Deng Gong, an official of the Jiang Empire, brought a pot of freshly brewed tea into the Shui Pavilion. He saw that His Highness was still focused on reading, and the pastries on the table were almost untouched. But a plate of plums next to it was missing a few pieces. He immediately smiled and said, “If Your Highness likes it, this old servant will go and fetch some more.”
Jiang Yun, however, said that there was no need.
Deng Gong sighed. His Highness has a stomach disease and has many dietary taboos, almost to the point of purifying one’s heart and restricting one’s desire. He usually eats plain porridge and some side dishes in the Jiang Empire’s Palace, he rarely touches meat, grease, or these sweet things. Today’s banquet’s dishes are mostly dishes that contain a lot of meat, and this jujube paste cake is already the lightest thing.
He had intended to instruct the steward of the Chen Kingdom to prepare some light dishes, but was stopped by His Highness.
Fan Zhou Daren1大人: his excellency.also said, “His Highness’s dietary habits should not be easily known by his subordinate countries, inconvenience Your Highness to make do with it for once.” Fan Zhou Daren’s loyalty and courage to advise have won His Highness’s trust. He dares to point out any flaws in His Highness’s words, deeds, or character without hesitation. It is also with the wonderful virtue of accepting advice with an open mind that His Highness has attracted the allegiance and defection of countless famous scholars, and Deng Gong does not dare disobey.
It’s just that His Highness will be suffering.
Since arriving in the Chen Kingdom, His Highness has hardly ever had a proper meal! That stomach problem is probably going to get worse for sure.
It’s just a matter of the king’s strict instructions. These advisors are all in charge, and they can’t tolerate a single flaw in His Highness’s character. Even he, an internal affairs official, felt sorry for him.
“Is there any news coming from Feiying Pavilion?”
Jiang Yun suddenly looked up and asked.
Gongsun Yang hurriedly answered.
Feiying Pavilion is an information organization founded by His Highness, mainly responsible for transmitting military information. Half a month ago, a spy from Feiying Pavilion found traces of the Sui Empire’s scouts on the south bank of the Yellow River. His Highness specially sent a message to General Yun Huai, who is stationed at Muyun Pass, ordering him to investigate this matter.
In recent years, both sides of the Yellow River have appeared calm, but small-scale harassment and invasion by the enemy country on the other side have never ceased. Two years ago, the Sui army even wanted to capture a Jiang state, located at the northwest fortress of the Yellow River, as a breakthrough point, taking a detour to the south. Fortunately, it was discovered by Feiying Pavilion in time, giving His Highness enough time to plan, so the Sui army’s conspiracy was not successful.
Now that the sudden tracks of the Sui army scouts appear near Muyun Pass, it clearly requires their high attention.
Gongsun Yang asked, “Shall the subordinate send a letter to urge them?”
Jiang Yun shook his head. “There’s no need, after the Liushang Banquet is over, we will directly go to Muyun Pass.”
Muyun Pass is located in the northern part of the Jiang Empire, adjacent to the south bank of the Yellow River. Turning from the Chen Kingdom does indeed save a lot of time. Gongsun Yang and Fan Zhou understood that the matter of the scouts was of great importance. His Highness may need to personally go there to feel at ease, so he immediately answered with a straight face.
The competition ends with a dinner party.
Today, the Liushang Banquet gathered the Four Princes of the Southern Kingdom, and a large number of famous scholars, officials, and nobles were sent from all six countries to attend. It can be said that it was extremely prosperous for a time. The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu is feeling happy. He specially asked the palace attendants to bring Bai Li wine, which had been preserved for more than ten years, for the guests to taste.
At the end of the banquet, Jiang Yun bid farewell to the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu on the grounds that he was not feeling well and headed north by carriage, citing physical discomfort. Everyone knew that His Highness was weak, unable to withstand the wind, and did not force him to stay. They all stood outside the door to see him off.
The Guozhu of the Chen Kingdom invited everyone to return to the courtyard to continue their banquet. He also summoned several Kunjun, whom he favored from his harem, to accompany them to drink and have fun as well.
Kunjun is a unique plaything in this era, with a status equivalent to that of a slave. They are mainly used for the entertainment of nobles, and those who are particular about it may even personally choose beautiful young men and feed them with special medicines from a young age. Over time, these young men will have muscles and bones that are even softer than a woman’s. Because they are playthings for entertainment, they have earned an elegant title—Kunjun.
In this era, it was common for nobles to raise Kunjun in the mansion. The famous King Lie of Qi, who was known for his tyranny and debauchery, even built a Qingque Terrace in the capital of Qi to collect beautiful young men from all over the world for his own enjoyment. The medicine used to domesticate Kunjun, “Qiluo,” first came from the Qingque Terrace and then spread to other countries.
