Qin Yining looked skeptically at the mama. Her heart skipped a beat when she glimpsed the lingering traces of blood and white fur in the mama’s fingernails. She shoved open the door, the scent of stewed meat filling her nostrils.
“Qin-mama, the hunters haven’t come back yet. Are you hoarding meat in the rooms?”
The granny servant’s head trailed down mutely.
Bingtang, Jiyun, and Qiulu all entered as well. Qin-mama hastily shut the door again. Qin Yining made quick time further into the suite, noticing that all of the windows were closed. She smiled sardonically, “What now, aren’t you hot on such a stifling day?”
She shoved open the door to the old dowager’s room, sending it crashing with a bang and startling the old dowager and second wife.
The two were each happily nibbling away at a small rabbit leg. An earthenware pot was in front of them, the stew inside bubbling audibly.
Bloodstains yet painted the rim of the night bucket in the corner. Snowy-white rabbit fur had been stripped and thrown onto the ground. The red knot in the shape of a plum blossom, that Pang Xiao had personally affixed onto Riceball’s neck, was dyed crimson.
A whirring sound filled Qin Yining’s brain. “You, you ate my Riceball?”
The old dowager drank a mouthful of soup and smacked her lips. “Come, come. I was going to share with you too. Look at how skinny you are! Drink some soup and get some nutrition in you.”
The second wife wasn’t showing her pregnancy yet, but was over the stage of morning sickness. She was at a period where food was highly desirable and so didn’t lift her head as she guzzled the soup down.
Qin-mama spoke awkwardly, “Fourth Miss, Old Dowager and the second wife both need nutrition. Old Dowager’s only had a bowl of soup this morning and really was overcome by hunger. The hunters hadn’t come back yet, so, so…”
The rest of the explanation was bottled up when the granny servant met Qin Yining’s furiously widened eyes and angrily slanted eyebrows.
“When have I not given you meat to eat? We leave the best for you when the entire family is drinking vegetable soup! My little bunny isn’t even the size of a woman’s palm. Is there even 50 grams of meat after it’s skinned and deboned? Just how heartless are you to not show mercy to such a small rabbit?? The hunters will be back soon, you couldn’t even wait a few minutes!”
The old dowager ignored the awkwardness in the situation and threw her spoon into the bowl. She sneered coldly, “Is this the filial piety you show to your grandmother? There is a famine upon us, and you’re the only one who keeps a pet that needs to be fed! Is 50 grams of meat not meat? The 50 grams is your second cousin-in-law’s nutrition and will help her give your second cousin a son!”
Qin Han’s wife mumbled around a mouthful of soup. “Cousin Yi, I’ll pay you back a hundred rabbits in the future. Don’t be mad. Come, have some soup. The meat soup that comes from the big pots don’t even have the taste of meat. Come and try this.”
Tears abruptly streamed down Qin Yining’s face.
She’d never once thought of killing Riceball even when she went to bed hungry, because it’d been a gift from Pang Xiao. He’d said it was their pledge and a token of the negotiations between Great Zhou and Great Yan. He’d personally undone the red knot from his jade pendant and tied it around Riceball’s neck.
They had been so close that even now, she seemed to be able to recall his unique scent.
She understood all the logic and that each fended for their own during war.
But she’d seen with her own eyes people fall, one by one, dead of hunger in the streets, and the empty eyes of someone who’d had to eat their own children. In her hungriest moments, she remembered that bowl of cold noodles Pang Xiao had made for her. How she wished he would suddenly appear and save them from this suffering!
She’d never thought of eating Riceball, no matter how hungry she became. She hid Riceball in her room and took care of it conscientiously, cuddling it to sleep every night.
Somehow, it felt that there would be no proof of their pledge of love if not for the bunny.
But now Riceball had been eaten…
Qin Yining could feel the snap of her extremely taut nerves, the pillar that had kept her going. Tears spilled forth uncontrollably.
