Chapter 44: The Death of King Yiqiu

  Ganquan Palace, King Yiqu as usual drinking and having fun.

  The two princes of King Yi Qu also learned from their father, one hand playing with the beauties around them, speaking sweet words; on the other side drinking the fine wine of the Central Plains, watching the palace maids dancing in groups.

  What a wonderful life! King Yiqiu sighed in his heart.

  Although he had been in Xianyang for thirty-three years, the days passed year after year, but King Yiqiu still couldn't enjoy such a life. The women of Central Plains were really enchanting. That figure, that voice, was absolutely not comparable to the robust women of Yiqiu.

  Thirty-three years had passed, and the King of Yiqu had long forgotten the city of Qingyang, over three hundred miles away. If it weren't for his own brother visiting him every three years to tell him that the people missed him and wished for his return to power, the King of Yiqu wouldn't have given a thought to that barbaric and backward country.

  Compared to the Central Plains, the living conditions are really too different. The longer he stayed in Xianyang, the more King Yi Qu felt this way. Let his own brother handle the headache of governing the country! As long as he was on the throne for one day, the Qin people would have to put up with his face. He only needed to enjoy himself every day, drink and be happy.

  What does it matter if I am the king of a barbarian state, or how powerful Qin is? In the end, they still submit to my curved blade. Even the most revered queen dowager of Qin has smiled upon me and borne me two sons. Every time King Yiqu thinks of this scene, his heart swells with pride.

  Indeed, this is the most proud thing in Yiqiu Wang's life.

  A man's world has always been about conquest, they say that men conquer the world to conquer women, but King Yiqiu scoffs at this. Why bother with such trouble, isn't conquering women enough? A beauty deserves a heroic tomb, and as the greatest hero of Yiqiu himself, he naturally requires the most magnificent heroic tomb. Therefore, only Xianyang, only Ganquan Palace is worthy of him!

  At present, the Queen Mother of Qin is already in her 70s and has long since lost her youthful beauty. However, King Yiqu is also over 60 years old and no longer young. For these 33 years, the Queen Mother has always treated King Yiqu with great respect, changing her ways every year to please him. Beautiful women, fine wine, delicious food, and luxurious silk fabrics - all were provided to make King Yiqu feel that Qin was under his feet.

  Here is the translation:

  It was here that King Yiqu could feel his own strength. And returning to Qingyang, the thrill of conquering Qin would not be so strong. So no matter what, King Yiqu did not want to think about going back to Yiqu.

  It was another midnight revelry, King Yiqiu embracing the new beauty and falling into a deep sleep. Although King Yiqiu's advanced age had taken its toll on his vitality, he still managed to keep up appearances of being brave and robust, and so he persisted for half the night. After taking aphrodisiacs, King Yiqiu once again felt his youth and vigor in the beauty's arms.

  The adjacent bedroom also has a similar scene. Yiqiu Yan is the eldest son of the Queen Dowager of Qin and King Yiqiu, who is only in his thirties, and should be at the most vigorous age. Now, however, he has been emptied by wine and lust, and the martial spirit of Yiqiu can no longer be seen on him.

  His second brother, Yi Qu Zhang, was three years younger, but even more so. He often held unbridled gatherings with his own concubines. Tonight, the two brothers continued their nocturnal exploits after serving their father, the king, and only fell asleep at the third watch of midnight.

  It was just past the hour of the Ox, and the night had grown very deep. The Ganquan Palace had finally fallen silent. The palace maids and eunuchs who had been busy all night had finally gone to sleep. In the vast Ganquan Palace, except for the occasional sound of guards' footsteps, there were no other sounds.

  Tonight, the Empress Dowager is not in Ganquan Palace, and the guards' patrol seems to be lax. There's no way around it, the three masters of Yiqiu are really too capable of stirring up trouble. If the Empress Dowager were here, she could still somewhat advise them, but if she weren't here, the three of them would definitely make a racket that would disturb the entire Xishan Mountain.

  So, once the three old men fell asleep, all the guards let out a sigh of relief. They would wake up at around 9 am every day to have their meals, and this period was the rare resting time for everyone in Ganquan Palace. Once they woke up, the hustle and bustle of a new day began.

