Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Fan Zhong swiftly carried the little princess back to the imperial tent.

Emperor Xingwu was briefing the Crown Prince and Qin Ren on their next steps. Seeing the little princess in Fan Zhong’s arms, her face ashen, Emperor Xingwu vaulted over the low table, took his daughter into his embrace, and demanded of Fan Zhong, “What happened to Liner?”

“Father, I’m fine,” Qingyang managed to utter before burying her face in her father’s shoulder and bursting into tears.

Six years ago, her father had instructed her to feign ignorance of Yuan Zhaoxiong’s corruption and to continue treating Yuan Chongli as a playmate. Qingyang obediently complied, yet in her heart, she had already branded Yuan Chongli and Yuan Jie as the children of a corrupt official. Though she still conversed and played with them, her affection for them paled in comparison to that for Meng Yao and Yan Zhenzhen.

After her father stripped Yuan Chongli of his imperial study companion status, Qingyang surmised that her father intended to act against Yuan Zhaoxiong. Her father had long harbored concerns about Yuan Zhaoxiong’s military authority. Qingyang had envisioned two potential fates for him: conviction for corruption or for rebellion. In the former, Yuan Chongli and Yuan Jie might survive; in the latter…

Her father’s instruction for her to comfort the Marchioness of Pingliang and others during this campaign was merely a pretense. Qingyang understood that these women were unlikely to sway Yuan Zhaoxiong, but their tears were so heart-wrenching that Qingyang hoped Yuan Zhaoxiong would yield in time. Though his death was inevitable, he might at least secure a future for his wife and children.

Yesterday, her father’s swift reclamation of the Liangzhou army had first left Qingyang awestruck by his majestic power, then preoccupied with the impending campaign against the Hu. It was only this morning that Yuan Jie and the others finally came back to mind.

Exile, forced labor, extermination of three clans, execution of nine familial generations—these were terms Qingyang had encountered in history books long ago. But history books offered only brief mentions. Qingyang had never met those ancients from centuries or millennia past, nor had she ever truly contemplated the brutality of their punishments. Yet, just now, as she connected the dots to Yuan Jie and the others having been executed, vivid images flashed in her mind: the Yuan family beheaded, their bodies used to collect blood to smear across the battlefield. Among them, Yuan Chongli’s face was the clearest.

She knew that her father, or any emperor, ought to employ severe measures to deter officials and commoners from rebellion, yet she also knew that Yuan Chongli and Yuan Jie were innocent.

Qingyang did not blame her father for his ruthlessness; she simply couldn't stop herself from crying.

Fan Zhong observed the Crown Prince’s bowed head and the Third Prince’s anxious, bewildered gaze at the little princess. He vaguely explained, “Your Majesty, the battlefield outside is covered in the blood of pigs and sheep slaughtered yesterday. Her Highness stumbled upon it and was so startled she couldn’t stop vomiting. This servant failed in his duty to protect her. I beg Your Majesty to punish me.”

Emperor Xingwu waved his hand, dismissing him.

The army was about to break camp. Emperor Xingwu patted his daughter’s back, finished instructing his two sons, and then carried his daughter into the imperial carriage.

The imperial carriage was comfortable and spacious, with a narrow daybed inside. Emperor Xingwu laid his daughter, who had ceased crying, upon it. Seeing her little face streaked with tears, he smiled, poured some water from a copper pot onto a handkerchief, and kneeling by the daybed, gently wiped her face.

Afterward, Emperor Xingwu looked at the handkerchief, pointing to the faint layer of dust on it as he teased his daughter, “Look how dusty it is here. Liner was only outside for a short while, and already her face is covered in grime.”

The little princess, who was usually particular about cleanliness, felt a touch of embarrassment at the sight of the soiled handkerchief.

Emperor Xingwu set the handkerchief aside and extended his right hand, asking, “Liner, do you think Father’s hand is clean?”

Qingyang first gazed at her father’s clean, broad, callused palm, then raised her eyes to his face. She understood the deeper meaning behind his question but still nodded, “Father is clean everywhere.”

Without her father, the world might still be embroiled in war. Thus, her father was a true hero who ended the chaos and saved the people from suffering, the Great Qi’s brilliant and mighty founding emperor.

