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On the day Feng Dao's coffin was buried, Su Ning returned to the military camp outside the city and didn't sleep all night.

Zhao Pu came in three times to refill the tea. Each time, he saw the King of Qin sitting at his desk, holding the Spring and Autumn Annals annotated by Feng Dao in his hand, motionless.

As dawn approached, Suning finally spoke.

"Zhao Pu".

"Your subordinate is here."

"Don't wait any longer with Zhao Kuangyin."

Zhao Pu was taken aback.

"Should we wait a little longer, until Minglitang presents the evidence..."

“We can’t wait any longer,” Su Ning interrupted him. “Let’s do it now.”

Zhao Pu was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask—why the rush? Although Prime Minister Feng is gone, the Zhao family has remained well-behaved. We have plenty of time to take our time..."

“There’s no time left,” Su Ning said. “Only after the gentleman left did I realize something.”

"what's up?"

"Some things can't wait! They can't be delayed! Waiting and delaying only give the opponent an opportunity."

He looked up at Zhao Pu and said, "Go ahead! The whole family. Leave no one alive."

Zhao Pu met Su Ning's gaze and saw something he had never seen before in those eyes.

It wasn't murderous intent.

It is resolute.

Zhao Pu didn't ask any more questions, and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes."

Zhao Kuangyin and his family have been under house arrest in a secluded courtyard in the west of the city for a full year.

For the past year, they have been completely isolated from the outside world.

The gates of the mansion were guarded day and night by soldiers of the National Defense Army, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.

The food and drinks sent in must be carefully inspected.

At first, Zhao Kuangyin still held a sliver of hope.

He felt that His Majesty would definitely find a way to save his trusted confidant.

After all, he had followed Guo Rong for more than ten years, fighting from Yedu to Bianliang, and in every battle he was always at the forefront.

On the day Emperor Taizu Guo Wei was about to pass away, he was still on duty at the Palace Guard, guarding the palace gates with his brothers, never leaving for a moment.

It was all for the sake of protecting His Majesty; His Majesty will never forget such a friendship.

But as the days went by, there was no movement outside.

Zhao Kuangyin gradually realized something...

Perhaps it's not that His Majesty doesn't want to save them.

Rather, it's that His Majesty cannot save them.

That King of Qin has already taken control of the entire city of Bianliang.

That evening, Zhao Kuangyin sat in his study, staring blankly at a solitary lamp on his desk.

A soft knock came from the door.

"Big brother."

The one who entered was Zhao Kuangyi, his second younger brother.

"Brother, it seems things aren't going well with Father." Zhao Kuangyi's voice was very low.

Zhao Kuangyin stood up and strode towards the backyard.

In the bedroom in the backyard, Zhao Hongyin lay on the couch, his face ashen and his breathing weak.

He had been ill for a long time, and his health had deteriorated day by day over the past year.

Zhao Kuangyin knelt down beside the bed and held his father's hand.

"Father……"

Zhao Hongyin opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Dalang..." His voice was very soft, like a leaf falling in the wind, "What's happening outside... how is it outside?"

(Note: Zhao Kuangyin had an older brother who died young, so Zhao Kuangyin is generally referred to as the eldest brother.)
Zhao Kuangyin remained silent, unsure how to respond.

Looking at Zhao Kuangyin's face, Zhao Hongyin suddenly understood.

"Still...still nothing?"

"Yes."

Zhao Hongyin closed his eyes, and after a long while, he opened them again.

“My son, I’ve lived for sixty years and seen too much. That King Qin… that King Qin is no ordinary man. He won’t let us go.”

"Father……"

"Let me finish," Zhao Hongyin gasped for breath. "His Majesty can't save us. He can't even protect himself. That Prince Qin is far more ruthless than His Majesty; he truly wants to kill us."

"We...we can only rely on ourselves."

Zhao Kuangyin lowered his head and remained silent.

Rely on yourself? How?
It is surrounded by walls on all four sides and guarded day and night.

There isn't even a decent knife in the manor.

If you want to resist, what can you use to resist?
"Young Master, let's pledge allegiance to the King of Qin! But we must be more sincere."

"what?"

"Brother, this is the only way for our Zhao family to survive."

"No! His Majesty has shown the Zhao family immense kindness; we absolutely cannot betray him."

"..." Zhao Hongyin looked at the stubborn Zhao Kuangyin and suddenly sighed.

"So be it...so be it...this is fate..."

His voice grew weaker and softer.

Zhao Kuangyin knelt beside the bed, watching his father's eyes slowly close.

"Father!"

no respond.

Zhao Hongyin is gone.

