—
Xue Junliang stared down at the prisoner on the ground and laughed cruelly, “Oh? Gu is overconfident? How confident of you to say Gu is overconfident? You must think you’re so modest. Such a ridiculous, lowly guard like you.”
Teng Yun laughed again and closed his eyes so he didn’t have to look at Xue Junliang. His expression seemed to be disdainful, as if Xue Junliang wasn’t worth looking at.
Xue Junliang said, “What? You’re regretting something?”
Eyes still closed, Teng Yun said weakly, “To die in the hands of an opinionated king like you.. of course I’m feeling regret.”
“Wondeful!” Xue Junliang sneered, “In this whole world, who else can be like me? Me who, presently, is merely one step away from grasping the entire world!”
“But this one step…” Teng Yun’s laugh was cut short as he suddenly coughed blood, “Unfortunately, if you take this one step… You’ll destroy all of your reputation! Xue Junliang, think about it, if Marquis Tengnan leads a rebellion from inside the prison… Instead of grasping the entire world, you’ll be surrounded by enemies left and right. By then, will you be able to protect your land? Will you be able to protect the soldiers and the people who respect you and are willing to risk their lives for you?”
Teng Yun hands clutched his chest as he gasped for breath. Blood was spilling freely from his mouth; soaking into the study room’s wool rug.
Xue Junliang froze, didn’t expect someone like this could say such things. But he was quick to shake away his surprise and said disdainfully, “Anyone can talk big. You’re just saying this only to make me withdraw my soldiers. If you still dare making insults like this, apparently I haven’t tortured you enough!”
Teng Yun felt more blood rose to his throat and he could only struggle to suppress it. His sight had started to dim as he said, “You are not Teng Zhengxuan… You weren’t born at his era. You can only bow down to him…”
[T/N : Teng Zhengxuan was the previous Teng Wang, beloved by his people and was respected by other kings. See Teng Yun first mentioned him in Chapter 43.]
By this point, Teng Yun’s breath had gone so weak. Xue Junliang could only hear a faint whisper, “I have never been afraid of you…”
Somewhere in the end of the prisoner’s sentence, Xue Junliang thought he heard the word ‘arrows’ but he didn’t put much thought of it, because when the prisoner mentioned Teng Zhengxuan’s name, his heart felt like it was crushed under a heavy stone.
Firstly, it reminded him that time the Late Empress told him a lot about Teng Zhengxuan. Secondly, this name was like a reminder that bring to Xue Junliang’s mind the strategies he could do to defeat the oncoming threats.
Xue Junliang looked down and saw the prisoner had fainted. He turned to Jiang Yu and slowly said, “Call the royal physician. If this prisoner died, the entire royal hospital will have to pay for his life.”
Xue Junliang’s tone made Jiang Yu jump with scare. Since Xue Wang started favoring the Empress, he never had to talk using such tone. In fact, Xue Wang’s mannerism had become somewhat warm and humane.
But now, seemed like Xue Wang had gone back to how he used to be: a king who was tyrannical, guarded and full of suspicions. Those characteristics were too commonly found in kings, and Jiang Yu was once again reminded that Xue Wang, unfortunately, was not exempted.
Jiang Yu rushed to the royal hospital without delay, leaving Xue Houyang hesitating at the study room alone. In the end, Xue Houyang called a few palace servants to quickly carry the unconscious prisoner away.
Teng Ying was only a lowly prisoner; one who would soon be executed. It was impossible for him to stay in a king’s resident. Even though Xue Wang insisted he was to be treated by the royal physician, Xue Wang would not tolarate nor pity him. Therefore, Xue Houyang ordered people take the prisoner back to the prison.
[T/N : Teng Ying was a palace guard, originally from Teng Country, and had played big part on killing the Empress. Currently, Teng Yun was inside Teng Ying’s body. See previous chapter.]
Jiang Yu led the royal physicians to the prison to examine the prisoner.
It became clear that Teng Yun’s injuries were quite severe. If it was scraped skin and open wounds, then it was easily treatable. But in addition to those, Teng Yun also had unseen internal injuries. The prison wards wasn’t aware of these internal injuries, they could only see that the prisoner was leaking blood from all over his body.
The royal physicians, of course, knew this person was only a prisoner. Jiang Yu only ordered them not to let him die, which in another word, it was enough as long as the prisoner was breathing. The royal physicians only treated the prisoner’s internal injuries and didn’t even attemp to check the external ones.
—
Teng Yun felt cold. He knew he must be suffering from a fever. He’d been fighting in wars for so many years, he knew what happened when one had many untreated injuries and wounds. But because he was now a prisoner, Teng Yun could ony endure it all silently.
Teng Yun closed his eyes and rested his head against the prison’s damp wall. Before long, he fell asleep.
Teng Yun dreamed that he was back to a few years ago, when he was still fighting with Xue Houyang. Vaguely, he knew he was only dreaming, but could not extricate himself from it.
Everywhere he saw, there were the dead bodies and ruins of cities…
Teng Yun had a hard time drawing breaths and his lower back was in pain. He was wriggling like a caught fish, struggling to get away from the thing causing him pain, when he woke up from his slumber.
Apparently, the one causing him pain was the prison ward beating him and shouting, “Quit pretending to be dead! Wake up!”
