The Flower Of War

Chapter 70: The Next Target

That day, time went so slow. Prince Ming Zijing's body had already left for Guang Ming Kingdom to be cremated.

Yiu sat down while wiping Ming Zijing's bow. His gaze was blank as if his soul was absorbed into memories with the now-unowned bow.

A small jug stretched out on him, making his consciousness retracted. The sweet aroma of the wine jug gently pierced Yiu's nose.

"Wanna drink together?"

At first, Yiu thought Wu Xiao had come to console him. However, that calm heavy voice made Yiu turn to make sure.

"Huang Ge's...."

Prince Huang smiled sweetly as he again raised a small wine jug outstretched for Yiu.

The two brothers drank together in the starless night sky.

"A-Ying, I want to ask you one thing."

"Please explain, Ge."

Huang took a sip of the best wine in Zhang Wu Kingdom which he had brought exclusively with him before turning his head and asking, "Do you still want to continue this war?"

The question spontaneously got a negative response from Yiu. "What does Gege mean?! This war must continue until we win."

Huang showed no emotion, his expression flat and calm like a calm river that washed away.

He smiled slightly as he sipped a full gulp. "You know, A-Ying, war will only hurt both sides. There will be no one to benefit from the war."

Yiu frowned suspiciously, feeling strange at her brother's attitude. "I know that. But I once heard a saying, 'If you want peace for the world then you must be prepared to fight against the world, you must be ready to sacrifice anything including my own life' .... So I prepared myself for the worst version."

Huang glanced in surprise, he had never heard such a short poem and did not have such a high literary sentence as just a speech without a background.

The simple but meaningful language behind it made Huang again amazed. Has this poet just stepped into the literary world?

"Beautiful and weighty poetry, A-Ying. If you are sure of your path then keep going without a doubt, Gege will always support behind you even if not forever."

Yiu who was downing his wine suddenly choked and coughed briefly. Panicked Huang immediately patted lightly on the younger brother's shoulder.

"What does Gege mean?! Ge, please don't say anything that doesn't make sense."

Huang interrupted, "Nothing is unreasonable. We're all human beings who will eventually die, that's a definite destiny."

Huang shifted his seat closer to Yiu. He briefly rubbed his head and said, "A-Ying, I just want to say that this war will never bring happiness. There will be a lot of blood spilled, happiness taken away by a farewell. Many families will suffer in times like these."

Huang's face flushed slightly and his jaw stiffened. "But, you must know, I and our soldiers will stand and sacrifice their lives with you for the better future of future generations, the future of our peaceful and joyful posterity. Therefore, I want you to promise not to involve feelings in this sacrifice. We can all die this second or tomorrow but the fire in our souls will never go out. There must be someone who can continue this dream."

Threw the hand of the sister who seemed confused in digesting the intention of the brother.

"Please promise me, no matter who else will lose their lives, whether it's Wu Xiao, me, Dage, or anyone else, promise not to cry or shut yourself up, feeling that you're the one at fault. You must dare to stand back and consider death as a responsibility to further inflame the fire. We are the only hope of the people, it is better for us all to die than for the people who have to endure suffering. Will you promise that there will be no tears or sadness on our journey?"

Yiu felt his entire body goosebumps, his fixated manic slowly dew and blurred. He blinked and shook his head lightly to clear his sight.

He tried to shift the topic even though stammering. However, it is always cut off with questions that continue to be confirmed by the brother.

"A-Ying, this is serious!" His voice did not playfully make Yiu unable to dodge back.

"All right, I promise." Yiu felt that the elder brother was currently emotional and he understood that.

Life is like fishing, if you want to get a big fish then you have to risk a big bait too.

♣♦♣

"According to the news, General Shen has returned from the western region, Your Majesty."

The satin-clothed man who was sitting leisurely in his chair while blowing his tea glanced at the man kneeling below. "Then?"

The kneeling man seemed to tremble in reply. "We lost almost the entire army and the archers scattered due to the explosion so that only General Shen managed to return home."

"Useless," he whispered softly as he sipped a high-quality tea on Bai Qing.

The middle-aged man immediately kowtowed down to beg for mercy, "Your Majesty, please don't get angry. I still have good news I want to tell you."

After obtaining Liu Yu's approval, the man continued, "The enemy forces also lost most of the troops that inhabited the base and most importantly they lost one of their great generals who was also one of the talented princes of Guang Ming, Prince Ming Zijing. This is all for His Majesty's blessing to the navy Bai Qing."

"Oh? Was he the man who had brought Prince Huang out of the capital back then?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Liu Yu smiled brightly, put down her teacup and sighed. "This is a huge blow to them. These rats just need to be pressured a little more and they'll bend their knees below me sooner or later."

Liu Yu got up and walked slowly towards the window of his study. A light wind blew against his face that looked lethargic and pale. However, the look in his eyes was still very bright and sharp.

"I heard, A-Ying and her two brothers are very close to Prince Ming Zijing."

Liu Yu chuckled before returning to continue, "Even the royal gossip circulating is that the two are putting their hearts on each other .... Huh, that's tragic."

His face turned serious again, and he turned to the kneeling official, "Listen to my command, move the best spies eastward and burn their armory. Maximize this golden opportunity."