The Kunjun raised by the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu all appear to be young men, only fifteen or sixteen years old, each with red lips and white teeth. They are very handsome and very good at pleasing and entertaining people. At first glance, they seemed to be carefully trained.
It’s just that this Guozhu of the Chen Kingdom is already sixty years old and still addicted to playing with teenagers, which makes everyone feel somewhat contemptuous.
In the midst of drunkenness, a guard urgently came to report, “Your Majesty, it’s not good. The Sui army has fought their way in!”
The Guozhu of the Chen Kingdom was drinking in a daze, stunned at the words, and asked, “What-what did you say?”
“The Sui army, the Sui army is attacking!”
As soon as the guard finished speaking, a sharp arrow shot through his throat. Subsequently, other guards guarding the courtyard were also shot and fell to the ground.
There was a commotion in the courtyard, and everyone stood up in shock.
The Guozhu of the Chen Kingdom finally regained his senses, and the palace attendants stood up unsteadily, shouting, “Protect the Emperor, protect the Emperor!”
The courtyard, which was still bustling just now, suddenly became as quiet as stagnant water. Not to mention the guards, even the sound of birds could not be heard, and the smell of death spread in the air.
“The Sui-the Sui army, where did the Sui army come from?”
Someone trembled and asked.
No one answered.
The air grew deadlier and deadlier.
Until a dull and thunderous sound of horse hooves awakened everyone’s spirits.
The courtyard gate was smashed open with a loud bang. Two rows of black armor-wrapped iron horsemen drove in, the same type of wolf head longsword hanging from the waists of their riders, and the night was filled with a terrifying and murderous aura.
The Wolf Head Sword, the symbol of the Sui Empire’s Qinglang Battalion, the elite of the Sui’s army, and the commander—
Everyone’s souls trembled, and they looked up in tremble. In the backlight, a person with sharp phoenix eyes and high bunched black hair, clad in heavy armor of basalt iron with intricate qilin patterns embroidered on his shoulders and arms using gold threads, slowly rode his horse closer.
The commander—the Sui Empire’s famous God of Slaughter—singlehandedly founded the Sui Empire’s Qinglang Battalion. Whether in the northern or southern regions of the Yangtze River. All of them are afraid of this name: the Crown Prince of Sui, Sui Heng.
The Guozhu of the Chen Kingdom’s legs became weak, and he collapsed directly to the ground.
The rest of the people’s faces turned yellow like gold paper, shocked, terrified, and uneasy as they looked at the scene in front of them.
“Nice to meet you all.”
Sui Heng narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth with a smile.
The accompanying Sui Empire army had already taken control of the entire courtyard and all guests with lightning speed.
All of them were officials, noblemen, and famous scholars from various countries, and finally someone reacted with hindsight and tremblingly asked, “Evil, evil bandit, what do you want?”
He actually wanted to know how such a cavalry dressed in heavy armor could confidently and silently break into the heavily guarded capital of Chen.
However, considering this person’s track record, it seems to be too much of a question.
Sui Heng bared his teeth in a smile, revealing a cunning curve on his handsome and dazzling face.
“Naturally, to cooperate with all of you in order to achieve great things.”
“Complete nonsense!” A scholar spat hard and cursed, “We, the six kingdoms of Jiangnan, are at odds with you! You evil bandit—”
Before he could finish cursing, the person’s head had been chopped off with a sword, and the head was nowhere to be found.
Blood spattered all over the case.
The eyes on the head were even wide open when dead.
Someone immediately screamed and retreated.
Even those who stood at the back, watching this scene, had chills on their backs, and the hairs on their bodies stood up!
Sui Heng put away the bloody sword, and his eyes curved. “Now, are you guys willing to sit down and have a good conversation with Gu?”
Although he was smiling, this overly kind tone of his once again made everyone shiver uncontrollably.
“Your Highness.”
The soldier in charge of counting the number of people rushed forward and whispered, “The Crown Prince of Jiang was not found.”
Sui Heng narrows his eyes lightly.
**
Jiang Yun was the first to notice that something was wrong because of the heat flow that rose up in his body for no reason. This heat flow came out of the abdomen, it was quiet at first, but spread to all the limbs and bones at an extremely fast speed.
Continuous and dense, very uncomfortable.
Jiang Yun’s forehead gradually began to sweat, and his fingers tightly grasped his brocade robe’s sleeves.
