Chapter 18: 018: Disgrace (Part 2)

Hearing that these soldiers had nothing to do with her, Shen Tang’s tense nerves relaxed. She raised her hand to lower her sun-shading bamboo hat and sat in a corner, feigning to drink tea while trying her best to minimize her presence. "The soldiers of Geng... why are they here?"

At these words, Qi Shan nearly choked on his tea.

This young Master Shen truly never disappointed him; every question was outside his expectations.

"If the soldiers of Geng aren't here, then where would they be?"

Shen Tang: "..."

Her intuition told her she had just asked a stupid question.

Shen Tang attempted a salvage.

"But shouldn't this be Zhongtai—no, Xin? Why would the soldiers of Geng..."

As she spoke, she stopped herself, covering one eye with her hand in an expression of utter helplessness, avoiding Qi Shan's look of disbelief—as if he were looking at an idiot. She remembered Qi Shan mentioning the news that Zhongtai, or rather the Xin Kingdom, had been destroyed and that the national seal was suspected to be hidden by the Gong clan. At the time, her attention had been entirely on the seal and the Gong clan; she hadn't even considered who the force behind the destruction of Xin was.

Looking back now, it was almost certainly Geng.

This question fully exposed her "naivety and ignorance," but fortunately, Qi Shan was used to the young Master Shen's "unpredictability" and did not press the matter.

Shen Tang said awkwardly, "I... don't know much about these things..."

"It is not too late to learn now." Qi Shan gave a half-smile and tapped the table three times with his finger, silently chanting the Word Spirit: *“Law shall not reach six ears.”* A faint, nearly invisible surge of literary qi rose and then vanished without a trace. "One can tell at a glance that Young Master Shen is a noble scholar raised in luxury; I can understand. You are fortunate; other profligate youths might be even more ignorant and fearless. They only know how to wander through pleasure houses and indulge in fleeting romances, playing through the world, never knowing the hatred of nations or the suffering of the people."

Shen Tang: "..."

As long as she didn't take it personally, what Qi Shan said didn't apply to her.

Shen Tang put on a thick skin. "What Mr. Qi says is correct."

Qi Shan found the conversation losing its flavor. He had simply let his emotions get the better of him just now—

The destruction of Xin by Geng was something even a three-year-old or a farmer in the fields knew. Yet this Young Master Shen, who had such a profound connection to the Gong clan, actually acted foolishly and claimed not to know.

He didn't know whether to be angry or to laugh.

Shen Tang lowered her head and sipped her tea guiltily.

"However, Xin and Geng are of the same breed; there is little difference whether one is destroyed or not. To the common people, it is merely a matter of the great mountain above their heads changing from a mediocre ruler to a tyrant..."

Shen Tang was surprised by these words.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the Geng soldiers outside the tea house. Seeing that they hadn't noticed her, she felt relieved. "Hearing Mr. Qi speak, it seems you have quite an opinion regarding the fallen Xin Kingdom. But didn't you say before..."

When they first met, Qi Shan had harbored ill will toward her because she was a "member of the Gong clan," implying in his words that the Gong clan was involved in the destruction of Xin and the hiding of the national seal. Shen Tang had thought Qi Shan was deeply devoted to his former country, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

Qi Shan lazily lifted his eyelids.

"The two are not contradictory."

Seeing that he had no intention of continuing the topic, Shen Tang had no choice but to proactively change the subject, using indirect questions to try and glean more information about this world. She pointed toward the sky. "That person from Geng... you have such a low opinion of him?"

The destruction of Xin was indeed the fault of the incompetent vassal kings; calling them "mediocre rulers" was not an exaggeration. But Geng was a powerful state, and the vassal king had expanded his territory during his reign. Yet Qi Shan's evaluation was "tyrant"?

Qi Shan sneered. "If that doesn't count as a tyrant, then which vassal king could be called a 'benevolent ruler'? Just watch. If the tyrant Zheng Qiao does not die within five years, Geng will surely bring about its own destruction."

Shen Tang's curiosity was piqued.

"In what specific way is he 'tyrannical'?"

Just as Qi Shan was about to explain, harsh curses erupted from the prisoner carriage outside the tea house. Before long, only the sound of whipping and shrill, agonizing screams remained. Shen Tang peered through the gaps in the tea house's bamboo blinds and could faintly see blood dripping from a corner of the prisoner carriage.

Another prisoner cursed furiously: "Even if you beat me to death, I will still say it! Zheng Qiao, you treacherous, low-born sycophant! You make me wear mourning clothes and carry a coffin just so you can dream of your ancestors! I'll beat the drums and gongs for a coward like you!"

