In the land of Qingzhou, that red building by the river burned to ashes overnight, but fortunately there were no guest casualties inside. The madam of the red building also vanished without a trace. Taking those courtesans with her, she disappeared from the city overnight, as if she had never appeared at all. Some busybody guests recalled that on the evening they happened to pass by the red building, they seemed to have seen a beautiful red-clothed man, stunning beyond compare. They suspected he was an enchanting spirit who had emerged from deep mountain forests, come out to play among mortals, and fearing his tracks would be discovered, simply burned down the red building in one fire, leaving no trace to follow.

Rumor made this fire seem somewhat more mysterious and romantic.

The beautiful jade palace was reduced to ashes, obliterating all the love, hate, passion, and enmity within. No one knew what kind of play had been sung that night, what kind of partings and reunions had been witnessed. Late at night, at the gates of Qingzhou City, someone watched the carriages bearing coffins depart into the distance.

“My lord,” Wen Ji said, “Are you really going to meet Yin Zhili?”

Both Old General Ji and Yin Zhan were lost. Ji Heng needed to send Old General Ji back to Yanjing, but couldn’t personally escort him at the first opportunity, because Jiang Li was still in their hands. Situ Jiuyue sent him a message from Yanjing City, and only then did he learn everything that had happened.

As expected, Yin Zhili hadn’t harmed Situ Jiuyue, except for Haitang having a little finger cut off—and that was also ordered by Yin Zhan. Actually, Yin Zhan had also instructed that as long as Jiang Li was still there, they should send people to kill the Ye family and others, to avoid complications from delay. But Yin Zhili vehemently opposed this, threatening with his own life, and finally had the Ye family members sent back.

It was also at this moment that Ji Heng understood why Yin Zhan wore that strange smile on his face even at death. He had already paved Yin Zhili’s retreat path early on. Whether or not Yin Zhan died at the red building, Yin Zhili could use Jiang Li’s life to threaten him.

“My lord, that bastard Yin Zhili has definitely set a trap, knowing you’ll go for Second Miss Jiang, intending to harm your life. You mustn’t act rashly!” Zhao Ke also said.

“Between Yin Zhili and me, there will be a battle sooner or later,” Ji Heng sneered. “Since I promised Xue Huaiyuan, I will protect A-Li well.”

Both Zhao Ke and Wen Ji were somewhat puzzled. Why was protecting Jiang Li something promised to Xue Huaiyuan? Did Xue Huaiyuan care so much about Jiang Li? But why would Ji Heng listen to Xue Huaiyuan’s words? Was Xue Huaiyuan very important to Ji Heng?

“But Yin Zhili has set up camp at Luye, a hundred miles away, with several hundred men under his command. We only have… How can we break through? Those Yin family troops are also nowhere to be found right now. They’re probably lying in ambush, just waiting for you to walk into the trap, my lord,” Zhao Ke still disagreed.

“He has the Yin family troops, but the Golden Guards haven’t all died over these years either,” Ji Heng said lightly. He looked toward the distance, where the shadows of the carriages had completely disappeared. His grandfather bid him farewell this winter. From now on, there was no longer a single person in this world related to him by blood.

How could he lose Jiang Li? In this life of his, when it came down to it, he actually hadn’t been able to protect anyone.

He turned around. His red robe was as vivid as fresh blood in the wind and snow. The whiter the snow, the redder the garment, making his lips red and teeth white, his bearing magnificent and handsome.

He said, “Let’s go.”

Zhao Ke and Wen Ji stopped talking. Ji Heng’s attitude was so resolute, they couldn’t change it. As subordinates, they should advance and retreat together with their master.

Jiang Li was not Yu Ji, and Ji Heng was not the Overlord. The play “Farewell My Concubine” was far too tragic. He had seen enough tragedies. Never before had he hoped so much that in this play, she could accompany him to watch until the end, and that the story’s ending would be reunion, with everyone happy.

The wind and snow buried his tracks.

…

At Luye, outside the tent, Yin Zhiqing’s expression was alarmed. Tears welled up in her eyes, as if she had received a tremendous blow. She shuttled about before the tents. None of those soldiers stopped her. Not until she found Yin Zhili, who was hiding by the fire behind a tent, drunk beyond recognition.

“Yin Zhili!” Yin Zhiqing called his name. Her voice trembled. “They, they said Father is dead. What’s going on?”

Yin Zhili groggily opened his eyes to look at her. He still held a wine jar in his arms, reeking of alcohol. He didn’t like drinking, but Yin Zhan always made him drink, saying that as a man, how could he have no tolerance for alcohol? He still didn’t like it, but now that Yin Zhan was dead, he drank to his heart’s content as Yin Zhan had wished, hugging the wine jar. Unfortunately, Yin Zhan would never see it again.