Teng Yun immediately opened his eyes, sighing in relief to be free of the bad dreams. His whole body was aching and drained of strength. He was leaning against the corner of the prison. If it wasn’t for the wall supporting him, Teng Yun was sure he would be lying paralyzed on the ground.
The prison ward raised his hand again, ready to beat Teng Yun again, but a voice told him to stop. The voice was so familiar Teng Yun couldn’t stop himself glancing up to see the voice’s owner. A few steps from him, a man stood. It was Xue Houyang.
Xue Houyang frowned with displeasure at the blood on the ground, but he reckoned the prisoner brought this to himself. He turned to the prison ward, “Can he talk?”
The prison ward nodded and bowed at the same time, “Of course, of course. The royal physician had just come and examined him. He’s as lively as a dragon and as strong as a tiger. He’s just opened his eyes, so maybe he wasn’t fully awake yet.”
Teng Yun sneered inwardly. How more awake should he be so people could deem he was awake enough?
Xue Houyang turned to look at the prisoner, wondering what sort of person this former palace guard was. He had talked so rudely to Xue Wang, yet Xue Wang still didn’t kill him and instead ordered the royal physician to examine him.
Teng Yun opened his mouth, barely had enough strength to whisper weakly, “Marquis Wannian, why do you still think so highly of Xue Wang when he is so full of himself?”
Because Teng Yun was so weak, his voice was no louder than a whisper. Xue Houyang could not hear Teng Yun clearly so he asked the prison ward to repeat what the prisoner had said. The prison ward was closer to Teng Yun, he clearly heard what Teng Yun’d said but pretended he didn’t, fearing that repeating Teng Yun’s words would get him executed.
This scene only made Teng Yun laugh.
Xue Houyang noticed the prisoner laughing to himself and deduced that if he could still laugh, it meant he was alive and would not die any time soon. Xue Houyang turned back to the prison ward, “Call the royal physician again to check him properly. Don’t slack off.”
The prison ward readily promised he would do as ordered. Still bowing and nodding, he sent Marquis Wannian out. After some time, he came back inside the prison and snorted coldly, “What bullshit! What does it matter if you die now or die later? Who do you think you are for me to bother keeping you alive!”
Teng Yun closed his eyes again. This wasn’t the first time he was treated this way, he was used to it. When his whole army was defeated and captured, Teng Yun was also treated like this. The only difference was, at that time, he was shot with an arrow. If this time he was to be shot with an arrow again…
Living inside the prison, it was hard to differentiate between day and night. Teng Yun didn’t know how long or how many days had passed when suddenly the prison ward forced a glass of water into Teng Yun, saying Xue Wang was going to interrogate Teng Yun himself.
Teng Yun still had no strength. He was dragged to a room and pushed to the ground.
A few steps away, Xue Junliang stood with his back to him. Teng Yun knew Xue Junliang was aware that he was here, but the man didn’t turn around to look at him, instead saying, “Did the life in prison suit your taste?”
Teng Yun smiled and said, “I have tasted bitter life than this… It was nothing.”
Xue Junliang said, “You still have bones, daring to talk back to Gu.”
“Because I know there’s no reason to kill me.”
“Good for you!” Xue Junliang turned and said, “You said there’s no reason to kill you? You think Gu doesn’t want to skin you alive, doesn’t want to rip off your meat and bones? Gu cannot wait to cut you to pieces, but maybe that kind of death would be too light for you.”
Teng Yun wasn’t affected by the threat and said, “You haven’t kill me, isn’t it because you want me to tell you how to break the enemy forces?”
“What makes you say that?” Xue Junliang stared at the prisoner. Although his body was weak and thin, the prisoner looked right back at Xue Junliang without fear.
“You think Gu would listen to a fool who had dared burning Yunfeng Palace to the ground?”
Teng Yun laughed, knowing it was useless protesting against the accusation. He said, “Xue Wang wants to grasp the entire world, but to tell you the truth, considering the current situation, it’s too ambitious for you want to do that. At the moment, Feng Wang is watching for any slight disagrrement between Xue Country people and seize it to launch an attack. I am very sure you won’t succeed.”
Xue Junliang sneered, “Then do you know ways that will ensure Gu succeed? If you do, let alone sparing you death penalty, Gu can grant you wealth and noble titles.”
Teng Yun laughed over the offers. Xue Junliang said, “You don’t believe it?”
Teng Yun said, “I laughed, not because I don’t believe you. I was laughing at your cold-heartedness. I’ve heard rumors that Xue Wang deeply mourned the Empress’ death. Turns out, the Empress’ life was no more important than seizing the whole world. For Xue Wang, the Empress’ life was meaningless.”
Xue Junliang glared at Teng Yun. He angrily swept his hand on the table, throwing all the things on it off. One of the incense burner slammed on the ground, its lid bounced off and hit Teng Yun on the chest.
Xue Junliang’s fist was shaking but his tone was flat as he said, “You’re so smart. Every body in this whole world is so smart. I am indeed very cold-hearted and indifferent. It was only one Empress died, I still have thousands of other women in my Palace…”
[T/N : The hell! That is the worst thing you can ever say in front of your Empress.]
For the first time since meeting him, Teng Yun couldn’t look at Xue Junliang in the eyes properly. Teng Yun looked away as a strange feeling filled his heart. He could not understand, and didn’t dare exploring what the feeling was. Just the thought of it left him uncomfortable.
