The Foolish General's Mute Spouse - Chapter 46

46: Eldest Brother

“This bird is about to become a spirit!” Qi Ren chuckled lightly.

Fu Yu’an straightened up and poked the parrot’s wing, smiling. “This bird is quite clever, probably trained well by Eldest Brother. I wonder if it’s ever opened its cage in the middle of the night before.”

“Hard to say.”

The parrot circled the table a few times, preened its feathers, then looked around before suddenly flapping its wings and flying off.

Fu Yu’an reached out to grab it but missed, sighing as he watched it fly away.

Qi Ren stood up and ruffled his hair. “You go back inside first. I’ll catch it.”

“Mm, be careful.” Knowing he couldn’t match Qi Ren’s agility, Fu Yu’an had no choice but to relent.

After exchanging a brief kiss, Qi Ren waited until Fu Yu’an entered the house before leaping over the wall.

The moonlight was bright, and the parrot’s vibrant feathers made it easy to spot for someone with sharp eyes like Qi Ren.

He caught up to the bird in a few strides and was about to grab it when he realized the location seemed off.

Why had it flown into Eldest Brother’s courtyard?

The main room was still lit. The parrot flapped its wings a couple of times before landing on the windowsill.

Qi Ren hid carefully, clinging to the wall to observe.

The parrot pecked at the window paper twice, and soon, the window opened from the inside.

A pale hand reached out to let the parrot in, and the window closed again, leaving only a faint shadow visible.

Frowning, Qi Ren quietly jumped onto the roof and lifted a tile to peek inside.

It was almost the second watch—why weren’t these two asleep yet?

And wasn’t Eldest Sister-in-law pregnant?

The parrot hopped a couple of times onto her palm, and faint coughing could be heard from inside.

Eldest Brother wheeled his chair over, his tone sounding impatient. “Stop crying! Come to bed already! If you won’t sleep, what about the child in your belly?”

Qi Ren’s heart skipped a beat—Eldest Sister-in-law was crying? Was it because of her father’s situation?

Understandable. He’d committed such a grave crime, the evidence was irrefutable, and he’d already been imprisoned. Rumor had it he and his family would soon be exiled to the desolate northern lands.

This was already a lenient punishment out of respect for their past relationship as ruler and subject. By law, he should have been executed!

Sure enough, Eldest Sister-in-law sobbed miserably, wiping her tears. “Why are you shouting? Child, child—is that all you care about? I can’t even see my father one last time, and all you think about is your child!”

“What can I do? His Majesty has already decreed it. Do you expect him to take it back?”

“I’ll beg His Highness. Maybe he can think of something.”

She wiped her tears, set the parrot down on the table, her voice carrying a tone of desperate resolve.

Qi Ren sneered inwardly. The Crown Prince had always been cold and ruthless—begging him to help a discarded pawn was nothing short of delusional.

Eldest Brother also scoffed disdainfully. “Why would Fu Yu’an help you? Even if he could, Qi Ren would never let him take the risk!”

Qi Ren was momentarily stunned—why Fu Yu’an?

It seemed they had some self-awareness after all, knowing the Crown Prince couldn’t be trusted.

But how could Fu Yu’an possibly help? The Emperor detested him the most. Wasn’t this just asking for trouble?

Finding it utterly pointless, he was about to replace the roof tile when his sister-in-law suddenly spoke: “You don’t need to worry. Tomorrow, I’ll go and beg him myself. Once Qi Ren is gone, I’ll plead with him. The Seventh Prince is kind-hearted—he’ll surely agree!”

Qi Ren nearly laughed in exasperation. With a leap, he descended from the roof and stood at the door, knocking.

The voices inside immediately fell silent. His sister-in-law called out, “Who’s there?”

Qi Ren had no patience for pretense. Given his sister-in-law’s temperament, she had probably already probed out the truth at some point.

“It’s me, Qi Ren.” he replied in a low voice at the door.

The door opened from the inside. His sister-in-law’s face was still streaked with tears, forcing a smile. “It’s late and damp outside—what brings you here?”

Qi Ren didn’t bother with courtesy and let out a cold laugh. “I came looking for that parrot but accidentally overheard your conversation. My apologies, but I advise you to abandon the idea of seeking him out. I won’t let him take that risk.”

His sister-in-law gave a bitter smile and turned back into the room. “Come in first! It’s been a long time since you’ve seen your elder brother, hasn’t it?”

Qi Ziqian sat rigidly in his wheelchair, his face tense as he locked eyes with him.

“Don’t listen to your sister-in-law.” he said. “I’ll figure something out for this matter. You should just live your life as usual.”

Qi Ren scoffed. “Figure something out? How? With your legs like this, how exactly do you plan to do that?”

“You—!” His elder brother clenched his fists, stung by the remark, trembling with anger.

His sister-in-law stood anxiously to the side, watching the tension between the two brothers escalate, unsure how to intervene.

Qi Ren crossed his arms and engaged in a silent standoff, fearless and unyielding.

After a long while, it was Qi Ren who finally relented, realizing his words had been too harsh. But apologizing felt like admitting defeat.

Damn his pride…

“I’m sorry… I know you still resent me. What happened back then was my fault. I dragged Father down with me…” Qi Ziqian covered his eyes and sighed.

Qi Ren: “…”

The incident five years ago was an insurmountable rift between the two brothers. For years, no one dared to bring it up openly—not even someone as domineering as the First Madam would ever mention it.

“I was too arrogant.” Qi Ziqian said. “All these years, I’ve been too selfish.”

Qi Ren remained silent.

The matter was so far in the past. Though he still wanted to curse him out—or even hit him, like he had five years ago—people had to grow up eventually. He was now in his late twenties, no longer the brash young man of his youth, no longer capable of such impulsive actions.

Five years ago, during the Battle of Zhizhou, the ever-victorious General Qi Ziqian, overconfident, led three thousand soldiers straight into enemy territory alone. Instead of returning with the enemy general’s head, he left himself and his three thousand brothers behind there.

At the time, Qi Ren was only a deputy general, sheltered by his family’s legacy, training under his father and brother in the southern borderlands—yet he was a natural-born military prodigy.

When his elder brother met with disaster, their father, furious and worried, set out that very night to rescue him.

Father and son shared the same temperament—sometimes, excessive confidence only led to disaster.

Qi Ren would never forget that night—his horse carrying his father’s corpse, his unconscious elder brother slumped in front of him.

The dark clouds in the sky seemed as though they would never part. He paused atop a mountain and stared at the heavens for half a shichen, yet the moon never broke through.

The Great Yan lost two generals in one fell swoop, yet Qi Ren was rewarded with titles and honors for quelling the rebellion.

His father’s funeral was a simple affair—his body never made it back to the capital, and his elder brother’s legs never fully healed.

“You’ve had it hard all these years.” Qi Ziqian said. “And Second Madam and our sister have suffered too.”

Qi Ren let out a derisive laugh, his words sharp once again: “What hardship? My dear elder brother was home, while I wasn’t—what hardship could there possibly be?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself.

Had he spent too much time around Fu Yu’an? Since when did he start speaking with such sarcasm?