HCT – Chapter 74 The Smoldering Fire in Lian Po’s Heart

Lian Po did not share his suspicions with Li Mu. He knew Li Mu’s character well—so well that even if Li Mu’s own interests were harmed, he would never take a stand against Zhu Xiang.

But Li Mu was still young. Lian Po feared that if Li Mu found out the King of Qin had deliberately placed Zhu Xiang in danger, he would lose his composure.

Both he and Li Mu had been “gifts” Zhao sent to Qin. If they angered the King of Qin, they might never be able to return home. Lian Po himself didn’t care. In the twilight of his years, he had entered Qin alone. This life—if the King of Qin wanted it, fine; if not, so be it. But Li Mu was still young and had brought his entire family into Qin. He couldn’t afford to offend the king.

In truth, if Li Mu were sharp enough, he’d come to realize the truth once they reached Xianyang.  Lian Po’s silence might be meaningless.

Even so, Lian Po couldn’t help but want to shield the younger man, even just a little—even if it was just a moment of ease, even if it was a self-deceiving illusion. Besides, all of this was merely his own conjecture. The full picture wouldn’t be clear until he reached Xianyang and questioned Zhu Xiang.

What if he had misunderstood the King of Qin?

Lian Po was troubled. And when troubled, he always wanted to talk to Lin Xiangru. In the past, he had noble origins, held high rank, enjoyed the king’s trust, and was one of Zhao’s most relied-upon generals. He never needed to ponder such things. In recorded history, Lian Po never did dwell on such issues.

After the Battle of Handan, the King of Zhao came to his senses and continued to entrust him with great power. Riding the tide, Lian Po rose smoothly to the position of Acting Chancellor.  Which was why, when the new king ascended the throne, Lian Po was immediately defeated in the political struggle. All it took was a simple goading tactic to make him walk away from his homeland and lose everything.

In this lifetime, he and Lin Xiangru now had Zhu Xiang—a junior they were both responsible for.  This added many hardships. Since the Battle of Changping, they had known only loneliness and loss. And so, reluctantly, he picked up the habit of thinking about things he never used to concern himself with.

“That old scoundrel Lin Xiangru… is already dead.” Just as Lian Po was about to seek him out for counsel, reality hit him.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, thinking about who else he could consult. In the end, he silently fetched a basin of cool water, washed his face, and buried his thoughts deep within himself.

Lian Po then went to find Li Mu, who was curious about Zhu Xiang’s fiefdom and wanted to linger a few more days in Changping.

“We’ve already wasted too much time,” Lian Po said. “We should enter Qin as soon as possible—we mustn’t keep the King of Qin waiting. We need to pick up the pace.”

Li Mu agreed to set out immediately, but hesitated about speeding up the journey. “That woman is young—she can handle the travel. But Lou Huan…”

Lian Po snorted coldly. “If he can’t keep up, let him go on his own.”

Li Mu was already aware that Lou Huan and Lian Po disliked each other due to their respective former patrons. Hearing Lian Po speak like that, he could only give a wry smile, then quietly sought Lou Huan out to discuss things and persuaded him to travel separately.

Though Li Mu tried to smooth things over, he still stood firmly on Lord Lian’s side.

Lou Huan simply waved it off and said, “You two go on ahead. That woman and I will follow slowly behind. This way, the King of Qin can ride out to greet you, and give you a surprise. If that woman’s in the party, someone might mistake his greeting as meant for her.”

Li Mu was impressed by how agreeable Lou Huan was, and his impression of the man improved significantly. Although Lou Huan had caused trouble for Zhao on multiple occasions, Li Mu—still young—had never received much favor from the Zhao king, nor had he personally clashed with Lou Huan. As a result, their interactions had been rather cordial.

Of course, his loyalty still lay firmly with Lord Lian.

Lian Po hadn’t expected Lou Huan to be so accommodating. Before leaving, he even deliberately circled around him muttering suspicions, wondering aloud if the old scoundrel was up to something.

Lou Huan rolled his eyes good-naturedly and said, “We’re both Qin subjects now, and I’m close to death. What would I gain from setting you up? Lian Po, do you still think you’re a Zhao general?”

Your ancestors! Lian Po’s temper flared again at Lou Huan’s taunt. Lou Huan, as usual, dodged Lian Po’s raised fist with practiced ease and a shameless grin.

