Chapter 102: The Peace Talk Turmoil
Inside Xindu.
The palace was filled with a heavy, deathly silence. The halls were full of armored soldiers, but their faces were bloodless. They leaned on their blades, barely standing, each thinking of their families who had been locked up by the “Sovereign.”
After the incident at Anren Medicine Hall, Li Yilong had become increasingly distrustful of everyone.
He had dealt with many people, opened new palace halls, and imprisoned more family members of his officers until the entire palace was full.
The Xindu Palace had become a giant cage.
Countless people died of starvation, heat, or disease.
Those who could escape found every possible way to flee the city. Every day, an uncountable number of people jumped from the palace walls, jumped out of Xindu…
Those who couldn’t escape died beneath the walls.
Those who could escape joined Ying Xi’s Jiangbei Army, gaining freedom and land.
This created a cycle, attracting even more people to desert Xindu.
And all of this only fueled Li Yilong’s suspicion of everyone.
He became fearful and restless.
He didn’t dare to eat, didn’t dare to sleep, didn’t dare to leave his guards for a single moment, and felt he had to maintain a death grip on the guards’ families.
“Mr. Fan, you’ve come.” The head eunuch saw Fan Zhiai’s face and looked surprised. He masked his expression and whispered as he approached, “The Sovereign just fell asleep. These past few days, he has been sleeping while sitting up.”
Fan Zhiai’s face was covered in scratches. He felt not only panic but also resentment toward that feathered beast.
The fall of the city was a foregone conclusion. Now, he had to think about how to survive.
Fan Zhiai didn’t want to disturb him; Li Yilong was a light sleeper and would wake at any movement. He found a place to sit. “I’ll wait here.”
The head eunuch lowered his eyes.
Crying could be heard in the distance, but it was unclear where it came from. Perhaps it was from a consort, perhaps from a prince—one couldn’t tell.
Li Yilong sat on his throne, leaning on his hand for a nap. His body trembled for a second.
He didn’t wake up.
The Jiangnan Sovereign was a very large man. In his youth, he had worked hard as a farmer, which had tanned his skin into a brown color that could never be reversed. Even now, while sitting, his stature surpassed others.
He was dreaming.
His dream returned to his flood-prone hometown. Back then, land taxes were heavy, increasing year after year. The government officials imposed layer upon layer of demands on the common people.
The Imperial Court demanded money from everywhere, ignoring the lives of the people.
People in the village died of illness, died of hunger, and some hanged themselves because they couldn’t bear the burden. Those who lived still had to face the court’s repeated drafts for labor.
At first, the officials came to the village and said the labor was to build a dam and that food would be provided.
The villagers, suffering from floods, eagerly signed up, but in reality, they were taken to build a traveling palace for the Yuantai Emperor.
The gaps between the bricks of the palace were poured with glutinous rice juice. The finest glutinous rice was boiled into a thick paste to pour into the walls, sparing no expense. The walls were incredibly strong.
The remaining rice dregs, heavily diluted with water, were the rations for the laborers.
Eating such food, how could a person hold out?
Li Yilong had seen with his own eyes how many laborers suddenly fell from the walls.
The young men were smashed to pieces, and the officials would casually give the families a few coins to send them away.
Money couldn’t buy back a life. A court that took lives didn’t deserve loyalty!
Li Yilong risked his life to flee back to his hometown.
Fortunately, his wife was virtuous. Every meal, she saved a handful of grain. The rice jar was hidden in a hole in the ground covered with grass. This half-jar of surplus grain became the foundation for the couple to survive.
But later, more and more people in the village starved to death.
He couldn’t bear to see young Master Xu die, so he took out food to give the boy a few meals, saving a life. From then on, Xu Youyi was deathly loyal to him.
Saving one person made him want to save more. When there were more people around him, there wasn’t enough food, so they stole, robbed, fought, and begged… all to get a mouthful of life-saving grain in a chaotic world.
Before his wife starved to death, she lied to him and said she had eaten, leaving the grain for him. She fainted at night and never woke again.
His gentle wife often said, “A man is precious. My husband is more important than I. My husband must live on; only then can you protect more people in the future.”
His gentle wife had done the most resolute thing. She died willingly.
After his wife died, Li Yilong had no attachments. He killed the county magistrate, opened the granaries, and carved out a territory until he occupied all the prefectures of Yangzhou and became a regional hegemon.
But why now was everyone leaving him, leaving him as a man alone?
“Rui-niang. Tell your husband.”
“Are you doing well over there?”
—“Rui-niang!”
