Ying Fusu

As soon as Fusu finished speaking, the tent fell silent once again.

The officers looked at each other.

They could only see growing confusion and bewilderment on each other's faces.

— Mourning?

Ok……

Could it be that news has come from Xianyang that the young master's birth mother...

"Hiss~"

"I've never heard of Lady Mi suffering from such a serious illness?"

"Why so suddenly...?"

In a short while, the border generals in the tent believed they had seen through the truth.

—The birth mother of Prince Fusu, the former royal woman of Chu, Lady Mi, recently passed away.

Upon hearing of his mother's death, Fusu was overcome with grief and naturally forgot about the imperial edict, envoys, or formalities.

if not?

If his mother hadn't died, why would Fusu have had to observe mourning?

It couldn't possibly be Fusu's father: His Majesty the First Emperor...

...

"My lord, please accept my condolences."

After a brief silence, a short, stocky figure stepped out from among the officers standing on both sides and bowed slightly to Fusu.

After Fusu returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute, the officer turned slightly to the side and cupped his hands to the messenger who was delivering the imperial edict.

Then he turned around and faced Fusu again.

"With the death of his elder brother, the young master is deeply grieved. It is only natural that his behavior is slightly different from usual."

"However, the emperor's envoy is present, and the imperial edict is at hand."

"While you are saddened, my lord, you should not treat the angels with such disrespect."

As he spoke, Wang Li couldn't help but force a slightly deliberate expression of sorrow, as if he were grieving for Fusu's loss of his mother.

With hands clasped and head bowed, he waited for a long time, but he never received Fusu's usual humble and gentle thanks.

After waiting for a long time without any result, Wang Li finally raised his head in confusion.

Then he saw Fusu, dressed in mourning clothes, with his hands clasped around his abdomen, a few steps away.

Within her slightly reddened eyes were a pair of calm, still eyes, only faintly tinged with anger, staring intently at the center of the tent.

Sensing something amiss, Wang Li instinctively followed Fu Su's gaze and slowly turned around.

But in the center of the tent, the imperial envoy who had just been so arrogant and looked down on everyone was now sweating profusely and trembling like a leaf...

"this……"

Before Wang Li could recover from his shock, Fu Su's deep, calm voice rang out again from the direction of the head of the table.

At the same time, everyone's gaze inside the tent—including that of the envoy who proclaimed the imperial edict—was drawn to Fusu.

"What's wrong?"

"You dare not proclaim the imperial edict?"

"Still they dare not claim it's an 'imperial edict'?"

Two casually uttered sentences were enough to startle the imperial envoy, who swallowed hard.

He instinctively reached into his robes, but could not pull out the black wooden box, about the length of a palm and the width of three fingers, which contained the "Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Edict".

Under the envoy's fearful gaze, Fusu finally took another step.

He walked slowly to the envoy, his steps deliberate and his gaze fixed expressionlessly on the depths of the envoy's eyes.

Zaiwu suddenly reached out and, under the astonished gazes of the generals, snatched the black wooden box from the envoy's arms.

At the same time, the soldiers who had been waiting nearby finally tied the messenger's arms behind his back and forced him to kneel on the ground.

"Generals, do you know the origin of this 'edict'?"

All eyes were on Fusu, who was dressed in mourning clothes and looked deeply saddened.

He just kept his head down, staring blankly at the black wooden box containing the "Imperial Edict" in his hand.

Then he raised his head and slowly surveyed the generals in the tent.

"And what exactly does this 'edict' say?"

...

Quiet.

Absolute silence.

As Fusu finished speaking, it was as if time had been paused inside the huge central tent.

If Fusu's previous actions of making the imperial edict messenger wait for a long time and deliberately ignoring the messenger could be interpreted as excessive grief and inappropriate behavior—which could be somewhat forgivable;

Now, Fusu has personally seized the imperial edict and ordered the arrest of the messenger who delivered it...

