Chapter 511: The Qin Wang Comes of Age!

Qu Hanxiu stood outside the Qin Wang's residence, looking out over Jiangnan today—crimson banners had been raised in many places, things that had been furled away in days past were now fully unfurled, the crimson Fire Qilin cloud-pattern banners spreading across the sky.

Magnificent!

It truly was worth all the energy this old man has spent.

That youngster Yan Daiqing—this won't do, that one's budget isn't enough—Qu Hanxiu had practically poured all his own energy into this matter, even to the point of casting aside his usual dignity, relying on personal favors to scrounge up quite a bit of silver for sponsorship.

He had staked his entire lifetime's reputation on this, only to bring the coming-of-age ceremony to its present state; standing at a high place to admire and praise it for a moment, he shook out his sleeves, and on the way out, ran into Nan Hanwen, who was eating.

Nan Hanwen turned to leave, but Qu Hanxiu closed the distance in three strides as though it were two and caught up.

Qu Hanxiu pressed one hand on Nan Hanwen's shoulder and laughed aloud: "Isn't this Xiuye? What a coincidence, running into you again today."

Nan Hanwen sighed inwardly, turned around, and on the surface was quite polite and respectful, saying: "What business does Lord Qu have?"

Qu Hanxiu was concise: "Hungry, no money, feed me."

Nan Hanwen: "…………"

The corner of his mouth twitched.

Nan Hanwen barely suppressed his temper and said: "Lord Qu wouldn't have come to beg a meal off a junior like me, would he?"

Qu Hanxiu said with perfect righteousness: "Well, what else?"

Nan Hanwen opened his mouth, helpless, and could only take this old man—who was in a fine mood today but didn't have much spare cash—to eat a basket of Jiangnan xiaolongbao, dipped in fragrant vinegar; Qu Hanxiu ate several baskets of buns.

Nan Hanwen said: "Lord Qu, have you prepared how the coming-of-age ceremony is to be wrapped up?"

Qu Hanxiu bit through the skin of the last bun, poured the fragrant vinegar mixed with chili oil into the bun through the opening, then swallowed the xiaolongbao whole in one bite, mouth full of fragrance, thoroughly content—

This old man, during this stretch of time, had learned from the common folk of Jiangnan all the various ways of eating Jiangnan street food, had picked up the rural dialects of eighteen different Jiangnan cities, so much so that people everywhere in Jiangnan felt he was a fellow townsman of theirs.

This old pedant, born in Zhongzhou, now looked for all the world like a lively little Jiangnan old-timer; hearing the question, he swished a piece of cured meat in tea and said: "Naturally there is a way to wrap things up."

He did not know where the Qin Wang was at present.

It had only been a few days since the Qin Wang had taken the Chen Kingdom's Ducheng; at this time, the transmission of news across the realm was not that fast—at least for ordinary people, the speed at which such news traveled could not be compared to that of the kings of the various states.

But Qu Hanxiu had his own view, and said:

"However, the Qin Wang has after all not given orders to halt the coming-of-age ceremony."

"Then there are only two possibilities: either, at today's coming-of-age ceremony, the Qin Wang will descend from the heavens, just as he did on the day he was enfeoffed as king, and the period of his absence from Jiangnan will be as though erased."

"The other possibility is that some piece of news shocking enough to rock the four corners of the realm will be transmitted back."

"That news must be incomparably momentous."

"So momentous that everyone will feel that at the Qin Wang's coming-of-age ceremony, the Qin Wang himself not being here but being elsewhere is not discourteous, but rather a fine tale; apart from these two, there can be no other possibility."

Nan Hanwen said: "Then, is there no possibility that His Majesty the Qin Wang simply won't come?"

Qu Hanxiu laughed with certainty: "Absolutely impossible."

"Every move a sovereign of the realm makes has its meaning and its reason."

"If he neither calls a halt to the coming-of-age ceremony nor makes up for his absence at it, then what is lost before the eyes of all under heaven is the Qin Wang's own face; given Jiangnan's present situation, recovering and rebuilding, and still having to send out armies on all sides—"

"Spending money to slap his own face—Xiuye, is the Qin Wang in your eyes such a fool?"

Nan Hanwen did not answer.

He felt that His Majesty the Qin Wang probably did not care about the оценка of common men, nor would he take such оценка to heart, so talk of slapping one's own face was quite unnecessary.

But wasting money outright was intolerable.

Qu Hanxiu said: "I know what you're about to say."

