Silence.

The silence that answered her was always there.

That terrible silence.

Luoshen finally wiped away her tears.

“Li Mu.”

She said.

“I remember that night when we watched the spring tides on the river, you told me that even if the whole world turned against you in the future, you would never harm me, A’Ye, and A’Niang. You also told me that as long as I wanted you in the future, you would never betray me.”

She smiled miserably and shook her head.

“If you refuse to submit, neither my uncle nor A’Ye will tolerate you. How can you ask me to still want you?”

“I know you are a hero. But A’Ye is right—when paths differ, there can be no conspiracy together, let alone between husband and wife.”

“After you left, I was extremely distressed. I clearly knew you had abandoned me, but without finding you to ask for clarity in person, I could not reconcile myself to it.”

“Now I finally understand. You have your great deeds to accomplish. Compared to that, what am I?”

She looked at the man across from her who remained silent throughout, and smiled again.

“I know what to do from now on. I am also at peace now.”

“I am tired and want to sleep. Do as you please.”

After Luoshen finished speaking, she no longer looked at him, turned around, climbed onto the bed, and lay down with her clothes on.

That night, she curled up on the bed, eyes closed, half-sleeping and half-awake, as if in the mortal world, yet as if in a dream.

When she woke, the morning light was dim, and the door was half open.

She saw Li Mu sitting on the stone steps outside the door.

His clothes were dampened by dew, clinging tightly to his shoulders and back.

His figure remained motionless.

As if he had sat there all night.

Luoshen silently watched his back for a moment, then got up and began packing her things.

As she bent down to put her clothes into the trunk she had opened just last night, she was embraced from behind.

His body no longer had the familiar warmth she knew, but carried the damp cold of a night soaked in dew.

The arms encircling her waist were no longer as firm and strong as before.

A face equally damp and cold, with disheveled stubble, pressed against the warm, soft skin of her nape.

Cold lips gently brushed against her sensitive earlobe.

“A’Mi… don’t abandon me like this…”

A hoarse whisper filled with pleading reached her ears.

Luoshen steadied herself.

“Li Mu, what virtue and ability do I possess to deserve your repeated declarations of love for me? Since you are single-mindedly focused on your great cause, what benefit is there in keeping me?”

“If you truly still have some pity for me, don’t force me to stay. I need even less for you to escort me.”

She said softly.

Without turning back, she only loosened the hands clasped in front of her abdomen, pushed away the arms encircling her body, walked to the door, and said to A’Ju who had risen and was anxiously looking around outside: “Nanny Ju, my business is finished. Let’s return today.”

…

This news struck Gao Huan like a bolt from the blue.

Last night, he had just ridden his horse through this desolate western city, walked along the four corners of the city walls, climbed the newly built magnificent watchtowers, faced the wind looking north, his blood boiling, with visions of golden spears and iron horses visiting his dreams all night.

After sleeping, when he opened his eyes, his sister actually said she wanted to leave?

Luoshen’s belongings, because time was short last night, had not been completely unpacked, so packing this morning was also convenient.

When the morning sun shone into this dilapidated courtyard, she was already ready to depart, waiting for Gao Huan, when one of his attendants hurried over, saying that Sixth Young Master had returned from outside last night, vomiting and having diarrhea, feeling very uncomfortable this morning and unable to get up.

Luoshen was startled.

Gao Huan had been physically weak as a child, and Gao Qiao had intentionally given him military training. Only as he grew up did his constitution gradually improve.

Also because of this, plus his parents died early, Gao Qiao had always been unwilling to let him join the army.

On this journey, he had suffered many hardships following along, exposed to wind and sun. Not only had he become much darker than before, but he had also lost considerable weight. Now hearing that he was ill, how could Luoshen not be anxious? She hurried over immediately.

Gao Huan had slept last night in an empty room not far away. The window was missing half of it, and A’Ju had tidied up the room for him, covering it with cloth. He found it stuffy and tore off the window cloth himself. Now he lay in bed, tightly wrapped in blankets, eyes closed. Hearing Luoshen’s footsteps entering, he began groaning “ai yo, ai yo.”