  Just as Gan Quan Palace was about to fall asleep, a faint sound came from the well in the back hall. Upon closer inspection, one figure, two figures... as many as thirty people emerged from the well like ghosts and appeared in the back hall.

  If someone happened to see it at this time, they would definitely scream. It's really scary, this well is the only place where water is taken in the back temple. How could someone drill out from the bottom of the well in the middle of the night! Since it's not a person, it must be a ghost!

  Thirty people, however, moved stealthily, with one of them making a hand gesture. In an instant, two people vanished into the night, leaving only one guard at this sole exit. The remaining twenty-eight people rushed towards the rear palace, their familiarity with the route and silent footsteps making them seem like the ghosts of dead palace maids!

  In the grand hall, King Yi Qu of the Xiongnu tribe turned over dazedly and called out "Thirsty, thirsty, give the lonely king some water to drink". Those who had experience with drunkenness knew that they would feel parched in the middle of the night. As the most honored guest of the Qin state, King Yi Qu naturally had a special servant girl keeping watch over him at night. However, tonight, King Yi Qu was destined not to get his drink. Because the palace maid who was attending to him had already fallen to the ground, her body still oozing blood.

  Yi Qu impatiently opened his mouth again, "Thirsty, give Guan water to drink". But this time the response was a dagger stained with fresh blood. Once, twice, three times, the dagger ruthlessly stabbed into Yi Qu's heart, Yi Qu struggled to open his mouth to shout loudly, but the towel stuffed in his mouth stopped his cries. He could only barely open his eyes, resentfully staring at the murderer who killed him.

  Yi Qu Wang, a legendary hero, passed away at the age of 66.

  He spent over a decade waging wars and finally sat on the throne of King Yiqiu. In his later years, he indulged in the pleasures of Xianyang, living a life of drunkenness and dreams.

  Drunk and sleeping on a beauty's lap, awake to hold the power of the world. Power and beauty, he had them all; fierce battles with swords and flames, great victories that swept everything before him, successes and humiliations, he experienced them all. But in the end, they were all just fleeting clouds, even heroes like Xiang Yu ended up with their heads and bodies separated.

  Carefully beheading the two princes of Yiqiu, the black-clad man didn't linger and rushed to his next target. Everything was a repeat of earlier, the two princes had been emptied by wine and lust, drunk to the point of unconsciousness, without a hint of resistance, the black-clad man smoothly beheaded them. Of course, if their struggles before death counted as resistance, then they could be said to have resisted.

  The men in black completed their task and quietly returned along the original route. Silently they walked, just as silently they came, waving a sleeve, taking away only three heads.

  When the rooster crows, the garrison of Xianyang opens the city gate as usual. Thirty Korean kamikaze infiltrate into the city among the farmers selling vegetables and pass through the city. However, during their stay in the city, they take advantage of the morning light to leave three heads on the busiest street, along with a "Qin Wang" royal edict.

  The king said: I, the humble one, have inherited the will of my predecessors and taken it as my duty to destroy Yizhiqu. Yizhiqu is not benevolent, he has raised troops to harm my people and hurt my citizens. I value harmony above all else and am willing to yield and seek a complete solution, but Yizhiqu has been pressing me step by step, wanting to make Xianyang his prince's fiefdom and making me his vassal. This hatred and humiliation cannot be shared under the same sky, I swear to destroy his country. Now, secretly, at night, take the head of the king of Yizhiqu and his two princes, hang them here, to make clear my will, to show the heart of Great Qin. If the king's army does not immediately send troops to Yizhiqu, whoever opposes the will of my predecessors, Great Qin will certainly punish; whoever resists the king's order, the world will jointly expel!

  Soon, Xianyang City became lively. The news of the death of King Yi of Qi quickly spread throughout the city and shocked the entire palace. Quickly, an envoy was sent to Ganquan Palace to check on King Yi of Qi, but when he pushed open the door, he only saw a headless corpse.

  The originally unbelieving Ganquan Palace guarding military officer and the leader of the eunuchs suddenly fell to the ground, but the messenger didn't care, hastily rushing to the imperial palace to report: King Yiqiu and his two princes were brutally killed in Ganquan Palace, the murderer's whereabouts unknown!

  In an instant, the whole Xianyang was in chaos!