The next day marked the grand funeral of Prince Qin. Qin Zhiyan, as the current eldest imperial prince of the royal family, carried the funeral tablet and walked far ahead at the front. Behind him followed the princes and grandsons of Great Qin along with the civil and military officials. The funeral procession wound meanderingly through the streets, stretching across the entire main thoroughfare of Xianyang. Households from every family came out to wail and weep in mourning, though the sincerity within their grief remained unknowable.
Due to Qin Zhiyan’s poor health, the task of escorting Prince Qin to his burial at Dragon Ridge Mountain was entrusted to the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince led the Seventh Prince and other imperial princes, along with some officials from the Ministry of Rites, as they all departed together for the imperial mausoleum at Dragon Ridge Mountain.
However, no sooner had they left than Qin Zhiyan convened a court assembly and publicly announced the transmission of the imperial throne to the Eighth Prince, Qin Zhixiang. Though the assembled officials harbored considerable doubts in their hearts, Qin Zhiyan currently held the position of highest leader within the royal family, commanding all military forces under heaven. Moreover, his accumulated prestige from the previous Fourth Prince’s rebellion and his promotion of the Return to Emperor Decree was so formidable that no one dared to voice opposition. Additionally, with all other princes absent from the capital and the Ministry of Rites officials who alone had the right to comment on such matters having departed entirely for Dragon Ridge Mountain, this matter that should have required deliberation and examination by all officials was settled with a single phrase from Qin Zhiyan: “The nation cannot be without a ruler for even one day.”
On the third day after the funeral procession’s departure, Qin Zhixiang ascended the throne at Heaven’s Gift Platform, taking the reign title Jiyuan and the imperial title Emperor Jiyuan, establishing the 301st year of the public calendar as the first year of the Jiyuan era.
Thus, Qin Zicheng officially became history. After the Return to Emperor Decree brought renewal to all things, Great Qin welcomed a new generation of ruler. He would become the figure known to later generations with mixed praise and criticism, but who ultimately joined with Emperor Beici to accomplish the unprecedented unification of the northern and southern territories, opening up the most magnificent and expansive territorial domain in the history of the Chinese mainland—the Great Qin Divine Emperor.
On this morning, the very dawn of Qin Zhixiang’s ascension, the area around Heaven’s Gift Platform was filled with celebration. Outside the eastern city gate, beneath drooping willows, a blue cloth carriage sat quietly. As gentle breezes passed, the carriage curtains swayed gracefully. A young gentleman in blue robes wore a long blue cloth gown, his features refined and handsome, appearing thoroughly scholarly and elegant. In his arms, a snow-white small beast lazily yawned, contentedly exposing its belly as the man gently massaged it with an extremely satisfied expression.
Sunlight fell upon the man and beast, creating a scene of ethereal beauty. Grand Tutor Zhong, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, stood before the young man, smiling as he said, “So you’re leaving just like this. When Zhixiang learns of it, he’ll go mad searching for you.”
Qin Zhiyan smiled faintly, saying, “He is already the ruler of a nation now. The path ahead must ultimately be walked by himself.”
“All along, it has been you guiding his progress. Now that you’re letting go and departing, he truly might be thrown into frantic confusion.”
“Zhixiang’s temperament is somewhat impetuous. Grand Tutor, you must provide him with more guidance. He will surely become a good emperor.”
Grand Tutor Zhong nodded with a smile, asking, “Do you have any words you’d like me to convey to him?”
Qin Zhiyan’s gaze immediately became distant. After contemplating for a long while, he said in a deep voice, “Tell him that while there are no rulers who last for thousands of dynasties, there are people who endure through thousands of dynasties. In whatever he does, if he first considers it from the perspective of the common people, he will be a good emperor.”
Grand Tutor Zhong nodded, asking, “Where will you go?”
Qin Zhiyan shook his head, saying, “I don’t know either. I’ll go wherever the road takes me. Perhaps I’ll collapse somewhere along the way, and that’s where I’ll be buried.”
“Will we meet again?”
Qin Zhiyan smiled, saying, “If I don’t die, I’ll return in the future to attend Grand Tutor’s eightieth birthday celebration.”
