“General!”
“No need to say more!” Lu Huayang suddenly raised her hand and said in a deep voice: “My life was saved by His Highness. Without him, I would have already died in the Lu family’s dungeon. No matter what, I must rush back. The Great Emperor’s birthday is approaching, and the imperial capital is a mix of dragons and fish. If I return under the pretext of celebrating his birthday, I doubt the Great Emperor will do anything to me. Now Southern Chu watches us like a tiger, Eastern Qi harbors dark schemes, and Xichuan’s Yan Hui appears dissolute on the surface but actually has the ambitions of a wolf – we must guard against them all. If I don’t return, His Highness won’t even have one person by his side who can discuss and accomplish matters. I must go back.”
Lu Huayang raised her head, the scorching sun falling on her sharp chin, casting a brilliant gleam. Suddenly she let out a great shout, lashed her whip on the horse’s rump, and galloped forward.
Guimu stood in place, still holding the water pouch she had just used, the corner of his mouth twitching in a bitter smile.
You disobeyed orders and traveled thousands of miles back, all because you feared not knowing whether he was alive or dead, wanting to lend him a hand in the chaos. But you forgot that His Highness is no longer the same as before. After the Battle of White Deer Plains, the whole world knows about that woman named Zhuang Qingxia, yet only you pretend not to know. Huayang, your ten years of devotion have remained unspoken, and now it’s too late. Don’t you realize this?
The vast desert was like a sea, utterly silent. Wind from the distance blew over, raising sand that glittered like gold everywhere.
Qing Xia sat in the carriage, spoon-feeding Qin Zhiyan his medicine, then applying hot towels to his eyes, and deftly organizing the pills he might need at the banquet. While busy with this, she was suddenly grabbed by the hand by Qin Zhiyan. Startled, she slowly raised her head to see Qin Zhiyan’s calm expression, though his eyes carried a trace of tender pity as he said softly: “Stop bustling about and rest for a while.”
“How can this be called bustling about?” Qing Xia raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled: “Being able to do something for you makes me very happy.”
Qin Zhiyan shook his head slightly and said: “I know you’re not happy. If you still have to pretend to be strong in front of me, can I still be considered your family?”
Hearing this, Qing Xia slowly lowered her head. After a long while, she raised it again, slightly pulling at the corners of her mouth in a smile: “I’m really fine, Zhiyan. I really don’t want to make things difficult for you today.”
Qin Zhiyan smiled warmly, fine crow’s feet appearing at the corners of his eyes, but rather than making him look old, they added several traces of elegance. He gently patted Qing Xia’s shoulder, pulling her into his embrace, his voice soothing as he slowly said: “The Chu Emperor has also devoted all his efforts to you. As the ruler of a nation, he disregarded danger to personally come to Qin – this alone shows his feelings. Compared to me, he only lacked a bit of fortune. If Yima’er were to treat him as if he didn’t exist, then you wouldn’t be the Yima’er I love.”
“Zhiyan…”
“Yima’er,” Qin Zhiyan continued: “What I love is all of you – not just your kindness and justice, your decisiveness and courage, your intelligence and magnanimity, but also your weakness, your helplessness, your hesitation, your uncertainty. The Chu Emperor’s feelings for you run deep, and you’ve experienced life-and-death trials together. At White Deer Plains, in Hong Tian’s water prison, he nearly lost his life for you several times. Such feelings cannot be forgotten by anyone – this is human nature. You needn’t feel you owe me anything. If I love you, I must understand you.”
Looking at Qin Zhiyan’s gentle eyes, Qing Xia bit her lower lip tightly, reached out to embrace his waist, and said emotionally: “What virtue or ability do I have to receive your favor?”
“You have your good qualities, you just can’t see them yourself.” Qin Zhiyan smiled faintly and said softly: “Yima’er, this is a process. It may be difficult, but I’ll walk through it with you. There will always be a day when the clouds clear and the sun shines.”
Qing Xia nodded silently. The carriage moved slowly forward, and seeing they were about to enter the palace gates, Qing Xia suddenly remembered something and looked up, saying: “About the people who came to assassinate us today – who do you think they were?”
Qin Zhiyan smiled and released her, saying: “You tell me your guesses first.”
Qing Xia thought for a moment and said: “The man killed by Chu Li at the end – I’ve seen him once in Southern Chu, so I can confirm he’s not from Southern Chu. That means he could be from Qin, Xichuan, or Eastern Qi. This group definitely understands your relationship with the Crown Prince and Second Prince, wanting to fish in troubled waters and sow discord. Of course, we can’t rule out that the Crown Prince and Qin Zhiyi have truly lost their minds and are destroying their own foundations, or perhaps they can later use the excuse of being framed by others to shirk responsibility.”
Qin Zhiyan smiled, patted Qing Xia’s head, and said with a laugh: “Thinking like that makes the target too broad.”
“Yes,” Qing Xia said with distress: “I’ve been thinking for quite a while but can’t come up with anything definite. There are simply too many people to suspect.”
Qin Zhiyan said: “You only need to think about who would benefit most if today’s events had succeeded.”
