Another arrow flew over, and Ti Rong retreated, meeting Qin Rui's somewhat flustered eyes from a distance.
A mocking smile quickly appeared on his face, seemingly carrying another meaning.
Fortunately, Ti Rong did not bring up the matter of the eldest prince as Qin Rui had feared, but quickly disappeared into the night.
Qin Rui arrived with his soldiers only to find nothing. He quickly ran to Qin Chu and asked, "Brother, are you injured?"
Qin Chu looked away and saw that Qin Rui had run out without even putting on his coat properly. He tugged at Qin Rui's collar and said, "It's alright."
"It's cold outside, brother, let's go back quickly." Qin Rui was still a little flustered, and pulled Qin Chu towards the room.
Qin Chu frowned in thought: "What did he want to say when he left?"
Qin Rui's heart leaped into his throat. He pursed his lips, glanced at the spot where Ti Rong had left, and his gaze darkened. He then softly called out "Leng" before pulling Qin Chu into the room.
It was still late at night, and it was no small matter for the enemy leader to break in so late at night.
After dressing, Qin Chu gave a few instructions outside, informed the general, and checked the grain and fodder storage.
Unexpectedly, there was no movement in other parts of Cangqing Prefecture, and the grain and supplies were not tampered with.
It seems that Tijon went to great lengths to barge in, truly just to see him.
After strengthening their defenses, Qin Chu finally returned.
As dawn broke, Qin Chu pushed open the door and saw that Qin Rui was not lying in bed, but was sitting at the table dressed in his coat.
Although the child tried his best to remain calm, he was still young and inevitably revealed a little something in front of Qin Chu.
Qin Chu then recalled what Ti Rong had said before he left.
Although he was somewhat puzzled as to how this Xiongnu general knew so much about the Crown Prince's affairs, he looked at Qin Rui's demeanor and recalled Qin Rui's frequent interruptions of the rumors over the past few days...
Qin Chu hung his sword aside and sat down next to Qin Rui.
He looked at the child and said bluntly, "You've been very stressed lately."
This wasn't a question; it carried Qin Chu's usual confident tone, causing Qin Rui to immediately clench his fists.
"Why?" Qin Chu asked.
Qin Rui's heart clenched instantly. He trusted Qin Chu and wanted to tell Qin Chu everything, but he also cared too much about Qin Chu.
Because of his background, he had seen fear and disgust in the eyes of many people.
He didn't want to see any similar emotions on Qin Chu's face.
If he had never experienced Qin Chu's love and tenderness, he wouldn't care.
But now that he has it, he is completely unable to bear the pain of losing it.
Under Qin Chu's gaze, Qin Rui's lips moved twice, and finally he reached out and grabbed Qin Chu's sleeve, saying, "Brother, if someone tells you something about me, can you not believe them?"
His voice even carried a pleading tone: "No matter what they say, please don't believe them, okay?"
Qin Chu looked at Qin Rui in surprise.
This was the first time he had ever seen Qin Rui plead so helplessly, even so humbly.
This child has always been opinionated, wary, and cunning. Even when he was forced to live with Doctor Su, Qin Rui's refusal was quite forceful.
But now, this child seems to have given up all his persistence and completely exposed his inner fears, all for the sake of getting a promise.
Qin Chu instinctively wanted to ask him what he was hiding, but seeing Qin Rui's pleading eyes and pale face, he could only nod and say, "Okay, I promise you."
"I don't believe what other people say. If you're willing, I'll wait for you to tell me yourself."
Qin Rui looked down at the table and nodded silently twice.
-
If Tyrone can break in once, he can break in a second time.
Qin Chu didn't believe this person could be so honest, and remained on guard throughout the night.
But to his surprise, in the following days, Ti Rong did not cause any more trouble. The Xiongnu army stationed outside the city also became well-behaved, seemingly only interested in the grassland outside Cangqing Prefecture and wanting to train their troops there.
Ever since Qin Rui said those words that day, Qin Chu had been waiting for him to confess.
But this seems to be a very difficult thing for the child. Qin Rui's life has been normal lately, except that he has not mentioned the rumors about himself again.
Qin Chu didn't care too much. What a child thinks is important may not actually be a big deal. As long as Qin Rui grows up healthy and safe, he will be satisfied.
The Xiongnu army was stationed not far from Cangqingzhou. Seeing these well-trained soldiers, Qin Chu felt a sense of crisis and focused his energy on the training ground.
That day, while he was instructing the soldiers on formation practice, Lao Qi, who was standing guard elsewhere, suddenly rushed over and grabbed Qin Chu.
"Brother Qin, something's happened!"
Qin Chu frowned and looked at him: "What's wrong? Have the Xiongnu attacked?"
The seventh brother seemed a little uncertain as well. He first asked, "Brother Qin, have you seen Qin Rui?"
"Qin Rui? He should be in the kitchen at this time."
Qin Chu was somewhat puzzled, but then he saw that Lao Qi seemed to have confirmed something. A hint of difficulty and struggle flashed across his face, but he quickly made up his mind and told Qin Chu the truth: "Brother Qin, I was on guard duty in the General's courtyard and I saw Qin Rui being taken inside."
"What? Qin Rui? Why did you take him away?" Qin Chu immediately pulled Lao Qi aside.
