Zhu Yu – Chapter 104

Fang Changyu heard this conversation clearly from inside the tent. Regarding the matter of her parents, she indeed had a belly full of questions she wanted to ask He Jingyuan. She immediately said, “Please ask the brothers outside to wait for a moment. I’ll change into presentable clothes and come over.”

As she went to look for clean robes, she suddenly remembered another question. When she came down from the battlefield that day, her military uniform was already too dirty to look at. Who had changed her clothes while she was unconscious?

Moreover, with both her hands now bandaged like this, even if she had the robes, she couldn’t put them on by herself.

Just as Fang Changyu was frowning, another voice came from outside the tent: “Changyu, is it convenient for Aunt to come in?”

Recognizing Madam Zhao’s voice, Fang Changyu was both surprised and delighted. She quickly said, “Please come in, Aunt.”

After Madam Zhao lifted the curtain and entered, she took the set of robes and began putting them on Fang Changyu, saying, “I heard a general is calling for you. Xiao Wu asked me to come and help you change into some clothes.”

Fang Changyu said, “Xiao Wu is quite thoughtful.”

She then asked, “When did you arrive at the military camp, Aunt?”

Madam Zhao sighed and said, “Xiao Wu brought me here two days ago. Child, you nearly scared me to death. Your clothes were all bloody, but thankfully you didn’t suffer any major injuries. If anything had happened to you, what would Ning’er do?”

It seemed that Madam Zhao had also helped change her clothes while she was unconscious.

But Fang Changyu remembered that Xie Wu’s injuries on the battlefield were no less severe than her own. How could he have run back home to fetch Madam Zhao that day?

A faint confusion appeared in Fang Changyu’s eyes. “Xiao Wu wasn’t injured?”

After helping Fang Changyu put on the outer robe, Madam Zhao was tying her waist sash as she said, “That, I don’t know. But during these two days, while you were unconscious, Xiao Wu has been keeping watch in your tent. I was worried he’d tire himself out and tried to send him away to rest, but he wouldn’t budge no matter how I tried to shoo him away.”

As she brought up this topic, Madam Zhao lifted her head, and her expression became somewhat strange. Looking at Fang Changyu, she said, “He’s been through life and death with you on the battlefield. Changyu, could it be that Xiao Wu has developed other feelings?”

She seemed to suddenly develop a headache: “Xiao Wu is a good boy, but you’re already engaged to Yan Zheng, aren’t you? Perhaps I should find a match for Xiao Wu?”

Fang Changyu knew that both Xie Wu and Xie Qi were Xie Zheng’s men. Their loyalty to her was merely on Xie Zheng’s orders. She helplessly said, “Aunt, don’t overthink it. It’s not what you imagine.”

However, Madam Zhao’s mention of Xie Wu keeping watch over her these past two days still made Fang Changyu feel a bit odd.

After changing into proper clothes, she left the tent to meet He Jingyuan first.

Xie Wu, now considered her guard, accompanied her to the central military tent but could only wait outside and wasn’t allowed to enter with her.

The messenger who brought Fang Changyu over negotiated with the guards at the entrance of the central military tent. After the guard went in to report something, they finally allowed Fang Changyu to enter alone.

As she lifted the tent curtain, Fang Changyu immediately smelled a strong scent of medicine. Remembering the etiquette she had learned in the military these days, she lowered her gaze slightly, not daring to look directly at her superior. She cupped her hands and said, “This subordinate Fang Changyu greets the General.”

He Jingyuan had been an official in Jizhou for many years. Whether it was the common people below him or the generals under his command, they were all more accustomed to addressing him as “General” in private.

Come to think of it, he was too gentle and scholarly, more like a civil official than a military one.

A voice, clearly lacking in vigor, came from the direction of the bed: “No need for formalities… cough cough cough…”

Fang Changyu saw the person on the bed start coughing violently before finishing his sentence. She hesitated for a moment where she stood, then stepped forward and used her bandaged hands to pat his back gently, asking, “General, should I call for the military doctor?”

Now that she was standing closer, she dared to discreetly observe the old general on the bed.

He seemed to have lost a lot of weight, with sunken cheeks and a very poor complexion. His once black hair, which had only a few strands of silver, was now half black and half white, making him look much more aged in an instant.

Fang Changyu suddenly realized that his condition was very poor.

He Jingyuan coughed for quite a while before he could finally suppress the itching in his throat.

