Chapter 380 Big Brother, do you think I won this time? (4000 words)
Inside the Imperial Study of the Qin Dynasty Palace.
The King of Qin sat at his desk, focused on dealing with the backlog of government affairs.
These days, his thoughts have been in turmoil, his mind fixed on the battlefield of Huaishan Pass, thousands of miles away. He has been restless day and night, waiting for battle reports to come from the front.
Just as he picked up his vermilion brush to review a memorial, a soft "snap" was heard—the vermilion brush he was holding tightly broke in two without warning.
Before he could even react, a flurry of footsteps came from outside the Imperial Study.
Immediately afterward, Eunuch Li, his face deathly pale, stumbled and scrambled into the hall, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Your Majesty... something terrible has happened..."
What's the matter that you're so panicked?
The King of Qin raised his eyes, his brows furrowed, and his tone clearly showed displeasure.
He had a vague sense of unease.
“Your Majesty…” Eunuch Li almost burst into tears, prostrating himself on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly, “Just now, the ancestral temple reported… that His Highness the Second Prince’s life lamp… suddenly… suddenly went out…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Eunuch Li kowtowed several times, leaving only suppressed sobs and the sound of kowtowing echoing in the silent study.
The King of Qin stood frozen in place as the broken pen slowly slipped from his fingers and fell with a soft "tap" onto the unfolded memorial.
The deep red cinnabar spread out like blood, gradually staining the paper.
Inside the Tranquil Hall, incense smoke wafted.
Empress Shi was kneeling on a prayer mat in front of the Buddha statue, slowly turning the prayer beads in her hands and chanting scriptures in a low voice.
Empress Shi did not usually believe in Buddhism, but these days she has been praying fervently for her two sons who are far away on the frontier.
However, just as she closed her eyes and concentrated on reciting the sutra, she heard a soft "snap".
The string of prayer beads that I had always held in my hand suddenly broke without warning.
Dozens of sandalwood beads scattered and splashed in an instant, dripping and rolling all over the ground, making a chaotic and abrupt sound in the silent hall.
The chanting stopped abruptly.
Empress Shi stared blankly at the scattered Buddhist beads on the ground, her heart pounding uncontrollably. A strong sense of unease spread from the depths of her heart like an icy tide, quickly overwhelming all her prayers.
She knelt there motionless, her gaze vacantly fixed on the scattered beads.
After a long while, as Empress Shi gradually regained consciousness, a sharp pain suddenly gripped her chest.
Tears welled up in her eyes without warning, sliding down her cheeks silently, yet she couldn't stop them.
The sunlight was soft in the courtyard of the Frost King's Mansion.
Qin Siyao was sitting quietly by the stone bench, her head down, focused on embroidery.
Although she wasn't very good at making shoes, her embroidery skills were quite good, and she had already embroidered quite a few handkerchiefs in recent days.
She thought to herself that when Xiao Mo returned from the front lines, she would give all these handkerchiefs to him.
While I was lost in thought, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my fingertip—
"hiss……"
Qin Siyao took a deep breath and lowered her eyes. She saw bright red blood slowly seeping from her fingertips, gradually congealing into full blood beads.
But she paid no attention to the wound on her finger.
An inexplicable sense of emptiness filled her chest.
It feels stuffy and cool.
"Second brother..."
Qin Siyao unconsciously raised her hand to her chest, and as if sensing something, she looked up and stared blankly at the distant horizon.
Thirty li outside Huaishan City, within the Jin state's military camp.
Ji Yue slowly opened her eyes.
She propped herself up and sat up, feeling dizzy and throbbing in her head, as if she had slept for days and nights.
"My husband..."
As her consciousness gradually returned, she subconsciously raised her head and looked around the tent—but she couldn't see her husband anywhere.
The tent was silent, save for the sound of her own breathing.
Just then, she noticed an object placed next to her pillow.
This is a jade pendant.
Ji Yue was very familiar with it—it was the jade pendant that her husband never parted with and always wore close to his body.
Beneath the jade pendant lay a letter.
A strong sense of unease suddenly welled up in my heart.
Ji Yue hurriedly pulled out the letter and opened it with trembling fingers.
As she read, her eyes began to tremble violently, and something deep within her pupils seemed to shatter inch by inch.
"My husband—"
She grabbed the letter and the jade pendant and staggered out of the tent.
The sunlight outside the tent was blinding.
What came into view were the corpses of soldiers from the Jin and Qin states, piled up layer upon layer, lying everywhere on the ground.
A gentle breeze swept by, carrying with it an overwhelming, suffocating stench of blood.
Ji Yue bit her lower lip tightly, suppressing the bitterness and dizziness surging in her chest. Ignoring everything else, she ran headlong towards the Black Beast Forest.
In the Black Beast Forest, the sounds of fighting gradually subsided.
