Chapter 56 My Heart Is Not Stone "Is His Majesty tempted by the big wolfhound?"...

Chapter 56 My Heart Is Not Stone "Is His Majesty tempted by the big wolfhound?"...

Xie Qianli was filled with confusion, but he knew that misunderstandings should be resolved rather than perpetuated. He immediately suppressed his thoughts, picked up the Danxin Stone Pendant, and presented it to the emperor with both hands.

Xie Qianli said loudly, "This does not belong to the princess! This is a pebble that I picked up from the riverbank on my way back. The stone is round and pleasing, and it is in this shape without being carved. I asked a craftsman to decorate it a little, and I have specially come to present it to Your Majesty!"

"Dedicated to...the Emperor?"

Since the Qin Dynasty's national strength rebounded, Ying Xi has been receiving rare and precious tributes from all over the country.

He didn't like those treasures, but they always gave them to him.

Only a very small number of people understand that what truly makes someone like them doesn't have to be of high value, but rather needs to be quite quirky and interesting.

Ying Xi accepted the Danxin Stone Pendant.

The pebbles felt warm to the touch, still warm from Xie Qianli's body heat. The vermilion stones lay in Ying Xi's palm, contrasting beautifully with her snow-white skin.

The bright yellow tassels hang softly, the tassels are brand new, and there is still some stone powder that has not been wiped clean where the stone was drilled.

It was indeed newly made; Xie Qianli had not deceived anyone.

It could only be for himself, because Hua Chao was not in the city recently; he had already hidden away from that barbarian king and gone to the outskirts for a stroll.

The heart-shaped stone, warmed by its own heat, gently soothed Ying Xi's inexplicable anxieties, causing him to slightly arch his dark gray eyebrows and lift the cord of the Danxin Stone Pendant with his index finger.

The stone swayed in front of Xie Qianli's forehead.

Xie Qianli looked up and felt that every tassel tickled his throat, making it dry and tight.

He felt deeply ashamed and hung his head, refusing to look.

Ying Xi pressed further, "You're always out there working so hard, why are you giving me gifts?"

Xie Qianli's ears burned fiercely in the sunlight!

His ears burned, his throat tightened, and he managed to find an excuse: "This is the Loyal Heart Stone. This time, we went out to recruit and suppress bandits, and the people trust the court even more. The country is on the rise, people yearn for stability, and the Qin Dynasty will prosper even more. Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and I am willing to be your trusted minister."

He seemed to hear Ying Xi chuckle softly.

Whether Ying Xi believes it or not.

Having already spoken, Xie Qianli had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue, his voice gradually becoming calmer: "That's the first point, the second..."

"Is there a second one?" Yingxi asked.

Xie Qianli said, "The situation in the court is still not optimistic. Li Yilong has seized control of various counties in Yangzhou and is also expanding his power while suppressing rebellions in the north. Not to mention the Xiongnu, the southern barbarians and other border countries, which have always been eyeing our dynasty with covetous eyes."

"'How can I have a home when the Xiongnu have not yet been destroyed?' These are the words of our predecessors that have awakened the world. Although I am not talented, I am willing to emulate the sages and heroes of the past."

"I do not wish to start a family, nor do I want this kind of entanglement."

He couldn't help but glance at Ying Xi, his gaze falling on her fair chin, its features clear, soft, and delicate, like a jade carving.

He seemed to have been burned, his gaze lingering on Ying Xi's slightly red lips, but stopping short of touching them.

My heart was pounding like a drum.

He replied with his eyes closed, "I do not love Princess Huachao, and I have no one I love. I am willing to die on the battlefield wrapped in a horse's hide, and I earnestly hope that Your Majesty will accept my loyal heart."

A heart of unwavering loyalty, a heart that is not made of stone, a heart of pure blood and unyielding devotion.

Using the Danxin Stone to demonstrate his loyalty to his subjects, Xie Qianli felt even more ashamed, yet he outwardly concealed his true feelings almost perfectly.

Ying Xi naturally couldn't detect anything.

Xie Qianli came over to tell her frankly that he had no sweetheart and did not want to marry Princess Huachao, but was willing to work for the court. Ying Xi was naturally happy and even felt much more at ease.

Ying Xi sighed and said, "Thank you, I will not force you. Please get up."

Xie Qianli also breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood up and, together with the eagle, rose from low to high. He caught a glimpse of a smile on Ying Xi's lips, and was repeatedly struck by that smile. He forced himself to look at the flowers and trees, but that was too impolite. How dare he be so absent-minded in front of the emperor?

Ying Xi noticed immediately: "An assassin?"

There were no assassins.

"Then why look at the bushes?"

He was rendered speechless by Ying Xi's relentless questioning, and suddenly realized that he wished he had eight hundred heads, as he simply couldn't cope with the overly perceptive Ying Xi.

His very skin was trembling. This Shanglin Garden was deadly; he really couldn't stay here for even a moment longer!

Xie Qianli could only give a half-truthful reply: "'The peonies are fading, and spring is waning.' Your Majesty wrote to order me to return to the capital as soon as possible, but I failed to do so and only returned to Chang'an in early summer. Therefore, I saw peony bushes with only leaves. I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness." Xie Qianli bowed.

