Chapter 258: Flowers Blooming on the Tree

"Great King!"

In Shouchun of Huainan, as the mid-ninth month's autumn winds blew, the lotus leaves filling the ponds began to wither, much like the fortunes of the Chu state.

And atop the terraced pavilions of the Chu royal palace surrounded by lotus ponds, Xiang Yan's eyes held a trace of vexation: "To allow such rumors to spread throughout the realm is a grave disrespect to King Kaolie. I implore Your Majesty to prohibit them!"

"Why must the Supreme Pillar of State be so insistent?"

The King of Chu, Fuchu, wore neither ceremonial robes nor court attire, only a Chu-style curved-hem deep garment, his waist sash tied high, his long robe's sleeves nearly twice as wide as those of the Central Plains and Qin regions, and the tall crown atop his head even more exaggerated, nearly a foot and a half in height.

He rose gracefully, helped Xiang Yan up, and with a sweep of his wide sleeve dismissed the palace ladies who had been playing strings, singing, and dancing. He then glanced at the sorcerer wearing the Weimao cap standing nearby, as well as the Left Minister, Right Minister, Left and Right Marshals, and others present, and said with a smile:

"Gentlemen, what rumors are there in the realm? Why have I not heard of them?"

"We also have not heard of them."

Everyone did their utmost to feign ignorance, and in doing so, they were undoubtedly far wiser than Xiang Yan.

But Xiang Yan's temperament destined him unable to turn a blind eye to this matter. The old general bowed once more and said: "In the marketplaces of the realm, many are spreading the tale of 'Flowers Blooming on the Tree,' concerning Lord Chunshen, Li Yuan,

the Queen Li, and the parentage of King You of Chu. Has Your Majesty truly not heard?"

King Fuchu of Chu's expression instantly stiffened, and his eyes shifted away.

Speaking of this matter infuriated Xiang Yan. This rumor had suddenly begun spreading this year, yet it spoke of old affairs from over thirty years ago.

They said that back then, after King Kaolie of Chu escaped from Qin and returned to Chenying to ascend the throne, he only sired daughters and could not produce a son. The Prime Minister, Lord Chunshen Huang Xie, worried over this and sought out women suitable for bearing sons to present to King Kaolie, but still no crown prince was born.

Finally, Li Yuan, a man of Zhao who had relied on Lord Chunshen's connections, presented his younger sister to the Chu royal palace. Soon after, she bore a son, named Xiong Han, who was made Crown Prince by King Kaolie of Chu. This was the later King You of Chu...

However, those rumors embellished the tale, claiming that the crown prince borne by Queen Li was in fact not King Kaolie's own son, but the son of Lord Chunshen Huang Xie! Even his younger brother, the later King Ai of Chu, Xiong You, was also said to be a bastard seed from the illicit affair between Huang Xie and Queen Li!

The rumors also described in vivid detail how Lord Chunshen sought women for King Kaolie, how Li Yuan wished to present his sister but worried she might not bear a son and thus fail to gain favor, and how he ultimately feigned disinterest and first presented her to Huang Xie. Once the woman was pregnant, Li Yuan had his sister persuade Lord Chunshen with the words, "If by Heaven's grace I bear a son, then it is your son who shall be king, and all of Chu shall be yours," convincing him to present her to the palace on his behalf...

All of this was told with such convincing detail; this is the so-called "Flowers Blooming on the Tree."

Even the reason why, after King Kaolie of Chu died, Li Yuan ordered his retainers and assassins to set an ambush at Thorn Gate and kill Lord Chunshen Huang Xie was twisted into: "Fearing that Lord Chunshen might let slip the secret and grow ever more arrogant, he wished to kill him to silence him."

This tale had spread widely through the marketplaces of late, and commoners and scholars alike relished discussing it. But to the ears of wise men like Xiang Yan, it was riddled with holes.

