Beauty Portraits: I Build a Harem in Another World

Page 11

Nothing much, just an old man who looked to be in his seventies standing a little behind the center of the main hall. He seemed inconspicuous at all, and if the emperor hadn't mentioned him, he probably would have kept his eyes closed and pretended to be asleep, completely just another passerby.

But a person's reputation precedes them; General Bai Wenxuan was the most outstanding general of the Qin Empire in its time, without exception!

The Qin Empire has a history of over 800 years since its founding, and has produced many talented individuals throughout its history. However, the only general who is affectionately known as the Invincible God of War by the people of the Qin Empire and who has never been defeated in hundreds of battles, large and small, throughout his life is Bai Wenxuan.

This is also a key reason why he was still able to hold a powerful position even at the age of seventy...

However, what makes General Bai Wenxuan most admirable is still the war between the Qin Empire and the Inazuma Empire...

Both countries are located on the eastern continent and are very powerful.

However, the Qin Empire was a very old and powerful nation, partly because its predecessor, the Han Empire, had laid a solid foundation and even almost unified the eastern continent.

This is also the root cause of the various frictions between the Qin Empire and its neighboring countries, because these countries have always wanted to reclaim the territories that originally belonged to them from the Qin Empire.

But this is also the most crucial point. The Qin Empire occupied the richest and most expansive region in the Eastern Continent, the most suitable for human survival and reproduction. Who wouldn't be envious?

Originally, the Inazuma Empire was not adjacent to the Qin Empire, because it was originally just an island nation. Although it was not small in size, it was still quite far from the Eastern Continent and had little interaction with the Qin Empire.

However, ever since the Inazuma Empire suddenly attacked the Minghan Empire in the northern part of the Eastern Continent ten years ago, and swept away all resistance at an extremely fast speed and finally swallowed up the entire Minghan Empire, the Inazuma Empire and the Great Qin Empire have been facing each other directly and have quickly become mortal enemies.

The reason is simple: before its demise, the Minghan Empire sought aid from the Qin Empire, which agreed. Unfortunately, the Qin army was still en route when the Minghan Empire was destroyed...

Although the commander of the Great Qin Empire decisively halted the operation, merely deploying troops to the border, Empress Inazuma still believed the Great Qin Empire harbored hostility towards the Inazuma people. However, most importantly, the territory of the Minghan Empire was merely a drop in the ocean compared to the current predicament of the Inazuma Empire. She needed to continue her advance into the Eastern Continent, but due to the existence of the Great Qin Empire, all her plans had to be temporarily shelved. Mei Ni Lin didn't expect Mei Kong Mei didn't expect...

To gain more land in the Eastern Continent, we must eliminate the Qin Dynasty, this obstacle in our path.

So, after only two or three years of peace, the Inazuma Empire finally declared war on the Qin Empire...

Then this war lasted for several years, and what was the final result?

Well, now you all know that the Inazuma Empire not only lost the territory it had already occupied from the Minghan Empire, but was also almost driven back to its homeland by the Qin Empire's army...

In particular, just over two months ago, the newly formed navy of the Great Qin Empire swept through the Inazuma Empire's most prized maritime escort force. Since then, they have not only lost the ability to advance into the Eastern Continent, but they may also be unable to defend their homeland!

Therefore, Empress Inazuma had no choice but to take the initiative to seek peace and cease hostilities, hoping that the Qin Empire would spare her, because if the fighting continued, the Inazuma Empire would probably collapse completely!

The one who created this series of brilliant achievements and forced Empress Inazuma to surrender was none other than our highly respected General Bai Wenxuan!

But actually, General Bai Wenxuan had already retired ten years ago. He resigned from his position as marshal of the empire on the grounds of making way for younger people. However, he was then appointed by Emperor Tang Ziming as the principal of the Royal Military Academy of the Great Qin Empire. Over the years, he has devoted himself to cultivating a large number of outstanding military talents for the empire.

If it weren't for the fact that his most beloved disciple was betrayed by Inazuma and died young, General Bai Wenxuan probably wouldn't have returned to the battlefield, and the battle between the Qin Empire and the Inazuma Empire wouldn't have ended so quickly...