Luoshen sat by the bedside, asked what he had eaten last night, and reached out to feel his forehead. Gao Huan only complained of discomfort, headache, nausea, dizziness, and said he couldn’t stand steadily when getting up.

Luoshen had been very worried at first, but when she actually saw him, felt his forehead was cool, and he showed no unusual signs, she immediately saw through it—he was clearly pretending to be ill. She said: “If you are truly so uncomfortable, I’ll have Brother Jiang Er call a military doctor.”

She turned to call someone.

“Sister, don’t! You know I’ve hated taking medicine since childhood. Eh! It seems that since you came, I feel better than before, but I still can’t get up, my head is a bit dizzy. Let me lie down, lie down a bit more, I’ll slowly get better myself—”

Luoshen looked at him for a moment.

“Sixth Brother, if you don’t want to return with me, just stay. You must be extra careful. Sister will leave a few people for you and go first.”

She patted Gao Huan’s arm and stood up.

Gao Huan stared at her retreating figure, stunned.

The sun gradually rose higher.

Luoshen and her attendants each mounted their carriages. Fan Cheng assembled the guards, and the group departed from the door of the Governor’s residence, following the muddy road they had taken yesterday, silently heading toward the city gate.

Those children were still playing by the roadside. Seeing the group departing, they were not as frightened as when they first saw them yesterday. They stood by the roadside, tilting their heads, watching Luoshen’s carriage slowly pass by.

“Sister, wait for me!”

A shout came from behind.

Luoshen looked out the window and saw Gao Huan running out from the broken door of the Governor’s residence, gasping as he caught up, with a mournful expression saying: “Never mind! I escorted Sister here, so I must personally escort you back too. I won’t stay behind!”

He took the horse reins handed by an attendant, mounted swiftly, whipped once, and galloped ahead.

Luoshen watched his figure on horseback gradually disappear into the distance, and unconsciously turned to look back in the direction behind her.

The doorway was empty. Only two spear-bearing soldiers stood at the entrance, like two pillars planted there.

Luoshen lowered her gaze, put down the window curtain, turned around, and happened to meet A’Ju’s gaze directed at her in the same carriage, so she smiled slightly at her.

“Nanny Ju, I’m fine, don’t worry. Let’s get on the road.”

A’Ju said nothing, only silently tucked another cushion behind her waist.

The convoy left the Governor’s residence and traveled through the empty, desolate city.

When they were about to reach the city gate, Jiang Tao brought a team of cavalry, gasping as they caught up, seeming to want to say something but hesitating, finally only saying he wanted to personally escort her part of the way.

Luoshen politely declined, but seeing his insistence, she smiled and let him be.

Under the gaze of a patrol of soldiers near the city gate, the convoy passed through the gate and exited.

Suddenly, A’Ju, who had been resting with her eyes closed in the carriage, opened her eyes and said to Luoshen: “Miss, I suddenly remembered that I left in such haste this morning that I forgot to pack something. You go ahead first, I’ll go get it and then return!”

Luoshen said: “Nanny doesn’t need to go back herself. Just have someone fetch it.”

“That won’t do. It’s my personal item, I’m afraid others won’t be able to find it. I’d better go get it myself to be at ease.”

After speaking, without waiting for Luoshen’s response, she stuck her head out, ordered the carriage to stop, climbed down, told them to continue forward, then got into another small carriage, instructed the driver, and headed back to the Governor’s residence.

Seeing her very hurried and saying it was a personal item, Luoshen let her be, only telling Fan Cheng to lead the team slowly and wait for her to return and rejoin them before continuing on the road together.

…

The small carriage stopped in front of the Governor’s residence. A’Ju got down and asked the soldiers at the gate: “Has your governor left yet?”

The soldiers shook their heads.

A’Ju stepped inside, rushed in one breath to the front hall where meetings were held, pushed open the door with one motion, and saw a man kneeling behind a desk, his figure upright, motionless—exactly the person she had returned to find.

A’Ju walked over with determined steps.

“Governor Li, when you forcibly insisted on marrying Miss, completely disregarding the grievance of her marrying beneath her station, I knew you were no good! Only someone like Miss would not care about your lowly family status, would be filial to your old mother, kind to your younger sister, and wholeheartedly be a proper wife to you. But how have you treated her?”

