CH 16

After the first batch of supplies arrived in Huaizhou, the rest of the food was also delivered in quick succession. Shen Qingyu finally had the time to take a break and send a report of this matter to the imperial court. However, he did not say too much and only mentioned that it was all due to the generosity of a wealthy merchant. It’s a pity that Xiao Weishen didn’t want to delay his enjoyment and waste time worrying about the disaster there, and sent the report back after hastily skimming it.

Shen Qingyu looked at the booklet1 which had been sent back and fell silent for a while. Seeing the few perfunctory words that the Holy Lord2 had scribbled on it inattentively, his heart gradually sank and he became utterly disappointed with the court. The state of the refugees here is miserable and unbearable but the emperor doesn’t care about it at all and just keeps saying that it will be fine by next year’s spring.

Next year’s spring…. Is he truly unaware that many of these people won’t even have a next year?

Shen Qingyu couldn’t even remember why he had studied so hard to obtain scholarly honor in the imperial exams back then. Obviously nothing has changed [since then], the lives of the people are still as difficult and miserable as they were before and he wasn’t able to do anything for them.

He suddenly remembered that day when that handsome young man in black had told himself very firmly that he would be given an opportunity very soon.

Where would the opportunity come from? With the attitude of the current Holy Lord, there is no hope for him.

Shen Qingyu shook his head with a wry smile and slowly walked back to the study with the memorial.

——

Capital City

“Seventh Brother, how about you come out to play with me?” Just after breakfast, Xiao Weiming ran to the Ling Wang Mansion and noisily pestered Xiao Weixin, asking him to accompany him to go out: “What’s the point of you always being bored at home?”

Xiao Weixin raised his foot and kicked his calf lightly, exasperated: “You do nothing but eat, drink and have fun all day long. Can you do something serious for once?”

“I practice martial arts very seriously every day, but what’s the use if I can’t even try it on the battlefield?” Xiao Weiming muttered, “Yang Qixian can be a general, why can’t I?”

Xiao Weixin raised his eyes to look at him and said seriously: “If you work even one-tenth as hard as Yang Qixian does, you may get a chance in the future.”

“There won’t be any chance.” Xiao Weiming lay down on the table listlessly and said with great certainty: “Second Brother will never give me a chance to go to the battlefield.”

Xiao Weixin’s expression became a little dark. He pursed his lips and suddenly raised his hand to gently pat Xiao Weiming’s head, almost as if making a promise: “One day, I will let you have the opportunity to fight on the battlefield with dignity, just like Yang Qixian.”

If one says that, even after suffering all these years, Xiao Weixin still has a little tenderness left in his heart then that remaining tenderness is reserved only for Xiao Weiming. When he3 was still young, he was once bullied by the other princes. Xiao Weiming was the person who swung his tiny arms and fists to desperately fight them off and it was also his4 Consort Mother who had rushed to find an imperial doctor to treat him properly. He will always remember their kindness.

Xiao Weiming is actually a martial arts prodigy, a person born to be a warrior but because of his5 powerlessness, he is forced to conceal his brilliant talent but, despite this, he has never blamed him and stubbornly remains by his side. But every time he saw Yang Qixian’s heroic figure after he returned from another great victory, his eyes would always be downcast and he would stare from the window, secretly envious.

So Xiao Weixin had long ago vowed that one day in the future, he would make sure that his younger brother never had to look at anyone’s back again.

Xiao Weiming looked at the determination in his brother’s eyes and felt very happy. Then, he secretly thought: Seventh Brother’s attitude towards me is quite good today, then when he finds out later, he probably…..hopefully….most likely won’t be angry?

It was very rare for Xiao Weixin to be this soft-hearted. He decided that it would probably be fine to go out to have fun with him this once since it was nearly the end of the year and, after coming back from Empress Dowager Xia’s birthday, he hadn’t gone out for almost a month.

After changing his clothes, Xiao Weixin glanced back secretly. Although it seemed that there wasn’t anyone there, but You Shu, who was hiding in the shadows, could sense that he was looking at himself.

After he had walked away, Ying Si scratched his head, confused, and asked him in a low voice: “What did the prince mean by that glance just now?”