Chapter 29: Should the Marriage Contract from Fifteen Years Ago Be Recognized?

Regardless, General Bai Wenxuan once again donned his armor and returned to command the Qin army. He immediately turned the tide, sweeping away the Inazuma army entrenched in the Minghan Empire and rendering them powerless to invade again. In particular, the navy he personally trained was able to reach the Inazuma Empire's homeland, forcing the Inazuma Empress to humble herself and request a ceasefire.

Therefore, this battle not only brought General Bai's prestige and fame to their peak, but also gave the Bai family the deepest influence in the Imperial military!

To put it bluntly, even the words of Emperor Qin Ziming might not be as effective as those of General Bai Wenxuan in the military!

In other words, gaining the support of General Bai Wenxuan is practically equivalent to gaining the support of the entire Imperial military!

Is this portion heavy or not?

But now, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly tells everyone that the Third Prince Qin Feng was engaged to Bai Zhiwei, the only granddaughter in the lineage of General Bai Wenxuan, fifteen years ago.

No wonder the entire Qiande Hall was blown up on the spot!

After all, who isn't shrewd enough to stand here? And who doesn't have some ulterior motives?

Actually, as His Majesty the Emperor has grown older over the years, and as the competition between the eldest prince Qin Yu and the second princess Qin Lan has intensified, the ministers in the court have been quite conflicted!

Who should be chosen as the crown prince of Qin?

The eldest prince, Qin Yu, seemed to excel in every aspect and could easily get along with the officials. However, the only problem was that Qin Yu's mother was just an ordinary palace maid. Moreover, she was promoted to the rank of Cai Ren after giving birth to Qin Yu, and more than 20 years have passed since then, yet she is still only a Cai Ren!

What does this mean? It means that Qin Yu's mother is not favored by His Majesty Qin Ziming at all, and can even be said to be almost relegated to the cold palace!

Under these circumstances, everyone was somewhat conflicted about the chances of the eldest prince, Qin Yu, winning.

As for the second princess Qin Lan, it's much better. After all, she is the daughter of the Empress, and to this day, all the ministers in the court have great respect for the Empress. Although Empress Xia Lin is from the Western Continent, she has extraordinary eloquence, outstanding insight, and extremely strong strength. So, from the bottom of their hearts, they also hope that the child born to the Empress can inherit the throne.

However, the Second Princess Qin Lan is a woman, which is what all the ministers are most worried about. After all, the Qin Empire has never had a female emperor. Could there be an accident this time?

Who dares to bet?

Everyone knows the consequences of choosing the wrong side in the imperial court; the saying "a new emperor, a new court" is not just a saying!

But at that moment, everyone suddenly understood, and their hearts were at ease...

It turns out the crown prince had already been chosen!

The problem is that this position belongs to the Third Prince Qin Feng, someone who has never been considered by anyone before, or even given the slightest thought... the third in line to become the Crown Prince!

Isn't this a bit too frivolous?

Although no one has ever stipulated that His Majesty the Emperor must be exceptionally outstanding or superior to ordinary people, you can't at least choose the most useless of all your children, can you?

This is not just a matter of how to win over the people; it also involves the future of the country...

Does Your Majesty intend to gamble with the fate of my Great Qin Empire? Mei Lin hadn't expected this...

Your Majesty, have you really considered the consequences of doing this?

Aren't you afraid that General Bai Wenxuan will be angry?

After all, as you just said, this engagement was made fifteen years ago...

Fifteen years ago, the Third Prince was just a three-year-old child. At that time, no one knew whether he would become a human or a ghost, let alone that he would become such a useless person. Therefore, it was normal for General Bai Wenxuan to agree to this marriage.

But now that you clearly know Qin Feng's character, you still brought this up in front of the entire court. Especially since you just said that the Third Prince should marry the eldest princess of the Inazuma Empire, and now you want the Third Prince to marry the only son of General Bai Wenxuan's family. Whose face are you slapping?

Everyone knows that two tigers can never share the same mountain!