Zhao Kuangyi stood at the door, watching this scene, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Brother..." Zhao Kuangyi's voice was hoarse, "What do we do?"

Zhao Kuangyin stood up and remained silent for a long time.

"Wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for His Majesty."

"But Father said..."

“Father doesn’t know,” Zhao Kuangyin interrupted him. “Your Majesty has your own difficulties. That Prince of Qin is keeping an eye on him. Your Majesty needs to stabilize the situation first before you can spare the resources to save us.”

He looked out the window at the deep night.

"It'll be soon...it'll be soon..."

Zhao Kuangyi didn't ask any more questions; he didn't know what his elder brother meant by "soon."

But he was willing to believe it.

Because if you don't believe, there is truly no hope.

That night, Zhao Kuangyin and his two brothers stayed by their father's body, not sleeping a wink.

They are waiting for dawn.

Perhaps things will change when it gets light.

But they didn't live to see dawn.

At the fourth watch of the night, the mansion gate was suddenly kicked open.

A group of men in black rushed into the courtyard, silently spreading out and surrounding each room.

Zhao Kuangyin suddenly stood up and rushed into the courtyard.

"Who goes there!"

The man in black did not answer.

The leader removed his mask, revealing a young face.

Zhao Pu.

“General Zhao,” Zhao Pu’s voice was calm, “I am here on the orders of the King of Qin to escort the Zhao family on their journey.”

Zhao Kuangyin's face turned deathly pale.

"King Qin... How dare he! His Majesty will not let him get away with this!"

Zhao Pu did not respond.

He simply waved his hand.

Men in black poured into the rooms.

A scream rang out.

Zhao Kuangyin turned around and tried to rush back into the house, but was held down by two men in black.

Looking at that door, at the figures moving inside, at my brothers lying in pools of blood...

Zhao Kuangyi, Zhao Kuangmei, and those children still in swaddling clothes...

Zhao Kuangyin struggled desperately, roaring angrily, but he couldn't break free from the hands that were holding him down.

Finally, a glass of wine was handed to him.

“General Zhao,” Zhao Pu said, “His Highness said that this cup of wine is a toast to the entire Zhao family.”

Zhao Kuangyin stared at the cup of wine, trembling all over.

"Why..." Zhao Kuangyin's voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed sand, "Why..."

Zhao Pu remained silent for a moment.

"Because Prime Minister Feng left."

"His Highness said that someone must be buried with him."

Zhao Kuangyin was stunned.

Buried with the deceased?

Feng Dao is dead, and the Zhao family must be buried with him?

What's the logic behind this?
But Zhao Kuangyin had no time to think about it anymore.

The glass of wine burned as it went down my throat.

When Zhao Kuangyin fell down, his last thought was of the gray sky in the courtyard.

……

By daybreak, the Zhao residence was empty.

Everyone... Zhao Hongyin, Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Kuangyi, Zhao Kuangmei, and their wives, concubines, children, servants... all disappeared.

The body was transported out of the city overnight and dumped into the burial pit next to Feng Dao's tomb.

That was Suning's order.

"It's too lonely for the gentleman to walk alone."

"Let the Zhao family accompany him."

Zhao Pu stood by the grave pit, watching the corpses being buried layer by layer, and remained silent for a long time.

He didn't know why the King of Qin hated the Zhao family so much.

During the Battle of Gaoping, Zhao Kuangyin was already under house arrest and did not participate at all.

But the King of Qin wanted to kill him.

And the killing must be carried out on the day of Prime Minister Feng's burial.

Zhao Pu couldn't understand it.

But he knew he didn't need to understand.

He only needs to execute.

The grave was filled in, fresh soil was sprinkled on top, and saplings were planted.

In a few more months, no one will be able to tell what's buried here.

Zhao Pu turned and left.

Military camp outside the city.

Su Ning sat in the duty room and nodded after listening to Zhao Pu's report.

"Is it all done?"

"Yes."

What did Zhao Kuangyin say before he died?

Zhao Pu paused for a moment.

He said...why.

Su Ning didn't answer; he just stared at the gray sky outside the window and remained silent for a long time.

"My teacher taught me for seven years."

"For seven years, he taught me to read, to recognize people, and to survive in this chaotic world."

"The day he left, I knelt before his bed, not knowing what to say." "Later, I understood."

"What you fear most is that the world will descend into chaos again."

"A person like Zhao Kuangyin is a source of chaos just by being alive."

"Letting the gentleman take him away is the best outcome."

Zhao Pu listened without responding.

He didn't know if the King of Qin was right or wrong.

But he knew that the King of Qin had made his decision, and no one could change it.