Teng Yun tried to shift the topic, “I don’t care about wealth and noble titles. If I succeeded in solving Xue Wang’s current problem, I will only ask permission to leave the Palace.”
Xue Junliang stood straighter, shifting back into his usual demeanor, and said, “Aren’t you so sure of yourself?”
“If I fail, then you will have a new reason to hate me and you can do whatever you want as revenge. Isn’t that right?”
Xue Junliang laughed, as if he liked the idea of having a new reason to hate this prisoner. His laugh, however, sounded quite strange.
“Fine, Gu will do just as you’ve said. Let’s see how much you’ll suffer before you can die.”
Teng Yun said, “Feng Wang is planning to send his soldiers, it’s not impossible he will launch a sneak attack tomorrow. Therefore, this lowly servant requests Your Majesty to assign people to help me.”
“Just say it. Who do you want to help you? Do you want Marquis Wannian? There is no one better than him in this country.”
Teng Yun smiled and said, “This lowly servant doesn’t dare taking over Marquis Wannian. I heard there were Cheng Tian’s former subordinates under Your Majesty. I request those three people, plus one thousand soldiers.”
“Oh… just one thousand soldiers?”
“It’s one thousand and three people.”
Xue Junliang stared at him and said, “Gu still cannot understand. Where does your confident come from?”
Teng Yun said, “I only ask for one thousand and three people, I didn’t say I’m going to defeat you enemy’s army. Even if I was so arrogant, I won’t dare leading one thousand and three people to fight with Feng Wang… I only plan to use these one thousand and three people to conquer Teng Country’s army. A country will have more power when the leader and the people have one same goal and mind. Only then, the country can defeat every enemy.”
“I can lend you those people, but those three men are only loyal to…”
Xue Junliang’s voice trailed off for a moment, before he quickly added, “Those three are only loyal to the Empress, and their temperament quite disagreeable. They won’t be so easy to order around, so don’t complain to me later for lending them to you.”
“I have a way to convince them.”
Xue Junliang ordered someone to call the three He brothers.
[T/N : Three He brothers (He Zhong, He Ren and He Yi) were guards that Teng Yun had helped conquered, were placed under the Empress’ command. See Chapter 38.]
The He brothers were all still mourning, as shown by them wearing complete mourning garments. When they saw Teng Yun, they could only saw Teng Ying and were immediately stiffened in rage. They almost grabbed their swords to try killing Teng Yun but luckily the other Palace guards were quick to held them back.
Without moving from his big chair, Xue Junliang said, “The three of you are Gu‘s most trusted guards. Gu can still remember clearly the day the Empress spoke highly of you…”
At the day he received the news of the Empress’ death, he hadn’t shown signs of tears. But now as he was talking in front of the He brothers, his eyes turned misty and red-rimmed.
The He brothers were reminded of the Empress, and suddenly they started crying.
For a time, silence descended inside the study room as no one spoke. Xue Junliang had paused before continuing, “Gu is without a doubt that the three of you are all still loyal to the Empress. Now, this Teng Ying has boasted that he could conquer Teng Country’s army only with one thousand soldiers. If we kill Teng Ying now, Gu knows it will calm down your thrist for revenge, but he said he won’t die peacefully.”
He Zhong was angry, “He still dares wishing to die in peace?”
Xue Junliang said, “Gu called you here because Gu wants you to follow him and see what he would do. If he couldn’t finish this task, then you can dispose of him as you please.”
Hearing Xue Junliang’s promise, the three brothers swallowed down their anger. Wasn’t it good if they were to handle Teng Ying? Other people might be too soft-hearted.
Watching Xue Junliang’s acting from the side, Teng Yun snorted inwardly. To this day, he still found Xue Junliang’s mind to be unfathomable. One moment, Xue Junliang could appear sad, and the next moment he could appear indifferent. Before today, Teng Yun could have claimed he knew Xue Junliang very well. But now, witnessing Xue Junliang’s cold-heartedness, Teng Yun felt he couldn’t be further from the truth.
Xue Junliang talked a few more minutes, mostly reminiscing about the past and about the Empress. The three He brothers were simple-minded, might not be able to hear the subtle meaning behind Xue Junliang’s speech. But Teng Yun was aware Xue Junliang meant to impress the He brothers, therefore they would be dilligent in watching Teng Yun carefully and not give any chance for Teng Yun to escape.
All the while through the speech, the three He brothers cried again and again. This was the difference between a monarch and a subordinate; not only Xue Junliang’s status superior than the others, his mind was also deeper.
Finally, when everyone left, Xue Junliang sighed. Jiang Yu, who stood by his side the whole time, said, “Your Majesty… do you want to have lunch?”
Xue Junliang didn’t answer immediately. After thinking for a long time, he said, “I have no appetite. Maybe later.”
Jiang Yu said, “Your Majesty, this old servant has been following you for many years. Even though Your Majesty didn’t say anything, this old servant could still see… If Your Majesty is in sorrow, you can pour it all out..”
Xue Junliang raised an eyebrow and smiled, “How come you think Gu is in sorrow? Gu only talks that way for He brothers’ benefit.”
