After Murong Zhe was imprisoned, she became as if mute and dumb, sitting facing the wall all day without saying a word, no longer revealing even half a sentence about the Eldest Princess’s whereabouts.
Even when the guards informed her of Murong Ti’s defeat and retreat north of the river in recent days, she showed no reaction, as if it had nothing to do with her.
The only time she lost composure, according to the guard, occurred on the night she received that news.
Late that night, the guard seemed to faintly hear suppressed sobbing coming from the cell, but when he went to check, he saw she had returned to her original silence and coldness. So today, hearing her suddenly speak up like this, he immediately went to report.
Murong Zhe hadn’t been abused, but compared to before, she had still lost considerable weight and looked pale. She was sitting with closed eyes by the wall when she heard footsteps outside the cell. Opening her eyes and looking at the male figure standing in the shadows outside the door, a glimmer of light slowly flickered in her eyes.
“You wanted to see me. What for?”
Li Mu didn’t have anyone open the cell door but stood outside the iron bars and asked.
Murong Zhe stared fixedly at him for a long time, then her lips curved slightly.
“I still remember that day when I was sent by Uncle to deliver a message to you. Several years have passed in a flash. Seeing you again today, General, your heroic bearing remains unchanged, but I have become a prisoner.”
Her voice was hoarse, her expression seeming to mock herself yet also sigh with emotion.
Li Mu’s gaze passed through the iron bars and fell on her face, his eyes calm: “Princess Murong, if you’ve thought it through and are willing to honestly reveal the details of the Eldest Princess’s whereabouts, I can spare your life when she safely returns. If you’re still plotting something else, don’t waste your schemes.”
Murong Zhe raised her eyes and stared at Li Mu, saying: “Though I did abduct her, don’t forget that if I hadn’t happened to be there that day, given the circumstances then, how could she have survived? Moreover, these past years I’ve treated her like a mother, showing her no disrespect whatsoever. Is this how you repay me?”
Li Mu said coldly: “Though barbarians are also called human, most don’t know what humanity means, let alone propriety and righteousness. Even those who wear civilized clothing only know cunning but not shame. Princess Murong, you are one of them.”
“That day I warned you not to appear before others with my wife’s face again. Do you know why you’re still alive today with such treatment?”
“I’ll tell you honestly – it would be best if you’re willing to speak in detail about the Eldest Princess. If you don’t, it’s also no matter. Murong Ti has held her for years, naturally intending to use her to threaten me. Given his defeat today, if I’m not mistaken, he’ll surely bring her forward soon. As long as she appears, I may not be unable to rescue her. You’re not as important as you imagine, nor are you indispensable. I’ve already spared you from death – what more do you want?”
A trace of undisguisable embarrassment appeared on Murong Zhe’s face. After a moment of silence, as if finally steadying her mind, she said quietly: “I naturally dare not forget what you said to me before. You’re right – I am indeed shameless. But I also have my own helplessness.”
She slowly stood up from the floor mat.
“Did your wife also come with you? If so, may I speak with her alone for a few words?”
Li Mu said: “Whatever you have to say, just say it.”
Murong Zhe said: “It concerns the Eldest Princess and her child. I can only speak to your wife.”
Li Mu frowned, showing displeasure, and originally didn’t want to pay attention. But knowing Luoshen was extremely worried about her mother in her heart, just not constantly showing it in front of him, he stared coldly at Murong Zhe for a moment, then finally turned and gave an order.
An attendant left and soon returned, leading Luoshen who had been resting outside.
Li Mu turned to meet her, repeated Murong Zhe’s words, and said quietly: “You don’t need to go inside, just stay out here. I’ll be nearby. If anything happens, just call out.”
Luoshen nodded, steadied herself, and quickly came to the cell holding Murong Zhe, stopping outside the door separated by iron bars.
Except for the beginning when Murong Zhe had said some things about the Eldest Princess and her child, she later said nothing more. Today she was finally willing to speak. Thinking of her mother and her younger brother whom she had never met since his birth, Luoshen felt both sadness and anticipation.
How much she longed to quickly rescue her mother and brother and have Father return home, so the family could reunite and never be separated again.
“Princess Murong, what must you have before you’ll tell the truth?”
Luoshen knew she must want to negotiate conditions with her. Though she didn’t yet know what she wanted, she directly asked this question.
