Both Fengtian and Yunpei had shown signs of movement, so naturally, Tiandu couldn’t remain indifferent. King Jing of Tiandu had already assembled the most elite army available at the time, equipped with the finest gear. Taking over Guhe hadn’t left even the slightest deficit in Tiandu’s treasury.
Qingyun stood on the training grounds, practicing his skills. His movements were swift and fierce, his sword flashing like lightning. He had been training for an unknown duration, his forehead covered in sweat. At the edge of the grounds knelt several men dressed as civil officials. Seeing that he continued to focus on his sword practice, ignoring them, the eldest among them, an old minister, gritted his teeth and suddenly raised his head.
“Your Majesty! Please hear this old minister’s plea. Withdraw from the front lines and return to preside over the Ice Thorn Palace in Tiandu!” His voice strained to be heard over the whistling of Qingyun’s sword cutting through the fierce wind.
After a long while, Qingyun still paid no attention. The old minister, however, was persistent and advised again.
“Your Majesty! You have no consorts in your harem, no heir, and haven’t established a Crown Prince. How can you risk yourself by personally leading the army to the front? If anything were to happen to you, what would become of Tiandu’s ministers? Please, you must return to the palace and command from there!” As he spoke, the old minister, along with the other officials, kowtowed repeatedly, their foreheads hitting the ground with loud thuds.
“Hmph!” This time, Qingyun did stop. He picked up a towel from a stand nearby and wiped his sword, his eyes slightly glancing at the ministers on the ground. “Are you cursing me to die before the battle even begins?” His voice was filled with displeasure.
The ministers were shocked and hurriedly cried out, “We are only concerned for Your Majesty’s safety! We have no ulterior motives!”
“Good! With the great battle approaching, stop bothering me with this nonsense!” Qingyun sat down, and a maid quickly brought him a cup of tea to rinse his mouth.
The old ministers lowered their heads, and with heavy hearts, they said in unison, “If Your Majesty insists on not returning to the palace, please allow us to arrange for consorts to serve you, in hopes of conceiving a royal heir soon to ease the people’s minds.”
It wasn’t unreasonable for these old ministers to be so persistent on this matter. Qingyun wasn’t incapable of producing an heir, yet he strangely refused to establish any consorts. None of the women serving him had any official status. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the King decided to bestow titles on any of them when he was in a good mood. The biggest issue was that King Jing never allowed any woman he had been with to bear his child. He moved through many women but never left a drop of his essence. Now at twenty-five years old, apart from the late Queen Nangong who had once conceived a son but miscarried due to an accident, no other woman had ever carried Qingyun’s child.
The Warring King of Yunpei, now thirty-three years old, already had sixteen princes and three princesses. The former King of Guhe, Gucha, who was now under house arrest, had thirteen children. Even the King of Mizan, a religious country, had already established a Crown Prince. In contrast, Tiandu’s King Jing, despite being such an outstanding ruler, had no children and no wife by his side. During peaceful times, they could have persuaded him slowly, but with war looming, no one could predict the future. As a king, leaving behind an heir was the most urgent and important matter.
“Your Majesty…” The group was about to advise again when they received no response. At that moment, Miaojing, the second-in-command of Mangliu, ran in. His shout of “Your Majesty” drowned out the voices of these old ministers.
Qingyun looked up and surveyed him for a moment before asking coldly, “Did you catch him?”
Miaojing smiled and said, “How could I fail a task assigned by Your Majesty? Ronghua has already confirmed it!”
Qingyun smiled, “Where is he?”
Miaojing replied, “In the dungeon! This fellow is quite a character. It took the entire Mangliu three months to finally catch his tail.”
Qingyun stood up, smiling, “Keep him secure. This is the trump card that will send that Warring King to hell!” Then, looking at the row of old ministers, he said, “Those who have aged should retire!”
The group of old ministers prostrated themselves, crying, “Your Majesty!”
Qingyun frowned, then suddenly smiled coldly, “How many women have you found?”
Hearing this, the old ministers were overjoyed and quickly answered, “Twenty! All beautiful and from noble families.”
“Haha!” Unexpectedly, Qingyun burst into laughter, “Twenty! It seems you want me to die in bed!”
At his words, the ministers’ faces turned pale, while Miaojing beside him couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably.
Qingyun looked at these old ministers and said abruptly, “A bunch of useless fools, neglecting important matters and focusing on these trivial things. How much money did you take from these women’s families? Are you not eating enough? From now on, whoever dares to meddle in my bedroom affairs should prepare to pack up and leave. Don’t keep loyalty and filial piety on your lips while harboring lust and greed in your hearts! Get out!” As soon as he finished speaking, the group of old ministers scurried away in a flash.
“Hahaha!” By now, Miaojing was laughing so hard he was bent over with tears in his eyes.
Qingyun paid no attention to him, sitting down again and watching the falling leaves in the sky.
After Miaojing finished laughing, he stood beside Qingyun and said matter-of-factly, “Your Majesty, they’re not entirely wrong. It’s unthinkable for a mighty king not to want children!”
Qingyun closed his eyes, “You don’t understand. In that Ice Thorn Palace, there’s only usurpation and murder between royal brothers, no familial affection.”
Miaojing’s expression turned solemn, “Your Majesty!”
At this moment, Qingyun smiled, his gaze distant, “Only the woman I love will be worthy of bearing my child!”
Hearing this, Miaojing asked doubtfully, “Can Your Majesty fall in love?”
“That question…” Qingyun pondered for a moment before saying languidly, “Who knows!”