Chapter Thirty-One: Brothers Will Eventually Meet

  This ceremonial robe was hastily made in half a month after the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau of the Ministry of Works inquired about Qin Lei's preferences, and it arrived at the chariot team yesterday.

  Qin Lei originally preferred black and white colors, but after coming to this world, he inexplicably had some aversion to white. So he chose black as the main color of his clothes.

  The official attire of the Great Qin followed the Tang system, with those above the third rank wearing purple, those above the fifth rank wearing red, those above the seventh rank wearing green, and those above the ninth rank wearing blue. Yellow was exclusively used by the imperial family, with the emperor wearing golden yellow with a golden dragon, while other princes and kings had their own established examples.

  The century-long wars also made the great Qin value simplicity and grandeur, reforming the traditional loose-fitting official robes with wide sleeves. The sleeves were narrowed, the collar was tightened, the hem of the robe was shortened, and shoulder pads were added. This type of narrow-sleeved long robe made the Qin official attire look majestic and streamlined, and wearing it was even more convenient.

  This became a major example for the states of Qi and Chu to mock Qin as "a rustic state", whenever the kings, nobles and aristocrats of these two countries mentioned Qin, they would definitely talk about the crudeness and lack of culture of the Qin people. At this time, they would inevitably use the "unmatched" official robes of Qin to prove that what they said was not empty words.

  However, Qin Lei felt that this outfit was quite good, especially compared to the bloated official attire of Qi State. He had not yet reached adulthood, so he tied his hair into a bun and used an elegant black silk scarf with golden dragons embroidered on it to tie it up. Over it, he wore a black dragon-patterned imperial prince's robe with broad shoulders and narrow waist. The front chest was open, revealing the snow-white lake silk inner shirt collar embroidered with gold thread and a group of dragons. Around his waist, he tied a five-inch-wide golden jade dragon belt, on which hung a jade pendant and a precious sword. His trousers reached down to his calves, revealing a pair of cloud-patterned soft boots.

  They say that people rely on their clothes, and Buddhas rely on their golden decorations. Originally, Shen Qing and Shi Wei only felt that the lightly dressed and simply attired prince was quite handsome and elegant. Now, after dressing up, a tall and slender, sword-browed and star-eyed noble appeared before the two of them, with an extraordinary aura, majestic without being angry.

  Both of them were deeply convinced and said: "Your Highness is indeed noble beyond words!"

  Qin Lei, who was originally somewhat pleased with himself, fell from his high horse and said sullenly: "You're all staring at this outfit, completely ignoring my natural good looks."

  Shen Shi and the two of them often accompanied Qin Lei, early on getting used to the thick skin of the palace, not responding to words, smiling and standing aside.

  The team of Imperial Guards also put on brand new Ming Guang Bai Lian armor, and hung crimson cloaks on the small copper rings on the back of their shoulder armor. After putting on the armor for the war horses, they mounted their horses one after another. With one hand holding the reins and the other hand grasping the six-foot-long horse-slaying sword, they quietly gazed at the young prince.

  With Shen Qing and Shi Wei by his side, Qin Lei sat on the war chariot and said to Huangfu Xiaoqing in a clear voice: "Advance into the capital..."

  Huangfu Shengwen clasped his fist and said loudly: "Got it!" He mounted his horse, sat firmly in the saddle, and gave the order: "Start..."

  As soon as the voice fell, 500 imperial forest elite cavalry responded in unison: "Start..." The sound was neat and thick, shocking the ears. Five hundred horses stepped on the same beat to protect the prince's carriage and rushed towards Kyoto, with an aura of thousands of troops and horses.

