Chapter 83: My Son Bears the Bearing of a Great Emperor, Part 9

Normally, Old Xu couldn't control Xu Yinglan, but today was the day the Xu family was hosting Qin Ye. Qin Ye himself was nothing special—just a useless wastrel who excelled at eating, drinking, and idling away his days. But he had a little brother-in-law that no one dared provoke.

The trouble was, that little brother-in-law also had no regard for Qin Ye, his brother-in-law, and treated him with utter indifference. Yet, while he looked down on Qin Ye, he was fiercely protective of him. He could scorn him all he liked, but no one else was allowed a single word against him.

If Qin Ye felt slighted and went to complain when Cui Ge returned, who knew if Cui Ge might not burst in at midnight with troops, accuse Old Xu of harboring criminals and plotting treason, and then have him executed on the spot? The more Old Xu thought, the more frightened he became, convinced that this was exactly the kind of thing Cui Ge would do.

He'd spent so many years hovering before the emperor, and doubted the emperor remembered his surname. If Cui Ge did kill him, the emperor would surely side with Cui Ge; he couldn’t hope for justice.

The present emperor of Dashun had played the part of a gentle, refined gentleman before ascending the throne, but once crowned, he unleashed his true nature, acting as madly as he pleased. Perhaps he'd held back for so long before taking power that, now, nothing restrained him.

Seeing the emperor with all the hallmarks of a doomed sovereign, Old Xu had no expectations of him. After shouting at Xu Yinglan and seeing she paid no heed, he quickly ordered the guards to stop her.

“Father, why are you stopping me? Are you going to make me marry this penniless failure? I’d rather cut my hair and become a nun!” Xu Yinglan dodged her pursuers and lashed out at Wen Baiyu with a whip.

It was clear Wen Baiyu came from a poor home; he was thin and frail, and lacked any martial skills, making him an easy target for every lash. Even the big black dog began to howl, as if ready to leap at Xu Yinglan.

Qin Ye kicked the dog. “She’s not whipping you.”

The dog tilted its head, looked at Qin Ye, and seeing no command, settled back down.

Xu Yinglan leapt and dodged, her guards hesitant and unable to catch her. Old Xu could only turn back and apologize profusely to Qin Ye.

Qin Ye chuckled, then donned a stern face. “Rest assured, Lord Xu, I’ll faithfully relay your lesson to my little brother-in-law. But next time, there’s no need to trouble me with these lessons. I don’t understand all your court intrigues, and frankly, Lord Xu, you’re no fun at all.”

Old Xu: ?

Huh? Was that what he meant?

No, Old Xu jolted and hurried after him. “Brother Youde, that’s not what I meant, let me explain!”

Qin Ye covered his ears, refusing to listen.

The big black dog caught on and began to howl at the sky, completely drowning out Lord Xu’s voice.

Afterwards, Qin Ye refused to leave his home, no matter who invited him. His excuse: he’d been lectured once and was now cultivating himself.

When news of Dashun’s crushing defeat reached the capital, the emperor returned, bedraggled and furious, immediately executing the marshal he’d personally appointed before the campaign. He demanded the man’s immediate execution.

The Dashun emperor was never wrong, especially this one, who tolerated no criticism. Cui Ge, however, managed to stay in his good graces all the way back, and even his nephew was favored.

Cui Ge returned unchanged, even more arrogant, and his nephew, though only ten by Chinese reckoning, was granted an official post.

Yet Qin Teng, now officially recognized, wasn’t happy. Qin Ye was out walking the dog, and saw Qin Teng return, preoccupied, frowning in deep thought, hardly like a child. Qin Ye approached, eager to display his fatherly warmth.

“Teng’er, is something troubling you?”

“Yeah, so keep your distance, old... old man. I might reflexively use you as a punching bag.”

Qin Ye’s smile vanished; he snorted heavily and led the big black dog away. As a father, he showed magnanimity and forgave his unruly son this once.

Qin Teng was actually mourning the soldiers and laborers who died in vain. Yet, in the eyes of the emperor and the nobility, Dashun had plenty of people; soldiers lost could always be replaced, and laborers too.

The emperor feasted on delicacies, tossing leftovers onto the roadside to rot, refusing to let the starving laborers eat them.