As he lay back on the pillow, it took several breaths before he recovered.

However, the arrow wound on his chest had started bleeding again due to the violent coughing, staining his snow-white undergarment with a spot of blood about the size of a fingernail.

He weakly waved his hand and said, “The injury reached my internal organs. The coughing has been quite severe these past two days.”

Noticing that both of Fang Changyu’s hands were bandaged, he asked, “How are your injuries?”

Fang Changyu replied, “This subordinate’s only major injuries are these two hands.”

Hearing this, He Jingyuan smiled, but as he laughed, he couldn’t help but start coughing again, though not as severely as before.

He said with satisfaction, “The young are indeed formidable. The Prince of Changxin was a renowned figure in Da Yin. Trading your hand injuries for his life is certainly worth it.”

However, what flashed through Fang Changyu’s mind was the scene of the scarred man shooting an arrow at the Prince of Changxin, and then galloping over on horseback to pick her up.

She remembered the strength with which he pulled her onto the horse and that familiar scent.

If it weren’t for that additional arrow he shot, even if the Prince of Changxin would eventually die from the stab wound she inflicted on his internal organs, she probably would have lost her grip on the prince’s sword due to exhaustion and died by the blade.

But Xiao Wu said Xie Zheng wasn’t in Chongzhou at all.

Fang Changyu felt that either she had truly misremembered due to her hazy consciousness, or Xiao Wu had lied to her.

The only one who could make Xiao Wu lie to her was Xie Zheng.

As she realized this, Fang Changyu’s heart almost skipped a beat. She wanted nothing more than to return to the camp immediately and interrogate Xiao Wu about Xie Zheng’s whereabouts.

Only the presence of He Jingyuan held her back from acting on this thought.

Knowing that Xie Zheng’s current identity shouldn’t be revealed, Fang Changyu didn’t rashly mention his disguised appearance on the battlefield to save her. She humbly replied, “The General praises me too much. This subordinate was merely lucky to have managed to stab the Prince of Changxin.”

He Jingyuan’s eyes showed even more satisfaction: “You’re a good child. With this kind of steadiness, you’ll be able to go far in the future.”

Fang Changyu said stiffly, “Thank you for your praise, General.”

He Jingyuan noticed her tension and pointed to a small stool beside the bed, saying with effort, “Sit down. It’s time I told you some things.”

As Fang Changyu sat on the stool and heard He Jingyuan’s words, her fingertips instinctively curled, unable to grasp anything. She then realized that both her hands were bandaged into balls.

She unconsciously straightened her back and asked, “Is it about my parents?”

He Jingyuan looked surprised as if he hadn’t expected Fang Changyu to already know about his relationship with her parents. He then slowly nodded, “I heard from Wen Chang that you looked through the archives of Jizhou Prefecture, wanting to find out who harmed your parents…”

He sighed lightly: “When your parents entrusted you and your sister to me, they didn’t want you to be entangled in the karma of the previous generation. They only wished for you to live a peaceful life. But alas, life is unpredictable.”

Fang Changyu remembered the peaceful and warm days when her parents were alive, as well as their sudden death and the assassination attempts she faced in Qingping County. Her heart sank as she asked, “What exactly was my parents’ identity?”

He Jingyuan looked at her, seeming to see a shadow of old friends through her. His tone was not without a sense of vicissitude: “Your father was once a family guard of the Wei household. Due to his outstanding abilities, he was granted the Wei surname and named Qi Lin. After the Prime Minister married his sister to General Xie Linshan, your father went to work under General Xie. Later, he married into the family of Old General Meng, who was under General Xie’s command.”

When Fang Changyu heard this, her pupils couldn’t help but constrict: “Meng Juyuan?”

This was the notorious culprit responsible for the tragedy in Jinzhou, known even to three-year-old children in the Da Yin Dynasty.

He Jingyuan understood her state of mind at this moment and sighed, “Old General Meng was General Xie’s most trusted veteran. Your father marrying his only daughter at that time was supposed to be a joyous occasion, strengthening the ties between the Xie and Wei families. Unfortunately, later when Jinzhou was besieged, Old General Meng made a mistake in escorting supplies, leading to that irreversible great error.”

Learning that her maternal grandfather was the culprit who had caused the starvation of a hundred thousand soldiers in Jinzhou, resulting in the death of Crown Prince Chengde and General Xie Linshan at the city gates, and forcing the court to cede territory for peace, Fang Changyu felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar.

