He Zhangzhi was determined to die, and Li Qing could do nothing about it, so he could only knock out He Yunyun who was intent on dying alongside her father and take her away. As they left, they happened to run into Li Yan, who had come to block their path.
Li Yan laughed maniacally. “Qing’er, you really aren’t dead! The male Empress appointed by the Ning Emperor is you, isn’t it? Now that you’re back, just stay. I promise you, from now on in this palace, no one will ever dare to bully you again! Anything he can give you, I can give you too!”
Li Qing: “…” What brand of lunatic is this? He seems even sicker than Feng Yanzhou.
“Heh, he is my person what makes you think you can keep him!?”
Feng Yanzhou, worried about Li Qing, had been secretly following them. Sure enough, he had caught wind of something unusual. This Li Yan was truly shameless. Li Qing silently hid behind Feng Yanzhou; he knew this guy was thick-skinned and would definitely follow them.
Feng Yanzhou coordinated with a few secret guards to attack. Li Yan couldn’t hold them back and, in his rage, punched a wall. “Pass the order: command the soldiers to intensify their training! I give you three years in three years, I will trample the Ning Kingdom to the ground!”
On the return journey, Li Qing’s party rested in a small town. Just as they stepped off the carriage, they saw the heroine, Tian Yue’er.
She was strolling down the street holding the hand of a child, about three or four years old. The child bore a slight resemblance to Feng Yu, though he didn’t look like he could be her son the ages didn’t align. Li Qing looked back at Feng Yanzhou. “This is…”
Feng Yanzhou patted his head. “The child of one of Feng Yu’s concubines. Tian Yue’er and Feng Yu were deeply in love, and she couldn’t bear the thought of him not leaving behind any offspring. She voluntarily proposed a deal with me: she would give up all her assets in exchange for the child’s safety and a vow that I would never reveal the child’s true identity. I helped her fake her death so she could escape the Grand Tutor’s manor and live in this remote town. Regardless, it wouldn’t matter if the child’s identity were revealed; by the time he grows up, we will already be old. Imperial Physician Qin says you have a short lifespan, so I will certainly die with you when the time comes. We’ll just be buried in the imperial mausoleum together, and who will he even be able to seek revenge against then?”
Li Qing offered a blunt, sharp-tongued retort: “Aren’t you afraid he’ll dig up your grave?”
Feng Yanzhou: “…” That makes sense.
“Perhaps we should just be cremated, our ashes mixed together, placed in a small jar, and then scattered into the water. No one will ever find us.”
Li Qing looked at him with the expression one might reserve for a complete fool. He really is a “great genius” no one is even trying to seek revenge yet, and he’s already talking about reducing himself to ashes!
“Let’s go back. If I stay with you any longer, I’m going to have a change of heart and won’t be able to stand someone so dim-witted.”
“Qingqing… I’m just joking, don’t be angry… Qingqing… wait for me…”
Li Qing watched the mother and son skipping ahead and turned to walk into the inn. He truly could not understand the psychology of a heroine who would give up everything just to help someone else raise a child.
Feng Yanzhou grabbed his arm and suddenly asked, “If it were you, Qingqing, would you have made the same decision?”
Li Qing shook his head. “My brain works too well, I don’t make business deals where I lose money!”
After returning to the capital, Li Qing settled He Yunyun outside the palace. He Zhangying decided to move out of the palace to accompany her, and the two lived in an elegant little courtyard, enjoying a peaceful and warm life.
Three years later, He Yunyun finished her mourning period and met a man who captured her heart. After experiencing a few twists and turns, the two successfully ended up together.
Just then, the Yun Kingdom launched a war against the Ning Kingdom. Li Yan led the troops in person, arriving with aggressive momentum. The Ning Kingdom had long been prepared. One month into the war, Li Yan hadn’t even touched the city gates at the border, and he had nearly been shot dead by an arrow from Li Qing.
Feng Yanzhou gripped Li Qing’s hand, teaching him how to shoot the next arrow: “Qingqing, the technique of archery is best learned through combat!”
“Whoosh—”
Another sharp arrow shot out, grazing Li Yan’s face and leaving a streak of blood. Li Qing: “…” I never expected I would actually act out a scene of brothers killing each other.
“Do you want him to die by my hand?”
“Heh, didn’t he say he liked you, Qingqing? Dying at the hands of the one he loves most can be considered my grace to him!”
Li Qing sighed helplessly. He’s finding reasons like that should the man be grateful to you?
“Why are you sighing, Qingqing? Are you feeling sorry for him?”
“I’m feeling sorry for you, you’re already so old, yet you’re still so jealous over such trivial nonsense.”
