Chapter Thirty: Pray for me, Gong Sun, and grant me peace

  "Respectfully presented to the Fifth Prince: I was shocked to hear that Your Highness has been injured, and I am deeply worried. Day and night, I pray for your safety..."

  Qin Lei cursed with a smile: "This must be that useless kid Xu Ge, looks like he's still alive."

  Shen Qing nodded and smiled, "Indeed, it was written by Captain Xu." He continued to read, "The few of us are fine, on the way, except for the poor food and too many mosquitoes, we didn't encounter any of Qi Bing's troops. Only Ma Kui, that unlucky guy, suffered a complete defeat, only he led over a hundred men to break through."

  Qin Lei feigned anger and said: "Straight mother thief, Lao Tzu was also beaten into a fallen flower flowing water, isn't it also an unlucky egg? See how I deal with him."

  Shen Qing could see that although the prince was still muttering to himself, he had visibly relaxed a lot. He continued to say: "By the time we arrive at the assembly point, you will have already been sent back to your country by the brothers of the Hu Bao army, and won't be able to meet with you in person, what a pity."

  Qin Lei's silent gloom, Shi Wei and Shen Qing had already told him that Tie Ying had delivered his handwritten letter to the Emperor in a timely manner. The Emperor was indeed overjoyed and dispatched more than 8,000 Tiger Guards, the elite of the Imperial Guard, to escort them and ambush the pursuing Baisheng Cavalry. As a result, Qin Lei himself was half-dead and was sent directly back home, missing the great show of the Tiger Guards annihilating the Baisheng Army.

  Shen Qing ignored Qin Lei's suffering and continued to recite: "However, we followed the Hu Ben army and annihilated two camps of the Bai Sheng army, which can be considered as avenging you, old man."

  Qin Lei stood up and snorted, "Hmph! Do you think I'm that old? I'm only seventeen!"

  "Now we're all left in the array by Your Majesty, after the battle is over, we'll go back to serve you. You just focus on recovering from your injuries. Farewell, Marquis Xing."

  After listening to the letter, Qin Lei smiled at Shen Qing and said: "Looking at them, Iron Eagle is still serving in the army, aren't you envious?"

  Shen Qing thought for a moment and nodded his head, he felt no need to hide his thoughts in front of the emperor.

  Qin Lei patted his shoulder and said in a low voice: "This is a war of the previous generation, I promise you that after some years, I will give you one that belongs to us."

  Shen Qing's slightly boiling heart was gently patted by Qin Lei, and it calmed down like still water again.

  This year, Qin Lei was just seventeen years old, and Shen Qing was only eighteen years old.

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  When today is divided into three parts, Qin occupies one of them. West Qin has nine provinces and 108 states, among which the directly governed province, also known as Guannei Province, is the capital area. The first of the 108 states of Qin - the capital Zhongdu is located within the direct governance.

  After passing through the Tangzhou Garrison of Zhili Province, it is considered to have entered the capital. The originally wide official road suddenly became three points wider, and the ten-zhang-wide avenue was bustling with carriages coming and going, heading in all directions from the central capital, or gathering from all directions to the central capital, the caravans and merchants were endless, making the Great Qin Dynasty prosperous and thriving.

  People have long found that planting trees on both sides of the road can effectively prevent wind and sand from invading the official road, prevent dust from rising, and also prevent heat and lower temperatures in summer. It looks beautiful and generous too.

  So on both sides of the main and minor official roads in Qin State, various kinds of roadside trees were planted, among which willows were the most common due to their tall and straight shape, ease of cultivation and fast growth. These roadside trees were also called "official trees" and belonged to the property of all levels of government offices, and private individuals were not allowed to cut them down.

  As the capital of the first goodness, Zhongdu has six rows of trees planted on both sides of the official road. The outermost layer is a 10-zhang-high white poplar tree, and the middle layer is a 10-zhang-high tung oil tree.

  The innermost part of the official road is lined with two rows of precious ginkgo trees, straight and tall, lush and dense, stretching as far as the eye can see. These ginkgo trees were planted by Qin Gaosong over 200 years ago when he founded the Qin state, symbolizing the prosperity of the great Qin dynasty for thousands of years without decline. There is a saying among the people that "the trees of the public grandson are prosperous, and the great Qin is flourishing."

  The ginkgo also became the favorite plant of the Qin people, with special significance. Every time a Qin person traveled from afar to the capital, seeing the first ginkgo tree meant they had entered the final leg of their journey. They would often dismount and rest for the last time before entering the capital. The leaders of the group would take out incense burners and offer three fruits and five grains in worship, praying for a smooth journey to the capital and peace. If at this time ginkgo leaves fell from the tree, travelers believed it was a sign of great auspiciousness, thinking that everything would go as they wished.

  The motorcade escorting Qin Lei finally saw the first ginkgo tree a month after leaving Hangu Pass.

  Qin Lei was unaware of the customs of worshiping silver ginkgo, when the Imperial Forest Army's Huangfu Xiao Wei respectfully invited him to preside over the memorial service, he was somewhat taken aback. After listening to the explanation of a young officer named Huangfu Shengwen, he gladly accepted this effortless task.

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  The tall and majestic silver ginkgo tree with a crown like clouds blocked the scorching midday sun outside, and under its large canopy, it was cool and refreshing, as if in another world. Qin Lei got off the carriage and came to the incense-filled altar under the shade of the trees. The altar was one zhang long, two chi wide, and five chi high, made of top-quality Han white jade, with exquisite patterns carved on its surface. Qin Lei took a closer look and found that they were Zen Buddhist symbols such as Qingyun, Zhuluo, and Ruyi.

  As he often said to Shen Qing, he buried his doubts in his heart and waited for an opportunity to bring them out and solve them.

  Shen Qing led people to arrange incense burners, candle holders and offerings such as pastries and fruits on the offering table, then retreated and stood behind Qin Lei with the Imperial Forest Army.

  Qin Lei twisted a golden incense stick, lit it on the candle holder, held his hands over his head, and bowed three times to the old silver ginkgo tree behind the offering table. He murmured: "Hold my incense and candles, pay respects to my ancestors. Pray for my ancestors' blessings, protect me from peace."

  Behind them, hundreds of people followed in unison: "Pray for me, Gong Sun, bless me with peace..." Their voices were neat and uniform, revealing an extremely pious atmosphere.

  Qin Lei reverently inserted the incense into the censer. With his left hand holding up the wine cup, he lightly dipped his right index finger in the wine and flicked it three times towards the sky, the ground, and the silver apricot tree. After that, he slowly poured the wine onto the ground in front of the offering table. This was done three times to complete the ritual.

  After doing all this, whether it was Qin Lei or the guards, they all felt a surge of energy and couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence for Zhongdu ninety miles away.

  Qin Lei shook his head, shaking off the feeling. He admired the predecessors who designed this pre-entry worship to achieve social stability and increase national belonging.

  After finishing the sacrifice, everyone changed into their finest attire and prepared to enter the capital. It was said that a big shot would be waiting at the Long Pavilion ten miles outside the city to greet them.

  Qin Lei put on the Qin royal court attire for the first time under Shen Qing and Shi Wei's service.

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  The next chapter of Kyoto's turmoil officially unfolds, with a flurry of characters taking the stage one after another. The excitement is non-stop. Please vote for support. Thank you. Goodnight.