In that instant, only one thought occupied her mind — her entire family were criminals against Da Yin.

She was also a criminal in front of Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng hated her grandfather so much; how would he react upon learning that she was a descendant of the Meng family?

Fang Changyu’s mind was in chaos, instinctively avoiding this question, she asked, “So Wei Yan wanted to kill my parents to avenge General Xie?”

However, He Jingyuan shook his head: “After Jinzhou fell, your grandfather committed suicide to atone for his crime. Whether there were hidden circumstances behind the delay in military operations remains unknown to this day. But the Prime Minister did indeed order your father to kill your mother back then. Your father couldn’t bring himself to do it, so he faked their deaths and escaped with your mother. They came to me for help, asking me to forge new identities for them and conceal their whereabouts.

“But after more than a decade, the Prime Minister suddenly issued another assassination order against them, this time to retrieve an item.”

Fang Changyu looked up at him in surprise.

He Jingyuan suddenly found it difficult to continue. He looked at Fang Changyu and said with difficulty: “When the Prime Minister ordered me to kill your parents, they seemed to have anticipated such a day long ago. They only begged me to spare you and your sister’s lives. They also gave me a box, telling me not to open it and to give it to the Prime Minister when he asked for it. After entrusting me with these matters, they committed suicide in front of me.”

Fang Changyu felt her hands and feet turn cold. She had never imagined that behind the cause of her parent’s death, which she had always wanted to investigate, lay so many heavy burdens.

He Jingyuan said, “The several assassination attempts at your home were the Prime Minister’s men searching for that box.”

Having received so much explosive information at once, Fang Changyu felt a dull ache in her head. She struggled to organize her thoughts.

What was known to the world now was that her grandfather’s failure in transporting supplies had led to the devastating defeat at Jinzhou. But her father had once been Wei Yan’s man and had also been ordered by Wei Yan to kill her mother, only to later betray Wei Yan and fake their deaths to escape.

Her parents held something that made Wei Yan want to hunt them down and retrieve it even after more than a decade.

So could her grandfather’s supply transport failure possibly be related to Wei Yan as well?

But Wei Yan was just a minister. At that time, not only was the Crown Prince of Chengde trapped in Jinzhou, but also his brother-in-law General Xie. What was Wei Yan’s motive in orchestrating all this?

However, remembering that Xie Zheng had said Wei Yan was his enemy and that he had nearly died at Wei Yan’s hands, and considering that Wei Yan now held great power, even overshadowing the royal family, Fang Changyu felt her suspicions were not unfounded.

If Wei Yan didn’t have a guilty conscience, why would he try to kill Xie Zheng?

It seemed likely that her grandfather’s failure in transporting supplies was indeed related to Wei Yan.

After a while, Fang Changyu asked He Jingyuan, “Previously in Lin’an Town, when my family faced assassination attempts, was it you who sent troops to protect us in time?”

He Jingyuan nodded.

Fang Changyu knew well that the only clue now probably lay in the box her parents had left behind. After careful consideration, she still asked He Jingyuan, “General, have you looked inside the box my parents left?”

He Jingyuan’s face showed a mixture of bitterness and mockery: “If I had looked, not only would the Prime Minister not have spared you sisters’ lives, but even I, He, would likely not have escaped death.”

Fang Changyu was silent for a moment, then voiced her speculation: “My grandfather’s delay in transporting supplies, which led to missed military opportunities, was Wei Yan’s doing, wasn’t it?”

He Jingyuan sighed: “The great crime of Jinzhou’s defeat was entirely attributed to your grandfather when the matter was settled. When I discussed it with Grand Tutor Tao, we also felt that Old General Meng, being such a cautious person, couldn’t have been unaware of the situation in Jinzhou at the time, to the point of risking delaying military operations to save those hundred thousand refugees. But how the Prime Minister’s handle fell into your father’s hands is worth pondering.”

Fang Changyu understood his implication —

Her grandfather couldn’t have made such a foolish mistake. So perhaps it was her father who had become Wei Yan’s pawn, which is why her father had something in his possession that Wei Yan wanted to retrieve even after more than a decade, to the point of killing them.

This outcome did not bring much comfort to Fang Changyu.

Although her grandfather was not the main culprit, her father had been used as a pawn by others, bearing the blame for so many years. Just thinking about it made Fang Changyu feel a tightness in her chest.