"The Qin Wang is a bold and peerless hero, and naturally does not care what others think of him."

"But spending silver, time, and manpower only to blacken one's own reputation—there is no such logic; you may feel that the situation in this realm lies in blades and swords, in the edge of arms, in strong soldiers and sturdy horses."

"But in the eyes of this stubborn, unchanging old pedant, rites and reputation are also a tremendous force; you cannot see it, cannot touch it, yet this force truly exists, crashing over you like surging waves."

"This is what is called a blazing great trend."

"This great trend, no one knows whence it rose, yet it has already gathered into waves, bit by bit coalescing into a tendency—the Qin Wang seems likely to obtain the realm, the Qin Wang seems likely to open an age of great peace and good governance."

"The Qin Wang at this moment stands atop the waves of this realm's age of chaos."

"At such a time, if a heroic lord with ambition for the realm must surely go with the flow and press further; he would never cut off his own great trend. Therefore, this old man is certain—something will happen today!"

"The Qin Wang is not in Jiangnan, naturally because he has something more important than Jiangnan to attend to; Yue Pengwu's five-pronged army marching out—surely it was only to burn supplies and burn silver, to make that wretched Yan Daiqing's temper grow more explosive with each passing day?"

"A mere thousand li of Chen Kingdom territory surely isn't enough to make Southwest's Yan Daiqing, Yue Pengwu, General Yue Qianfeng, and these famous generals all vanish, is it?"

Nan Hanwen did not know how to answer.

He had a subtle feeling, unsure whether Qu Hanxiu had brought him here today to openly eat free xiaolongbao without paying, or to say something to him.

Looking at the old man before him, who was showing off his xiaolongbao-eating skills with superhuman proficiency, he felt that such an old fellow was truly like a thousand-year fox—each one more cunning than the last.

And indeed, in a Zhongzhou court environment rife with imperial clan infighting and teeming with noble houses and lords, an old man of common birth who had step by step reached his present position and reputation—how could he possibly be a mere simple-minded pedant?

He had his own abilities, his own bearing.

Though no matter how capable, how seasoned a person, at this juncture going to Yan Daiqing for money would still get them fleeced several times over.

Qu Hanxiu said with self-assurance:

"This old man will not be reviled for ten thousand years because of this."

"Rather, he will be famed for ten thousand years."

"Hahaha, do not look down on an old man who has chased a reputation after death his whole life long—every craft has its specialist; on this path, I far surpass you." Qu Hanxiu laughed heartily, rose, patted Nan Hanwen's shoulder, and departed at his ease.

Nan Hanwen was silent for a long while, then sighed with feeling: "Drawing conclusions from the smallest signs…"

"Such tactics are indeed worthy of the title of gentleman-scholar."

But then his nose caught a faint whiff of meat, his expression stalled; he saw that where the old man had patted him there was an oil stain, his eyes went wide, and he realized that just now, when the old fellow had patted his shoulder as though in encouragement—

He had actually been using Nan Hanwen's shoulder to wipe the oil off his hand.

Then he discovered that all the snacks on the table had been polished off; the waiter had already come over to settle the bill, saying that the old gentleman had told him that the meal debts from the past five days were all to be settled by Mr. Nan personally.

Nan Hanwen looked at the bill, his cheek twitching:

"Old thing!"

………………

Qu Hanxiu, confident and composed, took charge of the Qin Wang's capping ceremony—dignified, solemn—as the sound of bronze bells spread outward, faintly carrying the resonance of a flourishing age. Ministers and officials of every rank stood reverently to the side, Fire Qilin-patterned banners shading the sky; the common folk of the entire city had come.

One only heard Qu Hanxiu's voice fall slowly and evenly, reciting the "Ode to the Qin Wang," which he had agonized over for this very day. Then the three armies marched in unison to the battle-array music, and all under heaven sang the Song of Breaking the Array, until heaven and earth merged and a hundred mountains answered in echo.

According to ritual, according to protocol, they were to loudly proclaim Qin Wang, Your Majesty. Yet the battle-array music, the Song of Breaking the Array, had already been performed several times, and the bronze bells had reached their finale—still the Qin Wang gave no response, still the Qin Wang did not appear.

Yan Daiqing and the others, who had already known the general situation beforehand, understood what was happening now, but for the majority of the common folk, for the Fire Qilin Army soldiers taking part in this capping ceremony, this matter was, after all, still baffling.

They whispered among themselves; in their eyes was a certain helplessness.

Where is the Qin Wang, Your Majesty?

Why is the capping ceremony not in sight?