* * *
Chapter 270: Surrender (II)
Chapter 270: Surrender (II)
Some guilt assailed the the old dowager at the sight of her crying granddaughter, but she exhorted harshly, “It’s just an animal! Why are you acting like this?? Don’t think I don’t know where that rabbit comes from! It came back with you after the peace talks at Xihua, and then that devil Pang came strutting to our nation.
“After all the harm he’d done to the family, I’m only eating the rabbit he gave you. I haven’t even taught you a lesson yet! You’re overly intimate with him, are you thinking of mutiny??”
Clapping a high crime on her out of guilt?
Qin Yining waved a hand, not wanting to exchange another word with someone like the old dowager. She picked up the plum blossom-shaped knot from the blood drenched rabbit fur and left.
“Miss.” Bingtang and Qiulu came dashing out, each taking one of their mistress’ arms.
Meanwhile, Jiyun laughed coldly. “I’ve really learned something today! I can’t believe that such an ungrateful, shameless, scheming old bitch like you exists in the world! How can such an open minded and aboveboard person like Grand Preceptor Qin have you for a mother?? Just like black sheep can come from a good family, so can a good one come from rot! Or did you steal him from another family? How foul and disgusting!”
“You! How dare you, how dare you! Servants, attend to me!”
“Servants? You’re the biggest burden on us all. You need people waiting on you all day. Do you think you’re still at the manor?” Jiyun raked the old dowager with a contemptuous glare and took off running. She was afraid that something would happen to Qin Yining.
The guard found Qin Yining, Bingtang, and Qiulu by a small creek outside Ning Park. The Qin fourth miss was crouched by the water as she washed off the bloodstains on the knot. She wasn’t crying anymore.
Jiyun’s nose twinged at the sight of the thin, fragile girl stooped on the floor, her shoulder blades about to poke through her clothes at any moment. The guard almost burst into tears.
When are you coming, Your Highness?! If you don’t come soon, the future princess consort will be tortured to death! Not just from hunger, but from emotional anguish as well!
Jiyun wanted to comfort her mistress, but she didn’t know what to say after opening and closing her mouth a few times.
Footsteps suddenly sounded at this time. A slightly raspy male voice huffed out with suppressed surprise, “Yi’er, is, is that you?”
Qin Yining lifted her head to see Weichi Yan, so skinny that his cheeks had sunken in. He was wearing worn, long robes and had made it up the mountain with the help of a few guards and palace servants.
What’s he doing here?
An astonished Qin Yining put the now clean knot carefully away and walked up to make the grand gesture of greeting. “This subject greets Your Majesty.”
The maids also followed suit.
Drenched in sweat, Weichi Yan leaned against a small tree to catch his breath. He waved off Qin Yining. “Rise, all of you. No need to stand on formality.”
The Qin fourth miss rose and asked respectfully with a bowed head, “What brings Your Majesty here?”
Weichi Yan panted a bit more before regaining some of his breath. “We heard that your family’s manor was overrun by a mob, but no one from your family could be found. This was greatly worrying, so We investigated and learned that you had moved here a while ago with the rest of your clan.”
He raised his head to look at the painted walls and black tiles of Ning Park. The emperor frowned with displeasure when he recalled that this residence had been a gift from Pang Xiao.
Yet there was nothing he could find fault wit
h Qin Yining for. She was just a weak girl, and if she hadn’t made arrangements for her family early on, the Qins would’ve been harmed by the mob.
Weichi Yan smiled mockingly at himself. He was the emperor, but all he could do was starve. There was nothing he could give Qin Yining, so what basis did he have to pursue her? Would paintings or calligraphy feed the people?
“All of you are dismissed, We have words to exchange with Xuan Su.” Weichi Yan’s mood was much calmer when he waved off those around them.
Lu-gonggong and the palace guards backed away after making their bows, leaving Qiulu, Jiyun, and Bingtang no choice but to follow. The premises was vacated for the two of them.
The emperor held onto the tree trunk, looking closely at the person who occupied his thoughts day and night.