“I don’t know.” You Shu kicked his calf and urged, “Follow quickly.”

The two of them disguised themselves and unobtrusively mixed in with the palace staff accompanying Xiao Weixin and went to the teahouse. Xiao Weiming had become obsessed with listening to stories in the past few days and stayed there for several hours every day just for that.

Xiao Weixin was dressed in a snow-white robe with a black fox fur cloak over it, highlighting his luxurious and elegant temperament. His black hair draped behind his back and his clear and beautiful face looked sickly yet picturesque. The entire audience, that was listening to the storyteller in the teahouse, was spellbound and couldn’t help comparing him to a descended immortal6.

Knowing that Xiao Weixin didn’t like being stared at, You Shu gave them all a cold glare. The group of onlookers hurriedly lowered their heads and pretended to be busy, only then noticing the emblem of the palace and suddenly realizing that the person who had just entered was probably Qin Wang7.

Xiao Weixin chose to sit in a private room from where the table of the storyteller downstairs was clearly visible. Xiao Weiming sat next to him with an excited face and directly ordered several dishes.

Qi Han and Xiao Weiming’s personal bodyguard, Hong Xue, stood silently behind the two princes while You Shu and Ying Si8 stood guard at the door, one on the left and one on the right, completely alert.

The storyteller downstairs was in the middle of telling the tale of the battle between the Yang family’s army and the Xirong army and happened to be talking about how the young general Yang Qixian bravely overcame countless obstacles and difficulties. Xiao Weiming listened, fascinated, and kept stuffing fruit into his mouth without even taking a sip of water.

You Shu listened to the dramatic words of the storyteller downstairs for a while and proceeded to ignore him. Although Yang Qixian is indeed skilled, he is not that excellent. Speaking in modern terms, this story teller is a marketing account that uses sensational headlines to attract people. Every detail is exaggerated and described as if he had personally witnessed it. In short, he is a fraud.

“Seventh Brother, is Yang Qixian really that powerful?” Xiao Weiming asked him in a low voice.

Xiao Weixin didn’t raise his head, not really listening to the story, drank tea lazily and replied: “How would I know?”

“Then, if I ever got a chance to spar with him, who do you think would win?” Xiao Weiming looked at him expectantly.

“From childhood till now, you have never killed even an ant. What are you saying?” Xiao Weixin felt that he was being too fanciful. He himself used to think that his strength was not inferior to anyone but then he was beaten to the ground by You Shu several times. After this, how could he not realize the importance of actual combat experience? An unsheathed blade can only be used as a showpiece and is completely worthless.

Xiao Weiming looked disappointed, “That’s true…”

At this moment, a person came out of the private room next door and was stopped by You Shu: “My prince is drinking tea inside and no one else is allowed to enter.”

The young man raised his eyes to look at him, took two steps back and solemnly clasped his fists in salute. His voice was a perfect mix between the clear tone of a teenager and the deep baritone of a young man: “Major General Yang Qixian.”

“I was drinking tea next door just now. I just found out that the princes are also here after hearing the voices from this room so I came to greet them.”

You Shu’s eyes twitched and, after looking up, he realized that the handsome young master standing in front of him was the young General he had seen from the roof that day9. Before he could go in and report this, he heard Xiao Weixin’s voice from inside.

“General, please enter.”

Yang Qixian nodded politely to You Shu, walked through the door and then respectfully saluted: “This general greets Ling Wang and Qin Wang.”

“There is no need to stand on ceremony, general, please sit down.” Xiao Weixin didn’t show any sign of joy due to meeting Yang Qixian by accident and spoke calmly, not showing any signs of wanting to win him over.

Yang Qixian obeyed readily and sat down opposite Xiao Weiming. He had just come to the teahouse to listen to stories out of boredom but he hadn’t expected that they would be talking about his feats on the battlefield again. After listening for a while, his mood resembled You Shu’s.

Not only awkward but also ashamed.

Saying that he tore apart the enemy soldiers with his bare hands is complete nonsense and it is even more nonsensical to say that he alone won against a hundred opponents at once. But he couldn’t leave immediately so he could only force himself to keep listening while pretending that the protagonist of the story was not himself.

