We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? - Chapter 381: Husband, You Must Live Well and Not Leave Me Alone, Alright?
After the Second Prince’s passing, the news spread throughout the entire Qin Kingdom and also reached the military camps of generals like Xiao Mo who were campaigning abroad.
Upon seeing the news of the Second Prince’s death, Xiao Mo remained silent for a long time.
Although on the battlefield, everyone’s life and death were determined by fate.
Although Xiao Mo also didn’t believe that someone as proud as the Second Prince would rebel but when Xiao Mo learned that the Second Prince had died for the sake of the Qin Kingdom’s hegemony, sacrificing himself for the nation, his mood was extremely dejected.
Xiao Mo could even imagine how heartbroken Siyao would be when she saw this news.
“Xiao Yang, inform the entire army of the Second Prince’s passing, and let the soldiers know how the Second Prince died.
Furthermore, starting today, the entire army shall wear white cloth on their heads to mourn the Second Prince.”
Xiao Mo ordered his deputy general.
“Yes, General!”
Xiao Yang quickly withdrew.
Within a day, all the soldiers in Xiao Mo’s army learned of the Second Prince’s death and also knew that the Second Prince had died for the sake of the Qin Kingdom’s hegemony!
Xiao Mo’s army was already a victorious force with soaring morale.
The news of the Second Prince’s death added fury to all the soldiers!
The next day, the Qin Kingdom soldiers wore white cloth on their heads and attacked the city as a mourning army.
The Chu Kingdom general defending the city already thought that the army led by Xiao Mo was extremely fierce.
As it turned out, on this day, he realized what true madness meant.
It was as if he had become the target for the other side to vent their revenge.
At the same time, after learning of the Second Prince’s death, the Western Pacification Prince and Bai Qi also spread the news of the Second Prince’s passing throughout their armies.
Originally, the Western Pacification Prince and Bai Qi had long been prepared to launch a counteroffensive against the Yan Kingdom.
But because they were uncertain about the situation at Huaishan Pass, they only continued to engage with the Yan Kingdom, so that if Huaishan Pass suffered a setback, they could immediately abandon all occupied cities and rush to the Qin Kingdom’s imperial capital to serve the king.
Now that they learned the crisis at Huaishan Pass had been resolved, with no more worries, they immediately launched their counteroffensive, and like Xiao Mo’s army, wore white cloth to commemorate the Second Prince.
Furthermore, whether it was Xiao Mo or Bai Qi, both widely publicized the news of the Jin Kingdom’s great defeat at Huaishan Pass.
After the Chu and Yan kingdoms learned of the Jin Kingdom’s great defeat, even if they wanted to conceal it, they had no way to do so.
After all, the Second Prince was dead, and the Qin Kingdom army wearing white cloth was the best proof.
Moreover, if the siege of Huaishan Pass hadn’t been lifted, how would they dare to attack without any concerns?
The morale of the Chu and Yan armies plummeted, while the Qin Kingdom army, because of the Second Prince’s death, wanted to make these three kingdoms pay blood debts with blood.
On the Huaishan Pass front, after the First Prince’s great victory over the Jin army, he recovered the two major provinces of Jin Province and Lu Province within a month.
The Northern Pacification Prince also completely suppressed the remaining remnants of the Zhei Kingdom and successfully joined forces with the First Prince, then attacked into Jin Kingdom territory.
The Jin Kingdom court fell into great chaos.
After deep consideration, the Jin King decided to request aid from the Qi Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom.
Seven months after the Second Prince’s death.
Xiao Mo led his army with unstoppable momentum, crossed the Chu River, and captured Jing Province.
At the same time, the Western Pacification Prince completely trusted this youngest young general beside him and handed full command of the army to Bai Qi.
Bai Qi killed two hundred thousand enemies and attacked deep into the Yan Kingdom’s heartland.
Because Bai Qi had previously buried alive four hundred thousand Chu soldiers and did not accept the surrender of the Yan Kingdom army, killing two hundred thousand soldiers.
Some called him the “Slaughter God.”