Even if Bai Zhiwei becomes the principal wife in the future, so what? The Third Prince is just a good-for-nothing after all. How could she be content with that?

The key question is whether General Bai Wenxuan is willing to accept this?

But just as everyone in the court was discussing, General Bai Wenxuan finally opened his half-closed eyes. He first looked Qin Feng up and down, then nodded and stepped forward. "This old minister thanks Your Majesty for your grace on behalf of Zhiwei. This marriage has been on my mind for a long time. I almost thought Your Majesty had forgotten about it."

"Whoa!" Everyone in the hall was shocked again. General Bai Wenxuan not only did not object to the marriage, but actually welcomed it? What was going on?

"Haha, this marriage was one of my proudest achievements back then. Luckily, I acted quickly enough, otherwise such a good daughter-in-law would have run away..." Qin Ziming seemed very happy, so his face was full of smiles. "Don't worry, General, my third son is definitely not what people are saying. You will know this later."

"In that case, this old minister will wait and see!"

"Alright, let's talk about something else now..."

"..."

Chapter 30: Second Sister, why do you have a grudge against the door?

Qin Feng stood from beginning to end during the morning court session, and he said his legs were almost not his own anymore!

It's important to understand that this "morning court" is not the kind of "speak quickly if you have something to say, otherwise the court is adjourned" that Qin Feng used to see on TV. Those who do that are usually incompetent rulers, but Qin Feng, the old man he is now, is obviously not incompetent. So he has a lot to do, and he actually spent the whole morning discussing with a group of ministers!

Although Qin Feng was feeling terrible from being hungry, he actually felt a little smug seeing the expression on the face of the eldest prince, Qin Yu, who looked like he had swallowed a fly the whole time. At least Qin Yu's mood was definitely not good today...

But Qin Yu wasn't the only one in a bad mood.

Qin Feng had just returned to Fenglin Garden after court and was happily enjoying a leg and crotch massage from the palace maids when the door was suddenly kicked open. "Qin Feng, get out here!"

Well, thankfully Maple Forest Garden just got a brand new gate, otherwise it would have been completely destroyed again.

However, upon seeing the people barging in so aggressively, the palace maids in the courtyard could only turn their faces away and pretend they didn't see them...

There was nothing we could do, because the person who came was the Second Princess, Qin Lan.

Who can afford to mess with this?

The only person who could possibly offend her was probably the Third Prince, Qin Feng.

But there's a difference between a biological sister and a half-brother, so Qin Feng didn't explode. He just retorted irritably, "What are you doing? What did the gate ever do to you?"

"Qin Feng!!! You..."

"What do you mean, 'what'?! What did I do this time?"

"You bastard, you promised to help me yesterday, and today you went to the morning court session, and... tell me, what do you mean by this?"

"Please! Do you think I wanted to attend the morning court session?"

"..."

Qin Lan certainly didn't come alone; she was followed by a large group of palace maids. However, they all stood obediently outside Fenglin Garden, not daring to step inside even a step. After all, who in the entire palace didn't know the formidable reputation of Fenglin Garden?

Only Qin Lan, relying on being Qin Feng's older sister, barged in without any hesitation...

However, the Second Princess, who barged in, immediately saw Qin Feng lying there so comfortably enjoying himself, and her anger flared up even more. She rushed over and grabbed Qin Feng's ear, "Since you don't want to go to court, then why are you going?"

"Damn it!!" Qin Feng exclaimed helplessly. "Is this something I can just decide not to go on a whim?"

"Keep making excuses!! Tell me, what exactly did Father Emperor and you talk about the day before yesterday?"

"We didn't talk about anything. He just took me to meet my mom!"

"Mother?" Qin Lan was stunned for a moment. "How could that be... Mother has been in seclusion cultivating, and I have never heard of you going to Yulin East Palace!"

"The Jade Palace is just a stand-in for my mother, so she uses the excuse of seclusion to not see guests, but in fact, my mother has been gone from the Jade Palace for a long time!" Qin Feng curled his lips and then dropped a bombshell. Anyway, everyone in Maple Forest Garden is his man, so there is no possibility of leaks or spies.

