Building a Harmonious Song Dynasty

Chapter 35

In front of the inner palace gate, Qin Zhen and his companions abandoned their horses and galloped away, startling the patrolling guards who thought assassins had broken in. They hurriedly gave chase, only to find General Cheng Lie, who had been re-appointed as the King of Wei, talking to them side by side.

Having shed his greyish-white cloth robes and donned his armor once more, Yelü Huan exuded heroic spirit. Qin Zhen and Ji Wuhuan were slightly surprised to see him like this, as it was the first time they had ever seen Yelü Huan like this.

"Fifth Senior Brother, Seventh Junior Sister, you're finally back! The situation is extremely dire; the poison has already seeped into their internal organs!"

As they walked and talked, they brought Ji Wuhuan to the side of the dying Yelü Yanxi. After a cursory examination, Ji Wuhuan's expression grew even colder, and he said only, "If it had been half a day later, even a god couldn't have saved him."

Yelü Huan's heart tightened, and he entrusted the matter, saying, "Fifth Senior Brother, we can only rely on you now!"

Ji Wuhuan said with slight displeasure, "If it weren't for your two requests, I would never have bothered to save someone who is about to die."

Qin Zhen still had things to do, and she couldn't just watch Yelü Yanxi die like that, so she urged, "Fifth Senior Brother, please save him quickly. After all, I helped you drive Third Senior Brother's men back on my way to find you, and I haven't even asked you for payment yet."

"Su Mufei's people?" Ji Wuhuan's face was expressionless, but the jealousy that flashed in his slender, alluring eyes made Qin Zhen shudder, making her regret mentioning her third senior brother in front of Ji Wuhuan.

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Side Story 1: Deep Courtyard (Part 1)

This is the legend of a red-tasseled spear...

"Back in the day, General Chenglie was a force of nature, his might as well have swept across the land like a tiger! If he were still alive, how would these Jurchen rebels dare to be so presumptuous!"

An elderly veteran was patrolling outside the military camp with a few young soldiers. He vividly recounted stories from his prime, stories that took place in the not-so-distant past, but to the new recruits, they sounded like legends, nowhere to be found.

"Uncle, is General Chenglie really as amazing as you say? You just said he was only sixteen when he became a general, not even as old as me. How could that be? You're just making things up!"

A new recruit, not quite believing what the veteran was saying, voiced his true thoughts, which immediately drew agreement from the others.

Seeing his idol being slandered by the new recruits, the veteran angrily said, "You little brats, how can you compare to General Chenglie? He was invincible when he first joined the army at fifteen. What were you doing at fifteen? You hadn't even stretched your legs yet..."

Speaking of the martial arts competition General Chenglie had when he was fifteen, wow, it was absolutely spectacular! The general simply stood there with a red-tasseled spear, and no one dared to challenge him. This even caught the attention of the Emperor, who at that time was only the Grand Marshal. When the Emperor visited the general in the military camp, he exclaimed "Good!" three times!

The general and the emperor hit it off immediately, and from then on they fought side by side against the rebellious tribes, killing those chieftains until they cried for their fathers and mothers. Unlike now, our army has been decimated by a Jurchen tribe. Alas…

"Where is the general now? Why haven't we heard of such a person?"

The old soldier kept his head down and didn't speak, only fiddling with a dry blade of grass in his hand. Several new recruits impatiently shoved him, and he finally said, "Ever since the Grand Marshal ascended the throne and became emperor, General Chenglie was granted the title of Prince of Wei. However, less than a year later, the general's title was revoked and given to the Fourth Prince. Since then, we have never heard any news about the general."

The new recruits listened with great confusion and couldn't help but ask, "Judging from the timeline, General Chenglie is not even thirty years old yet. How could he suddenly disappear? Uncle, is there no explanation from the court?"

"Heh..." The old soldier sneered, "An explanation? How could there be an explanation? Those who followed General Chenglie back then all guessed that the Emperor secretly killed the General!"

A gasp rang out, and the recruits' eyes all widened in surprise.

Why?

The old soldier threw away the withered grass in his hand and said, "The rabbit is killed after the hunt, the hound is cooked—do you understand this Han Chinese saying?"

Seeing that the young men were still completely confused, the old soldier continued, "Back then, the late emperor actually intended to pass the throne to the fourth prince. The emperor only managed to seize the throne because of the military achievements the general helped him make. After the great thing was accomplished, the emperor began to fear the general's prestige. Aren't you familiar with stories of killing meritorious officials?"

"Uncle, you can't just say things like that!"

"Why are you afraid of what people will say after you've done it? See? Now his retribution has come. Without the general, let's see what he can accomplish. A single Jurchen can bring him down from his position..."

Before the veteran could finish his sentence, an arrow pierced his chest, and blood gushed out like a fountain!