Suddenly, Li Yilong woke from his dream, opened his eyes, and stood up abruptly from his throne.
After standing, a wave of panic washed over him. He took a deep breath and realized that the main hall was filled with armored warriors. But every face was unfamiliar and distant, unlike the life-and-death brothers in his dream.
Li Yilong’s forehead was beaded with sweat. “What… time is it…?”
“Reporting to the Sovereign, it is nearly the hour of the Rat,” the head eunuch said softly.
Li Yilong closed his eyes tiredly and asked hoarsely, “How was the battle outside today?”
The head eunuch didn’t dare answer.
Fan Zhiai approached with his scratched face and knelt. “Greetings, Sovereign.”
Li Yilong: “How was the battle?!”
There was no longer any need for Fan Zhiai to hide it. He spoke directly, “The Jiangbei Army will break the city at any moment. We have absolutely no chance of winning.”
Li Yilong was stunned. “Impossible! I still have seven great generals, I…”
He slumped back into his seat, forced to accept the reality that these seven “Star Generals” had fallen, all killed by the Jiangbei commanders.
“Mr. Fan,” Li Yilong said palely, “what can I do? My dynastic foundation hasn’t even been passed down through the generations, and yet I’m about to be sent to the chopping block by Ying Xi.”
Fan Zhiai’s eyes lit up. He bowed low and gestured for Li Yilong to dismiss all the guards first.
Li Yilong could only comply.
Those heavy-armored guards finally had a moment to breathe, and they dragged their weary feet out of the hall.
Fan Zhiai lifted his gaze and said solemnly, “I have one last plan to bring us back to life!”
“If it succeeds, the world will be unified, and the Sovereign will reach the pinnacle of humanity!”
“If it fails, the Sovereign will be unharmed and can disappear into the mountains and forests!”
“Ying Xi will surely fall for my plan. I ask the Sovereign to act immediately!!!”
At night, Ying Xi returned to his own dragon tent.
The dragon tent was spacious and bright, with every corner clearly visible.
Ying Xi sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the floor. He lowered his thick lashes, and for some reason, a trace of melancholy rose in his heart.
[Waaah, Your Majesty, give me a hug~]
It was the Little Sweetie System.
The Dating System hadn’t left him; instead, it appeared before his eyes with a more magnificent interface, glowing with a crystalline light.
To be fair, if the system and the Mainframe disappeared, he wouldn’t feel much regret.
But if he were to part with the Little Sweetie System now, he would feel a sense of loss.
No one could truly be absolutely rational.
The Sweetie System seemed to circle around him, celebrating a reunion after a long separation, which caused Ying Xi to smile involuntarily.
“Where did you go?” Ying Xi asked.
[I was in a deep sleep. I only just reconnected to the signal now,] the Sweetie System replied. [Your Majesty, have you been doing well lately?]
Ying Xi couldn’t answer.
If he said he was well, he had nearly died in the wilderness.
If he said he wasn’t well, he hadn’t died, and he was about to become the true ruler of the world.
“Do I still need to do the verification task?” Ying Xi changed the subject.
The Sweetie System’s tone was confused: [I don’t know either. When I reconnected to you, the task already showed as completed.]
Ying Xi glanced at the interface. Completed tasks were no longer displayed, and indeed, he didn’t have to do anything.
Ying Xi said calmly, “Perhaps it was because I lost consciousness.”
He had recently read many CEO novels; in the modern world, there was a thing called a computer. If the power was cut and it was restarted, it would run smoothly, or perhaps a bug had appeared.
The Sweetie System thought that made sense: [Mhm mhm mhm!]
But the Sweetie System also had an unrealistic fantasy: [Could it be that you actually completed the task?]
Ying Xi: “I was asleep for two days. My fever didn’t break, and I didn’t leave the tent.”
The Sweetie System let out a small, disappointed sigh.
But it was used to it.
It had been with the Emperor for a long time, and he had never favored anyone or established any intimate relationship.
Right now, the Mainframe was essentially threatening him to comply, and it was impossible for him to yield. Thinking about it, the Mainframe was the one losing out. Why offend such a super-rich, top-tier client?
Stupid Mainframe!
The Sweetie System cursed its boss in a small voice for Ying Xi and obediently played light music for him. Accompanied by the soft piano melody of “Für Elise,” Ying Xi lay down and closed his eyes.
Yet, he thought of a warm hand.
—Could it be that you actually completed the task?
Ying Xi’s heart skipped a few beats!
