The Emperor and the Earl of North Border picked up their wine bowls, clinking them together. The Earl of North Border lowered the rim of his bowl, and the Emperor did the sa, their bowls eting levelly with a CLINK. Then they drained their bowls in one go and, together, ungraciously wiped their lips with their sleeves.
"On Shulan’s fiftieth birthday, I couldn’t let you be by her side. When you see her, who knows how she’ll scold ."
"Ha, Shulan is virtuous. She would understand."
"Of course I know how virtuous she is!"
After two large bowls of wine, Ji Runhao’s mood had clearly lifted, and he continued, "If it weren’t for your shalessness back then, how could Shulan have ended up with you in the north, enduring sandstorms for more than half her life?"
"Get lost! Shulan made no mistake being with . In my entire life, Shulan is the only woman I’ve had. What about you?"
"I did that to ensure the continuation of the imperial line, for the future of the Ji Family! I was forced to, I was..."
"Oh, please. Don’t try to make yourself sound so noble and helpless."
"..." Ji Runhao.
"AAAAARGH!"
Ji Runhao yelled, then grabbed the wine jar and started pouring wine for himself. Then, he slamd the jar onto the table and, pointing at the Earl of North Border, cursed, "You bastard! You always deliberately bring up Shulan in front of to twist the knife!"
"Now, Ji Runhao, don’t go throwing around accusations after a bit of swill! Damn it, who was it that brought up Shulan first this ti, huh?"
"It was you! It was you! It was definitely you!"
"..." the Earl of North Border.
"Still, Qian’er really does look so much like Shulan. Exactly like Shulan when she was young."
The Earl of North Border shot to his feet, pointed at Ji Runhao, and cursed, "You shaless old dog! Is that any way for a father-in-law to talk about his daughter-in-law?"
"Pah! Qian’er is *my* daughter-in-law! My son is marrying your daughter, and I’m thrilled! Absolutely thrilled! In the future, Qian’er’s children will take the Ji surna, not Li!"
"Don’t think I’m ignorant of those unsavory imperial family customs! Heaven knows there’s been no shortage of them throughout history!"
"Damn it! I won’t let you get one over on like that! You wish I’d call you ’Father’!"
"Call what?"
"..." Ji Runhao.
Ji Runhao bit back his words.
The Earl of North Border sat down, sowhat disappointed.
"To be honest, I really don’t want my Qian’er marrying into the imperial family."
"As long as Qian’er bears an imperial grandson, I will designate him as the Imperial Grandson and Heir. If I live long enough to see him co of age, I can have him succeed directly to the throne!"
"Sigh, I’m not worried about my Qian’er being bullied in the palace."
"Then what are you worried about?"
"I’m worried that after you pass away, your Ji Family will be bullied by Qian’er."
"..." Ji Runhao.
"Your second son, well, he’s an honest fellow. Maybe not *that* honest, but even if he isn’t, among your children, he’s the most honest one. Qian’er, like Shulan in her youth, is naturally intelligent and sharp-witted. But unlike her mother, she grew up by my side, killing Barbarians. If—and I an, if—that day ever cos... you’re gone, your second son takes the throne, and then your second son is also gone..."
"..." Ji Runhao.
"TSK TSK. Your Ji Family’s princes and nobles... don’t let Qian’er slaughter them until only a few are left. If it truly cos to that, and we’re drinking together in the netherworld, I’d feel a bit sorry for you."
Hearing this, Ji Runhao wasn’t angry in the slightest. He said directly, "Those good-for-nothings in the Royal Family are just a waste of food, living wastes of grain! I can’t kill them, but if Qian’er does, then good! Good riddance!"
"You really are taking this well."
"Haha! I chose my second son as the future Crown Prince. You think I don’t know his character? I chose Qian’er as the Crown Princess. You think I don’t know what Qian’er is..."
"What is she?"
"...what kind of upbringing she’s had."
"What’s wrong with the Li Family’s upbringing?!"
"I didn’t say anything was wrong. You’re the one bristling. Look at you, feeling guilty already."
"I am not!"
"You are."
"I am not!"
"You totally are!"
"Alright, I am."
"That’s more like it. We can both live another ten, twenty years, right? That shouldn’t be a problem. Once the two of us have finished what we truly set out to do, for Yan, for our Yan people, we will conquer a vast territory! For our children and grandchildren, we will establish a grand legacy! As long as the family and its enterprises are vast enough, we won’t need to fear them causing trouble! Taking it a step further, even if Qian’er truly wants to wear the crown, to be the Empress of our Yan, then so be it! The child in her belly is still my own imperial grandson. If she wants to rule, let her. In the end, when she’s had her fill, when she’s old and tired of it, ready to rest, won’t she have to return the power to my imperial grandson?"
Saying this, Ji Runhao reached out and grasped the Earl of North Border’s hand. The Yan Emperor’s eyes were completely bloodshot.
"There’s truly nothing I can’t look past, nothing I can’t relinquish. The only thing I cannot let go of... is just one thing! For hundreds of years! Hundreds of years! Our Yan people have defended the entire East from the Barbarians for hundreds of years! If not for our Yan people, dying generation after generation in the desolate lands, if they had to rely on those good-for-nothings from the three states, they would have long been enslaved by the Barbarians! But even so, they still call our Yan people ’barbaric’! Do you know? In their eyes, our Yan people and the Barbarians are the sa! All wild people! All uncivilized savages!"
Hearing this, the Earl of North Border let Ji Runhao grip his hand. He closed his eyes, nodded, and said, "Yes. Yes, it is."
"I will never forget! A hundred years ago, the Barbarian grand army marched south for a decisive battle with our Yan! And that Emperor of the Qian State—he actually dared to lead an army of five hundred thousand to launch a sneak attack on Yan’s vulnerable rear!"
Hearing this, the Earl of North Border also clenched his teeth. His family, the lineage of the Earls of North Border, had laid its foundation by crushing that half-million-strong army of the Qian State!
"Liangting, do you rember what we said when we were boys?"
The Earl of North Border nodded, replying, "I rember."
「Back then,」
Two ten-year-old boys had just fought over a chicken leg. Ten-year-old Li Liangting was savoring the chicken leg, while ten-year-old Ji Runhao watched enviously, his face bruised and swollen from the thrashing.
After a mont, Ji Runhao spoke up, "I’ve heard outsiders say that the Qian State people call us Yan people ’Yan Barbarians,’ just as we refer to the Barbarians."
"Mm, I’ve heard that too."
"They can call us barbarians. Fine. But when I beco Emperor, I’ll show them just how terrifying true barbarians can be! I’ll have their emperor and their princesses all dragged to the capital, locked up in pigsties! I’ll make them dance for , sing for , compose poems and verses for ! I will crush everything they hold dear, everything they’re so proud of, under my heel!"
"Too bad I can’t beco Emperor," ten-year-old Li Liangting, who had just finished his chicken leg, said fearlessly.
"Then you’re useless. People call you a barbarian, and you can’t even talk back!" ten-year-old Ji Runhao, still smarting from his beating, retorted mockingly.
Ten-year-old Li Liangting, still licking the grease from the corners of his mouth and savoring the taste of the chicken leg, heard this. He smacked his lips, a little indignant, and racked his brains for a coback. Thinking and thinking, he finally seed to hit on an idea and said, "My family commands an army of three hundred thousand."
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