Chapter 92: Do As You Please With Me

The page number is one of three.

"This... this is amazing. Husband, how on earth did you do it?" Qin Nongyu also came to her senses and asked Song Yan in astonishment.

Chunhe nodded in deep agreement, a trace of worry faintly visible in her eyes. "Yes, yes. General, tell us quickly what is going on. Surely this isn't some sorcery, and you haven't trapped someone's soul inside the painting, have you?"

"You little girl, all you know is wild imagination." Song Yan lightly tapped Chunhe's nose and said, "This painting technique is called three-dimensional painting."

At that, the women all looked blank.

After a moment, Qinxin asked, "What is three-dimensional?"

"You can understand it as depth," Song Yan replied.

"And what is depth?" Qinxin asked again.

Song Yan felt a little headache coming on. Talking to the people of this world about three-dimensional art was simply far too advanced. Then suddenly an idea flashed through his mind, and he said to Qinxin, "What we call three-dimensional and depth is the space of the world we live in."

Qinxin still looked bewildered, and the other four women wore nearly the same expressions. In simple terms, they did not understand.

Song Yan took a sheet of white paper and drew a cube on it, then pointed to the hollow space inside and said, "This is the world we live in. In other words, the world we inhabit is three-dimensional, and a three-dimensional painting can also be called a spatial painting. Do you understand now?"

Qinxin nodded thoughtfully. "I understand a little."

"All right, let us not discuss this further. I will continue painting your portraits." Song Yan waved a hand, feeling that if he kept explaining, they still might not grasp it.

As he spoke, Song Yan began painting Qixiang. Seeing that Qinxin seemed especially interested in three-dimensional art, he explained as he worked, "To create a three-dimensional painting, you first need to design a sketch by hand, showing the perspective in the draft. After analyzing the content of the picture, you separately draw the perspective analysis for the parts that need attention... and finally, you use color to bring out the layers of the whole painting."

As he explained, another three-dimensional portrait was completed.

In the painting, Qixiang wore a pale yellow silk dress, her brows carrying a hint of shyness, as though she had stepped straight out of the picture.

"So amazing. Brother-in-law, did you invent this painting technique too?" Qinxin asked curiously.

"One could say so."

Song Yan nodded and handed the painting to the women to admire, then began painting Princess Yuhu.

In the end, all five women received a three-dimensional portrait of their own, each one holding hers close as though it were a priceless treasure.

...

That day, Song Yan received news that the Qin Kingdom had once again sent an envoy to negotiate peace with the Qi Kingdom.

The envoy was no longer Wu Yan, but rather the second son of the Qin King, Ying Chu.

Though Ying Chu was only the second son of the Qin King, he enjoyed considerable support among the ministers of Qin, and many officials hoped the king would name him crown prince.

This time, by sending Ying Chu to negotiate, the Qin King was clearly anxious.

During this period, Zhao Yan's army had once again captured three prefectures of Qin. One must know that the Qin realm had only nine prefectures in total. Now that Zhao Yan had taken four, nearly half the nation had already been lost. If they could not gain Qi's forgiveness soon, Qin might well follow in the footsteps of Yan and Zhao and be folded into Qi's territory.

Ying Chu kept his posture very low.

Although Song Yan's demands were outrageously excessive, Ying Chu still pinched his nose and accepted them.

First, Qin had to compensate Qi with one and a half billion coins in war expenses. Second, of the four prefectures captured by Qi, only two were to be returned to Qin.

Although Qin had lost two prefectures and one and a half billion coins, that was far better than losing the kingdom entirely.

So, in less than half a month, the Qin King ordered the delivery of the one and a half billion coins.

Qi's territory expanded by another two prefectures, and the ministers and generals alike were overjoyed. At the same time, there was no longer any nation on the Central Plains that could compare with Qi.

Several days later, Zhao Yan returned home with his troops, and Song Yan personally went to welcome him.

This time, Zhao Yan could be said to have earned illustrious military merit for Qi. At Song Yan's signal, Jiang Dan promoted Zhao Yan to Grand General and bestowed upon him gold and silver amounting to five hundred thousand coins.

After dealing with affairs in the court, Song Yan declined the invitations of several officials and rode home by carriage.

Through this period of companionship, he had discovered that Qinxin seemed to have developed a trace of affection for him. Yet because of certain scruples in her heart, she had always kept that feeling suppressed deep inside. Once her emotions fully burst forth, Song Yan would be able to truly win her heart.

And then he would complete his task and return to the real world.

But his son had not yet been born, and he also felt reluctant to part with his two wives and two personal maids. Thus, these past few days, he had deliberately kept some distance from Qinxin, afraid that if he teased her too much, he might stir the feelings hidden in her heart.

Precisely because he knew that his return was imminent, he had already begun arranging matters throughout Qi. On the military side, he left things to Zhao Yan; on the civil side, Song Xiu and Shen Du were both entirely capable.

So he had gradually given them greater authority.

In addition, he cherished more and more the chance to spend time with the four women. Aside from what was necessary, he hardly took part in any invitations or social engagements.

"Xiner, what's wrong? You seem to have something on your mind."

In the rear courtyard of the general's residence, Qin Nongyu and Qinxin were playing chess. Seeing Qinxin repeatedly distracted, Qin Nongyu could not help but ask with concern.

Qinxin shook her head. "I'm fine, Sister Yu'er. Let's keep playing."

These past few days, she had clearly felt Song Yan growing distant from her. For some reason, sensing this made her feel a little lost and disappointed.

Besides that, she was worried about another matter.

This time she had come to Qi on a mission from her sect. Her task was to lead Song Yan to Penglai Island.

The palace lord, Donghuang, and the master of the Sea God Hall, the Sun God King, had already laid an inescapable net there, waiting for her to bring Song Yan over. Moreover, the palace lord had not given her much time at all—only one month.

Now she had already remained in the general's residence for more than twenty days. From here to Penglai Island was at least five days' journey, so the deadline of one month was drawing near.

Yet every time she thought of Song Yan being killed, she felt some unwillingness in her heart.

After a fierce struggle within, Qinxin still made her decision.

At dinner, Song Yan, with his keen powers of observation, noticed that Qinxin's mood seemed somewhat off.

And indeed, after dinner, just as he was about to accompany Yuhu for a walk, Qinxin suddenly called him back with a smile. "Brother-in-law, may I speak with you?"

Song Yan nodded and left the walk with Yuhu to Chunhe and Qixiang.

The two of them entered the study. Song Yan smiled at Qinxin and said, "Xiner, if you have something to say, go ahead."

Qinxin composed herself and said, "Brother-in-law, you should know that the royal houses of Yan and Zhao have countless ties with our Mountain and Sea Sacred Palace, yes?"

Song Yan nodded. He had already learned this from Ji Liao back then, and he also knew that every year Yan and Zhao had to help the Mountain and Sea Sacred Palace gather certain materials and jade, sending them to the Mountain and Sea divine passage. Now that he had swallowed both Yan and Zhao whole, the reaction of the Mountain and Sea Sacred Palace was easy to imagine.

The author's note: Thanks to Tianyi and td90 for their tips.