“Father’s dead,” he showed Yin Zhiqing a strange smile and said softly, “Father was killed by Ji Heng, one sword—” He pointed at his own throat. “Right through here!” He laughed strangely.

“Impossible!” Yin Zhiqing grabbed his collar and said, “This is all fake, they’re talking nonsense, aren’t they? Why would the Duke of Su kill Father? We haven’t even seen Father…”

“He’s just dead,” Yin Zhili said. He took another big gulp from the wine jar. “Father’s subordinates all saw it with their own eyes. Before long, Yanjing will probably announce it to the world.”

“Why, why?”

“Because Father killed Ji Heng’s parents, so Ji Heng wants to avenge his parents. Hehehe, every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. Zhiqing, you must remember this saying,” Yin Zhili said with a foolish laugh.

He appeared deranged. His clothes were soaked through with spilled wine, yet he was completely unaware. His hair was disheveled, his smile bizarre. Where was the jade-like young master of the past? On one hand, Yin Zhiqing grieved, on the other, she was angry at Yin Zhili for being like this. She said, “Brother! What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange ever since that day Father talked to you, saying you wanted me to return to Yunzhong. What exactly did Father tell you? What grudge does our family have with the Duke of Su? Tell me!”

That day, Yin Zhili had people take Yin Zhiqing and Madam Yin back to Yunzhong. Yin Zhiqing refused no matter what, but then one day, Yin Zhili suddenly took them out of the city. Yin Zhili left in such a hurry, as if fleeing disaster. Yin Zhiqing had thought they were returning to Yunzhong, never expecting to come to Qingzhou. After that, things became incomprehensible to Yin Zhiqing. The siblings had been able to talk about anything before, but now Yin Zhili refused to say anything. He did things without any explanation, including abducting Jiang Li here. Before this, Yin Zhiqing hadn’t known anything about it. She didn’t know what had happened, only that life had become unrecognizable. Every day she lived in unease, always feeling that what the Yin family was about to do was something she couldn’t accept.

But this brother, Yin Zhili, had also become a stranger.

Yin Zhili looked at Yin Zhiqing’s anxious expression before him and suddenly laughed. He said, “Zhiqing, don’t call me brother. Who knows if we even have a blood relationship?”

At these words, Yin Zhiqing’s expression changed. She said, “You… what do you mean by that?”

“For the sake of that person in the palace, Father could harm his own biological son and wife, ignoring Mother all these years. Perhaps you’re not Father’s son at all,” Yin Zhili said.

“Yin Zhili!” Yin Zhiqing screamed. Her voice drew the attention of soldiers in the distance. She was bewildered and said, “How can you say such things! You’re slandering my mother, you bastard!”

“You want so badly to be Father’s daughter?” Yin Zhili was completely indifferent, lying on the ground like a puddle of mud, drunkenly saying, “What’s so good about being Father’s son? Look at me now—neither human nor ghost, forced to accept a fate I don’t like. To hell with fate!” He became agitated, his voice turning harsh. “You want to know what I’m trying to do? Fine, I’ll tell you. I’m going to kill Ji Heng, raise an army in rebellion, use the Chang River as boundary, establish myself as king. Whether occupying half the empire or forcing my way to the throne, I have to do all of it! Do you think it’s what I want to do? Why must I do this? It’s because I’m Yin Zhan’s son, and my birth mother is that person in the palace!”

He said it all in one breath. Yin Zhiqing was dumbstruck, even forgetting to cry. She trembled and asked, “You said…”

“I’m the Empress Dowager’s son,” Yin Zhili looked at her and smiled. “Now you know why Father returned to the capital to do these things, right? Because he planned long ago that the throne of the empire belongs to our Yin family. Zhiqing, how good it would be if you were just an ordinary family’s daughter. Not like now—just because your surname is Yin, you carry the infamy of a rebel and traitor, never able to wash it clean.”

Yin Zhiqing covered her mouth. She thought of what Jiang Li had said to her that day. She said the Duke of Su and the Yin family had a mortal feud. She had thought Jiang Li was deliberately deceiving her out of revenge, but now it seemed that what Jiang Li said was all true… But this truth was far too difficult to accept.

She didn’t know what to say, nor could she face this Yin Zhili. She turned and ran out.

Yin Zhili didn’t even look at her, just drinking by himself. Yin Zhiqing ran out crying. She thought of her mother. Madam Yin couldn’t see her like this. If Madam Yin knew everything, how heartbroken she would be. All these years, Madam Yin had attributed Yin Zhan’s sudden coldness toward her to something she hadn’t done well, never knowing that this matter had nothing to do with her. She was merely a fig leaf Yin Zhan had found to conceal his ambitions, including herself… also a bargaining chip to be used.

Yin Zhiqing’s heart was in extreme pain, yet she didn’t know whom she could confide in. Unconsciously, she actually walked to the outside of Jiang Li’s tent.

