Chapter 519: Heroic Souls Never Perish, Noble Spirits Live Forever!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Grand Tutor sulked.
As their teacher, how could he not be angered? Why were his students so hopeless? They were only standing outside in the icy wind for a little while, were they in any danger of freezing to death? Could they not have just endured it for a little while?
How were these princes comparable to ordinary students?
He was truly limited in what he could. At most, he could only advise them – what teaching could he speak of? The Grand Tutor thought that if there were to be a prince who insisted on standing outside and had fallen ill from the noble deed, he might cause His Majesty to look at him in a new light!
"Ask those bastards to come out!" His Majesty roared, "Even if they all freeze to their deaths here, no one is to make another move! Anyone who goes inside to keep warm again… I shall do away with his status at once! Let him rest for eternity!"
The message was harsh, uttered commanding tone.
The few princes who left alighted their carriages feebly; they did not dare to look at the emperor as they lowered their heads.
"What have I sired? Just this by this shameful performance, I can tell that none of you have the mannerisms of a ruler!"
His Majesty huffed in fury and turned around, casting his glance afar once more. Disappointment was making its nest at the bottom of his heart. How could such characters entertain the wild wish of succeeding the throne?
Ridiculous!
If he really passed the throne to them, he would not have the face to see his ancestors when he died!
"Crown prince!" The emperor said coldly, "Come over here!"
The crown prince made his way over trembling, half from the cold and half from fright.
He had been crowned and given an honorable position, but his cultivation base was insignificant and he just exited the warm carriage as well. Even if he wanted to perform better, he was inadequate for the task. It was deplorable!
"Forget it, get out of my sight…" Hs Majesty closed his eyes and heaved a long sigh of helplessness.
Looking at the crown prince's demeanor, the timid hesitance, the trembling, the ruthlessness in his eyes, the sinister beginnings of gutless anger… His Majesty looked morose. The helplessness and disappointment within him peaked to the point of no return!
It was no longer mere discontentment. It was hopelessness! These princes… were these all they had?
At this point, Yu Peize hated and regretted his past self. His energy was very limited from the bizarre poison he had been given, thus it was frequently insufficient to tackle national affairs; in addition, he had the eldest prince, whom he had never needed to worry about. This caused him to neglect to focus his attention on these princes of his for the longest time. Had their intentions and character been rotted to this extent?
There was really no one among these princes who could inherit the empire, especially when a wise one was needed to prepare to rule Tianxuan. They were unqualified, not even having the eligibility to barely try!
"A man's biggest woe is a wife who isn't virtuous and a child who isn't filial…" His Majesty sighed inwardly.
Looking afar, the army was already approaching. The neat troops could already be seen, as well as the clean and tidy flags.
The emperor's eyes were warmed, his blood heated up at once. His worries were instantly thrown to the back of his mind – there was nothing more important than to welcome the return of the army and heroic souls!
He patted himself down and took large strides forward.
Almost at the same time, a command rang out immediately. The army halted their steps in unison.
"Alight!"
"Salute!"
A few leading generals stepped forward together, passing through everyone else.
…
The emperor drew a long breath, suppressing his impulse to cry.
It was devastating! It was overwhelming!
"Marshal Fu Baoguo is still at the old Fortress of Resilience, with the intention to rebuild it, another indestructible fort. He said… asked us to send his regards to Your Majesty – as long as there's Fu Baoguo, the Fortress of Resilience shall forever belong to Yutang!"
Shangguan Lingxiu reported to the emperor on behalf of the generals, as well as stating the main reason Fu Baoguo, as the main marshal of the east border, had not returned to the capital to report his story on the war.
It was one thing for the emperor and officials to be harmonious, but protocol should still be adhered to. It would be a shame for those with ulterior motives to twist this matter into a rumor that the arrogant general intended to use his merits to override the emperor's eminence.
"Welcome…" The emperor's lips quivered. "...home, my heroes! I am proud of you all! I'm proud of everything all of you have done!"
"Warriors, what comes next is what I, as the emperor, need to do. I vow to heaven, be it warriors who are here or heroic souls who have rested… I shall never mistreat any of you!"
Behind him, thunderous firecrackers crackled in the air.
"My warriors!"
The emperor roared.
"You are home!"
The tens of thousands of warriors wept at the same time. Rubbing the parcels they carried on their backs, hot tears streamed down their faces.
"Brothers, you are home!"
"We are home! I have sent you… home!"
Within Tiantang City and outside it, deafening cheers erupted. Countless people were laughing, despite their tears.
…
His Majesty had gone to the Qiu Residence, personally accompanying Qiu Jianhan's carriage.
According to regular protocol, no matter how outstanding the contributions of the one returning was, there was no way the head of the country would send his official home. However, the emperor had broken the norm, sending Old Marshal Qiu home personally.
The weather was truly cold. Old Mistress Qiu did not wait hundreds of miles away this time but had waited at the city gates. When she finally saw the carriage containing her husband and his peaceful, slumbering face, her tears rolled down her cheeks.
It was tears of heartache, but also tears of reassurance.
Since the beginning of Qiu Jianhan's departure, various ominous omens that were never before felt had suffocated the old mistress like mountains on her chest. She even had a realistic premonition of her husband dying; the old mistress had wanted to follow her husband's path then, but the sliver of clarity that hoped for her husband's return had, thankfully, lent her the support she needed to barrel through.
She could not help feeling fortunate now. If she had killed herself then, her husband would have been left to sleep alone; when the old man woke up then, how would he have continued to live?
Now, everything was finally over.
Even though her husband was comatose, he had not died in the war.
He would surely wake up! This was all she asked for.
All glory to God, as they still had the chance to walk alongside each other for the rest of this life!
Marquis Yun went forward to say a few words of comfort and just as he was about to speak to the emperor, the latter had softly said, "I shall talk to you in a while."
Marquis Yun nodded and replied, "Okay."
A while it would be then.
…
It was not actually awhile, it lasted until dark had descended!
When everything else was done, nightfall had draped itself over the city.
His Majesty returned to the palace with a heavy heart. The first thing he did was to deliver an order.
"Look for all of the imperial dossiers, especially those dust-laden ones. Include the previous dynasty's records in your search. Dig them all out and bring them all to the royal study."
An order, a series of three 'all's – it almost exhausted the eunuchs to the point of death.
Then, the emperor sat there and rested with his eyes closed, heaving sighs of various lengths.
"Over a million warriors…"
The emperor was not putting up a show with his sighs as his heart truly ached. After a long time, he spread the paper and flourished his brush to write a few words.
"Heroic Souls Never Perish, Noble Spirits Live Forever!"