The Jin army suffered heavy losses: some died, some surrendered, and some fled.
Qin Jingsu kept searching for corpses in the Black Beast Forest.
His expression looked extremely anxious, even somewhat frantic, but as the commander-in-chief, he forced himself to remain calm.
Just when Qin Jingsu was almost in despair.
A soldier ran up to him, anxiously saying, "Your Highness, we've found him! We've found the Second Prince!"
"Where are you?" Qin Jingsu's eyes were red as he gripped the soldier's shoulders tightly.
The soldier was startled and quickly pointed in a direction: "Your Highness, the Second Prince is under a tree about twenty feet away. The medical cultivators have already gone there."
Before the soldier could finish speaking, Qin Jingsu ran in the direction he pointed.
Soon, Qin Jingsu met his second brother.
Qin Jingyuan leaned against a tree, where medical practitioners from the army were treating him.
When Qin Jingsu arrived, all the medical cultivators stood up, sighed, and shook their heads at him.
Qin Jingsu clenched his fists tightly, his lips trembling uncontrollably, feeling as if a stone was pressing on his heart, making it hard to breathe.
"I understand." Qin Jingsu's voice trembled, but it was unusually calm. "Go and treat the other wounded soldiers."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The physician-student bowed, glanced at the Second Prince one last time, and left with mixed feelings.
Only his older brother stood around Qin Jingyuan.
Qin Jingsu took a step and walked towards his younger brother, eventually sitting down next to him. They leaned against the tree together, just like when they were children.
"How's the battle going?"
Qin Jingyuan turned his head to look at his elder brother beside him. His face was completely bloodless, and his life force was growing weaker and weaker, as if it would be extinguished at any moment.
"Yan Liuyun is dead. Of the 700,000 troops of the Jin Kingdom in the Black Beast Forest, more than half have been killed or wounded. Of the remaining 350,000 troops, about 130,000 surrendered, and the rest fled."
As for outside the Black Beast Forest, about half of the 200,000 troops left behind by Yan Liuyun have fled.
However, I sent General Yang with the Qin army to pursue them, which should allow us to expand our gains.
"Hmm, I see. That's good, pretty much what I expected."
Qin Jingyuan nodded, just as if he were having a normal conversation with his older brother.
"This million-strong army is the main force of the Jin army. After this battle, the Jin state has been severely weakened."
Upon learning of Jin's defeat, the morale of Chu and Yan would inevitably be affected.
If all goes well, our brother-in-law can conquer the State of Chu.
The Prince of Zhenbei has also dealt with the remnants of the Wei state. As long as he joins forces with the Prince of Zhenxi, they can also conquer the Yan state.
As for the State of Jin, it will have to rely on its elder brother.
If the three states of Chu, Yan, and Jin were to take it.
My Qin state.
A great empire can be built!
"Cough cough cough"
As he finished speaking, Qin Jingyuan coughed incessantly, but now he couldn't even cough up blood.
Qin Jingsu clenched his fists and looked at his second brother: "Why did you keep it from me!"
From beginning to end, Qin Jingsu was unaware of his second brother's plans.
But Qin Jingsu believed that his younger brother would not betray the country; there must be a reason for it.
Just five days ago, a letter from the King of Qin arrived in the capital, telling Qin Jingyuan everything.
After learning everything, Qin Jingsu was unusually furious.
Qin Jingsu knew that this plan was extremely risky, with a very low chance of survival! His younger brother might very well die here!
But Qin Jingsu had no choice at all.
The Emperor and his second brother have already stripped away all their options.
I must do as my second brother says.
Otherwise, everything my second brother planned would come to nothing.
Moreover, if Huaishan Pass were lost, the Qin state would truly be in a life-or-death situation.
"Of course we have to keep it from my elder brother."
Qin Jingyuan smiled.
"If I didn't hide it from my elder brother, why would he let me do it? He would not only try to persuade me, but he would also ask my third sister to persuade me."
Brother, you know what I mean.
The one thing my brother and I could least refuse was our third sister.
"At that point, I might really soften my heart."
"There are clearly other ways!" Qin Jingsu clenched his fist so tightly that his fingers dug into his flesh. "We can take it slow! My brother and I have plenty of time, and we have our brother-in-law! The three of us will surely achieve Qin's hegemony in the future!"
"Can we really take it slow?"
Qin Jingyuan smiled.
"Brother, stop lying to yourself. This chaotic world has lasted for thousands of years, as you know. If things could really be done slowly, this chaotic world would have ended long ago."
If you don't seize an opportunity, it's gone forever, and you may never have another one.
And I will seize this opportunity for the Qin state!
The more Qin Jingyuan spoke, the more rapid his breathing became, but soon it returned to normal.
"Big brother, do you know?"
Qin Jingyuan raised his head and looked at the azure sky through the dappled shadows of the trees.