Weren't we supposed to learn news of the Qin Wang, Your Majesty, today?

In their hearts, they would not harbor any doubt about the Qin Wang, but no matter what, they had come here bearing fervent blessings. For this matter, they had cleared their schedules in advance; many among them had come from other regions of Jiangnan, from the Western Regions, from the Southwest.

They had learned of the Qin Wang's capping ceremony in advance.

These people, depending on the distance from their homes to here, had all set out early—riding donkeys, poling bamboo rafts, or simply on their own two legs—spending a very, very long time, crossing distances spanning Tiannanhaibei, for the sole purpose of arriving here.

They had come to the Qin Wang's Jiangnan, to see once more that young man of years past, to bless his capping ceremony, to look upon the young sovereign who had changed their lives step by step, in his spirited, magnificent bearing.

They also carried on their backs the hopes of their fathers and elders, the longing to see with their own eyes that person whom the four directions spoke of, passed from mouth to mouth, saying he might bring about an age of great peace. The heavier the longing in their hearts when they came, the more visible the faint trace of regret now.

The light in their eyes had somewhat dimmed.

Master Nan Hanwen's gaze lowered slightly; he noticed the change in these people's eyes—not doubt, only a kind of blankness, a kind of not knowing what to do, a kind of apology for not knowing how to face their fathers and elders when they returned home.

Almost all of them had brought Fire Qilin flags made by their own villages.

Pieced together from cloth the whole town, the whole village had scraped together.

But at this moment, those Fire Qilin cloud-patterned flags had not yet been unfurled when their movements faltered—one person's action was very slight, one person's shift in emotion was not obvious.

But when so many people displayed such a shift in emotion at the same time, it imperceptibly gathered into a surging tide.

Master Nan Hanwen suddenly understood Qu Hanxiu's meaning.

He understood what the latter had meant by that description of the Qin Wang, Your Majesty, already standing upon a surging great momentum. If the Qin Wang did not come here, the censure of those famous scholars and great Confucianists would amount to nothing; it was the common folk's regret and disappointment that was the crux.

But that old man in the Ministry of Rites' sacrificial robes, the one who performed rites to heaven and earth, did not change his expression in the slightest. He only declared in a clear voice: "The Qin Wang, His Highness, has not yet come. Let the music continue, let the army's battle-array music be played. Fire Qilin Army, strike the earth with your weapons. Let the bronze bells' music carry the solemn sound of a sovereign."

Qu Hanxiu's instructions were concise, yet each fell precisely right.

The bronze bells' melody remained unhurried, carrying a sense of dignified solemnity. The soldiers of the Fire Qilin Army, at this moment, raised their long spears and lightly tapped the butt-ends against the ground; the martial killing intent of the army and the sovereign's majesty gathered into one.

The faint ripples of emotion that had appeared earlier were thus smoothed away.

The common folk's immense expectation did not collapse here, but was instead sustained—rather, it was pushed to a higher level by the bronze bells' melody, by the martial killing intent of the army's battle-array music, by the ritual protocols guided by Qu Hanxiu.

Under these circumstances, even Master Nan Hanwen's temples had begun to bead with sweat.

If the Qin Wang ultimately still did not appear in the end, he could not imagine how immense the disappointment of these common folk would be. But that old man remained unhurried, calmly guiding the entire capping ceremony, like a general moving across his own battlefield.

Xue Shen watched, full of admiration: "This kid's got some skill."

"If it really won't work, just let me put on the Jin Jia mask and dash around up there."

"Tsk tsk tsk, such a grand occasion—I haven't tried that yet."

"I really want to give it a try. If it won't work, then I'll do it!"

Old Master Siming's mouth twitched.

At this very moment? You must be joking, right?

He had originally wanted to say don't joke around at a time like this, but looking at Xue Shen—clearly a mechanical construct—Old Master Siming somehow read off Xue Shen's wooden block of a face a kind of eager, itching-to-try flavor.

And at this very moment, just as the entire atmosphere reached its peak.

Suddenly, the sound of a galloping warhorse came.

The warhorse's sound was not that conspicuous, but amid the bronze bells and the army's ritual music it was like a stray note, and Qu Hanxiu caught it in an instant. The old man guided the bronze bells and ritual music to their climax, and all the bronze bells stopped together at once.

The army's ritual music halted in an instant. At this moment, the warhorse's sound became clear, like the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath. Thus the people on both sides—the common folk, the soldiers of the Fire Qilin Army—parted in unison.

