{"id":7673,"date":"2025-12-04T10:00:03","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T09:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/?p=7673"},"modified":"2025-12-04T10:00:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T09:00:03","slug":"your-majesty-you-mustnt-chapter-94-2-the-eastern-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/2025\/12\/04\/your-majesty-you-mustnt-chapter-94-2-the-eastern-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Majesty, you mustn&#8217;t! &#8211;  Chapter 94.2: The Eastern Mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong was just about to retort when Qu Yunmie\u2019s impatient voice suddenly rang out not far away, &#8220;Xiao Rong\u2019s insistence is my insistence. Yuan Baifu, if it were your parents, would you still be able to say such things?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yuan Baifu immediately turned his head to look at Qu Yunmie and anxiously tried to explain. &#8220;Your Majesty, I didn\u2019t mean\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie didn\u2019t want to hear him speak. &#8220;You may act on your benevolence freely in the army, but don\u2019t impose it on me. I don\u2019t need you to forgive anyone on my behalf!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He was already in a bad mood, and now it had worsened. He took a deep breath and said to Yuan Baifu. &#8220;Get out. All of you, get out of my tent!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yuan Baifu clenched his jaw tightly and held back his anger. Then he cupped his fists toward Qu Yunmie and said, &#8220;Yes, I take my leave.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After speaking, he quickly left the royal tent. Gongsun Yuan silently followed him. Although Qu Yunmie hadn\u2019t yelled at him directly, he had said \u201call of you,\u201d so Gongsun Yuan considered himself included.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong stood there silently for a while. He glanced cautiously at Qu Yunmie and, seeing that he had no further reaction, figured that he wasn\u2019t included in that \u201call of you.\u201d So he picked up the medicine bottle and walked toward Qu Yunmie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once in front of him, Xiao Rong said, &#8220;Lift your hand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie looked up, frowned, and stared at Xiao Rong. Since he made no move, Xiao Rong had no choice but to sit to his right and forcibly lift his hand.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie\u2019s palm had calluses, which protected him from many small injuries\u2014but burns were a different matter. Xiao Rong looked at his reddened palm in confusion. &#8220;Doesn\u2019t it hurt?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He himself had once gotten burned by a clay pot for just one second\u2014only a tiny patch\u2014and it had hurt so much he had to cold-compress it for two hours.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie looked at his hand being held by Xiao Rong. After a moment\u2019s silence, he said, &#8220;It didn\u2019t hurt until you mentioned it. Now that you did, I think it hurts a bit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ha, so now it\u2019s my fault?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong didn\u2019t respond. He just applied the ointment. The cool sensation spread through Qu Yunmie\u2019s palm, and at the same time, Xiao Rong said, &#8220;In chaotic times, harsh laws are needed. Your Majesty, you must no longer show such mercy to traitors. If we catch them, we execute them. If we don\u2019t, we leave them be. As long as they think they have a way out, they\u2019ll cling to hope. I did this to intimidate the Xianbei, and also our own men. Lingchi\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He paused, then, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">General Yuan was right. It\u2019s a brutal punishment. That\u2019s why I only intend to use it on traitors. I hope no one will end up that way in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie blinked. &#8220;Treason? I thought they just betrayed me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong looked up at him with a helpless expression. &#8220;At this point, whether you want to admit it or not, Your Majesty, you\u2019re already half a monarch. Publicly, we can\u2019t say that. We\u2019ll still raise the banner of the King of the North\u2014but the truth is clear to everyone. You\u2019re just one step away from declaring yourself Emperor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such an emperor wouldn\u2019t last long. In the past 180 years, there had been many Emperors. As soon as they saw the opportunity, they proclaimed themselves, and how did they end up? They died in all kinds of ways, and once they died, their dynasties vanished.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This wasn\u2019t what the system wanted either. It wanted Qu Yunmie to be the ultimate victor, to establish a long-lasting, unified Southern-Northern dynasty of his own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not just the system\u2014Xiao Rong only accepted the second path. He had paid too much to merely see Qu Yunmie enjoy a few good years. There was so much more he wanted to see and accomplish.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie listened to him and then said honestly, &#8220;I can\u2019t even manage being the Northern King properly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong had lowered his head again to apply the medicine. Upon hearing this, he frowned and looked up. He never thought that self-confidence would be something he\u2019d need to correct.