Chapter 3: All Affection Spent

  Lichang River is the emperor of a distant country, and he is Li Qingyi's monarch. Ji Qingshen is Li Qingyi's student, and they have had a teacher-student relationship for ten years. Just as Emperor Lichang and Ji Qingshen were glaring at each other, with their words clashing, Li Qingyi was somewhat embarrassed. He didn't know who to help or how to mediate between the two, so he simply closed his eyes slightly and remained silent.

  "Your Majesty - just now Princess Anle sent someone to say that she wants to tell you something!" Suddenly, at this moment, the voice of Zhao Gao, an imperial attendant, came from outside the carriage.

  "Speak!" The Emperor of the Departed Country roared impatiently.

  "Fang'er, your servant, has seen Your Majesty! The princess told me to tell you, don't forget the promise you made with her!" The maid outside the carriage said in a low voice.

  "Xu'er——" Ji Qingchen heard the words passed on by the maid from Princess Anle, his body trembled slightly, and he was somewhat moved.

  "Hmph!" The Emperor of Li Guo gazed coldly at Ji Qingchen for a moment before withdrawing his gaze. In his mind, he recalled the words of his sister, Princess Anle, when they were leaving the city: "Brother, I've never asked you for anything since I was little, so this time, please let Qingchen go back."

  Thinking of this, the emperor's face turned cold as he silently stared at Ji Qingchen.

  After a long time, he said with some helplessness, "Brother Ji, if it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have been able to ascend to the throne today and become the Emperor of Li Guo. Since we had an agreement before, I will definitely keep my promise and won't go back on my word."

  The Emperor of Li Guo said, and then shifted his gaze to Ji Qingchen, "However, Brother Ji, I am sincere in wanting you to stay in Li Guo. If Brother Ji stays in Li Guo and joins forces with me, we will be united in our hearts and can unify the world within twenty years. Brother Ji, as long as you stay, I am willing to grant you the title of Prince and appoint you as the Great General of Li Guo."

  Because she thought of Princess Anle's past, Ji Qingchen's expression was a bit dazed. To the young emperor of the distant country who had promised temptation, she only slightly shook her head.

  The Emperor of Li Guo gave Ji Qingchen a fierce glance, and the dark clouds in his eyes flashed by. His voice was icy cold as he said, "Since that's the case, Brother Ji, we'll part ways for today. If we meet again someday, I hope it will be under the city walls of Da Yan."

  Ji Qingchen's body shook when she heard the words of the Emperor of Li Guo.

  Suddenly, his gaze was fixed on the face of the Emperor of Li Guo, quietly staring at this former friend.

  After a long while, he calmly replied, "Your Majesty, Qing Chen will definitely set up a seat in the Taiji Temple of Great Yan to respectfully await Your Majesty's arrival!"

  "Hmph" The Emperor of Li Guo let out a cold snort and remained silent with an iron face.

  At this point, Ji Qingchen knew that the friendship between him and the Emperor of Li Guo had come to an end. He didn't linger any longer and instead turned to Li Qingyi beside him, "thud" sounded as he knelt on the ground, knocking his head three times with a "dang dang dang".

  Just now when he walked into the carriage, facing the emperor who was leaving the country, he only bowed and saluted, without kneeling. But this time, bidding farewell to his own teacher, he actually paid such great respects. Li Qingyi's eyes became somewhat moist.

  The face of the crown prince who was away from his country turned a bit pale, and a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.

  "Today we part ways, I don't know when I'll be able to see you again, Teacher. Please forgive me for being an unfilial disciple and not being able to stay by your side. Also, please take good care of your health!" Ji Qingchen said sincerely after bowing his head.

  Having said that, he immediately stood up and left the carriage with big strides.

  "Ah!" Seeing his disciple walking away with big strides, Li Qingyi couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

  As Ji Qingchen left the carriage, the young emperor suddenly turned serious and asked Li Qingyi, "Li Ai, if I had ordered you to behead Ji Qingchen just now, what would you have done?"

  "I dare not decline, Your Majesty! I am duty-bound to do so!" Li Qingyi seemed to have anticipated the Emperor's inquiry and responded without hesitation.

  "Ah——" The young emperor of the Li family didn't expect Li Qingyi to answer so bluntly, and looked at her with some curiosity. ?? Imperial Domination 3

  "Then I will cut my throat with a horizontal knife!" Li Qingyi continued to add.

  "Why?" The Emperor of the Departed Kingdom exclaimed in surprise.

  "Your Majesty's order is clear, but as a loyal minister, I must consider the greater good of the nation and cannot spare Ji Qingchen's life. However, Ji Qingchen is my disciple, and we share a bond of master and student; if I were to kill him without cause, the only way to atone for this would be to take my own life with a horizontal sword." Li Qingyi said with righteous indignation.

  "Good! Good! Li Qing's loyalty to the country is truly admirable, I am very pleased. Haha, fortunately, I didn't give such an order to Li Qing earlier, or wouldn't that have diminished my Divine Army of Departed Nation?" The Emperor of Departed Nation was very satisfied with Li Qingyi's answer and laughed heartily.

  "Your Majesty, even if the country loses an old minister like me, as long as you can work hard and strive for self-improvement, govern with integrity, it will not take twenty years for the country to unify the world. But if Great Yan loses Ji Qingchen, Your Majesty wants to unify the world, I'm afraid it won't be just a matter of twenty years." Li Qingyi said thoughtfully.

  "What's this?" The Emperor of Li Guo was startled. "Li Qing, what does this mean?"

