The atmosphere atop the city wall grew increasingly deathly silent.
The operation had undoubtedly succeeded, yet of the three groups that had split up to retreat, one had never received support.
Shen Lingzhen dared not think about who exactly had met with misfortune.
Dawn gradually spread across the battlements, golden light illuminating her face and making her complexion appear even paler, her hollow eyes devoid of any spirit.
Until a series of clopping hoofbeats came from the distant yellow sands.
Shen Lingzhen froze, staring intently toward the source of the sound. She saw at the edge of the horizon Daqi’s crimson banners rolling and fluttering in the wind. A single mounted rider ahead of the cavalry was galloping toward the city gate.
The person on horseback slightly raised their head, their gaze locked tightly on her position atop the city wall.
After a night of anxious waiting, this moment when their eyes met felt as if separated by a thousand or ten thousand years. Shen Lingzhen’s eyes instantly brimmed with tears. She turned and, lifting her skirts, flew down from the city wall.
Huo Qi’s aged, hoarse voice trembled as it rang out: “Open the city gates—”
The heavy city gates slowly opened. Amid the sharp whinnying of horses, Huo Liuxing pulled the reins, dismounted in one fluid motion, and opened his arms wide toward the city gate while catching his breath.
Shen Lingzhen ran all the way out through the city gate, flying into his embrace.
He lowered his head to hold her, his chest heaving violently from unstable breathing gradually returning to calm: “What I promised you, I’ve accomplished.”
Shen Lingzhen nodded forcefully, tears rolling down like a burst dam.
“Why are you crying? Silly.” Huo Liuxing gently stroked her hair bun, but where she couldn’t see, his own eyes reddened too, quietly blinking away a tear.
“It’s nothing…” she sobbed, “I just missed you, my lord. I just missed you so much…”
Huo Liuxing closed his eyes, his arms tightening even more.
The hoofbeats arriving close behind interrupted this reunion after separation.
Shen Lingzhen snapped out of her joyful excitement, released Huo Liuxing, and looked toward the cavalry unit that had reined to a stop before the city gate. Her gaze swept back and forth repeatedly, but she couldn’t find the familiar faces.
She wiped her tears and asked fearfully: “My lord… where are Brother A’Jie and Lord Meng? And Shuyi, why haven’t I seen Shuyi either?”
Huo Liuxing fell silent, looking past her to Huo Qi, who was coming down from the city wall dragging his injured and ill body: “Father.”
Huo Qi nodded, pressing his chest to catch his breath: “Speak. What happened?”
Huo Liuxing roughly explained the events to Huo Qi.
At the crucial moment of retreat yesterday evening, Xue Jie decided to set fire to the Xiqiang royal palace in return for the death of Old Madam Xue in the flames. Meng Qufei joined in this plan, believing they could take the opportunity to attempt assassinating the old Xiqiang king.
This was naturally not merely personal revenge or heroic display.
Their causing havoc in Xiqiang had indeed ended the Hexi warfare, but like last year’s ceasefire result, this was not a long-term solution. To thoroughly weaken Xiqiang, the best method was to kill the old king, trigger royal succession disputes, provoke Xiqiang civil war, and let Xiqiang begin prolonged internal strife.
When Meng Qufei made this proposal, the remaining three thousand cavalry in the city were fired up with enthusiasm for this plan, all requesting orders and declaring their willingness to go through fire and water, sparing nothing.
Huo Liuxing abandoned conservative retreat tactics and split the three thousand men in two—half following him out of the city to engage Ya Lichong in battle, half remaining in the city to assist Meng Qufei and Xue Jie.
When Huo Liuxing personally severed Ya Lichong’s head, the royal palace in the city caught fire. Meng Qufei sent someone with an oral message telling him the assassination operation had succeeded, and that he and Xue Jie planned to split up and retreat—one east, one west—so Huo Liuxing need not return to the city but should lead his troops south to draw away some of the pursuing soldiers for them.
This was the origin of the three men splitting into three routes to retreat.
But now, Meng Qufei had vanished. Huo Shuyi, who originally had not gone to Xiping Mansion, was also nowhere to be found.
Huo Liuxing still did not clearly know what had ultimately happened in the Xiqiang royal palace.
“What about Xue Jie?” Huo Qi asked with furrowed brow.
