Warm sunlight hit Jin WangShu's eyelids, all was peaceful. It was a perfect morning until the young man woke up to a sneeze. Jin WangShu sniffed and rubbed the tip of his nose, wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes with the back of his other hand. It took a few moments for Jin WangShu to become aware of his surroundings. A golden yellow invaded his sight as he blinked away the remaining tears. The pale skin in front of him radiated warmth, and Jin WangShu (being still half asleep) snuggled into it. His fingers trailed across the skin, eventually finding several bumps.
Jin WangShu immediately opened his eyes, finding his hands on top of a set of abdominal muscles. He slowly looked up, only to be greeted by a pair of golden brown eyes.
"...What are you doing?" The emperor asked, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep.
Jin WangShu screamed. "Oh my god! Why am I in your room?!"
"... That's what I should be asking."
Jin WangShu was now aware of the fact that he was literally on top of the emperor, but pretended not to notice.
"Li-gege..." He drawled out in a cute voice. "What happened last night?"
Li FeiHong glared at Jin WangShu. "You insisted on seeing me, and the guards were going to throw you out of the palace had you continued."
"Why didn't I continue?"
"I told the guards I had previously told you to come see me." FeiHong sighed and rubbed his temples.
Jin WangShu smacked his hands on both sides of the emperor's face. "Li-gege! Thank you for saving your ShuShu! I love you!"
Just then, the door opened with a bang.
"Imperial father— who is this prostitute?! Woah! Are you secretly a cutsleeve?"
Li FeiHong grumbled. "BingWen, why are you here? How many times have I told you to knock?"
Jin WangShu widened his eyes in surprise until they looked like two large marbles. "Li-gege! Why didn't you tell me?" He placed a palm over his heart. "You have a child?"
"Of course I do, why else do you think Zhou NianZhen is the empress?"
"Imperial father, who is this prostitute? Or is he just another concubine?"
Jin WangShu gasped, clearly offended. "Prostitute? I stopped being one years ago!"
Emperor Li whipped his head over to face WangShu. "You were a prostitute?"
Jin WangShu realized his mistake too late. Damn his big mouth. Him being the son of a prostitute was the sole reason why many detested his existence. He visibly tensed and slowly climbed off FeiHong and shrunk back.
"BingWen, head back to your study. I will come visit you later."
BingWen, having sensed the tense situation immediately quieted down.
"Yes, imperial father." With one last look over his shoulder, BingWen exited the room.
The once light hearted atmosphere in the room had disappeared, replaced with tension. Jin WangShu pressed his lips together and dug his nails into his finger. The smile that was previously on his face was wiped clean, replaced by watering eyes and red cheeks. Li FeiHong stared at the other man, having noticed the fearful expression of Jin WangShu.
"Jin Wei..." He said softly, his facial expression was not as hard as it usually was. "What are you afraid of?"
Jin WangShu stayed silent, refusing to speak and refusing to look the emperor in the eye.
"Jin Wei." Emperor Li began walking toward WangShu, while the latter backed up against one of the walls.
Having no where else to run to, the emperor was able to reach out to the younger male. FeiHong took one of Jin WangShu's hands and clasped it in his own.
"Don't run away." Those golden brown eyes stared deep into chocolate brown ones. The hand Li FeiHong held trembled with fear. "Now tell me what you are so afraid of."
Seeing that Li FeiHong was not the least bit disgusted or angry, Jin WangShu took a deep breath. "Th...that you would h—hate me."
"Hate you? Why would I hate you?"
A knock sounded at the door.
"Concubine Mei requests your imperial majesty's presence."
FeiHong's eyes brief darted toward the door.
"Tell her I am busy today." The emperor turned back to the younger man. "Tell me why I would hate you."
Jin WangShu flashed a smile at the emperor, a tear rolling down his cheeks at the same time. "Everyone hates me because my mother was a prostitute... the apple truly does not fall far from the tree."
Li FeiHong's eyes flashed with understanding. "I don't hate you."
"But you dislike me?" Jin WangShu butted in, having already noticed Li FeiHong's pattern of communication.
The emperor shook his head.
"I—" Jin WangShu became choked up and released a sob. Li FeiHong patted him on the back to coax the other man a little.
"I only did it to give myself a home, it was what I needed to do in order to live."
"I understand, you do not need to explain yourself."
"This..." Jin WangShu laughed softly. "This is so embarrassing. I have never thought I would cry in front of the emperor in my whole life."
The emperor shook his head and led Jin WangShu back toward the bed, sitting him down.
Just then, a loud and urgent knock sounded at the door. Li FeiHong furrowed his brows in annoyance.
"I said I'm busy."
"Your imperial majesty! The Tibets have once again crossed the border! We must dispatch troops immediately to defend the country!."
Jin WangShu rose.
"Your majesty, I will go and fight along with my soldiers."
The emperor brushed all the papers off a desk and retrieved a map. He thrusted it into Jin WangShu's hands.
"Here, head to the Western borders. Now, go!" The emperor commanded.
Jin WangShu ran out of the room, ignoring the servants' questioning glances. With a map in hand, he was determined to annihilate the Tibetans once and for all.
~~~~
The sun beat down on Jin WangShu's back, as he continued reading the map.