  "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Great Yan is a rare and powerful leader. His sons cannot be ordinary people either. Now, the imperial court of Great Yan is surging with undercurrents, each prince fighting for the throne to the point of no return. At this time, Ji Qingchen returns to Yan, with his abilities, the situation in the imperial court may become even more chaotic! As long as the internal struggle in Yan continues, it will be difficult to implement policies, and after decades, when Yan's national strength declines, Your Majesty can lead the army southward again, won't it be easier?" Li Qingyi explained.

  "Ji Qingchen has been away from the State of Yan for ten years, and his mother is not a woman from a noble family. How many people will support him this time he returns to the country? Can he surpass the numerous princes who have been in power for decades?" The exiled prince was somewhat skeptical of Li Qingyi's words.

  "Your Majesty, Ji Qingchen doesn't need anyone's support to return home. He only needs the support of the Great Yan Emperor!" Li Qingyi said.

  "The Great Yan Emperor will support him, why must he be sent away as a hostage? And besides, one wait is already ten years." The young prince of Li Guo said doubtfully.

  "Yes! It's precisely because the Emperor of Great Yan has high hopes for Ji Qingchen that he was sent to another country as a hostage." Li Qingyi said, "Ten years ago, in the Battle of Yanmen Pass, Great Yan's army of 100,000 was defeated, and the Crown Prince died. This forced Great Yan to send hostages to various countries to demonstrate its sincerity in negotiating peace talks. However, I have carefully analyzed all the details of the Battle of Yanmen Pass and found that there were many suspicious circumstances surrounding Great Yan's defeat. If I can analyze these problems, how could the wise Emperor of Great Yan not see them?"

  "You're saying that ten years ago, the Crown Prince of Great Yan, Ji Chengqian, died in battle at Swan Pass, and it was a result of the struggle for the throne? Because the Emperor of Great Yan suspected that the Crown Prince's death was not as simple as it seemed, he wanted to prevent Ji Qingchen from following in his footsteps, so he sent him away as a hostage to a foreign country?" The prince of Li Guo was shocked.

  "Right! The Great Yan Emperor has made a wonderful move! Let Ji Qingchen be a hostage in a foreign country for ten years, waiting safely until he grows up, and then bring him back to the State of Yan, letting him smoothly ascend to the throne!" Li Qingyi sighed, "I'm afraid that under the sky, only the Great Yan Emperor, such a powerful ruler, would think of using this method to protect his chosen successor to the throne!"

  "But isn't he afraid that Ji Qingchen will die in a foreign land?" Emperor Liguó asked.

  "The old minister wants to ask Your Majesty a question. As long as the Great Yan Emperor is still on the throne for one day, do you dare to kill Ji Qingchen?" Li Qingyi asked.

  "This...," the Emperor thought for a long time before slowly saying, "I can only put him under house arrest, I truly dare not kill him."

  "Since Your Majesty doesn't kill him, what is the Great Yan Emperor afraid of?" Li Qingyi said with a smile.

  "Was it because of this reason that Li Qing accepted Ji Qingchen as his disciple ten years ago, despite the opposition from all officials, and even taught him the art of war and the Li family's secret technique, the Blood Battle Ten Forms?" The Emperor of Ligu asked curiously.

  "For over a hundred years, the Great Yan Empire has experienced many upheavals, yet it still stands tall. This already proves that if our country wants to destroy the Great Yan, relying solely on military might will not be enough. The only effective way is to let the internal conflicts of the Great Yan never cease, letting them mutually slaughter each other, and then we can take advantage of their weakness and destroy the Great Yan in one fell swoop. And cultivating a Ji Qingchen would be like planting a seed of chaos within the Great Yan, why wouldn't we do it?" Li Qingyi said calmly.

  "Moreover, even if I didn't accept him as my disciple, could the Emperor of the Great Yan possibly neglect the education of his own crown prince? He has already secretly dispatched several people to teach Ji Qingchen poetry, strategy, and martial arts. My accepting him as a disciple is merely adding flowers to the brocade."

  "Li Qing said that the Emperor of Great Yan sent someone to teach Ji Qingchen the art of war and martial arts for ten years?" The Emperor of Ligu asked in surprise.

  "Indeed! Otherwise, Your Majesty would think that Ji Qingchen had the talent and strategy to have today's ability, to have single-handedly broken through the enemy camp two years ago when facing the Western Meng cavalry, and with one swing of his iron spear, beheaded the enemy general?" Li Qingyi said calmly. "This old minister's knife skills are exquisite, but he is ignorant of horse spears. Nowadays, there are not many people in the world who can practice horse spears to the point of being unmatched. This noble weapon has long been abandoned due to its high cost and the need for strong willpower from martial artists. Now, only the White family, who followed the Great Ancestor of Yan during the founding of Yan, still maintains the excellent tradition of teaching their children to practice horse spears."

  The Emperor of the Departed Country was no longer speaking, only a long silence, because what he wanted to ask Li Qingyi had already been made very clear.

  "However, the late emperor knew about these things and it was he who instructed me to do so. It's just that his passing was too sudden and he didn't have time to inform Your Majesty, which is why you were kept in the dark." Li Qingyi explained, knowing what the Emperor was thinking.

  "Haha——" The Emperor of the Departed Country suddenly burst out laughing after hearing this, and said with a bit of longing, "Now that Li Qing has put it this way, I'm really looking forward to it! I wonder what kind of earth-shaking feat this friend, who has been acquainted for ten years, can achieve in Great Yan!"