Huo Liuxing glanced at Shen Lingzhen and said after a pause: “His injuries are rather severe—he lost an arm and is still on the road.”
Shen Lingzhen was so shocked she covered her mouth.
“Don’t worry, his life was saved, he’s just temporarily unconscious.” Huo Liuxing patted her shoulder, then told Huo Qi, “We’ll only know about Qufei and Shuyi’s situation after Xue Jie wakes up.”
——
The group temporarily returned to the Xi’an Zhou military camp to settle in. At noon they waited for the carriage escorting Xue Jie and carried him into the tent.
The tent full of people gathered around his bedside, both waiting for him to wake and waiting for news of Meng Qufei and Huo Shuyi.
When Xue Jie awoke, the sky had already darkened.
Shen Lingzhen sat at the edge of the bed. Seeing him slowly open his eyes, she quickly had Jianjia go outside to call Huo Qi and Huo Liuxing, while softly calling to him: “Brother A’Jie, Brother A’Jie…”
Xue Jie slowly came to his senses and said hoarsely: “Yinyin…”
As if in pain, he furrowed his brow and looked down at his empty sleeve.
Shen Lingzhen’s eyes immediately reddened.
But Xue Jie laughed: “Yinyin, with this arm, I personally killed the old Xiqiang king… So satisfying, truly so satisfying…”
Shen Lingzhen held back tears and nodded: “Brother A’Jie is a hero of Daqi.”
A slight darkness passed through Xue Jie’s eyes before he smiled again as if to comfort her.
Huo Liuxing and Huo Qi entered the tent at this moment, followed by Huo Miaoling, worried about her sister’s whereabouts.
Before the two men could speak, Huo Miaoling rushed in anxiously: “General Xue, where are my elder sister and cousin?”
Xue Jie’s smile faded as he used his left hand to prop himself up.
Shen Lingzhen hurried to support him.
He gently pushed her away and, gasping, got down from the bed and knelt before Huo Qi and Huo Liuxing.
Even the unworldly Huo Miaoling guessed the meaning of this action and stared wide-eyed in terror.
Xue Jie knelt there and bit his teeth: “General Meng and Miss Huo… failed to escape from the Xiqiang royal palace…”
Huo Qi’s body swayed, supported by Huo Liuxing.
Huo Miaoling froze: “How can that be? My elder sister didn’t go to Xiping Mansion, did she?”
Xue Jie looked at Huo Miaoling to explain: “Your sister saw the royal palace on fire from outside the city and apparently misunderstood that General Huo was trapped inside, so she led troops and rushed over. At that time, General Meng stayed behind in the palace to cover the rear while I retreated first. Just as I left Xiping Mansion, I heard that your sister had charged into the palace from another route.”
Huo Miaoling burst into wailing sobs: “Then why could you retreat when they couldn’t?”
Shen Lingzhen quickly pulled her into an embrace to comfort her.
Xue Jie lowered his eyes and told Huo Liuxing: “Last night, General Meng deceived General Huo. After we set the fire, the situation was not optimistic—there was no possibility of splitting up to retreat, one east and one west. I was already severely wounded and hadn’t planned on walking out of the palace alive, preparing to have the remaining cavalry cover his solo escape, but he said…”
“He said that the old Xiqiang king was dead, Daqi’s external threat was eliminated, but internal troubles remained. As long as he lived for even one more day, the former dynasty’s old ministers in Bianjing could not let go of their obsessions and wholeheartedly assist the new emperor. Even if the new emperor is currently enlightened, there’s no guarantee he won’t be corrupted by power and lose his original intentions in the future. Therefore, his life was better lost than kept. With him gone, the entire court could unite as one, and the new emperor need not think about him or guard against the Huo family. His death would be dying in the right place—everyone would be happy.”
Huo Liuxing closed his eyes.
Shen Lingzhen refused to give up and asked again: “According to this, Shuyi’s reinforcements arrived after you left. Is there any possibility she saved Lord Meng?”
Xue Jie shook his head with furrowed brow: “Miss Huo only had a thousand troops. To fight their way in and back out was already difficult as ascending to heaven. Outside the city, I only heard the Xiqiang people say that the bandits had all died.”