Gongsun Yang and Fan Zhou rode in the same carriage as him, and Fan Zhou was the first to notice his abnormality. He has been under the tutelage of His Highness for many years and is well aware of how His Highness values etiquette. Although it is only a very small and slight gesture, it was also very unusual in his daily life.
Fan Zhou asked with concern, “Is Your Highness feeling unwell?”
Jiang Yun has a stomach problem, and he is aware of it. He is worried that at the banquet just now, Jiang Yun’s health will be affected due to an improper diet, and there is still a long way to go to reach Muyun Pass.
Although they have medical officials accompanying them, it is ultimately a very difficult task to travel despite illness.
Jiang Yun shook his head and slowly released his fingers, pressing down on the discomfort inside his body. “Nothing.”
He had a vague suspicion in his heart, but because it was too outrageous and unbelievable, he couldn’t bear it for a while.
Fan Zhou still feels a bit uneasy.
“Is it really nothing?”
“Shall I invite the medical officer to come and take a look?”
Jiang Yun shook his head, saying that there was no need.
Apart from a few drops of sweat on his forehead and his lips being a bit pale, there was nothing unusual about his fair and jade-like face.
Fan Zhou no longer persisted.
Jiang Yun calmed down and whispered, “Let’s change our route and take the mountain road instead.”
Fan Zhou and Gongsun Yang were both surprised.
It was already extremely hard to drive all night long, but if they changed to a mountain road, there would be additional danger. As the territory of Chen is full of lofty mountains, most of the mountain passes are very rugged and difficult to travel.
Jiang Yun would not have issued this order for no reason. Gongsun Yang urgently asked, “What did Your Highness discover?”
Jiang Yun nodded and said, “It’s just a guess.”
He took a piece of paper out of his sleeve, folded it up, and handed it to Gongsun Yang. “Gu suddenly remembered that Gu forgot to discuss something with the Guozhu of Chen. You use the carrier pigeon from Feiying Pavilion to quickly deliver this letter to the palace of Chen.”
Gongsun Yang was taken aback for a moment. He could clearly see that it was a blank piece of paper.
However, Fan Zhou quickly reacted and exchanged a glance with Gongsun Yang, who later became aware of the situation. At the same time, a serious expression appeared in his eyes. Gongsun Yang responded, not daring to delay, and immediately pushed the door open to give instructions outside.
Sui Heng did indeed come rushing towards Jiang Yun.
No one was caught, he ordered people to surround the guests from the other five countries who came to the banquet in the palace, giving them an hour to force them to reveal Jiang Yun’s whereabouts and encouraging them to voluntarily hand over important information of the Jiang Empire, regardless of the type, the more, the better, and the more rewards they will receive. Those who refuse to give an account will either be replaced by information from their own country or wait until dawn tomorrow and be uniformly subjected to death.
His style is comparable to that of a bandit.
Sui Heng directly occupied the royal palace of the Kingdom of Chen as his main tent for the central army. The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu, along with Chen Tao, the Crown Prince of the Chen, kneeled under the jade steps, trembling and shivering like a sieve.
Sui Heng walked past him, then suddenly stopped. He turned around and grinned, “Guozhu’s head is well-developed, round, and shapely. You are a blessed person at first glance. Gu happened to be missing a wine vessel. If Guozhu has a bad memory, how about Gu take your head as a wine vessel?”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu rolled his eyes and fainted from fear.
The loyal and honest Crown Prince of Chen held his unconscious father in his arms, filled with despair and fear, looking at Sui Heng like he was a demon. He, who had never been to the battlefield before, finally understood why the civil and military officials in the court feared and got chilled from the bottom of their hearts just by mentioning the Crown Prince of Sui’s name.
And this person is only in his early twenties!
Sui Heng laughed heartily, put his hands behind his back, and strode into the magnificent palace, where usually only the Guozhu of Chen was qualified to reside.
Fan Qi, his personal soldier, greeted him and said angrily, “The group of people from the south are cursing at Your Highness in the palace. Your Highness is really convinced that they can honestly give an account of Jiang Yun’s whereabouts and the Jiang Empire’s information?”
Sui Heng casually smiled.
“Whether they hand it over or not, just wait and see, then you’ll know.”
When he entered the hall, he saw the candlelight shining brightly. On the precious soft carpet laid in the hall, there was a row of beautiful young men kneeling in snow-colored singlets.
Sui Heng paused and asked, “What’s going on?”
Fan Qi chuckled and said, “They were that old thing of the Chen Kingdom’s gift to Your Highness. He said they were the most beautiful Kunjun in his palace, and they were not touched by him yet. He is willing to offer them all to Your Highness to enjoy.”
