Chapter 38 : Shura Field (Part 2)

“The mulberry twigs are leafless; the land is shrouded in smoke. There is a severe drought in Longyou, and the people are suffering from famine.”

The Xuan King cast a sidelong glance at him, his sharp eyes drawing a cold arc, as though he were looking at a loathsome corpse.

The King Wei felt his heart tighten.

The fear and hatred of the Xuan King, deeply ingrained in his bones since childhood, resurfaced instantly.

What does the drought in Longyou have to do with me?

The King Wei wanted to say this.

But the words stopped at his lips, and he held them back just in time.

The Xuan King’s next question followed swiftly: “What’s the matter? Has the emperor’s decree to cut palace expenses for a month not reached your desk?”

Truthfully, the drought in Longyou had no real impact on whether the King Wei squandered jadeite or threw away silver.

However, the Xuan King’s words linked the matter directly to the emperor’s will.

If the King Wei dared to say, It has nothing to do with me, he would immediately find himself denounced before the emperor.

The King Wei abruptly smiled. “I was indeed careless. Someone will retrieve it shortly.” Then he changed the subject: “Elder Brother, after years in the army, your temper has grown ever harsher. I wonder, when your concubine enters the mansion, if she accidentally breaks something precious, will you also say such things to her?”

The Xuan King, still in a calm tone, retorted, “Do you speak like this before Father as well?”

The King Wei was momentarily speechless, no longer daring to provoke the Xuan King.

He sat down in resignation and said to Xue Qingyin, “Did he scare you? The Xuan King has always been like this. Once, the Fourth Princess was nearly frightened to death by him.”

The Fourth Princess hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

Being embarrassed in public was an unpleasant experience.

Xue Qingyin, however, looked innocent. “I don’t find the Xuan King scary at all.”

The King Wei froze.

Xue Qingyin added softly, “What he said makes a lot of sense.”

The King Wei felt a flicker of irritation. So I’m the one being unreasonable?

Unable to suppress his frustration, he replied sarcastically, “Really? Miss Xue, you have quite the courage. But while everyone praises my elder brother’s military prowess, do you know how he captured the Northern Di territory?”

The King Wei glanced furtively at the Xuan King’s expression as he spoke.

The Xuan King sat upright, idly playing with a teacup in his hand, showing no intention of interrupting.

It seemed he was curious to see what nonsense the King Wei would come up with today.

The King Wei couldn’t stand this demeanor, as though the Xuan King alone was calm and unshakable.

Thus, he declared, “He slaughtered the royal court of the Northern Di.”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, I know this. I’ve read about it in books.

“He beheaded the royal family, stacking their heads into a tower. Each face was frozen in fury, blood flowing down to form a river. When he returned to court, the civil officials all felt he carried a heavy stench of blood…”

“Ah,” Qiu Xin exclaimed softly, shrinking back in fright.

Even Xue Qinghe looked pale.

The King Wei felt satisfied with the scene.

But when he turned to Xue Qingyin, he found that she still showed no fear.

Curious, she asked, “What happened next?”

Xue Qingyin was just listening to a story at this moment, just to fill in the details that she hadn’t seen at the time.

King Wei: “…”

Haven’t heard enough?

But it has already started, and King Xuan didn’t say anything to stop him, so King Wei couldn’t hold back, so he had to continue, saying: “Two years ago, Meng Mao in Lingnan rebelled, and after King Xuan took him down…”

“Okay.” Princess Jinque suddenly interrupted.

She stared at the King of Wei coldly and said, “What’s the fun of saying these things?”

The King of Wei sighed, “I just feel that my brother has been in the army for a long time, and he doesn’t treat us with any affection. He is very cold and never changes.”

Xue Qingyin took a sip of tea and pointed at him seriously, “Have you ever thought that it might be your problem?”

The King of Wei:?

His expression was dull.

His problem?

Princess Jinque almost laughed out loud.

The King of Wei relied on his father’s favor, and he had Concubine Wan and others to rely on behind him. He also recruited scholars from all over the world and pretended to be a good and wise king.

Who dared to accuse him of his faults in person?

Princess Jinque cleared her throat and prepared to speak up to make up for Xue Qingyin, so as not to be hated by the King of Wei.

Xue Qingyin was not afraid at all.

Not only was she not afraid, she continued to try to give the King of Wei random ideas: “Look, if you give the box of jade that was originally intended for me to King Xuan, can you make up for your brotherhood?”

The corner of the King of Wei’s mouth twitched.

Send something to King Xuan?

Unless he is crazy.

“A younger brother should respect his elder brother. Isn’t that the truth?” Xue Qingyin smacked her lips, looking confused, “That’s what I read in the book.”

King Wei met her eyes.

Clear and clean, innocent and lively.

The anger in King Wei’s heart disappeared immediately.

