Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

Shangguan Xian was still young. And originally, he had a bright future and might be able to be like his grandfather, becoming a great general of Fei Yang Kingdom. After all, it was a title that he had been pursuing. Without such a goal, there was no way Shangguan Xian would volunteer himself to be the leader in the battle against Shi Long Kingdom this time. And Emperor Yang Zhou had given him the chance to prove himself capable. Unfortunately, Shangguan Xian was not able to live to his expectation. He failed in the end. While it was not impossible to win when the number of soldiers were less compared to the other army, but if the difference was so large, not everyone could achieve such a miracle. Some people might be able to do it, but not Shangguan Xian. And based on the report that Emperor Yang Zhou read, Shangguan Xian's loss was mostly due to the despicable act from Shi Long Kingdom. The main reason for their succeed was because of Shangguan Xian's battle many years ago. The battle that caused some controversial debate among the other generals and commanders for a period of time. He had heard about it but didn't pay attention too much about it because he didn't think that it was important.

Who would have thought that this would be used by Shi Long Kingdom to incite that adjutant to betray Fei Yang Kingdom. Very despicable. But then again, Emperor Yang Zhou also bought someone in Zhang Xu Kingdom to win over the kingdom back then. After all, if they could win without having to lose so many soldiers, who wouldn't want it. 'Is it karma?'

Emperor Yang Zhou mused to himself and then shook his head.

All these times, he always thought that Zhang Xu Kingdom was the most treacherous kingdom. With their fame and the way they acted, no one would think otherwise. What Zhang Xu Kingdom had done was indeed treacherous and they did it openly. So openly that many others have a lot of hatred to them. But Shi Long Kingdom chose the opposite method. They were doing treacherous things covertly in order to avoid being found by others. Because of this, their fame was still relatively good and aside from being tagged with the word 'arrogant to their bones,' no one thought of them as an evil force. 'We all underestimated Shi Long Kingdom.'

"Your Majesty, General Shangguan, Shangguan Xian is here."

"Let him in." Emperor Yang Zhou straightened himself on his seat. In front of Prime Minister Lan, whom he had trusted and also know for so many years, he didn't care about not siting so upright. But in the face of other ministers and all, he had to make sure to keep his image right. Shangguan Xian walked inside and then cupped his fist in front of Emperor Yang Zhou. A few years of not seeing each other made Emperor Yang Zhou faintly noticed Shangguan Xian's difference. He used to be a cold person and also someone who didn't care too much about others. When interacting with other people, Shangguan Xian was only someone who only knew how to speak a few words. He disdained talking too much with others if it was not important. But now, Emperor Yang Zhou could see that Shangguan Xian's arrogant demeanor had decreased by at least half from before. Right now, Shangguan Xian looked rather melancholic but still remained straight. His pride and education over the years didn't allow him to bow down so easily. "Get up." Emperor Yang Zhou paid close attention to Shangguan Xian. "Do you know why I call you?"

"Your Majesty." Shangguan Xian cupped his fist and then lowered his head slightly. "This minister had made a mistake on the frontline and had no face to stay there anymore."

"Is it because of your loss… or is this because of Shangguan Yu's action?" Emperor Yang Zhou's tone was calm. Shangguan Xian's fingers gripped tighter under his sleeves. He tried his best to calm down because he didn't think that there would be anyone who knew what Shangguan Yu did. Not long ago, he had already received Shangguan Yu's letter and knew that his wife and child was still alive. They sent him a letter and Shangguan Xian was crying when he read that letter.

He was relieved that they were alive. Yet at the same time, he didn't dare to face his soldiers because many of them had lost their family members.

Shangguan Yu was not able to save everyone. If he were to stay there and they found out about it, Shangguan Xian couldn't guarantee that they would not have any resentment towards him. Why should other's family be saved while theirs was not?

He couldn't answer. It was his fault and he accepted it. "Many soldiers are grieving," Shangguan Xian said carefully. "Some of them wanted to retire and the others wanted to take revenge. I have leave those who want to take revenge on frontline under my younger brother's command and those who want to retire come back with me."

Emperor Yang Zhou paid attention to Shangguan Xian's expression. This man's expression and body language was stiff. It was clear that there were things that he didn't want to tell Emperor Yang Zhou and perhaps to the outside world. For this matter, Emperor Yang Zhou would not ask more. He had interacted with Shangguan Yu and tested that man a few times secretly. So even though he knew that Shangguan Yu's methods might not be able to put to the light and there were even some things that could easily made others hate him, he could be said to be a capable and powerful official. It was just that some things had limit and Shangguan Yu had broken the limit, so he couldn't stay in the Capital City anymore. And Shangguan Xian also made a mistake, mistake that made him unable to return to the battlefield anymore.