“Nonsense!” Grand Tutor Zhong laughed and scolded, “Setting a date twenty years out—what a smooth talker.”
Qin Zhiyan laughed heartily, his laughter so carefree and relaxed as never before. Smiling, he said, “Time is growing short. If I don’t leave soon, Zhixiang will discover and I won’t be able to go. Grand Tutor, we part ways here.”
Grand Tutor Zhong’s expression was gentle as he addressed the three people nearby, “Lian Zhou, Qing’er, Bi’er, you must take good care of His Majesty. Remember his meals and medicines, add clothing when it’s cold, and don’t just think about playing around the moment you leave.”
“Grand Tutor!” Lian Zhou frowned, saying, “We’re not children.”
Qin Zhiyan smiled, saying, “All right. Though you escort someone a thousand li, eventually you must part. Grand Tutor, until we meet again.”
“Until we meet again.”
Grand Tutor Zhong replied solemnly.
Qin Zhiyan, along with Qing’er and Bi’er, boarded the carriage. Lian Zhou sat at the front, called out once, and drove the carriage eastward. Slowly they took to the desolate ancient road, gradually becoming a faint shadow in the distance.
Grand Tutor Zhong sighed deeply, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Finally, he turned and boarded his own carriage, slowly departing.
Birds sang at the horizon under blue skies and white clouds. After the crowds had dispersed, from within the dense willow grove, a woman in pale blue robes emerged slowly, riding a completely black warhorse.
Her complexion was snow-white, her neck slightly raised, her pointed chin quite thin, her figure petite, yet she possessed an indescribable quality. She gazed at the distant ancient road where dust was flying, and gradually a slight smile appeared at the corners of her lips. Finally, the smile reached her eyes. She called out charmingly, struck the horse’s flank with her whip once, and galloped swiftly in the direction the carriage had departed.
The long road stretched endlessly, leaving only a trail of gray dust that echoed far into the distance.
The early months of the 301st year of the public calendar marked a period of dramatic upheaval. First came Great Qin’s internal chaos, the death of Prince Qin, Prince Xuan’s rise to power, and finally the unexpected turn where the consistently low-profile Prince Rui ascended to the imperial throne. Benefiting from Prince Xuan’s national reforms, after Prince Rui took control, all of Great Qin was completely renewed. The devastation previously left by natural disasters of great drought and human disasters of rebellion immediately dissipated, and the nation leaped to become the foremost of the four kingdoms, its momentum unparalleled.
Subsequently, news suddenly emerged that the Great Emperor of Eastern Qi was critically ill. Eastern Qi’s thirteen princes gathered in the capital city of Haicheng, and a new round of succession struggles began to unfold.
However, just as the Dragon Boat Festival approached, completely beyond everyone’s expectations, the states of Qin and Chu suddenly established a sworn alliance at the peak of Mount Tai, proclaiming to the world that they had formed an alliance and would never attack each other. Great Emperor Chu Li of Southern Chu and the new Emperor Qin Zhixiang of Northern Qin struck hands in oath atop the ten-thousand-ren peak. Regardless of how much truth lay in these words “never” or how long their effectiveness might last, at minimum, in the short term, this pair of enemies Qin and Chu had finally stood on the same battle line. Such a bizarre alliance inevitably cast another layer of mysterious veil over the already confusing relationships among the four kingdoms.
Those not within the game might never truly understand.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Qin Zhixiang once again issued an imperial decree, conferring upon Great Qin’s War God Qin Zhiyan the title of Longevity Prince, granting him treatment equal to that of an emperor, and respectfully addressing him as “brother-father,” meaning an elder brother who is like a father. However, even at the grand ceremony of enfeoffment, no one saw Qin Zhiyan’s figure. Thus rumors spread throughout Xianyang City. Some said the Longevity Prince had already passed away and this was a posthumous title, others claimed the Longevity Prince had abandoned power to wander the martial world, becoming a truly carefree prince, and still others maintained that the Longevity Prince was originally a celestial constellation, born specifically for Great Qin, and having accomplished his mission and retired successfully, had already returned to the heavenly court, far from mortal dust.
