But she seemed completely unaware, as if she hadn’t noticed the effect she was having on this man. She only continued asking him very calmly: “How did the fire start on the mountain today? Did the palace investigate and find any results?”

Upon hearing this, the muscles in Gu Juhan’s back tensed slightly, then returned to normal. His tone remained peaceful as he answered very smoothly: “Nothing particularly special. It’s just that spring days are dry and fires break out easily. I heard that a monk in a side hall near the back mountain dozed off at noon and didn’t watch the candle flame properly, accidentally letting it catch the banners, which caused this disaster.”

This response was very appropriate – anyone who heard it could find no fault with it. Shen Xiling said nothing else, paused, then asked: “What about the officials from Great Liang? Are they all safe and sound?”

Finally she asked about this.

Gu Juhan had actually known early on that this was what she truly wanted to ask about, and it was admirable that she could hold back until now before asking.

He secretly sighed and brought out the words he had long prepared to tell her: “Rest assured, he has returned to the guest quarters and is naturally safe and sound – speaking of which, it was quite unfortunate. When you went into the fire to look for him, he had just left through the side door, so you missed each other. Otherwise you could have seen him once more.”

He spoke very appropriately, especially adding that regretful sigh at the end to make it seem more real. After finishing, he waited for Shen Xiling’s reaction, expecting her to breathe a sigh of relief or say something else. Unexpectedly, she only laughed softly.

This gave Gu Juhan an ominous premonition.

She was still cleaning his wound, very gently and carefully. Gu Juhan heard her say lightly: “The General’s injury is a burn that doesn’t bleed much. I wonder whose blood those stains on the floor of the quarters belonged to?”

Gu Juhan’s hands resting on his knees suddenly clenched tightly.

Her voice continued: “Did you kill him?”

The room fell into dead silence.

No one spoke; they were all silent. Only Shen Xiling remained methodical, slowly and properly bandaging the wound on his back with clean white gauze, while Gu Juhan’s mind was in turmoil, unable to say anything for a moment.

He was silent for a long time before saying: “Blood stains? I didn’t see any – it was chaotic at the time. Perhaps you saw wrong.”

Saw wrong?

How could she see wrong about anything related to that person?

Shen Xiling smiled and continued gently winding the white gauze, round after round, like tree rings.

“Wenruo,” her tone was very gentle, faintly carrying a sigh, “I thought you two were friends.”

These words were very mild, yet they left a deep mark in Gu Juhan’s heart.

Wenruo.

She called his given name again. Clearly since she had awakened from her dream she had always changed to calling him “General,” appearing distant and desolate. Yet now she called him by his courtesy name, sounding as intimate and familiar as before.

Friends?

Who was she talking about? Him and Qi Jingchen?

Gu Juhan smiled bitterly.

How could she have such a thought? Was it because he had helped Qi Jingchen once five years ago?

He had never truly helped him. Everything five years ago was merely a transaction – he and Qi Jingchen each took what they needed. If possible, he actually hoped Qi Jingchen would die. Then his country would be safer. Without Qi Jingchen, Great Liang would be nothing but an unguarded piece of fat meat. As long as he died, Great Wei could achieve the great undertaking of unification within ten years.

He and Qi Jingchen were certainly not friends. Apart from that brief cooperation years ago, they had fought countless wars against each other over these five years. Each time they did their utmost to kill the other, each leaving deep wounds on the other – for instance, the wound on his left shoulder that nearly killed him was a gift from a general named Peijian under Qi Jingchen’s command.

With country and family at stake, how could they be friends?

Moreover, there was her between them.

She truly was a contradictory person. Clearly she believed so deeply in Buddhist teachings and should have long since seen through obsession, yet when it came to Qi Jingchen, her fixation went to her very bones.

Today when they had the vegetarian meal in the quarters, he had thought she had decided to gradually let him go. Who knew the fire would immediately reveal her true heart – she simply could not let go. Even now, she could still easily die for him without hesitation.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Without looking back at all.

He knew the connection between Qi Jingchen and her. Indeed, he had saved her life several times and personally raised and taught her. Such affection only comes once in a lifetime and cannot be replaced. He had no complaints and felt their bond was reasonable and understandable.

Only… he truly hadn’t expected her to be so ruthless toward him.

Just because of a pool of blood on the floor of the quarters – she didn’t even know whose blood it was or why it was there – yet she had already convicted him. She was already certain he had harmed Qi Jingchen. Clearly they too had shared five years together, yet when it came to that person’s affairs, she unhesitatingly placed him on the opposing side.

At this moment, Gu Juhan felt somewhat powerless. His gaze turned slightly cold as he sat with his back to her and asked: “You say this – are you certain I harmed him?”

Shen Xiling didn’t answer immediately, seeming still focused on bandaging. She had almost finished, now carefully tying the white gauze in a knot, very delicate and beautiful.

She studied the knot for a moment, seeming quite satisfied, then moved her hands away from Gu Juhan’s back and began tidying up the scattered items on the table.

While organizing, she said in a light tone: “Previously Jingqi told me the General had been returning late frequently. I hadn’t paid it much mind, but thinking about it now, you were probably arranging this fire at the Buddha Bathing Festival in advance. That’s why His Majesty and Her Majesty came out so late today – was it to avoid suspicion?”

Her tone grew lighter: “The fire was just a smokescreen. In reality, the palace sent people to assassinate him, right? That’s why those bloodstains were left. You feared people would notice, so you simply arranged the fire to burn all traces clean. If the south asks about it, you need only say he perished in the flames – no explanation needed.”

Gu Juhan remained silent.

Shen Xiling didn’t mind his silence, only methodically folded up the cloth they had used, then continued: “His Majesty wanting to kill him is reasonable – after all, if he dies, it would bring Great Wei a hundred benefits with no harm. But he came to Shangjing five years ago too, yet His Majesty didn’t act then. Why act now?”