“Your Majesty…” Jiang Yu bowed his head, “Other people don’t know you, they haven’t been following you for decades like this old servant. If I could not know how your feelings, I wouldn’t still be here today…”
Xue Junliang didn’t respond, his eyes were staring at nothing. Then he smiled and said, “I have lost an Empress, have lost a talented companion. I’ve just now learned what it’s like to be in sorrow… I cannot punish Xue Yu, cannot execute Marquis Tengnan. I might be a king, but I’m still nothing compared to Teng Zhengxuan.”
[T/N : Xue Yu was Xue Junliang’s brother who had rebelled and attacked the capital city, indirectly causing the Empress’ death. Marquis Tengnan, previously known as Teng Wang, was Teng Country’s king.]
“Your Majesty, don’t say that,” Jiang Yu said, “Teng Zhengxuan sure was a great man, but he might not be as strong as you. His life path had been smooth and straight. If he were to encounter such big loss like yours, he might not be able to handle it better than you. Your Majesty… this old servant knows that expanding one’s territory is easy, but protecting it is hard.”
Jiang Yu paused before adding, “Your Majesty’s sincere feelings for the Empress… this old servant also knows.”
—
Teng Yun wasn’t thrown back into the prison, instead was quickly granted relase and given one thousand plus three soldiers.
Teng Yun was certain Xue Junliang would never let him go. Him allowing Teng Yun to do this task was just delaying the inevitable. When Teng Yun succeeded in forcing the enemy away, Xue Junliang could easily be back hating Teng Yun and eventually executing Teng Yun as a criminal.
But Teng Yun himself could not back down from this. If he didn’t do something, by the time Feng Ming launched an attack, both Feng Ming and Xue Junliang would both suffer a great deal.
Teng Yun had once led soldiers. He had seen many soldiers’ corpses covering the ground. He could not sit still knowing a great number of Feng and Xue soldiers would die.
Also, now there was no more a Teng Wang. Teng Wang had become a Marquis Tengnan. Teng Yun thought back to a time when his loyalty had been only for his own father and that it had shifted. Now, he was doing what he could to save Xue Junliang’s life…
The soldiers assigned to Teng Yun didn’t want to accept Teng Yun’s authority and orders. But Teng Yun wasn’t concerned about people respecting or admiring him in this body. Teng Yun knew what sort of person Teng Ying was; he was a boot-licker with no valuable talent. If Teng Yun wanted something, working industriously was the only to achieve it.
Also, it wasn’t that Teng Yun wanted these soldiers to go to the battlefield, therefore it didn’t matter if the soldiers didn’t respect him. Instead, Teng Yun gathered everyone and went to Teng Country to repair a temple.
Hearing the order, the soldiers balked. They were all well-trained and talented soldiers of the capital city, how come they have to repair a temple? This task was simply beneath them and humiliating.
Only because of His Majesty’s decree, these soldiers didn’t have other option than obeying Teng Yun’s words.
—
That day, when Xue Junliang heard Teng Ying saying, “You are not Teng Zhengxuan… You weren’t born at his era. You can only bow down to him…” These speech was like a slap in the face and secretly, Xue Junliang was stunned by this guard’s clever mind. Solely because of these words, Xue Junliang was reminded of a plan he could use to defend against upcoming enemies.
Hearing that Teng Ying wanted his one thousand soldiers to repair a temple, Xue Junliang was even more certain this person was not an idiot.
Teng Ying was right, Xue Junliang was not Teng Zhengxuan. If Xue Junliang wanted Teng Country people to submit to him, he had to defer to Teng Zhengxuan.
Teng Zhengxuan was the most beloved king of Teng, and if Xue Junliang was willing to send people to repair Teng Zhengxuan’s temple, Teng Country pople’s hearts would be moved.
Teng people knew well that Teng Wang was cruel and ruthless. In the past few years, Teng Wang had angered many people and his conduct had passed his people’s patience. If at this time, Xue Junliang showed them a virtuous gesture, the people and the soldiers would readily accepted Xue Junliang.
That was exactly what Teng Yun wanted; one thousand well-trained Xue Country soldiers to repair a temple, added with Xue Junliang’s imperial edict. There was no need for the fuss over going to war, no need alarming the commoners. This way, maybe then the people would be grateful and interested in joining the army, therefore expanding and strengthening it.
No wonder Teng Yun was so sure of his success.
Teng Yun didn’t waste any time in fear of Feng Wang attacking them any day. Even though Teng Yun’s body was still weak and in pain, he ordered the soldiers to start immediately.
Teng Yun wanted this task to be completed as early as possible so he could hurry get away from here. Teng Yun had had enough of things happening, he was genuinely tired and no longer could tell what was right or wrong.
Xue Junliang wrote an announcement stating that the local officials were required to help repairing the temple, which made it an even bigger and more spectacular event. This way, when Teng Country people saw that Xue Country was repairing the temple for their previous king, they would think that Xue Wang was a king who could still be virtuous and calm even in difficulties and hardship.
After writing the announcement and having people sent it immediately, Xue Junliang heaved a sigh. He still could not wrap his head around this person, Teng Ying.
A person who could plan a war without even moving a single weapon, was also the person who had burned Yunfeng Palace to the ground. Why?
Xue Junliang really could not understand. Even if this person and the Empress somehow had a hatred against each other, why would he listened to Teng Qianyi’s instructions? Why would he kill someone with a fire he lit himself and leave trails that could lead to him being arrested by Xue Houyang?
