Chapter 1418
Siege: These Things Must Be Severely Punished
Chapter 1418 Siege: These Things Must Be Severely Punished
But Aunt Qin didn't argue much. She just went along with the old woman's words and said, "Oh, Mother, don't worry. I will take care of myself and not let Da Bao'er get tired... But I'm a first-time mother and I don't know many things. I need you to be there to teach me."
My mother overthinks things; I need to find her something to do so she won't have time to think too much.
"Grandma, your eldest granddaughter is back! Did you faint from fright today? I am Qin Dongjia, a man with military merits. If people knew that my grandparents fainted from fright on the first day of the enemy siege, how could I go out and walk around?!" Qin Xiaomi shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice so loud that Grandma Qin, who was ten meters away, could hear her clearly.
Grandma Qin couldn't help but smile, relieved. She hurriedly ran a short distance forward and loudly protested, "Don't wrong this old woman! I was perfectly calm today, not scared at all. It's your grandfather who's useless, blame him!"
Haha, Qin Xiaomi teased Grandpa Qin: "Grandpa, did you hear that? You're not even as good as Grandma. Grandma wasn't scared to death."
Grandpa Qin was helpless, his old face even turned red. His lifelong reputation had been ruined by this incident of being frightened into fainting.
“Old woman, Dalang and Sanjun are all safe and sound. The enemy is trapped in the Dongfu Town trap area and there is infighting among them. The people of the East are fighting with other tribes. Judging from the situation, they definitely won’t be able to reach the city gate in the next day or two. You can sleep soundly tonight. We will stay in the streets and houses and watch over you!”
Grandpa Qin spoke at length, which reassured Grandma Qin and the others.
Qin Liupo laughed even harder: "What? The enemy army is fighting amongst themselves? Hahaha, good riddance! Those eastern bastards are too tolerant. They should have chopped off a bunch of enemy soldiers from the Eastern Desert eight hundred years ago, then the East wouldn't have had to suffer bullying for so many years!"
Because of the scheme to sow discord, many rumors circulated in the city that people from the east were being bullied by various tribes of the Eastern Desert because of their bloodline. Qin Liupo, who loved to listen to gossip, knew all about it.
But she showed no sympathy for the people from the East: "They are all beasts, they deserve to kill each other!"
She even looked down on people from the east: "Good heavens, I hope they're really a branch of our ancestors, sharing the same ancestor with us, that would be a disgrace to my family!"
"Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother, are you feeling better? Fifth Brother, please take care of yourself. You're my only brother left, sob sob sob!" Qin Lao Liu cried out to Grandpa Qin.
Qin Laoliu cares about Grandpa Qin's health more than anyone else. If Grandpa Qin, his cousin, were to pass away, who would protect him?
And the advantages he has gained by relying on his brother's power over the years may be returned to him tenfold, since the younger generation like Qin Zhuang and Qin Xiaomi are not to be trifled with and are capable of confiscating his assets.
"Sister Xiaomi, I'm Xiaozhu. My archery skills have improved a lot recently, and I can help you kill the enemy!"
"Sister Xiaomi..."
"Sister Xiaomi..."
"Ah, Dada-jie!"
Xiao Gu, Xiao Mai, Xiao Fu Bao, Xiao Jing Yi, and Xiao Yun Ping are all chattering away, and everyone wants to say a few words to her.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing, it hurts our ears. Let's eat first, we're hungry!" Qin Xiaomi hurriedly interrupted their arguing, almost wanting to cover her ears.
"Okay, set the table now!" Qin Xiaogu replied, instructing the steward who was attending to her nearby, "Set the table."
"Yes." The nameless steward bowed and withdrew. Soon after, he returned with a group of servants, carrying loads of food, and laid out the dishes on several tables.
After having dinner together, the mood of all the families improved considerably, and the anxiety that had been building all day gradually subsided.
But tonight is the first night of the siege, and it's destined to be anything but peaceful.
Midnight...
Ding ding ding ding!
"Fire! Several houses in the Xue, Qu, and Yun family compound are on fire. Neighbors with three men in their households, please send one of them to put out the fire immediately!"
"Ahhh! Mrs. Qu and her two daughters have hanged themselves!"
