CH 68

The beautiful woman in front of him looked exactly like the few memories Qin Ruwang had containing his mother. For a moment he wondered if he was simply hallucinating on his deathbed. But when he sat up and looked around, it felt too real to be a hallucination.

The room was small and cold, with poor furnishings. It didn’t look like a place where a prince should live. However, before he met the God son, he had lived in this place with his mother for six years. Although it wasn’t anything close to a palace, this was the place where he felt most at ease. 

After his mother died, this hut was knocked down and rebuilt together with the houses where the other slave girls lived. Qin Ruwang had not seen the interior of this house for decades, and his memory of the place was blurry.

However, he knew from a glance that the room in front of him was identical to the scene from his past.

Qin Ruwang sat on the bed in a daze. He remembered the voice he’d heard before. It sounded like the God son, asking him what he desired.

He’d wished for a new life, where his mother and the God son could live long and healthy lives. After taking the throne, he wished to travel around the world with the God son. Could it be that…God had really given him another chance to live? 

“Ruwang?”

As he hadn’t responded, his mother called him again softly, “I saw you were talking in your sleep. I couldn’t understand what you were saying, but you didn’t look happy. Did you have a nightmare?”

Before she’d finished speaking, the boy hugged her tightly around the waist. Her face softened as tears streamed down his face, and she comforted him in a low voice, “What did you dream about? Talk to your mother.”

She gently stroked his hair, but Qin Ruwang shook his head and remained silent. She smiled again and said.

“You don’t have to worry, there are two divine envoys from the Wushen Kingdom inside the palace to protect you. They bless the palace, so no matter what evil things you see in your dreams, they will keep you safe.”

She spoke softly, “If you’re still worried, I’ll be serving in the banquet of a hundred flowers tomorrow and the two divine envoys will also be attending. I’ve heard they are gentle and kind people. If I ask them to protect you, they might grant my request.”

Qin Ruwang’s breath caught in his chest and for a moment, everything froze. The banquet of a hundred flowers was the feast where the Goddess daughter’s mask fell off, killing his mother and everyone else present. He’d never expected that unforgettable tragedy to be tomorrow.

“Mother, you can’t go!” 

He grabbed at the corner of his mother’s clothes, trying to stop her from serving at the banquet. He used his nightmare as an excuse to tell her about everything that happened in his previous life and asked her to trade jobs with someone else tomorrow.

“…That won’t work.”

His mother shook her head. She didn’t discount Qin Ruwang’s words as childish fantasy but spoke to him seriously and gently.

“If your nightmare does come true, I couldn’t ask someone else to take my place. Don’t worry, your mother will pay attention to the Goddess daughter’s mask tomorrow.” 

She insisted that she would not exchange her job with anyone else. Qin Ruwang was still too young, there was nothing he had the power to do, but he had another idea in his mind. If everything went well, he would be able to meet the God son for the first time in this life tomorrow.

The next morning, Qin Ruwang went out early to wait at the entrance of the palace of the gods. As noon approached, two white gauze carriages left the palace, surrounded by several palace attendants. Although the gauze shielded the people inside, Qin Ruwang could vaguely make out their figures.

Seeing the carriages leave, Qin Ruwang moved forward to stop them. The palace servants that accompanied the divine envoys did not recognise the unfavoured prince. Seeing his plain clothes, they assumed he was new to the palace and hadn’t been trained well. They reprimanded him and ordered him to retreat from the honourable carriages of the divine envoys.

Facing the ferocity of the palace servants, Qin Ruwang did not cower but asked to meet with the divine envoys in a voice that was neither humble nor arrogant. Yet, no matter what tone he used to ask, how could a palace servant allow any idle person to approach the divine envoys? They were about to send him away when a gentle voice came from one of the carriages. 

“It’s okay, let him come over.”

A pale hand lifted the gauze curtain, revealing the face of the God son. Behind his ornate mask, gentle eyes looked down at Qin Ruwang. The corner of his lips were slightly raised as he asked the young prince, “Why did you come to see us?”

It was really him…he was still alive…

Seeing the person he’d been dreaming about all his life, no matter how complicated his feelings in their past life was, Qin Ruwang couldn’t help the surge of emotions that overtook him. His eyes grew red and he had to force back the tears that threatened to fill his vision. 

Although he wished he could stare at the person in front of him forever, to hold him close and even kiss him deeply, he had to bow his head and salute respectfully, so the people around them wouldn’t notice his strange reaction.

“I greet the divine envoys.” He said in a slightly hoarse voice, “I have disturbed the two of you because I have something to say to the Goddess daughter.”