The recruits were stunned at first, then turned around and saw a horde of cavalry rushing towards them as if descending from the sky. Several of them turned and ran wildly into the camp, desperately shouting, "The Jin army is coming... the Jin army is attacking..."

"Smack!"

Yelü Yanxi threw the report of defeat to the ground with great force, and angrily berated the people lying on the ground.

"He abandoned the city! He actually dared to abandon the city and flee! Thirty thousand troops were forced into this situation by five thousand cavalry, and he still dares to beg for mercy! Go, bring me his head, now!"

Yelü Yanxi drove all the officials out of the tent. He slumped into the tiger-skin chair, staring blankly at the top of the royal tent, feeling a bitter taste in his eyes...

The Liao Dynasty, which had lasted for a century, was slowly slipping from his hands, and he was powerless to stop it!

He slammed his fist into his thigh, then suddenly stood up, staggered to the bedside table, pulled out a wooden box, opened it, and inside lay a red-tasseled spear broken in two…

"Second brother..." Yelü Yanxi called out to the red-tasseled spear with deep sorrow, but suddenly burst into wild laughter. The mournful laughter pierced through the royal tent and soared into the sky, startling the guards who hesitated outside the tent.

"Those who reap what they sow will not live! They will not live..."

Yelü Yanxi hated himself, constantly questioning himself. Why had he ruined everyone's future because of his momentary lapse of judgment? Why was there no way to undo the mistake once it was made? Why hadn't he come back to kill him?!

He no longer knew whether he was laughing or crying. He stared blankly at the silver spear in the box, his thoughts drifting back to many years ago...

The imperial palace in Zhongjing, that extremely cold place, had its chill seeped into his bones when he was only six years old, a chill he could never escape for the rest of his life.

At only six years old, he was brought back to the palace from his dilapidated house in the capital. Facing the man he once called "Father," Yelü Yanxi suddenly didn't know how to face him. This man was his grandfather, but also his father's killer!

His father, Crown Prince Zhaohuai, could not close his eyes until his death; his unfocused eyes became his nightly nightmare. Before being given poison, his mother, the Crown Princess, whispered in his ear every night: "Aguo, remember... everyone in the palace is a bad person, your father's killer. You must kill them all, leave none alive, not a single one!"

Suddenly a cold wind blew by, and Yelü Yanxi trembled. He pulled out a small knife from his sleeve and rushed towards his grandfather!

Daozong looked at his grandson, who resembled a wolf cub, and laughed as he lifted him up: "Good! This is a true man of the Yelü family! You want revenge? Fine, then you'd better grow stronger quickly. When you're strong enough to defeat me, you can do whatever you want!"

The flame of hatred was planted in Yelü Yanxi's heart for many years until he was twenty-five years old, when he saw that handsome young man holding a silver spear, standing proudly alone in the square.

That was the first meeting between Yelü Yanxi and Yelü Huan. Yelü Huan had a face that looked very much like the former Crown Princess, except that he had a bit more heroic air about him, and they were exactly the same! Yelü Huan saw Yelü Yanxi's surprised expression, but he just stood there looking at Yelü Yanxi and gradually smiled.

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Side Story 1: Deep Courtyard (Part 2)

"May I have your name?"

Yelü Yanxi looked at the young man who had been summoned to the main tent and heard him say calmly in his strong voice, "My name is Yelü Huan, and I am your younger brother."

younger brother!

Yelü Yanxi's mind went blank, bewildered by these two unbelievable words. Younger brother? His parents, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, had been falsely accused of treason and executed twenty years ago, and this boy, ten years his junior, claimed to be his younger brother?

Is he just another greedy, lowly rogue? Yelü Yanxi thought with disappointment, what a pity that he looks so much like his mother.

With a "snap," a phoenix hairpin was thrown into Yelü Yanxi's hand. Yelü Huan ignored his surprise and said, "My mother told me to tell you that you cannot be tempted by the power before you, and you must not forget the hatred for your father's murder!"

"Mother...she...she's still alive?" Yelü Yanxi asked, uttering words he himself could hardly believe.

Yelü Huan smiled faintly and said, "Yes, the poison from back then was switched by my father. He rescued my mother and hid her, and then I was born."

"Who is your father?" Yelü Yanxi's face showed disgust, as if he had seen his own things being forcibly taken away.

"I don't know. I've never met my father. This is what my mother told me. She told me from a young age that my purpose in life is to help you take revenge. Are you ready, brother?"

Yelü Huan's calm and indifferent eyes suddenly made Yelü Yanxi feel very sad. If the reason for a person's existence is to help another person, then what meaning does his life have for himself?

Where is Mother?

"She will not see us until the great revenge is avenged."