Ying Xi looked clearly puzzled: "What are you talking about..."

When did he ever write such a thing?

Xie Qianli was preoccupied with the erratic course of his life, so how could he be in the mood to investigate the letters?

With information being exchanged between the two sides, Ying Xi, being exceptionally intelligent, quickly grasped the gist of the matter after a moment's thought. A slow smile crept onto her lips.

However, he is in a good mood now and has temporarily suppressed the urge to settle scores with the dating system, opting to settle the score later.

Ying Xi beckoned to the Jade Mirror: "Jade Mirror."

"Your servant is here!"

Yu Jing jogged over from afar, carefully observing the emperor and the general. He noticed the emperor was playing with a stone pendant in his hand, while the general remained respectful, revealing nothing amiss. "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"I told you to prepare a banquet, so summon me here and invite Minister Xie to dine with me."

"yes."

Xie Qianli was stunned.

Poor thing, he had wanted to flee in panic, but the words of farewell that were about to come out of his mouth were cut off.

He was dragged back to the heart of the storm and forced to continue to interrogate his already fragile soul at the banquet.

***

Zongzheng Temple.

The dungeon was damp and stuffy at dusk, the cell environment was half-lit and half-dark, as if it were somewhere between the mortal world and the underworld.

Those members of the imperial family who were imprisoned here had generally committed serious crimes and would inevitably lose the emperor's favor. Therefore, the jailers were ruthless, and screams of agony echoed everywhere.

Only cell number two in the Heavenly tier was different.

There was a wooden plank bed in the cell, but it was now standing upright, with Prince Yong, Ying Dang, bound to it from chest to abdomen. Prince Yong acted with an air of nonchalance.

The two jailers in charge of guarding him were serving Prince Yong, helping him stretch his arms and legs.

"Your Highness, do you still feel stiffness in your back?"

"Your Highness, your leg isn't swollen. I've been taking good care of it. Are you feeling better now?"

"Comfortable my ass! Do you think you're the most beautiful courtesan?" Prince Yong said, his flamboyant voice so out of place in the prison cell that anyone who didn't know better would think he was the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court.

Prince Yong yawned lazily: "You've tied me up too tightly, loosen it a bit."

The jailer immediately became wary: "No, I wouldn't dare."

Another jailer hurriedly said, "Your Highness is highly skilled in martial arts. He beat up all the imperial guards before being imprisoned here. We are just small fry and couldn't withstand Your Highness's antics. Please forgive us, Your Highness!"

The phrase "beat up the entire imperial guards" actually sounds quite satisfying.

Ying Dang smugly asked, "When will you poison me, my royal brother?"

The two jailers were so frightened that they knelt down and hurriedly bowed towards Weiyang Palace: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty only ordered the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs to punish Your Highness according to the law, and said nothing else! Please do not overthink it, Your Highness!"

Ying Dang sneered, his smile gradually becoming more complex.

He fell into a coma at the Imperial Clan Court, and when he awoke, all the knife wounds on his body had been carefully bandaged. Now, the wounds have long since healed.

The jailers wouldn't let him move, but they obeyed him in everything. The Minister of the Imperial Clan visited him a few times, but each time he merely recited from the book, chanting the laws of the Great Qin Dynasty to him.

There is only one possibility for this situation: that they followed the emperor's orders and took extra care of him.

Ying Dang felt very uncomfortable.

To outsiders, the emperor would always be seen as a model brother, while he himself would be merely a tool to demonstrate the emperor's wisdom.

—Can't we just listen to our elder brother's instructions and get along with him?

impossible! ! !

Prince Yong drew a clear line between them.

He knew about Ying Xi, a side of him that outsiders didn't.

He had seen the Ying Xi that outsiders had never seen: selfish, despicable, manipulative, and ruthless...

He knew how Ying Xi left Yangzhou Guangling County, rising from a minor prince to the throne of the Qin Emperor. Prince Yong was always shameless, but thinking about it still made him feel ashamed.

Prince Yong sneered, knowing he would not be subdued by the emperor's small act of kindness.

But the image of the fierce battle at Weiyang Palace that night, when he was injured, still lingered in his mind—the half-step his brother took forward.

Ying Dang furrowed his brows deeply!

At that moment, there was the rustling of chains outside the cell door, and a key was inserted into the lock.

Ying Dang narrowed his phoenix eyes.

The jailer who brought dinner immediately shrank back upon entering the cell, bowing and scraping: "Your Highness, Your Highness, dinner is here. I'll feed you. How much do you want to eat? This food was brought from the Prince's residence. I've checked with the cook; I guarantee it will suit your taste..."

After rambling on for a while, the jailer hung the key on his waist, took out two sets of tableware, and served a little bit of food in front of Prince Yong.

The jailer personally tasted the poison first.

It wasn't poisonous. There were no allergenic foods, and there was blackfish soup, which was suitable for the injured, so Prince Yong was even more displeased.

