Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Feiying Peak.

Emperor Xingwu led several high-ranking ministers, while Qingyang and the younger generation followed a hundred or so stone steps behind.

Emperor Xingwu had initially wanted the younger generation to go first, but even the impetuous Deng Kun, now thirty-five, had long lost interest in climbing Feiying Peak, a climb he had made over a dozen times. He preferred to dutifully follow the emperor.

The younger group further divided into two clusters: Qingyang, her three imperial brothers, Qin Liang, and the two imperial sons-in-law walked ahead, while Deng Kun and other noble scions lagged a bit further back.

Qingyang walked alongside her eldest brother, both siblings keeping a constant watch on their father ahead, speaking little.

Qin Bing quietly teased his third brother beside him: "Everyone's walking slowly this time. At least you don't have to worry about being left behind."

Qin Ren: "..."

Looking up at his father's white hair, Qin Ren felt a pang of sadness. He almost wished his father could still scold him as before, calling him a lazy good-for-nothing.

After climbing about halfway, Emperor Xingwu was breathing heavily. Prince Yong, without a word, took hold of his elder brother's arm and guided him to the nearest pavilion for a rest.

Emperor Xingwu was drenched in sweat. Once seated, he noticed Lü Zan, Zhang Jie, and others waiting outside. He waved with a smile, signaling them to continue upward. Yang Zhimin had just begun to say "Your subject—" when Emperor Xingwu cut him off, telling them not to fuss.

After the elder ministers had departed, it was the younger generation's turn. Emperor Xingwu only called in his four children and his nephew Qin Liang, letting Zhang Su, Fu Kui, Deng Kun, and the others proceed.

The pavilion had bench rails on three sides. Emperor Xingwu rested one hand on his left leg, using a handkerchief to wipe sweat from his forehead and temples with the other. He instructed the five: "Sit, all of you. There are no outsiders here."

Qingyang sat to her father's left. Seeing his second and third brothers sitting together, Qin Hong led Qin Liang to sit on the opposite bench rail.

Emperor Xingwu surveyed the younger generation, his gaze settling on the 26-year-old Qin Bing. He reminisced: "When I started my campaign, I was about your second brother's age. In a blink, he's already a father."

Qingyang disliked hearing her father speak of aging, and so did Qin Bing. He deliberately asked his uncle, who sat to the emperor's right and had taken Third Brother's folding fan to fan the emperor: "Uncle, tell us—do I look more imposing, or did Father look more imposing when he was my age?"

Prince Yong scoffed: "Someone like you wouldn't have been worthy to be a gatekeeper for your father back then."

Qin Bing: "That can't be right. Our old Qin family was poor back then. Father didn't even have enough to eat—"

Prince Yong: "Your father's majesty was innate. It had nothing to do with whether he had enough to eat."

Qin Bing was left speechless. Qin Ren cheekily asked: "We already know how heroic Father was. But when Father started his campaign, Uncle was about the same age as Younger Sister, right? How did you compare to Younger Sister?"

Prince Yong: "..."

Emperor Xingwu chuckled and began recounting, one by one, all the foolish things his brother had done over the years: like sneaking into the kitchen at night to steal meat buns, breaking military rules and earning ten strokes of the whip; like drinking alcohol in the military camp, breaking orders again and earning another ten strokes of the whip; even the time his brother slaughtered a rich commoner's pig while waiting for rewards after his first military merit, earning twenty strokes of the whip.

Qin Bing grinned gleefully: "Father must have gone through quite a few whips back then, huh?"

See? He hadn't made nearly as many mistakes as Uncle had. He was definitely better than Uncle!

Prince Yong didn't dare tell his elder brother to shut up. Instead, he made a slapping gesture toward his second nephew: "Stop being glib. You lived in better times. If you'd grown up in the village like me, you'd have gotten more lashes than I did. At least I never got whipped for cricket-fighting."

Qin Bing, Qin Ren: "..."

Qingyang smiled: "Father, why not tell us about some of Uncle's military achievements too?"

Prince Yong looked happily at his little niece: "Lin'er is so thoughtful, always thinking of her uncle."

Emperor Xingwu patted his daughter's hand and began recounting his brother's military achievements. This rash younger brother was a fierce general, a bold warrior who charged into battle, and his military achievements were equally numerous. Emperor Xingwu remembered every one clearly.