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just when Xiao Rong thought maybe he didn\u2019t know Qu Yunmie well enough, Qu Yunmie grinned at him and said, &#8220;It\u2019s a good thing I have you. You say Yuan Baifu is my right-hand man, but I think my true right-hand man is you. No, you\u2019re even more important. You\u2019re like\u2026 another me. As long as you\u2019re here, I\u2019m not afraid of failing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong listened, then slightly lowered his eyes. He gave a faint smile and replied, &#8220;Maybe so.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\uff0a<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter how much Yuan Baifu opposed it, Gongsun Yuan still set out the next day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the Northern Army\u2019s \u201cF4,\u201d Jian Qiao seemed to have the worst temper and liked to beat people himself, but the truly ruthless one was Gongsun Yuan. His knowledge of so many cruel punishments proved his dark heart.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forget punishing a few traitors\u2014he wouldn\u2019t even blink if asked to build a mound of skulls.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even Xiao Rong hadn\u2019t expected Gongsun Yuan to personally carry out the execution. Once the high platform was built, he didn\u2019t seek someone meticulous for the job\u2014he believed no one in the entire army had a more precise hand than himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At first, the Xianbei didn\u2019t know what was going on. Since Gongsun Yuan advanced with his troops, they thought the Northern Army was about to attack. They had already formed defensive lines when they saw Gongsun Yuan ordering the construction of a high platform.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tens of thousands of Xianbei looked on in confusion as the Northern Army busied themselves. When Gongsun Yuan personally walked up with a blade in hand, their expressions gradually stiffened.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The executioner said nothing. The one being executed begged Gongsun Yuan to just kill him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from the five thousand men Gongsun Yuan had brought, there were also many onlookers. Today was special. The Generals didn\u2019t control their troops\u2014anyone who wanted to watch could do so. It was a chance to mock the Xianbei.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the traitors were executed, people below clapped and cheered, taunting the Xianbei, saying they\u2019d be next.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rumors had been swirling. Some said the Northern King was dead, others said he had recovered. The Xianbei claimed they weren\u2019t afraid\u2014but that was a lie. They knew they had done despicable things, and now they were waiting for retribution.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing that the Northern Army might treat even defeated enemies with such punishments, many wished to desert.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong had deliberately staged this terrifying spectacle\u2014not just to frighten these people, but also the nobles inside Shengle City, who were no better than the aristocrats of Jinling\u2014and even Murong\u2019s current leader himself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The current Xianbei Emperor had a hard-to-pronounce name and a notorious weakness: cowardice.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He had only become Emperor as the best among a bad bunch. The Grand General should have inherited the throne, but he held military power. Back when the former Emperor was alive, the Xianbei were already in decline. Still, he insisted on marching south, giving away benefits to other nations for alliances. His grand plan was to restore the glory of the old Yuwen tribe and swallow the Central Plains whole, but he barely made it to the Han River before retreating in defeat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Central Plains were repeatedly plundered, and Emperor Guangjia\u2019s decisive southern relocation left nothing valuable in the north. Years of fruitless war not only yielded no gain but cost the Xianbei dearly in soldiers and treasure. The nobles were traumatized.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Grand General, being the former Emperor\u2019s cousin, shared his delusions about the Central Plains. After the Emperor\u2019s bitter death, the Grand General clearly wanted to continue his mission.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another war? No way\u2014they couldn\u2019t afford it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So the Grand General was suppressed, and this Emperor ascended.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One reason he was chosen was his aversion to war and willingness to let the nobles control him. He wasn\u2019t actually stupid. Given a few years, he might have revived the near-dead Xianbei, but from the day he ascended, Qu Yunmie had been sharpening his sword. The Emperor hadn\u2019t slept well since.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now his nightmare had arrived\u2014and worse, he had provoked it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When he learned that Qu Yunmie had survived thanks to his subordinates, the Emperor wept daily. Others at least got angry and sought revenge\u2014but that Qingfeng Cult Protector? Despite guards being assigned to watch him, he still managed to escape.