Chapter Twenty-Four: Regaining Freedom

  "The Revenge of Fan Yuqi" shook the world, its name moved for thousands of years, and was widely known to people. Fan Yuqi was a person from the State of Wei, with no blood relation to King Zhao of Qin, yet King Zhao was willing to take the risk of continuous war and rivers of blood to avenge him.

  If Qin Yi died in the court, if King Zhuang of Qin could not avenge his own grandson, would he be justified? How could he explain himself to the people of the world?

  It is destined, revenge is inevitable!

  Since it's revenge, someone will be killed anyway, so who should be killed?

  The monarch and ministers of Zhao all understood that everyone in the court had connections, and no one could escape. They seemed to see King Zhaoxiang's sharp blade hovering over them, striking down fiercely, making their hearts tremble with fear, their souls shattered.

  Just then, Qin Yiren resolutely sought death and rushed towards the pillar of the palace. King Zhao Xian of Zhao couldn't care about his majesty's dignity, jumped high and shouted loudly: "Quick! Stop him! Zhao Sheng, stop him!"

  The way he spoke hastily, it seemed as if Qin Yiren was not the tiger wolf-like Qin person who made him hate to death, but rather his old ancestor.

  Even if he didn't say it, Ping Yuanjun knew what to do and quickly stretched out his hand to grab Qin Yiren around the waist. Cold sweat poured down from his forehead like a waterfall as he silently cursed Qin Yiren's cunning: "You're so treacherous, Qin Yiren! Are you seeking revenge against me? I only tormented you for three years, did you have to be so vengeful? You rushed past me and crashed into the pillar, do you think that Wen Yan can forgive me? He'll chop me up into a thousand pieces!"

  If he hadn't held onto Qin Yiren, and if Qin Yiren had died, the first person to be killed by King Zhuang of Qin would have been Pingyuan Jun. Qin Yiren passed by his side, and he didn't stop him; it was intentional murder - who else should be killed?

  "Hah!" He finally stopped, and King Zhao Xiaocheng secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  The hearts of all the officials finally fell back into place.

  "Master, why must you be so determined to die?" Meng Zhao, Fan Tong, Hei Bo and Mo Er's eyes were all brimming with tears, they just couldn't understand why Qin Yi Ren was so resolute in his determination to die.

  Only Ma Ge's eyes sparkled with insight, as if he had understood something. He whispered: "Young master, this isn't seeking death, but rather forcing the Zhao state's ruler and ministers. If you really want to seek death, do you need to go to old man Zhao Sheng? Can't you just find a deserted place and crash into a pillar?"

  "My lord, we old Qin people may have our heads chopped off and our blood spilled, but we will never suffer humiliation. We are willing to follow you into the ground!" Ma Gei understood Qin Yiren's intention and immediately cooperated, his face filled with grief and indignation, shouting loudly enough to shake the mountains.

  "Ah..." Zhao Xiaocheng Wang and Pingyuan Jun's eyes gleamed like swords, fiercely staring at Ma Ge, "Aren't you instigating? Are you trying to push them into the fire pit?"

  "Ma Gai is clever and understands my intention." Qin Yiren secretly praised Ma Gai's cleverness in his heart, but on his face, he was indignant and resentful. In Ping Yuanjun's arms, he jumped up and down, with a look of wanting to die: "Let me go! Let me go! Zhao Sheng, you old man, let me go! I don't want to live anymore, I don't want to live anymore!"

  In a state of desperation, she opened her mouth and bit down hard on Pingyuan Jun's face, causing blood to flow freely.

  "Ah!" Pingyuan Jun was in pain, but he didn't dare let go and instead hugged him even tighter.

  "Ah, refreshing!" With the memories of his past life, he deeply knew how much suffering Ping Yuanjun had inflicted upon Qin Yiren's body over the past three years. This one bite back made Qin Yiren feel invigorated all over, secretly calling it refreshing.

  Zhao Xiaocheng Wang was as fast as a rabbit, and in two or three leaps he arrived in front of Qin Yiren, blocking his way. With a forced smile, he said: "Young Master Yiren, why must you seek death? Isn't living better? Living has wine, meat, brocade clothes, beautiful women..." In order to dispel Qin Yiren's will to die, he spoke in one breath of many worldly pleasures.