“You want to speak with me?” The Goddess daughter had a graceful voice and also lifted her gauze curtain, looking down at the boy curiously. She asked with a smile, “What do you want to say?”

Qin Ruwang let out a slow sigh of relief, deliberately showing an uneasy expression. He told the story of his past life again, saying that he dreamed something ominous would happen at the upcoming feast. The Goddess daughter’s mask would fall and the Emperor would wash the banquet hall with blood. 

“Impudent!”

The palace servants reprimanded his words angrily. The Goddess daughter didn’t wish to scold him, but couldn’t quite believe what he said. She simply regarded it as the nightmare of a young boy and comforted him with a gentle voice before asking the servants to continue to the banquet.

“Wait a minute.”

Unexpectedly, the God son stopped the carriage driver. He looked at the Goddess daughter seriously and said, “Take a closer look at your mask.” 

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Watching this scene, all the palace servants shuddered and fell to their knees, hiding their eyes. They were terrified to see the true face of the Goddess daughter. If they saw even a glimpse, they would be sentenced to death.

The Goddess daughter was too stunned to react. Aware of this, the God son asked a servant to bring another mask to her. It was only after she put on the new mask that she murmured incredulously, “Who are you? How could you know the future…”

“My name is Qin Ruwang and I am the ninth son of my father, the Emperor.” 

Qin Ruwang raised his chin, speaking directly to the God son, before lowering his head again.

The surrounding servants were surprised by his claim. They were all aware of the existence of the ninth prince and knew that he was the son of a slave girl, but they hadn’t seen his true face until this day.

The two divine envoys had only recently arrived in Xia and didn’t understand the political environment. The Goddess daughter accepted his explanation and said gratefully, “I hadn’t expected to be speaking with his Ninth Highness. I am fortunate to have received your reminder, otherwise the consequences could have been disastrous. I don’t know how I can thank you…”

The God son stared at Qin Ruwang from the other carriage, before saying suddenly, “Your Highness, would you like to learn the art of divination?” 

“Why are you…” The Goddess daughter hesitated in her question, looking suspiciously at the God son.

“His Ninth Highness saw the future inside his dream. He has a talent, so I would like to teach him further to better understand the possibilities of the future.”

“How could you do that?” Asked the Goddess daughter, shocked, “How could you reveal the secrets of divine divination?”

The God son shook his head slightly, “The Wushen Kingdom has never banned other countries from learning the secret arts. Besides, divination is difficult to learn, I’ll only teach his Highness a little bit.” He looked at Qin Ruwang and smiled, “Your Royal Highness, would you like to practise with me?” 

“I would.”

Qin Ruwang bowed his head. This had been another goal of his. In this life, he would stay by the God son’s side to try and prevent his death.

“That’s good.” Said the God son, “The two of us will go to the banquet and afterwards I will mention this to His Highness the Emperor. You go back first, and after the banquet is over, I will come and find you.”

Qin Ruwang nodded and left the palace of the divine envoys. Just like his previous life, he waited inside the garden. But this time, as well as his mother, he was also waiting for the God son. 

He had done what he could, but it still seemed like the feast dragged on forever.

Qin Ruwang watched the banquet hall with a heavy gaze. His face appeared calm but his palms were sweating. Up to this moment, he still didn’t believe he could change the fate of his previous life until he could see his mother and the God son again.

After a few hours passed, the banquet finally ended. Qin Ruwang watched the hall as concubines and maidservants left the feast in groups of twos and threes, laughing and chatting together. Everything looked like normal, and before long, his mother came out along with the other palace servants.

His heart that had been hammering against his chest, finally started to calm down. His tense body relaxed all at once and he had to stabilise himself against a tree for a moment, breathing heavily. 

His mother caught sight of him and walked up to him with a smile, telling him entertaining stories about the banquet. Qin Ruwang hung onto her every word, but couldn’t stop the tears that poured out of his eyes, blurring his vision.

She didn’t die, this time his mother really came back, his wish came true…

Seeing him crying again, his mother thought he was still worried about yesterday’s nightmare. She smiled to herself and comforted him for a long time, “Okay, come back with your mother. The servants were given snacks from the palace, so let’s hurry back and eat them.”

“No.” Qin Ruwang wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up at his mother, “I’m waiting for someone.” 

“Who are you waiting for?” His mother asked.

Qin Ruwang couldn’t look her in the eyes. He stared into the distance and said softly.

“…They’re an important person.”

After his mother left, he waited in the garden until the two carriages left the banquet hall. When they passed by him, the carriage in front stopped and the God son opened his gauze curtains, “His Ninth Highness.” 

