, there was the shimmering light reflected from the snow, the thin sunlight filtering through the sky, and the flickering glow of burning charcoal.
It wasn't too bright, but when they intertwined, they were just enough to outline the clear contours of each person.
The two brothers met in this setting.
The images in Xiao Heng's mind shattered, and he froze in his tracks, peeling an orange for Gu Jiao. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
Shangguan Qing was very satisfied with Xiao Heng's stunned reaction. His appearance was indeed shocking and immediately intimidated this underling!
Shangguan Qing waved his hand, signaling the ghost soldiers outside to retreat.
The formalities are over; now it's time for the actual meeting.
After Marquis Xuanping exposed Gu Jiao's true identity, he and Gu Jiao had already been completely honest with each other. He gave a brief greeting and then turned his gaze to his bookish younger brother's face.
"Ah, that's really the case..."
He muttered to himself.
He had disguised this face for many years, how could I not recognize him? But seeing him in the bronze mirror or in a portrait is not as shocking as seeing him face to face.
"So this is what I've looked like all these years? It's strangely attractive."
It's unclear whether she was praising herself or her younger brother.
As he openly scrutinized Xiao Heng, Xiao Heng also began to examine him seriously.
Xiao Heng's appearance was four parts inherited from Marquis Xuanping, four parts from Shangguan Yan, and two parts from the Xuanyuan family's inherited traits from a previous generation.
Shangguan Qing resembles his father and mother equally, especially his eyebrows and the widow's peak on his forehead, which are perfect inheritances of Princess Xinyang.
Xiao Heng was raised by Princess Xinyang. The two had similar habits and mannerisms, which made them look quite alike.
But that's because they had never met Shangguan Qing.
As the two brothers looked at each other, Gu Jiao was also observing them. After all, they were born to the same father, and no matter how different their auras were, their facial features were somewhat similar.
In the past few days, several veteran generals in the court have said that the Ghost King who came from Ghost Mountain looks somewhat like the eldest grandson of the emperor.
However, there are so many similar people in the world, so let them be, and no one will question it.
"You're Xiao Heng?"
Shangguan Qing, the elder brother, spoke first, carrying a musket and speaking with utter arrogance, "Do you know who I am?"
Gu Jiao glanced at him.
If you dare to be mean to my husband, you'll probably end up with a sack of sacks.
Gu Jiao looked at Xiao Heng: "Can I beat him up?"
Xiao Heng: "..."
Xiao Heng took Gu Jiao's hand, placed the peeled orange in her palm, and said softly, "I'm going out to say a few words to His Highness the Ghost King."
This is something that can't be beaten up.
Gu Jiao said regretfully, "Oh."
Xiao Heng smiled and looked at the arrogant and domineering Shangguan Qing: "Your Highness, please step forward."
"You think you can just move around like that? No respect for elders!" Shangguan Qing adopted the airs of an older brother. "Come out with me!"
Xiao Heng suppressed the corners of his lips that were turning up and obediently followed Shangguan Qing out of the tent.
They arrived at an empty training ground. Shangguan Qing, carrying a large spear, looked imposing but not particularly imposing. He stopped and glared fiercely at Xiao Heng, intending to show off his brother's might!
Xiao Heng spoke softly, "Brother."
The word "brother" instantly choked Shangguan Qing, silencing all the imposing power he was about to unleash!
Shangguan Qing's eyes widened, his expression a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment—a complex mix of emotions!
"What...what did you just call me?" he asked, staring at him sternly.
Xiao Heng said innocently, "Brother, aren't you my brother?"
Ah, why does this kid have that expression?
Like an innocent little deer, how can anyone bully her?
And your brother got sick so fast, I haven't even had a chance to scare him yet!
Shangguan Qing coughed lightly, trying his best to maintain his domineering persona: "I... of course I'm your brother! But how did you recognize me?"
Xiao Heng smiled slightly, revealing a naive and innocent charm: "Perhaps it's a telepathic connection between brothers."
You look so much like your parents, who would believe you're not their biological child?
And your dramatic, capricious aura is exactly like your father's.
No matter what Xiao Heng thought in his heart, he was always incredibly docile and obedient on the surface.
On his way here, Shangguan Qing had imagined countless possibilities of meeting his younger brother. His brother was a bookworm, and there were quite a few bookworms in the court as well.
They consider themselves superior, are full of pedantry, and despise those who are ignorant and incompetent. Even military generals are nothing more than mere brutes in their eyes.
Someone like him, who is neither good at literature nor martial arts, is even less likely to be noticed by these pedantic scholars.
He was ridiculed by many people behind his back.
