Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 208 Top Secret: The Prince of Yan's Edict
We continued northeast until we reached the territory of Dongliang, which is Ji County.

However, it is still about 200 li away from the new city where the government is located.

It should arrive by tomorrow night, if expedited.

Feeling a bit bored after sitting in the carriage for so long, Song Shi'an and Xin Yue got out, leaving Kang Qing in the carriage and riding horses to continue their journey.

As they traveled, a rather young, newly appointed official asked curiously, "By the way, why is the capital of Ji County called Xincheng (New City)?"

It's normal for a city to have any name, but there's always an origin for it.

The area south of a mountain and north of a river is called Yang, while the area north of a mountain and south of a river is called Yin.

Huaiyin and Luoyang were both named in this way.

Chang'an, meaning "the nation's strength is secure," carries significant political meaning as the capital city, and its name carries a high level of prestige. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang named it "Xi'an" to strengthen the northwest border defenses, reflecting the location of the nation's center.

Although the public now calls for Xi'an to "restore" Chang'an, this is clearly impossible.

There are other names that also have special meanings.

Tianjin: The ferry crossing of the emperor.

Baoding: To protect the capital and bring peace to the world.

Jianchuan: The local mountains stand tall like sword blades.

Almost all place names have meaning.

So this "new city" seemed particularly lacking, which made these young cultural figures very curious: why would such an important border town have such a careless name?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tong, the slightly older envoy in his thirties, smiled and asked, "Do you know why Ji County is called Ji County?"

“There used to be a country called Ji, right? I know that,” the young official said. “Then, at that time, the Duke of Li, who was still the Grand General, led his army to conquer it, and he personally destroyed two countries. One was the Ji Kingdom of Dongliang, and the other was the Xu Kingdom of Huaidong. Originally, he was planning to continue the campaign in Liaodong, but it was about to snow, so he stopped…”

When these historical events were discussed, the young man and the others in the delegation all expressed their admiration for the Duke of Li, and their faces were filled with enthusiasm for "my country is awesome".

Song Shi'an listened with amusement, but when his gaze unconsciously met Xin Yue's, he was stunned.

Normally, no one can tell what Xinyue is thinking, because she always has the same expression.

But boyfriends are different; they have a Leeuwenhoek-like precision in their judgment of their girlfriends.

a little cold.

"So, why is it called New City?" someone asked again.

At this moment, Zuo Ziliang suddenly said, "The original Jidu was a wealthy and prosperous city, but the Duke of Li attacked all the way to the city walls, and the King of Ji still refused to surrender, resisting for four months. So after entering the city, he spared no one and, to vent his anger, burned the city to the ground. Now, isn't the city a new one?"

Upon hearing this explanation, some of the younger people who didn't understand laughed and nodded in agreement.

"This King of Ji, just for some posthumous reputation, stubbornly resisted, only to be burned to the ground. What was the point?"

“They don’t care about their people at all.”

"The city should indeed be burned down. The resistance is so fierce that it's difficult to deter the people of Ji without severely killing a few!"

Regarding the past events in the new city, negotiations will continue.

Seeing that Song Shi'an, who was usually cheerful and talkative, was silent, Zuo Ziliang turned around to start a conversation.

Then they saw Song Shi'an and the Moon Envoy's horse standing side by side.

Then, Song Shi'an's face completely covered her face...

Huh? They're kissing?
"Don't blink, open your eyes, hoo—" Song Shi'an blew hard into her eyes.

Oh, sand got in my eyes.

“As we get to the north, the sandstorms are indeed getting worse,” Zuo Ziliang said.

“Yes,” Song Shi’an replied, then said to Xin Yue, “Let’s go back to the carriage and wash up with water.”

"Ah."

And so, Xinyue and Song Shi'an returned to the carriage.

Kang Qing simply knelt with his head bowed, saying nothing. But Xin Yue still disliked him and coldly said, "Get out."

"Let's go horseback riding."

Song Shi'an told Kang Qing to leave.

He obediently dismounted from the carriage and mounted his horse. The other uncles then began to tease the child who had been kicked out as a third wheel, but apart from Song Shi'an, he ignored everyone else who called him.

After wiping her eyes with a damp towel and taking a deep breath, Xinyue felt much better.

You couldn't see any emotional fluctuation at all.

But she knew that Song Shi'an, who was so intelligent he was almost supernatural, could see through everything.

So, she slowly looked at him and asked, "What do you want to say?"

"Come closer," Song Shi'an said.

Xin Yue leaned closer, but just as her cheek touched Song Shi'an, she was suddenly pecked on the soft, fragrant cheek with a 'pop'...

Xin Yue blushed instantly, looking at the man in a panic: "What... what were you going to say?"

“The words are all in the kiss,” Song Shi’an said.

Xin Yue, whose heart was still pounding, stammered, "What...what do you mean?"

"calm."

Song Shi'an said it all in just two words.

Xin Yue knows.

She is far from mature enough.