“Lord God son, please call me ‘Ruwang’.” Qin Ruwang took a few steps forward to look up at the other person.

“I have spoken about His Highness with His Majesty.” The God son said, “If you want, you and your mother can move into our residence together.” He looked into Qin Ruwang’s eyes and asked gently, “Would you like to go back with me?”

The God son didn’t speak again, quietly waiting for him to express his desires. Qin Ruwang thought for a bit, then suddenly moved closer and boarded the carriage. He sat down next to the God son and carefully picked up his delicate hand.

Qin Ruwang lowered his gaze to hide the burning heat in his dark eyes and under the slightly surprised eyes of the God son, pressed a kiss to the back of his hand and replied in a quiet voice. 

“I would.”

If he had been given another lifetime, then this time he wanted to spend his entire life with this person. No one could stop him.

Qin Ruwang followed the God son back to the divine envoy’s palace. In this life, his residence was still next to the God son’s bedroom and every few days he would follow the God son to learn divination.

Perhaps it was due to his previous encounters with ghosts and death, but Qin Ruwang was extremely talented in divination. The God son was very happy with his gift but didn’t restrict him to looking into the future. Just like their previous life, he invited a famous scholar to instruct Qin Ruwang on various subjects. 

The God son didn’t give him a reason this time, but Qin Ruwang knew that he must still want to cultivate him into the next Emperor of Xia. Even if he was a devil star, like the prophecy said, this person was still willing to treat him well in every possible way.

Now that his mother was still alive, Qin Ruwang had completely let go of his hatred for the God son. Sometimes he found his attention drifting towards him, unable to look away for a moment. He took advantage of his young appearance to get closer to the God son. He felt no shame in hugging him, sleeping in the same bed, and even occasionally kissed the God son’s face.

In his last life, he’d treated the God son indifferently but the God son was still very kind to him. This time, he took the initiative to get close to the God son himself and the God son was extremely gentle with him, unable to reject any of his requests. It was only when Qin Ruwang tried to take off his mask that he would lightly block his hand to prevent him from seeing his true appearance.

Every time he was stopped, Qin Ruwang’s desire to see his face again grew stronger. In his previous life, he’d only caught a glimpse of the God son’s appearance. It was nowhere near enough to satisfy the desire he’d burned with for so many years. 

He wanted to pull away that mask and kiss his way down the boy’s beautiful eyes until he could finally capture his lips. He wanted to destroy his innocence, dragging him down from his holy altar and fall with him into endless fires of lust.

Yet he knew that with the weakness of the God son’s body, if he didn’t get him treatment in time he would die just as early as he had in Qin Ruwang’s previous life. But Qin Ruwang had already found a solution.

When he conquered the Wushen Kingdom in his previous life, he found that most of the people that lived there had weak constitutions, and the young children who were trained to be the next god envoys were even weaker. Like the God sons and Goddess daughters sent to Xia, they found it difficult to even walk on their own.

Extensive examinations from Xia experts eventually discovered there were heavy toxins in almost every crop grown inside of Wushen. Their people’s strange abilities were somehow related to this toxin, but it also caused the short lifespans of most of the people inside the kingdom, especially the children trained to be god envoys. Those selected as potential divine envoys were forced to eat various poisons and suffered from cruel rituals bordering on torture. 

After becoming a divine envoy, they were no longer fed poison or forced to perform rituals, but their bodies were already damaged. Without medical treatment, they were unlikely to live longer than a few years.

The Xia Empire had never known much about the Wushen Kingdom. They had no idea that citizens of all ages suffered from weak bodies so never dared to imagine trying to heal the divine envoy’s bodies.

Seeing the layers of bloodshed accumulated inside the sacrificial hall and knowing that the blood of his own God son was splattered somewhere across the walls, Qin Ruwang, who had entered with his army, lost all sense of reason. He destroyed the statues inside the hall and cut the head off every priest he came across.

As he promised the God son, he executed the priests, smashed idols, burned the crops and completely destroyed the Wushen Kingdom’s faith in the gods. At the same time, he ordered as many doctors as he could to develop an antidote for the toxin accumulated in the Wushen people’s bodies. He had the fields of Wushen tilled and new crops planted, he built a water conservancy, set up free schools for the poor and slowly aided the brainwashed population in education and individual thought. 

In that life, because of his guilt, Qin Ruwang followed the development of the antidote very closely and knew the prescription by heart. In this life, to ensure the God son received the antidote quickly, he claimed to be very interested in medical theory and buried himself in medical literature. He later wrote the prescription down and gave it to the Goddess daughter.