Seeing that the little princess, who had just witnessed bloodshed, still loved her father and showed no fear, Emperor Xingwu felt deeply comforted. He shifted to sit leaning against the daybed, and with his daughter, he looked at his hand—the hand that had wielded hoes, caught rats, gripped swords and spears, and slain enemies. “Actually, it’s not clean at all. Father has killed too many people, and this hand is stained with too much blood. Even if all those people deserved to die, their deaths at Father’s hands have left indelible marks in my heart. They occasionally resurface, reminding me of how they looked when they were alive.”

“Father told you about Liu Wenzhi. He saved Father’s life, yet Father still executed his son according to the law, showing him no mercy.”

“Then there’s Yuan Zhaoxiong. He was a fierce general who joined Father midway. Father valued him so much that even your uncle and Deng Chong grew jealous, constantly finding small ways to trouble him. Father stood up for him, put an arm around his shoulders, and said he was also Father’s good brother. Your uncle grumbled that he was more of a ‘bear brother’.”

At this, Emperor Xingwu laughed, and Qingyang, who had been watching him, saw deep nostalgia in that laughter.

Qingyang clasped her father’s large hand with both of hers, not wanting him to be sad.

Emperor Xingwu turned to look at his daughter, his gaze calm. “Don’t worry, Father won’t cry. From the day Father ascended the throne, I began to see all the brothers who once fought and survived alongside me as subjects. I rewarded them with high positions and generous salaries based on their military achievements, and out of old affection, I trusted them, appointing them as generals and ministers. This was what they deserved and what Father should give them. But a ruler is a ruler, and subjects are subjects. Whoever dares to break the laws and rules I’ve established, I will deal with them. Father won’t tell you lofty words about being a wise emperor for the sake of the people. Father does this for my own satisfaction. A brother who betrays me first, a brother who steals millions of taels from my treasury—why should I tolerate him?”

“Liner, you’re still young and can’t bear to see familiar companions die. But have you considered that if Yuan Zhaoxiong’s military skills were greater, and if Father were a bit more foolish, today’s battle would have ended with Yuan Zhaoxiong killing Father and usurping the throne? If he had truly won, even if Yuan Chongli and Yuan Jie were willing to shed a few tears for you and your siblings, sooner or later they would happily become the new prince and princess.”

“So, when you feel soft-hearted, think about the alternative outcome where others subjugate you. The more you think about it, the harder your heart will become.”

“Liner, Father would rather you learn to get your hands dirty like I often do, than remain clean and allow others to bully you.”

.

The carriage swayed rhythmically, and Qingyang fell asleep on her father’s imperial couch until she heard someone speaking nearby.

“Your Majesty, Qu Qinglin, the County Magistrate of Jing County, has brought all the county officials to welcome you.”

“Bring Qu Qinglin here.”

Qingyang was about to turn over when the blanket on her moved. It was her father pulling the slipped blanket up to her shoulders, tucking her in snugly with only her head exposed.

Qingyang pretended to still be asleep.

A moment later, the carriage door was opened by He Yuanjing, filling the compartment with light.

Qingyang lay with her back to the door, listening as Magistrate Qu outside trembled while pledging loyalty to her father, claiming that he had been compelled by Yuan Zhaoxiong and dared not rally the militia to rescue the emperor.

Her father sneered, “If you had come to my rescue in time, my second son might not have died. Take him away and behead him.”

“Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty—”

Qingyang secretly clenched the blanket in front of her.

From Luhe Town to Wuwei City was nearly four hundred li (about 200 km). The army passed through two counties along the way. Magistrate Qu of Jing County, who had obediently followed Yuan Zhaoxiong’s orders, was beheaded. Magistrate Guo of Gu County, who had been imprisoned by Yuan Zhaoxiong for opposing him, was rewarded.

On the eighth day of the ninth month, Emperor Xingwu’s remaining army of thirty thousand, having won a costly victory, finally entered Wuwei City, which had been secured through surrender in advance by Lü Zan, who had arrived early.

Yuan Zhaoxiong’s General’s headquarters had already been tidied up by Lü Zan’s men. The three siblings moved into the courtyard behind their father’s quarters: Qin Hong took the main room, Qin Ren the east wing, and Qingyang the west wing, all to concentrate the guards for better defense.

The Crown Prince went to their father to receive instructions, while Qin Ren slipped over to his sister’s room for a whispered conversation. “We didn’t see any of the Yuan family prisoners on the way to Wuwei, and now we’re even staying in their General’s headquarters. What happened to the people who lived here before…?”