  "You'd better be dead! Your whole family would be better off dead!" Qin Yiren cursed Zhao Xiaocheng in his heart, putting on a tragic and indignant expression: "You can enjoy these pleasures, but I, the young master, don't have such good fortune. For three years now, I've been hungry and cold, what kind of pleasure is that?"

  "Sir, you can rest assured that I will return your goods to you immediately." Zhao Xiao Cheng Wang was eager to put an end to Qin Yiren's stubbornness and hastily made the offer.

  "You'd better keep it, consider it a favor from me, the coffin money I left for you." Qin Yiren's words were truly venomous: "I'm worried that after King Qin kills you, you'll die in a place without a proper burial. Look, I'm being kind to someone who bears a grudge against me."

  This kind of scolding is more venomous than anything else, Zhao Xiaocheng Wang hated to chop Qin Yiren into pieces and feed them to dogs, but he had to hold back his resentment and smile: "Yiren Gongzi's heart is broad, even broader than the ocean..." A string of flattering words, praising Qin Yiren as a flower.

  "Yes! Young Master Qin is a rare talent, a true dragon among men. His exceptional appearance surpasses even that of Song Yu..." The officials hastened to echo in agreement, lavishing excessive praise on Qin Yiren.

  "I'd rather die! I'd rather die!" Qin Yiren's determination was unwavering, unmoved.

  "The noble prince, I hereby issue a decree to release you from captivity." Seeing that Qin Yiren was unmoved, King Zhao of Zhao had no choice but to take it up another notch and even lifted the house arrest.

  "Isn't it wonderful?" Meng Zhao, Ma Gai, Fan Tong, Hei Bo and Miao Er's eyes were all shining with delightful little stars.

  Three times of house arrest life, they have been through thick and thin, suffered all kinds of hardships, they are always looking forward to lifting the house arrest, but it is unattainable. They never thought that Qin Yiren's desperate attempt would be so useful.

  Qin Yiren's actions were not because he wanted to die, who would want to die? No one wants to die, no one is dissatisfied with a long life, and Qin Yiren is no exception. He acted this way because he deeply understood a principle:

  It's better to make people ask for you than to beg from others!

  As a person of Qin's different status, he had no chips to negotiate with Zhao Xiaocheng King. If he asked Zhao Xiaocheng King to return his property and lift the house arrest, Zhao Xiaocheng King would definitely not agree.

  It would be better to die once and for all, taking advantage of the psychological fear of the Qin army's military power among the princes and ministers of Zhao, creating a good atmosphere, making King Xiaocheng of Zhao beg him.

  It turned out to be surprisingly effective after performing it.

  "Have you really made up your mind?" Qin Yiren stopped struggling and stared at Zhao Xiaocheng, asking a question.

  If Qin Yi wants to return to the State of Qin and ascend to the throne, the first problem he needs to solve is the problem of food and clothing, and then it's the problem of house arrest. If he can't lift the house arrest, even if he has the ability to penetrate heaven and earth, it's useless.

  "It's settled! It's settled!" Zhao Xiaocheng Wang hastily expressed his stance, nodding his head faster than a small chick pecking at rice.

  "Considering you're somewhat sincere, I'll think about it." Qin Yiren spoke with great skill.

  What else to consider? Zhao Xiaocheng was very depressed, knowing that Qin Yiren had taken advantage of him and still wanted to show off, but he didn't dare offend him. He forced a smile and said: "Yiren Gongzi, you are a hostage, according to the rules of being a hostage, you cannot leave Handan."

  As long as he doesn't leave Handan, that is to say, as long as he stays within the city of Handan, let Qin Yiren move about freely - this is a great freedom, how many hostages have ever been treated like this?

  "It depends on your sincerity." Even if he were to drive away Qin Yi, Qin Yi would not leave Handan. What's the use of him returning to Qin now? Not only is it useless, but he will also be held accountable for his crimes.

  Returning to one's country without the emperor's permission is a serious crime.

  "As long as the prince does not leave Handan, I will let him come and go freely, and will not make things difficult for him." King Zhao of Chu only wanted to calm things down and avoid trouble, so he hastily agreed.

  "Alright, I'll agree since you're sincere. However, we need to discuss another matter." Qin Yiren was determined to see the matter of getting a good deal and then selling it for an even better price through to the end.

  "What's going on?" King Zhao Xiaocheng hastily asked.

  "No big deal, let's just calculate the interest." Qin Yiren said lightly.