The security of the General’s mansion has always been Yang Jiu’s responsibility. An assassin trying to break in? It’s simply absurd!
However, reality had already unfolded before their eyes. Yang Jiu was furious. “General, it’s my fault! Give me a few days, and I will definitely find out who is behind this!”
Qi Hanguang nodded in agreement.
In fact, one didn’t need to think too hard to figure out that the ones being assassinated were none other than his two children. When you counted all the people in the world, it boiled down to just a handful.
When Qi Dongjing and Qi Dongjun, the two brothers, were asleep at night, Qi Hanguang and Zong Yuan exchanged a knowing glance and quietly exited the room.
Qi Hanguang had his hands behind his back, his gaze deep. “I suspect there is a traitor in the mansion.”
He seemed to have anticipated this, and Zong Yuan raised an eyebrow, suppressing a similar question. “General, do you trust me this much?”
Qi Hanguang nodded directly, still staring straight ahead, as if he couldn’t bring himself to face Zong Yuan. “I trust you.”
Zong Yuan’s heart softened, and he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Qi Hanguang. “General, you’re right to trust me. I also want to do my part for you.”
Qi Hanguang asked, “…Are you thinking about asking me about Jun’er and Jing’er?”
The glaring intention to kill was clearly directed at the two children.
“No,” to Qi Hanguang’s surprise, Zong Yuan shook his head. “If you don’t want to tell me, then I don’t want to know.”
Zong Yuan was not yet twenty, and Qi Hanguang understood this quite well. However, at this moment, under Zong Yuan’s gaze, Qi Hanguang felt the sensation of being cherished by this young man.
It was as if, in Zong Yuan’s eyes, he was a child who needed to be protected in the palm of his hand.
Qi Hanguang blushed deeply at his own thoughts. He felt embarrassed and turned his face away, speaking seriously about his two sons. “Those two children are not my biological sons.”
Qi Hanguang’s first wife was a princess from a neighboring country sent as part of a political alliance after being intimidated by Qi Hanguang. She was a beautiful woman with an exotic allure, sent to the capital, but a month later, she returned with a royal decree.
In front of the emperor, the princess revealed the “truth.” She claimed to have already been pregnant with Qi Hanguang’s child and begged the emperor to marry her to the mighty and invincible General Qi. Of course, the child she carried was not Qi Hanguang’s; she had a lover. Qi Hanguang, who had no interest in women, saw the princess as a way to deal with the endless nagging of matchmakers and the old ladies in his household. He decided to send her to one of his remote estates.
Two years later, a guard who had been responsible for the princess’s safety arrived at Qi Hanguang’s side, covered in blood and seriously injured. He brought with him three-year-old Jun’er and an infant, Jing’er, who was wailing in a bundle.
The people who had killed the princess and her lover were undoubtedly those who had been obstructed by them.
The neighboring country had a thin royal line, and now only one heir, who often soaked in elixirs, remained. In such a situation, some individuals were eager to eliminate the two children.
Qi Hanguang had kept this secret for many years, and even to his most trusted military adviser, he had never revealed the true identity of Jun’er and Jing’er. Yet, in front of Zong Yuan, someone he had only known for a few days, he let down his guard completely.
Zong Yuan genuinely hadn’t expected this background. He was serious, asking, “Does anyone else know about this?”
If this information were to spread, someone with ill intentions might easily fabricate evidence of treason and betrayal against Qi Hanguang.
Qi Hanguang’s expression relaxed. “Don’t worry, only you and I, along with a few people from the neighboring country, are aware of this.”
The guards who had risked their lives to bring the two young princes to the border had passed away due to their severe injuries.
The people from the neighboring country were even more hesitant to let their own country know that two imperial princes were living in exile.
Qi Hanguang had never intended to let Qi Dongjun and his brother know about their true identities.
Zong Yuan suddenly asked, “What about your two wives afterward…”
He still cared.
He spoke with a meaningful look, and Qi Hanguang smirked. “Naturally, I had no interest in them either.”
Zong Yuan steered the conversation away from that topic and looked around. “General, regarding the traitor, we should start by investigating those close to you. Throughout history, it’s a conclusion that those who betray themselves are the ones you least suspect.”
Qi Hanguang nodded slowly.
As the two children lay peacefully in bed, Zong Yuan continued to arrange the bedding as usual. After tidying up and blowing out the candle, someone silently slipped into Zong Yuan’s bed.
Their skin was smooth and firm, and Zong Yuan expertly held the person close, entering the darkness intimately.
The next day, the story of the General’s wife being a heavenly being who had descended spread throughout the entire northern border. The common people gathered eagerly in front of the General’s mansion, their heads held high, eagerly awaiting the spectacle. All the stories they had heard before were fake, but this time it was real! Extraordinary! The General was blessed, and so was the northern border!
“No wonder! Look at our previous wives, they all died suddenly. I was wondering why this time it took so long. It turns out our General’s wife isn’t an ordinary person!”
The people in the household who were on duty at the mansion were especially proud, speaking as if they had witnessed it themselves. They enthusiastically described the situation, “The General’s wife took a single step—directly picked up the two young lords, and the assassin’s arrow slid right off him! My nephew from the branch family said it was unprecedented, unheard of!”
The people around them were full of admiration. “He really is not an ordinary person!”
“The General is truly fortunate now. Even if his life is tough, can it be tougher than his wife’s?!”
“Old Li, do you know anything else about the lady? Tell us!”
The person referred to as Old Li chuckled, “The lady has innate divine strength! Not to mention two young lords, she can easily lift two generals!”
There was a chorus of astonished murmurs. “Wow.”
