Chapter 409: Ruthless and Cruel

Qin Qin Huairu rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "I sent her back this afternoon."

"Good that she's gone back."

Li Li Xuewu turned his head to gaze out the window, smiling as he said, "This old sixth brother isn't one to stay settled; let him do more labor at home to grind down his temper."

"What are you talking about~"

"Young Master Hou, please get up quickly; it's our turn for patrol."

"Where am I?"

Qin Hu sat up groggily, feeling a chill on his body while a strong wind blew howling outside, instantly stirring a strange sensation in his heart.

"Oh, Young Master Hou, how can you be so confused? We are in the military camp. It is our shift to stand guard at this hour; if you don't rise, military law will deal with you, and even the Old Marquis cannot protect you now."

"What?"

Qin Hu opened his eyes and saw that he was currently inside a tent, with a small soldier wearing leather armor before him.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something, suddenly a splitting headache struck, and a massive stream of information rushed into his mind; a few seconds later, he knew he had transmigrated.

He had transmigrated from a modern special forces soldier into the body of a Young Marquis also named Qin Hu, the leader of the Seven Evil Young Masters of Jingcheng!

And this era, called the Great Yu Dynasty, simply did not exist in history.

Qin Hu's ancestors were among the Four Dukes and Twenty-Eight Marquises who founded the Great Yu; three months ago, his father fell ill and died, Qin Hu inherited the title, and became the new Marquis of Champion.

Qin Hu had been spoiled by his parents since childhood; he loved neither studying nor practicing martial arts, indulging only in play, eating, drinking, and having fun, running rampant through Jingcheng.

When he grew up, his family wanted him to settle down, so they arranged a betrothal with the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chen, named Chen Chen Ruoli, a noble young lady who was beautiful in appearance and wise in mind.

This Qin Hu was vicious and cruel to everyone else, yet toward this flower-like beautiful fiancée, he was obedient in every way, treating her like a precious treasure.

But the trouble happened precisely because of this childhood sweetheart, the Eldest Young Lady Chen.

According to Qin Hu's memories, on that day he brought his fiancée into the palace to pay respects to the current Princess Chang'an; since the Princess and Chen Chen Ruoli had been close since childhood, she arranged a banquet.

But later, Qin Hu drank until he blacked out, and when he woke up, he was already in the Imperial Prison of the Inner Guard; he was told that while drunk, he had flirted with the Princess and intended to commit misconduct.

Even more bizarrely, what followed was that Chen Chen Ruoli actually submitted a memorial impeaching her fiancé Qin Hu for seventy-two illegal acts, each and every one supported by evidence.

At that moment, Qin Hu felt as if struck by five thunderbolts, simply unable to believe his own ears...

The imperial edict soon arrived; considering that Qin Hu's ancestors had rendered meritorious service, the death penalty could be waived but the living punishment could not be escaped, so he was exiled to Youzhou to serve in the army, retaining his noble title to observe his future conduct.

But after arriving in Youzhou, he was quickly assigned to the front lines—to serve before the vanguard tent.

After these events flashed through Qin Hu's mind, he basically understood; this must be a trap.

Because the Duke of Chen had long wanted to break off the engagement with him.

The Qin and Chen families were originally a political marriage; both families wanted to grow stronger and bigger, but the later Qin Hu, apart from being a prodigal son, was almost good for nothing, having thoroughly disgraced the face of the Champion Marquis Manor.

It must be known that every generation of Champion Marquises had been heroic figures, possessing incomparable influence in the military, yet precisely in this generation, a good-for-nothing who had never stepped onto a battlefield appeared.

While the Old Marquis was alive, the Duke of Chen still showed respect; once the Old Marquis died, the Duke of Chen turned heartless and actually staged a scene of breaking off the engagement right in the mourning hall.

But Qin Hu deeply loved Chen Chen Ruoli and refused to agree no matter what, while Chen Chen Ruoli had long been extremely disgusted with him, this evil young master.

Thus, a calamity descended upon him!