Having lived through those events, Xiang Yan knew well that although Lord Chunshen Huang Xie grew more muddled with age and was momentarily careless, falling prey to Li Yuan's schemes and being killed, he had at least assisted the Chu king in moving the capital eastward, allowed Chu to expand massively during the period when Qin and Zhao contended for supremacy, annexed Lu and the various lords of the Si River region, and developed Jiangdong, bringing Chu a brief resurgence. He was a renowned minister of his generation — how could he have committed such an act of deceiving his sovereign?

As for King Kaolie of Chu being unable to sire a son? That was even more absurdly laughable. Was not the current Prime Minister of Chu, Lord Changping Xiong Qi, whom the Chu king had dispatched to Jiangdong to train troops, the eldest son of King Kaolie?

"Such an absurd rumor actually exists!?"

King Fuchu of Chu put away his smile, feigned great fury, looked at his assembled ministers, slammed the table, and roared: "Why did no one tell me?"

The ministers all stammered wordlessly. Only Wu Ling, who enjoyed the Chu king's favor, stepped forward. Wringing his hands, which were fragrant with the scent of orchids, he said softly: "There does seem to be such a matter, however..."

A sly smile appeared on his face: "Marketplace rumors also have a certain logic to them. In my humble view, there is no need to hastily prohibit them. Now that the Qin army is once again preparing to attack Chu, at a time like this, stopping the people's mouths is more dangerous than damming a river. The affair of King Li of Zhou must not be repeated."

"Wu Ling's words are reasonable. Forcibly prohibiting the common people from discussing it would be counterproductive. Guidance is better than suppression."

King Fuchu of Chu's expression relaxed, and he said dismissively: "The matter of rumors can be left to the Left Minister to handle. The Supreme Pillar of State should focus on military affairs!"

Xiang Yan fell silent. It was obvious that those spreading this rumor simply wished to prove that both King You of Chu and King Ai of Chu had come to the throne illegitimately, and that only the current King of Chu, Fuchu — though a bastard son born of King Kaolie and a palace maid — was of pure and proper lineage!

In that light, King Fuchu of Chu's actions four years ago, when he used his faction to kill King Ai of Chu and Li Yuan, committing regicide and seizing the throne, would also be reframed as a righteous restoration of proper succession...

Li Yuan's death had originally been the result of the combined efforts of the Xiang clan and the Zhao, Jing, and Qu clans. But that a campaign to purge evil ministers from the sovereign's side was ultimately exploited by Fuchu and turned into regicide — that was something none of them had anticipated.

Although during the Spring and Autumn period, Chu princes killing the sovereign to seize the throne had been commonplace, with the strengthening of royal power during the reigns of Kings Xuan and Wei, this was the first such incident, and it truly shocked the entire court and realm.

That very year, Qin had just broken through Handan and destroyed Zhao, capturing King Qian of Zhao. For over sixty years, Qin's formidable enemies had been only Chu and Zhao. With Zhao already fallen, Chu too was facing imminent catastrophe. The realm relied on a mature sovereign; since the dead king could not be brought back to life, Xiang Yan and the Zhao, Jing, and Qu clans could only hold their noses and honor Fuchu as king, hoping he could shoulder the banner of resisting Qin.

In the first few years, King Fuchu of Chu was extremely cooperative, consolidating various forces within the state. When the Qin general Li Xin attacked with two hundred thousand troops, he appointed Xiang Yan to fight a thunderous defensive campaign. Relying on Lord Changping Xiong Qi's defection and counterattack at Chenying, they ultimately reversed the tide of battle and achieved an unprecedented great victory for the Chu army against Qin!

The people of the realm even compared this battle to the counterattack of Jing-Chu against the Zhou court's invasion five hundred years prior, which caused King Zhao of Zhou to drown in the Han River!

The Xiang clan had rebuilt Jing-Chu! So they all proclaimed.

Xiang Yan's renown was, for a time, unmatched; Lord Changping also rose to the rank of Prime Minister and won the people's adoration.

However, King Fuchu of Chu began to grow uneasy. As soon as the Qin army retreated and Chu had barely caught its breath, he started placing his trusted followers in key court positions, consolidating power, and did not hesitate to send people to spread rumors, slandering the parentage of the former kings.