In her memories, her father had always been a silent man, not good with words, and rarely smiled. Even when running a pork business, he was not adept at bargaining; only in front of her mother did his expressions come alive and become rich.

He always quietly did many things, clumsily trying to please her mother. Because her mother was afraid of the cold and could not find genuine sable fur coats in the market, he would venture into the mountains alone for four or five days, hunting back a pile of silver sables to make a cloak for her.

As for her mother? Although she was gentle on most days, speaking softly, if angered, it was a different story.

Fang Changyu remembered being scolded by her mother with a broom when she was young. When her mother got angry, even her father did not dare to intervene.

It was precisely because of this that Fang Changyu felt that, given her mother’s temperament, she would never have chosen to return to seclusion with her father after learning that he had harmed her grandfather.

Suddenly, she asked He Jingyuan, “General, did my mother know the secret of that box when she left?”

He Jingyuan recalled the scene of the couple committing suicide in the snow and felt a twinge of sadness in his heart. He nodded and said, “The Madam was very composed; she must have known.”

Fang Changyu then asserted, “If my father harmed my grandfather, my mother would never forgive him. There must be more to the story from back then.”

He Jingyuan was somewhat surprised. He wanted to speak but was interrupted by a tickle in his throat. After coughing for a while, he said, “Grand Tutor Tao has also raised doubts about this. However, it has been seventeen years, and aside from these speculations, we have no concrete evidence. Even if we wanted to investigate, there’s no way to start again. Grand Tutor Tao decided to go to the capital to meet the Prime Minister in person, but unfortunately, there has been no news since.”

He looked at Fang Changyu earnestly and said, “I have heard about your engagement with the Marquis. I have thought about keeping these matters to myself, taking them to the grave. The affairs of the previous generation should die with them… dust to dust, earth to earth.

“But I fear… that in the future if the truth comes to light, the enmity of killing one’s father cannot be easily overlooked. Rather than waiting until it’s too late, I’d rather inform you of everything now, allowing you to make your own choices.”

Fang Changyu felt a mix of emotions in her heart. Kneeling before He Jingyuan’s bed, she solemnly bowed her head to him, saying, “Thank you, General He.”

He covered his mouth with his hand and coughed for a while before gasping, “If you don’t hate me, just call me ‘Uncle.’ Your father and I were once sworn brothers. The set of sword techniques you use was created by him and me together.”

Fang Changyu looked at this elderly man, who seemed to be nearing the end of his days, and her eyes became slightly moist as she called out, “Uncle.”

He Jingyuan seemed to have waited many years for this day. A smile spread across his face, and the wrinkles deepened as he replied, “Ah.”

Stepping out of the central military tent, Fang Changyu felt a heaviness in her breath.

She did not see Xie Wu outside the tent. After searching around and finding no one, she asked the personal guard stationed outside, “Have you seen the young brother who came with me?”

The guard replied, “That tall kid? He went that way a quarter of an hour ago.”

Fang Changyu frowned. Xie Wu had been by her side for some time, but he had never been this rude before.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and hurriedly headed in the direction the guard indicated.

But after just a few steps, she saw Xie Wu walking toward her.

It was Xie Wu.

He didn’t seem as tall as when she first woke up. Perhaps due to his injuries, his steps were a bit unsteady. When he saw her, he called out, “Team Leader.”

He did not dare to meet Fang Changyu’s gaze directly, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. He began to explain why he had left early: “I… I’ve been taking medicine these past two days and drank too much water, so I just went to the restroom…”

However, Fang Changyu did not listen to his excuses. She suddenly yanked the bandages off her hands and grabbed his collar, asking, “Where is he?”

Having found the real Xie Wu, she assumed he had been gone for a while.

Fang Changyu’s grip was surprisingly strong. The wound from when she had caught the Prince of Changxin’s sword earlier began to bleed again, but her gaze was terrifyingly cold.

This was the first time Xie Wu had seen Fang Changyu like this, and he was greatly alarmed. Fearing that her injuries would worsen, he quickly said, “The Master has left the camp.”

Fang Changyu threw Xie Wu aside and went after Xie Zheng.

She had been careless. When she woke up, her mind was unclear, and too much information had distracted her. She had sensed something was off at the time but had not reacted quickly enough; that Xiao Wu was Xie Zheng in disguise.

Why had he come to the battlefield to save her but not let her know? Why did he have to pretend to be someone else while staying by her side?

