Chapter 160: Open and Aboveboard Wei Xiaoping

Hearing Li Chaoqian's words and listening closely to the discussions among the assembled officials, Wei Xiaoping thought to himself: At the time, when he agreed to let Yang Shengtian strike him three times, he had never imagined he would suffer such severe injuries, nor had he considered the potential consequences of being wounded and failing in battle against the enemy! Fortunately, after he was injured, his master, Master Xuanzhe, assisted Deputy General Huang Xianlin in defeating the enemy; otherwise, he would have committed a grave and unforgivable crime! Upon careful reflection now, from the perspective of the greater good, sacrificing military duty for personal gain—specifically, allowing his younger brother to strike him without retaliation in an attempt to make him turn back and return to his side—was indeed far too selfish!

Wei Xiaoping continued to ponder: When he fought with Yang Shengtian atop Twin Peaks, the fact that he had promised to take three blows from Wei Xiaofang without fighting back was known only to himself. Who on earth could have leaked this matter to the imperial court? And how did this Li Chaoqian come to know about it?

"Replying to Your Majesty the King, this official has returned to the palace today precisely to address this matter!" Wei Xiaoping said.

Hearing the reason why Wei Xiaoping had returned to the palace without summons, Huang Jingrui thought to himself: Wei Xiaoping is truly Wei Xiaoping; everything he does is done with absolute openness and integrity!

"Oh! Excellent, excellent! The孤王 most admires General Wei's upright and transparent character! General Wei, please rise and speak!" Huang Jingrui said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wei Xiaoping stood up, paused briefly to collect his thoughts, and continued, "During the recent battle at the foot of Twin Peaks, the enemy commander named Yang Shengtian is, in reality, named Wei Xiaofang. He is my twin brother, with whom I lost contact ten years ago!"

As soon as Wei Xiaoping uttered these words, all the ministers present were instantly startled. They exchanged glances in astonishment and broke into heated discussions!

"Did I hear that correctly? General Wei has a twin brother whom he lost for many years?"

"When General Wei first joined the army, we never heard him mention having a twin brother!"

"Since they are twins, wouldn't he look very much like General Wei?"

"General Wei says the enemy commander is his twin brother. Since they are close blood relatives, why would he stab him into a critical condition?"

"That's right! Since they are brothers, why would the younger brother inflict such a severe wound on the elder brother, nearly costing him his life?"

"Could it be some kind of bitter flesh trick played by the brothers..."

Zhang Xiaoyin had originally been worried that the matter of Wei Xiaofang stabbing Wei Xiaoping might leak out within the palace and reach the ears of the King, which would have been disastrous. She never expected that Wei Xiaoping would confess to it himself, which greatly shocked her. After the initial shock, her mind began to calm down. She thought to herself: Since Brother Xiaoping has chosen to reveal this voluntarily, perhaps it is for the best. Everyone would find out eventually anyway, and it was only a matter of time!

Zhang Lingpu was likewise surprised that Wei Xiaoping had voluntarily disclosed that he had been stabbed by his own younger brother, the enemy general Wei Xiaofang. Once the surprise faded, he could not help but admire Wei Xiaoping's straightforwardness and integrity!

Li Chaoqian had originally intended to use the incident—where Wei Xiaoping deliberately let the enemy commander strike him three times, resulting in his own injury—as ammunition against him. Never had he imagined that Wei Xiaoping would openly admit that the enemy general who wounded him was his own brother, and that this brother was actually an enemy general! This made Li Chaoqian secretly delighted, feeling that he had secured yet another charge to level against Wei Xiaoping.

"Your Majesty the King, this subject has something to say!" Li Chaoqian said, bowing with cupped hands toward Huang Jingrui.

"Lord Li, please speak," said King Huang Jingrui.

"General Wei has served in the army for six years, yet he concealed the fact that he had a twin brother, and moreover, this brother actually attained the rank of general in the Shihui Kingdom. As everyone knows, advancing from a common soldier to the rank of general takes many years. During all that time, one must frequently lead troops into battle, continuously accumulate military merits, and gain extensive experience before achieving such a position. Yet Wei Xiaoping's brother, Wei Xiaofang, attained the rank of general at such a young age. From this, it is evident that Wei Xiaofang has been a soldier in the Shihui Kingdom for a very long time—at least much longer than General Wei has served in our military. Ever since General Wei entered our ranks, he has not uttered a single word about Wei Xiaofang's activities in the Shihui Kingdom. This clearly shows that Wei Xiaoping has covered up his brother's military status in the enemy nation for a very long time!" Li Chaoqian declared.