Prince Yong grew excited listening and couldn't help bringing up how exhilarating it was fighting East Hu cavalry during the Northern Expedition.

Emperor Xingwu listened with a smile. After his brother finished, he looked at Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and his nephew in turn, saying: "The Eastern Hu and Western Hu are peaceful now, but in another twenty years, they might come to provoke Great Qi again. When that time comes, I hope you three brothers will assist Lin'er just as Prince Yong assisted me—defending against foreign enemies for her, expanding territory for her."

Qin Hong, Qin Bing, and Qin Liang simultaneously dropped to one knee, vowing their loyalty to the Crown Princess.

Qin Ren, who hadn't received any specific instructions from his father and sat alone on the bench rail: "..."

Emperor Xingwu didn't bother with him. Continuing to the three kneeling, he said: "In theory, the court has plenty of talent and no shortage of generals who can lead troops into battle. But this is our Qin family's empire. When trouble comes, who will care more than our own Qin family? So as long as you learn the skills of the battlefield, Lin'er will definitely turn to you brothers first."

Qin Bing felt a surge of emotion in his chest: "Father, rest assured. I won't be so reckless anymore."

It wasn't that he was truly unaware of his flaws; he just struggled to control his hot temper.

Emperor Xingwu hmphed: "If a few words from me could change the bad temper you've had for over twenty years, your uncle wouldn't still be like this at fifty. Among you three, you have the most flaws. Hong'er has decent martial skills and passable cunning, but I worry he might fear in danger. As for being a general or commander, I have the most confidence in Liang'er. During the Northern Expedition, if Lin'er hadn't been so confident, I would definitely have sent Liang'er and kept Bing'er in the capital."

Qin Bing glared defiantly at Qin Liang. Prince Yong broke into a guilty cold sweat. If his elder brother had simply praised his son's commanding talent, Prince Yong would have been happily smiling. But last year's Northern Expedition... thankfully his elder brother had kept his son in the capital. Otherwise, the boy might have deliberately caused trouble on the grasslands.

The more his elder brother trusted his son, the more ashamed Prince Yong felt. He resolved to give his son another good slap when they returned home, to make sure the lesson was thoroughly learned.

Qin Liang, unaware of his father's thoughts, modestly declined the praise. Knowing his uncle was just offering empty compliments, he didn't take it to heart.

After resting sufficiently, Emperor Xingwu continued upward with his brother, sons, and nephew.

Finally reaching the summit of Feiying Peak, Qingyang supported her father as they walked to the cliff edge. Father and daughter gazed northward at the waters of the Yellow River together.

The summer sun was bright and glaring, but the wind blowing toward them was refreshingly cool.

Emperor Xingwu looked at his daughter, who already stood taller than his shoulder, and remembered holding his nine-year-old daughter here years before. Quietly, he whispered to her: "Well? Your father didn't break his promise, did he?"

He had promised to take his daughter to inspect the realm—one northern tour, one southern tour—together they made...

Qingyang: "The northern tour didn't go to Liaozhou, the southern tour didn't go to Yunzhou. When does Father plan to take me?"

Emperor Xingwu: "..."

.

Perhaps it was his age, or perhaps it was the peace that had reduced border concerns, but Emperor Xingwu felt particularly leisurely during this summer retreat to the Western Gardens. Not long after taking his ministers up Feiying Peak, he organized a Cuju match a few days later. He had Qingyang, Qin Hong, Qin Bing, Qin Ren, Qin Liang, Fu Kui, and Zhang Su form one team, while Deng Kun, Deng Tai, Lü Chaoguang, Fan Huaizhong, Meng Changhe, Xue Yanzheng, and Li Fuyuan—seven scions of noble families—formed the other.

Deng Kun complained about the nearly spherical Li Fuyuan: "Your Majesty, can we swap players?"

Ignoring Fan Huaian and Lü Chaoliang's eager expressions, Emperor Xingwu glanced at his own third son and said: "No swaps. Each team has one liability. Quite fair."

Qin Ren: "..."

Although his martial skills weren't great and he rarely played Cuju, he was definitely better than Li Fuyuan, right?

Soon, the Cuju match began.

