Chapter 416 I dare not
The two sat silently by the pond, looking at each other in silence.
After a long while, the Queen spoke, "Ah Jin, come back. Your brother and I miss you very much."
Xiao Saijin said calmly, "Sister-in-law, if it weren't for my status as the eldest princess, which could still help the girl, I wouldn't even want this status."
After a long silence, the Empress spoke: "I know you are filled with resentment. Your brother and I owe you a great debt. Knowing that you do not wish to see us, we pretended not to know that you had returned to the capital. But now, I have no choice but to take the liberty of coming to find you. I would like to ask you for a favor."
Xiao Saijin looked at the Empress, "You don't want the girl to go to the battlefield?"
The Empress's eyes reddened slightly. "She was sent to my side when she was just a month old. She grew up under my care since she was a baby. She is the apple of my eye. Ah Jin, how can a person cut off the flesh of their own heart?"
Xiao Saijin looked at the Empress, "Sister-in-law, but the girl is a member of the Qin family. The Qin family are born to be generals; she is destined for the battlefield. You are someone I admire; how could you want to clip her wings?"
The Empress's voice trembled slightly, "Jinzhi has been poisoned by the Azure Poison. If there is no antidote, she only has two years to live. I only want my granddaughter to live."
Xiao Saijin's eyes reddened without her realizing it. "Who doesn't want their child to live? You want it, I want it, and the Qin family wants it too."
The autumn wind rustled the yellowing flowers and grasses by the pond, creating a somewhat desolate scene.
Xiao Saijin forced himself to stay alert. “Sister-in-law, I know why you called me here today. The girl is anxious to handle the affairs of Jin State in order to prepare for this day. Those who died on the battlefield were not only the girl’s father and brothers, but also the fathers and brothers of millions of ordinary people. Chu State is as fierce as a tiger and wolf, and the two countries will inevitably have a war. She wants to personally kill her enemies, for you, for His Majesty, and to stabilize the country.”
Upon hearing Xiao Saijin's words, the Empress burst into tears.
"My Jinzhi should have lived a life of brilliance, why did she end up like this? Ah Jin, I've never asked anyone for help, I beg you, please help me, Jinzhi is someone you watched grow up!"
Xiao Saijin looked at the Empress, "Whether it's martial arts or military strategy, the girl has received the best inheritance. No one in the younger generation can surpass her. Sister-in-law, haven't you ever thought that with the girl surpassing her master so much, she won't die on the battlefield. She will return victorious, and after that, there will be no more Chu Kingdom?"
The Queen twitched her lips when she heard Saijin's words. "My granddaughter is naturally the best in the world. I understand everything you said, but Ah Jin, I dare not gamble."
Xiao Saijin's eyes also felt a little sore. Yes, how could the Empress not know?
Caring too much leads to losing one's rationality.
They care too much, so they dare not gamble even a little bit.
They all fought their way up from the battlefield.
They were even more aware of the dangers of the battlefield.
Xiao Saijin stood up. "Sister-in-law, I understand what you're thinking, but I still can't bring myself to say it to the girl. Take care of yourself."
After saying that, Xiao Saijin turned to leave.
She stopped after taking only two steps.
"If people waste time together because of other things while they are alive, they will be heartbroken when the dust settles down."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Looking at Xiao Saijin's retreating figure, Granny Li said anxiously, "Your Highness, please don't be angry with the princess. Today, when I went to the Prince's Mansion to deliver the imperial decree, the princess immediately followed me as soon as she heard that the eldest princess was coming to see you. She even said she wanted to be the eldest princess's coachman. Even if the princess didn't say it, I could see how much she misses you. Why can't you talk things out properly?"
The queen sat by the pond, gazing into the distance.
“Amei, I am now above ten thousand people, and I seem to have a lot of things, but in reality, I have nothing. My whole life has been about losing, and everything has turned into dust and sand. I didn’t even have a chance to grasp it. Now, I can’t even protect my granddaughter’s life. Isn’t it true that you can have everything once you reach this supreme position?”
No one could give her an answer.
As Xiao Saijin walked out of the palace, he saw Qin Jinzhi sitting on the rut, tossing a pine nut candy into the air and catching it with her mouth.
Seeing Xiao Saijin come out, Qin Jinzhi said with a smile, "Let's go, Grandma."
Xiao Saijin patted her head. "Missing your grandmother?"
Qin Jinzhi smiled, "I want to be closer to her."
Xiao Saijin looked at her and said, "Don't blame your grandmother. She just feels sorry for you."
The carriage wheels chugged and rolled.
Gradually disappearing.
Qin Jinzhi returned to the palace, and Yun Que came over and said, "Princess, someone is waiting for you."
When she returned to the courtyard, she saw a man dressed in coarse linen clothes, looking like a frail scholar, sitting in the courtyard eating pastries with gusto.
Qin Jinzhi smiled as she looked at the man and said, "Mr. Fang, please eat slowly. We can prepare more if you're not full."
Fang Xiuran swallowed the pastry in his mouth and quickly stood up. "Where is he?"
Qin Jinzhi said, "Yun Que, bring the person up."
Before long, three men wearing cloth bags on their heads were brought in.
The three knelt on the ground, and the cloth bags were torn off one by one.
A strip of cloth was tied around his mouth.
Qin Jinzhi sat to the side and said, "Mr. Fang, I'm sure your special skills should be able to help you identify your enemy."
Fang Xiuran stared at the three people's faces, and after a moment, burst into laughter.
He grabbed the collar of the man in the middle and asked, "Do you still recognize me?"
The three looked terrified, but they had no recollection of Fang Xiuran's face.
Fang Xiuran stared into the man's eyes and asked, "Thirty years ago, why did you betray Tianshui City? Why did you open the city gates to the enemy? So many innocent people in Tianshui City became victims of your blades! Why!"
The three of them could hardly believe that anyone was still alive in Tianshui City.
Thirty years ago, at the end of the warring states period, Tianshui City was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Other lords attacked it for a long time but failed to capture it. Suddenly, the city fell and was massacred. No one in Tianshui City survived.
However, the army that massacred the city was annihilated by the army led by the Jin Emperor three months later.
Ultimately, Emperor Jin unified the chaotic situation and ascended the throne.
The gags were removed from the mouths of the three men.
He looked at Fang Xiuran with some fear, "Who are you!"
Qin Jinzhi threw a dagger in front of Fang Xiuran.
Fang Xiuran picked up the dagger. "The city has fallen, but I have no home or country. Fortunately, Heaven has intervened and I have the chance to find my enemy while I am still alive. I will take my father's place and kill the traitor!"
As the dagger pierced the hearts of the three men, the man in the middle uttered incredulously with his last breath, "You are Fang Ci's son!"
Qin Jinzhi calmly sipped her tea. "Mr. Fang, would you like the body dismembered?"
Fang Xiuran wiped the dagger clean with his clothes and placed it back in front of Qin Jinzhi.
"Speak, what do you want me to do?"
Qin Jinzhi smiled and said, "Mr. Fang is indeed straightforward."
The lark behind him stepped forward.
Unfold the prepared portrait and lay it on the table.
"If Princess Huangfu Su of Chu were to have a child with this man, would Mr. Fang be able to restore her appearance?"
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