Because he was not expected to live long, no one dared to cause trouble in the imperial court. Otherwise, the memorials impeaching him for the position of the eldest grandson of the emperor would have circled the entire Yan Kingdom long ago!
He made such a grand entrance today because he wanted to take the initiative and overwhelm his opponent with his presence!
But why is this kid so well-behaved?
It's impossible for anyone to bully it!
"Brother, what are you holding in your hand?" Xiao Heng asked curiously.
Mentioning the weapon in his hand, Shangguan Qing's confidence soared, and his aura instantly became imposing!
He held the musket in his hand and showed it off to Xiao Heng, saying, "You've never seen this in Zhao Kingdom, have you? It's called a musket, and it's incredibly powerful! More powerful than any other weapon! No expert can withstand it!"
However, its range and accuracy are severely insufficient.
That can't be said, otherwise how can I show off?
Xiao Heng looked completely bewildered.
Shangguan Qing looked around and, seeing that no one was nearby and there was no chance of accidental injury, said to Xiao Heng, "Come here, I'll demonstrate for you."
“Okay.” Xiao Heng readily agreed and followed.
Shangguan Qing summoned his ghost soldiers, who moved several large stones and piled them on the open ground, then moved another stone and placed it at his feet.
Shangguan Qing retreated twenty steps.
...If I take another step back, I won't be able to aim accurately.
"Watch closely." Shangguan Qing stepped onto a stepping stone, raised his musket with an air of dominance, aimed at the stone, and pulled the trigger.
With a loud bang, the stone was blasted away.
A strong smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Xiao Heng roughly understood what was going on.
It was indeed a good invention. First of all, it was easy to intimidate the enemy in terms of sheer force. Secondly, the wounds caused by gunpowder were all open wounds, which had a great visual impact and put a lot of psychological pressure on the wounded soldiers, making them very prone to collapse.
However, this thing looks too clumsy and its accuracy is not good enough. It has good close-range killing power, but if you want to shoot it at long range, it needs to be improved.
Shangguan Qing turned around and gave his younger brother a smirk: "How about that? Impressive, right?"
Xiao Heng switched expressions in a second, looking as if he was frightened by the sound of gunfire.
Shangguan Qing laughed three times!
What kind of top-scoring student's younger brother?
Such a coward!
"You scholars are so timid!"
Shangguan Qing immediately felt he had seized control of his brother's dignity and said with immense pride, "From now on, learn from me! Don't just study! What's the use of becoming a bookworm! This time, during the war against Jin, I killed quite a few experts! Have you heard of Xie Xingzhou? The number one expert under Gongsun Yu was shot down by your brother, me! And those bastards from Jianlu! I killed them all!"
"Brother is amazing," Xiao Heng said, his eyes filled with admiration.
He really is my father's biological son; even his words are exactly the same.
Xiao Heng suppressed a laugh, his eyes filled with shock and admiration for his brother.
He's truly the younger brother in the book.
This pleased Shangguan Qing greatly!
He carefully put away the musket and slung it over his shoulder, then said to Xiao Heng, "You just arrived, haven't had breakfast yet? Come on! I'll take you to get something good to eat!"
Xiao Heng said goodbye to Gu Jiao and then got into the carriage leaving the military camp with Shangguan Qing.
Shangguan Qing had younger brothers in the Yan Kingdom, such as Prince Ming.
Prince Keming was particularly annoying. He was always two-faced, always accusing him of bullying him, and squandering all of his brother's goodwill.
I also have a few younger brothers, but I'm not very close to them.
Shangguan Qing stared intently at Xiao Heng.
Xiao Heng was very quiet, showing no sign of dislike towards him.
His younger brothers were all afraid of him.
He says he's sickly, and if you play with him, you'll become sickly too.
Shangguan Qing crossed his arms and said warily, "Hey, do you know you'll die if you play with me?"
"Who said that?" Xiao Heng asked.
Shangguan Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "That's what everyone says anyway."
"Are they all top scorers?" Xiao Heng asked.
"Um...no." He wasn't even a top scholar, let alone a first-place scholar.
“I am.” Xiao Heng looked at Shangguan Qing seriously and said with absolute certainty, “I am the top scholar. I am smarter than them. Only smart people are worthy to play with you. They are not worthy.”
Shangguan Qing suddenly blushed.
Ah, is this younger brother really stupid or just pretending?
What you're saying is so childish!
But what if it really sounds good!
...No way, I promised to mess with him!
This is the rule of the underworld!
Don't be soft-hearted!
Little Jingkong clenched his fist: Brother Qing, hold on! Your wicked brother-in-law is trying to bewitch you! Even I, a child prodigy from six kingdoms, am disliked by him! Don't believe him! I still want an ally!
(End of this chapter)
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