—
Xue Junliang stared down at the prisoner on the ground and laughed cruelly, “Oh? Gu is overconfident? How confident of you to say Gu is overconfident? You must think you’re so modest. Such a ridiculous, lowly guard like you.”
Teng Yun laughed again and closed his eyes so he didn’t have to look at Xue Junliang. His expression seemed to be disdainful, as if Xue Junliang wasn’t worth looking at.
Xue Junliang said, “What? You’re regretting something?”
Eyes still closed, Teng Yun said weakly, “To die in the hands of an opinionated king like you.. of course I’m feeling regret.”
“Wondeful!” Xue Junliang sneered, “In this whole world, who else can be like me? Me who, presently, is merely one step away from grasping the entire world!”
“But this one step…” Teng Yun’s laugh was cut short as he suddenly coughed blood, “Unfortunately, if you take this one step… You’ll destroy all of your reputation! Xue Junliang, think about it, if Marquis Tengnan leads a rebellion from inside the prison… Instead of grasping the entire world, you’ll be surrounded by enemies left and right. By then, will you be able to protect your land? Will you be able to protect the soldiers and the people who respect you and are willing to risk their lives for you?”
Teng Yun hands clutched his chest as he gasped for breath. Blood was spilling freely from his mouth; soaking into the study room’s wool rug.
Xue Junliang froze, didn’t expect someone like this could say such things. But he was quick to shake away his surprise and said disdainfully, “Anyone can talk big. You’re just saying this only to make me withdraw my soldiers. If you still dare making insults like this, apparently I haven’t tortured you enough!”
Teng Yun felt more blood rose to his throat and he could only struggle to suppress it. His sight had started to dim as he said, “You are not Teng Zhengxuan… You weren’t born at his era. You can only bow down to him…”
[T/N : Teng Zhengxuan was the previous Teng Wang, beloved by his people and was respected by other kings. See Teng Yun first mentioned him in Chapter 43.]
By this point, Teng Yun’s breath had gone so weak. Xue Junliang could only hear a faint whisper, “I have never been afraid of you…”
Somewhere in the end of the prisoner’s sentence, Xue Junliang thought he heard the word ‘arrows’ but he didn’t put much thought of it, because when the prisoner mentioned Teng Zhengxuan’s name, his heart felt like it was crushed under a heavy stone.
Firstly, it reminded him that time the Late Empress told him a lot about Teng Zhengxuan. Secondly, this name was like a reminder that bring to Xue Junliang’s mind the strategies he could do to defeat the oncoming threats.
Xue Junliang looked down and saw the prisoner had fainted. He turned to Jiang Yu and slowly said, “Call the royal physician. If this prisoner died, the entire royal hospital will have to pay for his life.”
Xue Junliang’s tone made Jiang Yu jump with scare. Since Xue Wang started favoring the Empress, he never had to talk using such tone. In fact, Xue Wang’s mannerism had become somewhat warm and humane.
But now, seemed like Xue Wang had gone back to how he used to be: a king who was tyrannical, guarded and full of suspicions. Those characteristics were too commonly found in kings, and Jiang Yu was once again reminded that Xue Wang, unfortunately, was not exempted.
Jiang Yu rushed to the royal hospital without delay, leaving Xue Houyang hesitating at the study room alone. In the end, Xue Houyang called a few palace servants to quickly carry the unconscious prisoner away.
Teng Ying was only a lowly prisoner; one who would soon be executed. It was impossible for him to stay in a king’s resident. Even though Xue Wang insisted he was to be treated by the royal physician, Xue Wang would not tolarate nor pity him. Therefore, Xue Houyang ordered people take the prisoner back to the prison.
[T/N : Teng Ying was a palace guard, originally from Teng Country, and had played big part on killing the Empress. Currently, Teng Yun was inside Teng Ying’s body. See previous chapter.]
Jiang Yu led the royal physicians to the prison to examine the prisoner.
It became clear that Teng Yun’s injuries were quite severe. If it was scraped skin and open wounds, then it was easily treatable. But in addition to those, Teng Yun also had unseen internal injuries. The prison wards wasn’t aware of these internal injuries, they could only see that the prisoner was leaking blood from all over his body.
The royal physicians, of course, knew this person was only a prisoner. Jiang Yu only ordered them not to let him die, which in another word, it was enough as long as the prisoner was breathing. The royal physicians only treated the prisoner’s internal injuries and didn’t even attemp to check the external ones.
—
Teng Yun felt cold. He knew he must be suffering from a fever. He’d been fighting in wars for so many years, he knew what happened when one had many untreated injuries and wounds. But because he was now a prisoner, Teng Yun could ony endure it all silently.
Teng Yun closed his eyes and rested his head against the prison’s damp wall. Before long, he fell asleep.
Teng Yun dreamed that he was back to a few years ago, when he was still fighting with Xue Houyang. Vaguely, he knew he was only dreaming, but could not extricate himself from it.
Everywhere he saw, there were the dead bodies and ruins of cities…
Teng Yun had a hard time drawing breaths and his lower back was in pain. He was wriggling like a caught fish, struggling to get away from the thing causing him pain, when he woke up from his slumber.
Apparently, the one causing him pain was the prison ward beating him and shouting, “Quit pretending to be dead! Wake up!”