The seventh prince looked at him and said, "Someone has pointed out that Qin Rui is the eldest prince."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu immediately understood the situation and knew why Lao Qi was in a difficult position.
The general probably wanted to keep Qin Rui's arrest a secret from him, and the seventh brother risked punishment to deliver this message.
"Thanks." Qin Chu patted the seventh brother on the shoulder.
He didn't say much, and quickly left the training ground with his sword.
When Qin Chu arrived, the general's courtyard had already been sealed off.
Looking at the tightly closed gate in front of him, Qin Chu turned to the guards standing on both sides and said succinctly, "Open the gate."
“This… General Qin, we…” The two soldiers were in a dilemma.
Having spent so long in the military camp, they were already quite familiar with Qin Chu. Add to that the fight he had with Ti Rong outside the city gates, and everyone in Cangqing Prefecture admired Qin Chu.
But now...
Qin Chu nodded knowingly: "Alright, I won't make things difficult for you."
He didn't even go through the main entrance; instead, he leaped over the wall.
A dozen or so people were sitting in the courtyard, including several generals from the Cangqingzhou garrison. Qin Rui was restrained by two soldiers and stood there looking bewildered.
Beside him, a disheveled man pointed at Qin Rui through gritted teeth and said, "That's him! He's the vicious prince who killed his own mother and made the Emperor fall into a coma!"
Chapter 73, Fourth Story (19)
Upon hearing this, Qin Rui looked at him innocently: "Uncle, what are you talking about? I don't know any prince..."
"Pah!" the man pointed at him and cursed, "You're pretending! You look like an innocent child, but you're actually ruthless. I am... this is how you killed my brother!"
"What are you talking about? I don't know you..." Qin Rui glanced at the man again, then looked up at the sitting generals: "Can I go back? My brother is waiting for me to bring him food, and it will get cold soon."
The people present looked at each other, all somewhat hesitant.
Having witnessed Qin Chu's capabilities firsthand, no one wanted to offend such a powerful general.
But the matter of the eldest prince is no small matter. In any other place, the slightest rumor would lead to his arrest and transport to the capital. Whether it's unimportant or not is entirely up to the people in the palace to judge.
The disheveled man sneered upon hearing Qin Rui's words: "You actually dare to use Qin Chu as a cover? You and Qin Chu are not brothers at all!"
"Who said that?" A cold voice came from the courtyard wall.
Qin Chu leaped down from the wall and stood in the courtyard. Looking at Qin Rui and the man beside him, he said coldly, "He is my brother."
Despite their best efforts to guard against it, Qin Chu still managed to get in.
Upon seeing Qin Chu, the generals immediately looked troubled and reminded him, "General Qin... it's not convenient for you to get involved in this matter."
Qin Chu glanced at him indifferently: "You arrested my brother without my consent, and you won't even let me come over and ask why?"
"Brother." Qin Rui looked up at Qin Chu and called out.
Qin Chu patted him on the shoulder and simply said, "Don't be afraid."
Then he walked to the empty seat and sat down, looking at the strange man who had appeared out of nowhere.
The man's eyes lit up when he saw Qin Chu appear, but after hearing what Qin Chu said, he was already furious: "You're still protecting him! Qin Chu, do you know what kind of person this child you're protecting is?"
"Pah! He's not human, he's a devil!"
Seeing that Qin Chu remained unmoved, the man seemed to have abandoned all his reservations: "Do you still remember Doctor Su from the military camp? Did you think that doctor was killed by the enemy? That's not true at all!"
"At that time, the enemy had not penetrated deep into the territory. It was this ten-year-old child who, with a dagger, covered the doctor's neck with a blanket and slit his throat!"
These words caused an uproar.
Even the soldiers standing in the courtyard were stunned and subconsciously looked at Qin Rui, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard.
The child was thin and frail. Although he had grown a bit taller recently, he was still not as robust as the other children. He was handsome and somewhat cute, and his behavior was completely unrelated to what the man had described.
At this point, the man seemed to get extremely angry, even stomping his feet: "He slept in the same tent as Dr. Su back then! He was so young and yet he could be so ruthless. Believe me, he'll kill you all someday!"
"What did you say? Dr. Su was killed by having her throat slit? I wasn't even in the tent at the time. When I got back, I found that Dr. Su's body had already been discovered."
Qin Rui appeared surprised and innocent, but was extremely calm inside.
Although the mention of Dr. Su made him panic for a moment, Qin Rui was certain that he had carefully checked his surroundings and that no one could possibly know what had happened.
Qin Rui turned to look at the man, her face showing a wronged expression like that of an ordinary child: "How could you do this? I don't like Dr. Su, and I don't want to live with him, but how could you say I killed him? He's an adult, so tall, how could I possibly kill him? I couldn't even reach him..."
Everyone thought about it and agreed.
How tall was Qin Ruicai at that time? Although Dr. Su was not very strong, he was still a normal adult man. How could he be killed by a child so easily?
The man was so angry that his face turned red, and he gritted his teeth.
Yes, who would have thought that such a small child could kill an adult man! He didn't even consider this, which is why he died so mysteriously!
The problem is that he underestimated the eldest prince, the boss.
They had both entered the tent when a bugle call came from outside. He was about to go out to see what was happening when Qin Rui, who was already in bed, called out to him.