Yet he had endured for so many years. For twenty years, the daily poison attacks had madly tormented his riddled body, and along with it, his heart had gradually aged. He had never cried out in pain even once, never shed a single tear. He could even command battles during poison attacks, could even laugh and deploy troops during poison attacks, could even watch elegant songs and wonderful dances in the great hall during poison attacks.
This was a man with a clear, indifferent exterior, but beneath that seemingly delicate body that would shatter at a touch was hidden such a strong heart.
He still remembered the first time he saw him in Taihe Palace—he was still a six-year-old child then. At that time, he wasn’t yet paralyzed and could still barely walk, living alone in the dilapidated western palace, quiet as a shadow that couldn’t speak.
Grand Tutor Zhong at that time was only in his forties. To become the chief editor of the Hanlin Academy at this age was indeed something to be proud of. He was in high spirits then, and after getting drunk in the inner court, he had wobbled over to the Western Six Palaces, loudly reciting his newly composed poetry. Just when he was getting excited, he suddenly heard a childish voice say flatly: “The rhyme scheme is wrong, there’s a problem connecting the third and fourth lines. ‘Autumn thoughts’ would be better changed to ‘autumn rhyme.'”
That was his first time seeing Prince Xuan, though at that time he wasn’t yet Prince Xuan—just a fallen prince abandoned in a side hall of the cold palace, unnoticed and unremembered by anyone. The sunlight was abundant that day. When he turned his head, he saw a thin, frail but clear-eyed and handsome child sitting on the broken doorstep of the side hall, wearing only a single garment, with a huge wooden basin in front of him. This child, who wasn’t even as tall as his thigh, was actually talking to him while washing clothes in the basin.
He was very puzzled at the time and thought it was some young attendant who had run out from that palace, so he asked: “Who are you?”
The child seemed very happy to have someone to talk with. He stood up, wiped his small hands that had turned white from soaking in water on his clothes, and said very politely and seriously: “Hello, sir. I am the seventy-eighth generation descendant of the Great Qin Empire, the third son of the current emperor. My name is Qin Zhiyan.”
In a flash, nearly twenty years had passed. That little child had grown so tall, but why did it seem in his eyes that nothing had changed? He was still that thin, weak child, very stubbornly and seriously telling him he was the seventy-eighth generation descendant of the Great Qin Empire, the third son of the Qin King, and his name was Qin Zhiyan.
Grand Tutor Zhong’s eyes gradually moistened. His voice was so low and aged, carrying indescribable powerlessness as he slowly said: “You waited so long, planned for so many years, protected for so many years—wasn’t it all for this day? You’re about to succeed. Great Qin is about to be completely transformed. After so many years, so much suffering, you’ve endured it all. How can you fall at this moment? At the very least, you should wait for Zhixiang to return, settle everything, take one last look at Xianyang City, and only then close your eyes.”
“I’ve already followed your instructions and betrothed Princess Hongxiao and Princess Ankang to the Lu brothers, Lu Cheng and Lu Tao. They are Huayang’s brothers, and their character isn’t bad. With Huayang’s control, the two princesses won’t be bullied for life. Moreover, you now hold high position and great power—if Zhixiang ascends to the throne in the future, he certainly won’t ignore them. Don’t look at Zhixiang’s tough talk—he’s just frustrated that iron won’t become steel. The two princesses are still young, and having been cared for by you all along, they’ve naturally become somewhat spoiled. After Fourth Prince’s incident this time, they’ve probably matured and grown up considerably.”
Grand Tutor Zhong’s voice was gentle, aged and heavy as he said softly: “Consort Yao was stimulated that day, but now she has gradually calmed down. Her temper is no longer as domineering as before. When Zhixiang ascends the throne in the future, she’ll be the Empress Dowager. What else do you have to worry about? His Majesty passed away last night—his injuries were too severe, and Prince Xiang had also fed him poison. No matter what, there was no way to save him. Actually, it’s better that he died—it saves him from suffering while alive. Unlike you, he would want to kill and hack at the slightest pain. He had already injured over twenty eunuchs and palace maids. I secretly moved him to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and replaced him. The funeral will be announced in three more days. Empress Chunyu is still the same—both her sons are gone, and her amnesia is more severe. I know you’ve always felt you wronged her, but these matters weren’t under your control. What Fifth Prince did back then—no matter who it was, they wouldn’t have spared him. After your reforms, Great Qin won’t have major rebellions for thirty to fifty years. You’ve removed that malignant tumor. You’ve worried about it your whole life—now stop worrying about it.”
Rain gradually began falling outside the window, pattering with a clear scent. Grand Tutor Zhong’s tears gradually flowed down, but he still spoke slowly: “Emperor Chu has already withdrawn his troops and returned to Southern Chu this morning. Lian Zhou personally watched them leave. That Princess Jiayun of Southern Chu has been betrothed to Seventeenth Prince—marrying a wife might make Prince Jianghua settle down. As for the Zhuang family girl, you don’t need to worry anymore. Emperor Chu values her so much that he won’t treat her poorly. But that girl Wanfu actually followed Emperor Chu without a word. I’ve already sent people to pursue her, and border passes have also issued documents—we must bring her back somehow.”
