Chapter 1100: Chapter 1094: The Jade Cicada’s Secret
Ninth Uncle gave his all for the Yan Kingdom, for the Murong family... for him, the Emperor Yan. He must not let Ninth Uncle’s heart turn cold.
Fortunately, when they discussed the merger of the Zhou and the Yan with Ninth Uncle, he managed to persuade Ninth Uncle not to let his mother know. Otherwise... who knows what misunderstandings his mother might have had about Ninth Uncle.
At this moment, Murong Yan’s face was indifferent as he sat in the study, instructing Wang Jiuzhou to send someone to investigate why the Empress Dowager had already arrived in Mengcheng, yet they hadn’t received any information.
Not long after, Murong Li, who had settled the Empress Dowager Yan, came to Xiao Rongyan’s study.
He wanted to enter but didn’t know how to apologize to Ninth Uncle. Standing under the corridor, he looked at the white snow on the green tiles of the roof, lowered his head, and did not enter.
Feng Yao came over with strong tea, ready to deliver it to Murong Yan, when he saw Ah Li and promptly greeted him: "Old servant pays respect to Your Majesty..."
"Grandpa Feng!" Murong Li bowed deeply toward Feng Yao as he had when his father was still alive, without putting on imperial airs.
Feng Yao quickly stepped aside to avoid Murong Li’s bow and smiled, "How come Your Majesty doesn’t go inside?"
Murong Li glanced into the study and then lowered his head, "I..."
"Come in, Ah Li..."
Hearing the voice of his Ninth Uncle, Murong Li responded, "Coming!"
Feng Yao held the warm tea in one hand and lifted the cotton screen with the other, following Murong Li inside.
Murong Li entered the room and saw his Ninth Uncle sitting behind the desk, holding a purple brush and writing a letter. Glancing at the phoenix eyes, he took the hot tea from Feng Yao and placed it in front of Murong Yan: "Ninth Uncle, regarding today’s matter... Ah Li comes to apologize to you on behalf of Mother!"
Murong Li did not shy away from Feng Yao and bowed deeply to Murong Yan.
"We are family, there’s no need for this..." Murong Yan finished the letter to Bai Qingyan, dried it, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to Feng Yao, "Uncle Feng, please deliver this in person to the Emperor of Zhou. If she asks you about the jade cicada, do not hide anything and tell her everything. She is trustworthy."
Feng Yao accepted the letter with both hands. Of course, Bai Qingyan was trustworthy. Not only was she recognized by the late emperor as a sister-in-law, but she was also the beloved of the little master and now the mother of his child: "Rest assured, little master, this old servant will fully disclose everything to the Emperor of Zhou."
"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Feng!" Xiao Rongyan nodded.
Feng Yao departed in response.
Xiao Rongyan did not take out his earlier frustration on Murong Li, merely saying, "The Empress Dowager left the palace and came here, yet we received no notification. Ninth Uncle will thoroughly investigate this matter. You shouldn’t take any action."
"Understood!" Murong Li nodded.
Xiao Rongyan placed the brush back on the rack and wiped his hands with a cloth before lifting the teacup, "Tomorrow, both Yan and Zhou will mobilize their armies. The Yan soldiers still need your personal presence to boost their morale. Go change your clothes, and we will go together!"
"Yes!" Murong Li responded.
·
After Li Tianfu and the commander from Tianfeng Kingdom fled back from the battlefield outside Pingyang City, Sal Khan beheaded the commander who hadn’t yet awoken that very night, using this to intimidate those commanders eager to earn merit, strictly forbidding any more disobedience of his orders.
Though Tianfeng Kingdom judges titles by military merit, commanders who don’t follow his orders are not wanted by Sal Khan, let alone... Due to this commander’s greed for merit, twelve giant elephants were lost in one go. The most valuable asset of Tianfeng Kingdom is these giant elephants, and in Sal Khan’s view, the life of a giant elephant is far more precious than that of this commander!
Not to mention, this commander’s recklessness disrupted his plans to first occupy lands of Zhou and Yan Kingdom, then slowly encroach on their territories.
If he had known, he would never have sent the Elephant Army with the madman Li Tianfu to demand someone, just to capture Li Zhijie.
But sending people to demand someone from Zhou was also necessary. Sal Khan was worried Li Zhijie would reveal the secret of the jade cicada to the Emperor of Zhou.
Sal Khan was filled with frustration.
Now, having witnessed the might of the Elephant Army, undoubtedly neither Zhou nor Yan will lease their lands to Tianfeng Kingdom again. In fact... they might join forces to keep Tianfeng Kingdom confined within Xiliang’s borders or even drive them back to the snow-capped mountains. Moreover, they could establish fortifications at the already narrow passage leading to Xiliang from Tianfeng...
At that point, it will not be so easy for Tianfeng Kingdom to return to this land.
If Zhou and Yan are wise, they may already be preparing to confront Tianfeng Kingdom.
It’s all because of this damned fool listening to Li Tianfu’s instigation, trying to seize merit but instead disrupting Tianfeng Kingdom’s plans and rhythm, making even a thousand deaths insufficient to rid Sal Khan of his grievance.
More importantly, there’s the jade cicada...
The jade cicada is in Zhou. It once belonged to the royal consort of Zhou, so it must still be in Zhou. No matter the cost, he must obtain the jade cicada.
Sal Khan sat before the brazier, rubbing the jade cicada in his hand. The jade cicada, set against the glowing red coals in the brazier, emitted a warm glow.
According to the Tianfeng Kingdom’s Book of Heaven, the jade cicada was once a living cicada. It was eloquent and could sing... bringing a little joy to the endless solitude of the God, thus becoming the God’s pet, deeply cherished by the God. But the cicada’s life ultimately had an end; after growing from a larva to an articulate adult, it only had three short months to live.
Knowing how dearly the God cherished it, the cicada pleaded with the God to grant it eternal life. The God said... even if bestowed with eternal life, the cicada could not withstand the winter cold.
The cicada then prayed for eternal life along with a perpetual summer, to which the God replied... eternal life concurrent with an everlasting summer could not be granted, but the cicada could be given the ability to reverse time, though time reversal would come at a cost.
The cicada, not inquiring further about the cost, gladly begged the God to grant it this ability, promising eternal service and song to the God.
Thereafter... the cicada gained the ability to reverse time, which is why Tianfeng Kingdom had no winters and perpetual warmth suitable for cicada survival.
This ability of time reversal wasn’t something the cicada could control; it would trigger whenever its life was nearing its countdown, resetting time back to when it first became an adult.
Initially, the cicada was delighted with this gift, using its future knowledge from time reversals to acquire whatever it desired within the cicada community and change whatever it wished.
Yet every reversal... came at a price, for each time reversal, the cicada lost something it held dear, such as its favorite tree, friends, or even siblings...