Chapter 179

After Dai Li's outburst, the room grew so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The atmosphere became increasingly frigid.

Having vented her frustrations, Dai Li's vision blurred for a fleeting moment. She wanted to turn her head away to avoid looking at the man before her, but he chose that exact moment to raise his hand.

His long, calloused fingers brushed against the reddened corners of her eyes, wiping away the tears that were on the verge of falling. His movements were clumsy, clearly showing he was unaccustomed to doing such things.

A breeze blew in through the windowsill. In this silent concession, the tense atmosphere in the room slowly began to circulate.

"So fond of shedding tears. When you wrote me that letter of divorce, how many sheets of paper did you ruin with them?" Qin Shaozong's fingertips, which had just brushed away her tears, felt inexplicably hot.

"...I did not," Dai Li stiffened, attempting once again to turn her head away from him.

But after wiping her tears, Qin Shaozong smoothly halted her movement, forcing Dai Li to face him. Her eyes were red, as was the tip of her nose; right now, she looked less like a cunning fox and more like a red-eyed bunny.

"Still denying it? The bottom of the letter was completely soaked through," Qin Shaozong teased.

Being repeatedly called out with glaring evidence, Dai Li grew annoyed. Under normal circumstances, she would have definitely lost her temper or stormed off. But right now, she could not escape, nor was it wise to add fuel to the fire at such a critical juncture.

Dai Li could only purse her lips and remain silent.

Seeing her silence, Qin Shaozong paused for a moment before saying, "I never intended to keep it from you forever."

Dai Li's emotions surged, and a trace of resentment slipped into her voice. "Never intended to keep it from me forever? Did you mean to wait until I found out on my own, just like now, before confessing to me?"

"I originally planned to be completely open and honest with you once I returned to Yuyang," Qin Shaozong said calmly.

As for what happened next, he didn't say. There was no need to; after that, she had wanted to just walk away and never even considered returning to Yuyang.

Dai Li could feel her pulse pounding fiercely in her veins. She didn't know if he was telling the truth or not. But at this point, the truth of that statement no longer mattered.

What mattered was what came next.

"Then, what are your plans?" Dai Li lowered her eyes. As she asked this, she subconsciously clutched a small section of her skirt, wrinkling the green fabric.

Qin Shaozong did not answer her directly. Instead, he spoke of his past intentions. "A long time ago, perhaps over a decade ago, my intended heir was actually Yun Ce."

Dai Li froze. She was surprised, yet somehow not entirely so. On the night of Yun Ce and Zhou Zhou's coming-of-age ceremony, Qin Changgeng had gotten drunk alone in the armory, and he had revealed a hint of this back then.

"Yun Ce was precocious. A book that an ordinary child would take five days to learn, he could finish reading in less than three. Furthermore, over the past three generations of his mother's Jiang family, apart from the mediocre middle generation, every other generation has produced brilliant minds. As for that boy Qi Nian..." The veins on his forehead seemed to bulge for a second.

"He is good with his fists and occasionally shows quick wit, but when it comes to studying, he is a lost cause. His essays are full of errors, and the books in his room do nothing but gather dust. Although you once mentioned he had some sort of dyslexia, in my view, even without it, that boy would never have the patience to sit still for a whole day. Moreover, Qin San is simple-minded and easily swayed; he cannot bear the tearful pleas of those close to him. Though Yun Ce is not my biological son, if my elder brother had not swapped commands with me on the battlefield back then, I might have perished in the sand. Therefore, I felt it was fitting for him to take over everything in the future."

Although the feudal dynasties of China were not as rigidly bound by the bloodline-exclusive aristocratic systems of Western Europe, it was not as if they did not care about lineage at all.

Thus, Dai Li probed, "Did everyone under your command have no objections at the time?"

Qin Shaozong answered truthfully, "Of course not. In the early days, there were still members of the Wei family within the Northern faction, as well as those secretly allied with the Wei clan. They all tried to make me change my mind."

Dai Li saw him suddenly smile.