Teng Yun immediately opened his eyes, sighing in relief to be free of the bad dreams. His whole body was aching and drained of strength. He was leaning against the corner of the prison. If it wasn’t for the wall supporting him, Teng Yun was sure he would be lying paralyzed on the ground.
The prison ward raised his hand again, ready to beat Teng Yun again, but a voice told him to stop. The voice was so familiar Teng Yun couldn’t stop himself glancing up to see the voice’s owner. A few steps from him, a man stood. It was Xue Houyang.
Xue Houyang frowned with displeasure at the blood on the ground, but he reckoned the prisoner brought this to himself. He turned to the prison ward, “Can he talk?”
The prison ward nodded and bowed at the same time, “Of course, of course. The royal physician had just come and examined him. He’s as lively as a dragon and as strong as a tiger. He’s just opened his eyes, so maybe he wasn’t fully awake yet.”
Teng Yun sneered inwardly. How more awake should he be so people could deem he was awake enough?
Xue Houyang turned to look at the prisoner, wondering what sort of person this former palace guard was. He had talked so rudely to Xue Wang, yet Xue Wang still didn’t kill him and instead ordered the royal physician to examine him.
Teng Yun opened his mouth, barely had enough strength to whisper weakly, “Marquis Wannian, why do you still think so highly of Xue Wang when he is so full of himself?”
Because Teng Yun was so weak, his voice was no louder than a whisper. Xue Houyang could not hear Teng Yun clearly so he asked the prison ward to repeat what the prisoner had said. The prison ward was closer to Teng Yun, he clearly heard what Teng Yun’d said but pretended he didn’t, fearing that repeating Teng Yun’s words would get him executed.
This scene only made Teng Yun laugh.
Xue Houyang noticed the prisoner laughing to himself and deduced that if he could still laugh, it meant he was alive and would not die any time soon. Xue Houyang turned back to the prison ward, “Call the royal physician again to check him properly. Don’t slack off.”
The prison ward readily promised he would do as ordered. Still bowing and nodding, he sent Marquis Wannian out. After some time, he came back inside the prison and snorted coldly, “What bullshit! What does it matter if you die now or die later? Who do you think you are for me to bother keeping you alive!”
Teng Yun closed his eyes again. This wasn’t the first time he was treated this way, he was used to it. When his whole army was defeated and captured, Teng Yun was also treated like this. The only difference was, at that time, he was shot with an arrow. If this time he was to be shot with an arrow again…
Living inside the prison, it was hard to differentiate between day and night. Teng Yun didn’t know how long or how many days had passed when suddenly the prison ward forced a glass of water into Teng Yun, saying Xue Wang was going to interrogate Teng Yun himself.
Teng Yun still had no strength. He was dragged to a room and pushed to the ground.
A few steps away, Xue Junliang stood with his back to him. Teng Yun knew Xue Junliang was aware that he was here, but the man didn’t turn around to look at him, instead saying, “Did the life in prison suit your taste?”
Teng Yun smiled and said, “I have tasted bitter life than this… It was nothing.”
Xue Junliang said, “You still have bones, daring to talk back to Gu.”
“Because I know there’s no reason to kill me.”
“Good for you!” Xue Junliang turned and said, “You said there’s no reason to kill you? You think Gu doesn’t want to skin you alive, doesn’t want to rip off your meat and bones? Gu cannot wait to cut you to pieces, but maybe that kind of death would be too light for you.”
Teng Yun wasn’t affected by the threat and said, “You haven’t kill me, isn’t it because you want me to tell you how to break the enemy forces?”
“What makes you say that?” Xue Junliang stared at the prisoner. Although his body was weak and thin, the prisoner looked right back at Xue Junliang without fear.
“You think Gu would listen to a fool who had dared burning Yunfeng Palace to the ground?”
Teng Yun laughed, knowing it was useless protesting against the accusation. He said, “Xue Wang wants to grasp the entire world, but to tell you the truth, considering the current situation, it’s too ambitious for you want to do that. At the moment, Feng Wang is watching for any slight disagrrement between Xue Country people and seize it to launch an attack. I am very sure you won’t succeed.”
Xue Junliang sneered, “Then do you know ways that will ensure Gu succeed? If you do, let alone sparing you death penalty, Gu can grant you wealth and noble titles.”
Teng Yun laughed over the offers. Xue Junliang said, “You don’t believe it?”
Teng Yun said, “I laughed, not because I don’t believe you. I was laughing at your cold-heartedness. I’ve heard rumors that Xue Wang deeply mourned the Empress’ death. Turns out, the Empress’ life was no more important than seizing the whole world. For Xue Wang, the Empress’ life was meaningless.”
Xue Junliang glared at Teng Yun. He angrily swept his hand on the table, throwing all the things on it off. One of the incense burner slammed on the ground, its lid bounced off and hit Teng Yun on the chest.
Xue Junliang’s fist was shaking but his tone was flat as he said, “You’re so smart. Every body in this whole world is so smart. I am indeed very cold-hearted and indifferent. It was only one Empress died, I still have thousands of other women in my Palace…”
[T/N : The hell! That is the worst thing you can ever say in front of your Empress.]
For the first time since meeting him, Teng Yun couldn’t look at Xue Junliang in the eyes properly. Teng Yun looked away as a strange feeling filled his heart. He could not understand, and didn’t dare exploring what the feeling was. Just the thought of it left him uncomfortable.
