Jin Qiu is not the kind of person who will brag about what he can do or what he have. He won't do that to a friend or the people close to him, but it's different story to the enemy. Towards them, Jin Qiu want to brag as much as he can. Sometimes, it can be used to threaten his opponent and gaining more chance for victory.
And that's what he wants to do now.
After receiving a word that Jin Rong, his half brother, shamelessly came to the palace and demand a meeting with him, Jin Qiu felt like he need to show the foolish man about his position now. Ren Zhengsheng care about him more than what he can expect, so he plan to just use that.
"You look so beautiful, Your Highness." Shen Yue commented as Jin Qiu stared to the reflection of himself on the mirror. She chooses to come along and helped Jin Qiu when the man said he want to get ready.
His slim body wrapped in a pure white clothes made of silk. His long black hair were adored with white ribbon combined with golden hair pin. If Jin Qiu want to be honest, this face is much more beautiful than Chen Lihua, yet the original Jin Qiu choose to use that body because he want to hold Ren Zhengsheng's heart.
Jin Qiu turn around and smiled towards Shen Yue. "Thank you. You're the one who help me choose this outfit and this style. Who would have expected that something as simple as this would boost this body's beauty even more." He commented, completely ignoring the confused look on Shen Yue's face. "Anyway, we should go now. If we spend more time here, Song Yun might hear and report it to Zhengsheng."
"Sure, Your Highness."
The two walked out from the room while the servants cleaning up everything. They walked for a bit to meet with Luo Hai and Luo Guozhi who seemed to talk about the fish inside the pond. Watching the two like this, even Jin Qiu could see that Luo Hai adored his son very much.
"Luo Hai." Jin Qiu called.
"Oh, Your High-" Luo Hai, who replied to Jin Qiu while turning around, became stunned as he saw Jin Qiu. Before, whenever he saw Jin Qiu, he would saw the man using some excessive make up for woman, making him looks ridiculuous. But now, even without make up, Luo Hai has already think that Jin Qiu is beautiful. "Oh my, oh my...who would have thought that you would look even more beautiful like this?"
"Enough of the flatter. We should go to see my brother now."
"Already feeling itchy to use your fist?"
"Well...I would like to avoid that if I can, but if not, I would gladly beat him up."
❖
Jin Qiu went to see Jin Rong only with Luo Hai. He can't risk something bad happen to Shen Yue or her son. They have enough simply just facing Ren Zhengsheng's enemy, so more problem is unnecessary. Not to mention, involving innocent people is not his style at all.
He entered the room and as soon as Jin Rong saw him, the man stood up and was about to approach him.
The only thing that stopped the man was because Luo Hai placed a hand on the sword resting on his waist, ready to strike him at any moment. Taking Luo Hai along is a good decision. "What's with the sudden visit, brother? I don't think there's anything that we should talk about, right? You hate me and I hate you."
Jin Rong stared at his half brother who looked so dignified. The way he dressed. The way he talked. And even the person followed him are different now. Jin Rong remembered the order and the reason why he came here.
"You're pushing your luck, Jin Qiu. I came here under father's order to take the plate of Jin Troop. As the First Concubine, you should give up your position as the commander."
"And what makes you think that the troop will acknowledge someone else aside of me?"
Jin Rong didn't reply, yet Jin Qiu could see the man clenched his fist while holding what seemed to be anger. Jin Troop doesn't want to accept someone like Jin Rong as their commander. Not only that the man lack the ability to be a commander, it's also because the man is very weak compared to Jin Qiu. Jin Qiu might be nothing more than a son of a lowly servant, but he possessed more power than Jin Rong.
"Oh right." Jin Rong suddenly started again. The angry expression on his face disappeared and replaced by a disgusting smirk. "I heard that father will choose someone to become a wife. Do you know who he choose?"
Jin Qiu felt like he will hear something bad.
"It's Duan Huifang." Jin Rong continued with a laugh. "Apparently, her brother caused some problem and was about to be killed. Father helped her solved that problem and as exchange, she need to marry father. She is quite a beauty too. Isn't it good? You always think of her as your mother after all. She will really be your mother! Though you need to be careful so she won't die like your real mother."
Jin Qiu looked down to his beautiful clothes and let out a sigh. But a seconds later, he has already dashed towards his half brother and punched the man quite hard on the face, sending the man against the table behind him with a loud crush.