Those teenagers clearly received the orders. When Sui Heng came in, they suppressed their fear and obediently kneeled on the ground, revealing a section of their snow-white neck. One of them slowly climbed up to Sui Heng’s feet and wanted to wipe the surface of his boots for him. Fan Qi said on the side, “It was said that Kunjun in the Chen’s royal palace has been carefully trained and taught since childhood. They have special recipes for their daily meals, and their qualifications are comparable to those of the Qingque Terrace in the Kingdom of Qi. The Chen’s Guozhu has really put in a lot of effort to please Your Highness.”
Sui Heng’s military governance was very strict, and he did not usually approach women or men. In Fan Qi and the generals’ opinion in the army, he really does not fit with such a vigorous age.
Fan Qi speculated that it must be because ordinary men and women cannot catch the eye of His Highness’s eyes.
And the few Kunjun presented by Chen’s Guozhu are all the best in the world. As long as they are normal men, they can never be unmoved and boldly make a decision to let them in.
Sui Heng only glanced at them lightly and mercilessly kicked the young man away, sneering, “You dare send such rubbish to Gu’s bed?”
He was born with divine power. With this kick, the young man rolled out of the distance and fell heavily to the ground, with blood flowing from his forehead and broken ribs. The other teenage Kunjun had never seen such scenes and such people who did not know how to show mercy, their hearts became more and more fearful, and each one of them shivered like a leaf falling in the wind.
After all, those nobles and ministers are usually unable to control themselves, and allow them to take whatever they want when they see them. But the Crown Prince of Sui even kicked them away, like rotten cabbages on the street.
Fan Qi was also taken aback for a moment. He was so frightened that he quickly waved his hand and drove the young men out. He apologized and said, “I also saw Your Highness’s hard work in battle, and I want Your Highness to relieve your boredom…”
Sui Heng sneered lightly.
“Using such rubbish to relieve boredom, do you think Gu has lived long enough?”
Fan Qi broke out in a cold sweat and dared not speak again.
In his heart, he was shocked to think that such beauties were just “rubbish” in the eyes of His Highness. What does His Highness want, a celestial being?!
An hour passed by quickly.
Sui Heng, who was carefree and relaxed, appeared again in front of everyone while holding a whip, with an idleness like a nobleman on a spring outing.
After an hour of shouting and fussing, everyone was exhausted. Looking at the Sui Empire’s soldiers, who were eyeing them up and holding cold swords in their hands, they finally felt the shadow of death with a sense of hindsight.
“What Jiang Rongyu can give all of you, Gu can give as well. And what Jiang Rongyu cannot give, Gu can also give.”
“Now, who would be the first to answer Gu’s question?”
It was silent, and no one spoke.
Sui Heng was not in a hurry either. With a wave of his hand, the Sui soldiers immediately approached and dragged two people down. At first, those two people were still screaming and cursing, but later they didn’t even scream anymore, and the result was predictable.
The rest of the crowd gradually turned pale, some even sweating.
Soon, more than ten people were pulled down, one after another. In a tense atmosphere, Sui Heng suddenly grinned and said, “Alright, Gu will give all of you all another half hour’s grace. If anyone is willing to surrender, Gu will appoint him as the General at once. In the future, if Gu takes over Jiangnan, Gu will also give him a generous executive salary. If not, unfortunately, all of you will have to die together.”
“However, Gu’s quota here is also limited. If you are interested, you need to speed up.”
This person obviously used the heart wrenching strategy to the extreme.
So the next half hour was like torture, one after another, some people couldn’t hold on and began knocking on the door to meet Sui Heng. Those who knew about the Jiang’s information provided the Jiang’s information, while those who didn’t know directly provided their own.
Sui Heng looked at the gradually thick confession in his hand and was not very satisfied.
Wei Yun was the first among of Four Princes to step out. His peach blossom eyes, which were always as brilliant as peach blossoms, rarely didn’t smile, and he just stated his claim very simply.
“I want to live, but I really don’t have any valuable information to provide.”
Sui Heng raised his eyebrows and asked, “Then why did you come to see Gu?”
Wei Yun seemed to endure great shame, muster up great courage, and say, “If Your Highness is willing to spare my life, I am willing to persuade the Wei Kingdom to surrender to the Sui Empire, and…”
“And what?”
Sui Heng smiled and asked with great interest.
They all knew that without something tangible, such empty promises could not have moved Sui Heng.
“And—serve Your Highness.”
Wei Yun bit his lip and said with suppressed shame and anger.
This sentence clearly gambled on all his dignity and pride. After speaking, he kneeled on the ground, clenched his fists, and his spine trembled slightly, waiting for an answer.