A momentary sense of panic caused him to open his eyes. His gaze met the empty dragon tent, and he gave a self-mocking smile. Perhaps he had gotten used to lying in “Foal’s” tent.
His bed was too big; he wasn’t used to it for a moment. He shook his head and went to sleep.
Before his consciousness fully returned in the early morning, he was woken by a letter from Xindu.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
It was the voice of Lu Hehu, the commander of the Xizhou Army.
Lu Hehu rarely showed panic, so Ying Xi had to be on guard.
Xie Meng’s voice, Lian Qing’s voice, and the discussions of several other generals reached Ying Xi’s ears. Finally, a steady voice reminded them: “His Majesty is resting; he must have heard you.”
Ying Xi came out draped in a robe.
Lu Hehu handed it over: “A diplomatic note—the rebels began massacring civilians in the city two hours ago. Li Yilong requests Your Majesty to enter the city for peace talks, otherwise he will kill all the residents to accompany the fall of his state.”
“There are about a hundred thousand residents in the city.”
“Li Yilong has already killed over a thousand. Xindu’s defenses are no longer what they were. Scouts lurking near the city report that blood is flowing like a river in the city, and the cries of the people are unending. It’s like a living purgatory.”
It must be Fan Zhiai’s plan.
That man was truly sinister.
Ying Xi only considered it for a moment. “I agree.”
At the same time, the group of officials all exploded.
“Your Majesty!!!”
“But Your Majesty, Li the rebel’s meaning is that you cannot bring troops into the city. Once you enter Xindu, it’s the same as entering a den of thieves. Your life and death will be entirely up to him!”
“The rebels have set a massive trap just to make things difficult for you.”
“Your Majesty, please order us to attack with full force! We will break the city gates immediately and rescue the people of Xindu. Your Majesty must not risk your person.”
“Yes, if we attack all four gates at once, it will take no more than a day to take the city. But if anything happens to Your Majesty in Xindu, the war will have been for nothing, and the Great Qin Empire will be in danger.”
Everyone who advised him was right.
But Ying Xi was too tired to explain. He had distributed land at the city gates and treated the refugees who fled Xindu with kindness. He had announced to the world that he would protect the subjects who followed him.
And when the lives of the people and his own life were put on a scale, he had no way back. This was Fan Zhiai’s malicious intent.
“Say no more. I know. I am not a person who disregards his own safety.”
To speak of cherishing one’s life while acting with total disregard for it.
Ying Xi’s decision undoubtedly harvested a wave of goodwill in the Jiangbei camp.
The generals all said, “If Your Majesty enters the city, we will stay outside with the army in formation!”
“The rebel Li wants to talk, which means he still wants to live. If Li Yilong dares to touch a single hair on your head, this general will slaughter his way into the palace and wash Xindu in blood!”
The generals were invigorated.
Ying Xi thought about a way to get out. Since the Dating System was back, it wouldn’t hurt to use it.
Sweetie System: [Insufficient stamina.]
The Sweetie System added: [Meaning, because you are currently ill, I can’t guarantee you can successfully activate it.]
The Sweetie System had emphasized this to him long ago.
Since he couldn’t use the system to ensure his safety, he could only use people.
He had only one optimal choice, and his first thought was Xie Qianli.
This trip into the city was highly likely to be a suicide mission.
Ying Xi could have simply issued a decree ordering Xie Qianli to protect him, but in that moment, he hesitated. It was as if, in the dark, he wanted to verify something.
He didn’t want to force someone into a difficult position, and even less did he like falling into groundless speculation when a crisis was imminent.
“I will go with Your Majesty.”
Those stray thoughts only lingered in his mind for a few breaths.
Ying Xi’s thoughts slowly tightened and then opened up like flower petals. Xie Qianli had indeed already knelt at his feet.
“Foal” was very tall, but at this angle, Ying Xi could see the crown of his head. He had semi-dry hair and looked up at him with a pair of dark, moist eyes.
“I will protect Your Majesty’s safety and repay Your Majesty’s trust, even if I am smashed to pieces.”
Flawless wording, a perfectly timed request.
It didn’t make people feel he was arrogant because of his bravery; rather, it offered precious loyalty exactly when the Emperor needed it most.
Even someone as sharp-witted as Ying Xi couldn’t have imagined that this sentiment carried hidden motives.
In reality, there was a man who wanted to get close to him, trying to gently dissolve the Emperor’s most solid defenses, step by step.
The Sweetie System suddenly interrupted: [Your Majesty, praise General Xie!]
Ying Xi paused slightly: “Why?”
[He just bathed! Fragrant doggy! He’s so clean!]
“…”
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