On the other side, the Northern Pacification Prince and the First Prince advanced together, directly attacking Jin Kingdom’s Taiyuan.
In January of the year after the Second Prince’s death.
Xiao Mo and Xiahou Nan successfully joined forces and surrounded the Chu Kingdom’s imperial capital.
Xiao Mo sent a letter to the Chu King, urging him to surrender.
The Chu King refused and resisted desperately.
Xiao Mo ordered the city to be attacked.
The Chu army’s stubborn resistance indeed exceeded Xiao Mo’s imagination but under the simultaneous attacks by Xiahou Nan and Xiao Mo from the eastern and western city gates, the Chu Kingdom finally reached its limit.
In May, the protective formation of the Chu Kingdom’s capital was broken.
Three days later, Xiao Mo led his army into Ying Capital.
The various ministers of the Chu Kingdom urged the Chu King to flee the palace, wanting to escort the Chu King to the Qi Kingdom so he could make a comeback in the future, which would still be possible but the Chu King directly shook his head, refusing on the grounds that “since I am already a king of a fallen nation, why should I become a homeless dog again.”
That day, the Chu King ordered the deaths of all the consorts and daughters in the rear palace.
Just before the Qin Kingdom army attacked into the palace.
The Chu King personally hung white silk in the great hall.
He straightened his clothing, arranged his hair, then stepped onto a stool and went to his death with dignity.
When Xiao Mo entered the palace, it was already full of corpses and remains.
This Chu King, who was called a tyrant by the Chu Kingdom’s people, maintained the final dignity of the Chu Kingdom’s royal family in his last moment.
Not a single person of the Chu Kingdom’s royal family survived.
Xiao Mo ordered that everyone be properly buried.
Thus, the Chu Kingdom was destroyed.
In the month that the Chu Kingdom was destroyed, Xiao Mo organized and sent all the books, household registration records, and land deeds from the Chu Kingdom’s imperial capital to the Qin Kingdom’s imperial capital, then opened the palace treasury wide to reward the three armies.
Because Xiao Mo’s reputation was well known and most people knew that the army under Xiao Mo’s command would not disturb the people and had strict military discipline, the people of Ying Capital all behaved peacefully, and order in the city was not chaotic.
The following month, Xiao Mo led his army to sweep away the remaining forces of the Chu Kingdom.
At the same time, Bai Qi and the Western Pacification Prince engaged in the final great battle with the Yan Kingdom army.
This battle determined the fate of the Yan Kingdom.
Just when Bai Qi and the Western Pacification Prince held the advantage, the Qi Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom sent troops to support the Yan Kingdom and Jin Kingdom.
The tide of battle reversed.
The Yan Kingdom held onto its last seven cities.
The Western Pacification Prince’s army was locked in a stalemate with them and couldn’t conquer them after a long siege.
On the Jin Kingdom front, after the Northern Pacification Prince and the First Prince captured three major provinces of the Jin Kingdom, due to the allied forces of the Qi Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom, the Qin Kingdom army also couldn’t advance.
In November, Xiao Mo completely eliminated the remaining rebel lords of the Chu Kingdom, and the Qin Kingdom’s ruler also dispatched several officials to the Chu Kingdom to preside over the situation.
After Xiao Mo left two hundred thousand troops to garrison various fortresses in the Chu Kingdom, he immediately led the remaining elite army deep into Yan Kingdom territory.
Xiao Mo’s army coordinated with the Western Pacification Prince’s army and greatly defeated the Yan-Qi allied forces.
Within half a year, Xiao Mo, together with the Western Pacification Prince and Bai Qi, captured six cities and surrounded the Yan Kingdom’s imperial capital.
In mid-February of another year.
The Yan Kingdom’s ruler knew his situation was hopeless and sent an envoy to the Qin Kingdom’s military camp to surrender.
Xiao Mo accepted the surrender.
The next day, the Yan Kingdom’s ruler led the hundred officials, holding the Yan Kingdom’s imperial seal, and left the city to surrender.
Frost Prince Xiao Mo, representing the army, accepted the surrender.
The Yan Kingdom was destroyed.