Murong Zhe’s eyes fixed on Luoshen for a moment, then answered indirectly: “Lady Li, I expect you won’t believe this, but since I can remember, the most relaxed time I’ve had all these years has been this period of imprisonment here.”
Seeing Luoshen seem to pause in surprise, she smiled self-mockingly, her smile carrying some bleakness.
“I lost my birth mother from childhood. Starting at age seven, I was selected by the clan and subjected to harsh training, suffering countless hardships. Murong Ti isn’t my blood brother, but when I was small, he was the only one who treated me somewhat kindly. This is also why I later did everything for him regardless of consequences. This time, to help him succeed in his great undertaking, I disguised myself as you and came to Chang’an. I never expected that not only would the plan fail at the crucial moment, but I myself would fall into such circumstances.”
“You all think I must be extremely frustrated, thinking about how to escape as soon as possible, right? You’re wrong.”
“I actually feel at peace – unprecedented peace. All these years, I’ve done everything I could to repay eldest brother. That it didn’t succeed is heaven’s will, not because I didn’t try my best.”
“Long ago, eldest brother told me he had promised someone not to massacre cities, so when he captured Luoyang that day, even though he despised that city intensely, he didn’t kill a single person. But I knew he had made other arrangements early on. Not personally massacring the city, he still wanted Luoyang and its people, whom he hated, to receive their deserved punishment. And your husband General Li – he’s my brother’s greatest enemy in this lifetime. Whether for the realm or personal grudges, they are irreconcilable.”
She looked at Luoshen with both eyes, from her hair down to her feet, her eye corners gradually reddening.
“Lady Li, sometimes I truly envy you. Born into a prominent Southern Dynasty family and married to Li Langjun, such a man. Though I’ve done despicable things and am looked down upon by Li Langjun, I’m not entirely heartless. Li Langjun is the first man I’ve ever admired in my life.”
“That day, when I learned that eldest brother’s supposedly certain water diversion plan had been thwarted by Li Langjun, I truly didn’t know whether what I felt at that moment was disappointment or complete relief…”
She suddenly burst into tears.
The prison was completely quiet, with only the sound of a woman’s suppressed quiet sobbing.
Luoshen was silent for a moment, then said: “It’s never too late to mend one’s ways. Since you know shame, you should know in your heart how to act henceforth.”
Murong Zhe looked up.
“This is why I wanted to see Li Langjun and you today. Though my brother suffered setbacks before, he absolutely won’t give up. If I’m not mistaken, he must now be planning to ally with the Xiongnu’s Liu Jian to attack Chang’an from both sides for another attempt. That Liu Jian previously coveted me and sought my hand in marriage, but I refused. I begged eldest brother not to marry me off to Western Liang. He agreed at the time. But now circumstances are different, and knowing him as I do, he must have changed his mind. Sooner or later he’ll use the Eldest Princess to threaten Li Langjun, hoping to exchange me back and send me to Western Liang to win over Liu Jian for joint military action.”
A trace of deep disgust appeared in her eyes.
“That Xiongnu is disgusting. I really don’t want to be forced into marriage again.”
“I’ve long understood that to eldest brother, I’m merely a tool he can use. When Uncle was forced to leave Dragon City years ago due to his achievements overshadowing the master, I had just been born. Though he was somewhat wary of eldest brother in recent years, he never struck a killing blow and treated me kindly. When eldest brother killed Uncle through trickery that day, abandoning the corpse and letting subordinates who had grievances with Uncle hack at his body, I was secretly disgusted. If I hadn’t intervened then, Uncle probably couldn’t even have kept his body intact. If eldest brother treats Uncle this way, and previously didn’t even care about his own life for revenge, what about me? All these years I’ve done many things for him, so even if I leave now, I wouldn’t be letting him down.”
“Lady Li, in the Murong clan’s family teachings, there are no words for trust and righteousness. There’s only achieving goals by any means necessary. Given my eldest brother’s cunning and his deep hatred for Li Langjun, even if he proposes exchanging the Eldest Princess and her child for me, it definitely won’t be a simple exchange.”
“As long as you can agree to one thing, I guarantee I’ll do everything possible to ensure the Eldest Princess and her child return safely.”
“What thing?”
Murong Zhe gazed at Luoshen and slowly said: “In front of you, I won’t hide my hopes. If you can agree, after the matter succeeds, to take me in and provide for my lifetime security, I’ll swear to heaven to abandon darkness for light and do everything possible to help Li Langjun achieve great things.”