Perhaps it was the coldness emanating from Yelü Huan's bones that resonated so deeply with Yelü Yanxi, or more likely it was because of his mother's face that Yelü Yanxi accepted this younger brother who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. And from that day on, they embarked on a path of no return—a path of revenge…

As they fought side by side across the land, their brotherhood deepened. Having a kinsman to rely on in life and death was Yelü Yanxi's first feeling when Yelü Huan rescued him from the enemy's hooves. And Yelü Huan's calm heart was also stirred by the moment his brother shielded him from an arrow.

The bonds forged on the battlefield are written in blood, and they are more likely to change a person than anything else. So, after many battles, the two brothers were able to sweat and laugh together, just like brothers who grew up together.

After Yelü Yanxi proved the stubborn old ministers wrong with his impressive victories, he finally defeated his fourth uncle, Yelü Chun, and secured the right to inherit the throne. Although he was unaware that Yelü Huan had previously sought out Yelü Chun, he was still grateful to his younger brother and thankful that he wouldn't have to walk this ruthless path of revenge alone.

After confirming his successor, Daozong knew that his death was not far off and that it was time for his grandson to come and seek revenge. However, when he saw Yelü Huan, who had come with Yelü Yanxi, he had a feeling that things would not end there.

“Father, the day I’ve been waiting for has finally come.”

Yelü Yanxi called out to the old man on his sickbed with a blank expression. He thought the old man would be afraid, but the old man's face only showed relief.

Emperor Daozong looked at his grandson, who had already conquered four enemies and led his ministers, and he smiled. The powerful voice made Yelü Yanxi waver slightly, but Yelü Huan's cold gaze reminded him of his unjustly killed father!

"A-Guo," Daozong called out Yelü Yanxi's childhood name for the first time in twenty years. He said, "I'm sorry, Jun'er. I've been waiting for the day you're fully grown up. Only on that day can I go to see Jun'er in peace..."

When Yelü Yanxi heard his father's name again, his father's empty eyes reappeared before his eyes, filled with endless grievances, resentment, and hatred!

"...Kill them all! Not a single one can be spared! Not a single one is allowed to be spared!"

His mother's plaintive voice rang out again. Yelü Yanxi frantically grabbed the blanket from the bed and pressed the seriously ill old woman down firmly with his hands...

After a long while, Yelü Huan reached out his cold hand and pulled Yelü Yanxi up from the bedside. Yelü Yanxi looked at the motionless sickbed, laughed wildly, and grabbed Yelü Huan, saying, "Do you see? Do you see? I've avenged my father! I've avenged him..."

"Brother..."

Yelü Huan frowned with worry, glancing again at the old man who had died on the bed. To him, this man was merely an enemy, but to Yelü Yanxi, he was the grandfather who had raised him for over twenty years. Only now did he realize how difficult the task his mother had insisted Yelü Yanxi complete was!

After calming the deeply depressed Yelü Yanxi, Yelü Huan returned to the military camp, quietly stroking his red-tasseled spear. Now that Emperor Daozong was dead, Yelü Yanxi's mission was complete, and it was his turn…

Recalling Yelü Yanxi's despondency and madness after personally killing his grandfather, Yelü Huan could only sneer. As for himself, who knew what he would become in the future!

After Yelü Yanxi successfully ascended the throne, Yelü Huan was appointed as General Chenglie and acting Grand Marshal of the Army. He was sixteen years old that year.

Not long after the court had settled down, a major event occurred that shocked the entire court: Yelü Huan's recognition of his father!

Who could have imagined that Yelü Huan, a military hero, was actually the illegitimate son of the Fourth Prince Yelü Chun? Perhaps this was just a piece of gossip that people talked about, but for Emperor Yelü Yanxi, it was a reality that was hard to accept!

He thought about it over and over again. If all of this was true, then it was the Fourth Prince who rescued his mother back then and then took his mother, who was his sister-in-law, for himself? Or was it that his mother willingly betrayed his unjustly killed father and followed his uncle?

He cannot accept either of them!

But what could he do if he didn't accept it? Could he just kill the emperor's uncle, who was loved and respected by all his ministers, at will?

He couldn't, and no one would let him act so recklessly, so he could only bury this resentment in his heart.

Yelü Huan, this young general with high rank and power, now not only enjoys the emperor's favor and numerous military achievements, but also has a powerful background! He is also a genuine descendant of the royal family!

Yelü Chun looked at the young man walking towards him with a big smile. So he really was his son!

"As agreed, I have returned," Yelü Huan said calmly.

Yelü Chun nodded and walked towards the palace with his son, who had finally returned home. Thinking of the promise he made to his son, a bitter feeling welled up inside him. Yelü Chun had agreed to relinquish the throne in exchange for Yelü Huan's return.

Although Yelü Chun never aspired to the throne, he was happy to accept the promise that would allow his son to return home.

From then on, Yelü Huan became the object of vying for favor from various families, and the numerous marriage proposals made him extremely annoyed.