After the Chu and Yan kingdoms fell, the Qi King and Zhao King saw that the situation was irreversible and knew they had to at least preserve the Jin Kingdom, otherwise the annexation of their two kingdoms by the Qin Kingdom would only be a matter of time.
Under the protection of the Qi Kingdom and Zhao Kingdom, the Jin Kingdom gradually turned from disadvantage to advantage.
Even if Xiao Shi led the generals from the Northern Frontier and used every stratagem, in the face of absolute military strength, everything seemed futile.
Xiao Mo and the Western Pacification Prince also had no way to immediately support the Jin Kingdom front.
The Qin Kingdom had just annexed the Chu Kingdom and Yan Kingdom and needed to digest them, appease the people of both kingdoms, and avoid repeated uprisings.
Moreover, after approximately three years of campaigning, the Qin Kingdom army was already exhausted, and the burden on the people was too heavy, requiring rest and recuperation.
If at this time the Qin Kingdom forcibly confronted the allied forces of the Qi, Zhao, and Jin kingdoms, as long as the battle situation became unfavorable, the Chu and Yan kingdoms would inevitably have people with different thoughts.
At that time, what had been swallowed might all have to be spit back out.
After repeated deliberation, in mid-May, the Qin Kingdom’s ruler ordered the withdrawal of troops.
Except for the soldiers left to garrison the Chu Kingdom, Yan Kingdom, and the three major provinces on the Jin Kingdom border, all other troops completely withdrew.
Furthermore, to appease the people of the Chu Kingdom and Yan Kingdom, the Qin Kingdom’s ruler consoled and rewarded some aristocratic families willing to pledge allegiance, and reduced taxes for the people of both kingdoms by fifty percent for a total of twenty years.
After Xiao Mo and others returned to the capital, everyone received rewards.
For destroying the Chu Kingdom and assisting the Western Pacification Prince in destroying the Yan Kingdom, Xiao Mo’s reputation in the court and even throughout the world had vaguely surpassed that of his father.
Xiao Mo didn’t care much about the Qin Kingdom’s ruler’s rewards. However, looking at the Qin Kingdom’s ruler’s expression, Xiao Mo felt that this monarch of great talent and bold vision seemed to have aged considerably in just three years.
After the rewards ceremony, Xiao Mo immediately returned to the Frost Prince Manor and went to see Qin Siyao first.
Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao hadn’t seen each other for three years, and moreover, Siyao had lost her second brother who loved her most, so Xiao Mo had been constantly worried.
“Husband, you’re back.”
In the Frost Prince Manor, after Xiao Mo saw Qin Siyao, Qin Siyao’s eyes curved in a smile as she curtsied to Xiao Mo, just as usual.
“Mm, I’m back.” Xiao Mo nodded.
“I’ve prepared hot water for husband. Husband should bathe first, and then we can go to Mother’s place together. Husband hasn’t returned for three years, Mother misses you very much too.” Qin Siyao said gently.
“Alright.”
Seeing that Siyao didn’t mention anything, Xiao Mo couldn’t say anything either.
After bathing and changing into fresh clothes, Xiao Mo and Qin Siyao went to the Xiao Manor.
Not having seen her for three years, looking at his mother’s increasingly white hair and the many wrinkles that had appeared on her face, Xiao Mo’s heart felt very uncomfortable.
Especially since he had been campaigning abroad for years and hadn’t properly accompanied his mother, he felt even more guilty.
And Qin Siyao was still as cheerful and lively as before, playing and laughing with Xiao Mo’s mother, their relationship growing closer, her smile as bright as before but looking at his wife’s beautiful smile, Xiao Mo felt somewhat heartbroken.
Xiao Mo knew that Siyao was only forcing herself to smile because they had previously been in the midst of war, the Qin Kingdom had no time to hold a funeral for the Second Prince.
So in the month after Xiao Mo returned to the capital, the funeral for the Second Prince Qin Jingyuan finally began to be organized.
Although Qin Jingyuan’s remains had not been brought back to the imperial capital, the Qin Kingdom’s ruler didn’t insist, respecting his son’s final wishes.