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everyone was overwhelmed. When news of the public execution came, the Emperor\u2014who had just regained some composure\u2014began weeping again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inside the palace, the most powerful Xianbei officials were gathered. Seeing the Emperor\u2019s disgraceful behavior, one noble stood up in fury. &#8220;The Central Plains haven\u2019t even invaded yet, and Your Majesty already assumes we\u2019ll lose? Even if we\u2019re defeated, we must fight them to the last drop of blood!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another noble quietly suggested, &#8220;Why don\u2019t we follow Emperor Guangjia\u2019s example and\u2013\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hot-tempered noble immediately cursed him. &#8220;Coward! How could a Murong act so shamefully?!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Xianbei Emperor: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Actually, he really wanted to escape shamefully, but it wasn\u2019t feasible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Guangjia could move south because it was all their territory. The Xianbei couldn\u2019t move north\u2014the northern lands were home to Rouran, Gaoche, and others. If they showed weakness, those nations would attack.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if they fled to Qigu, Qu Yunmie would still pursue them. Worse, there was no Han River in the north to stop him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When someone raised this point, the proposal to flee north was scrapped. That same noble then said softly, &#8220;We can\u2019t just watch the Murong clan get wiped out. Don\u2019t forget what happened to the Yuwen clan. Because they refused to flee, we exterminated them. We should at least preserve our bloodline.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said this without confidence. The Murong and Yuwen were all Xianbei, all Donghu tribes that worshiped strength. No matter how you spun it, running away was still just cowardice, and people hated that.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many had been doomsaying recently, which made everyone think fondly of the Grand General. He was the real warrior\u2014he would never flee.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Except in reality, the Grand General not only wanted to flee, he was already planning how.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Murong Kui, the Xianbei Grand General, had completely lost hope in his peers and no longer had any expectations for his nephew, the Emperor. He believed the Xianbei were doomed once Qu Yunmie recovered, and he agreed with the cowardly noble. Xianbei had to preserve its seed. Only if Murong people survived could they one day rise again and avenge the others.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even so, Murong Kui believed the survivors shouldn\u2019t be these useless nobles\u2014they should be him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He didn\u2019t plan to truly escape. He just wanted to survive Qu Yunmie\u2019s wrath. If he ran, he\u2019d lose everything. Reorganizing his clan would be a pipe dream. He\u2019d become a pitiful lone wolf wandering the north.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So he couldn\u2019t run. He had to live\u2014and stay.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was almost impossible, so he had spent days secretly gathering intel on Qu Yunmie. His efforts finally paid off\u2014he found something that might convince Qu Yunmie to spare him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While everyone else worried about what to do, Murong Kui silently stole the item and hid it in his residence. Then he rushed to the palace. Upon entering the hall, he heard the same arguments being repeated. The Emperor stared at everyone, hoping for a way out.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Murong Kui lowered his head, sneered coldly, and sat in his seat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Edited by: Antiope<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Support translation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=25191841\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"217\" height=\"51\" class=\"wp-image-338 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/become_a_patron_button.png?resize=217%2C51\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 217px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 217\/51;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/lajnaa\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/kofi3-3.png?resize=185%2C47\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is kofi3-3.png\" width=\"185\" height=\"47\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 185px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 185\/47;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>\r\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xiao Rong was just about to retort when Qu Yunmie\u2019s impatient voice suddenly rang out not far away, &#8220;Xiao Rong\u2019s insistence is my insistence. Yuan Baifu, if it were your parents, would you still be able to say such things?\u201d Yuan Baifu immediately turned his head to look at Qu Yunmie and anxiously tried to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-your-majesty","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240106180053_200_280-1.jpg?fit=199%2C280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7673"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7674,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7673\/revisions\/7674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}