Teng Yun tried to shift the topic, “I don’t care about wealth and noble titles. If I succeeded in solving Xue Wang’s current problem, I will only ask permission to leave the Palace.”
Xue Junliang stood straighter, shifting back into his usual demeanor, and said, “Aren’t you so sure of yourself?”
“If I fail, then you will have a new reason to hate me and you can do whatever you want as revenge. Isn’t that right?”
Xue Junliang laughed, as if he liked the idea of having a new reason to hate this prisoner. His laugh, however, sounded quite strange.
“Fine, Gu will do just as you’ve said. Let’s see how much you’ll suffer before you can die.”
Teng Yun said, “Feng Wang is planning to send his soldiers, it’s not impossible he will launch a sneak attack tomorrow. Therefore, this lowly servant requests Your Majesty to assign people to help me.”
“Just say it. Who do you want to help you? Do you want Marquis Wannian? There is no one better than him in this country.”
Teng Yun smiled and said, “This lowly servant doesn’t dare taking over Marquis Wannian. I heard there were Cheng Tian’s former subordinates under Your Majesty. I request those three people, plus one thousand soldiers.”
“Oh… just one thousand soldiers?”
“It’s one thousand and three people.”
Xue Junliang stared at him and said, “Gu still cannot understand. Where does your confident come from?”
Teng Yun said, “I only ask for one thousand and three people, I didn’t say I’m going to defeat you enemy’s army. Even if I was so arrogant, I won’t dare leading one thousand and three people to fight with Feng Wang… I only plan to use these one thousand and three people to conquer Teng Country’s army. A country will have more power when the leader and the people have one same goal and mind. Only then, the country can defeat every enemy.”
“I can lend you those people, but those three men are only loyal to…”
Xue Junliang’s voice trailed off for a moment, before he quickly added, “Those three are only loyal to the Empress, and their temperament quite disagreeable. They won’t be so easy to order around, so don’t complain to me later for lending them to you.”
“I have a way to convince them.”
Xue Junliang ordered someone to call the three He brothers.
[T/N : Three He brothers (He Zhong, He Ren and He Yi) were guards that Teng Yun had helped conquered, were placed under the Empress’ command. See Chapter 38.]
The He brothers were all still mourning, as shown by them wearing complete mourning garments. When they saw Teng Yun, they could only saw Teng Ying and were immediately stiffened in rage. They almost grabbed their swords to try killing Teng Yun but luckily the other Palace guards were quick to held them back.
Without moving from his big chair, Xue Junliang said, “The three of you are Gu‘s most trusted guards. Gu can still remember clearly the day the Empress spoke highly of you…”
At the day he received the news of the Empress’ death, he hadn’t shown signs of tears. But now as he was talking in front of the He brothers, his eyes turned misty and red-rimmed.
The He brothers were reminded of the Empress, and suddenly they started crying.
For a time, silence descended inside the study room as no one spoke. Xue Junliang had paused before continuing, “Gu is without a doubt that the three of you are all still loyal to the Empress. Now, this Teng Ying has boasted that he could conquer Teng Country’s army only with one thousand soldiers. If we kill Teng Ying now, Gu knows it will calm down your thrist for revenge, but he said he won’t die peacefully.”
He Zhong was angry, “He still dares wishing to die in peace?”
Xue Junliang said, “Gu called you here because Gu wants you to follow him and see what he would do. If he couldn’t finish this task, then you can dispose of him as you please.”
Hearing Xue Junliang’s promise, the three brothers swallowed down their anger. Wasn’t it good if they were to handle Teng Ying? Other people might be too soft-hearted.
Watching Xue Junliang’s acting from the side, Teng Yun snorted inwardly. To this day, he still found Xue Junliang’s mind to be unfathomable. One moment, Xue Junliang could appear sad, and the next moment he could appear indifferent. Before today, Teng Yun could have claimed he knew Xue Junliang very well. But now, witnessing Xue Junliang’s cold-heartedness, Teng Yun felt he couldn’t be further from the truth.
Xue Junliang talked a few more minutes, mostly reminiscing about the past and about the Empress. The three He brothers were simple-minded, might not be able to hear the subtle meaning behind Xue Junliang’s speech. But Teng Yun was aware Xue Junliang meant to impress the He brothers, therefore they would be dilligent in watching Teng Yun carefully and not give any chance for Teng Yun to escape.
All the while through the speech, the three He brothers cried again and again. This was the difference between a monarch and a subordinate; not only Xue Junliang’s status superior than the others, his mind was also deeper.
Finally, when everyone left, Xue Junliang sighed. Jiang Yu, who stood by his side the whole time, said, “Your Majesty… do you want to have lunch?”
Xue Junliang didn’t answer immediately. After thinking for a long time, he said, “I have no appetite. Maybe later.”
Jiang Yu said, “Your Majesty, this old servant has been following you for many years. Even though Your Majesty didn’t say anything, this old servant could still see… If Your Majesty is in sorrow, you can pour it all out..”
Xue Junliang raised an eyebrow and smiled, “How come you think Gu is in sorrow? Gu only talks that way for He brothers’ benefit.”
