Chapter 1696: Chapter 1697: Truth and Lies
What attracted you the most were those eyes glistening with faint tears, so gentle, so sweet; the light in the room was not bright, the remnants of the setting sun filtered through the window sill, just enough for you to see the face of the person in front of you clearly, her silhouette was so beautiful, so enchanting.
You quietly stared at each other, as if only you two existed, as if only time remained.
"Hee hee ha ha ha... come, catch me if you can."
At some unknown time, two children’s playful noise came from the corridor.
You and Li Qiyi seemed to wake up simultaneously, hurriedly breaking the gaze that had frozen between you.
With your head down, still gently holding Li Qiyi’s foot, you were the first to speak: "Sis, where are dad and mom? It’s so late, why haven’t they come back?"
"Don’t you know?" Although her thoughts were a bit tangled, Li Qiyi managed to say something.
"Ah? What’s wrong?" You looked up at Li Qiyi, thinking something had happened to your parents.
Seeing the worry on your face, Li Qiyi smiled and said, "Mom and dad went back to Qi County to participate in the rites."
"Rites?" You were somewhat dumbfounded; you had never heard of such an activity in your family.
Li Qiyi suddenly thought of something, then said: "You just came back not long ago, so mom and dad might not have told you. Five years ago, Qi County initiated an activity called ’Yin Shang Cultural Heritage,’ and they found us."
"Yin Shang? Our family doesn’t have the Yin surname, when did we get involved with this?"
Li Qiyi couldn’t help but reach out her slender finger and lightly tap your forehead: "You, as the legitimate son of our family, don’t even know about the clan."
"No way, our family has a clan?"
You were bewildered by what Li Qiyi said. From childhood to adulthood, you seldom heard your father mention his family; your deepest impression was when your grandfather passed away, your parents took you to the countryside once, where it was, you couldn’t recall, it seemed like crossing over mountains and hills, walking for a very long way.
Looking up at Li Qiyi, you smiled and said: "Sis, tell me about it."
Li Qiyi glanced at the time and found it was already past four in the afternoon.
"Let’s talk later, I’ll cook first."
"Oh, my dear sister, your foot is so swollen, why cook? Let your brother cook for you!" You cheerfully stood up, put cotton shoes on Li Qiyi, and then picked her up.
"Mu Yun, you... you..."
When you picked her up, Li Qiyi was startled, her heart began to race extraordinarily fast.
Baffled, you put Li Qiyi on the sofa, then made her a cup of jasmine tea, squatting cheerfully on one side, posing as a child listening to a story, watching Li Qiyi.
Li Qiyi shook her head slightly, sipped the fragrant tea, then said gently: "Actually, this is not that surprising. Last time when those elders came over, I gathered some information from their words. Mainly, our family is the direct bloodline of the Yin Shang royal family."
"But our surname is Li? The Yin Shang royal family should have the Zi surname." You added.
"That was during the Shang Dynasty period, later when Zhou successfully destroyed Shang, the Yin Shang royal family was divided into several branches, the main one being now the Yin family. However, later there was another surname that originated from Bi Gan."
"What? Bi Gan?" You couldn’t help scratching your head. In the game, you just killed Bi Gan, how come this affair is related to him again.
Li Qiyi smiled and said: "Actually, it’s all a tangled mess in history. You know, in the campaign document against Emperor Xin, Ji Fa listed many of his crimes."
"Mostly slanders." You picked your ears.
"History is written by the victors. After the Zhou Dynasty, the slanders about Emperor Xin killing Bi Gan grew increasingly severe over time. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Emperor Xin’s crimes were limited to ’Bi Gan admonishing and dying.’ By the Warring States period, Bi Gan’s death became more vivid; Qu Yuan said he was drowned, while Lü Buwei’s retainer said he was dissected, and by Sima Qian’s time, it was said Emperor Xin dissected his heart to satisfy Daji’s curiosity, wanting to see if Bi Gan’s heart had seven apertures."
You scratched your head and asked your sister, who always had a "genius" aura: "Sis, how did Bi Gan actually die?"
Li Qiyi took a sip of tea, then said: "You know my personality, when something puzzles me, I usually dig to the root. So, I spent some time researching, and due to the time being so distant, a lot of historical records were irresponsibly embellished by later people, especially the Ming Dynasty novel ’Investiture of the Gods,’ which was written based on hearsay from the Song period. It thoroughly defamed Emperor Xin."
"A novel is just something to pass the time." You said.
Li Qiyi nodded: "Later, when studying Emperor Xin’s merits and demerits, I found out that the main reason Emperor Xin was destroyed by King Zhouwu was because of his policy reforms."
"Reforms? That was more than a thousand years ago. Was Emperor Xin really that bold?"
"Emperor Xin was indeed a talented ruler." Li Qiyi smiled, "After ascending to the throne, Emperor Xin diligently sought to expand the territory and achieve Yin Shang’s dominance. However, the Shang Dynasty implemented a slave system, where all power was controlled by the aristocracy and slave masters, leading to a decline in national talent. So he gradually initiated reforms. The policy reforms faced opposition not only from slave masters and aristocrats but even the royal family began to secretly oppose Emperor Xin, led by the so-called ’Three Benevolence at the end of Yin Dynasty’ Ji Zi and Wei Zi. Ji Zi was Emperor Xin’s imperial uncle, holding the same status as Bi Gan, and Wei Zi was Emperor Xin’s half-brother. They represented the interests of the Yin Shang royal family, and when their interests were conflicted, Ji Zi secretly did many things that violated Emperor Xin’s wishes, and anecdotal records mentioned Emperor Xin’s defeat was directly related to Ji Zi and Wei Zi’s collusion with the enemy."
"Hmm, sis, please continue." You said, enjoying this kind of anti-doctrinal history.
"Bi Gan governed for over forty years, wholeheartedly for the Yin Shang nation. Seeing Emperor Xin constantly waging wars in the southeast, while the country’s internal forces were restless, he repeatedly advised Emperor Xin to retract the decrees and first resolve domestic conflicts rather than blindly use troops to prevent an opportunity for others. But by that time, Emperor Xin had passed fifty years of age, eager to surpass his grandfather Wu Ding’s achievements, so he ignored Bi Gan’s advice."
"So in the end, Emperor Xin killed Bi Gan?" You added.
Li Qiyi pondered for a moment, then said: "Actually, I’m not sure either. But logically, Bi Gan should not have been killed by Emperor Xin; he likely committed suicide. Given ’Bi Gan admonishing and dying’ implies he wanted to use his life to persuade Emperor Xin. Unfortunately, by the time Emperor Xin became aware, it was too late. Ji Fa had already united various factions, intending to prey on Yin Shang’s vassals, with Wei Zi and Ji Zi’s cooperation inside and outside, Yin Shang’s six hundred years of foundation ended with Emperor Xin’s self-immolation at the Star-picking Tower."
Upon hearing this, you couldn’t help but sigh: "At the end of the day, emperors still couldn’t escape the erosion of time. Sometimes being too eager for success isn’t necessarily a good thing."