Inside the tent, a figure sat quietly. Yin Zhiqing walked in. The soldiers guarding outside didn’t stop her.

Jiang Li sat in the tent. A lamp burned on the table. She propped her head on one hand, not knowing what she was thinking. Hearing movement, she turned her head to look, and her gaze fixed on Yin Zhiqing’s face.

Yin Zhiqing’s face was covered in tears.

Jiang Li frowned. “Princess Pingyang? What’s wrong with you?”

It was just an ordinary inquiry, but all of Yin Zhiqing’s panic and helplessness, grievance and unwillingness from these days surged forth. She quickly walked forward a few steps, looked at Jiang Li and said, “You knew all along, didn’t you!”

“Knew what?” Jiang Li looked at her incomprehensibly.

In Yin Zhiqing’s heart, a surge of immense sorrow suddenly erupted. She said, “You knew that my father killed the Duke of Su’s parents, and now it’s the Duke of Su’s turn to avenge his parents.”

Jiang Li was astonished. She knew the Ji family and Yin family had a grudge, but Ji Heng hadn’t told her about the various details. She didn’t know that Ji Heng’s parents had been killed by Yin Zhan. It seemed that Yin Zhiqing now knew.

“How did you find out?” Jiang Li asked.

“Yin Zhili told me,” Yin Zhiqing collapsed into a chair, as if she had lost all her strength.

“Why would Yin Zhili tell you these things?” Jiang Li asked. “Could it be that Yin Zhan…”

Yin Zhiqing began crying bitterly. Seeing her like this, Jiang Li knew that her guess was probably close to the truth. Yin Zhan was dead? That meant Ji Heng was safe. The anxious heart that had been suspended finally settled down. These past days, confined here, she had no way of knowing the news from outside. The news Yin Zhiqing brought was at least good news.

But for Yin Zhiqing it was probably not so. She cried heart-wrenchingly, constantly murmuring, “Why… why did it become like this?”

This wasn’t actually Yin Zhiqing’s fault. Yin Zhan’s decision had destroyed both Yin Zhili and Yin Zhiqing. From the looks of it, they hadn’t known. Just because of Yin Zhan’s ambition, they had to bear enormous pain.

Jiang Li said softly, “This isn’t your fault. You needn’t blame yourself.”

Yin Zhiqing didn’t stop crying because of this. Jiang Li said again, “Can you help me leave here?”

Yin Zhiqing’s crying suddenly stopped. She looked at Jiang Li in confusion.

“Yin Zhili plans to use me to threaten Ji Heng. You know this. I know you like Ji Heng and don’t want him to be hurt. If Ji Heng is harmed because of me, I will suffer too, and you won’t be completely unaffected either. I know you’re unhappy staying here. If you save me, I’ll leave with you, away from here. You won’t have to fulfill a destiny that shouldn’t belong to you.”

Yin Zhiqing stared blankly at Jiang Li. Jiang Li had pointed out a completely different path for her. In this current chaos of smoke and turmoil, this path was so clear, so bright, so alluring that she almost couldn’t help but immediately nod, immediately escape with Jiang Li.

However, she didn’t answer. Only after a long time did she say, “I can’t do it.”

Jiang Li looked at her quietly.

“These soldiers don’t obey my commands. Although I know martial arts, I can’t fight so many people. You’re the one being closely watched. I can’t take you away from under their noses. And there’s my mother. I can’t take two people at the same time. If you and I escape, they’ll take their anger out on my mother. Yin Zhili might not do this, but others, those who suffer calamity because of this, will vent all their rage on my mother.”

She enunciated clearly. Her face still bore the traces of undried tears, but she had stopped crying. Instead, as if she had thought something through, she said, “Besides, I can’t leave either. My surname is Yin. I can’t escape this fate. Where could you take me? Apart from the Yin family, no one will protect me. The world will only regard me as a rebel and traitor, eager to kill me.”

Jiang Li sighed softly. Everyone had their own position. What Yin Zhiqing said wasn’t actually wrong. If Jiang Li stood in Yin Zhiqing’s position, she would hesitate and struggle the same way. Moreover, the one who committed the errors was Yin Zhiqing’s father, Yin Zhan. Both emotionally and logically, Yin Zhiqing wouldn’t accept it.

However, there was still one thing Jiang Li didn’t understand. She asked, “Do you know what the grudge between Ji Heng and the Yin family really is? If your father killed Ji Heng’s parents back then, why did he attack them?”

Yin Zhiqing took a deep breath and shook her head. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know anymore.” She stood up, looking at Jiang Li with a sorrowful expression. She said, “I once heard about what you suffered at Qingcheng Mountain and sympathized with you deeply. Now it seems you’re much better off than me. The charges you bear are false and will be cleared one day, and you have a clear conscience. But the charges I bear are real and can never be removed.”