Qin Teng had never followed the emperor before. In his previous life, he’d spent years in the Qin family’s back courtyard before his uncle took him away, and he’d lived in Li Bing’s camp ever since.

He began to shine when the world had already descended into chaos; with so much suffering, he wanted only to end the turmoil.

That’s why, after his own father sabotaged him, and scholars condemned him, stripping him of any chance to vie for power, he quickly and decisively threw in his lot with the then-lord Wen Baiyu.

It wasn’t that Wen Baiyu radiated the presence of a heroic ruler, compelling him to bow in awe. Rather, Wen Baiyu, having fallen from grace, had experienced poverty and was closer to the common folk. He was gentle and merciful to those at the bottom.

And that was enough. It beat those who preached virtue and humility, whose reputations were sung across the land, and who claimed they would be benevolent rulers if granted power—yet whose kindness extended only to noble families, and whose virtue applied only to scholars, never to the lower classes.

Qin Teng couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t turn out like the Dashun emperor if he ever succeeded in seizing power. But at least, at the start, he wouldn’t.

In the past, he’d never met the emperor, and scholars had spat insults at him, calling him a traitor and a villain, accusing him of ambition, disloyalty, and unfilial conduct. Qin Teng bore their scorn, and sometimes wondered—did the emperor truly have the people’s hearts?

If so, how had the world fallen into such chaos?

Unquestionably, though he couldn’t figure it out, Qin Teng had always viewed the emperor through rose-tinted glasses.

Now, encountering the emperor earlier, when Dashun was still prosperous and not yet terminally ill, gave him a different perspective.

And the feeling it left him...

He only wanted to grow up quickly and personally slice off the head of this “great” emperor.

If Xiaoman were here, she would surely chatter at him, persuading him to abandon such thoughts. The Dashun emperor was the legitimate ruler; anyone with ambition would not step forward before Dashun collapsed, lest they earn the infamy of a traitor.

In this life, Qin Teng was determined to be the ultimate victor, not someone forced to serve another and then be constrained.

If that was his goal, he could not contemplate acting against the emperor himself—otherwise, he’d be branded the greatest traitor, and even if he unified the land by force, he’d never be accepted.

After all, the world belonged to the noble families.

Qin Teng shut himself in his room for a day and night, but seemed unable to untangle his thoughts. When he emerged, he still wore the frown of a little old man.

Qin Ye tried again to bring fatherly warmth.

“Teng’er, you can tell your father anything. He’ll help you find a solution.”

Qin Teng, annoyed: “Other than walking chickens and fighting dogs, what can you do?”

“You underestimate it. There’s real skill in walking chickens and fighting dogs. Do you know what makes a chicken the king of chickens, or what makes a dog the fiercest, able to take on many foes?

Some chickens look impressive, but are weak inside. Some dogs seem strong, but are cowardly, running at the first sign of trouble.”

Qin Teng had never imagined there was an entire discipline behind chicken walking and dog fighting.

He became interested. “So you really know about this?”

“Of course! Come, come, let me show you your father’s prowess.”

Qin Ye grabbed his tall, rebellious son by the shoulder and dragged him out.

Qin Teng struggled but couldn’t break free, so he gave up and let Qin Ye lead him away.

The big black dog knew it was its turn to shine. It strutted proudly, defeating all the other dogs, leaving their owners in despair.

Yet the big black dog, triumphant, surveyed the territory it had won for its master.

Annoying to the other dogs, even after their defeat and return to their owners, the big black dog would circle around, forcing them to lie down and expose their bellies in submission before it returned, satisfied, to Qin Ye’s side, casting a discreet look at its little master for praise.

Such might drew Qin Teng’s interest. He crouched to interact with the dog and discovered it was highly intelligent, able to follow many commands, which amazed him.

Qin Ye smiled. “Now you see your father’s greatness?”

Qin Teng: ...

Not really.

Still, after sharing some fun, Qin Teng’s attitude toward Qin Ye finally softened, and he no longer called him an old fool at the slightest provocation.

“Dad, have you ever encountered something you couldn’t figure out?”

“What kind of thing?”

“For example, when you were young, you had astonishing talent, better than anyone, but just because your family background was lacking, no one recognized it.”