King Fuchu of Chu was afraid — afraid that the Xiang clan and the Zhao, Jing, and Qu families would depose him just as they had supported his own ascension. Amidst the warm spring breezes of Huainan, he could not rest peacefully, always feeling the shadow of an axe hovering over his neck.

"There is no axe at all!" Xiang Yan wanted to tell his king. What this moment required was setting aside all old grudges, uniting the nobles and commoners of the entire Chu state to resist the enemy — not resorting to base methods over stale old affairs to prove the legitimacy of his own succession...

"In that case, I... this old minister shall inquire no further into this matter."

Suppressing his discontent and anger, the Supreme Pillar of State bowed his head. This time the Qin army was coming with even more ferocious momentum than last year. Chu could afford no further internal chaos!

He would simply pretend he had not heard those rumors and turned instead to the day's true business: intelligence from the Wei region!

"Great King, the commander-in-chief of the Qin army is now known. It is none other than Wang Jian!"

"Wang Jian!?"

At these words, the sovereign and ministers of Chu instantly lost all mood for enjoying the autumn scenery. They looked at one another, their hearts filled with dread...

Xiang Yan too was filled with emotion. He recalled that young court gentleman he had met in Xianyang Palace thirty years ago, when he had accompanied Lord Chunshen to Qin to offer funeral condolences. Wang Jian and Xiang Yan had met and spoken then, both faintly sensing that they might one day become enemies.

Yet for thirty years, they had only heard from afar of each other's brilliant battle achievements, always just missing one another. Who would have thought that the day of their decisive confrontation had finally arrived!

"This battle concerns the very survival of Chu!"

Xiang Yan had lost count of how many times he had said these words. Since when had every battle Chu fought become one it could not afford to lose?

Yet his opponent, Wang Jian, held the tiger tally entrusted to him by the King of Qin with the entire nation's forces. Even if there were some suspicions, he had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians at his disposal to use as he pleased, and the accumulated momentum of over a century of Qin victories to rely upon.

What did he himself have?

Watching the assembled ministers, who in this brief moment of respite had already forgotten their peril and resumed their feasting, music, and drinking on the terraces; watching a sovereign wholly intent on smearing the former kings, his face now showing terror at the news of approaching war drums — Xiang Yan could only heave a long sigh.

"I have only a great army composed of fear and suspicion!"

In the latter part of the ninth month, under Wang Jian's command, Qin's six hundred thousand troops gradually approached the battle lines along the Qin-Chu border. Chu also hastily mobilized, beginning to face this long-overdue, heaven-sent calamity of annihilation...

Meanwhile, the Southern Commandery troops, including Heifu, under the command of Commandant Li You, also mustered with the forces from Ba, Shu, Hanzhong, and Nanyang along the line from Shangcai to Yangcheng! The deputy general commanding this army corps was none other than Meng Wu!

Shangcai was Li You's hometown, and the place where Heifu and the others had once fought was not far from there either.

Just before the great army entered the main camp at Shangcai, Heifu rode his horse to the side, pointed eastward, and said to his charioteer Sangmu, Five-Hundred-Leader Dongmen Bao, Li Xian, personal guard Hundred-Leader Xiao Tao, herald Ji Ying, and Gong Ao — who had already become a Hundred-Leader in Yan County but always loved hanging around with them: "Right over there! A hundred and fifty li away!"

The group followed Heifu's horsewhip and gazed eastward. Even if their sight could stretch on indefinitely, it would ultimately be blocked by the坚固 defensive line the Chu army had built at Pingyu City...

After Pingyu, it was Tongyang! The battlefield they would never forget, the place where hundreds of comrades had shed their blood and laid down their heads.

"Locust Wood, and the other two or three brothers — I've kept you waiting long!"

Hei Fu's gaze was resolute, as if piercing through over a hundred li of space to see that crude burial ground bristling with Qin swords.

"This time, I have come to bring you home!"

PS: This is a make-up chapter for an Alliance Master. Thank you to "Golden Leaf City" for becoming an Alliance Master of this book. I currently still owe 7 chapters.

(End of Chapter)