Outside the window, the sky was gradually darkening.

On the distant playground, Sun Wu's cursing still resonated with great force.

Everything was as usual.

But under the old locust tree in front of the Feng residence, there will never be two people playing chess again.

……

The news of Zhao Kuangyin's family being exterminated reached Guo Rong's ears the next morning.

He was reviewing memorials in the imperial study when Empress Fu brought in ginseng soup, looking at Guo Rong with a hesitant expression.

"Is there something you need, Empress?"

Empress Fu was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the Zhao family... is gone."

Guo Rong paused, his pen still.

"What's gone?"

"The Zhao family was taken away last night by..." Empress Fu paused, "...by the King of Qin's men. This morning, someone discovered newly filled soil near Feng Dao's tomb outside the city."

The Imperial Study was eerily quiet.

Guo Rong slowly put down his pen.

"Not a single one left?"

"I heard... I heard they're all gone. The old, the young, the men, the women, even the babies in swaddling clothes are gone."

Guo Rong's hands were trembling slightly.

Suddenly, I remembered how many years Zhao Kuangyin had followed me...

It has been exactly twelve years since the uprising began in Yedu.

In the past twelve years, in which battle have I not been at the forefront?

Every single time, they've risked their lives.

Before he ascended the throne, Zhao Kuangyin was suddenly placed under house arrest.

But that was out of necessity; it was his younger brother who insisted on killing Zhao Kuangyin.

Now, Zhao Kuangyin is gone, and his whole family is gone.

"How dare he..." Guo Rong's voice was low, but he couldn't suppress the anger rising from the bottom of his heart, "How dare he!"

Empress Fu remained silent.

She knew who His Majesty was talking about.

The person who killed Zhao Kuangyin's entire family was his own younger brother, the Crown Prince, the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces, and the Commander of the National Defense Army.

It was the King of Qin.

"Guards!" Guo Rong suddenly raised his voice, "Summon the King of Qin to the palace!"

"Yes, sir!" the eunuch replied and left.

Half an hour later, Su Ning appeared at the door of the Imperial Study.

He was dressed in a plain dark robe, his face calm and expressionless.

"Your Majesty summons your younger brother?"

Guo Rong stared at Su Ning, his gaze sharp as a knife.

"Did you really kill Zhao Kuangyin's entire family?"

"Yes."

Guo Rong was taken aback by Su Ning's quick admission.

"You... what right did you have to kill him?"

"He can rebel however he wants."

"Trying to rebel?" Guo Rong's voice rose a few decibels. "What evidence do you have? He's under house arrest, isolated from the outside world. What evidence do you have to rebel?"

Su Ning looked at him calmly.

Whether Your Majesty believes it or not is Your Majesty's business. What I, your younger brother, have done is to rid the Great Zhou of this scourge.

"Eliminate a scourge?" Guo Rong suddenly stood up and walked up to him. "Zhao Kuangyin has followed me for twelve years. In every battle, he fought to the death. What did he rebel against? Why did he rebel?"

"Just because there is no opposition now does not mean there won't be in the future."

"The future?" Guo Rong sneered. "You use a 'future' as leverage to wipe out his entire family? You won't even spare an infant?"

Suning remained silent for a moment.

"Your Majesty, when Liu Zhiyuan slaughtered the entire Guo family, he didn't even spare the infants."

Guo Rong was stunned.

"How did Father and Your Majesty survive? Because you weren't in Kaifeng at the time. How did I survive? Because Mother hid me in the well."

"When those people killed the Guo family, did they think about the 'infants in swaddling clothes'?"

The Imperial Study was eerily quiet.

Guo Rong stared at Su Ning, his gaze complex.

He recalled the massacre of his entire family, the tragic deaths of the Guo family members, and himself…

He was still in Yedu at that time and luckily escaped disaster.

That was the deepest pain of his life.

But it was Liu Chengyou who did it, not Zhao Kuangyin.

“Third brother,” his voice became hoarse, “I know you hate him. But that was Liu Chengyou, not Zhao Kuangyin. Zhao Kuangyin never killed a single member of the Guo family!”

Suning remained silent.

He simply looked at Guo Rong, his gaze calm to the point of being almost indifferent.

"Your Majesty, I have a question for you."

"explain."

"According to the normal course of development, would you continue to rely on Zhao Kuangyin? If one day Zhao Kuangyin really holds a large army and his soldiers support him to advance further, would he refuse?"

Guo Rong opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

"Zhao Kuangyin has already personally experienced being saddled with the yellow robe twice. Does Your Majesty not want him to surpass his predecessor?"