She glanced around.

“Just this kind of broken place—even I, a servant, can barely stay an extra step! Yet Miss had no complaints at all! Do you know how much effort she put in, how many words she spoke to the Eldest Princess and Lord Gao to make this trip happen?”

“Do you know how much hardship she endured on this journey? To arrive sooner, she was willing to take those carriages that jolted so much they could make you vomit your liver and lungs, rather than take the water route. By the end, both her feet were so swollen they were inflamed, and she couldn’t sleep at night!”

“Finally, after all the hardships to get here, even if she was angry with you, how much would it have cost to coax her a few words? You didn’t even say a word! In just one night, you watched her leave like this?”

“Are you worthy of her wholehearted devotion to you?”

A’Ju became angrier as she thought about it. “Bah!” She spat a mouthful of saliva directly at Li Mu’s face.

“I’m just indignant for Miss, I can’t stand it! Never mind, a heartless and ungrateful man like you, it’s better to be rid of you!”

“Open your eyes wide and watch. Without you, this lone star of misfortune, our Miss will definitely live extremely well when she returns!”

That mouthful of spit landed on Li Mu’s forehead.

He seemed completely unaware, didn’t wipe it, and let it slowly trickle down his forehead.

A’Ju wiped the few drops of spittle from the corners of her own mouth, abandoned the man, turned to go to the room where Luoshen had slept last night, rolled up the bedding she had deliberately left behind this morning, and muttered coldly: “Such a heartless person should go back to sleeping in his own straw nest!”

After speaking, she carried the bedding and strode away.

…

A’Ju quickly caught up and returned.

Seeing that she had gone back specifically to retrieve the bedding she had left behind, Luoshen glanced at her.

A’Ju acted nonchalantly: “Men have thick skin and rough flesh, they can sleep on anything. Our journey isn’t easy, having an extra set of bedding is always good.”

Since she had brought all the bedding back, Luoshen couldn’t very well ask her to send it back. She just felt empty inside, listless, as if she lacked even the strength to say one more word, so she closed her eyes and said no more.

After leaving the city, Jiang Tao continued to escort them.

Luoshen asked him to stay behind.

He said that a hundred li outside was Chouchi, territory of the Hufu Hou clan.

The Hufu Hou clan was a major surname among the Jie people, with many clan members. Previously conquered by the Jie Xia, they were forced to submit. Last year during the internal strife in Northern Xia, the Hufu Hou clan returned here under Hou Ding’s leadership and established themselves as kings. Although they hadn’t yet had direct conflict with Li Mu, having more precautions was never wrong, so he insisted on escorting them.

After passing Chouchi, Luoshen again repeatedly asked him to stay behind. Only then did Jiang Tao stop, leading his men to turn back. He said to Li Mu, who had stopped by the roadside: “They’ve passed Chouchi, should be safe now.”

Li Mu said nothing, his eyes gazing ahead. After a long while, he said: “Thank you for your trouble, Second Brother Jiang. You take the brothers back to the city first. I’ll return later.”

Jiang Tao really couldn’t figure out what had happened between the couple. The Gao family daughter had traveled over mountains and through waters, only arriving yesterday, but after just one night, she set off to leave this morning?

Since Li Mu had spoken thus, it wasn’t appropriate to ask more questions. He only nodded in agreement, instructed him to be careful and return early, then led his men away.

…

That day, Luoshen’s party traveled another several dozen li. By evening, Fan Cheng saw it was getting late, and passing a flat area by water, he found a suitable place to camp. Several hundred people settled down and began cooking.

Luoshen’s tent was clustered in the middle of the guards’ camp.

After dark, Fan Cheng ordered his men to take turns standing guard in shifts. Around midnight, he himself got up, left his tent to personally patrol the camp. Seeing everything was well and all guards were at their posts, he was about to return to his tent when he suddenly heard the faint sound of hoofbeats in the distance.

Being outdoors, camping in such wilderness, and not in territory controlled by Dayu, and considering that the person he was protecting was the beloved daughter of the current Eldest Princess and Gao Qiao, how could he dare be even slightly careless?