The Goddess daughter had been refining longevity medicine for the Emperor of Xia for many years and was also immersed in medicinal knowledge. Although she was less familiar with the Xia Empire’s medicinal herbs, she understood the method of the prescription and immediately brewed the concoction according the Qin Ruwang’s instructions. She and the God son took the antidote daily and Qin Ruwang watched as the God son’s body slowly improved each day.

The Goddess daughter reported the matter to the Emperor which pleased him greatly. Qin Ruwang had told him that he worried for his Emperor father’s health and wished to help the Goddess daughter refine his elixir of life to ensure he’d live longer to see the Empire prosper.

In this life, Qin Ruwang never bothered to conceal his abilities and quickly emerged as a strong enemy inside the imperial court. Other members of the court soon found he was an extremely dangerous opponent, since he knew the values the Emperor admired, knew the words and actions that would please him, and carried out his every move according to the Emperor’s will. With this, he quickly gained the Emperor’s appreciation and attention. The Emperor was happy to meet his few requests and gradually doted on the child more and more. 

Qin Ruwang aided the Goddess daughter in refining pills for the Emperor, but he wasn’t doing it for the Emperor’s health. Instead he wanted to slowly kill the Emperor by feeding him poisonous pills.

The medicinal materials the Goddess daughter used to refine pills all came from the Wushen Kingdom. The current Xia Empire didn’t understand these herbs, but in his previous life Qin Ruwang had seen the strange results that came from the doctors studies of the herbs properties.

The majority of the materials inside the pills were toxic, but when they were refined together, not only did they lose their toxicity, they could be used to strengthen the body. The reason for this was the combination of certain materials neutralised the poisons.

Until the time when Qin Ruwang abdicated, the doctors still hadn’t fully understood the pharmacology of the herbs, but in the Wushen Kingdom, there were indeed many mysterious things that couldn’t be explained by logic. 

Qin Ruwang didn’t care about the pharmacology of the medicinal materials. All he had to do was reduce the dosage of the materials that neutralised the poisons. In this way, when the Emperor took his longevity medicine each day, he would gradually be exposed to larger and larger doses of poison.

The Xia Empire wouldn’t be able to tell that the poison came from the Wushen Kingdom. His body would gradually deteriorate before he died, making it appear as if he simply died of illness.

Whoosh…

The flames burned brightly beneath the pill stove. Qin Ruwang watched them, the eerie crimson fire reflected in his eyes, the corners of his lips slightly raised. 

In his last life, he’d begged his father every single day to give a small amount of the elixir of life to the dying God son, but the Emperor had coldly refused. In this life, the Emperor could enjoy his ‘longevity’ all alone.

Over time, the Emperor became more and more reliant on Qin Ruwang. Qin Ruwang used knowledge from his previous life and easily made connections with powerful officials and nobles, his silver tongue was even sharper than last time. His party grew rapidly, soon rivalling the crown prince’s, and the differences between the two of them became swiftly apparent.

The crown prince was never a match for Qin Ruwang, but this time round, his defeat came even faster. In every aspect he was inferior to Qin Ruwang and the Emperor’s dissatisfaction with the crown prince only grew stronger. It was soon obvious from his words and actions that he intended to strip the crown prince of his title and establish Qin Ruwang as next in line.

At the same time, the God son’s body was improving every day. He was no longer bound to his carriage and could walk a fair distance inside the garden. Qin Ruwang always followed behind him silently, his eyes filled with a gentle warmth that even he was not aware of. 

On one occasion, the God son’s figure swayed dangerously in front of him. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Qin Ruwang rushed forward and caught him in his arms.

He clutched the God son’s waist, lowering his head slightly. A faint fragrance filled his senses, making his eyes darken and his hands tighten further around him, refusing to let go of the boy immediately.

If it was possible, he would like to hold the God son like this forever. Even if he could hold him for a lifetime, he wouldn’t be satisfied.

“Ruwang?” 

The God son looked up at him with a smile on his lips. He reached out and stroked his cheek, “I’m fine, you can let go.”

Qin Ruwang moved slowly, his heart already missing the heat of the God son’s body, but his expression stayed unchanged as he obediently let go of him.

He was always careful to keep his emotions in check so the God son wouldn’t feel alienated from him. He wouldn’t take any risks until he regained the throne. He didn’t want to lose that man again.

“I never thought I would see a day like today.” The God son stood up, but still leaned against Qin Ruwang slightly, resting for a while. “It’s ridiculous to think that the divine envoy of the Wushen Kingdom couldn’t even move as much as a toddler. Even walking by itself was difficult, but now…” 

Having said this, he fell abruptly silent. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with light. Staring at Qin Ruwang’s face, he said softly, “This is all thanks to you Ruwang. The people of Wushen Kingdom and I really don’t know how to repay you.”