This fellow had a head of white hair and a body of hardened muscle; his voice was full of vigor, sounding like rolling thunder.

This was Shen Tang's first time witnessing the "cursing literature" of another world.

Impressive!

The Geng soldiers, of course, would not let him continue his tirade.

They immediately lashed out with whips, each stroke leaving a bloody welt. The man stubbornly gritted his teeth, refusing to let out a single scream or plea for mercy; the harder they hit him, the more vigorously he cursed.

Eventually, they beat him until he was barely clinging to life. A soldier panted and spat at the prisoner. "Unlucky old bastard!"

"Young Master Shen just asked 'in what way is he tyrannical'; haven't you seen it?" Qi Shan gestured vaguely toward the outside of the tea house. Fearing Shen Tang might not understand, he began from the beginning. "Zheng Qiao is the current ruler of Geng. At the age of five, he was sent to the Xin palace as a hostage following his biological mother. It is said he was intelligent and studious from a young age, possessing extraordinary beauty, and became famous in the capital by fifteen. The ruler of Xin was overjoyed and bestowed upon him the name 'Nüjiao' (Lovely Girl)."

"Was the ruler of Xin mentally ill?"

Qi Shan said, "He was indeed sick—incompetent, useless, and lustful. He happened to set his eyes on the women of another country's palace, specifically Zheng Qiao's mother. Through coercion and force, he took her, and as a bonus, he received the hostage, Zheng Qiao."

"That Zheng Qiao sounds quite pitiful..."

Qi Shan mocked her naivety. "Do you think Zheng Qiao was forced into this by powerful hands, having no choice?"

"Is it not so?"

Subconsciously, one would assume a mediocre ruler had forced the situation.

Qi Shan shook his head regretfully. "If that were the case, Zheng Qiao would indeed be pitiful. Unfortunately, it is not. He is extremely skilled at 'killing with a borrowed knife.' In those years, he caused the deaths of many loyal officials to eliminate his rivals. Anyone who offended him—those who called him a sycophant or a favored parasite—would soon find themselves imprisoned. Regardless of whether they were innocent, they would suffer the 'Extreme Punishment of Ruined Foundations'."

What was the "Extreme Punishment of Ruined Foundations"?

It was a cruel method of destroying one's *Danfu* (Core/Foundation). Once the literary heart, martial courage, and spiritual foundation of the *Danfu* were destroyed, they could never be recovered, even if the case was overturned later. Zheng Qiao also bullied the weak and feared the strong, only dealing lethal blows to those from humble backgrounds with little influence.

One could not count how many promising scholars and martial artists he had destroyed.

In the early years, the situation in Xin was relatively stable and its national strength was not weak. Even with a mediocre ruler who refused to attend court 365 days a year, spending his time wandering the palace, indulging in women, and secretly ordering the search for beauties, the people's lives were still manageable.

But after Zheng Qiao appeared, chaos followed chaos.

Later, when internal strife broke out in the Geng royal family, they thought of Zheng Qiao, who was still a hostage in another country. Zheng Qiao also had ambition and was unwilling to accept his current status. He used wealth and promises of a future to win over the officials of the Xin court, and through his maneuvering, he successfully persuaded the ruler of Xin to let him return home.

In just five years, taking advantage of the consecutive droughts and the lack of military strength in Xin, Geng launched a surprise attack, sweeping through the land like a hot knife through butter until they reached the royal capital. At every conquered location, he permitted his soldiers to burn, kill, loot, and abduct women, while he personally subjected the former officials of Xin to every manner of humiliation.

"Speaking of which, Zheng Qiao also has a connection to the Gong clan."

Shen Tang felt her scalp tingle upon hearing this.

She truly did not know this.

And yet, Qi Shan said it with a smile.

"Back then, the Gong clan was the primary force supporting Zheng Qiao's return to Geng. The interesting part is—when the Gong clan was purged and their lineage exterminated, the men were exiled to the borders to serve as forced laborers, and the women were sent to the teaching houses of Xiaocheng—that was the very first order Zheng Qiao issued upon capturing the capital of Xin."

Xin (renamed Zhongtai) had been destroyed, which was currently the national faction of both Tang-mei and Qi Shan.

Of course, it had already been annexed by Geng, though the control was not yet stable.

The entire world background was a complete state of chaos, with vassal states fighting viciously against one another.

Tang-mei was currently only eleven or twelve years old, still in the stage of understanding the outside world. Before she could truly embark on the path of the "Vassal Recruitment," she needed more time to develop, and she would also need a catalyst to allow her to raise her own banner and become a king.