As soon as Li Chaoqian's voice trailed off, the assembled ministers broke into another wave of animated discussion.

"Lord Li makes a great deal of sense! Who would have thought that General Wei, who usually appears so righteous, has deceived the King by hiding the fact that he has a twin brother serving as a general in the enemy country for so long, while also deceiving all of us for all this time? Simply despicable!"

"Our Qingfeng Kingdom has been established for several decades, and never has there been an instance of a subject deceiving the King. This Wei Xiaoping is truly the very first!"

"General Wei claims he was separated from his twin for ten years. General Wei is twenty-six this year, which means when they were separated, the brothers must have been around fifteen or sixteen years old. The two brothers went up the mountain at the age of five to study martial arts and Taoism under Master Xuanzhe, and parted ways at fifteen or sixteen. This shows that before their separation, Wei Xiaofang had already studied under Master Xuanzhe for a decade, mastering a great deal of martial arts and Taoist sorcery! Alas, he was practically cultivating talent for the enemy country to come and fight us!"

"However, if this Wei Xiaofang couldn't even defeat Deputy General Huang Xianlin, how could he possibly have beaten General Wei? General Wei is far superior to Deputy General Huang Xianlin in every respect and yet he was defeated by Wei Xiaofang. This clearly demonstrates that Wei Xiaoping simply could not bear to defeat his own brother! He completely disregarded the greater interest of the state!"

"Indeed, how can someone like this be fit to be a general?"

"Everyone, calm down and let General Wei finish speaking before we debate!"

...

Watching the ministers arguing heatedly, Zhang Xiaoyin thought to herself: None of these officials even waited for Little Brother to finish speaking before passing judgment on Brother Xiaoping's actions. Aren't they afraid of making a wrongful accusation? Honestly!

Zhang Lingpu was also deep in thought. Zhang Xiaoyin had known Wei Xiaoping and Wei Xiaofang since childhood and was well aware of much of their history. If the King truly decided to investigate the crime of failing to report vital information, Zhang Xiaoyin might be implicated as well! What was to be done? Zhang Xiaoyin and the Wei brothers had been childhood sweethearts, and when Wei Xiaoping first joined the Qingfeng Kingdom's army, the King had appointed him as deputy general. At the time, Zhang Lingpu had felt that Wei Xiaoping was outstanding in every way and had a boundless future, secretly hoping that Zhang Xiaoyin could form a good match with him and grow old together as devoted partners. That way, after his own hundred years had passed, he could depart for the netherworld with a tranquil mind. Never had he expected things to turn out this way: just this morning the King had questioned Zhang Xiaoyin, and now it was Wei Xiaoping's turn to face the King's interrogation. Would Wei Xiaoping be able to explain himself clearly during this inquiry, and would he receive a lenient punishment or escape penalty altogether?

"Your Majesty the King, this subject has something to say." Zhang Lingpu stepped into the center of the aisle and knelt before Huang Jingrui.

Seeing that someone wished to speak, Huang Jingrui immediately called for silence among the ministers and said, "Grand General Zhang, please state what you have to say!"

"This subject begs Your Majesty to allow General Wei to finish his explanation entirely, after which Your Majesty may determine whether to convict General Wei, and if so, how to sentence him! After all, General Wei has only just begun to speak, and until we have heard him out completely, I believe no one can truly understand the full course of events!" Zhang Lingpu said.

"Grand General Zhang is right! Wei Xiaoping, give us a clear and concise account of this matter so everyone can see what truly happened!" Huang Jingrui commanded.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" replied Wei Xiaoping.

And so, starting from when he and Wei Xiaofang ascended the mountain at the age of five to cultivate under their master, Master Xuanzhe, Wei Xiaoping began to narrate his story, succinctly recounting the entire journey up to their reunion at the Battle of Twin Peaks just a few days prior.