Beauties in Simulation Cross over into Reality

After Xiao Mo and the other generals returned to the Imperial City, the fighting on the frontiers temporarily ceased. However, everyone knew it wouldn’t be long before a great war began.

At this time, the Qin Kingdom’s national power was at its zenith. It had now conquered the three major kingdoms of Wei, Chu, and Yan, as well as countless smaller surrounding states.

In the entire history of the Warring States Period, a situation like this had never occurred.

Now, from the common folk to the ministers in the Imperial Court, everyone in the Qin Kingdom was driven by the goal of unifying the realm.

Indeed, looking across the entire history of the Warring States Period, the Qin Kingdom of today was the most likely nation to ever achieve unification.

As for the three remaining kingdoms of Qi, Zhao, and Jin, they had their share of friction, both large and small, in the past.

But now, they were crystal clear on who their greatest enemy was.

Therefore, the three kingdoms of Qi, Zhao, and Jin were already preparing to face the Qin Kingdom together.

They had originally intended to dispatch their armies against the Qin Kingdom while it was weary.

However, because the Jin Kingdom had suffered catastrophic losses after the great battle at Huaishan City, and its homeland later faced military uprisings, some of the Dukes within the country were growing restless.

The kingdoms of Qi and Zhao had no choice but to first help the Jin Kingdom catch its breath, at least until it could recruit more troops.

The Qin Kingdom, for its part, was in no hurry to act.

Over the past few years, and especially after Xiao Shi’s final suppression of the rebellion, the Wei Kingdom was no longer able to stir up any trouble.

Furthermore, the Qin Kingdom’s generous treatment of the native residents of Wei left its people with little inclination to rebel.

For the common folk, as long as they could survive and live better lives, that was the greatest happiness.

After all, who would enjoy the chaos of war?

Not to mention that in the beginning, all the Allied States under heaven were originally the Great Zhou Region.

It was only after the King of Zhou granted them fiefdoms that, with the passage of time and the collapse of rites and music, the various Dukes established their own independent states, leading to the current situation.

Looking back several thousand years, they were all one family.

The most crucial task for the Qin Kingdom was still to consolidate its control over the newly conquered lands of the Chu and Yan Kingdoms.

Besides dispatching various generals to garrison the Chu and Yan Kingdoms and reducing taxes for the people, the Sovereign of Qin also supported some of the less powerful local aristocratic clans. He instigated conflict among the internal clans of Chu and Yan, creating a system of mutual checks that left them with no extra energy to make trouble.

At Xiao Mo’s suggestion.

The Qin Kingdom also vigorously promoted the idea of ”Once the land is Qin’s, its people are Qin’s” throughout the territories of Chu and Yan.

In areas severely affected by the ravages of war, the Qin Kingdom dispatched officials and soldiers to provide disaster relief. They organized the local populace to restore agriculture and implemented different policies based on the people’s varying circumstances. Many were even granted a full tax exemption for the next ten years.

Moreover, Xiao Mo also suggested recruiting men from the Chu and Yan Regions into the army.

This was all voluntary, not compulsory.

Their treatment was the same as that of a regular Qin soldier.

As for the original soldiers of the Chu and Yan armies, if they did not wish to remain in the military, they were free to leave.

However, the Qin Kingdom’s system of military merit was extremely appealing to the people of the Yan and Chu regions.

This was because commoners could genuinely change their fate based on their achievements in battle.

In a short time, many men from the Chu and Yan Regions had joined the Qin Kingdom’s army.

The Qin Kingdom’s military ranks were greatly expanded.

As these complementary policies were rolled out one after another, the sense of belonging among the people of the Chu and Yan Regions toward the Qin Kingdom increased considerably.

If anyone tried to rebel and ruin the good lives they now had, these common people would be the first to object.

Meanwhile, in the Shu Region, after several years of development, the water management projects of Li Bin and his son were showing great success.

Ever since the construction of the Dujiangyan irrigation system, the flooding in the Shu Region had been greatly mitigated.

Tracts of previously uncultivable land had been transformed into fertile soil, and the annual grain yield reached astonishing figures.

This gave the Qin Kingdom immense confidence for its future military campaigns.