It was not the teasing, playful smile from earlier. This smile was drenched in the scent of blood, like a fierce tiger catching the scent of an intruder in its territory, about to open its gaping maw.

"There don't seem to be any members of the Wei clan under your command now."

Qin Shaozong's eyes darkened. "They were either killed or exiled, so naturally there are none now. Years ago, when my Qin family faced disaster, we were forced into a marriage alliance with the Wei family. After the Wei daughter gave birth to Qin San, the Wei family had already taken a large enough piece of the pie. Yet they later wanted to arrange a child marriage for Qin San, trying to monopolize his matrimony as well. It was pure delusion."

He did not despise ambition; in fact, he admired those who strove for advancement. But the prerequisite was that such people possessed genuine talent and a clear sense of self-awareness.

When greed crossed the line, and one no longer knew their own limits, it became a case of a snake trying to swallow an elephant out of sheer insatiability.

He loathed Qin San's maternal family. It was simply because the entire Wei clan, apart from the deceased great-grandfather, were all foolish and greedy.

Dai Li saw him reveal that chilling smile once more. He said, "In short, those self-righteous old fools who fiercely advocated that 'only my bloodline can inherit my achievements' have been practically wiped out."

This was the path Qin Shaozong had initially paved for Qin Yun Ce, but a mishap occurred when his nephew turned twelve.

Seeing his smile fade and his whole being seemingly shrouded in heavy clouds, Dai Li guessed that something else must have happened later. This could be inferred from the fact that Cui and Sheng were now Qi Nian's teachers and were fighting fiercely on his behalf.

"Later on... did Yun Ce fall ill?" Dai Li asked gently.

The moon seemed to have risen, dispersing the invisible dark clouds with its soft, pale light.

Qin Shaozong stared unblinkingly at the woman before him. She was still as clever as ever. Pinned in the corner by him, her eyes were rimmed with red, and washed by tears, her pupils appeared even more translucent, like two black pearls submerged in a cold spring.

Her eyes clearly reflected his image—a bit inquiring, a bit apprehensive, and holding a trace of sorrow for Yun Ce. Meanwhile, the hesitation and fear she had shown just moments ago were slowly fading away without her even realizing it.

That wicked little thing, curled up like a ball of a fox, was slowly and tentatively exposing her soft underbelly once again.

As long as he was patient, just waited a little longer...

He couldn't wait!

The sound of blood roaring through his veins was so deafening, rushing straight to his head with unstoppable force, making him cease all rational thought in that instant. Other desires gnawed at his mind, taking over his brain inch by inch.

The place in his chest that once felt as if it had been scorched by boiling oil, a ruined wasteland covered in countless blisters, suddenly felt as though a soothing ointment had been gently applied.

And so, the piercing pain began to dissipate, and new flesh slowly grew over the festering wounds.

Reaching out to pull the woman from the corner, Qin Shaozong lowered his head and kissed her.

Dai Li was still waiting for his answer, completely unprepared for what happened next.

Compared to the ferocity of his initial approach, this kiss was somewhat softer, yet no less greedy. He plundered her mouth, capturing her soft, red tongue and sucking relentlessly.

He kissed her fiercely, but Dai Li felt that he was no longer as angry as before. The first time, he had made the tip of her tongue ache, but now...

Suddenly, the tip of her tongue was bitten. Dai Li gasped in pain, her thoughts coming to an abrupt halt.

Qin Shaozong pulled back slightly. Cupping the side of her face with his hand, his rough thumb caressed her moist lips. With a hint of displeasure in his eyes, he murmured, "Distracted?"

"...We were just talking about Yunce." Daili didn't want to take the blame for this. It was clearly him who wasn't playing by the rules, so how could everything be blamed on her?

He gave a noncommittal "Mm," accepting the remark with a straight face, not feeling at all that the sudden change in topic was inappropriate.

Qin Shaozong lowered his hand. "Yunce was born prematurely, so his health has never been very robust. Aside from nearly dying of grief when his parents passed away, he also suffered a major illness at the age of twelve. At that time, when he was critically ill, quite a few people started entertaining other ideas."