"Ah?!" Qin Lan was indeed startled. "The Empress Dowager's... double?" Mei Lin hadn't thought of it...

"Second Sister." Qin Feng thought for a moment, then sat up with a serious expression. "Let me make this clear to you now: you have absolutely no hope of becoming emperor, unless you kill me right now..."

Why? Just because I'm a woman?

“That’s right, just because you’re a woman!” Qin Feng snapped his fingers. “I don’t mean to look down on women, but Father and the court officials would never dare to gamble on the future of the country… What if you fall madly in love with a man after you become emperor?”

"So Father and Mother would rather choose you, who knows nothing, than let me inherit the throne?" Qin Lan looked utterly dejected. "I really don't understand. From childhood to adulthood, what have you learned besides playing around with women? Why you of all people?"

"Second sister, haven't you noticed? The people in my Maple Forest Garden... are completely different from your palace maids!"

"What's the difference?" Qin Lan's eyes widened suddenly. "Aren't they just women? Aren't they all women with one head and two legs? Do you think they have something extra that my palace maids do? Do you think they can give you more fun than my palace maids?"

"What the hell... what are you saying? When did I ever play with your palace maids?" Qin Feng wasn't afraid of her at all and glared back directly.

"Xia Ming!" Qin Lan said defiantly, "Do you dare say you didn't sleep with her? Isn't she my palace maid?"

This……

Well, faced with Qin Lan's righteous questioning, Qin Feng was speechless for a moment, so he could only sigh softly.

"Second sister, the palace maids around me are really different from your maids. They were all carefully selected by my mother after I was born. Not only are they very talented, but they have also been carefully trained since they were young. They are all my personal maids, so they will stay by my side for the rest of their lives, unlike the palace maids around you, who will be rotated out of the palace after about ten years..."

"What? They...were trained for you by Mother from a young age??"

Chapter 31: Why Do They All Want to Be Empress?

Qin Lan was stunned for a moment before she realized what she meant. "So, Father and Mother chose you more than ten years ago?"

"Although I don't want to discourage you, yes! To be more precise, that position was decided the moment I was born!" Qin Feng shrugged. "That's why I said you should give up on the idea of ​​becoming emperor as soon as possible, because Father and Mother have arranged everything long ago, and they will never allow any accidents or variables to occur!"

"Why?" Although she knew the truth, Qin Lan was clearly finding it hard to accept. "Why is it that after all the hard work we've put in for so many years, it's all just a stepping stone for you?"

"It really is fate!" Qin Feng lay down helplessly. "I didn't understand before, but I only understood after Father took me to see the real Empress Dowager yesterday... Actually, I've been carrying a lot of burdens. It's like all these years I've been acting like a fool, being bullied and humiliated without even realizing it. Would you be willing to do that?"

"I..." Qin Lan hesitated for a moment. Of course she wouldn't agree if she were in her shoes, so she sighed softly. "You mean, what you did before was also arranged by Father and Mother? You were just pretending?"

"Of course I'm not faking it!" Qin Feng smiled bitterly upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, he still told the truth, "It's because my mother sealed my mind when I was young, which is why I am like this. It wasn't until recently that the seal on my bloodline was lifted that I woke up and became a normal person again."

"Ah...Is that so??" Qin Lan was completely stunned. Clearly, this news was hard for her to accept. But as expected of the strong-willed Second Princess, she suddenly asked, "Then can I become Empress?"

"what??"

"Stop pretending to be confused. You clearly said you wanted to sleep with me. Are you going to go back on your word?"

Me... go?

This is a really perplexing issue, because not only did the second sister, Qin Lan, think and say the same thing, but later the fifth sister, Qin Ling, also came over and immediately took Qin Feng's arm.

"Third brother... I heard from them that you went to the morning court today, and that Father Emperor wants you to inherit the throne!"

"Um……"

"Now that I'm yours, can I be your empress?"

"..."

It can only be said that news travels incredibly fast within the palace...

Therefore, Qin Ling did not come alone this time; her personal maids, including Dong Xue, also came along.