After hearing the voices from next door, he realized that the two princes were here and hurriedly went to greet them.

Yang Qixian is only 21 years old this year but, after fighting on the battlefield for so many years, he has gained an intimidating presence. When he sat down at the table, Xiao Weiming immediately understood the gap between them.

“I heard that the prince has been in poor health recently. How are you feeling now?” Although Yang Qixian is a warrior and doesn’t understand the intricate schemes and tricks of the court ministers, he cannot be perfunctory with the prince so he can only reluctantly try to chat.

Xiao Weixin smiled softly at him. The impatient attitude he had had towards Xiao Weiming just now was nowhere to be seen as he replied: “Thank you for your concern, general, this king has gotten better in the past few days and took the opportunity to bring Weiming out.”

Only then did Yang Qixian turn his attention to Xiao Weiming. He seldom had contact with these imperial princes and has never liked to associate with them either. Today is the first time he is meeting Xiao Weiming.

Xiao Weiming was very happy to finally have the opportunity to meet his idol personally but he was too timid to speak up and kept glancing at his brother for help.

Xiao Weixin focused on drinking his tea and stared at You Shu’s back10 in front of him. Although he intends to bring Yang Qixian over to his side, now is not the time to reveal his thoughts. Yang Qixian is a stubborn and upright person and would not be willing to side with him at this moment.

In the end, Xiao Weiming was forced to rely on himself. Fortunately, Yang Qixian is not a person who is difficult to get along with. After hearing that Xiao Weiming also liked to practice martial arts, he even gave him a few words of encouragement. It was obvious that he had a favorable impression of both of them.

After conversing for some time, Yang Qixian really had nothing more to say so he could only stand up and take his leave. Xiao Weixin remained calm during all this and watched Yang Qixian go downstairs and leave.

Today was truly a coincidence because Xiao Weixin hadn’t expected to meet Yang Qixian by accident. He had wanted to create an opportunity for them to meet later. After this short conversation, he understood clearly that Yang Qixian was indeed as difficult to sway as he had expected.

In order to seize the throne, Xiao Weixin needed to have the support of the military. Without military power, even if he reached the Hall of Supreme Harmony11, it would all be for naught. Although Yang Qixian is indeed a tough nut to crack, he would wear him down somehow.

While Xiao Weixin quickly calculated the next steps in his mind, someone else came to find him.

“That, my lord, about the money owed by His Royal Highness Qin Wang…?”

Xiao Weixin face was ice-cold as he stared at the several silk merchants kneeling on the ground with a frosty face. Then, with gritted teeth, he turned to look at Xiao Weiming.

Xiao Weiming tried to play dead.

When he fought with Xia Huaizhang in Tianxiang Tower last time, he had also broken several precious jade vases. Then, two days ago, he had noticed a sword he liked in the weapon shop and had taken it home on credit. The IOU was written in Xiao Weixin’s name.

Adding all these expenses, there is debt of one hundred taels12.

Seeing the creditors crowding outside the door, Xiao Weixin sneered and said to Qi Han, “Take them to the mansion to receive the money.”

Qi Han immediately left with those merchants.

Spendthrift.

You Shu complained in his heart.

Only knowing to rip your brother off. Do you think that you can easily defraud your brother like this just because he lets you off lightly?

Such a fraud little brother who harms his older brother deserves to be thrown into the cesspit13!

a folding book (折子: zhézi) usually used for keeping accounts.

圣上 (sheng shàng) is an honorific title given to the emperor by his courtiers and ministers. It is not the same as His Majesty which is 陛下 (bì xià).

XWX

Xiao Weiming’s

XWX

He’s beautiful. We get it. Stop.

It is either a typo or maybe they went in Xiao Weiming’s carriage.

The raws said Ying Liu for some reason. Probably a typo.

The day the army had returned to the capital

Yes

The emperor’s palace and study

Fun fact: that’s equal to 54,000 yuan or around 7500 USD hehe

Am I the only one who thinks that this sounds like a wife scolding her way-too-generous husband’s good-for-nothing little brother who only cheats money off his brother? Just me? Ok.