"Grandma Yun led the Yun family's wives and daughters to jump into the pond!" After midnight, as if by prior arrangement, tragic incidents of arson, self-immolation, women hanging themselves, and jumping into the water occurred in all five districts of the city.
Despite the best efforts of the Prince of Ye, the Imperial Envoy Qi, Lord Yan, and Magistrate Qu, they still could not prevent these tragedies.
Fortunately, preparations were made, and by dawn the next day, the unrest throughout the city was quelled.
The government troops and the Prince of Ye quickly discovered the cause of these tragedies.
"They're either spies or political enemies deliberately causing trouble, or they're terrified by the enemy's siege. They're afraid the capital city will suffer the same fate as Tianmang Prefecture, with a massacre of its inhabitants and their female relatives ending up like the captured female Wei citizens. So they're just making them commit suicide in advance to avoid suffering after the city falls and disgracing their families." Qi Tianshi scoffed and said, "A bunch of bastards like this aren't worth saving again and again."
"Envoy Qi, be careful what you say!" The King of Ye had stayed up all night, and his face looked extremely pale.
"I have been careful with my words and actions, otherwise I would have led my assassins and eunuchs to slaughter them long ago." Qi the Angel was not afraid at all. After the enemy besieged the city, he became more and more unrestrained.
After all, I might die in this calamity, so why not enjoy the rest of my days?
The Qin family, grandfather and grandson, were worried about the chaos in the city last night, so they came over to inquire about the situation before heading to work on Mount Mu.
Unexpectedly, the truth I heard was so incredibly stupid!
Qin Xiaomi couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to greet the Qin family: "Grandpa, Second Uncle, Uncle Quan, let's go."
"Master Qin, are you going to Mushan already? Stay a little longer and watch Qu Ba and the others get beheaded before you leave." Qi Tianshi called out to Qin Xiaomi, who was getting up to leave.
Qin Xiaomi, bewildered by Qi Tianshi's outburst, retorted irritably, "Qi Tianshi is a talent cultivated by His Majesty, and all you want to do now is behead Qu Ba and the others? Why not slow slicing? Or perhaps learn from the enemy and roast them alive..."
"Qin Xiaomi!" the Prince of Ye roared, interrupting her, "We are human beings. Don't even mention learning from the enemy, you can't even say it."
Raw grilling?
You learn a few tricks and then you have to use them? Do you even have any humanity left?!
"Qin Xiaomi, apologize." Grandpa Qin's face also turned cold.
"Hahaha, Qin Dongjia is too outspoken, look what happened, he got scolded." Qi Tianshi laughed heartily, watching Qin Xiaomi make a fool of herself.
Qin Xiaomi thought he was really sick and retorted, "Angel Qi still has the leisure to laugh at me? Has Angel Qi ever thought about what the history books would say about His Majesty if the Northeast Prefecture were lost and the capital city were massacred?"
boom!
Qi Tianshi slammed his fist on the table in anger: "Shut up! His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, when did it become your place to comment? Those civil officials and people of later generations have even less right to evaluate His Majesty!"
"The disasters facing the Northeast and Northwest provinces are not His Majesty's fault."
Qin Xiaomi: "But these calamities happened during His Majesty's reign."
"Alright, that's enough... Qu Ba and the others, who forced their female relatives to commit suicide out of fear of the enemy's siege, shall be publicly displayed and then executed by being cut in half at the waist!" The Prince of Ye's face was as cold as frost as he announced the rather severe punishment.
"Uncle is wise. It was my rudeness. Please forgive me." Qin Xiaomi apologized sincerely this time and even bowed... After all, being cut in half at the waist was quite painful, and she felt she had avenged the women who were forced to their deaths.
Seeing this, the King of Ye's anger subsided considerably, and he nodded: "Yes, go with your grandfather to work on Mount Mu."
"Okay." Qin Xiaomi led Grandpa Qin and the others away.
Uncle Qin, a few steps behind, said to the King of Ye, “Brother-in-law, being so afraid that you want to kill yourself is one thing, and forcing others to kill themselves is another. Qu Ba and his ilk must be severely punished. Otherwise, after a month of siege, even more tragic events will break out in the city than last night. You must not be soft-hearted.”