Chapter 47: The Root
Chapter 47: The Root
After speaking, it seemed he felt he had lost composure, so he forcefully explained, “My father said I must bring that rebellious third son to him personally, to ask him face-to-face what exactly he wanted to do?”
Sun Qingbo smiled. “I’m not afraid of them running; I’m afraid they won’t run. And don’t worry, they can’t escape.”
As he spoke, he looked at Qian Luoying. “Elder Qian, what do you think…”
“Have someone show me the way,” Qian Luoying said calmly. “With me here, whoever you want to capture cannot escape.”
Sun Qingbo laughed heartily, giving a thumbs-up. Then he said, “By the way, there’s also this person. If Elder Qian sees him, don’t let him escape. If possible, just kill him directly. We will definitely offer a reward that satisfies Elder Qian.”
As he spoke, he took a photo from a file and handed it to Qian Luoying.
In the photo, a handsome young man was throwing away his graduation cap…
The girl in red, Mo Yunwu, leaned over and exclaimed, “Wow, this person is so handsome! Why kill him?”
Qian Luoying glared at her and whispered, “Shut up!”
“Oh,” Mo Yunwu pouted and stepped aside, muttering softly, “So good-looking, clearly a good person. Why kill him…”
Then she caught the gloating expression in Jiang Yuntong’s eyes nearby and immediately glared.
Jiang Yuntong immediately shrank his neck, turned his head, and pretended nothing had happened, like a puppy bullied by a cat.
In Gu Tong’s small villa.
A group of people walked along an underground passage. After about twenty-something minutes, they reached an exit.
After coming out, they were inside a very ordinary old-fashioned office building.
Then the four exited from the back of the office building and got into an ordinary commercial vehicle already waiting there.
The commercial vehicle soon merged into traffic, heading out of the city.
The driver was a taciturn young man who did not say a word the entire time.
By now, Ling Yi couldn’t be bothered to ask exactly what had happened. He leaned back in his seat, watching the night scenery of the Capital City through the car window.
The car hadn’t gone far when the Enchantress reminded Ling Yi in his mind, “Someone is following us.”
Ling Yi said to Gu Tong, “We’ve been spotted.”
Gu Tong nodded. “It doesn’t matter, it’s our own people.”
It seemed they were really prepared.
But Gu Tong then said, “Still, we must be ready for a fight. After leaving the city, there might be a fierce battle at any time.”
Ling Yi was startled.
Qin Hao said from the side, “This is the Capital City. They don’t want to cause too much commotion in the city, so they are forcing us to leave.”
“If we don’t leave the city, the outcome will definitely be worse. Leaving temporarily for the city outskirts still offers a slim chance of survival,” Gu Tong said.
Then, Gu Tong looked at Li Qianxue sitting with him in the back row and whispered, “Why are you putting yourself through this?”
Li Qianxue glanced at him and smiled. “It’s alright. I’m willing.”
Gu Tong helplessly closed his mouth.
You’re willing, but I’m not!
What kind of mess is this?
Going on a blind date, and the match turned out to be his childhood shadow. Who would have thought she still hadn’t grown up at all!
As soon as she saw him, she stuck to him, following without hesitation even though she clearly knew what they might face.
Things happened suddenly. By the time he got the news, the situation was already urgent. Li Qianxue’s attitude was especially firm; he couldn’t even drive her away.
“Qianxue, have you really thought it through? This might be a point of no return,” Qin Hao, sitting on the right side of the second row, suddenly spoke.
“It’s fine. I’ve loved adventure since I was little, and I’ve long grown tired of following the rules. Besides, hasn’t my family been urging me to get married? Now they finally don’t have to urge me; let them worry themselves to death. Worst case, I’ll just say you guys kidnapped me, hehehehe!”
Li Qianxue laughed like a goose.
Ling Yi, sitting in front, felt a dark line appear on his forehead. Was this girl a chuuni?
Was this adventure?
This was escaping, alright!
At that moment, Ling Yi received a message on his phone from Sister Zhao. It only said one sentence—
Done. Contact me when you arrive.
A faint smile appeared on Ling Yi’s lips.
Because it was rush hour at night, the car was stuck in traffic, moving slowly.