Watching Lord Lian in one of his familiar fits of fury, Li Mu was overjoyed. Thanks to his mother’s calming presence, Li Mu had already made peace with the idea of entering Qin. But Lian Po had remained gloomy and withdrawn for some time, and that worried him. So seeing Lian Po finally fired up again—storming with rage because of Lou Huan—was, to Li Mu, a very welcome sign.

Originally, Li Mu was supposed to escort Zhao Ji into Qin. But he and Lian Po left first—and not a single member of the Qin envoy objected.

Bu chose to stay behind to “escort” Zhao Ji, and assigned half of the Qin soldiers to Lian Po and Li Mu. The Zhao people that Lian Po and Li Mu had brought with them were left behind in Changping, with Cai Ze tasked with settling them in.

Li Mu’s family also stayed behind with Lou Huan’s group. He left all his retainers with them to ensure their protection, and went ahead to Xianyang himself to find a residence for his family.

With the burden lightened, Lian Po and Li Mu’s pace toward Qin greatly increased, and they reached Hangu Pass in less than a month.

Meng Wu welcomed them at the pass. Upon hearing they wished to reach Xianyang quickly, he provided them with fine horses, and rode with them toward the capital.

Lian Po was puzzled. “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m in such a hurry to reach Xianyang?”

Meng Wu answered honestly, “Aside from Zhu Xiang and Zheng’er, who else in Xianyang would weigh on your minds? When Xunzi entered Qin, he was the same—he practically wanted to sprout wings and fly to Xianyang just to give Zhu Xiang a good beating.”

Lian Po: “……”

Right. How could he forget that Xunzi was in Xianyang too?

Even though they had crossed paths many times, Lian Po always felt distant from Xunzi and barely spoke to him. With his temper, there was no way the two of them could ever get along.

The moment he remembered that Xunzi was in Xianyang, Lian Po’s chest flared with anger again.

Zhu Xiang had been pushed into such a dangerous position by the King of Qin—Xunzi, you didn’t even try to stop him from jumping into the fire?! Sure, you couldn’t stop the King, but if Zhu Xiang hadn’t offered the suggestion to train troops through military instruction at the Xianyang Academy, the King wouldn’t have come up with such a harmful idea!

“Useless old bastard,” Lian Po snorted.

Meng Wu’s ears twitched, and his heart lit up in amusement. So Lord Lian and Xunzi didn’t get along? He wondered which side Zhu Xiang would take.

Li Mu asked, “Are you close with Zhu Xiang?”

Meng Wu nodded. “Zhu Xiang’s a loner. After arriving in Qin, I’m the only friend he made.”

Li Mu: “……”

Why did that sound… a little weird?

Being the straightforward person he was, Li Mu didn’t dwell on it and instead asked worriedly, “Was Zhu Xiang ostracized by the Xianyang nobility? He’s genuine and warm with people—not at all aloof.”

Meng Wu replied, “The Crown Prince often eats and sleeps at his home. He also has to support Lord Ying and Lord Wu’an. He’s forced to be a recluse.”

Lian Po and Li Mu both had giant question marks pop up over their heads. It was one thing for the Crown Prince to often visit—probably because of Xia Tong and Zheng’er—but why did Zhu Xiang have to support Ying Hou and Wu’an Jun? Don’t they have heirs of their own?!

Even if they don’t, aren’t state meritorious elders usually cared for by people appointed by the King of Qin? Wasn’t the Marquis of Changping in Qin supposed to be doing that sort of thing?

Now, Lian Po and Li Mu finally understood why Xunzi wanted to sprout wings—they were starting to feel that riding horses was way too slow.

With a cheerful grin, Meng Wu rode with Lian Po and Li Mu all the way back to Xianyang. He glanced at Lian Po—supposedly old and retired from the battlefield—still riding all day without showing a hint of exhaustion, and couldn’t help marveling to himself. They said Lian Po was old—were those people blind?

When the King of Qin heard Meng Wu’s advance report—that Lian Po and Li Mu were so worried about Zhu Xiang they abandoned the main party and galloped ahead to Xianyang—his eyes widened in surprise.

Turning to the Crown Prince Zhu, who was yawning while begrudgingly helping him sort documents, the King asked, “What are they so worried about? Even if they’re worried, what can they do once they’re in Xianyang?”