The age difference between the two cousins wasn't large, only three years. That year, Qin Yunce was twelve, and Qin Qinian was nine. One was a fledgling young boy, while the other was, in the eyes of many, an uncarved jade that could still be molded.

When the former was tottering and clearly unable to hold things together, one couldn't blame others for choosing a better tree to roost in.

For him to call it a major illness, Daili guessed that Qin Yunce must have been hanging by a thread at the time. She thought for a moment, "You probably didn't stop Mr. Cui and the others back then, did you?"

Qin Shaozong replied with an "Mm."

He indeed hadn't stopped them. Yunce was sick for over two years, relapsing constantly. When he was doing well, it looked as if he would be completely cured by the next day, but when he was doing poorly, his breath was as faint as a thread.

Qin Shaozong suddenly clicked his tongue lightly, whether out of irritation or disappointment. "During the two-plus years Yunce was ill, I also tried to groom Qin San. But that boy really turned out exactly as I initially judged, without the slightest deviation. He is soft-hearted and easily swayed by others, lacking his own decisiveness in major matters. Such a person can at most hold a sword on the battlefield; if forced to wield the sharp blade of power, he would easily cut his own hands."

He paused, feeling somewhat frustrated by his failure to meet expectations. "Furthermore, he gets dizzy just looking at words. If he truly sat in my position, there would absolutely be no shortage of letters and official documents. He can't read them, and he makes mistakes when writing. Could he really have others do it for him every time? Once or twice is fine, but if this goes on for a long time, it will inflate the ambitions of certain people, allowing them to use his name to further their own ends."

Daili looked at him for a moment and suddenly said, "Other warlords have many heirs. The children of Fan of Yanzhou can't be counted on two hands, and I heard that Governor Nangong also has several sons. At that time, when Yunce was ill and Qinian didn't meet your expectations, didn't you think about having other children?"

Medical care in this era was backward, and the infant mortality rate was much higher than in modern times. For wealthy families, the more heirs, the better. If one unfortunately didn't grow up, wasn't there always another?

By the same logic, if this one lacked great talent, another might have it. Moreover, they didn't lack money and could afford to raise many children, so why not?

With the Qin family's wealth and status, if he, as the clan leader, wanted children, she figured there would absolutely be many young women fighting to bear them for him.

Qin Shaozong held one of her hands in his palm, squeezing Daili's fingertips and examining the lines on her palm. "I did think about it in the past. At that time, Yunce's life was in imminent danger, the boy Qinian was unusable, and having no successor was detrimental to stabilizing morale. But having heirs isn't something you just do on a whim; many aspects need to be considered..."

"The child's birth mother cannot have a family background that is too high or too low. If it's too high, she wouldn't be willing to be a concubine, and her maternal family might become a second Wei clan. But if it's too low, the child would easily be looked down upon in the future, making it difficult to establish authority, and there would be no maternal family to help." Qin Shaozong was different from other warlords. When the Qin family married into the Wei family back then, they were of lower standing. Furthermore, after the Wei daughter passed away, he had even made a vow that if he were to remarry, he must marry a Wei daughter.

Since daughters of other prominent families couldn't obtain the position of primary wife, the loss incurred here would have to be compensated from somewhere else.

Qin Shaozong was unwilling to cut off other flesh to feed them.

"Whether a child has natural talent really can't be seen right after birth. Placing all bets on a single chance offers slim hope of winning. If I decided to take this path, it would inevitably require having more children to compare." Qin Shaozong didn't look up, still looking at that fair palm, and said with considerable disgust, "Troublesome."

He had no intention of turning his backyard into a colosseum, nor did he want to spend those turbulent times entertaining people from the Li family today and dealing with guests from the Zhao family tomorrow. Therefore, the matter was delayed again and again, and a decision was never made.

Until—

Qin Yunce's condition finally took a turn for the better.

His nephew's health still wasn't very robust, but it was barely passable. Qin Shaozong didn't want to go through the hassle, so he simply tossed aside his advisors' suggestion to have more children and select the best.

Thinking about it now, it was fortunate he hadn't listened to them, otherwise, he would never have caught this wicked fox.