"W-what are you doing, Jin Qiu?!"
Jin Qiu waved his fist and smiled. "Are you stupid? Obviously I'm punching you, right?" He approached Jin Rong, who crawled back and looked frightened. "You know, Zhengsheng confined me in the palace for a days, so my mood is already bad. And now you came to tell me that, can you imagine what I feel right now?"
"S-stop! If you punch me again, father will see and he will definitely come to the palace to punish you!!"
At the mention of Jin Xiang, the said father, Jin Qiu paused for a moment. Because of that, Jin Rong thought that his half brother would finally stopped and was about to laugh when Jin Qiu launched another punch to his face. A hard one. Again and again.
Jin Rong tried to protect himself, but Jin Qiu keeps punching him. It keeps going for almost three minutes. Until Jin Qiu's fist covered with blood and Jin Rong losing consciousness.
To Luo Hai, who just watching from the side, everything was truly a sight. All this time, Jin Qiu always looked like a tender man who hates violence, but what he saw just a moment ago was an embodiment of violence.
"This is the first time I saw you doing something like this." Luo Hai commented as he lends out a handkerchief to Jin Qiu. "If Jin Troop saw this, they will be really shocked. Their strong and kind hearted commander is losing himself and acted like a madman."
"That's rude." Jin Qiu replied. He wiped out the blood from his fist using Luo Hai's handkerchief. Though…there's nothing he could do about the blood that got splattered to his white clothes. He wondered what kind of face people will make if they saw him like this. "I've wanted to punch him like this since a while ago. It's just that I have no chance to do that yet."
Jin Qiu looked to the unconscious man with a bloody face. "It's about time that I do something like this. Jin Family is rotten to the core. Even I…" He paused. Even the original Jin Qiu also did something really bad. He looked at Luo Hai and stared at the man. "Do you know about everything that Jin Family did?"
That question was quite sudden, but Luo Hai remained calm. He smiled towards Jin Qiu.
"Yes, I know. Every single person who became the warlords knew about it, but it doesn't really matter."
Jin Qiu raised an eyebrow.
"The warlords exist to follow what His Majesty wants, so if His Majesty chooses to forgive you and treasure you, we will also do the same."
Unconditional loyalty. Whether in this world or in his original world, there are people like that. Even in his original world, he has some people who would put such a big faith towards him. Following him no matter what kind of bad things he will do.
"You don't look like someone who will do something like that." Jin Qiu started again. "Why did you choose to follow Zhengsheng?"
"Because he has lot enemies."
"What?"
"I like to do something thrilling, like fighting enemy troop all alone, or fighting someone stronger than me." Luo Hai admitted. "When His Majesty raised to the throne, I figured that he will have a lot of enemies because the way he take care of enemy's kingdom and I figured that by following him, I would be able to fight to my heart content, with whoever I want."
Now Jin Qiu started to consider that the only normal person in this palace is Song Yun. "Putting that aside, I need to see Zhengsheng so I can talk about what we should do to Jin Family."
"You sure you want to do this?"
"Is there a reason for me to hesitate about that?"
"His Majesty didn't tell you?" Luo Hai raised an eyebrow. "If you demolish Jin Family, then obviously, Jin Troop will be demolished as well. They will be absorbed into the Imperial Army, under Pan Zhiqiang's command. It's the same like giving up the power you hold up until now."
Before, Jin Qiu did think that giving up Jin Troop to Ren Zhengsheng would mean a bad thing, but not now. He felt like that even if he is no one, Ren Zhensheng would never abandon him. That kind of trust is ridiculous and can also be a suicide, but he really can't stop himself from thinking like that. This is why he chooses to do this.
"Do you really think that once Zhengsheng got Jin Troop, he will abandon me like he did before?" Jin Qiu asked back. "I want to put my trust to him. Well…if it turns out that he abandons me again, I will just leave the palace. He has no need for me anymore after all."
With a slight smile, Jin Qiu then walked to the door. The two guards waiting outside must have heard everything, though they didn't say anything and just looking nervous. "Have the servant to clean him up. No, clean the room and drag him to the jail." Jin Qiu ordered. "He is charged with the crime of mocking me, First Concubine."
"Understood, Your Highness." The two guards replied.