She seemed to be pondering, and after a moment seemed to understand, then asked and answered herself: “Not killing him then was probably due to fear of the Southern Master behind him. His Majesty knew killing him alone would be easy, but afterward the Southern Dynasty would certainly be furious, inevitably leading to war. But now His Majesty dares to kill him – is it because there’s some deal with the Southern Dynasty?”

She spoke of such earth-shaking matters so calmly. After finishing, she seemed to feel it made sense, nodded again, and murmured to herself: “It must be so. It’s the Great Liang people who want to kill him. His Majesty is merely taking advantage of the situation.”

She spoke sentence by sentence, very clearly and with stable emotions. Clearly she was discussing Qi Ying’s life and death, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of emotional turmoil.

On the contrary, she was more calm than ever before.

But Gu Juhan’s heart grew increasingly uneasy. He found that at this moment he would rather she be angry or sad – even if she were willing to cry a little would be better. At least that would make her feel familiar to him, rather than now, as if they were complete strangers.

Gu Juhan silently put his clothes back on, slowly stood up and turned to look at her. After considering for a moment, he asked: “What do you want to do?”

What do you want to do?

This sentence revealed many things – at least it showed her speculations weren’t baseless. Qi Ying truly was in mortal danger, the matter was personally arranged by Emperor Wei, and was connected to people from Jiangzuo.

This was the worst situation, yet Shen Xiling’s expression remained very calm – calm in a somewhat frightening way.

She stood before Gu Juhan, so delicate and thin. Because she wore no makeup, her complexion was still somewhat pale, making her appear even more fragile. Yet her bearing was remarkable – compared to him, she showed no weakness at all.

“Nothing special,” she even smiled at him, “if he dies, I’ll accompany him; if he lives, I’ll save him.”

Her tone was really too calm, while her words were too heavy, making Gu Juhan’s heart shake uncontrollably.

Die?

He didn’t doubt it. If Qi Jingchen died, she certainly wouldn’t live alone. After all, when she first married into his mansion five years ago, she always kept scissors under her pillow. He knew what she was thinking – at that time Qi Jingchen faced the most difficult situation in Jiangzuo. She feared something might happen to him and was prepared: once she learned of his death, she would immediately use those scissors to end her own life.

That was the kind of person she was – she loved Qi Jingchen with such resolute determination.

But she said she would save him?

How could she save him?

This was Great Wei. Gu Juhan asked himself – even he couldn’t change His Majesty’s mind, let alone with Southern Dynasty forces mixed in, where pulling one hair would move the whole body.

Too many complex interests were tied to Qi Jingchen. Who could save him? Who would even want to save him?

He was destined to die.

Gu Juhan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again his expression had become more serious.

“Save him?” He looked at Shen Xiling and asked, “How would you save him?”

After saying this, he found that Shen Xiling breathed a sigh of relief.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead and her complexion grew even paler, but her expression relaxed considerably.

Gu Juhan knew he had said the wrong thing – his question was tantamount to telling Shen Xiling that Qi Jingchen was still alive.

He shouldn’t have let anyone know about this.

Gu Juhan’s brow furrowed.

Shen Xiling’s words just now had indeed been meant to test Gu Juhan, and his response finally let her breathe a long sigh of relief: although Qi Ying was indeed in dire straits, he was still alive. Perhaps he was injured, perhaps he had already been secretly imprisoned and was no longer at the envoy’s guest quarters, but he was definitely still alive.

That was good enough.

As long as he was still alive, everything still had a chance.

Shen Xiling’s heart became more settled.

Unfortunately, her body was really too weak. With sudden grief and joy, even though her mental strength could continue to support her, her body could no longer hold on. Her legs went soft and she fell straight toward the ground.

Gu Juhan was startled and quickly caught her, obviously panicked as he helped her sit down.

Seeing her face had turned deathly pale with sweat beading more densely on her forehead, he couldn’t help but worry deeply. While hastily instructing her and getting up to walk toward the door: “Don’t think about anything else first. I’ll call a doctor for you. Whatever matters there are can wait until later…”

He had just turned around and hadn’t finished speaking when she grabbed his sleeve.

She was so thin and weak, her strength pitifully small, yet when she gently pulled at him, Gu Juhan felt he couldn’t break free.

She was looking at him quietly with those eyes as beautiful as fine brushwork, asking: “…Where is he?”

After asking this question, she felt foolish and laughed self-mockingly. But since she had already asked, she was still willing to wait for an answer from him, seeming to hope he might soften and tell her that person’s whereabouts.

Gu Juhan looked away and met her with silence.

She understood his silent refusal and wasn’t disappointed by it. She only released the hand that had grabbed his sleeve, then smiled with a bland expression: “I made things difficult for you. Never mind, I’ll find another way to look for him.”

Hearing this, Gu Juhan’s expression immediately changed and he became alert, asking: “What are you going to do?”

Shen Xiling seemed somewhat tired, leaning against Gu Juhan’s large chair, her breathing somewhat labored.

She didn’t answer for a long time, making Gu Juhan even more urgent. He crouched down in front of her, looking directly at her, and asked her the same question again.

Shen Xiling looked at him, thought for a moment, then slowly took out two thin sheets of paper from her sleeve – the ones she had taken from her dressing table earlier – and handed them to Gu Juhan.

Her expression was bland as she said: “General, please read these first.”

Author’s Note: In the last chapter [175 Spring Mountain (2)] I said “one last chapter before the reunion,” which referred to there being one more chapter between “Spring Mountain” and the reunion – that is, this current chapter “Resolute.”

I may not have expressed this clearly, causing misunderstanding. My apologies.