In the coffin were placed the clothing and headwear that Qin Jingyuan had previously used.
On the day of the funeral, Qin Siyao in mourning clothes still didn’t cry at all.
She stood beside Xiao Mo, quietly watching all the procedures of second brother’s burial, quietly watching second brother being laid to rest in the imperial mausoleum.
For the entire day, she didn’t say a single word.
On the night after the funeral ended.
Qin Siyao kept vigil for her brother for two days and two nights but seeing Qin Siyao’s haggard appearance, the First Prince and Xiao Mo coaxed and persuaded her, finally convincing Qin Siyao to return to her manor to rest first.
After returning to the Frost Prince Manor, she sat dazedly in the courtyard, quietly looking at the stars in the sky.
Xiao Mo sat beside Qin Siyao, quietly accompanying her.
“Husband.”
After an unknown amount of time, the woman finally slowly spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse.
“Mm.” Xiao Mo responded softly. This was the first time he’d heard her voice today.
“Husband, do you know? When I was little, the ones who loved me most were my two brothers.”
The corners of Qin Siyao’s mouth curved slightly, her eyes covered with a thin layer of mist, her tone peaceful, as if recounting the most ordinary story.
“Whether it was eldest brother or second brother, they never got angry with me, they could never bear to scold me.
No matter what I did wrong, they never blamed me.
When I was little, eldest brother and second brother often sparred, and whoever lost had to be my horse.
Many times it was second brother who lost, so I often rode on second brother’s shoulders running around.
Although second brother complained every time, he still let me ride on his shoulders.
Whenever there was anything delicious or fun, eldest brother and second brother always thought of me first.
As the princess of Great Qin, I was mischievous and ran around everywhere, without a trace of girlish behavior because I knew that in this world, I had eldest brother and second brother to protect me.
Later, I was very fortunate to meet husband, to meet the person I liked.
In this world, there was one more person who truly liked me and truly protected me.”
As she spoke, Qin Siyao straightened her legs from under her skirt, her slender hands clasped between her thighs.
“No matter what happened, I didn’t need to face it, because very quickly, eldest brother, second brother, and husband would help me solve it.
I just needed to be the princess of the Qin Kingdom.
I often thought, I’m probably the happiest woman in this world.
After husband and I married, we’d have many children, and eldest brother and second brother would also have many children then the children could play together, go on outings together.”
As she spoke, the corners of Qin Siyao’s mouth trembled slightly.
“But… But second brother… Second brother is gone.”
Finally, the tears in Qin Siyao’s eyes could no longer be held back, flowing like springs, her voice choked with sobs.
“Why? Why was second brother so foolish…”
Seeing the woman beside him crying, Xiao Mo gently pulled her into his embrace.
Qin Siyao’s tears soaked Xiao Mo’s clothing, and the emotions that had been suppressed for so long could no longer be restrained, bursting forth like a broken dam.
“Husband, I’ll never see second brother again.
Never see second brother again… Never see him again…
Can’t see him anymore… I only have husband and eldest brother left.”
Qin Siyao sobbed and cried, her chest heaving continuously.
Xiao Mo didn’t say a word, just quietly watching her, holding her.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Siyao’s crying gradually grew quieter.
Later, there were only intermittent sobs and finally, only one gasp after another.
Qin Siyao pressed against Xiao Mo’s chest, as if only this way could she feel warmth.
“Husband…”
After a long while, Qin Siyao, who had finally regained her composure, raised her head and stared blankly at her husband.
“Can husband promise me one thing?”
“What is it?” Xiao Mo gently stroked her cheek.
“Husband must live well and not leave me alone, alright?” Qin Siyao looked directly into Xiao Mo’s eyes, her slender hands tightly grasping the collar of Xiao Mo’s chest.
Looking at the woman’s trembling, pleading eyes.
Xiao Mo was slightly stunned, not knowing how to answer.
“Can husband promise me?” A trace of panic flashed in Qin Siyao’s eyes.
“Alright, I promise Siyao.”
Xiao Mo smiled slightly, gently stroking her hair.
“I will never… leave you behind.”