Ling Yi suddenly laughed. “If they attack us at a time like this, don’t you think we’d be pretty unlucky? All that careful preparation, delayed by a traffic jam…”
Qin Hao smiled. “It’s fine. Unless they dare to use helicopters in the city, they’d be stuck too.”
Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi. “Let me explain the situation to you now, brother. Don’t blame me for dragging you into this. Those bastards seized this opportunity and will definitely try to finish us off. It’s not just about getting expelled.”
Qin Hao shook his head. “It might not be that serious. You really shouldn’t have called Ninth Brother.”
Gu Tong retorted, “Qin Hao, you were born into the royal family; you shouldn’t be that naive, should you? Who do you think they’ll let go?”
Qin Hao fell silent.
Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi. “It all starts with Principal Shen’s death.”
“That was a conspiracy.”
“Principal Shen was betrayed and then ambushed by Lu Qingming and his people at Black Mountain.”
Ling Yi nodded. Of course he knew about that!
It was a hatred etched into his bones!
With just a single thought, it would clearly appear in his mind.
Why did he curse when he saw Zhao Tianping?
It really wasn’t for recording evidence.
That stuff would only be useful after Zhao Tianping fell from power.
Seeing that face, he truly couldn’t control himself.
If he wasn’t sure he could succeed, he might have even wanted to kill that beast in human skin on the spot!
“The struggle between the Military and those academy surrender factions has actually been going on for many years.”
Gu Tong sighed softly.
“It started not long after spiritual energy began to flow in.”
“Before that, because human lifespans were short, people didn’t have too many schemes. Even the surrender factions had some sense of national sentiment. They were also afraid of being condemned after death.”
“But as spiritual energy flowed in and human lifespans grew longer, some people’s selfishness became heavier and heavier.”
“In the eyes of those beasts, whether the country perished or not didn’t matter at all. As long as their fundamental interests weren’t harmed, they could accept any conditions.”
“Evolving to this day, this extreme selfishness has almost become completely open.”
“Under the banner of peace, they commit treasonous acts. They can’t wait for our Great Qin to be divided by the other six countries, so they can go beg for scraps from their masters.”
“When the Monarch was young, he also worked hard to govern, wanting to recapture Eastern Sea City and regain our maritime passage.”
“Though it was hard, though there was bloodshed and sacrifice, that was also the most comfortable period for our Great Qin Military.”
“Because back then, our backs were straight!”
“No matter if it was Zhao Country or Chu State, if they didn’t submit, we’d fight!”
“As time went by, after several battle losses, and with powerful martial arts cultivators emerging from surrounding nations, along with the increasing opposition voices… ‘militarism and warmongering’ became the slogan those scoundrels used to launch their attacks.”
Gu Tong sighed and said, “It wasn’t until Principal Shen seized an opportunity, resolutely giving up his military career to enter Zongwu Academy, pushing through reforms under immense pressure, that our Military finally gained some high-quality fresh blood and got twenty years of breathing room.”
“If only it could have stayed that way… But alas, good people don’t live long. Principal Shen was betrayed by villains, severely wounded, and passed away…”
“If Principal Shen were still here, with him guarding Zongwu, those villains certainly wouldn’t dare to jump out so quickly.”
“Now that Principal Shen is gone, they immediately grew restless. You probably know most of what happened next, and you were even involved in it.”
Gu Tong looked at Ling Yi. “But what you may not know is that Qin Hao put in a lot of effort behind the scenes for your sake…”
Qin Hao said, “My efforts weren’t just for Ninth Brother.”
Gu Tong replied, “I know, no need to emphasize. Ling Yi understands you too.”
Qin Hao forced a bitter smile and closed his mouth.
Gu Tong continued, “The soldiers of our Great Qin still have backbone. Naturally, they hope someone who can also stand tall will control Great Qin’s future direction! Not hand it over to those spineless people and watch it grow weaker day by day.”
Hearing this, Ling Yi looked at Gu Tong and said, “Did someone accuse Qin Hao of overreaching?”
Gu Tong nodded. “Smart.”
Ling Yi leaned back in his seat, thinking to himself, “Smart, my foot.” Learning from history was enough.
Crown princes interfering in governance—this was a sensitive issue in every dynasty throughout history!
The actual situation was—
If the crown prince did nothing, people said he was talentless and incompetent, unworthy of his position.
If he interfered too much, then he was overreaching!