There was no sound in the hall for a long time.
After a while, a light laughing sound came from above.
“The Four Princes of the Southern Kingdom, the most beautiful man in the Jiangnan region, and the famous Crown Prince Wei Yun, who’s famous for his appearance, were willing to sacrifice himself to Gu. It was indeed a good deal…”
Sui Heng raised his long, narrow phoenix eyes and slowly finished his worfs with a regretful gesture. “Unfortunately, with your beauty, Gu afraid that you don’t have the qualifications to climb onto Gu’s bed.”
Wei Yun looked up incredulously, and his face was instantly drained of blood.
After all, as the “Prince of Appearance,” who is famous for his appearance among the Four Princes of the Southern Kingdoms, no one has ever questioned his appearance from childhood to adulthood…
Immediately, what followed was a deeper sense of shame and indignation.
Fan Qi and Shi Fang, who were standing behind, were also stunned.
Wei Yun, the Crown Prince of the Wei Kingdom, the head of the Four Princes of the Southern Kingdom and the most beautiful man in the Jiangnan region. Not only in the Six Kingdoms of Jiangnan but also in the various kingdoms of Jiangbei, everyone knows him.
At present, looking at the real person, there is even more mesmerizing power than rumored, especially the pair of naturally smiling peach blossom eyes.
The Kunjun presented by the Guozhu of the Chen Kingdom are nothing compared to that. How could their own Highness look down on Wei Yun’s beauty as well?!
That’s right, with Young Master Yan Qi in front, it’s normal for His Highness to look down on others. There can only be a few people like Young Master Yan Qi in the world.
“However, Gu has already seen Crown Prince Wei’s sincerity. Well, as long as Crown Prince Wei is willing to follow Gu’s request and send a letter to the Guozhu of the Wei Kingdom, Gu will agree to Prince Wei’s request.”
Half an hour later, another soldier announced outside, “The Second Prince of the Kingdom of Chen is seeking an audience.”
Chen Qi was quickly brought in.
Sui Heng, who was already holding a thick stack of information in his hand, glanced at him and smiled. “It seems that the Second Young Prince has arrived a bit late.”
Chen Qi succinctly said, “The information I can provide is more valuable than what Your Highness has in his hands.”
Sui Heng raised his eyebrows.
“Oh, really?”
Chen Qi nodded. “Not only can I provide Your Highness with information on the Jiang Empire, but also on the other five kingdoms as well. In addition, I can also inform Your Highness of the accurate whereabouts of the Crown Prince Jiang Yun of the Jiang Empire.”
If the scholars who usually admire Chen Qi saw Chen Qi’s calm and composed appearance at this moment, they would probably be surprised.
He had a calm expression and tone, with no longer the usual honesty and loyalty between his eyes. Instead, he wrote about his ambitions, like a long-dormant tiger, clearly planning for the opportunity to soar to the sky for a long time.
Sui Heng’s interest was finally aroused.
Chen Qi said, “But I also have conditions.”
Sui Heng gestured to him to say.
Chen Qi: “I don’t want the position of a General, but I want to hold the position of a Military Advisor in Your Highness’s army. When Your Highness ascends to the throne in Jiangnan in the future, I want to be the sovereign of Jiangnan and be loyal to Your Highness. Also—I want to demand someone from Your Highness.”
“Who is it?”
“The Crown Prince of Jiang, Jiang Yun.”
Sui Heng was somewhat surprised.
Chen Qi said, “As a Military Advisor, I request Your Highness to capture this person and hand him over to me for disposal.”
Sui Heng said, “As far as Gu knows, Jiang Yun is one of the Four Princes of the Southern Kingdom along with you. He usually doesn’t harm the Chen Kingdom. What’s the use of taking him?”
Chen Qi’s eyes were filled with suppressed jealousy, and he said, “Your Highness is not aware of this person’s lack of talent and virtue. He is just a hypocrite who deceives the world through a false reputation. I just want him to taste the feeling of being trampled on by someone and being as lowly as dust and mud.”
After pondering for a moment, Sui Heng said confidently, “Okay, Gu agreed to your request.”
Sui Heng wanted to capture Jiang Yun just because he wanted to use the fastest method to break up the Jiangnan kingdoms and take over the Jiang Empire. He was actually not interested in Jiang Yun.
The Four Princes of the Southern Kingdom. The other three are not inferior. The fourth one was brought up just to make up the number. What’s the point?
Oh, by the way, it is said that this person is also ashamed to see others because of his ugly appearance.
Chen Qi wants him, then just give him to him.