Stifling another yawn, the Crown Prince replied, “They probably don’t care whether they can do anything. They’ll just feel at ease once they see Zhu Xiang.”

The King of Qin said, “I’m asking—what exactly are they so worried about!”

Crown Prince Zhu put on a startled expression, but inwardly curled his lip. You deliberately made the Qin generals who were originally close to Zhu Xiang resent him, and now you’re asking what they’re worried about?

You get to do as you please, while no one else is allowed to be angry or call you out—is this what it means to be a king?

“I heard,” he guessed aloud, “that after Lian Po found out Zhu Xiang returned the tax revenue from Changping to the people of Changping, he angrily scolded him, asking what he planned to use to raise Zheng’er.”

“Li Mu and Cai Ze told him Zheng’er doesn’t cost much, and that Xia Tong is helping. Lian Po cursed the two of them for talking nonsense.”

The King of Qin frowned. “How come I never heard of this?”

Crown Prince Zhu replied, “It was mentioned in a letter Cai Ze wrote to Zhu Xiang. I happened to be there when it arrived.”

The king’s brows eased. “So that’s what happened.”

Once he had confirmed that Zhu Xiang was indeed sincere and virtuous, he had loosened the surveillance around him—for instance, he no longer demanded reports on every letter he received. That’s why he was only hearing this amusing story now.

The King said, “Lian Po and Li Mu have come to Qin; of course I must personally ride out to greet them. When Lian Po sees Zhu Xiang, I only hope he won’t embarrass him in public or berate him for ‘mistreating’ Zheng’er.”

Crown Prince Zhu sighed inwardly. Knew it. There’s no fooling you that easily, Father. Hopefully Lian Po was smart enough to go straight into berating Zhu Xiang the moment he saw him—for “neglecting” Zheng’er, of course.

With nervous anticipation, the Crown Prince waited for the moment Lian Po and Li Mu arrived in Xianyang.

As expected, the King of Qin personally rode out of the city to welcome them—and brought Zhu Xiang with him.

Zhu Xiang was dressed in his formal marquis robes for once, and looked quite dignified and proper.

Lian Po, Li Mu, and Meng Wu dismounted ahead of time and walked up to the King, bowing to the ground in greeting.

The King quickly helped Lian Po up. “Lord Xinping, no need for such formality. From now on, you needn’t bow when meeting me.”

He then helped Li Mu up as well, speaking earnestly, “Zhu Xiang often praises your talent as equal to Wu’an Jun. I am entrusting you with guarding the Great Wall. I hope one day, you’ll inherit the title of Lord Wu’an, as Bai Gong once held.”

Lian Po and Li Mu were both overwhelmed with gratitude. Faced with such a wise and generous ruler, they felt they could bare their hearts and souls to him, vowing never to betray his trust.

Seeing their tearful gratitude, the King of Qin was himself moved to tears.

Zhu Xiang: “……”

He curled his toes in secondhand embarrassment. If this kept up, he’d be able to dig a whole new palace for Zheng’er just with his toes.

Lian Po shot a sharp glance at Zhu Xiang.

Zhu Xiang reflexively shrank his neck.

The King saw this and instantly switched to a kindly, smiling expression. “Lord Xinping and General Li must be weary from travel. Let’s not have a formal banquet today. Zhu Xiang has already prepared lodging. Let us go to his villa and talk further.”

Little Ying Zheng chimed in, “Great-grandfather, it’s my villa. Uncle said: what’s mine is mine, and what’s Uncle’s is still mine.”

“You cheeky rascal!” the King tapped Zheng’er lightly on the head. “Come greet Lord Lian and General Li.”

“Grandpa Lian! Teacher! Zheng’er missed you so much!” As for greeting them properly—Zheng’er immediately launched himself into Lian Po’s arms.

Lian Po caught him, stunned at first, then choked up. “Zheng’er… why are you so thin? You’ve lost so much weight… Zhu Xiang!”

“I’m here, I’m here. Zheng’er’s clearly gained weight!” Zhu Xiang quickly protested. “He’s gained a lot!”

“Bullshit!” Lian Po roared.

Crown Prince Zhu let out a silent sigh of relief. Alright, alright. Crisis averted.