❖
Jin Qiu and Luo Hai walked towards the main palace together. Unlike before, now the guards looked more polite towards Jin Qiu. Even the servants are being very polite towards him. It reminds him of the servant that he saw the first time he opened his eyes in this world. That servant is nowhere to be found now.
Perhaps he got fired? Well.. Jin Qiu has no way to confirm about it and he has no time to do that too.
Once they reached the Emperor's working room, the guards was about to announce Jin Qiu's arrival, but Jin Qiu has already barged into the room.
Inside the room, there are Ren Zhengsheng who sat behind the table while holding a report scroll and Song Yun, who stand in front the table, holding an almost similar looking scroll.
"How rare of you to come visit me here, Qiu er."
Jin Qiu stared at Ren Zhengsheng who teased him with a smirk on his face.
"You want to destroy Jin Family, right? I came here to talk about that matter." Jin Qiu started without a care about Song Yun, who looked quite shocked by what he said. With confidence, he walked further into the room and taking a seat near the tea table.
Ren Zhengsheng looked at Luo Hai, and the red haired man just shrugged his shoulder.
With a sigh, Ren Zhengsheng then stood up from his seat and send both Song Yun and Luo Hai out of the room. He joined Jin Qiu at the tea table and leaned back to his seat. At least he can talk while feeling relaxed. "So, why did you suddenly talk about destroying your own family?"
"Are you kidding me? They are not my family. They might be this body's family, but I never consider them as family. That's why I think that I need to destroy that family now."
"You're rushing."
"Not at all. Beside, why don't you agree with me? If Jin Family destroyed, you will be able to control Jin Troop."
Ren Zhengsheng stared at the man in front of him for a moment. He's trying to understand why Jin Qiu would suddenly make this kind of choice. He heard about Jin Rong that came to visit, but he doubt the arrival of a single person from Jin Family would create this much difference. There's only one thing that he can think about.
"Duan Huifan." Ren Zhengsheng started. "I got a report that you're quite docile in front of that woman. The original Jin Qiu or even you." He continued. "Did Jinrong inform you something about that woman?"
"What do you mean with docile? I..." Jin Qiu moved his gaze away from Ren Zhensheng. He takes a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I want to help her, that's why I want to destroy Jin Family."
Ren Zhengsheng remained silent. He moved forward and reached for the empty cup, pouring the tea that started to turn cold. He have a plan, but now is not the time to do that plan. "Not yet." He finally said.
"Zhengsheng!"
"I said that we can't destroy Jin Family now, but it doesn't mean that we can't help Duan Huifang."
Jin Qiu slightly startled, but he now stared at Ren Zhengsheng.
"Zhou Huizhong, the heir of Zhou Family, has been murdered and charged with three crimes that ended up destroyed the whole Zhou Family." He explained. "Because of that, the power all moved to Jin Family. Practically, Zhou Family has already demolished and Zhou Troop will be absorbed into the Imperial Troop tomorrow. But at the same time, the nobles will all siding with Jin Family. They always want to find a way to mark me as incompetent Emperor after all."
"Then we should make use of this chance to get rid of Jin Family as well."
"I don't know how things work in your world, but it will create a mess here. An Empire working well because the nobles exist. If I destroy Jin Family now, who became the representative of nobles, there will be rebels. The rebels inside will make us prey to the other kingdom."
Jin Qiu almost forgot that running a nation is different from running a criminal organization such as mafia. But that's exactly what made him felt frustated. Back in his world, when someone is being a bother, then he can just get rid of them. But of course, if he still can use them, then he will spare them.
And Ren Zhengsheng is really different from the novel. In the novel, the man will do anything that will endanger his peaceful life with the Empress.
Was it a mistake to think that Ren Zhengsheng will listen to him?
Unconciously, Jin Qiu stared at the man who seemed to enjoy the cold tea.
"What is it?" Ren Zhengsheng suddenly ask. "If you stared at me like that, I would start having a weird idea."
A frown immediately appeared on Jin Qiu's face as soon as he heard what the other said. "I just thought that you're the kind of person who will kill anyone who get in the way."
"Well..before I became the Emperor, that's what I do. I don't even remember how much people I killed. I even killed my own siblings just to get to this throne."
Jin Qiu figured that living in the palace would be like that. Kill or to be killed. His life was also like that.