Qingyang looked at her third brother’s face, which still held a trace of reluctance, and said bluntly, “Yuan Zhaoxiong rebelled. Father sentenced him to extermination of three clans. The executions were carried out before we entered the city.”

Some were executed right outside Luhe Town, while others were killed in Wuwei City as a warning to officials, citizens, and merchants—including the Hu spies.

Qin Ren collapsed into a chair. So they were really dead—Yuan Chongli, Yuan Jie…

Knowing her third brother was kind-hearted, Qingyang had prepared a handkerchief in advance to hand to him.

But Qin Ren just sat there dazed. After a while, he sighed deeply, turned to his sister, and asked with concern, “So you knew all along. Did you cry?”

Qingyang: “…I thought you would cry. You even cried when Second Brother and the others went to the battlefield.”

Qin Ren: “How is that the same? Second Brother is my own brother, Zhang Su is my good friend. But the Yuan family… they reaped what they sowed by committing crimes.” The crime of rebellion implicated the entire family, as clearly stipulated by law, beyond the interference of personal feelings.

All he could offer Yuan Chongli was a sigh.

Qingyang thought that her third brother must not know the specific details of Yuan Chongli and Yuan Jie’s deaths; otherwise, he would never be so calm.

She decided not to tell him. She had already come to terms with it herself, so why make her brother suffer?

She looked out the window. Compared to the dead, she was now more concerned about whether the bait her father had thrown out would catch the Hu’s main force.

.

A hundred li away from Wuwei, in a makeshift Hu tent on the grassland, a scout who had just returned from the front line reported excitedly, “Generals, the news our king received earlier is indeed true. I saw it with my own eyes—the Qi State emperor’s five carriages are now reduced to two. The one the emperor rides in is still intact, but the one following is covered in cuts from swords and spears. The twenty thousand infantry behind him also look dust-covered and battle-weary.”

“Also, the Qi State emperor is furious over the death of his son. He ordered Yuan Zhaoxiong’s concubines, children, and close associates to be dragged to the battlements and beheaded one by one. That section of the wall is stained red with blood.”

“The little princess of Qi State was frightened on the battlefield and has been having nightmares every night. She can’t even walk on her own—the Qi State emperor carried her into the General’s headquarters himself.”

The listening Hu generals burst into laughter.

The Left Wing General hesitated. “Even so, the Qi State emperor unified the Central Plains. He must be exceedingly shrewd. This time, he took such a great risk to subdue Yuan Zhaoxiong. It all seems rather suspicious.”

The Right Wing General, with a face full of beard, said, “I don’t find it suspicious. Our king said that arrogance leads to defeat. The Qi State emperor became complacent from his unbroken success in conquering the world. This time, he underestimated Yuan Zhaoxiong and us. He really thought his few thousand troops could rely on the Great Wall to stop us. Little does he know, we haven’t been serious in our confrontations with him over the past few years.”

“Exactly, Left Wing General, stop overanalyzing it. In my opinion, since the Qi emperor has arrived in Wuwei, our 200,000 cavalry force should charge straight into Wuwei tonight and capture the Qi emperor alive in one fell swoop!”

“Right, right! With the Qi emperor in our hands, we won’t have to worry about Qi not surrendering!”

Left Wing General frowned deeply and called everyone to order, saying, “Wait a little longer, sir. There’s one more thing I need to confirm.”

An hour later, another scout returned and reported happily, “Left Wing General, our men have been watching for half a month straight. The Qi garrison troops from Wuwei to Huaiyuan have been staying inside, with no signs of moving beyond the pass.”

Left Wing General raised his eyebrows, unable to contain his surprise. “The Qi emperor really hasn’t summoned the nearby border troops to protect him?”

Right Wing General said, “Protect him? He was confident he could defeat Yuan Zhaoxiong, and he did, though it cost him a son and two generals. The Qi emperor had no idea we’d gathered 200,000 troops waiting for him. With his remaining 30,000 soldiers and the 30,000 Liangzhou troops Yuan Zhaoxiong left to guard the border, it’s more than enough to handle the minor raids we’ve had before.”

Since all the generals agreed on a night raid on Wuwei, and this was precisely the purpose for which His Majesty had sent them out, Left Wing General slammed the table and declared resolutely, “Alright, no time to waste. Tonight, we’ll seize the Qi emperor off guard!”