A warhorse came galloping down the main avenue.

An ink-colored divine steed charged forward.

The horse's caparison bore crimson silk ribbons—this signified in the Fire Qilin Army a matter of the utmost urgency. The capping ceremony parted like waves before a blade; this single rider dashed in, leapt down from his saddle, and it was a man who had been dispatched when Chen was conquered.

Looking at his appearance, he was exceedingly stalwart—it was Yan Xuanji.

This great man, whose temples had already turned white, who had been a banner-bearing general in the Taiping Army, now strode forward with great steps. Qu Hanxiu understood in an instant and declared in a clear voice: "For the Qin Wang's capping ceremony, may I ask General Yan—where is His Highness at this moment!"

Hurry and bring the big news out!

If not for this, this old man too could not hold out any longer.

It was also as if it were a situation like a military formation.

The flow of qi settled upon Yan Xuanji.

This great man, whose temples had gone entirely white, strode forward, ascended the high platform, faced the common folk filling the city, and with both hands presented a casket. This casket was very plain, so ordinary as to be meaningless, yet at the same time so heavy.

Yan Xuanji had once shouldered the great banner into battle, not closing his eyes for three days and three nights; he had once braced the closing city gates with both hands. In those days in the Taiping Army, he was famed as first in strength and valor. But at this moment, holding this casket, he was silent.

Yet looking closely, both his hands were trembling.

After receiving this object, the Qin Wang had handed it to him.

"…The bodies of my father and mother can no longer be found; the place where the incident occurred back then is now nothing but a scene of devastation. But this thing—I'm entrusting it to General Yan. Let this serve as my capping gift."

The young sovereign smiled: "I'm slowly beginning to understand now—sometimes, a person must respond to the expectations of others. They've come from so far to see me; even if I can't rush back, I must let them know I don't hold their regard lightly."

"I will send back my most precious gift."

Yan Xuanji was silent, then said: "This matter, Your Majesty—you ought to go in person."

"Or General Yue Qianfeng…"

His words had not yet finished when Li Guanyi stopped him. The Qin Wang's palm pressed down upon Yan Xuanji's palm, his voice gentle:

"Perhaps, among all the people by my side, only General Yan Xuanji is the most suitable to carry out this task. Please ride once more across ten thousand li, and complete this military order—not as a general of the Fire Qilin Army."

"But as the standard-bearer of Tai Ping Gong."

The young Qin Wang searched the entire palace of Chen Kingdom, and in the end found only one military order—a heavy, dark-gold-colored token, though in truth made of wood, bearing the two large characters "Tai Ping" on its face and "Wan Li" on its back, together reading "Wan Li Tai Ping." He gently placed it into Yan Xuanji's palm.

Yan Xuanji's hand trembled. He looked at the sovereign before him, cupped his hands, and bowed deeply:

"Then, I must trouble you."

"Uncle Yan."

Yan Xuanji's fingers moved, and at last he opened the casket.

Inside the casket was laid golden satin, upon which rested a seal.

The instant it was opened, everyone seemed to hear a roar at their ears, like a dragon or a tiger. That aura of majesty swept toward them, and every person's breath instinctively caught; more than one face changed abruptly.

Yan Xuanji gazed at this jade seal.

He had once knelt and bowed before this seal; he had once loathed this object with all his heart.

He had once been so enraged he wished to draw his weapon and smash this thing to pieces.

He had also once followed that person, beneath the edicts stamped with this seal, galloping across this age of chaos. All the past grievances and hatred, all that suffering, had fallen upon this single seal. Yan Xuanji drew a deep breath.

He had exhausted the heroic passion of decades spent fighting across the realm, and seemed to have spent the last of his own fierce valor, and said:

"Your Majesty, Qin Wang."

"The capital of Chen has been broken, the Chen emperor driven out, Jiangzhou taken, a kingdom set at rest!"

"With this, I come of age!"

His voice rolled outward, falling upon the ears of every person present. The expressions of all froze—including Qu Hanxiu. Qu Hanxiu's expression froze, and his mind began to doubt the words his own ears had heard.

He recognized every single character in those three simple sentences.

He could even say how many ways each character could be written.

But when these characters were strung together, why did they sound so impossible to understand?

But very quickly, everyone came back to themselves beneath this news of boundless impact, and let out cheers. The banners bearing the Fire Qilin pattern were unfurled high upon the city walls, blazing fierce like flames.