Then they would question: What are you trying to do?
The Aged Monarch is still on the throne, are you that impatient?
One big accusation after another would rain down, few could withstand it.
Gu Tong said, “That group fabricated a pile of charges. You might think the accusations you faced back at Zongwu Academy were outrageous, right? Let me tell you, the charges against Qin Hao are even more exaggerated! I guarantee you’ll want to laugh when you hear them!”
Ling Yi thought for a moment. “Let me guess. First, colluding with the military, interfering with the Four Great Legions and the Military Headquarters?”
Gu Tong nodded.
Ling Yi continued, “Second, probably inciting young students at Zongwu Academy to join the military, disrupting the academy’s normal order?”
Gu Tong nodded again and gave a thumbs up, smiling. “These things, well, they weren’t exactly false accusations, but they were still accusations. Because Qin Hao reported all these actions to the Monarch before doing them.”
“Reported them?” Ling Yi looked at Qin Hao beside him in surprise.
Qin Hao smiled bitterly. “Did you really think I was that bold, making decisions on a whim? For many things, of course I had to seek my father’s opinions and advice.”
Ling Yi frowned slightly but said nothing.
Gu Tong behind him said calmly, “We’re all on the same side, nothing can’t be said. The Aged Monarch’s health… has been very poor. Many things are beyond his control as well.”
Ling Yi understood.
“Very poor” meant that often, he might not be fully lucid, maybe even a bit confused.
It also meant those who were constantly around the Aged Monarch had countless chances to spread slander… or even forge edicts.
In recent years, the Aged Monarch had been attended by a top medical team, including Old Man Chen who had been staying in the palace lately. But the situation still wasn’t very optimistic.
Actually, given current medical conditions and some elixirs from the cultivation world, the Aged Monarch’s health shouldn’t have deteriorated this far.
It was mainly due to the many hidden injuries his body sustained from fighting on the front lines alongside people like Shen Xiaowu and General Zhang when he was young.
Why did everyone say the Aged Monarch was formidable in his youth?
As the ruler of a nation, he dared to draw his sword and charge at the front during battles!
If you didn’t know his identity, you’d think he was just a fierce general of Great Qin.
If you told today’s youth about this, few would believe it.
Ultimately, failing to reclaim Eastern Sea City wasn’t due to military failure.
It was just that Great Chu produced too many martial arts geniuses during those years.
There were a whole group of exceptionally talented experts like Lu Qingming in Great Chu back then!
Gu Tong said, “Qin Hao did report these matters to the Monarch and received approval. But once the Aged Monarch can no longer speak out, if others insist it never happened…”
Ling Yi said, “Then it never happened.”
Gu Tong nodded. “Besides that, there were many other charges—those unspeakable slanders—better not mention them.”
Ling Yi thought for a moment and asked, “Was it because today at Zongwu Academy, a large number of students chose to withdraw and join the military that…”
Gu Tong said, “Yes, that incident was the final trigger. If the other side didn’t act now, we might have turned things around soon!”
Qin Hao sighed. “It was still a bit too hasty, but we couldn’t wait.”
Gu Tong nodded. “Time waits for no one!”
Indeed, if possible, as the crown prince of a nation, Qin Hao had no need to interfere in these affairs so early.
He could have just waited quietly until the day he took over the country.
But the problem was, you understood this logic, and so did the other side!
How could they allow Qin Hao to ascend smoothly?
And so, a persecution targeting Great Qin’s Crown Prince began.
The methods didn’t seem sophisticated at all.
To ordinary people, it might even seem unbelievable.
But its bloodiness and cruelty were also beyond what ordinary people could ever imagine.
The car was finally about to leave the city. The driver didn’t take the highway but turned onto a small road.
Qin Hao sighed softly. “Maybe the news will broadcast something about this tomorrow, maybe not. Even if they do, it’ll just be a few vague remarks. People might not even feel much about it.”
Gu Tong said, “It doesn’t matter. Our foundation is still there. Those who support you are still here!”
“As long as we weather this storm, as long as the Aged Monarch… can hold on a little longer, we will definitely still have a chance!”
As long as the Aged Monarch chose to pass the throne to Qin Hao before his death, then everything those people did today would still be useless!
But would that day truly come?
Would those people allow that day to arrive?
The few people in this car actually weren’t sure either.