That's too harsh a statement.

Guo Rong's face turned deathly pale.

"You..." Guo Rong's voice trembled slightly, "You killed him because of this? Are you planning to kill Shi Shouxin and Wang Shenqi next?"

“Shi Shouxin and Wang Shenqi would never have such an opportunity. Besides, I personally witnessed those soldiers of the National Defense Army charging into the enemy lines on the battlefield of Gaoping. They were not afraid to die because they knew that if they died, their families would take care of them.”

"But if they knew that one day this country might be taken away, and the peaceful days they fought so hard to build might belong to someone else—would they still fight so hard?"

"Your Majesty, this empire does not belong to our Guo family alone; it is the empire that those soldiers risked their lives for."

"Anyone who tries to seize this country will die."

Guo Rong fell silent, finding himself unable to refute.

But the anger in his heart did not subside.

“What you say makes sense,” Guo Rong finally spoke, his voice weary. “But you killed one of my old subordinates, someone who had served me for twelve years. Did you consult me ​​before you killed him? How is what you did any different from what Liu Chengyou did?”

Su Ning looked at Guo Rong.

"Your Majesty, your younger brother asked you about this."

Guo Rong was stunned.

“Before the Battle of Gaoping, I said that Zhao Kuangyin and his brothers must die. Your Majesty said at the time that it didn’t matter.”

"In my opinion, that means you agree."

Guo Rong's face froze.

He remembered.

Before the Battle of Gaoping, he discussed the matter of personally leading the expedition with Su Ning in the imperial study.

Su Ning said Zhao Kuangyin must die, and he did indeed say, "I don't care anymore."

do not care.

Isn't that tacit agreement? Does that mean we can just kill the entire Zhao family?
"I..." Guo Rong's voice was hoarse, "I said 'I don't care anymore,' not..."

“What do you mean, ‘not’?” Su Ning interrupted him. “If His Majesty doesn’t care, then I, your humble servant, will. But if I do, His Majesty will be unhappy.”

"So, Your Majesty, what exactly do you want?"

Guo Rong was stumped by the question.

Yes! What do you want?

He wanted Zhao Kuangyin to live, to live this old subordinate who had followed him for twelve years.

But he dared not confront his younger brother directly, because the National Defense Army was in his brother's hands, and the entire city of Bianliang was in his brother's hands.

He could only "ignore it".

Never mind, then what?
Then his younger brother took over the management.

They used the harshest methods to manage it.

What right do I have to get angry?
Looking at her brother's unpredictable expression, Su Ning suddenly sighed.

"Your Majesty, I know you are unhappy."

“But none of the things my brother has done are for himself.”

"The same applies to Zhao Kuangyin's case."

“If he lives, he will be a future threat. Your Majesty does not want to wait until the threat becomes too great before taking action. Zhao Kuangyin’s death is also a warning to those arrogant and unruly generals, so they will not try to win people’s hearts in the army or pull off the scheme of donning the yellow robe.”

Guo Rong remained silent for a long time, then waved his hand wearily, "I understand. You may leave!"

Su Ning looked at Guo Rong but didn't move.

"Does Your Majesty have anything else to say?"

"……No."

Suning nodded and turned to walk out.

As she reached the door, Su Ning suddenly stopped.

"His Majesty."

"Ok?"

"My father said before he died that he wanted us brothers to protect the country together."

“Your subject will remember these words.”

Suning didn't turn around, but pushed open the door and went out.

Guo Rong was the only one left in the Imperial Study.

He stood there, watching the figure disappear through the door, motionless for a long time.

Empress Fu stepped out from behind the screen and gently took Guo Rong's hand.

"His Majesty……"

"Empress," Guo Rong's voice was hoarse, "tell me, is my younger brother a loyal minister or a treacherous minister?"

Empress Fu remained silent for a moment.

"He is your brother."

"But he killed my old subordinates, he killed those who had followed me for twelve years!"

Empress Fu said softly, "There are some things His Majesty wanted to do that he couldn't. He did them for His Majesty."

“He did those things that His Majesty couldn’t do himself.”

“This is the real…brother.”

Guo Rong was stunned.

He looked at Empress Fu, at her calm face, and suddenly understood something.

"Did the Empress know he would do this?"

Empress Fu did not answer.

But her calm eyes said it all.

Guo Rong closed his eyes.

"My younger brother..." Guo Rong murmured, "is more ruthless than me."

Empress Fu remained silent.

She simply held Guo Rong's hand gently and stood there with him.

Outside the window, the sky was gradually darkening.

The candlelight in the imperial study burned very late into the night.

...(End of this chapter)