Jin Qiu stretched his body and sat under a large tree. Unlike in his original world, here, he could enjoy the cool breeze as he lay under the tree. This is something that he would never be able to enjoy in his world because there's no place like this and there's no chance for him to do something like this.
If he's doing something like this while being the mafia leader, he would just end up getting shot by his enemy.
But of course, there will always be someone who will disturb him. He simply wants to take a nap, but that's impossible to do when someone stared at him like he's some kind of criminal.
"If you don't want to follow me, you can just ignore me and say that you've been following me." He said as he closed his eyes. He wants to ignore Pan Zhiqiang who chooses to come closer once he said what he thought. This is the last person that he wants to talk to because he knew that they will just end up fighting. One doesn't like the Emperor while the other very loyal to the Emperor. There's no way they could get along.
"You know that I can't do something like that."
Jin Qiu chuckled for a bit. "How loyal... I wonder what will you do if one day, Zhengsheng asked you to die for him? Will you do that?" Because in the novel, Pan Zhiqiang indeed died in order to protect the Emperor and his beloved Empress in the war. In a way, it's quite pitiful, but it's not like he need to change everyone's fate. He just need to change his own fate. If he can save other in the process, it will be good, but he won't sacrifice himself for others, especially not for the people in this world, who he never knows about.
"What makes you change?"
Jin Qiu looked at the general and raised one of his eyebrow. He doesn't even know why the man suddenly ask him something like that.
"All this time, you always try to sweet talk everyone and pretend to be a good person. You did everything you can in order to enter the palace and get His Majesty's attention, and now you get what you want. You should be grateful that His Majesty started to care about you."
Listening to what Pan Zhiqiang said make a question pop out in Jin Qiu's mind. Who is Jin Qiu? What did he do? Is everything is exactly the same like the novel? He felt like he needs to find out about that first before he could make another step. He should treat this place as real place instead something inside the novel.
He stared at Pan Zhiqiang, who looked at him like he's the worst person the man ever meet. He's been through so much to know if someone hate him or like him and Pan Zhiqiang hate him.
"People can change." He replied. "How can you expect someone to keep loving one person when what he got is always pain? Sweet talk? Your Emperor was the one who used the sweet talk and then giving me poison afterwards. He said he married for revenge, but I think that's stupid. My family doesn't even love me so what's the point of making me suffer? I'm tired to be like that."
Pan Zhiqiang clenched his fist. He knew why the Emperor did everything to Jin Qiu before. Personally, he also hates Jin Qiu because his family died in the war lead by Jin Qiu. If can, he would want to make Jin Qiu felt the suffering that he felt all this time.
Jin Qiu looked at the commander before he let out a sigh and got up from his spot. "I know just how much you hate me, but I have no interest to keep suffering just because of that." He said. "I'm going back to my room. You can follow me and continue to watch me, or you can do whatever you want, I don't care." Said the man as he started to walk. But all of sudden, someone jumped down from the tree above him. He stepped back just in time when a short sword grazed his cheek.
"Jin Qiu!" Pan Zhiqiang shouted.
The assassin jumped back and stared at Pan Zhiqiang who pulled out his sword from the sheath.
Jin Qiu stopped Pan Zhiqiang and started to laugh for no reason.
"Are you crazy? Someone tried to kill you and you laugh?" Pan Zhiqiang asked with disbelief, but then he noticed something. The way Jin Qiu reacted when encountered an assassin is the same like when the Emperor encountered one. They looked happy.
And the more their victim feel happy, the more the assassin feel anxious. Not to mention, Jin Qiu managed to dodge that sudden attack. There's no way the assassin would remain calm about it.
Jin Qiu took a step forward and standing in front of Pan Zhiqiang. "Just before at the court meeting, they talked about the assassin and here another assassin showed up." He started as he walked towards the assassin who, for some reason, taking a step back instead of attacking him. "But why did the assassin attack me? To outsider, I'm still the abandoned concubine."
Pan Zhiqiang listened to what the man said and seemed to be thinking for a moment before he realized something. "You mean there's a spy inside the palace?"
The assassin flinched and it's enough to tell the two about the truth. The spy told the assassin that Jin Qiu might be the Emperor's weakness now. Well...if the Emperor really love him, then he might become the man's greatest weakness, but they're just pretending. Not to mention, Jin Qiu would never want to die for the Emperor's sake.
"I will handle him." Jin Qiu looked down to his hand. The familiar feeling must be because this body is used to this, just like when he summoned his sword before.
The assassin coming towards him and he could see something like red mist engulfing the short sword. It might be something that people called as sword qi, something that people in the martial arts learn. Unexpectedly, he's not that surprised. He felt like the body he used now remember the basic so he just take a deep breath and he could feel his own spiritual power circulating around his body. He raised his hand by the time the short sword coming to him and destroyed it to pieces. "It seems like people forgot with the fact that before coming to the palace to become a concubine, I am a commander of Jin Troop. Do you really think you can kill me with such a low skill?"
