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The carriage passed through the hustle and bustle and turned into a quiet place at the end of a secluded place. The door was pushed open again after a few days. A man in a black ball gown had just trimmed the remaining branches from a red plum tree in the courtyard. He turned around at the sound, a strand of black hair still draped over his left shoulder. Seeing the newcomer, his eyes were filled with surprise. "You're finally here."
Chen Qing closed the door, walked straight towards him, and sat down on the stone bench. "How are you these days?"
"I'm staying at your house, under your care, so how could it be bad?" Xingzhiqing put down the scissors in his hand. "It's just that I can't leave the house, so I feel a little bored." He straightened his clothes and sat down opposite him, then said, "Why haven't you come for a while? What happened?"
"Ah, it's nothing serious. I just got a minor injury and it took me some time to recover." Chen Qing looked around the courtyard leisurely. "Your skills are quite good. Before you came, the plum trees in my courtyard were growing wildly. Now they are so exquisite that they are almost like bonsai."
Xingzhi saw an unconcealable joy between his brows. He had noticed it the moment he entered the house. He was brimming with smugness. Xingzhi pondered for a moment and then suddenly realized something. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "When will you bring the female Prime Minister to see me?"
Chen Qing was feeling extremely proud and happy when he heard Xingzhi's question. Without giving it much thought he just said "hmm". Then he realized what was going on and said "hmm?" in confusion.
Xingzhi looked up at him and said, "Why? Emperor Huan's Concubine Rou is not here. If you want to marry, shouldn't you bring me, your cousin, to meet her first?"
Chen Qing smiled faintly. He rarely showed such a youthful side of himself.
"The hero saved the beauty and finally moved her and won her heart?" Xingzhi blinked and asked curiously.
"Have you been secretly asking about me?" Chen Qing was angry, and felt a little embarrassed after being seen through.
Xingzhi, however, acted like an older brother, "You've been like this since you were little. You hold your beloved things in your hands and won't let anyone touch them. You're very protective of them."
Chen Qing scratched his head awkwardly, his face still beaming with a smile. "As for marrying a wife, now is not the right time yet. I need to finish one more thing and then take her back to Qing Country. When the time comes, you must help me act as a matchmaker!"
Xingzhi smiled and nodded, then continued, "Although you have recovered, you still need to take good care of your body. Don't waste your energy in the near future. If you rush into things, it may leave hidden dangers that will make it difficult to recover in the future."
"The imperial physician said he's fully recovered, so you don't need to worry."
"I know a little bit about medicine, and I can tell from your complexion that the injuries you received this time were life-saving. You're feeling much better now, but the loss of energy and blood will take time to recover."
Chen Qing waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "But now I can't wait any longer. There's something I need to do right now."
Xingzhi asked, "Is this what you just said?"
Chen Qing nodded and said, "I came here today to take you on a journey immediately. You will return to Qing Kingdom with me."
Inside the room, Chen Qing sat on a round stool and watched Xingzhi pack his belongings. After Xingzhi finished packing his bag, he looked around and sighed softly. Suddenly, he felt a surge of emotion. "After living here for so long, I've actually developed an attachment. This house is so similar to the one you lived in when you were a child. Even the flowers and trees in the yard are the same."
"It's just a replica of a house I built when I was in a foreign land, just as a token of my longing. No matter how good it is, it's just a replica, there's no need to keep it in mind." Chen Qing said.
Chen Qing took all his subordinates with him and led his army from Qi State, heading northwest. Chen Qing had held military power for over a decade, his virtue and strategy commanding the respect of all within the army. In terms of prestige, the soldiers were even more loyal to General Shang Gong than to Qi Chao, following his lead. Among the Qing State soldiers recruited during the previous campaign, some had served under Emperor Huan in battle and held a fondness for him. They also vaguely felt that Chen Qing's demeanor and behavior were quite similar to those of their former monarchs, a factor that contributed to their willingness to submit to Chen Qing.
The combined armies of the Qi and Qing countries were even stronger, and they were able to break through the Qing State's pass with almost no effort. This was due to the Qing State's lack of military strength, as Emperor Feng had been in power for many years and had already abandoned the hegemony created by Emperor Huan. In addition to this, there was naturally another reason.
When the generals guarding the pass saw that it was Chen Qing leading his army, some of them only asked a few questions, while others ordered the city gates to be opened as soon as they saw him, allowing Chen Qing's army to pass straight through.
Xingzhi, who was standing by, immediately said to Chen Qing, "Look at the way they look at you. How is it different from when I saw you in prison?"
"I'm not as pitiful as you." Chen Qing remained calm and looked at the road ahead.
Xingzhi's face twitched.
Chen Qing said lazily, "They were well fed, but you were so hungry you couldn't even stand up." He turned to look at Xingzhi, only to see his face turn from pale to blue and then to yellow. He smiled and said, "I understand what you mean."
Xing Zhidao said, "They, like me, once thought you were dead. After learning that you were still alive, their only hope was to wait for you to return to Qing Kingdom one day and take the throne that rightfully belonged to you. When I saw you in prison that day, I knew that what these old ministers of Qing Kingdom had been waiting for day and night had finally come true. You still have the look of your youth between your brows, but you have lost your former immaturity, gaining a calmness and dignity, and a layer of heroism like your father. On the way here, I secretly thought that if they didn't recognize you, I would tell them your identity. They can't help but believe what I, the Marquis Dingyuan of Qing Kingdom, say. Now it seems that I was worrying too much. You will know that what I just said was true."