"If only Su Chen was here. He'd know how to read a map!" Jin WangShu sighed, scratching his head in response to his growing stress.
"General Jin, we have left Chang'an for three days now and have not reached the border." Yang GuiRen said. "Are we lost? The horses are getting thirsty again and we will run our of water if this continues."
"Brother Yang..." Jin WangShu motioned for the other man to come closer. "Do not tell anyone this, as I will admit what I am about to tell you to the emperor as soon as we get back. In the beginning, we actually went North instead of West, because of this I got a little confused and got lost. However, we are very close to the Western border now, and will reach it in half a day's time."
Yang GuiRen stared at his general in shock.
"General Jin... you are going to get punished as soon as you get back!"
Jin WangShu began to sweat. "I'll be fine, if worst comes to worst, I can probably seduce the emperor to lessen the punishment."
Near sunset, Jin WangShu's troops arrived at the battle zone. Due to the lack of numbers, the Chinese were barely holding their formation.
Jin WangShu commanded his troops to get in formation and attack, which they did immediately.
"What took you so long? General Gao and his troops arrived two days ago!" Imperial general Jia Min
"We ran into some complications, but we are here now." Jin WangShu replied.
Jia Min grunted a little but otherwise did not say anything else.
Jin WangShu himself urged Xiao Xing forward and toward the advancing Tibetans. They really are persistent and annoying, just like insects. He thought.
Jin WangShu released several arrows at once with his bow, successfully hitting several Tibetan soldiers. He continued this throughout most of the battle until he ran out of arrows.. He would occasionally grab arrows from dead Tibetans, but it slowed him down as bending down to pick them out left him vulnerable to any incoming attacks.
I honestly hate using the sword, it is so inconvenient. Jin WangShu thought as he drew his sword.
China's goal was to have the Tibetans suffer large amounts of casualties so they would not dare to cross the border again. Due to Jin WangShu's troops and Jin WangShu himself, the tides of the battle had turned long ago.
Even the imperial general had to admit, that despite his absence in the first part of the battle, Jin WangShu was the Chinese army's trump card.
The battle ended quite quickly with the addition of Jin WangShu's troops. This time, China had not underestimated the number of Tibetan soldiers Tibet would send. In truth, The Chinese army was already must larger than Tibet's, so they had stood no real chance. Why their country believed they would be able to conquer more land was beyond Jin WangShu. It was clear from a general's point of view that Tibet was no match for China.
Defeated, the remaining Tibetan soldiers ran with their horses as far back as they could go. The Chinese showed no mercy as they retreated, continuing to kill off any Tibetans that lingered.
The battle was over. Tibet had lost.
~~~~
The court officials sneered at Jin WangShu as he kowtowed to the emperor.
"Your imperial majesty, this humble servant has committed a great mistake. Punish this servant as you wish. This... humble servant will not resist." Jin WangShu said.
Li FeiHong looked at the younger man who was currently bowing in front of him. His face barely masked the sympathy underneath. As emperor, he could not show who he favoured. Even if he truly believed Jin WangShu's error was not very severe, he had to deliver justice to the man just like anyone else had they been in his position. In the eyes of the court officials, this was a chance for them to be able to see the man they detested so much, be punished. It was a delightful matter for the officials indeed.
"Jin WangShu, you have made an error that has costed many lives during battle. And although you were able to bring China yet another victory, I must punish you for your mistake." The emperor spoke.
"...Your humble servant understands." Jin WangShu replied.
Li FeiHong turned to face the entire court. "I sentence Jin WangShu to sixty strokes. The punishment will begin now."
Several of the ministers present began murmuring protests.
"Are there objections?" FeiHong asked the ministers.
Minister Hong stepped forward. "Your imperial majesty, we believe that the punishment is too light. General Jin's mistake has caused a high casualty count from China's part."
"But if it were not for him, China would have suffered more casualties, do you not agree?" The emperor replied, eyes flashing as if daring the other man to continue challenging him.
"Th—this humble servant has been enlightened." Minister Hong quickly retreated.
Two men approached Jin WangShu, wooden boards in their hands. Upon the emperor's command, they began beating the man.
For Jin WangShu, the first stroke was not very painful, but as the strokes went on, the pain accumulated. Tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. Dear god, I will have to be hauled away later. I don't think I'll be able to stand after this.
Li FeiHong looked on, seemingly unperturbed by any of the events happening right in front of his eyes. As the strokes went on, his facade slowly began to crack.
By the thirtieth stroke, Jin WangShu had to be held up. The emperor's brows were furrowed. Perhaps he had sentenced Jin WangShu to too many strokes. The general had a smaller frame and was most likely not able to withstand as many injuries as the other generals despite his excellent combat skills.
"Stop!" The emperor blurted out. Upon seeing the many stares of disbelief directed at him, Li FeiHong shrunk back slightly. With great reluctance, he uttered his next words.
"...Prop him up properly, then... continue."
One of the men yanked Jin WangShu back up onto his knees, the latter's eyes were barely open. His face was flushed, and sweat had broken out on his forehead.
The next thirty strokes were awful for Jin WangShu. His body was unable to withstand so much pain, and his eyes began to close. His mind ran blank, and what little vision he had left was clouded. After the sixtieth stroke, Jin WangShu had already slumped down onto the floor, unconscious.
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