"Madam previously said they all received my instructions, which is why Wugong took Qin the Second's side and went head-to-head with Shengping and the others. This statement is both right and wrong. During the two years Yunce was severely ill, Shengping and Zhongliang taught Qin San quite a few times and formed some master-disciple bonds. Their plotting for Qin San stemmed from personal motives; I did not instruct them." Qin Shaozong raised his eyes to look at her at this moment.

Daili's pupils contracted slightly, and her heart, which had not yet settled, uncontrollably surged with huge waves.

Right and wrong? This man only denied half of it, saying he hadn't instructed Cui Shengping to plot for Qinian.

Then Zhouzhou...

Daili subconsciously tried to pull her hand back, but it was firmly grasped by his large palm. Her throat felt dry, and she even stuttered at first, "Qin, Qin Changgeng, Zhouzhou has never received that kind of education. He doesn't understand imperial statecraft, and he has no background. No one can help him. Not to mention, he is only your stepson, not your biological son. If he were to inherit your position, in the eyes of the gentlemen, that would be power falling into the hands of an outsider. How could they ever agree?"

It wasn't that Daili, as a mother, was deliberately putting down her son, but rather that everything she said was an objective fact.

She was extremely anxious, but he relaxed instead, even smiling leisurely. "Wugong said that Qin the Second is very good at studying, extremely skilled at drawing inferences and integrating knowledge. I'm not worried about his studies."

Daili choked slightly.

Both she and Zhouzhou's father had good educational backgrounds, and the son they had produced had excellent grades since childhood, never making her worry about his studies. She used to be proud of this, but she never expected that it would now become the source of her headache.

Daili then changed her tune, "Then let's not talk about studying. Zhouzhou has no background..."

"He does!" Qin Shaozong cut her off. "Madam, you are Qin the Second's backing."

Daili was astonished. "Me?"

Qin Shaozong said, "The keel waterwheel is renowned throughout the world, saltpeter ice is highly sought after by noble families, and the millions of military funds for my northern lands all come from Madam's hands. Not to mention that now there is the emergence of fertile soil, which can fill the homes of commoners with abundance."

Although some of it was obtained through early transactions, regardless of the private causes, in the eyes of the gentlemen and the people of the world, all of these came from her hands.

Prestige is something invisible and intangible, yet it is extremely important. Without prestige, one cannot establish authority; when one's own conduct is upright, things will be done without issuing orders.

And the prestige she had gained would provide shelter for Qin the Second.

Seeing that she was still in a daze, Qin Shaozong added, "Of course, I will also be his backing. In the future on the battlefield, I will inevitably guide him a thing or two."

The south had not yet been pacified, and he was bound to have a battle with Liu Zhan later on. When fighting on the battlefield, the outstanding ones would surely gain military merit.

This was his carefully considered decision. Although Qin the Second had suffered for ten years, the docility in his character had not been completely wiped out. As for the proof, it was the bandit suppression at Chunmiao Mountain.

The fact that he was willing to lose a bet with his wife just to save a soldier meant that, in the future, he would also value brotherhood and treat Yun Ce and Qin San well.

Dai Li's mind was in a tangled mess. She didn't know whether to fret over her son having to go to the front lines in the future, or to feel helpless in the face of his well-founded reasoning.

"How could you do this? They... they won't accept it either..." Dai Li murmured.

She did not spell it out, but Qin Shaozong understood perfectly.

A heavy darkness settled in his eyes. "Dai Li, I am no saint. I admit I have selfish motives in doing this. Qin the Second, just like you, hails from a utopian paradise. I will likely never witness the wonders of that mysterious place in my lifetime; I will never see a ship travel ten thousand miles in a single day, nor will I see an eternal abundance of livestock. During his ten years out in the world, Qin the Second has witnessed extreme suffering. Precisely because of this, he can never forget the peace and comfort of his birthplace. In the future, when the new dynasty is established, the so-called golden age of universal peace will still seem lacking in his eyes."