"You should stop talking to assassin."
The voice behind the assassin was very familiar and soon after, Jin Qiu and Pan Zhiqiang could see a red line on the assassin's neck, followed by the head that fell to the ground along with the body.
Ren Zhengsheng is more cruel than what Jin Qiu could have expected. In the novel, there's no scene like this. The novel only explain that Ren Zhengsheng is cold and cruel to his enemy, but never really showing a scene about it, except from the time when he left Jin Qiu.
"Your Majesty." Pan Zhiqiang bowed his head and moved away as the Emperor approached Jin Qiu. He talked to some of the guards and told them to clean up the corpse.
Jin Qiu looked at the man indifferently. Back in his world, he saw people die, so something like this won't really bother him. "The meeting is over? Why did you come here? Afraid that I will say something to your loyal commander?"
"Ah, you mean Zhiqiang? He won't betray me even when someone threatened him with the person he loved. That's the kind of person he is and that's why I can trust him more than anyone else in this palace."
It means that Jin Qiu will need to be really careful around Pan Zhiqiang.
"So, why did you come here?" He asked again. "You can say all those lies about you wanting to see your beloved concubine or something, but I won't believe you, so it's better if you just say what you want. If I hear some more useless words, I will just go back to my room."
"How impatient. The only reason I will come to see you is because I need your authority as the commander of Jin Troop."
In the novel, Ren Zhengsheng has no reason to use Jin Troop this early, so why did the man suddenly come to him now? If it's just subduing some small kingdom, then he doesn't think the man will need the power of Jin Troop.
Ren Zhengsheng seemed to understand what Jin Qiu thought. "I don't really need to use it now, but I want to see the power of Jin Troop." He continued with a soft smile on his face, a smile that doesn't quite fit with their conversation. "And also, to make everyone see that the commander of Jin Troop, Jin Qiu, will assist me in my conquest."
In other words, Ren Zhengsheng wants everyone to stop even thinking about approaching Jin Qiu or trying to make a deal with the man. That way, Jin Qiu will have no one else but Ren Zhengsheng when he got into trouble. Ren Zhengsheng needs Jin Qiu, and Jin Qiu will need Ren Zhengsheng.
"Sure. I don't mind going to the battlefield with you. I've been feeling bored inside the palace anyway."
Ren Zhengsheng stared at the other man.
"What?"
"Before, you would only give the commander plate to me and let me do whatever I want with the troop, but now you want to come along? You said you no longer want to see your people kill others."
Hearing that, Jin Qiu can't help but feeling shocked. The novel did said that Jin Qiu is a very kind person, but to be a commander while not wanting his troop to kill others is just too much. In a world where you need to kill or be killed, no wonder the original Jin Qiu's life was so miserable, and no wonder the Emperor never really care about him.
Sometimes, kindness can become strength, but at times, too much kindness becomes a weakness instead. The original Jin Qiu is weak.
"You should've realized by now that I've changed. If you want to use Jin Troop, I, as the commander, need to come along, right?" Jin Qiu replied calmly. "Oh right, I will ask for a reward if we succeed subduing your enemy."
"Reward? You want a reward even though you're helping the person you love?"
Jin Qiu feels like he wants to hit the man in front of him, but he tried to suppress that desire. "Yes, a reward. Love is love, work is work. You shouldn't put it together. If you agree to reward me, then I will do whatever you want in this war. Not to mention, I no longer love you. The relationship we have now is just something like a business deal."
"A business deal, huh… Sure. I will give you a reward. What will you want as a reward?"
"You will know once we win this war, but don't worry; it won't be something that would be bad for you. In fact, this is only useful for me. Now I will go to Jin Household and tell the troop about this."
Jin Qiu waved his hand and walked away from that place, not even noticing the stare that Ren Zhengsheng gave him.
The feeling of having Jin Qiu avoiding him is quite strange. Before, Jin Qiu would always bother him at every chance he has and when he show a little bit kindness, the man would look very delighted. But now, there's something else in Jin Qiu's eyes. He doesn't hate it, but for some reason, he also doesn't like it.
Jin Family Manor
"Father, have you heard about it?" A young man leaned on his seat and crossed his arms.
"Are you talking about your half brother that got adored by the Emperor?"
"What else could I be talking about?" The young man looked annoyed. "He entered the palace and led a very pitiful life, I was so happy, but now the Emperor started to show interest with him. Then what's the point of using Xiang Ru? We send Xiang Ru to the palace so that Jin Qiu will know that he's more worthless than a prostitute."
The old man shakes his head and smirked. "Xiang Ru is our spy, and it's not like we work alone in this. The Western Continent supported us and they promised that once they managed to bring down the Emperor, they will give us even more power. They even said that they would get rid of Jin Qiu."