Her intuition told Fang Changyu that Xie Zheng must have discovered some matters from seventeen years ago before coming, which was why he chose to act this way.

She didn’t know what she would say to him if she caught up, but a voice inside her insisted that she must pursue him.

At the very least, she wanted to apologize on behalf of her deceased elders.

She also wanted to tell him that even if he ended this relationship because of his father’s enmity, she would continue to investigate.

He could not understand why she firmly believed that her father had never betrayed her mother or her grandfather simply because of her mother’s attitude toward her father. She would keep searching for the truth.

She would also kill Wei Yan to avenge her parents.

Once, he had reached out to her, but she had hesitated to walk with him due to the many obstacles ahead. He had silently paved the way for her.

Now that he wanted to stop, she would resolutely continue forward until she brought the truth to him, showing him that it was not a barrier between them.

Fang Changyu chased to the entrance of the camp but did not see Xie Zheng. She asked the guards on duty if anyone had left the camp and learned that a one-eyed scar-faced man had recently ridden out. She quickly borrowed a horse and continued her pursuit.

Fortunately, she was now considered a person of some importance in the Jizhou army. The guards at the camp entrance not only did not stop her but also showed her great respect.

The wound on her hand was deep. As she climbed onto the saddle, pain washed over her, turning her face pale. Ignoring the fresh blood that stained the bandages, she forcefully cracked the whip and shouted, “Go!”

The warhorse galloped away, and Fang Changyu chased for four or five miles before finally spotting a figure on horseback in the distance.

Fearing to attract trouble to Xie Zheng, she did not dare to call him by his real name, instead shouting, “Yan Zheng!”

The person on horseback seemed to glance back at her. She pressed her legs against the horse’s belly, and within a few breaths, she was close enough to see his face.

Even with one eye covered and a scarred mask on his face, Fang Changyu recognized him at a glance.

The warhorse slowed down, carrying her forward slowly.

Fang Changyu held the reins, and from several paces away, she locked eyes with Xie Zheng. Her eyes suddenly stung, and she said hoarsely, “You came to see me but didn’t want me to know?”

Xie Zheng stood on horseback, looking at Fang Changyu without speaking.

His dark phoenix eyes were calm and deep, his posture straight and upright, like a rock standing firm against the wind and sun on a cliff, exuding a cold and rugged aura that had been tempered by years.

Fang Changyu’s throat tightened. “What General He told me today, you already knew, didn’t you?”

Xie Zheng finally spoke slowly, “Yes.”

After interrogating Zhao Xun, he had guessed the general situation but had not dared to be certain.

Hearing He Jingyuan’s conversation with her today was like a conclusion to the matter.

— It was the worst outcome he had anticipated after interrogating Zhao Xun and learning of Grand Tutor Tao’s disappearance.

Fang Changyu looked at him with red-rimmed eyes, choking out, “I’m sorry.”

She continued, “My grandfather would never betray General Xie, and my father would never do anything to wrong my mother. Whether you believe it or not, the events of that year were not as you think…”

A wave of unprecedented sadness and fear washed over her, making her explanation come out in a jumble. She struggled to keep her voice steady, but by the end, she could barely make a sound.

“Fang Changyu.” Xie Zheng suddenly called her name.

Fang Changyu stared blankly at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Xie Zheng’s dark eyes showed no emotion as he said, “Let’s leave it at that. From now on, I will only consider you a junior sister.”

He would never love another girl like this again, but his father’s death was a mountain that had weighed on his heart for many years, a nightmare that had haunted his entire childhood and youth.

The enmity of killing his father was something he could not easily let go of.

If the events of that year truly had other circumstances, Wei Yan would not have rushed to kill He Jingyuan, nor would he have detained Grand Tutor Tao.

But even knowing the truth of that year, it was likely that her father had been Wei Yan’s pawn, and he could not bear to harm her in the slightest.

To uproot someone he had planted in his heart was truly painful.

So he would keep his distance.

He would give her connections and military achievements.

And they would never meet again.

Fang Changyu looked at him in disbelief, her breath trembling, tears streaming down her face as she murmured, “It’s not like that…”

Xie Zheng met her gaze, gripping the reins tightly.

He could never stand to see her cry.

She was like his poison; when she cried, he felt like killing someone.

He wanted to hold her.

He wanted to comfort her, to make her stop crying.