“I know you can hear me. You’ve never let others worry about you. You’ve spent your whole life constantly living for others—now you should live well for yourself once. Didn’t you say you wanted to see Jiangnan? You also wanted to see the great desert and grasslands. When Zhixiang returns and you hand everything over to him, you can go with peace of mind.”
The door creaked, and a snow-white little beast suddenly squeezed through the crack, soaking wet. As soon as it entered the room, it desperately shook the water droplets from its body and sneezed loudly.
The day Qing Xia rode away, Da Huang’s small body and short legs meant it lost track before even leaving the prince’s mansion. It had been moping around the mansion for several days, no longer drinking wine, eating less, and showing no interest no matter who tried to play with it. Only every night would it still punctually return to sleep in Qin Zhiyan and Qing Xia’s room. Now it waddled in with its fat bottom, shaking its head, and suddenly saw Grand Tutor Zhong. It seemed stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up and began loudly roaring in anger with the attitude of a master unwelcoming an outside intruder.
This was Grand Tutor Zhong’s first time seeing it—he didn’t know when Prince Xuan had started keeping pets. He watched it with interest. The little beast ran several steps between Qin Zhiyan and him, protecting itself in front of Qin Zhiyan’s bed, angrily baring its teeth and claws while roaring loudly at Grand Tutor Zhong.
Da Huang had never had a good relationship with Qin Zhiyan. For a long time, it had stood on the same side as Chu Li, several times attempting to defecate in Qin Zhiyan’s boots. But at this moment, seeing this old man with red eyes sitting beside the sleeping Qin Zhiyan, not knowing what filthy thoughts he harbored, it immediately became loyally protective of its master.
While barking, it kept turning back, trying to wake Qin Zhiyan to join it in resisting the foreign enemy. Seeing no response from Qin Zhiyan, it actually climbed up from the small footstool in several steps, leaped with effort, placed its front paws on the bed edge, swayed as it gathered strength, and laboriously climbed onto the bed. Soaking wet, it climbed beside Qin Zhiyan and forcefully nudged his hand with its head. Seeing no response, it seemed stunned and very angry. With a high jump, it actually bounced onto his chest and began howling loudly.
Grand Tutor Zhong was alarmed—how could Qin Zhiyan’s body withstand such severe impact at this time? Just as he was about to reach out to stop it, he suddenly heard a “puff” sound. Qin Zhiyan frowned and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, staining Da Huang’s head bright red.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!” Grand Tutor Zhong was greatly alarmed and hurried out to call for help.
The eight witch doctors were in the side hall and rushed in to take Qin Zhiyan’s pulse and administer acupuncture. After bustling about for quite a while, Qin Zhiyan’s breathing gradually stabilized. The White Stone Witch Doctor breathed a long sigh of relief and said: “Grand Tutor truly is a great scholar. If not for spitting out this mouthful of stagnant blood, His Highness might have passed away in his sleep just now. It’s better now—with medicinal assistance, he should be able to hold on for several more days.”
Grand Tutor Zhong was stunned. After everyone left, he looked toward the snow-white little beast, which was very annoyed as it used its two short front paws to wipe its head, trying to remove the blood while glaring resentfully at Qin Zhiyan sleeping on the bed. It seemed to know he was ill and was frustrated with nowhere to vent its anger.
The next morning, Qin Zhiyan woke up in very good spirits. Uncle Xiang was so happy he kept burning incense and praying to Buddha, saying very devoutly that he would go to the great temple to renovate the giant Buddha’s golden body.
In the morning, Qin Zhiyan ate a bowl of lotus seed soup and drank a large pot of snow pear soup that Bi’er had cooked. At noon, news came that Prince Rui had returned to the capital. Qin Zhiyan, dressed in court robes and looking divinely handsome, personally led all the civil and military officials to the north city gate to welcome him—a very grand scene. Prince Rui was just twenty-one years old this year, in his prime, and looked very similar to Qin Zhiyan, except his skin was slightly darker from frequent exercise.
The evening family banquet was held in the imperial palace. The upper seat remained empty. The deaths of the Crown Prince, Prince Yan, Prince Xiang, and Ninth Prince had placed Qin Zhiyan in the highest seat, with that group of scheming brothers still below him. Qin Zhixiang chatted and laughed as he told everyone about northern customs and jokes from the Northern Border camp, making the banquet quite harmonious.
The imperial family was like this—no matter what happened the previous second, the next second everyone could still sit down harmoniously to eat and drink. Everyone was a master at maintaining peaceful appearances.
That night, Qin Zhixiang returned to Prince Xuan’s mansion with Qin Zhiyan. After entering the study, neither came out all night.