"I'm the next head of Jin Family, yet those fool people just won't obey my words. They choose to obey that low born. It's all your fault, father. How did you got seduced by such a lowly servant and ended up having Jin Qiu? You should've killed him even before he's born. "
"I never know that Jin Qiu would be so talented. Calm down, Ah Rong. We should just wait patiently. The people from Western Continent have made their movement. It won't be long until a great war happen and during that time, Jin Qiu will accidentally die."
"Just what kind of coward that would try to kill his own son in the middle of war? Well..a coward bastard, I guess."
Jin Rong and the current head of Jin Family as well as Jin Qiu's father, Jin Xiang, stood up from their seat as soon as they heard Jin Qiu's voice.
"You! Do you have no manner?!" Jin Xiang shouted angrily. "Who teach you to not even knock when you enter a room?! Don't get too cocky just because the Emperor is a little bit nice to you! In the end, you're just a simple concubine!"
"Are you done?"
"What?"
"I'm asking if you're done with your blabbers." Jin Qiu asked again. He has already expected that the people in Jin House would be like this, so he's not really surprised. The novel explained how the family mistreated Jin Qiu. Abandoned by the family and abandone by the lover. The original Jin Qiu is such a poor thing.
Jin Xiang looked so angry that he walk towards his illegitimate son and slapped the man quite hard.
Once he did that, he felt quite satisfied that a disgusting smile formed on his face. "You're just my illegitimate son, so don't get too cocky. I didn't even plan to have you when I played around with your mother, so you should know your place."
Jin Qiu wondering why did the original need to bear with something like this.
"Father, it's no use even if you talked with him. He is so blindly in love with the Emperor and now that the Emperor chooses to adore him, he must be feeling really proud. But who knows, the Emperor might change his mind again and he will get abandoned again."
Jin Rong and Jin Qiu stared to each other.
In the novel, Jin Rong is described as a very greedy young master who dream to become the Emperor, and because of that greedy desire, he worked together with the enemy in order to get rid of Ren Zhengsheng. He doesn't even know that Ren Zhengsheng planned to kill him.
Sometimes, being stupid can be considered as a gift since one doesn't have to think about what would happen to them later.
"I didn't come here to argue with you, so let's stop it here." Jin Qiu finally said. "I just came to tell you that I will take half of the troop with me to go to the battlefield. Be grateful that I let you know instead of just taking them away."
"Jin Qiu! Do you even know what you're saying?! I'm still the head of Jin Family, and you dare to say that you will bring the troop with you?!"
"You are the head of this family, but I'm the commander of Jin Troop. Or perhaps you're saying that you can tame them without me?"
The old man was angry, but he knew better than anyone that Jin Troop would obey no one but the person they think as worth to become the commander and that person, unfortunately, not him nor his adored son, Jin Rong, but Jin Qiu. And exactly because of that, he has been trying to get rid of Jin Qiu, though everything keep failing.
Jin Qiu chuckled, amused by the fact that this old man have no ability to become the commander. "That's right, I almost forgot. I came here with Song Yun and Pan Zhiqiang. If you want to get some attention, maybe you should go to see them?"
Jin Rong and Jin Xiang looked to each other before they quickly followed the man who walked to the other side of Jin House. True enough. In front the assembled troops; they could see Song Yun and Pan Zhiqiang. They knew that those two men are the few people that become the Emperor's close aide. For them to come here with Jin Qiu means that the Emperor really being affectionate with the man now.
"Jin Qiu, you took so…" The smile on Song Yun's face disappeared as soon as he saw the red mark on Jin Qiu's face. He clearly remember that when they arrived before, there's nothing like that on Jin Qiu's face and now after the man went to meet the family head, his face become like that. "Did Master Jin do that?"
"Do what?"
"You can try to deny it, Jin Qiu, but the mark on your face is so clear. His Majesty will be angry when he saw that, so how about you try to press some ice on it before it gets too swollen?"
"You're strong, so why did you let yourself get slapped like that?" Pan Zhiqiang asked while watching the two.
Jin Qiu chuckled for a bit as he saw the reaction given by the two men who was told to accompany him here. Song Yun being caring is usual thing since in the novel, Song Yun is the one person who has been kind to Jin Qiu. But Pan Zhiqiang hated him, so it's kind of refreshing to have the man said something that sounds like a concern.
He doesn't know why Pan Zhiqiang hate him, and he have no plan to please anyone more than what he need.
Jin Qiu patted Song Yun's shoulder for a bit. "I can assure you that Zhengsheng won't feel anything even when he see me beaten to pulp." Because what the man care is his status as the commander instead of himself. "More importantly, you two have already explained everything to them, right? Zhengsheng said that he will go straight to the border, so we should go there as well."
"Greetings, Master Song, Master Pan." Jin Xiang approached the group and smiled. "I heard from my son that His Majesty will go to another war? I was wondering if my other son would be allowed to join. He doesn't have much chance to show his talent, so I hope you can put a word with His Majesty."
The three looked at Jin Rong who stood proudly behind Jin Xiang. At that moment, Jin Qiu felt like he really wants to punch his half brother for his cocky attitude.
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