If she can't even stay calm, then she can't do anything.

Slowly, he took her hands in his. Xin Yue, in turn, readily intertwined her fingers with his, their hands warmly connected.

"Xinyue, I've always been here."

"I know."

Although Xin Yue was getting further and further away from her enemy, she knew that Song Shi'an was helping her and bringing her closer.

.........

Before nightfall, since there were no post stations or towns along this route, they decided to pitch their tents on the spot. However, the number of tents was limited, so Song Shi'an no longer stayed in a single room.

Inside the large tent he was guarding, there was a child named Kangqing, lying on the ground on a rough cloth.

Song Shi'an, on the other hand, slept on the only cot.

"son."

Song Shi'an sat up in bed and looked at Kang Qing, who was curled up on the floor.

“Father.” Kang Qing sat up and looked at the other man.

"If I killed your mother, would you hate me?" Song Shi'an asked.

"..."

Kang Qing, who was always calm, honest, and straightforward, was afraid for the first time.

After raising his head and opening his mouth as if to say something, he lowered his head again after a long while.

“Of course I didn’t want to kill your mother, she was a very good person,” Song Shi’an said with a smile. “But I’ve given them enough chances, and they didn’t cherish them.”

"Was that my dad's decision?"

Kang Qing raised his head and asked in a firm tone.

This little kid also understands a principle.

Even if he knows nothing about the specific transactions.

But only Kang Yi had the option to make the choice.

This Mr. Song wanted to force them to submit and make his own father betray the national interests, but his own father was unwilling.

As a hostage, his father couldn't be killed, so the only person who could be killed was his mother...

It appears that Song's father killed the person, but in reality, it was Kang Yi who killed him.

"Child, come here."

Song Shi'an beckoned to him in a calm and peaceful manner.

Kang Qing knelt down and walked over, but as soon as he got to the front, Song Shi'an kicked him hard, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Coward!" Song Shi'an cursed. "If your mother, Ru Ru, were killed, it would be me who killed her. You don't dare to hate me, so you hate your own father? Someone like you, does he even deserve to be king?"

Kang Qing scrambled to his feet, knelt before Song Shi'an, and glared at the man with his hands on the ground. His hands clenched tighter and tighter, and he bit his lip, trembling as he said, "Father, if you kill my mother, I will hate you. I will definitely hate you."

"That's right."

Song Shi'an wanted to hear this answer.

Wei Ye and Ji Yuan, they are both kings.

As a king, one must possess an unstoppable rage.

Sun Tuo in the south was stronger than Kang Xun precisely because he dared to express and vent his anger, using it to kill.

Pointing at Kang Qing, Song Shi'an said, "I will send you to Yan sooner or later. If you die there casually, you are not worthy of being my son."

Subversion isn't that easy.
How many years did Conson rule in that country?
Can you easily put a king to power by simply picking one at random?
It is absolutely impossible.

Therefore, the threat posed by leaving this proton in Dayu is even greater.

It's like a powerful missile, and there's only one.

If you send it out and it gets intercepted, then you get nothing.

But if he were to keep it, Conson would be constantly on edge about being beheaded, living in constant fear.

But there are always times when the situation gets out of control.

Therefore, even if this little B is too dangerous, much stronger than Kang Xun and Kang Yi, he still has to be allowed to play his role and kill at least hundreds of thousands of people in Yan.

This is 'chaotic warfare'.

"Father," Kang Qing kowtowed to Song Shi'an, saying with utmost sincerity, "I want to be your son!"

There was a distorted relationship between the two of them.

This distorted relationship led them to share the same hope: that his mother wouldn't be killed.

.........

"My lord, I need to use the restroom."

The young master's wife clutched her stomach and spoke to the guards at the door.

But in this desolate wilderness, where is there a latrine?

“Go and watch over her,” he said to his companion.

Looking at the beautiful woman, her companion smiled and said, "Let's go."

"..." The princess consort feigned fear, then blushed with shame and indignation, and retorted, "I am, after all, the wife of a hostage, and my husband is a prince of the Great Yu. How can you humiliate me like this?"

If she had just been stubborn and made a scene, that would have been fine, but instead she brought up her identity as the Prince of Yan of the Great Yu Kingdom.

“We don’t have any women here…” He paused, then remembered someone, “That Moon Envoy, could we ask her for help?”

"I'll go ask."

As he spoke, a soldier went to Xinyue's tent and called out, "Envoy Xinyue, Kangyi's wife needs to use the restroom. Could you go and keep watch for her?"

"can."

Xinyue agreed quite readily.

A while later, Xinyue, with a sword at her waist, left with the young master's wife.

At that moment, Kang Yi, inside the tent, untied his belt.

Then, pull hard.

The stitches were pulled apart, and the belt was opened. Inside, a bright yellow silk cloth was hidden.

After opening it, there are two lines of text on it.

The throne is to be passed to the eldest son, Kangyi – a decree of the King of Yan.

(End of this chapter)