At this moment, those qualified to appear in the central tent were all renowned border generals, the most outstanding and well-known figures in the Qin army.

Even the slowest person would have realized by now: something seemed amiss...

In an instant, countless surprised and uncertain gazes were cast toward the imposing figure who still stood with his sword at the head of the table, his eyes lowered.

It was only at this moment that Meng Tian finally recovered from his petrified state.

He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and reached out to take the wooden box that Fusu handed him.

Then he slowly lowered his head, staring blankly at the wooden box in his hand. After a long while, he let out a long sigh.

"In early June of summer, His Majesty sent a letter."

"Although not explicitly stated in the letter, it was implied that His Majesty was unwell and might not live much longer."

...

"And then, how has the young master fared in Shangjun these past two years? Has he made any progress?"

"Given time, will he be fit to inherit the ancestral temple...?"

With each sentence he spoke, Meng Tian's gaze became more unfocused, and his expression more vacant.

After uttering the last few words, he stood frozen in place, completely bewildered.

Those round, tiger-like eyes had unknowingly become veiled with a thin mist.

After an unknown amount of time, Meng Tian blinked lightly as if waking from a dream, letting tears slide down his cheeks.

At the same time, he turned around and looked at the imperial envoy who was kneeling in the center of the tent, and slightly raised the wooden box in his hand.

"This is a forged edict conspired by Li Si, the Left Chancellor, and Zhao Gao, the Chief of the Imperial Chariots."

...

The imperial edict reads: General Meng Tian and Prince Fusu are hereby ordered to commit suicide.

……

coax!

After a brief silence, the inner tent erupted in uproar!

All the generals stared in horror, their eyes constantly shifting between the wooden box in Meng Tian's hand and the imperial envoy who was being held down on the ground.

He is to be executed!

How is that possible?!

General Meng Tian is undoubtedly the number one figure in the Qin military today, a pillar of the nation!

Prince Fusu was the eldest son of the First Emperor and the eldest prince of the Qin Dynasty!

Currently, the two men, one as commander-in-chief and the other as supervisor, jointly command 300,000 border troops, while also overseeing the defense of the northern wall and the construction of the Great Wall!

Given their status and the heavy responsibilities they bore, how could the First Emperor have so hastily ordered their deaths?

The crucial question is: what crime have these two committed?

Since the Qin Dynasty unified China, Meng Tian has been in charge of the army in Beiqiang for more than ten years.

During this period, he drove out the northern barbarians, guarded the border, and supervised the construction of the Great Wall—if not outstanding achievements, he was at least hardworking and meritorious, and there was never any oversight.

As for Fusu, it was indeed two years ago that he remonstrated with the First Emperor because of the "burning of books and burying of scholars," and thus offended his sovereign.

However, Fusu was "demoted" to Shangjun to serve as Meng Tian's military supervisor, which was a punishment for what happened back then.

I made a mistake, I was punished, but I've already moved on from that.

Even if the matter is not yet closed, and even if His Majesty the First Emperor still harbors resentment, Fusu is still the eldest son of the Qin Dynasty and a descendant of the First Emperor by blood.

It was just "offending someone with advice," not a crime punishable by death, right?

Considering all that had happened, the generals quickly came to believe Meng Tian to a great extent.

—It must be a forged imperial edict!

If it weren't for a forged imperial edict, there would be no way to explain why His Majesty the First Emperor would order the deaths of Meng Tian and Fusu!

But then again: if it were a forged imperial edict…

How did Zhao Gao and Li Si manage to do that?

And why...?

As they pondered, the generals' gazes involuntarily fell upon Fusu, drawn to the yellowish-white mourning clothes that inexplicably sent shivers down their spines.

As that shocking conjecture began to appear in the minds of the generals, Fusu finally lowered his head with tears in his eyes and began to sob.

"In the thirty-seventh year of the First Emperor's reign, on the third day of the seventh month of autumn..."

"The Emperor has passed away at Shaqiu..."