But regardless of which theory was true, all had become meaningless, destined only to become legends in the mouths of storytellers at street corners and in alleys.
“Previously we told how the Longevity Prince single-handedly challenged the thirty-eight barbarian camps of the northern frontier, personally slaying eight thousand Xiongnu warriors, killing from dawn to dusk, from dusk through the night, until the stars and moon lost their light and heaven and earth turned dark yellow. The Xiongnu people were so terrified they lost their courage and never again dared step foot in the Central Plains. When Xiongnu King Longge Malu heard of the great Xiongnu defeat, he was so furious his eyes turned blood red. In towering rage, he ascended the sacrificial platform, raised the spirit banner, and swore an oath to the Xiongnu gods that if he did not slay Great Qin’s War God, he would forfeit his right to be human. However, just as his words finished, suddenly a tremendous thunderclap rang out from mid-air. Everyone was shocked and terrified, looking up to see red clouds flashing in the sky, five-colored auspicious clouds churning, and a handsome man descending from heaven, gripping a Twin Dragon Spitting Sea Playing with Pearl spear, his waist wrapped with a purple-gold cold ice iron chain, wearing golden armor and a golden helmet, with phoenix eyes and sword-like brows, thin lips and a straight nose, floating like an immortal in this world, a war god descended from heaven. His indescribable elegance and peerless beauty were beyond words.
Longge Malu’s many concubines rushed out from the inner tent, and upon raising their heads, all immediately fainted, their hearts and spirits completely intoxicated. Seeing this, Longge Malu flew into a great rage, loudly scolding his concubines and making ready to fight the Longevity Prince. The Longevity Prince smiled coldly, his long spear suddenly thrust forward. In that instant, mountains collapsed and seas overturned, heaven and earth inverted, sun and moon reversed, and all things became desolate and dreary. This battle lasted three days and three nights. The Longevity Prince alone displayed godlike courage, single-handedly fighting the main force of one hundred thousand troops of the great Xiongnu camp. Cries shook the heavens in mournful songs, blood covered all four directions, and the Xiongnu people fled with their heads in their hands, yet had no escape route. After three days, the entire Xiongnu great camp had become ruins. Under the blood-stained setting sun, only one person slowly walked out from the destroyed campground.”
At this point, the storyteller created suspense, stopped speaking, and mysteriously drank some tea. The customers on both levels of the tavern all spoke up in unison asking, “What happened next?”
The storyteller cleared his throat and said mysteriously, “Only to see the approaching figure tall and straight, with a face like jade, eyes like bright stars, gripping his long spear, walking step by step out of the camp—it was indeed the Longevity Prince himself.”
The storyteller shook his head in admiration, sweeping his fan across the hem of his robes, and praised, “Even his armor remained spotless as new, without a single drop of blood splattered upon it.”
“Excellent!” Thunderous cheers immediately erupted, countless people clapped and laughed, finding it thoroughly satisfying. Reward money was continuously thrown down, and the storyteller was beaming with joy, beside himself with pleasure.
At this moment, a shop assistant suddenly called out loudly, “Food’s here!” A rich aroma immediately spread with his shout.
Today marked more than a month since Emperor Jiyuan’s ascension. This place was Pengyang, a border city in eastern Great Qin. Heading south led directly into Southern Chu’s greatest market, Nanli, while eastward lay Shuofang City, which had recently been expelled from Eastern Qi territory by Crown Prince An of Eastern Qi and designated as a free city, then presented to the daughter of Southern Chu’s great scholar Zhuang Dianru, Zhuang Qingxia. At this very moment, in Pengyang City’s Cloud-Like Tavern, the same drama as usual was unfolding.
The Hundred Birds Feast was Cloud-Like Tower’s signature dish. It was said that here, there were only bird names you couldn’t think of, not bird meat they couldn’t prepare. Today’s featured dish at Cloud-Like Tower was the rare cloud larks from snowy mountain peaks, priced at a steep five gold pieces per plate. While most people had come here today, the majority couldn’t afford such luxury and were merely here to join the excitement and drink some plain wine.