The gleam of the bronze key reflected in his eyes, but Prince Yong remained unmoved and arrogant as ever: "It smells fishy, ​​take it away, I don't drink soup."

Yes, yes.

"Wash your paws clean, put down a towel, and feed me a silver thread roll so you don't poke me with your chopsticks," Prince Yong ordered.

"Yes, sir! I will do as you command!"

As long as this gentleman is willing to eat, he'll do anything.

The jailer had already washed his hands, and then, in front of Prince Yong, he vigorously rubbed them several times with a hot cloth. The brand-new, clean cloth wrapped the steaming hot pastries, and the jailer handed them to Prince Yong's mouth.

The change happened in the blink of an eye!

Ying Dang stretched out his long arm, and the chopsticks and the silver thread roll fell to the ground at the same time. He transformed his palm into a claw, precisely clamping down on the jailer's throat with such force that the jailer couldn't even scream.

The two jailers nearby were shocked and were about to call for help.

Ying Dang said fiercely, "Stop."

The jailer stopped, turned around and saw the dissolute prince with a half-smile, his expression chilling in the dim sunlight: "I am the Emperor's own brother, as you know. Even if you complain, His Majesty, being merciful, will not do anything."

His tone was sarcastic, and the two jailers wholeheartedly agreed.

Ying Dang continued, "But you are different. If you dare to call for help, I will claim that you are trying to harm me. Can you bear the charge of murdering a prince?"

The two jailers were terrified and fell silent instantly, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Highness, spare us! Your Highness, spare us! We are at Your Highness's beck and call, please spare us..."

Ying Dang said, "Untie me."

“This—” How dare the two jailers?

Ying Dang exerted force with his hands, making a creaking sound as if someone's neck was about to break at any moment.

The jailer he was holding hostage turned purple, his fingers weakly trying to remove the bunch of keys: "Please... help me..."

The other two jailers exchanged glances, knowing full well that Prince Yong was infamous and truly committed murder; angering him would only lead to their own demise.

The two jailers then divided the work: one untied the ropes, and the other opened the cell door.

The hardboard bed crashed to the ground with a loud thud!

Ying Dang stretched his stiff limbs, tossed the prison guard who delivered the food into the haystack in the corner, and said casually, "Well done, my royal brother has raised a stupid dog."

The three jailers knew they had gotten themselves into serious trouble, but they were completely powerless against Ying Dang. They scrambled to the prison door and begged, "Your Highness, spare us! Your Highness has given us orders to do! Your Highness, you must not escape from prison! Escaping is a capital offense!"

Several loud bangs were heard from the cell as Ying Dang instantly knocked out three people, who then fell to the ground and moved aside to clear the cell door.

Ying Dang retrieved the weapon from one of the jailers. The short sword was plain silver, its pigeon blood gleaming. He hid the sword back in his sleeve.

Too lazy to hide it.

With his fingers twirling the bronze key, Prince Yong walked and punched as he went. The Imperial Clan Court was not the Heavenly Prison, so the jailers were few in number and their fighting strength was mediocre.

Ying Dang swaggered out of the Imperial Clan Court.

Outside the Imperial Clan Court, the sun was setting in the west, and the last rays of the setting sun shone everywhere as if stained with blood, casting deep red and light red hues all over Chang'an.

Ying Dang casually bought a pot of wine, and walked along, drinking as he went.

He gazed through drunken eyes at the bustling streets, the crowds coming and going, the buildings of varying heights, all magnificent and opulent. This was the land coveted by rebels, admired by barbarian kings, and longed for by the Huns—this was his brother's domain.

Ying Dang took a big gulp of wine, the spiciness making his chest feel like it was about to explode!

Since arriving in Chang'an, despite the extravagance and debauchery, Prince Yong felt that he had never truly integrated into this awful place.

Chang'an took away his parents and his former brother, causing him to be separated from his loved ones and estranged from his family. He was constantly lectured by the officials.

Who the hell likes Chang'an?

Only my brother likes it, likes being the emperor, to hell with Chang'an!

Ying Dang kicked a pebble hard on the ground and skillfully made his way into the red-light district. The brother he once respected and loved only existed in his memory; now, his brother was on the highest level of the imperial palace.

He guessed that Ying Xi was probably in the palace, reviewing endless memorials, scheming and plotting, enjoying the pleasure of being an emperor, high above and holding the power of life and death. He was very fond of this.

Prince Yong could never have imagined that just a dozen miles away in Weiyang Palace, Ying Xi had just finished hosting a banquet for Xie Qianli and returned to her bedchamber.

He was also allowed to take the Danxin Stone Pendant back to the imperial bed.

Ying Xi lay there while playing with the stone pendant.

The emperor, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, drank a few cups of wine at the palace banquet. His cheeks were flushed, and his hair was loosely spread out, the soft strands like a waterfall.

The emperor curled his lips into a smile, seemingly without any ulterior motive, watching the bright yellow tassels sway. His gaze gradually became unfocused.

At this moment, Sweetie finally popped up and asked in a low voice, "Is Your Majesty tempted by the big wolfhound?"