Chapter 98 - An Unforgettable Appreciation
The sun was about to rise in the sky. The soldiers were making arrangements to leave the forests.
Inside his camp, Xi Ying was sitting on his bed. His eyes were red as he glared ahead at nothing.
General Li's words were ringing in his ears continuously.
'If this General asked his daughter to divorce you, she will not hesitate to do that. So you should not try to do something like that again unless you wish to separate from your wangfei.'
The anger rushed inside his veins and Xi Ying kicked the nearby bedside table.
Would Rui really leave him if her father asked her to do that?
Somewhere inside his heart, Xi Ying already had the answer.
She would. Why wouldn't she? He doesn't have more importance in her heart than her father?
But he can't let her go. It was very difficult.
Once he had given her the chance to leave him, he does not have any strength to do that again.
Even the thought was enough to make him feel the suffocation.
Li Rui might not need him but he would need Li Rui forever.
He could do anything to make her stay by his side.
Even if it was protecting Li Clan hiding in the shadows just like Rui.
Since the General doesn't want to tell her the truth, he won't tell her. But he won't bear anyone to accuse her of something she never did.
Something she was never responsible for.
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The journey to the borders started again.
The path was clear now, without any bushes as the soldiers had cleaned them previously on their way. So it didn't take long to reach the camps on the borders.
It was afternoon when Xi Ying reached the borders with everyone.
The soldiers cheered when they saw General Li and everyone safe and sound.
A feast was prepared for everyone. After having lunch, Commander Xie asked General Li, Li Diu, and Yi Lie to gather inside his camp.
When General Li stepped inside Commander Xie's camp with Li Diu and Yi Lei, he found Xi Ying already there.
Commander Xie stood up when he saw General Li and frowned as he glanced at sitting Xi Ying.
However, General Li ignored it like nothing and sat down on an empty chair.
Li Diu and Yi Lei glanced at Xi Ying who looked cold and indifferent to their glances. Then both of them looked at each other and sat down on their seats.
No one spoke anything.
Xi Ying picked the glass of wine and drank from it lazily while Li Diu and Yi Lei were glaring at him coldly.
A while later, Commander Xie cleared his throat to break the tense atmosphere.
"General Li."
General Li looked at Commander Xie.
"There are some things that General Li needs to know before entering the Imperial City."
At Commander Xie's words, Li Diu and Yi Lei also looked serious. General Li nodded his head and Commander Xie continued.
"When General Li, Commander Li, and soldier Yi Lei suddenly disappeared from the battlefield, the enemy country had started to suppress our soldiers. At that moment, General Yun's subordinate, Commander Ji had entered the battlefield with his army and had fought against the enemy soldiers bravely."
General Li looked surprised. There seemed to be something missing here. How can anyone enter the battlefield just like this? It can't be a coincidence that Commander Ji entered the battlefield at the right moment.
And Commander Xie's next words proved that he was not wrong.
"But two days back, Prime Minister Xi came to me and told me that it was General Yun's plan to frame you. He abducted you and then accused of giving your ancestral war strategies to the enemy country."
"He made it look like in front of the Emperor that General Li, Commander Li, and soldier Yi Lei betrayed Xin. Li Clan and Yi Clan were accused of selling their motherland. The Emperor ordered that if even one member from both the clan was found guilty; the whole clan would be executed in front of everyone."
General Li face was grim.
Li Diu and Yi Lei looked shocked.
While Xi Ying continued to drink the wine lazily.
For a moment, he silently glanced at General Li.
He wanted to see the anger on General's face. Even after knowing that the Emperor had ordered to execute his whole clan; could he still think about his ancestral oath?
General Li also found him looking at him with a smirk.
A few moments later, General Li sighed and then asked Commander Xie.
"Anything else that I need to know."
Xi Ying removed his sight from the General in a bored manner.
The General really has too much patience. If he had been in his place then he would have already declared war against the Emperor.
General Li loved his family but he equally loved his country.
However, Xi Ying only loved his small family. Nothing else mattered to him in this world.
His Wangfei and his son, as long as they are safe and happy he had everything with him.
"Yes, General Li. After you were declared a traitor by the Emperor in your absence; the soldiers of Xin closed down the whole country."
"Huh?"
General Li was surprised by the words of Commander Xie.
Commander Xie laughed and said with a little envious tone.
"Your soldiers, General Li, went against the His Majesty's order for you and your clan."
A General, a commander, and a soldier spend most of his life on the battlefield but they got much less appreciation for whatever they have done for the country.
Some of them don't even get married and live without a family in their old age.
However, General Li got the most beautiful and memorable appreciation in the form of his soldier's support.
How unforgettable it was that so many soldiers were ready to go against the Emperor's order for the General who trained them.
It was unbelievable but it was true.
This was the thing that will be written in the history of Xin.