Feng Yanzhou locked his arms around Li Qing’s waist, forcing them closer. “I am only five years older than you, Qingqing. Where does this ‘so old’ come from? Could it be… that Qingqing thinks I am not diligent enough when we are ‘getting things done’?” He emphasized the words “getting things done.”
Li Qing, who was on his first trip away from home since arriving at the front lines, thought: …I advise you not to be any more diligent.
The two did not stay on the city walls for long. Feng Yanzhou had the secret guards protect Li Qing, then he picked up his long spear, vaulted onto his horse, opened the city gates, and chased after the retreating Li Yan. With the Emperor leading the campaign in person, the Ning Kingdom’s soldiers were blood-pumped and fought with great fervor. Added to the fact that the Ning Kingdom was significantly wealthier than the Yun Kingdom, their weaponry and equipment weren’t even on the same level, and Li Yan quickly realized he couldn’t win.
This war did not last very long; the Yun Kingdom’s defeat was a result everyone could have predicted. As the victor, Feng Yanzhou simply replaced the Emperor of the Yun Kingdom. Li Yan was demoted to commoner status and vanished without a trace.
The new Emperor, Li Qing, looked at the officials in the great hall and slowly let out a yawn. Having been the Emperor of the Yun Kingdom for half a month, he was truly exhausted. Dealing with ministers by day and Feng Yanzhou by night was a rhythm set for sudden death.
After court, Feng Yanzhou pulled him into his arms. “Is it fun being an Emperor, Qingqing?”
Li Qing pouted. “Not fun at all.”
“Then let’s return to the Ning Kingdom; we’ll leave this place for others to manage.”
“We should have done that a long time ago. Why did you make me experience ‘life’ here?”
Feng Yanzhou laughed lightly. “Regardless, you are the Yun Kingdom’s Sixth Prince; you were supposed to compete for power with these people. I was afraid you would have regrets, so I let you taste what it’s like to be an Emperor.”
Li Qing gave Feng Yanzhou’s waist a vicious pinch. “It’s back-breaking work. You must be afraid I’ll die too slowly. Let’s hurry home; I want to eat the coconut cakes my mother makes!”
Feng Yanzhou leaned down and scooped him up. “Alright, let’s go home!”
When he was thirty-five, Feng Yanzhou gave the throne to Feng Ming’s son. He took Li Qing and left the capital to travel the world this was Li Qing’s request, as he wanted to see more of the different scenery.
The two eventually settled in a small town in Jiangnan, spending their days idle and carefree, living in warmth and comfort…
When Li Qing was fifty, his health began to deteriorate rapidly.
“Cough, cough… cough, cough…”
“Qingqing!”
Feng Yanzhou entered from the doorway carrying medicine, sat by the bed, and said: “Drink some medicine, Qingqing; you’ll feel better once you finish it.”
Li Qing smiled and shook his head. “Feng Yanzhou, the medicine is bitter. In these final days, I don’t want to drink it.”
Feng Yanzhou’s eyes turned red instantly. His fingertips, holding the medicine bowl, trembled and turned slightly pale. “Alright. If Qingqing doesn’t want to drink it, then don’t.”
At night, a red spider lily slowly began to grow on Li Qing’s left wrist. San Sui flicked its petals and said heart-achingly: “Host, let me take you away. At this rate, you’ll have to suffer for another ten days or so; it will be very difficult to endure.”
“No need. I want to spend more time with him.”
“You will see each other in the next world.”
“But… there is only one Feng Yanzhou, and he doesn’t know we will see each other again…”
San Sui couldn’t argue with him and silently turned invisible, though it didn’t forget to transfer some energy to him before it left to reduce his pain.
During those final ten days, Feng Yanzhou cared for Li Qing meticulously, rarely closing his eyes. But he could not prevent Li Qing from coughing up blood every day, his figure becoming increasingly emaciated…
“Host, this time… we really have to go.”
Li Qing opened his eyes weakly and looked at Feng Yanzhou, who was slumped by the side of the bed. His hair was messy and seemingly turning white; his eye sockets were bruised, and the corners of his eyes were stained with dried tears. They say that men do not cry easily. Li Qing had lived for tens of thousands of years, and aside from crying in bed, he had always been strong. How was Feng Yanzhou so different? During these past days, he didn’t know how many times he had cried in secret.
He wanted to reach out to trace his features, but the movement awakened the lightly sleeping Feng Yanzhou. Seeing the complex emotion in Li Qing’s eyes, Feng Yanzhou’s heart sank. “Qingqing…”
Li Qing raised his hand to brush against the bridge of his nose, but his hand fell weakly, leaving behind only a sigh: “Goodbye…”
“Qingqing—”
Feng Yanzhou carried Li Qing’s body and laid down with him in the coffin, kissing his forehead lightly. “Close the coffin.”