"I've never beaten you even once since I was a child."
I really, really.
I really want to beat you just once.
The more Qin Jingyuan spoke, the weaker his voice became.
His pupils gradually dilated, his vision became increasingly blurry, and only a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Big brother."
You mean this time?
Did I win?
As Qin Jingyuan's last words fell to the ground, his eyes stopped moving, and he simply looked up at the sky.
The smile on his lips seemed to stay frozen in that moment forever.
"We won."
Qin Jingsu also raised his head, looking at the distant sky, tears silently sliding down his cheeks.
"Jingyuan, this time, your brother has truly lost."
Two incense sticks later, Qin Jingsu carried his younger brother out of the Black Beast Forest.
Just as Qin Jingsu stepped out of the Black Beast Forest, a woman ran over.
The woman looked at her husband, who had his eyes closed.
She couldn't sense any life force from her husband.
Glistening tears blurred her vision. She gripped her skirt tightly and walked forward step by step.
"Your Highness, my husband..." Ji Yue said, trembling.
“My second brother was tired and went to sleep before us,” Qin Jingsu said, his eyes red.
Ji Yue reached out and gently stroked her husband's increasingly cold lips: "My husband must be very happy when he's asleep, right?"
Qin Jingsu nodded: "He shouldn't have been in any pain while he was asleep."
"Before my husband passed away, he left a letter for his sister-in-law." Ji Yue raised her head. "Your Highness, may I entrust my husband to your sister-in-law? She wishes to handle his final affairs."
"Hmm," Qin Jingsu gently put Qin Jingyuan down, as if afraid of waking his younger brother.
"My husband."
Ji Yue gently stroked her husband's cheek, smiled softly, her voice trembling uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her face.
"Let's go home."
She carried her husband on her back.
Ji Yue walked step by step toward Luzhou.
【Hime-hime Tsukishiro:】
The alliance between Qin and Jin had nothing to do with you.
At the outset of the marriage alliance between the two countries, each harbored its own agenda, and the court schemed and plotted against each other.
At first, I regarded you as nothing more than an eye and ear of the Jin dynasty, so I treated you with humility and did not show you any disrespect.
After living under the same roof for several years, I realized that you, too, were caught in a game of chess, your brilliance obscured.
What you seek is nothing more than the peaceful life of ordinary streets and alleys, and the harmonious relationship between husband and wife.
But fate played a cruel trick on me, and I entered the Qin state, becoming caught in a game of chess.
I am of the nature of cold iron, and I wish to use alienation as a shield.
Yet, we lived together for three years, facing each other from dawn till dusk. I saw you mending clothes by lamplight, brewing tea, and asking about meals, and you never slackened in your dews and frosts.
I don't know when, but feelings of affection began to fester within me, and I was completely unaware of it.
Whenever I recall the summer days by the stream in Luzhou, you would lift your skirt and wade through the water, laughing as the clear waves rippled, your jade hairpin falling askew and your hair glistening with dew.
This scene is etched in my memory, unforgettable even in my dreams.
However, with the great cause of the Qin state at his disposal, how could personal feelings for his children prevent him?
As a descendant of the Qin royal family, I bear the responsibility of governing the country and have the life of a sword hanging over the perilous border. How could I dare to indulge my personal feelings and forget the greater good?
In the past, I spoke coldly to you, refused to see you, and did all sorts of unpleasant things. It was all my doing, not because I disliked you, but because I feared that if my feelings for you grew too deep, I would waste half of your youth.
Now I lead my elite warriors out to attack this perilous formation. Our survival is in the hands of fate. I have specially written this book, firstly as a farewell, and secondly to return you to your freedom.
On the western outskirts of Luzhou, by a stream, deep in the mountains, I have built several thatched cottages with bamboo fences, planted red peonies in the courtyard, and faced the misty haze through the windows.
If I can return with my body intact, I wish to be buried here.
In this life, I am ashamed to have failed your deep affection. In the next life, I will repay your kindness with kindness and gratitude. Even if I drink from the River of Oblivion, I will always remember your smiling face by the stream.
If reincarnation is possible, I wish to be intertwined roots and paired wings, to fulfill the vows I did not fulfill in this life.
Husband, Jingyuan, wrote this.
The month following the end of the Battle of Huaiguan Black Beast Forest.
The eldest prince, Qin Jingsu, has already recovered Jin and Lu prefectures.
And on the banks of a stream in the western suburbs of Luzhou Prefecture.
A tombstone was erected.
The tombstone is simple in style, just like those of an ordinary family.
Not far from the tombstone, there is a farmhouse courtyard.
In the courtyard lived a woman.
The woman was renowned for her beauty, but all the governors of Luzhou forbade anyone to disturb her.
Several years have passed.
The woman stood alone by the window, never to marry.
Until we grow old together.
Sleeping beside the monument.
(End of this chapter)
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