“Your Majesty…” Jiang Yu bowed his head, “Other people don’t know you, they haven’t been following you for decades like this old servant. If I could not know how your feelings, I wouldn’t still be here today…”
Xue Junliang didn’t respond, his eyes were staring at nothing. Then he smiled and said, “I have lost an Empress, have lost a talented companion. I’ve just now learned what it’s like to be in sorrow… I cannot punish Xue Yu, cannot execute Marquis Tengnan. I might be a king, but I’m still nothing compared to Teng Zhengxuan.”
[T/N : Xue Yu was Xue Junliang’s brother who had rebelled and attacked the capital city, indirectly causing the Empress’ death. Marquis Tengnan, previously known as Teng Wang, was Teng Country’s king.]
“Your Majesty, don’t say that,” Jiang Yu said, “Teng Zhengxuan sure was a great man, but he might not be as strong as you. His life path had been smooth and straight. If he were to encounter such big loss like yours, he might not be able to handle it better than you. Your Majesty… this old servant knows that expanding one’s territory is easy, but protecting it is hard.”
Jiang Yu paused before adding, “Your Majesty’s sincere feelings for the Empress… this old servant also knows.”
—
Teng Yun wasn’t thrown back into the prison, instead was quickly granted relase and given one thousand plus three soldiers.
Teng Yun was certain Xue Junliang would never let him go. Him allowing Teng Yun to do this task was just delaying the inevitable. When Teng Yun succeeded in forcing the enemy away, Xue Junliang could easily be back hating Teng Yun and eventually executing Teng Yun as a criminal.
But Teng Yun himself could not back down from this. If he didn’t do something, by the time Feng Ming launched an attack, both Feng Ming and Xue Junliang would both suffer a great deal.
Teng Yun had once led soldiers. He had seen many soldiers’ corpses covering the ground. He could not sit still knowing a great number of Feng and Xue soldiers would die.
Also, now there was no more a Teng Wang. Teng Wang had become a Marquis Tengnan. Teng Yun thought back to a time when his loyalty had been only for his own father and that it had shifted. Now, he was doing what he could to save Xue Junliang’s life…
The soldiers assigned to Teng Yun didn’t want to accept Teng Yun’s authority and orders. But Teng Yun wasn’t concerned about people respecting or admiring him in this body. Teng Yun knew what sort of person Teng Ying was; he was a boot-licker with no valuable talent. If Teng Yun wanted something, working industriously was the only to achieve it.
Also, it wasn’t that Teng Yun wanted these soldiers to go to the battlefield, therefore it didn’t matter if the soldiers didn’t respect him. Instead, Teng Yun gathered everyone and went to Teng Country to repair a temple.
Hearing the order, the soldiers balked. They were all well-trained and talented soldiers of the capital city, how come they have to repair a temple? This task was simply beneath them and humiliating.
Only because of His Majesty’s decree, these soldiers didn’t have other option than obeying Teng Yun’s words.
—
That day, when Xue Junliang heard Teng Ying saying, “You are not Teng Zhengxuan… You weren’t born at his era. You can only bow down to him…” These speech was like a slap in the face and secretly, Xue Junliang was stunned by this guard’s clever mind. Solely because of these words, Xue Junliang was reminded of a plan he could use to defend against upcoming enemies.
Hearing that Teng Ying wanted his one thousand soldiers to repair a temple, Xue Junliang was even more certain this person was not an idiot.
Teng Ying was right, Xue Junliang was not Teng Zhengxuan. If Xue Junliang wanted Teng Country people to submit to him, he had to defer to Teng Zhengxuan.
Teng Zhengxuan was the most beloved king of Teng, and if Xue Junliang was willing to send people to repair Teng Zhengxuan’s temple, Teng Country pople’s hearts would be moved.
Teng people knew well that Teng Wang was cruel and ruthless. In the past few years, Teng Wang had angered many people and his conduct had passed his people’s patience. If at this time, Xue Junliang showed them a virtuous gesture, the people and the soldiers would readily accepted Xue Junliang.
That was exactly what Teng Yun wanted; one thousand well-trained Xue Country soldiers to repair a temple, added with Xue Junliang’s imperial edict. There was no need for the fuss over going to war, no need alarming the commoners. This way, maybe then the people would be grateful and interested in joining the army, therefore expanding and strengthening it.
No wonder Teng Yun was so sure of his success.
Teng Yun didn’t waste any time in fear of Feng Wang attacking them any day. Even though Teng Yun’s body was still weak and in pain, he ordered the soldiers to start immediately.
Teng Yun wanted this task to be completed as early as possible so he could hurry get away from here. Teng Yun had had enough of things happening, he was genuinely tired and no longer could tell what was right or wrong.
Xue Junliang wrote an announcement stating that the local officials were required to help repairing the temple, which made it an even bigger and more spectacular event. This way, when Teng Country people saw that Xue Country was repairing the temple for their previous king, they would think that Xue Wang was a king who could still be virtuous and calm even in difficulties and hardship.
After writing the announcement and having people sent it immediately, Xue Junliang heaved a sigh. He still could not wrap his head around this person, Teng Ying.
A person who could plan a war without even moving a single weapon, was also the person who had burned Yunfeng Palace to the ground. Why?
Xue Junliang really could not understand. Even if this person and the Empress somehow had a hatred against each other, why would he listened to Teng Qianyi’s instructions? Why would he kill someone with a fire he lit himself and leave trails that could lead to him being arrested by Xue Houyang?
