021—As Beautiful As a Painting (2)

He knew that he was Fu Jian’s only younger brother.

In the present, Fu Jian grabbed his hand. “Younger Brother, let’s not talk about this, okay?”

“No, Fu Jian, you’ve met him, you must have met him before.” Xuan Cheng suddenly returned back to his senses. Immediately, his tone became angrier and louder.

“Murong Wei said that he is willing to cede some of his territory. He would rather lose his country’s territory than arrange a political marriage between our two kingdoms. Empress Dowager Kezuhun has muddied the waters of imperial politics and harmed the loyal citizens. But this is not the real reason why you wish to suppress the Yan Kingdom. I know the real reason.”

Fu Jian’s hand slowly trailed back down.

Calmly, he asked, “And what is that?”

“You want Murong Chong.”

“Oh, really?”

“Fu Jian — no — Older Brother. I know that you long for peace and prosperity. I know that you want everyone to be rich and prosperous, that you want the Qin Kingdom to be rich, powerful and abundant. They say that the fenghuang is an omen of a golden age of peace and prosperity. You believe the folk legends so fervently, you believe the Mandate of Heaven so fervently, but — Older Brother, I’m begging you not to continue like this anymore. Murong Chong is Murong Chong. He isn’t a fenghuang.”

The fenghuang is a bird-like creature in Chinese mythology that resembles the phoenix. It is believed that the bird only appears in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness.

Fu Jian’s expression remained serene on the surface.

After a while, he gave a deep sigh. “You say that he isn’t a fenghuang? But then, why he is called a fenghuang? That year you said it yourself. The fenghuang is an omen sent to our great Qin Kingdom. We want it, we of the Qin Kingdom need it. But why is it that today, you no longer want it? Why? Younger Brother, why have you forgotten the words you said that day?”

Xuan Cheng realized that he was shaking.

Was Fu Jian telling the truth? Had he really spoken those words before?

But why, at this moment, was there only blankness inside his mind?

There was only one sound. It was the sound of someone telling him not to extinguish the Yan Kingdom, that they didn’t want anyone from the Murong Clan. That they didn’t want Murong Chong.

Murong Chong was not the omen of prosperity for the Qin Kingdom. He was a demon sent to destroy Former Qin and the northern kingdoms.

No.

Xuan Cheng’s heart filled with turmoil.

Extinguish the Yan Kingdom. Unify the north. Unify China.

Xuan Cheng could not say that he didn’t remember saying those words. He feared that Fu Jian would suspect that the current him wasn’t his younger brother, but rather a transmigrator from a China a thousand years in the future who had possessed his younger brother’s body.

The history books would read: Fu Jian doted greatly on Fu Rong, but what if he knew that his younger brother’s body had been possessed by someone else?

Xuan Cheng didn’t want to know what Fu Jian would do in that case.

“Then could it really be like what Hong-er said, that you aren’t Our younger brother?” Fu Jian asked, turning around.

The warmth on his face had disappeared completely. Xuan Cheng had never faced this serious and solemn facet of Fu Jian.

“No, it’s all a misunderstanding. I am your younger brother.” Xuan Cheng reached forward and wrapped his arms around Fu Jian’s waist, leaning his head against Fu Jian’s shoulder. He couldn’t help repeating these words: “I am your younger brother. I am your younger brother. Fu Jian, I am your younger brother!”

Xu Cheng hurriedly changed the subject. “You said that Wang Meng is returning?”

“Yes. Jinglue sent a letter from Luoyang saying that the negotiations with Murong Ling have finished. Murong Wei has agreed to cede Luoyang to us, with Empress Dowager Kezuhun agreeing as well. For the next five years, we will not attack the Yan Kingdom, nor them us. The two kingdoms will exist in mutual peace.”

“Five years?” Hearing this, Xuan Cheng felt extremely shocked. He sucked in a breath of cold air.

Five years. This year was 369 CE. After five years, it would 374 CE. By that time, Former Yan would no longer exist.

Therefore, Fu Jian would never receive the opportunity to extinguish the Yan Kingdom.

Hearing this, Xuan Cheng inwardly rejoiced, his shoulders easing up from the tension.

However, these movements only caused Fu Jian to furrow his brows. “Not attacking the Yan Kingdom seems to make you quite happy?”

Xuan Cheng concealed the joy in his heart. “No, no. I am rejoicing for the commoners in both kingdoms.”

“You said before, when recruiting soldiers for great Qin, that it is always better to have times of peace than rivers of blood. The results of the peace talks is satisfactory. At that time I opposed you, saying that those from the Murong Kingdom are not trustworthy and would cheat us. I told you that we should not try and negotiate with them. Now, however, when I think about it, I was wrong to say those words. The peace talks are great things indeed. We are no longer at war, no longer at war,” Xuan Cheng said emotionally. He couldn’t help but repeat himself a few times as he spoke.

“Is that so?” Fu Jian said, profoundly. “Do you really believe that? Then why did you oppose Us In Luoyang, then?”

“I, I, at that time, I hadn’t thought that the negotiations would be finished so quickly,” Xuan Cheng said, an ashamed tone entering his voice. “I believed that Murong Ling was only here to deceive us again, and thus opposed the negotiations.”

“Younger Brother,” Fu Jian said. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Xuan Cheng’s hands. The implication inside his eyes caused Xuan Cheng’s heart to become flustered, and he wondered if Fu Jian had perceived something. This scared Xuan Cheng so much that he quickly withdrew his hands.

Fu Jian said, “You remember that we avoided war for the sake of preserving the Yan Kingdom, and for the sake of the commoners in Luoyang. Five years is nothing. We can wait. Murong Wei will eventually exhaust all the goodwill of the people. This is something that will naturally happen before the five years are over. There will certainly be a war between Qin and Yan eventually. At that time, We will throw away everything and meet the enemy face-to-face. Then, We will never need to worry about anything again.”

“Older Brother?”