Qing Xia frowned: “If something happened to you, Great Qin’s military pillar would fall, military morale would be unstable, and Xichuan, Eastern Qi, and Southern Chu would all benefit. Among them, Xichuan would benefit most. You’ve been in the northern frontier for many years, deeply loved by the northern people, and even the people within Xichuan’s borders praise you highly. Moreover, you just opened trade with Xichuan. Once northern Qin’s livestock industry develops, Xichuan will definitely feel like having a thorn in their back, unable to sleep peacefully. Although Yan Hui appears dissolute and unrestrained on the surface with bizarre behavior, he’s deeply scheming and sharp-witted – we must guard against him.”
Qin Zhiyan nodded: “Your analysis is very correct. Yan Hui is definitely not as simple as he appears on the surface. The Great Emperors of Xichuan have been cruel throughout history – how could someone who can sleep peacefully beside a fierce tiger be simple and kind?”
Qing Xia said: “At the same time, Qi’an is also suspicious. He entered Xianyang City first, claiming to be at odds with the Chu Emperor, but this could also be to avoid suspicion. Qi’an is deep and calculating, careful in his thoughts, ruthless and merciless. He’s been your enemy for more than just a day or two.”
“On the contrary, I don’t really suspect the Crown Prince and Prince Yan, because if something happened to you, they would be the most suspected. In these troubled times, they shouldn’t splash dirty water on themselves. After all, Great Qin’s imperial line is flourishing, and His Majesty is very suspicious. Such behavior that loses more than it gains is really not what a wise person would do.”
Qin Zhiyan smiled and nodded, saying: “It seems we’re missing one person.”
Qing Xia frowned, and after a long while, said in a deep voice: “Are you talking about Fourth Prince Qin Zhiye?”
“Mm,” Qin Zhiyan nodded: “If I died, the Crown Prince and Prince Yan would subsequently fall. Sixth Brother has always been independent, never relying on various powerful figures, and because of his Quanrong bloodline, he was never enfeoffed as a prince. Seventh Brother and Ninth Brother depend on Second Brother and are not significant. Zhixiang just began interfering in military affairs and has no foundation yet, so he’s not a threat. The other brothers are still young and don’t have deep connections in court. Relatively speaking, Fourth Brother rose from being a common soldier and has close private relations with the southeastern naval forces. He’s the second prince in the imperial family besides me to hold military command, so it’s very possible he would replace me and lead the northern frontier. Add to this his support from northern tribes, and when the time comes for him to raise his arms and call out, most of the court officials would go with the flow and turn to support him. Then it would be quite clear who the crown prince position would fall to.”
Qing Xia couldn’t help but be somewhat shocked. Although she had also suspected the Fourth Prince, she wasn’t as certain as Qin Zhiyan. After all, that day in the Taihe Hall, he had even spoken up for her. She said in a deep voice: “Is it really him? I didn’t expect him to be so vicious.”
“I’m only speculating,” Qin Zhiyan smiled: “I’m just analyzing who would gain the most benefit from eliminating me. Of course, I can’t guarantee that the Crown Prince and Prince Yan won’t be momentarily foolish and let hot blood rush to their heads.”
Qing Xia frowned: “You never speak carelessly without certain confidence. There must be a reason for this. I’ll quickly send people to closely watch the Fourth Prince’s residence. But if it really was his people, I’d be quite disappointed. I originally thought he was someone worth noting, but I didn’t expect his methods to be so crude, hardly worthy of refined company.”
Qin Zhiyan said: “Actually, that’s not the case. It’s just that your protection methods were too thorough, leaving no flaws, making it very difficult for them to succeed.”
Qing Xia smiled: “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Qin Zhiyan laughed heartily and pulled Qing Xia’s shoulder, saying: “It was meant as a compliment.”
“By the way,” Qing Xia suddenly said: “The naval commander of the southeast, I heard it’s a woman. That’s quite remarkable.”
“You mean Lu Huayang. She’s indeed a rare talent – extremely loyal and brave, decisive and wise, cautious and clever. She’s a woman who doesn’t yield to any man.”
Qing Xia asked loudly: “Do you know her?”
Qin Zhiyan nodded: “When she was small, her mother was bullied by a concubine. She single-handedly plotted to kill the concubine, but after being discovered by her family, she fled the residence and nearly got killed. I happened to encounter her and saved her. At that time, I was heading to supervise the army at the northern frontier camp, and she stayed by my side for three years.”
“Stayed for three years?” Qing Xia widened her eyes: “So you’re her savior?”
“Not really,” Qin Zhiyan smiled slightly. “She was originally clever and sharp. Even if I hadn’t saved her, she would have found ways to protect herself. Later, I arranged for her to live in Zhuzhou and even arranged a good marriage for her. Who knew that when it came time for the wedding, she ran away. It wasn’t until three years ago that I learned of her whereabouts – she had disguised herself as a man and joined the army, and because of her brave fighting and fearlessness of death, she rose rapidly through the ranks. Unfortunately, her female identity was exposed two years ago and she nearly lost her life. I intervened in court, and Father Emperor was also moved by her courage and perseverance as a woman in the military, personally appointing her as head of the Lu family.”
“Truly remarkable,” Qing Xia sighed.
Qin Zhiyan smiled and took her hand: “If Yima’er joined the army, you wouldn’t be inferior to her.”
Qing Xia smiled: “Naturally. I was a female general of Xichuan after all, and when I was in military intelligence, I was also the security department’s most outstanding agent.”
Seeing her boasting about herself, Qin Zhiyan laughed heartily with joy. Seeing this, Qing Xia teased him: “By the way, do you know why Lu Huayang fled from her wedding?”