But the taste of blood lingered in his mouth, and the eye exposed to the outside was tinged with a faint red. In the end, he could not utter a single word.

In his life, before being haunted by endless nightmares, he had briefly experienced familial love.

He could no longer remember what the man who died in Jinzhou, his body displayed on the city wall, looked like, but he still remembered the times he had trained with him in the garden and the body full of holes that had been brought back in a coffin.

That woman had washed that body before hanging herself, and the corpse had sixty-seven arrow wounds, not to mention countless knife and sword injuries.

It was said that when the Northern Jue people had opened him up, all they had found inside were weeds and tree roots.

That woman had fainted countless times while holding that body, and when she regained consciousness, she would repeatedly tell him to seek revenge.

Before the supplies and reinforcements arrived, his father had died in such a tragic manner in Jinzhou when he was just a child.

All these years, he had never forgotten to seek revenge.

Xie Zheng stared at Fang Changyu, feeling as if his heart was being torn open as he watched her cry.

Even if she stabbed him a few times, he would still hold her tightly and not let go.

But her father had helped Wei Yan kill his father!

Xie Zheng’s jaw clenched tightly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Fang Changyu as he said softly, “Don’t cry.”

He seemed to want to comfort her, but the blood in his eyes only deepened. “When I found out this result, I hesitated for several days before daring to see you.”

He removed his eye patch and mask as if wanting to take one last good look at her before leaving. “I also hope your father is not the instigator, but I can find no evidence that he isn’t. On the contrary, He Jingyuan, like me back then, was almost silenced on the battlefield. The old man was detained in the capital, while your father held evidence that could threaten Wei Yan…”

He looked at Fang Changyu, his dark eyes filled with fragments of despair. “Tell me, how can I believe your father isn’t the instigator?”

Fang Changyu’s tears fell even more fiercely.

She wanted to continue explaining but found herself at a loss for words. The deep affection between her parents was not enough to convince Xie Zheng that her father was truly innocent.

Xie Zheng’s gaze fell on her hands, stained red with blood. “You just had your wounds bandaged. How did it get like this again?”

He sounded like he was scolding her. Lowering his eyes, he untied the bandages to treat her wounds, just like before, and tore off a piece of his robe to wrap around her hand, calmly instructing her, “Don’t let it touch the water before it heals, and don’t lift heavy objects…”

“Xie Zheng.”

The person in front of him called his name with a choked voice, a single tear landing on his hand.

She was trembling all over.

Xie Zheng’s hand stiffened for a moment as he silently tied the bandage on her hand. When he looked up, he suddenly cupped her face and kissed her fiercely.

It was more passionate than any kiss they had shared before, their lips and tongues entangled as if he were madly devouring her.

Fang Changyu even tasted blood and the saltiness of tears.

But he quickly pulled away.

He pressed his forehead against hers, and the love, hatred, and unwillingness in his eyes were visible to her.

He said, “Fang Changyu, the one who died in Jinzhou, whose body was displayed after being opened up, was my father. I can choose not to hate, but I cannot allow myself to love the daughter of Wei Qilin again. This is the best path I can choose for you.”

He held her face in both hands, watching her cry so hard that he even gently wiped her tears, but his words were resolute: “If I kill Wei Yan and survive, I will never leave the North again in this lifetime. I will never see you again, and when you marry in the future, don’t let me know.”

He smiled self-deprecatingly, but his eyes were devoid of any light: “I know what kind of person I am. If one day I regret today’s decision, even if I die, I will drag you into my coffin and bury you with me.”

He looked at her and said softly, “I can do that.”

It was unclear whether he was saying this for Fang Changyu to hear or for himself.

Fang Changyu stood there, tears streaming down her face.

Perhaps fearing to frighten her, Xie Zheng gently stroked her cheek with his thumb and finally said softly, “I’m leaving.”

After saying this, he withdrew his hand and rode away.

It was as if he feared that if he stayed for even a moment longer, he would regret it.

Fang Changyu only came to her senses after Xie Zheng had gone far away. She shouted, “Stop!”

The person riding away truly halted his horse at her words.

Seeing this, Fang Changyu felt the tightness in her chest surge even more.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I will uncover the truth of that year, clear my grandfather’s name from these seventeen years of infamy, and give your father and all the soldiers who died unjustly in Jinzhou an explanation.”

After saying this, without waiting for Xie Zheng to respond, she turned her horse around and fiercely cracked the whip, heading back.