He immediately ran out of the camp area, climbed a nearby hillock, and looked down from the high vantage point.

Under the moonlight, on that road between the hills, a single rider was approaching in this direction. As it gradually drew near, he saw it was only one person, so Fan Cheng relaxed slightly, but still didn’t dare be careless. He had his men guard the camp entrance while he led several people out of camp, fired a warning arrow toward the approaching rider, and shouted: “Who are you? Ahead is our camp. If you’re passing through, go around!”

That person didn’t go around, but continued riding, crossing the water toward them.

Fan Cheng immediately drew his sword, ready for battle.

That person came ashore, stopped his horse, dismounted, and walked toward Fan Cheng.

As he gradually drew closer, Fan Cheng recognized that this person was actually Li Mu.

He couldn’t help being surprised, quickly sheathed his sword, and hurried forward to pay respects.

“So it’s Governor Li who has arrived. I didn’t recognize you just now, please forgive the offense!”

Li Mu wore ordinary clothes, the only difference from a commoner being the sword at his side.

He stopped, his clothing hem blown by the night wind coming from the water, revealed a slight smile, nodded to Fan Cheng and said: “I wish to see my wife. Please trouble you to announce me.”

In the middle of the night, his sudden appearance here naturally wouldn’t be to chat with him in the wind.

Before he spoke, Fan Cheng had guessed his purpose.

But actually hearing such words from his mouth still surprised him somewhat.

This tone—how did it not seem like a husband and wife, but rather like a restrained outsider?

Though he thought this, he didn’t show it on his face, only politely asked him to wait a moment, then quickly turned and entered the camp, coming to that tent to quietly announce his arrival.

Tonight A’Ju was sleeping with Luoshen.

A’Ju was already fast asleep, emitting intermittent snores of varying loudness.

Since childhood, this wasn’t A’Ju’s first time sleeping with her.

Luoshen was normally accustomed to her snoring.

But tonight she was kept awake by the noise, remaining conscious all along.

Suddenly hearing Fan Cheng’s announcement outside the tent, her heart jumped, and she didn’t respond immediately.

“Reporting to Miss, Governor Li has come, he’s currently by the river at the camp entrance, saying he wants to see Miss.”

Thinking she hadn’t awakened, Fan Cheng repeated it again.

A’Ju turned over.

Luoshen closed her eyes and said: “Tell him to go back, no need to meet.”

Fan Cheng was startled, hesitated a moment, waited a bit longer, heard no other sound from inside, and could only return to relay Luoshen’s words exactly.

Li Mu was silent for a moment, then said: “Could you trouble yourself to go announce once more, saying I have something to tell her. Extremely important.”

Fan Cheng hurried back again, quietly conveying Li Mu’s words once more. After coming out a moment later, seeing Li Mu looking over, he couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

Marrying up and down in station indeed made sense.

Like now, Li Mu, such a contemporary hero with the reputation of a war god, just because he married a daughter from a high family, this midnight rejection was really pitiable.

Feeling somewhat sorry, he quietly said: “Governor Li, Madam must be tired from traveling during the day, probably very weary now. Perhaps… you should go back…”

Li Mu was silent again, thanked him, and asked him to do as he pleased.

Fan Cheng sighed quietly, bowed to him, and led his men back to the barracks first.

…

Luoshen listened as Fan Cheng’s footsteps went away a second time and never returned.

After a long time passed, A’Ju’s snoring beside her seemed to grow louder and louder. The tent also became unbearably stuffy.

Luoshen felt she could barely breathe.

She threw off the covers and sat up, stared blankly in the pitch-black tent for a moment, felt around in the dark to put her clothes back on, carefully stepped over A’Ju who was sleeping on the outer side, and left the tent.

A guard on duty saw her come out and quickly followed.

Luoshen wandered aimlessly through the moonlit camp for a while, gradually reaching the edge, only to realize that unconsciously, she had actually walked to the water’s edge at the camp entrance.

She suddenly stopped.

Several zhang ahead, by that water’s edge rippling with moonlight, she saw the silhouette of a man.