When sitting in a position of high power, the greatest danger is having one's eyes and ears shielded from the truth. When the supreme ruler asks, 'Why do they not eat meat?', is that not a tragedy for the common people?

Many emperors are wise and brilliant in their early reigns, but as their empires become firmly established and endless praises pour in, they inevitably grow complacent and arrogant, believing that their prosperous era has no room left for improvement.

Such emperors eventually lose their way. Whether they begin seeking immortality, pursuing the path of deities, or indulging in wine and women, they never regain their original ambition.

Qin Shaozong let out a sudden, brief laugh, marveling at the workings of fate. The path he had paved for Yun Ce years ago—which he had once thought was all for naught—had unexpectedly proven useful many years later. "As for your final concern, my lady, it is easily resolved. Those who were particularly stubborn were eradicated years ago. Even though Qin the Second is not related to the Qin family by blood, as long as he marries a young lady from my Qin clan, he will gain a powerful family by marriage, and his descendants will carry the Qin bloodline."

This was his deepest and most unspeakable selfish desire. He and she were destined never to have a child sharing both their bloodlines, a fact he deeply regretted.

But as long as Qin the Second walked this path, his wish would be fulfilled in an alternative way.

Dai Li felt as if a clap of thunder had exploded in her ears. She nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been trapped in the corner by Qin Shaozong, and they had only pulled apart slightly after their kiss to speak. Now, Dai Li grabbed his arm tightly. "Qin Changgeng, you explicitly promised me that you wouldn't interfere with Zhouzhou's marriage..."

Qin Shaozong knew she would react this way. His gaze darkened. "I did promise you that. But what if he likes her himself? Would you still forbid it?"

Dai Li froze, confusion mingling with the lingering shock in her eyes. "What do you mean? Who does he like?"

Qin Shaozong gently removed her hand from his sleeve and, with a smooth pull, drew the woman from the corner into his embrace. "Who do you think gave Shi Rongrong that silly dog she carries around every day? Qin the Second has taken her out riding on more than one occasion."

Dai Li opened her mouth, but the sheer volume of information hit her like a flash flood, leaving her dizzy and utterly speechless.

So the Qin woman he had mentioned was Hongying, and the young lady of the Qin clan was Rongrong.

Zhouzhou and Rongrong?

Qin Shaozong continued, "I arranged for Shi Rongrong and Qin San to return to Yuyang with you, both because I wanted Rongrong to have more time to spend with Qin the Second, and because I wanted to keep Qin San away from Chang'an. I didn't want him getting swept into this still-chaotic struggle for power while Qin the Second was absent."

He had originally planned to explain everything to her after he returned to Yuyang, but plans could never quite keep up with the unexpected. She had left behind a letter of divorce and fled with her son without a word.

Qin Shaozong raised a hand to caress her brow. A fierce glint flickered in his dark brown eyes, a mixture of bitter unwillingness and deep defeat. "When I saw that divorce letter, I felt nothing but hatred. I hated your lack of trust, and I loathed myself for not being Qin the Second's biological father, which meant I could never earn your complete and utter devotion."

When he said the word "hatred," it was spoken with such profound, teeth-gritting intensity that it seemed as if his very chest had been torn open by the violent emotion, allowing all his helplessness, frustration, and jealousy to come surging out.

The usually aloof and arrogant man, a true favorite of heaven, displayed a rare, subtle vulnerability.

"I..." Dai Li wanted to say that she didn't distrust him, but looking into those bloodshot brown eyes, the comforting lies simply died on her lips.

At the time, she truly hadn't believed him. She hadn't trusted that a man who held half the world in his hands, who had no blood ties to her and was merely a husband she married halfway through life, would go to such great lengths to meticulously scheme a secure future for her and Zhouzhou.

And this distrust had gradually fermented into a restless anxiety during his long periods of silence, making it impossible for her to turn a blind eye to it any longer.

It wasn't that she had never considered having an open and honest conversation with him, but such thoughts were like stones tossed into a river, sinking out of sight in an instant.

Qin Changgeng was right. The root of all this truly lay in her lack of trust.

She had never truly trusted him.