The room full of people fell completely silent, only the water clock continuing its drip-drop as if to say that too much time had already passed—there would be no miracle they hoped for.
——
In the spring of the first year of Chuurong in Daqi, Xiqiang invaded Hexi and ultimately ended in defeat.
All Daqi soldiers who sacrificed themselves in this battle received state compensation according to law, had ancestral shrines and temples built, their female relatives ennobled, and their descendants given official positions.
Additionally, the orphan of the Meng family, Meng Qufei, and the eldest daughter of the Huo family, Huo Shuyi, who died in battle at Xiping Mansion, were posthumously enfeoffed by the new emperor as General Dingxi and County Mistress Rong’an respectively.
Xue Jie, descendant of the criminal minister Xue Ce, had his merits offset his crimes while bearing guilt, was not punished, and was released back to civilian life.
The Hexi Military Commissioner Huo Qi, having achieved merit, retired and returned to his hometown.
Grand General Huo Liuxing concurrently held the position of Hexi Military Commissioner and temporarily guarded Hexi.
After the war ended, the blood color in the Hexi mountains and rivers was slowly washed away by the passage of time. Huo Liuxing, under imperial command, devoted himself to the important task of rebuilding Hexi and for two consecutive months was so busy his feet barely touched the ground.
Two months later, during the Clear Brightness Festival, at the Hexi Huo Mansion.
The drizzling rain fell ceaselessly day after day. Huo Liuxing’s leg ailment flared up again, and Shen Lingzhen wouldn’t allow him to go out running around anymore, righteously and sternly pressing him to rest at home.
Huo Liuxing had originally planned to go check on how the moat repairs were progressing, but with this he had no choice but to abandon the plan. However, being at home, he had nothing to do for the moment. After the war ended, Huo Qi had returned to Qingyang Huo Mansion with Yu Wanjiang and Huo Miaoling, so the Hexi Huo Mansion currently had only the married couple, inevitably seeming somewhat lonely.
He sat together with Shen Lingzhen under the covered walkway watching the rain.
As they watched, the two suddenly spoke in unison: “How about…”
Huo Liuxing smiled: “You go first.”
Shen Lingzhen, holding his arm, suggested: “I was thinking, since it’s the Clear Brightness Festival, why don’t we go visit Lord Meng today?”
Meng Qufei and Huo Shuyi had died in the Xiqiang royal palace, so their bodies naturally couldn’t be recovered. Huo Shuyi’s cenotaph stood in Qingyang, but Meng Qufei’s was in Hexi.
Because Huo Liuxing remembered that on the day they prepared to retreat from Xiping Mansion, Meng Qufei had said: “After accompanying you to kill that fellow surnamed Ya to avenge family grudges, I’ll return to Hexi to retire.”
Huo Liuxing gently tapped Shen Lingzhen’s nose: “You thought of exactly what I was thinking.”
“Then my lord wait here, I’ll go prepare the items right away.”
Jianjia, Bailu, Jingmo, and Kongqing busied themselves preparing wine, food, and the carriage for them.
An hour later, the two arrived at the nearby mountains, before Meng Qufei’s cenotaph.
In the misty, drizzling mountains, a rich grassy scent wafted toward them. Jianjia held an umbrella at their side as the two stood beneath it. Just as they bent down to open a jar of wine, they suddenly heard rustling sounds from behind them.
Jingmo immediately drew his sword from its sheath.
Huo Liuxing and Shen Lingzhen turned around to see behind that tree with flourishing branches and leaves a young boy dressed in cotton clothes, timidly watching them and waving his hands saying: “I’m not a bad person, not a bad person…”
Huo Liuxing narrowed his eyes to size up the boy for a few moments, had Jingmo lower his sword, then asked from a distance: “Then what kind of person are you, and what are you doing in this desolate wilderness?”
The boy cautiously approached: “There was a big brother and a big sister who gave me some silver coins and said if anyone came to pay respects at this cenotaph today, I should bring them to my home as guests.”
Shen Lingzhen furrowed her brow. Besides her and Huo Liuxing, no one else should come to this cenotaph.
She asked: “What big brother and big sister?”
The boy looked up at Shen Lingzhen and answered: “That big sister speaks fiercely and wears men’s clothing,” then looked toward Huo Liuxing and suddenly froze, “Hey, that big brother looks so much like you…”