  This extraordinary knight's retinue attracted the attention of merchants traveling by cart on the side of the road, who whispered to each other and speculated about the identity of the people in the carriage.

  ~~~~~~~~

  The cavalry galloped from the west, with the same bright armor, the same crimson cloak, and the same majestic momentum, even the number of people was the same, five hundred.

  The two teams got closer and closer, but neither of them showed any intention of slowing down. Until they were less than a zhang apart, the cavalry from Zhongdu suddenly shouted in unison: "Protect!" The team that was charging forward like an arrow split into two at the arrowhead, and the team heading towards Zhongdu inserted itself into the gap without any hesitation.

  The two teams of cavalrymen passed each other, with the closest distance being less than a foot. The helmets on the horseback riders had their visors down, making it impossible to see their expressions and guess their emotions at that moment. However, judging from their rock-steady bodies and uniform movements, they probably weren't tense.

  The Imperial Guard led by Qin Lei marched forward without any hindrance, and soon the view opened up. The cavalry on the opposite side had all passed through. In an instant, the rumbling sound started again, and the troops that had just passed through turned around and followed. The two teams marched in parallel for a hundred feet, their hoofbeats gradually unifying, merging into one.

  They formed a team of one thousand people and marched for about half an hour. Qin Lei, sitting in the war chariot, saw a piece of flag fluttering in the distance, with flags and canopies like clouds, knowing that the Long Pavilion had arrived.

  He hastily stood up from the chariot, smiling as he gazed at the dozen or so riders approaching from the crowd. From a distance, their faces were indistinguishable, but the bright yellow attire on one of them had already clearly told him - I am the Crown Prince.

  The emperor's golden yellow robe is embroidered with nine-clawed golden dragon with nine stripes, and the crown prince's bright yellow robe is embroidered with eight-clawed golden dragon with eight stripes.

  As expected, the previously unstoppable Imperial Guard finally stopped their galloping horses and slowly formed a line to the left and right. Qin Lei's carriage emerged from the formation and approached the dozen or so riders in front of him.

  Qin Lei could now clearly see the smile on the crown prince's face. He rode a Night Jade Lion, wearing bright yellow imperial attire and a Feng Tian Crown inlaid with white jade. His square-shaped face had neatly trimmed whiskers above his lips, and his large eyes were full of spirit, making people feel good at first sight.

  Before Qin Lei could speak, the crown prince on horseback spoke first, excitedly saying: "Isn't that my poor fifth brother up ahead?"

  Qin Lei hastily bowed and replied: "That's right, it's me, your Highness. You are the Crown Prince."

  After confirming Qin Lei's identity, the crown prince let out a 'huh' and pulled tight on the reins, flipping down from his horse with agile movements.

  The crown prince hurriedly ran a few steps, supporting Qin Lei who was about to get off the carriage, and said warmly: "Fifth brother's injury has just healed, don't move around recklessly, or it will ruin the wound."

  Qin Lei jumped off the carriage with the help of the prince's support and said gratefully, "I had thought that we would meet many times as brothers, but I didn't expect my brother to be so good."

  At this time, several young men with golden dragons embroidered on their clothes also jumped off their horses and rushed over. A round-faced youth who looked a bit older shouted to Qin Lei: "Fifth brother, don't rush to make a judgment, third brother is better for you."

  He was accompanied by a tall and similar-looking young man who chuckled and said, "That's right, who doesn't know that among us brothers, the third brother is the most kind-hearted."

  The crown prince laughed and scolded the two men who were talking: "You two are always fooling around, not even considering the occasion. My fifth brother has been through many hardships and narrowly escaped disaster over the years. Today, my brothers meet again after sixteen years, but you still don't come up to have a good chat and act like an elder brother. Watch me break your lonely crutches."

  Qin Lei was pulled by the crown prince, apologetically smiled at his two brothers and said to the crown prince: "The feelings of my two brothers are the same as yours, they just express it differently."

  The two round-faced princes saw Qin Lei being so understanding and praised him in their hearts. They went up together, one on the left and one on the right, and hugged Qin Lei. One of them patted his shoulder vigorously and said: "Fifth brother is really a good brother. I feel like we've been together for over a decade as soon as we met." The other patted his back and said: "You're really a good brother who shares the same bone and tendon, ah, brother, why do you look so pale?"

  The crown prince on one side grabbed the ears of two people and took them away from Qin Lei's side, furious: "You two dog heads are always careless, have you forgotten that your brother has an arrow wound on his back?"

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