Then, five months after Xiao Mo returned to the Imperial City of Qin, a piece of news emerged from the Xiao Mansion.

The Lady of the Xiao Mansion—Xia Qingke—was gravely ill.

Although Xiao Mo had not had much contact with Xia Qingke, she was, regardless, his father’s first wife.

Xiao Mo immediately sent a message by Flying Sword to his father in the Northern Wilderness and his older brother, who was still at the Shaking Mountain Sect.

Upon receiving the message, Xiao Shi and Xiao Yichuan immediately returned to the Xiao Mansion.

When Xiao Yichuan saw his mother, this strapping, eight-foot-tall man who had embarked upon the Immortal Path, broke down and cried.

Xiao Yichuan grasped his mother’s hand, endlessly repeating, ”Mother, I’m sorry,” and, ”Your son has failed in his filial duty to you.”

”Silly child, the path of cultivation is just like this. Your longevity and the achievements you have made... Mother is overjoyed for you. Why must you apologize, my child?”

Xia Qingke gently stroked her son’s hair.

But the more his mother spoke this way, the harder Xiao Yichuan cried.

That day, Xiao Shi also spent a long time speaking alone with his first wife.

In Xiao Mo’s eyes, this was only natural.

After all, no matter what, Xia Qingke was Xiao Shi’s first wife.

Even though Xiao Shi was away on campaigns year-round and rarely returned home, there was at least some affection between them.

What Xiao Mo did not expect, however, was that the Lady of the Xiao Mansion would summon him for a private conversation.

”First Mother.”

Entering the bedroom of the Xiao Mansion’s matriarch, Xiao Mo bowed with his hands clasped.

”Frost King, there is no need for such ceremony. Please, sit.”

The Lady of the Xiao Mansion smiled faintly and spoke in a soft voice.

Xiao Mo nodded and sat on the stool beside Xia Qingke’s bed.

Looking at the woman before him, Xiao Mo felt a wave of emotion, even though they had only met a few times.

Her Life Fire was about to be extinguished. Though there was a hint of color on her face, it was merely the final, fleeting bloom of life’s vitality.

”Frost King...”

”You can just call me Xiao Mo, First Mother,” Xiao Mo said.

”Then... may I call you Mo’er?” Xia Qingke asked with a smile.

Xiao Mo was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. ”Of course.”

”Mo’er...” Xia Qingke looked at Xiao Mo. ”This is the first time I’ve ever called you that... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH...”

Xia Qingke wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked at Xiao Mo with a gentle expression.

”You are truly remarkable.

Though you are of low birth, you became a Prince through your own abilities. Now, Mo’er, your prestige is in no way inferior to your father’s.

Before, ah, I was still worried. What would I do if my son couldn’t receive the Hereditary Title of Prince Zhenbei in the future?

Later, ah, I finally understood. I realized that you, Mo’er, don’t care at all about this so-called ’Prince Zhenbei’ title. You don’t need it.

Instead, it was I, who lived a whole life, yet remained so petty.”

”First Mother, you mustn’t say such things. It is a mother’s nature to seek prosperity for her children,” Xiao Mo said.

”That is true, yes, but... I am not only the mother of Yichuan and Yishe; I am also the Lady of the Xiao Mansion. When your father is not at home, I am the one who must manage the entire Xiao Family.

So I could not act only for my sons. I had to act for the Xiao Family...”

Xia Qingke folded her hands before her, leaned back against the headboard, and continued.

”You and your father both think I blame you for ’harming’ Yishe.

And Yichuan, he thinks I blame him for failing to protect his younger brother.

But, ah, the three of you don’t know.

You don’t know that I never blamed any of you at all.

There is only one person I blame, and that is myself.

The one who truly killed Yishe was none other than me, his mother.

Because I knew that Yichuan’s heart was not in the Imperial Court; it was among the clouds on that mountain.

So I placed all of my ambitions on Yishe.

Did Yishe want to become Prince Zhenbei because he himself desired it, or did he only want to become Prince Zhenbei for my sake?

If it weren’t for me, how could this so-called ’Prince Zhenbei’ title have become his obsession, ultimately leading to such a grave mistake?

It turns out that in the end, the person who saw this ’Prince Zhenbei’ title as the most important thing...

...was me...”