As for Princess Chang'an, it was even simpler; she was the cousin of Qin Hu's older male cousin, so as long as Qin Hu died, the huge family assets of the Champion Marquis Manor would naturally all fall into the hands of this male cousin.

These several factions, each seeking what they needed, colluded together, and thus rapidly united...

Indeed, once entering a marquis's gate, the sea is deep; there truly are many people who want him dead.

"Qin An, shall we find a place to shelter from the wind?"

Under the bright moonlight, the rough north wind carried a piercing whistle, sweeping across the empty plains, blowing the several torches until they flickered on and off, feeling like countless flying knives cutting into human skin.

"We cannot, Young Master Hou, or we will be punished by military law."

Qin Hu and Qin An huddled their heads and tucked in their limbs against the wind, running out from the camp and trampling through the thick snow as they moved forward.

The frail Qin An, caught off guard, was directly flipped over by the strong wind.

Two sentries changing shifts saw them come out, exchanged sinister smiles, scooped up two handfuls of snow to extinguish the warming bonfire, and then crawled into the tent.

Damn it, even the small soldiers have been bought off; they want to freeze Laozi to death!

This was a very small camp, with about twenty tents, surrounded by carriages; on the outer perimeter, not even horse barriers or antler obstacles were arranged, and the nearby terrain was flat with no defensible positions, making it obvious they had no intention of stationing there long-term.

According to Qin Hu's memories from his previous life, about two hundred people were stationed here; they were the vanguard camp of Li Qin, the General Who Conquers the North of the Yu Dynasty.

And the target of Li Qin's twenty-thousand-strong army this time was the Yu Dynasty's sworn enemy on the border, the State of Liaodong.

"Cough, cough, Young Master Hou, do you think we can still make it back alive?" Qin An curled his entire body up on the snowy ground, his lips and face blue, speaking so weakly he seemed ready to die at any moment.

Qin Hu sighed in his heart; Qin An was purely implicated by him, and if things continued to develop this way, both of them would surely die.

Those who wanted him dead, having failed to kill him in the imperial court, were now playing dirty tricks and striking blunt blows in the military camp, trying to torment him to death.

But Qin Hu was absolutely not someone who would sit waiting for death; this was clearly a frame-up, and he could not let it rest.

Life is inherently an endless struggle for survival; just wait, Laozi will not only survive but will also kill my way back to Jingcheng to settle accounts with you all.

"Qin An, when we left home, how many silver notes did we bring?"

"There are no silver notes left; I only have twenty taels of silver on me. The imperial edict stated that we are exiled as convicts, and our family assets are sealed and confiscated."

Qin An was only sixteen years old this year; he was Qin Hu's personal book boy, very frail in appearance, already unable to bear the torment, looking as if only one breath remained in him.

Actually, Qin Hu was not much better off; in these past few days, the vanguard camp marched thirty li every day, and the work they did was clearing paths when encountering mountains and building bridges when meeting water, chopping firewood and making fires, digging ditches and carrying water, and constructing the camp.

And what situation would these two tender-skinned guys face when staying together with several hundred burly soldiers every day?

Definitely doing the most exhausting work, eating the worst food, suffering the most vicious beatings, and enduring the greatest humiliation...

Qin Hu estimated that his predecessor was likely tortured to death.

It could be considered that he deserved his fate.

It's just that this bitterness must now be borne by him; if he cannot bear it, he will also die.

"Give it to me."

Qin Hu had made up his mind; he must first find a way to save Qin An's life, and then think of other methods.

Yet preserving one's life was not actually difficult; the simplest method was bribery. As the saying goes, wealth can reach even the gods. Though this approach was primitive, it always worked.

But under the current circumstances, he could not possibly bribe high officials, since no one dared to associate with him. Besides, he had no money.

Thus, one person came to mind: Centurion Li Li Xiaokun.

He was currently the head of the Vanguard Camp. To read the latest chapter content, please download for ad-free, free reading of the latest chapters.