Qingyang had come prepared, wearing robes today with her long hair simply tied up with a crown. Having practiced martial arts since childhood—though she only attended three martial classes per ten days—her skills were no less than those of ordinary soldiers. While she couldn't match these tall, sturdy brothers and general's sons in physical collisions, she could use her agility and footwork to evade others' blocks.

Qin Ren knew his ball skills were inferior to his sister's, so he focused entirely on Li Fuyuan, figuring that as long as he blocked more shots than Li Fuyuan, he would win.

But although Li Fuyuan was fat, he was a skilled playboy. Having often played Cuju with other young nobles in his youth, he was actually quite good. He was even unhappy when Deng Kun assigned him as goalkeeper. Seeing Qin Bing kick a powerful shot toward him, Li Fuyuan suddenly leaped into the air, using his thick left shoulder to head the ball back.

Qin Ren: "..."

Emperor Xingwu watched with great interest alongside his ministers.

The two teams were quite evenly matched. However, with the Crown Princess and three imperial princes present, everyone held back to about seventy percent of their effort, occasionally creating comedic moments: like when Qin Liang and Deng Tai fighting for the ball turned into Qin Liang, Qin Bing, Deng Tai, and Fan Huaizhong all wrestling together on the ground; like when Qin Ren leaped to block a shot only to halfway through tuck his head in fear; like when Deng Kun tried to steal the ball from the Crown Princess but held back for fear of injuring her, only to end up taking an elbow to the chest that left him clutching his chest and gasping in pain.

After three consecutive matches, the imperial team won by a three-point advantage.

During the two-month summer retreat at the Western Garden, Emperor Xingwu organized a total of five such Cuju matches.

With only a few days left before returning to the capital, on the afternoon following the final match, Yan Xizheng suddenly requested an audience with Emperor Xingwu at the imperial study.

Emperor Xingwu summoned him in and, noticing Yan Xizheng glance at He Yuanjing waiting nearby, dismissed He Yuanjing.

"Come, sit here and speak."

Emperor Xingwu walked to one side of the luohan bed and gestured for Yan Xizheng to sit at the opposite end of the low table.

Seeing the emperor setting up a chessboard, Yan Xizheng complied and took a seat. As they began moving the pieces, he looked at the emperor across from him, furrowing his brow as he asked, "Why has Your Majesty frequently ordered the Crown Princess and the others to play Cuju?"

Emperor Xingwu, focused on the chessboard, replied, "Since you’ve come, you must have already guessed."

Yan Xizheng had indeed guessed, but he couldn’t understand: "Is Your Majesty worried that Qin Liang, Deng Kun, and Deng Tai harbor resentment toward the Crown Princess? If so, Your Majesty could simply assign them to posts outside the capital."

One could be sent to Yunzhou under Zhang Jian’s supervision, another to Liaozhou to be watched by Meng Ji, and the third to the Fuzhou naval fleet, respectively. As long as these three were kept apart, even if each commanded a military unit, it would be difficult for them to stir up trouble. If they remained in the capital, each leading over five thousand troops and enjoying considerable influence, they could indeed pose a threat to the Crown Princess.

Unable to halt Emperor Xingwu’s aging, Yan Xizheng could only strive to share his burdens.

Emperor Xingwu smiled wryly: "Reassigning them externally would clearly signal that both I and Lin'er distrust them."

Yan Xizheng responded without hesitation: "Compared to the stability of the capital, what does it matter if their feelings are hurt? It was their dissatisfaction with the Crown Princess that came first."

The Crown Princess was appointed by Emperor Xingwu. If Prince Yong and the Deng brothers harbored resentment, they ought to be dealt with. Since Prince Yong’s achievements made him difficult to move directly, posting his son away would suffice.

Yan Xizheng understood the emperor’s reluctance, but ensuring a smooth succession was more important.

Emperor Xingwu knew the reasoning well. The problem was, his brother and the Deng brothers had only voiced opposition at the time of the Crown Princess’s appointment and had since made no further public dissent or covert plots. To exile his own nephews and the Deng brothers, whom he treated like nephews, based solely on suspicion and worry, was both distressing and unlikely to convince others.

Emperor Xingwu didn’t expect a few Cuju matches to change his brother’s and the Deng brothers’ stubborn views. He simply wanted to make an attempt—if even one could be swayed, it might avert a potential conflict.