"Then how can we help her without destroying Jin Family?" Jin Qiu finally asked. "Just for your information, I beat Jin Rong into pulp, so his father might retaliate and cause a problem."
"His father is also your father, you know."
"Do you want me to punch you as well?" Jin Qiu raised his clenched fist.
Ren Zhengsheng started to chuckle because of that. "You're so cute when you're being like that, Qiu er."
"Ren Zhengsheng."
"Alright, alright. I will stop now and tell you about the way. Though it's quite simple." Ren Zhengsheng started. "You just need to assassinate your father."
Jin Qiu blink blankly as he looked at Ren Zhengsheng. He was thinking that Ren Zhengsheng would have some kind of amazing plan, but then the man suggesting about assassination.
"With talented people in Jin Troop, you think assassin would be able to enter?"
"Who said that we will rent an assassin?" Ren Zhensheng set his cup down. "You can act as the assassin, or I can act as the assassin. I doubt anyone in Jin Troop can be stronger than us."
"Just how crazy can you become? An Emperor going to one of his vassal's house to assasinate him? How is that any different than destroying Jin Family out in the open?" Jin Qiu let out a sigh and leaned back. Now he can understand the feeling of his subordinate when he's being stubborn. They must be feeling really tired. If he have a chance, he want to apologize for being stubborn. "I will go." He finally said. "I believe that you won't fail, but this is my problem, I want to settle it by myself if I can."
Ren Zhengsheng stood up from his seat and taking a small scroll from the bookshelves. He moved all the cup of tea to another table and opened the scroll on the table. "This is the map of Jin House. You are the one who draw this for me and I've already checked that this map is accurate. The one that I marked is the place where Jin Troop watching."
"If I kill that old man, Jin Rong will become the family head, right? Could it be that you want to use him to get to Chen Lihua?"
Ren Zhengsheng only replied him with a smile, but he knew that's what the man trying to do.
Chen Lihua, the original Jin Qiu, is trying to make the Emperor kill him by using such underhanded method. He figured that the original might has done something like this several time, but this time, the original has failed. Rather than closing all the path and not knowing what the original will do later, it's better to leave one path open and that is through Jin Family.
"I'm going there tonight then." Jin Qiu finally said. "But I don't want to do the assassination using sword of knife, that's too troublesome. Lend me the gun that you showed me before. That's a weapon used by Western Continent, right? If that old man got killed using such weapon, everyone will think that he made enemy with someone from Western Empire."
"You want to borrow the gun?"
"Yes. Why? You don't want me to use it?"
Ren Zhengsheng stared at Jin Qiu for a moment, but then a smirk formed on his face. "That's a memento I get after I managed to trample down the Morgause Empire, so I want to keep it for myself. But well...if my beloved concubine really want to use it, then I guess I will be generous enough to give it to you."
"Though I don't like with how you talk about it, I'm grate-"
"With a price of course."
Jin Qiu frowned. He knew that the man in front him, though saying beloved or something like that, won't help him just like that. The man will always want something as exchange. It's annoying, but if he can pay for it, he don't think that would be a bad deal.
"What's the price?"
"When you finished your assassination, I want you to come to my bedroom and I would like to spend a night with you." Ren Zhengsheng replied. "You are my concubine after all."
"You.. Aren't we already come to conclusion that you just think of me as interesting because I'm different from the original? So why are you keep insisting of spending the night with me?"
"You shouldn't get me wrong here, Qiu er." Ren Zhengsheng started again. "I'm not trying to bargain with you because I can basically do whatever I want. The difference is that before I want to kill you, and now, I only want to convine you. I want to keep you deep inside my palace where no one else would be able to see you. Of course, I will take a good care of you. And of course, you can say good bye to your original world."
Jin Qiu felt annoyed, but he knew very well about what Ren Zhengsheng capable of doing. He should be relieved that the man won't kill him now, but it's still not good.
Will he manage to keep his sanity if he spend a night with Ren Zhensheng? And there's one more problem, he never tried to be at the receiving end. It hurt his conciousness and his pride as a man. Fuck this world and the original Jin Qiu who want to be the concubine.
"Fine, I will spend the night with you." He finally replied. "I will warn you though. If I don't like it, I will kick you right away and there will be no next time."
Ren Zhengsheng stared at Jin Qiu for a moment before he start laughing. He looked very satisfied. "Then I will make sure you enjoy it, Qiu er."
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