"Xingzhi..." Chen Qing said from his horse. Xingzhi looked at him sideways and listened to him say, "For more than ten years, I have been in Qi Kingdom, and there has not been a moment that I have not missed my homeland. I have been walking this road home for too long."
Xingzhi's heart was filled with emotion. He felt the same way. Ever since his father's murder, the country had ceased to be a country, and his family was no longer a family. Now that his vengeance had been avenged, he and Chen Qing had returned to fight again, determined to restore control of the Qing Kingdom to the Zishu clan, to quell this filthy world and restore peace to the people. He and he looked ahead. Not far ahead, the gates of the Qing Kingdom's palace suddenly appeared before their eyes.
The mighty army arrived like a hurricane. Yi Shi, standing at the head of the army, shouted, "General Shang Gong of Qi State has arrived. Why don't you open the city gates immediately?"
The guard stood at the gate and looked up at the people on horseback. "What about the Duke and General? I've never heard of them. How can you enter the palace of Daqing just because you want to..."
Before he could finish his words, his helmet was cut off, and a few strands of his hair fell to the ground.
The guard held his head in his hands, terrified. When he looked up again, he saw the two leaders, one in silver-gray armor and the other in a black ball robe, both holding swords in their hands, looking at him coldly.
Xingzhi's voice said, "You dog slave, open your dog eyes and see who is next to me!"
The guard was clueless for a long while, kneeling on the ground and trembling, "To reply to Marquis Dingyuan, I was blind and didn't recognize this noble man."
Xingzhi said in a loud voice: "The son of Emperor Huan of Daqing State, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Zishu Chen Qing, is returning to the palace today. Why don't you quickly open the city gates and welcome His Royal Highness back to the palace!"
The guards lying on the ground trembled and huddled together, whispering.
"Didn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince die many years ago?"
"He does bear a striking resemblance to Emperor Huan. Just now, at first glance, he truly resembled the heroic figure of Emperor Huan returning victoriously."
"Yeah yeah!"
The soldiers of the Qing Kingdom who had been recruited into the team were even more excited. They suddenly realized that only His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could make them feel as honored as if they were following Emperor Huan. Suddenly, their morale was greatly boosted, and they shouted in unison: "Open the city gate! Open the city gate!"
The soldiers of Qi State were even more willing to sacrifice their lives for Chen. No matter whether he was the Grand General of Qi State or the Crown Prince of Qing State, nothing could shake the belief-like existence of the commander in their hearts.
The guard whose helmet was cut off at the city gate was still thinking that if the city gate was not opened, his head would be chopped off soon. If the city gate was opened, the Queen Mother would find out and he might lose his head. He was in a dilemma.
"It's not that I won't open it, I'm just on duty..."
"How dare you! Whose life are you obeying? Why are you obeying it? The one sitting on the throne now is the son of a thief, and this Daqing Kingdom belongs to my Zishu family. Do you, a slave, want to recognize the thief as the master?!" Xingzhi roared.
For a moment, the soldiers were outraged and shouts of anger arose everywhere.
The palace gate slowly opened. After nineteen years and nineteen cycles of winter and summer, he finally regained his status as the Crown Prince of Qing State, and Zishu Chen Qing finally returned to the palace.
The cavalry marched across the bluestone road and passed through the familiar palace. Everything was the same as in memory, except that things and people had changed.
Before the troops approached the main hall, the court was in session. From a distance, they saw Zi Shuduan's child kicking and making a fuss on the throne. The empress dowager was listening to the government from behind the curtain. No matter how the eunuchs coaxed him, they could not control the little emperor. With a cry, the little emperor burst into tears while sitting on the dragon throne. The hall was immediately filled with sighs and groans. The ministers talked about it, and many of them shook their heads and frowned.
Chen Qing and Xingzhi both dismounted and headed towards the hall. The soldiers lined up in an orderly manner, waiting outside the hall.
The ministers fell silent upon seeing someone enter the hall, leaving a clear path in the middle. They all turned to look at the two men. As Chen Qing and Xing Zhizhengzheng walked from the outside of the hall toward the center, the officials began to whisper again.
"Didn't Marquis Dingyuan die in Qi State long ago? He's still alive!"
"That's wrong. There's no confirmed news that he's dead. It's just that Emperor Feng intended to send him to Qi, and he volunteered, so everyone thinks he's in grave danger."
"But I heard that he was eventually captured by Qi State and thrown into prison. I don't know what happened to him afterwards."
"He is an envoy. How can the Qi Kingdom detain him at will?"
"Alas, it's all because of that Imperial Master. He was originally sent to receive the imperial edict, which was a death warrant. Emperor Feng would not let him come back alive. If he were to go, everyone would think that he would be like the old Marquis Dingyuan..."
The ministers sighed repeatedly.
Another official asked, "Who is that person next to him?"
An old official observed him carefully and said, "He is very imposing and valiant." He then looked at the soldiers arrayed outside the palace, all wearing the uniforms of the Qi Kingdom, and said, "I have heard that the Qi Kingdom has a great general, a noble and virtuous king. I see he is young and brave, but I wonder if he is this man."
Another veteran said, "His appearance...why does he resemble Emperor Huan of the past?"
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