“If you really want to.” Qin Ruwang lightly squeezed his fingers and whispered to him, “In the future, would you climb mountains and swim in rivers with me? I want to walk with you across the world, just like today.”

For a moment, the God son was taken aback, then he smiled suddenly and said, “Then I’ll look forward to those days.”

Power struggles were rife within the court and in the middle of that turbulent situation, Qin Ruwang added another fire, impeaching the prime minister the same way he had in his previous life. He exiled the prime minister to the border under the crime of corruption. The crown prince was implicated as an accomplice, but in this life, he wasn’t just banned from the East Palace for a month, but was suspended from all palace affairs and effectively stripped of all real power. 

This meant the crown prince was clearly on the verge of being stripped of his title. Driven into a dead end, he finally conspired to rebel. However, his palace confidant had already switched to Qin Ruwang’s command and after the crown prince’s conspiracy was revealed, he finally committed suicide.

After the death of the crown prince, the Emperor suffered from illness. In the end, this was a child he had pampered for many years. His treason and death were a heavy blow to the Emperor.

But the sickness the Emperor suffered from was far more serious than everyone first imagined. The Emperor was supposed to be in his prime years and shouldn’t have become so ill. The entire palace was in a panic and although Qin Ruwang remained composed, everyone assumed he was simply trying to remain calm in the face of chaos. No one could have suspected that Qin Ruwang was the only person who knew why the Emperor had fallen ill.

The years of poisoning had finally become chronic and it wouldn’t be long before the Emperor lost his life. 

Qin Ruwang was valued by the Emperor and put in charge of running the Empire in his absence. Although he wasn’t named crown prince, he already held the status of one. Everyone knew he was the next Emperor. Since the situation had already been settled, no one dared to challenge him.

The Emperor’s condition grew worse each day and in the blink of an eye, he’d become terminally ill. The strong body of his past had withered down to the bone. Lying on his bed, his eyes were cloudy, his face white as paper, and he didn’t even have the energy to speak.

Qin Ruwang came to see him every day. Every time he arrived, his eyes were reddened, as if he was unable to bear seeing his father like this. It was obvious to anyone watching that his relationship with the Emperor was very close.

One day, the Emperor couldn’t even open his eyes. His time had finally come. Many concubines, princes and princess knelt inside the palace, weeping. Only Qin Ruwang walked over to the Emperor’s bed, tears running down his face. He held the Emperor’s hand and said. 

“Father, if you have any other wishes, please share them with your son.”

After speaking, he leaned closer to him, as if listening for his answer. His handsome face was still stained with tears, but when the Emperor tried to open his eyes, the corner of his lips twitched into a smile and his dark eyes glittered brightly.

“Father, since you are so close to death, I think I should tell you the truth, in case you die unexpectedly.”

He whispered into the Emperor’s ear, glee dancing in his voice. 

“The reason why you’re dying is because I poisoned you. The crown prince never intended to commit treason, yet I sent out a degree accusing him of treason which forced him to commit suicide.”

“So father, it’s really not his fault. If you meet the crown prince in the yellow springs, you must forgive him and be a good father and son with him in your next life.”

“You…you…”

Lying on the bed, the Emperor’s face turned ash grey. He raised his thin fingers and pointed at Qin Ruwang. His throat made a hoarse noise and his breathing grew heavy, but he was unable to utter a complete sentence and Qin Ruwang immediately pressed his hand back down. 

The Emperor was so furious he vomited blood over and over again until he died in exhausted rage, black blood oozing out of his seven orifices.

The people inside the hall burst into tears. Qin Ruwang appeared as if he was distraught from the scene and fled the palace crying, but the further he walked, the larger the smile on his lips grew. He finally pushed open the door of the palace of the divine envoys to see the God son standing by the window.

The front of his clothes were still stained with the blood of the Emperor as he laughed and cried almost frantically. The God son moved towards him, wanting to ask about the Emperor’s condition, when Qin Ruwang took the boy by the wrist and pinned him against the wall. Pressing their bodies tightly together, he pulled the mask from the God son’s face and captured his lips in a frenzied kiss.

Remember when I used to call Qin Ruwang cute…he’s actually one of the craziest I was so wrong…it’s very sexy though 

Ahhh, just finished a long essay on the Qin dynasty (秦) and now I have to write about another Qin Empire (Qin Ruwang 秦如望)

Long chapter because I missed Saturday’s upload (⌒_⌒;)