When Chu Lan got busy, Xia Xi knew that his plan was being implemented and that it might not be long before an army marched toward Xia. The Xia Kingdom had been prosperous for nearly two centuries, the first generation of her monarchs were leaders of a rebellion, there were several Emperors who were conscientious and diligent in governing.
Because of it, the Kingdom prospered afterwards. But maybe it was too prosperous. Neither the previous Emperor nor Xia Xi's father was a good monarch. Corruption in the government was rampant, coupled with natural disasters and man-made ones, the common folk's lives gradually became difficult.
But even if it was hard, they could still get by. If there was a big battle, it was unknown how many people would die and how many would be displaced.
When Xia Xi thought of this, he felt a little frustrated. If the Barbarians wanted to send troops, their first target must be Zhangcheng. He had been there, walked the streets there, lived there, bought things, and eaten their delicious food. Naturally, he didn't want it to become a river of blood.
But Chu Lan's plot didn't happen overnight, how could he persuade him?
"Ah-Ma, Ah-Ma." A voice suddenly awakened Xia Xi, Xia Xi returned to his senses and looked down at the younger son next to him. The small prince looked at him worriedly and asked, "What's wrong with Ah-Ma? It seems that something's on your mind."
Xia Xi whispered: "It's nothing, have you written your characters?"
The little Prince was sitting at the table next to him writing when he heard the words: "I'm done." He looked at Xia Xi and suddenly said, "Ah-Ma must be worried about your home country? Because my father has sent troops recently."
Xia Xi was startled and asked: "How did you know?"
The little Prince said: "My father told me, my brother's going to march, he was named the left general of the Eastern Expedition." When he said this, his little face was full of worries, "Although my brother is very powerful, I don't want him to get hurt. If he gets hurt, I... I'll feel uncomfortable." He said this with reddened eyes, he looked like he was about to cry, "I begged father not to let my brother go, but father not only refused to agree, he even scolded me, and my brother ignored me when he knew about it."
Xia Xi said blankly: "Chun'er is also going to the expedition? Was he forced?"
The little Prince said in a loss: "No, he seems to be willing to go."
Xia Chun had also been a citizen of Xia, it was reasonable to say that most people wouldn't want him to lead troops to attack his home country. He had decided this because he must've had his reasons. The little Prince gently shook Xia Xi's sleeve, he asked, "Ah-Ma, would you please invite my brother over for dinner? I want to see him."
Xia Xi stroked his hair and agreed.
Xia Chun had already been living in the barracks, he usually only entered the Palace once every ten days and a half, just to greet Xia Xi. After he got older, his personality became colder, and he was unsmiling every day, this taught others not to provoke him. But it was true that no one wanted to provoke him. Although he was a Xia man and not tall and mighty, he was powerful, and there were few opponents of his level in the barracks. A person with a waist twice as thick as his may not be able to beat him. Not only that, but his military abilities were also outstanding. The teams he led in the exercises were the ones with the highest survival and winning rates. Furthermore, he also invented some small wartime formations, which were extremely efficient and could be used to take fortresses.
Because of this, even though he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, he was hailed a General and had an army completely under his full jurisdiction.
Xia Xi invited Xia Chun to dinner the next day. The little Prince was obviously extremely excited. While waiting for Xia Chun, he had been smoothing his clothes for fear of something wrong. Xia Chun wasn't late and even arrived a while earlier, when he arrived he straightforwardly saluted Xia Xi. Xia Xi quickly supported him and chuckled: "Chun'er hasn't been here for a long time, were you busy?"
Xia Chun let out an "um", he glanced at the little Prince standing beside him and saluted calmly. As soon as he moved, the little Prince hurriedly supported him, a flush appeared on his cheeks and he said with joy, "Brother, don't be polite with me, sit down, sit down quickly." He bluntly held a box of candies and passed it to Xia Chun, "Brother eat candy."
Xia Chun said quietly: "I don't like eating sweets anymore."
"Oh." The little Prince was a little disappointed, somewhat helplessly glancing at his mother. Xia Xi came over, he picked up a small piece of candy and stuffed it into Xia Chun's mouth. He said with a smile: "Chun'er liked to eat candy before, haven't you eaten this for a long time? Try one, Jin'er brought it for you."
Xia Chun could only slowly chew the sweetness in his mouth and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
The little Prince didn't get any response, his aggrieved eyes were red, and his mood wasn't high while eating. Almost every grain of rice was counted before being delivered to his mouth. It wasn't until Xia Chun wielded his chopsticks and put some vegetables in his bowl that his whole person came back to life. After dinner, the little Prince wanted to be alone with Xia Chun, but looking at his mother's expression, he seemed to want to talk to his brother more, so the little Prince retired first.
Xia Xi personally made tea for Xia Chun, and after considering his words for a while, he asked: "Chun'er, are you serious... are you going to go with the expedition?"
Xia Chun answered: "Yes."