On this day, the twenty-sixth day of the fifth month of the sixteenth year of Tianqi, the coming-of-age ceremony of Qin Wang was displayed in a manner that had never been before, nor would ever be again.

He took the fall of a Central Plains kingdom of ten thousand li as his own coming of age.

He took an emperor's seal as the congratulatory gift for his coming of age.

As a celebration for the common people!

As a celebration for peace!

Qu Hanxiu raised his hand, pressed it against his chest, and murmured: "Good, good…"

"Coming of age by destroying a kingdom."

"What spirit, what cunning, what overbearingness, what a Qin Wang."

Xue Shen stared blankly for a long while, then murmured: "Not fair, this kid…"

"This kid knows how to put on a show better than me."

"I can't beat him."

"Damn!"

"How does he put on such a show!?"

Xue Shen looked at old Master Siming: "I almost thought I was watching myself stir up trouble."

Old Master Siming: "…………"

Old Old Xuan Gui: "…………"

"Damn, how does this guy put on such a show!?"

So Xue Shen simply burst into loud laughter.

The news of Qin Wang's destruction of Chen spread throughout the vast realm. In the lands of Saibei, Tai Ping Gong's two veteran generals laughed heartily and drank themselves drunk. When Yue Pengwu learned of this news, this solemn and upright Marshal, for once during a march, took a small cup of wine.

A toast in celebration.

Qin Wang's attack on Chen, taking its capital and its seal, drew the gaze of all the world. The heroes of the age thought him invincible—one who took the destruction of a kingdom as the ceremony for his own coming of age. The hero's bold spirit, the sovereign's disdainful gaze, and the youthful vigor of a young man riding his horse into the lands south of the river—all were displayed to the utmost.

Even in the histories of later ages, this moment touched the hearts of ten thousands.

Inspiring countless scholars and poets to write ten thousands of volumes of verse.

The young sovereign rode his horse and came to Yicheng.

He did not, as he had on his first return, sweep in with a disdainful gaze and a thousand troops. He simply dismounted, held the reins in one hand, and walked step by step through the city where he had once lived for a long time.

A legend of the martial path, his qi soaring to the heavens, a spirit like that of a god.

He very easily found the person he was looking for.

Qin Wang saw, ahead on the road, a young lady carrying a book as she walked back. When the sound of hooves stopped, it was instead her attention that was drawn. Xue Shuangtao raised her head, saw Li Guanyi at the end of the street, and froze.

She too had read the histories thoroughly, and knew military strategy. She knew that when one had taken the capital of a kingdom, storming the enemy might be the simplest part; afterward there would be a whole series of extremely troublesome matters to handle. To say nothing of a few days—even spending several months on it would count as fast.

No matter what, Li Guanyi should not have appeared here at this time.

Xue Shuangtao was stunned, and said: "Guanyi?"

Qin Wang led his horse to her. Time had passed so quickly. At first Li Guanyi had been a little shorter than the young lady; now Xue Shuangtao only came up to his chest.

Xue Shuangtao said: "How could you be here?"

Li Guanyi said: "Did you forget?"

"Today is my birthday, and also the day I come of age."

"Here, Young Lady."

The wind blew across the lands south of the river, and also blew through Yicheng. A child's kite flew up into the sky. The divine steed snorted and shook its head.

It had been several days since it had run freely with Mu Zi Yi, and it already found it dull.

The Qin Wang destroyed a kingdom and used it as his coming-of-age ceremony—such bold grandeur could truly make the heroes and champions of the world feel their blood surge; the military god and monarch of the State of Response thus made their resolve, and the king of the grasslands looked at the sky, singing an ancient, desolate ballad.

From the Western Regions to all of Jiangnan, crimson banners bearing the Fire Qilin pattern pointed at the sky.

A scene of such grandeur was worthy of being recorded in the annals of history.

And as the heroes of the world were moved by this, the entire age of chaos entered its final hour; when blades rose together and vied for the four directions, when the grand, magnificent epic began to turn, the Qin Wang who looked down on all the world stood only before the young girl, smiling as he bent and lowered his head.

The black hair at his temples fell down, stirring slightly in the wind.

The young girl was stunned for a long while, then her face flushed red, and she burst out laughing with a puff.

Looking to the side, she simply picked up her own brush that would write the long winds of the world into history, rose on her tiptoes, and tucked it into the Qin Wang's topknot.

The Qin Wang reached out and grasped the young girl's wrist.

With eyes closed, he gently kissed her palm.

The flowers bloom along the path.

Today.

Coming of age.

?? Begging for monthly tickets, friends~