Chapter 90: Zhao Feng Transferred to the Main Battle Camp! Dominant Ying Zheng!
Mrs. Zhao's gaze immediately shifted their way.
"Weren't you the ones who asked me for news of Zhao Feng? I just so happened to receive a letter from an acquaintance in the army, and it mentioned someone named Zhao Feng. I'm not sure if it's the same person," Wu Lizheng said, hesitating. Besides, it was Mrs. Zhao's birthday today, and he was unsure if he should even say anything.
"Mr. Wu, please come in," Zhao Ying said, immediately going to open the courtyard gate.
Mrs. Zhao noticed the hesitation on his face. "Village Chief, just say what you have to. It's alright," she said slowly.
"To be honest, it's actually good news," Wu Lizheng said with a slight smile. "Someone named Zhao Feng in the Logistics Army has earned great military merit. It seems he killed a Great General of Han, and his name is now known throughout the entire Logistics Army."
"And then?" Mrs. Zhao asked hurriedly.
"Killing a Great General of Han is a major event, so... so that Zhao Feng was transferred to the main battle camp," Wu Lizheng explained, noticing the worried look in her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhao's expression changed instantly. Her face paled as she felt a deep unease. "The main battle camp... the main battle camp... That means going to the front lines. It can't really be Feng'er, can it?"
"Now, Mrs. Zhao, don't you worry too much," Wu Lizheng quickly said. "It could just be someone with the same name, not that boy Zhao Feng. Don't overthink it."
"Mother, Mr. Wu is right," Zhao Ying chimed in immediately. "With my brother's skills, there's no way he could have killed a Great General of Han. It has to be someone else with the same name. There are hundreds of thousands, even millions, of men in the army. It's perfectly normal for people to share a name."
Wu Lizheng was quick to agree. "Ying is right. There are too many people with the same name. It's probably not him, so Mrs. Zhao, you shouldn't worry.
"Besides, looking at the situation, the war will probably be over soon. After all, they even killed one of Han's Great Generals," Wu Lizheng added with a reassuring smile. "Once the war ends, letters from the army might start coming through. And haven't they been holding back Zhao Feng's Annual Salary? It should be issued after the war, and we can find out what's what then."
"Yes, Mr. Wu is right," Zhao Ying readily agreed. "We'll just wait for news at home."
"I understand," Mrs. Zhao nodded, but her expression still showed great worry.
I pray the one transferred to the main battle camp isn't Zhao Feng. The battlefield is a place of life and death... I truly don't want that for him, Mrs. Zhao murmured to herself.
Meanwhile.
「Xianyang, Royal Palace, Zhangtai Palace!」
Night had fallen, yet the palace was brightly lit.
Today, the King of Qin had, for once, refrained from attending to his petitions. He sat inside the palace across from another man. Between them, a table was laden with wine and meat.
As king, Ying Zheng personally held a wine jug and poured a drink for the person before him.
Upon closer inspection, the man was none other than the Great Physician, Xia Wuqie, the most renowned doctor in all of Qin.
"Father-in-law," Ying Zheng began, his voice tinged with nostalgia as he raised his cup. "Today is Efang's thirty-first birthday. It is also the seventeenth year since she left us. Enough talk. To Efang... drink up."
Xia Wuqie said nothing, simply lifting his cup and downing it in one gulp. Then, a touch of sadness entered his voice. "In this whole world, we are likely the only two who still remember Efang."
"Rest assured, Father-in-law," Ying Zheng said with conviction. "I will find Efang. One day, I will find her, even if I have to search the entire world."
Qin's conquest of the world!
Ying Zheng not only inherited the long-cherished dream of his royal predecessors and the Old Qin People, but he also harbored this deep desire in his own heart. If he could not find his beloved in Qin, then after unifying the world, he would tear the earth apart to find her.
"I will keep waiting for that day. For Efang's sake, but even more for the sake of a unified world."
"Do you know why I gave up my post as a respected Great Physician in the Zhao state to flee to Qin with you and Efang?" Xia Wuqie asked with a faint smile.
"Because Efang and I were deeply in love, and you had no other children but her," Ying Zheng replied without a second thought.
But at these words, Xia Wuqie simply shook his head.
"Is that not the case?" Ying Zheng asked, slightly surprised.
"Back when you were almost drowned by the Zhao soldiers in the prison, Shen Yue brought you to me. That was the first time I ever met you," Xia Wuqie said slowly.
"That was also the day I first met Efang," Ying Zheng added, a warm, nostalgic smile gracing his lips.
"After that, you moved in next door to my home," Xia Wuqie continued. "Shen Yue taught you the path of kingship. Over the years we spent together, I saw the aura of a sovereign about you, and I heard the promise you made to Efang."
"My promise to Efang..." Ying Zheng murmured, his eyes filling with memories.
He thought back many years, to when he was still a hostage in the Zhao state.
He remembered one day, walking side-by-side with Efang through Handan City. They witnessed the injustices, the people starving to death, and the commoners slaughtered by endless war.
It was on that day that Efang returned home visibly upset. As a physician's daughter, she had a naturally benevolent heart and could not bear to see people die.
And so, on that day, a young Ying Zheng, merely ten years old, made a promise to Efang.
"Efang," he had said, "one day, when I return to Qin and become its king, I will change everything. I will put an end to all war, so that the world can know peace and stability. I will see to it that all people under Heaven can live in tranquility."