Xia Xi's heart trembled and he asked in confusion: "Why? Although you've lived in this Barbarian country for several years, you're still Xia..." Before he could finish, Xia Chun said: "Does his Royal Highness know how my clan died?"
Xia Xi never knew his past. He had asked before, but Xia Chun didn't say it, so of course he didn't know. Xia Chun slowly said: "We were persecuted to death. My family were originally farmers, we had thousands of acres of fertile land and became rich because of it. Some local officials took a fancy to my family's treasured land, but my grandfather refused to give it away. He was planted with some crimes, several members of my family were taken into prison and tortured to death."
Xia Xi had never heard this before, and at this moment, listening to him speak of it so lightly, he couldn't help feeling horrified. Xia Chun continued: "My other relatives went to the capital to file a complaint. They were arrested before they could send out the papers. The young men were forced into slavery, the others as servants or sold to a brothel. If my mother hadn't escaped quickly enough, she would've been sold to the brothel as well."
Xia Xi lost his voice: "How could this be..."
Xia Chun continued: "She took me and her younger sister to flee to the Barbarian lands. She was chased and killed on the way. She and her younger sister were killed but I was rescued by a passing ranger and sent to the temple. Because I bore witness to the death of my mother and her sister, my throat shut and I couldn't speak. What happened next... His Royal Highness already knows." He looked at Xia Xi and said slowly but firmly: "Now Xia is rotten to the bones; I must tear it down so that the people can survive."
Xia Xi didn't expect his past to be so miserable and felt uncomfortable for him, but there was something he couldn't convince himself. He said: "But if a war starts, more people will have to die. How could I... I..."
Xia Chun said: "Your Highness can't bear this burden, so you can stop listening." He stared at Xia Xi, his tone was a little harder, as if he had a hidden meaning, "Don't move rashly."
He was hinting at something. Xia Xi wasn't stupid, he could naturally understand it. He pursed his lips after a long time and shook his head softly. He said, "I'm uneasy."
Xia Chun wasn't a talkative person. Seeing his appearance, he stopped talking and left after a while. He had just walked to the door when he saw the little Prince standing there waiting for him. When he saw him coming out, he ran over happily. He walked up to him and raised his head to look at him with bright eyes. A strange feeling flashed through Xia Chun's heart, his tone was calm and quiet, "What else, Prince?"
The little Prince wanted to hold his hand but didn't dare, so he could only ask: "Did brother persuade Ah-Ma?"
Xia Chun asked back: "How could I persuade him?"
The little Prince was stunned and quickly said: "My brother must've persuaded badly. Ah-Ma's worries requires father to retreat, but father's agenda is already an arrow strung, how could he stop a flying arrow. Alas, my Ah-Ma's so pitiful. On one side is father and us, on the other is his motherland. If the two sides fight, it's him who'll be the saddest and most worried." As he said that, his eyes slowly reddened again, he asked, "Is my brother going to fight?"
Xia Chun let out an "um". The little Prince couldn't help it, he finally stretched out his hand to hold Xia Chun's. Xia Chun stiffened a bit, but he didn't shake his hand away in the end. The little Prince became happy and his little hand imprisoned his palm, he solemnly said: "War is very dangerous. Brother mustn't get hurt, I'll get worried. I... I'll always remember you." He was obviously embarrassed, his face was little red, and he looked at him shyly, "When my brother returns victorious, I'll go intersect you."
Xia Chun retracted his hand, he put his arm behind his back and said quietly, "I should go back."
"Oh." The little Prince was a little lost. Xia Chun walked away without any nostalgia. After a few steps, the little Prince caught up with him again and stopped in front of him. Xia Chun stopped and asked, "What else?"
The little Prince raised his face and looked at him seriously, he said solemnly: "My brother will definitely encounter a lot of things this time. Maybe he'll even experience being like the heroes in the book saving beauties, but my brother must always remember that you are my future wife. You can't make lifelong private agreements with others."
Seeing someone who was still a child saying something like this, Xia Chun didn't laugh but instead frowned slightly. After the little Prince said this, he seemed to have exhausted his courage, he became uneasy and was slightly wronged. "Ah-Ma said that before I was born, he made a promise with my brother. My brother agreed, no regrets."
Xia Chun wanted to say something, but he pursed his lips and said nothing in the end. The little Prince said: "I know that I'm still young, my brother certainly can't like me the way my Ah-Ma likes my father, but I'll grow up and become an excellent man in the future. I'll be a capable monarch like my father someday, so brother, alright?" He said, showing a sweet smile at Xia Chun, and wanted to shake their hands.
Xia Chun avoided his movements this time and whispered: "I should go now."
The little Prince was a little disappointed. When he saw that Xia Chun was almost out of sight, he suddenly yelled, "You must come back safely!"
The figure in the distance paused and soon continued walking without looking back.
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<b>PastTimer: One more chapter to go </b><b>yiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi</b>