She’d lost a lot of weight. Her face was the size of a palm, but it only made her eyes appear larger and brighter. A delicate nose seemingly carved of jade and beautiful lips enhanced her charm. Though she wore skirts and tops of rough cloth, her hair done simply in one long braid, the lack of powder and rouge only further put her looks on display. It wasn’t something that beauties made of cosmetics could compare to.
So I still like her, and my heart still pounds when I see her.
A resigned smile crossed Weichi Yan’s face. The nation was in peril, but here he was, still of a mind to think about things like this. Life had simply been too miserable lately, and he had no outlet to vent his bottled-up feelings.
Though the Duke of An was commander-in-chief of the armies, he refused to take the field. In fact, he’d pushed several times for restarting the peace talks, and there even seemed to be the desire to surrender in his tones.
How could the dignity of an emperor bear to be trampled upon in such a way? But with how the times were, there was nothing Weichi Yan could do otherwise. He took a weary seat on the ground. “You sit down as well. Save your energy and keep me company.”
Qin Yining’s wariness decreased somewhat to see the emperor this way. She perched on a rock three steps away from him.
Weichi Yan tilted his head to look at the leaves rustling in the wind, leaning back on the tree trunk and closing his eyes. He spoke slowly after a while. “Have you heard? The former emperor disappeared yesterday.”
Qin Yining looked askance at Weichi Yan.
He continued tiredly, “The eunuch in charge of delivering food to my royal father found that the food hadn’t been touched. He thought that something might’ve happened, but failed to find my father after scouring the entire residence. My father’s just vanished into thin air.”
“Do you really believe that, Your Majesty?” Qin Yining frowned.
“What?” Weichi Yan looked at the girl.
“No one just disappears like that. If there wasn’t someone helping the former emperor escape, that means there’s secret passages in his residence.”
“Secret passages?” Weichi Yan sat bolt upright. “What makes you think of that?”
“Because when Grand Preceptor Cao was arrested, they discovered underground tunnels in his residence.” The wily hare has three holes to his burrow. Which old fox wouldn’t leave a way out for himself?
Grand Preceptor Cao and the emperor emeritus had known each other for their entire lives. As decrepit the former emperor had been, he wasn’t lacking when it came to plots and schemes. If even the dead grand preceptor had secret tunnels, the emperor emeritus surely had them as well.
It took a beat for Weichi Yan to fully react, but he quickly grasped the crux of the issue. “You’re right, why didn’t I think of that?” He looked back to call for a guard and whispered some instructions. The guard bowed before flying down the mountain.
The emperor leaned back on the tree and stared blankly into the distance. “It looks like my royal father wants to take the silver to South Yan.”
Qin Yining smiled and didn’t say anything.
If the emperor emeritus really did take that large sum to the south to make Liu Yingshi and South Yan’s new emperor accept him as their liege again, then that would be entirely too naive. Those in the south would take the silver, and the previous emperor would lose his life.
The rebels had finally managed to occupy their lofty positions. Even if South Yan was just a small country comprised of several former Great Yan provinces, it was still as large as the sum of neighboring Japan and Goryeo. No one would voluntarily give that up.
During the girl’s silence, Weichi Yan went through much in his mind. In the end, he leaned back with closed eyes and remarked quietly, “It looks like the heavens really aren’t helping me. Everyday, that old fart Li Mian encourages me to parley. I trusted him and made his daughter empress, but he can’t be bothered to lead the troops into battle. He’s a lazy coward!
“He’s only met the enemy once in all this time, and that was because he fell for a trap. Not only did he lose twenty thousand men, that old fart would’ve died in the wilderness as well if not for Grand Preceptor Qin’s timely assistance. The heavens refuse to assist Great Yan, natural and manmade disasters abound, and we have no talent to support the nation at all!”
Qin Yining finally understood what the emperor was here for. He’d kept all this moroseness and dejection to himself all this time. He was here to find a sympathetic ear.
At the same time, he was thinking of retreating and wanted to sue for peace. But conducting negotiations now was an absolute daydream. She didn’t mind dumping cold water over Weichi Yan.