What does she know?

She might really think that this king is worried about the lack of harmony between brothers.

She is sincerely giving advice to this king and thinking about this king.

The more King Wei thought about it, the more he felt that it was so.

All the concubines in his room agreed with him.

As the saying goes, honest words are unpleasant to the ears.

Probably only a straightforward person like Xue Ning’s sister would dare to say such a thing.

King Wei’s face was stiff, but he finally smiled a little and said, “Well, Miss Xue has a point.”

Anyway, he just coaxed Xue Qingyin.

Xue Qingyin smiled when she heard it.

King Wei felt relieved.

Gold, silver and jewelry can’t please her, but this can coax her. It’s amazing! The

King of Wei felt more and

more curious. Princess Jinque also felt more curious.

She now felt that if Xue Qingyin married the King of Wei, it might be quite interesting.

“Go back.” King Xuan’s voice sounded again.

“Go back?” King Wei replied, “Brother, we just reached the center of the lake.”

“Cruising the lake is boring.” King Xuan said indifferently.

King Wei thought that this was the case for King Xuan.

King Xuan didn’t like anything like cruising the lake, watching the moon and writing poems.

Most of the noble ladies in the capital only loved him for his great military exploits. In terms of literary talent, this king is still better.

King Wei smiled: “Okay, then let’s go back as you say, brother!”

He couldn’t wait to be alone with Xue Qingyin.

The pleasure boat docked again.

King Xuan glanced at Xue Qingyin: “Jinque, send Miss Xue back.”

Princess Jinque was treated like a maid, but she didn’t complain and responded obediently.

Xue Qingyin was a little confused.

Are you sending me back now?

She sniffed, and it was a little cold.

The King of Wei’s face changed slightly: “Miss Xue is leaving now?”

King Xuan looked at him: “Why does the King of Wei want to keep her?”

The King of Wei was not sure what King Xuan meant, and hesitated: “… I was just thinking about it, and I haven’t said a few words yet.”

King Xuan stared at him: “We have said enough today.”

The King of Wei’s heart trembled.

King Xuan really still holds a grudge!

What cloudless and light wind, it’s all an illusion!

King Wei still remembers that when he was young, he competed with King Xuan in riding and shooting.

He secretly drugged King Xuan’s horse.

The horse was dragged to death.

The next day, he was pushed into the water by King Xuan and almost drowned. After being rescued, he fell seriously ill.

He was not as important as a horse’s life?

He said that King Xuan had no flesh and blood affection in his heart, which was really true.

It’s a pity that he was interrupted by Princess Jinque just now, so he couldn’t talk about it in detail with Xue Qingyin.

Xue Qingyin had been sent to the carriage by Princess Jinque.

Princess Jinque  stuffed a ball into her palm and said with a smile: “Are you still cold?”

Xue Qingyin couldn’t help but sniff again, and the tip of her nose turned slightly red: “I underestimated the wind on the lake.”

Princess Jinque  laughed: “Maybe King Xuan saw that you were cold, so he asked King Wei to drive the boat back.”

“Really?” Xue Qingyin didn’t take it to heart.

Maybe.

That’s not true.

Princess Jinque  stared at her face and thought to herself that I felt pity for you when I saw you like this. I wonder what King Xuan would think? Princess Jinque  had

no imagination.

King Wei wanted to chase Xue Qingyin’s carriage.

King Xuan looked at him and said: “Pick it up slowly.”

Did he really let him go back to pick up jade?

“Brother, don’t go too far!” King Wei shouted angrily.

King Xuan said, “Miss Xue is right. There is an order of seniority. As a younger brother, you should obey your elder brother.”

After that, he turned and left.

King Xuan’s men jumped on the boat, smiled, and directly replaced the boatman, turned around and drove King Wei back to the center of the lake.

King Wei was so angry that he cursed a hundred times in his heart.

After King Xuan left, he went to the palace to pay his respects to the emperor.

Emperor Liang De was very happy to see him and asked, “Have you seen the daughter of Lu and the daughter of Qiao?”

“No.”

“No?” Emperor Liang De sat up straight, “Didn’t you go boating on the lake with Jinque?”

“The wind is strong on the lake.” The wind was so strong that the nose of Miss Xue was frozen red.

The snow in spring has not melted completely.

If she gets sick from the wind, I’m afraid she will be like a crumpled flower, leaning there pitifully.

“Then let’s do it another day…”

“No need to do it another day. I don’t like the daughter of the Lu family or the daughter of the Qiao family.”

“You haven’t even seen them…” Seeing his cold expression, Emperor Liang De suddenly softened his tone and said, “Then what kind do you like?”

What kind do you like?

The image of Xue Qingyin holding her chin and listening to the story told by the King of Wei with such relish suddenly appeared in the mind of the King of Xuan.