His back was to her, sitting cross-legged by the water beside a clump of reeds, with a black long sword lying on the pebbled ground beside his hand. A horse stood companionably at his side, quietly chewing the fresh tender reed shoots that had just emerged.

Night wind blew across the water surface, creating ripples, and the reed grass rustled.

That dark silhouette remained motionless, as if in meditation.

Luoshen stared for a moment, suddenly feeling a wave of slight anger in her heart, and walked toward that silhouette.

“You still haven’t left?”

Li Mu slowly turned his face.

The moonlight was pale, and his countenance also appeared pale.

He rose from beside the reeds, and smiled slightly at Luoshen: “You wouldn’t see me tonight, so I’ll wait until you wake tomorrow morning.”

Luoshen’s expression was cold: “What more is there for us to say? You’ve toyed with me, and that I haven’t drawn my sword against you is already showing utmost benevolence. Everything that needed saying has been said. To still be so shameless—what more do you want?”

She finished speaking and turned to go back inside.

Footsteps sounded behind her as Li Mu caught up in one step, grasping her arm from behind.

Luoshen turned her head, staring at the hand gripping her arm.

He paused, let go, but took a step to block her path instead, pleading in a low voice: “A’Mi, I truly have something to tell you.”

“Last night you said, what virtue and ability you had to deserve my repeated declarations of love. You’ve also asked me several times why I married you. I’ve always avoided answering. Not because I was unwilling to tell you, but because I didn’t know where to begin.”

“Please, first listen to me tell you a story, alright?”

The man’s voice, which could normally command heaven and earth and order armies, tonight was both soft and hoarse, humble and small before her, begging her, and as rough as sand.

Luoshen truly hated herself for being so useless, that just such words from him seemed to bind her feet so she couldn’t move, stopping there to listen to him speak.

He said: “Many years ago, there was a young man from the north who had just fled to Jingkou with his mother and went to work at a powerful family’s estate. Every day he ate leftover food and slept in cattle stalls. After a year, when his term should have ended, the evil servants of that family refused to release him, falsely accused him of stealing money, and threatened to report him to officials if he didn’t sign a bond of servitude.”

“That young man had been hot-tempered since childhood. In anger, he struck that evil servant. So they bound him at the estate’s entrance, nailed stakes through his palms, making an example to warn others. When his mother heard the news and came, kneeling to beg them to spare his life, not only was it useless, but she was humiliated instead.”

“By then he had been nailed for three days, had long lost his strength, but seeing his mother’s plight, he pulled out his two nailed palms, broke free and rushed forward, wanting to rescue her from her predicament. But how could a young man who had been nailed for three days and hadn’t eaten a single meal fight against a whole group of adults?”

His tone was very calm, as if he were truly just recounting someone else’s story.

But the blood in Luoshen’s body gradually flowed faster, and her heartbeat quickened accordingly.

She slowly raised her head to look at him.

He lowered his head, smiled slightly at her, and continued: “Just when that young man was subdued and fell into despair, a girl came.”

“The girl rescued him from his predicament, saved him, and then left.”

“That girl should have been only seven or eight years old then, still very young, but she was the most beautiful, sweetest-voiced, and kindest woman he had ever seen in his life…”

“After that day, the young man never forgot her…”

“It’s you—how is that possible!”

That segment of blurry memory fragments, long buried like traces of snow and mud, suddenly reappeared in Luoshen’s mind one by one as he narrated.

She stared at him in shock, completely unable to overlay the young man’s face from memory with the martial man in the moonlight before her.

“That young man was me, the girl was you. I still remember how you looked that day. You wore a yellow shirt, extremely beautiful…”

Li Mu gazed at her shocked expression, raised one arm, extended it before her, and slowly opened his palm.

In the center of his palm was a scar the size of a copper coin—the mark left by the iron nail piercing his palm for three days and then being forcibly pulled out.

It was just that normally, compared to the other large and small scars on his body, it was extremely inconspicuous, so Luoshen had never noticed it before.

“A’Mi, this is the mark left by the nail piercing my palm. It hurt so much then.”

“If you don’t believe it, touch and see, alright?”

The man’s voice was gentler than the moonlight overhead, faintly seeming to carry a pleading tone, sounding in her ear with bewitching power.