Though she didn’t say it explicitly, how could Luoshen not understand the implication?
She hadn’t expected Murong Zhe to be so direct, straightforwardly proposing such a condition in front of her.
She instinctively wanted to refuse. Before she could speak, she heard Murong Zhe continue: “These days I’ve also thought it through. Even if I could return this time, if I still lived as before, what joy would there be?”
“I don’t fear death.”
She slowly came before Luoshen, facing her across the iron bars, saying word by word.
Luoshen looked at her for a moment, then said lightly: “What’s so difficult about that? Chang’an has countless brave young men. If you truly wish to abandon darkness for light, I’ll certainly keep an eye out for you in the future.”
Murong Zhe looked at Luoshen, paused slightly, and said: “Lady Li, you know what I mean.”
Luoshen said: “My words just now also express my meaning.”
Murong Zhe stared at Luoshen for a moment, her gaze seeming surprised: “Lady Li, I really don’t understand why you won’t agree. I only want to stay by Li Langjun’s side to help you serve him. Don’t you want to rescue your mother and brother? You haven’t seen what your brother looks like yet, have you?”
Luoshen took a long breath.
“Princess Murong, my mother took in a woman she shouldn’t have years ago, which led to today’s troubles. If she knew, she absolutely wouldn’t want me to repeat the same mistake, even to save her and my brother.”
“Li Langjun is my husband. Not only would I not share him with others, but even if I were willing, without disparaging the Princess, Langjun probably wouldn’t agree either. If Princess Murong is willing to help, that’s best. If not, I won’t force it. Langjun will help me think of other ways.”
After speaking, she turned to leave.
Murong Zhe’s already pale face became even more bloodless.
She stared at Luoshen’s departing figure, a fierce look suddenly flashing in her eyes. She quickly came to the cell door, raised her hand to her hair ornament, and actually pulled out something that looked like a small bamboo tube hidden in her hair. Removing the cap revealed a sharp iron point, transforming into a small dagger.
Before prisoners entered jail, they underwent body searches to ensure no sharp objects remained, both to prevent harming others and self-harm.
Unexpectedly, Murong Zhe had hidden a weapon in her hair.
“Lady Li!”
She called out harshly. Seeing Luoshen turn back, she pointed the sharp tip at her own face.
“Lady Li, I sincerely wanted to reform and told you everything, hoping you’d show some compassion and save me from the mire. I never expected such humiliation!”
“If I just make a few cuts on this face and let the Western Liang Emperor know you forced my hand, not only would it make him abandon thoughts of marrying me, but what kind of retaliation do you think your mother and brother would face?”
She sneered coldly.
Luoshen was startled. Seeing her pale face and flashing eyes, she hesitated, thinking to first placate her, when she heard footsteps beside her.
Li Mu had arrived.
Murong Zhe opened her eyes wide, looking at this Southern Dynasty man she had secretly fallen for since first sight.
Never had there been a moment like just now that made her clearly realize how much she envied the woman before her.
She had sat before mirrors, gazing obsessively at herself with another face in the reflection, imagining that even if she wore that face for a lifetime, she would be willing.
It all began with him.
And at this moment, the chilling, disgusted, and gloomy gaze that this Southern Dynasty man she had fallen for at first sight directed at her made one shudder.
“Princess Murong, however many cuts you want to make, go ahead and make them. No one will stop you – handle it yourself.”
Li Mu said coldly, then turned to Luoshen, grasped her somewhat cold hand, and led his wife out of the prison.
…
Murong Zhe ultimately didn’t cut her own face.
Three days later, Gao Huan returned to Chang’an, bringing Luoshen news from her father.
Luoshen was tremendously encouraged and began hoping her father could soon rescue her mother and brother and bring them safely home.
At the same time, however, she would have to separate from Li Mu again.
Scouts sent out continuously brought back intelligence. Western Liang and Northern Yan were beginning to show signs of moving troops to their borders.
Li Mu summoned his subordinates and decided on tactics to actively and swiftly attack and defeat them one by one, rather than wait for the enemy to complete their assembly.
Just as war clouds gathered in the north and a new, perhaps final northern expedition battle was about to begin, far away in Jiankang, the Dayu court was still mired in debate.
The focus of debate was exactly how to deal with Li Mu.