Everyone truly wanted to witness the lady’s divine strength with their own eyes. They wondered if shaking hands with her could extend their lives by ten years.
Zong Yuan was pulled to the front gate by Qi Dongjun and Qi Dongjing, each holding one of his hands. These two kids had become even more attached to him since he had saved them yesterday. Zong Yuan indulged them and asked, “What’s going on, you little rascals?”
Qi Dongjun raised a chubby, short finger and said, “Daddy, shh!”
The servants around them smiled as they watched the children’s antics. Zong Yuan crouched down to see what they were up to.
The voices from outside became clearer.
In the midst of the muffled conversations, a phrase stood out, “With a flash of lightning and thunder, the lady summoned a bolt of lightning, which struck down the assassin’s arrow!”
…
What in the world is this?
Zong Yuan looked exasperated.
The strangeness of it all lay in the fact that in ancient times, there was so little in the lives and entertainment of the common people that they could talk about the smallest things over and over without getting bored. In such a short time, they had already evolved to the point of summoning lightning.
Qi Dongjing tilted his head and draped his entire body over Zong Yuan, clutching his sleeve. “Daddy, did you really use lightning? Why didn’t Jing’er hear it?”
Qi Dongjun looked puzzled. “Jun’er didn’t hear it either.”
Zong Yuan pinched their little cheeks and, leading them to find Qi Hanguang, teased them, “Well, I did summon lightning, but only clever people can see it.”
“So, are we not clever enough?” The two brothers exchanged glances, their mouths turned down in a gloomy pout.
Maybe it’s time to focus on our studies.
The people following them almost couldn’t help but laugh.
The General’s wife is quite amusing.
Qi Hanguang was in his study, and all his trusted confidants were gathered there, including strategists and formidable generals.
The military officer stroked his beard and asked, “Yang Jiu, did you find any leads from yesterday’s incident?”
Yang Jiu rolled his scruffy beard and gave him a guilty look before replying to Qi Hanguang, “General, I haven’t found anything yet.”
Zang Qi furrowed his brow. “No assassins have infiltrated the General’s mansion for many years.”
The military officer continued slowly, “So, this is not a simple matter. The worst-case scenario is that there’s a traitor within the mansion.”
They all looked at each other, and Yang Zongshan scratched his head. “But it’s not easy for anyone to enter the mansion. Everyone is thoroughly checked and has signed documents. It’s not easy for a spy to slip in.”
“Not easy doesn’t mean impossible,” Zang Qi pondered for a moment. “Old Yang, double-check with your men. If there’s no progress, and Yang Jiu hasn’t found the person responsible behind this… then we must prepare for the worst.”
Everyone at the table understood what preparing for the worst meant.
It meant that among them, there was a possibility that a traitor had infiltrated.
The atmosphere fell into silence for a moment, and then someone asked, “What about the lady…”
The lady had recently entered the mansion, and he was still the mistress of the household. Could he possibly be a spy?
His words came to an abrupt stop in the icy glare of Qi Hanguang’s eyes.
Qi Hanguang’s expression turned cold. “It absolutely couldn’t be him; he has no motive.”
Jealousy isn’t a motive? Some people murmured to themselves. If someone killed the two young lords, wouldn’t that leave the General without any sons?
The military officer glanced at Qi Hanguang’s inscrutable expression. “I also believe it’s not the lady.”
Qi Hanguang’s face softened slightly.
The military officer continued, “As everyone here knows, it was the lady who saved the two young lords in a critical situation. Besides, the lady has exceptional character and would never stoop to such petty actions.”
Yang Jiu couldn’t hold back any longer and felt wronged. “What’s so exceptional about his character? He even gave me a few lashes! Even though they didn’t actually land…”
Wasn’t it just a minor disturbance?
The military officer stroked his beard. “Isn’t that precisely what makes his character exceptional?”
The group of people had strange expressions, but they couldn’t contain their laughter any longer, especially after Qi Hanguang burst into laughter.
Zong Yuan, with a stern face, held the two children outside. While others might not understand, he clearly heard everything. Qi Hanguang was laughing heartily, and among all the people, his laughter was the most joyful.
Are they joking at my expense?
I’ll make them pay for it.
The guards at the door announced, “General, the lady and the two young lords are here.”
Qi Hanguang put down the book in his hand, walked quickly to the door, and suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at the room full of people and asked, “Is my hair and attire in order?”
The military officer replied, “General, you look splendid.”
Qi Hanguang nodded in satisfaction and then impatiently opened the door.
The other subordinates exchanged bewildered glances. Did the General forget that servants could open the door?… Congratulations! The General has also fallen under the lady’s spell! They thought the General was naturally devoid of romantic feelings, but little did they know that while he lacked heterosexual feelings, he didn’t lack homosocial feelings.
Qi Hanguang hadn’t seen Zong Yuan for just under an hour, but he missed him greatly. “My dear.”
Zong Yuan directly let Qi Dongjun and Qi Dongjing smear his face. In the presence of so many people, he calmly said, “General, I dreamt last night that a celestial being came to give me a message.”
Qi Hanguang and the others looked curious. Could the lady really be a celestial being from the heavens?
Zong Yuan continued, “The celestial being told me to tell you that you have to call me husband, and after calling me so for a hundred and eighty years, good luck will naturally come.”
People at the gathering were quite superstitious, and coupled with Zong Yuan’s miracle from yesterday, some of them started considering whether they should advise the General to give it a try. Before they could voice their thoughts, they heard Qi Hanguang clearly and naturally call out, “Husband.”
Qi Hanguang thought to himself, ‘Thank you, celestial being.’
He could fulfill his desire to call the person in front of him ‘husband’ for eternity.
Author’s Note:
General Qi is really sweet!