"Okay, Your Majesty." The man saluted and was about to rush out of the room before Liu Yu again gossiped, "And I want to hear who are the men close to my A-Ying. Ah, especially the second Prince of Zhang Wu, I heard that he has always accompanied A-Ying the past few years. You know what to do next, right?"

"Son understood, Your Majesty."

♣♦♣

Three days after Ming Zijing's death.

It was a hot day, the sun was shining so brightly over their heads. Yiu was watching the soldiers train while occasionally taking them on duels to find out their weak points.

Amidst the crowd, Yiu felt a void. This silence in the crowd made him uncomfortable.

In the past, he enjoyed solitude. But a lot has happened and a lot has changed.

In times of difficulty like this, his shoulders are forced to come back strong and his heart is forced to cool even though he knows women are creatures who rely on feelings but this context does not apply to him.

There are many responsibilities that must be fulfilled, there are many hopes of wives waiting for the return of her husband from the battlefield, many laughs and the future of children that he bet.

He has been feeling unstable emotions lately. He wouldn't be a hypocrite if he needed a shoulder to lean on right now. He has lost two friends who played a major role in his life. Ah, not two but one, he's still convinced that Chichi still survives there. He's sure of it.

Yiu was actually too afraid to tell her about the anxiety in her heart to her brother, she was afraid of disturbing her mind and health because she was the hardest hit by the death of Ming Zijing among others. He was ashamed because he could not be as strong as his brother.

And now the crazy man who used to bother him is now suddenly disappearing without news. Was he drunk with beautiful women somewhere to overcome his sadness? It felt as if Yiu wanted to cut off Wu Xiao's big mouth the moment he met him so that he would realize that he was currently in a time of war.

How dare the madman say he will always be there for her and accompany her while when Yiu is in need, the selfless madman is having fun with other women out there.

You striped nose! Just watch out, I'll cut yours when I get back!

Yiu who was busy with her anger at Wu Xiao was suddenly startled by a shiny red object in front of him.

Yiu turned his head and found that the man who had filled his head had stood up with a sweet, sinless smile while holding a tanghulu.

Yiu who was already annoyed half-dead finally attacked Wu Xiao using his blood river sword. Making Wu Xiao run in fear and shout in confusion, "Liying, what ghost are you possessed of?! Liying, awake! This is Prince Wu Xiao the most handsome of the landings!"

Yiu just kept quiet and continued to chase while continuing to launch an attack on Wu Xiao who in fact did not know anything about it.

"Liying, I brought you your favorite spicy goat soup! There are tanghulu and other sweets too!"

Instantly the swing of Yiu's sword at Wu Xiao came to a halt in the air. However, a sharp and intimidating look still adorned Yiu's brown bead.

Wu Xiao did not waste his chance. He approached slowly and put a trench in front of Yiu's lips. "Try a little aaaa..."

With his face still faithfully bent, Yiu devoured a piece of the tanghulu fruit with anger.

Wu Xiao could not help but look at that flat expression and bloated cheeks. "It's so adorable!" his inner.

Wu Xiao's face relaxed, pulling Yiu's hand towards his tent.

Once inside the tent, the strong fragrance of the spices in the spicy soup filled Yiu's sense of smell. Yiu sat down at the table that had been presented with various kinds of his favorite food.

The manicure sparkled for a moment before looking back at the actor overthinking him. "Where to from? These two days I haven't seen you at all. Your face looks creepy, you must have been drinking and having fun all night, right?"

"Liying, how can you accuse me of cheating with the other woman behind you?"

"I'm not your wife!"

"For now not ...." Wu Xiao who reflexively retorted was immediately silent for a few seconds before turning back to change the topic. His cheeks suddenly felt hot.

"Liying, I've been working all night to make this food for you and you're accusing me of cheating?! Huh, how can I wish for the number one beauty in this country, hm? I'm not that stupid, Liying."

Yiu's face instantly reddened even to the ears. He reflexively threw away his face with a cold expression and avoided eye contact with this crazy man who was boasting in front of him.

Wu Xiao who saw Yiu's behavior felt anxious to the point of strangling him.

Wu Xiao shifted his seat to be next to Yiu, he started taking the goat soup and blew his mouth out briefly before thrusting a bribe at Yiu.

"I know you haven't eaten yet, let's finish before it gets cold. As an apology for disappearing for a few days and worrying you, then I'll bribe you for a whole week!"

Yiu looked over with teary eyes. Wu Xiao's empty hand immediately rubbed the corner of Yiu's eyes gently. Having someone who was worried about him was already quite enough for Wu Xiao and he promised to always protect this stubborn girl in front of him for the rest of his life.

"Promise?" yiu asked in a low voice and was still trying to hold back his cries.

"Mn, I promise. Now open your mouth aaa..."

Yiu chuckled briefly before accepting the bribe Wu Xiao painstakingly fed him while telling him many funny things.

"Report!"

Suddenly, the voice of the attendant who swiftly entered the tent made the intimate activities of the two disturbed.

"Please!" yelled Wu Xiao.

"Sorry, Prince .. da-and Princess, there's important news from East Headquarters."

"Say," cried Yiu.

"The reports, Armory and food warehouse at East Headquarters were badly burned and the arsonist has not been found, it is estimated that the soldiers' food was only enough for five days."

"WHAT?!"

.

.

.

"Prince Huang, Prince Wu Xiao, and all of them, please give me three days' thinking time to get the arrow in no time."

TB