“The peace talks that the Duke of An speaks of aren’t appropriate.”
“Oh?” Eyes filled with hope turned to Qin Yining.
“Peace talks can only be conducted when the two countries are on similar footing. We need to be able to offer terms and conditions that will satisfy both sides. That’s what a negotiation is. Not to speak ill of ourselves and raise the enemy up, but Great Zhou has overwhelming, one-sided advantage at the moment. What right do we have to sue for peace? And even if they agree to talk, what can we offer that will satisfy them?”
Those simple words plunged Weichi Yan into an icy cavern. That little bit of hope he’d nursed was crushed to smithereens.
That was right, he was a dog without a master. Why would the other side deign to parley at all?
But if there was no hope to do so, why did the duke continuously encourage him to try for negotiations?
Unless…
“That old fart is just pretending he wants me to sue for peace, he’s actually pushing me to surrender! He wants to put me in a disloyal and unfilial position! How will I face the Weichi ancestors?? He wants me to be the ruler of a ruined nation!”
Weichi Yan thought of his father disappearing with a large sum of money and everything he’d said, and the hypocrisy of his officials in perilous times — it felt like needles jabbing at his heart.
“What can we do, being born in the wrong times? Please don’t be overly sad, Your Majesty. There’s hope as long as we’re alive.” Qin Yining looked down and comforted softly.
Weichi Yan blinked and looked blankly at the girl. “As long as we’re alive? You think so too?”
* * *
Chapter 271: Surrender (III)
Chapter 271: Surrender (III)
Qin Yining could tell from Weichi Yan’s expression that he’d misunderstood. She’d only wanted to encourage him to ease up on his current mentality and stop splitting hairs on this issue, but his mind seemed to have gone down another path.
“Your Majesty, this subject only feels that nothing is as important as your health.” The girl had to kneel and explain in a gentle voice. “You are the legitimacy of Great Yan. Only with your existence do the people have the motivation to carry on.”
Weichi Yan stared fixedly at Qin Yining, the suspicion in his eyes slowly morphing to tenderness. He laughed wryly. “How am I fit to be the ruler of a nation with how I am now? How am I worthy to be the reason that keeps the people going on? It’s because of me that they’re suffering like this.”
/> He didn’t dare leave the palace with the emperor’s retinue anymore. Not only because everyone was too hungry to put on the appropriate pomp and circumstance, but even more that he was afraid the vengeful commoners would rip him to pieces if they saw him strolling around in the imperial dragon robes.
He’d asked himself several times whether it was right or wrong that he fought Great Zhou like this. South Yan now existed to their rear, splitting his empire in two. He was clinging on with clenched teeth simply because he didn’t want the historians to record this shameful act in the books, that he had been at the helm when the nation fell. He wouldn’t be able to face generations of family ancestors after his death.
But when he saw all of the bark stripped off the city’s trees and children curled into balls by the wall corners, dead of hunger, he really felt that he was the most selfish person in the world. He was plowing in countless lives of innocent citizens out of concern for personal face and dignity.
“You may rise, I know your family’s loyalty.” Weichi Yan shook his head with a rueful smile. “I’m just… really lost right now.”
Qin Yining rose and reclaimed her seat on the rock, lowering her head without another word. Presumptuous discussion about politics would attract fire to herself — of that she was aware of.
The emperor sat there blankly for a very long time with the Qin fourth miss keeping him company. When he came back to himself, one could catch males voices coming from the direction of Ning Park. He looked inquiringly at Qin Yining.
“Perhaps those who’ve gone hunting and foraging have returned.”
“You’re quite smart to take shelter in the mountains and by the water with so many commoners,” smiled Weichi Yan. “You all can take care of each other.” He helped himself up with the aid of the tree trunk and dusted himself off. “Little Lu.”
“Here.” Despite standing far away, Lu-gonggong quickly presented himself. “Your Majesty.”
“Give them to the fourth miss.”
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