“You are you, Yin Zhan is Yin Zhan,” Jiang Li reminded her.

“If I could, I too would hope not to have the surname Yin. I’m sorry, Jiang Li,” Yin Zhiqing said. “I can’t help you, can’t take you away from here. But do you think the Duke of Su will really venture deep alone for you? This Luye is full of Yin family troops. If he comes, he’ll surely die.”

Jiang Li’s heart jumped violently. She had an intuition that Ji Heng would definitely come, but she said, “If wishes could come true, I hope he never comes.”

Yin Zhiqing stared at her fixedly. Only after a long time did she say, “I hope so too.”

Jiang Li didn’t know what she meant by “I hope so too.” Did she hope that Ji Heng wasn’t so deeply in love with Jiang Li that he would be willing to exchange his life? Or did she hope Ji Heng wouldn’t be hurt?

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask of Princess Pingyang,” Jiang Li said.

“I can’t help you with anything.”

“It’s not for me, it’s for Ji Heng.”

Yin Zhiqing frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how your brother plans to deal with Ji Heng, but I think he won’t hold back. If Ji Heng falls into dire straits because of me, that’s the last thing I want to see. You like Ji Heng, so you surely don’t want him to die. If possible, please help Ji Heng when the time comes if you can. As for me, you needn’t worry about me. Actually, whether I live or die is the same. Even if I really die, as long as I haven’t implicated others, that’s good too.”

Yin Zhiqing said nothing more. She just stood there, as if thinking quietly for a while, before saying, “I understand.” She walked out of the tent.

Jiang Li didn’t follow her out. The tent seemed to still echo with Yin Zhiqing’s desperate crying from earlier. She knew there was no time left. Since Yin Zhan was dead, Yin Zhili would immediately begin the second plan. He would use her to lure and kill Ji Heng.

Jiang Li prayed silently in her heart: Mother, if you have a spirit in heaven and are watching your daughter, please help Ji Heng, let him be safe and sound.

…

That night, the wind and snow raged. By the next morning, the snow still hadn’t stopped. Last night’s snow hadn’t melted, and new snow was added. The accumulated snow on the ground could reach past one’s knees when stepped on. Looking around, everything was a vast expanse of white.

Jiang Li stood in the tent. The young soldiers guarded her at the entrance. She looked outside. As far as her gaze reached, there was only a distant, long, boundless plain, and in the distance, a forest that had become entirely white.

It was said that many years ago, Luye was a dense forest. Near the Chang River, many white deer lived. The white deer drank water at the Chang River, hence the name “Luye” (Deer Field). Several hundred years later, the forest vanished completely. This became a plain, with no more traces of white deer, but the name Luye was preserved.

The Chang River was not far from here. Ordinarily, this long river had no visible end, but now it was completely frozen over. People could walk on it without breaking through the ice. Goose-feather snow fell profusely. On this plain, there seemed to be only white and the black of armor, nothing else.

Someone walked over. The young soldiers moved aside, and Jiang Li saw Yin Zhili.

Yin Zhili was very different from before. He always wore white clothes, with a refined jade-like appearance. Rather than saying he was a general’s son, it was more apt to say he was some family’s elegant young master. Jiang Li had never seen him in armor before, but today he wore armor, tied up his long hair, and his face bore an indifferent and cold expression. He walked into the tent.

Jiang Li turned to look at him.

“I have good news to tell you. Ji Heng killed my father. He survived.”

Jiang Li didn’t cheer with joy because of this. Yin Zhili probably didn’t know that Yin Zhiqing had already told her this last night. And Yin Zhili didn’t care either. He just continued, “Father is dead, so I must carry out what he instructed me to do. You understand what I mean, Second Miss Jiang?”

“I understand,” Jiang Li answered. “You’re going to use me to ambush and kill Ji Heng.”

Yin Zhili’s hands at his sides tightened slightly. He said, “I originally thought that as long as my father didn’t die and Ji Heng died first, I could avoid this outcome. Although you would hate me for it, at least I wouldn’t have to personally kill him in front of you and use you. For me, this is the worst choice. But now it seems heaven isn’t on my side. I still have to take this path. Struggling is futile. This is the ending for you and me.”

Jiang Li didn’t speak. The expression on Yin Zhili’s face at this moment was truly terrifying. Without his gentleness, even his past indecisiveness now seemed like kindness. His expression was like someone about to do something terrible, full of sharpness and determination.

“Everyone says the Duke of Su is moody, shrewd and ruthless. I think perhaps he won’t come to save you. In that case, although not being able to kill him is regrettable, being able to let you see his true face wouldn’t be a bad thing. Since I’m already a villain in Second Miss Jiang’s heart, it’s best if he’s no better in Second Miss Jiang’s heart either.”

These words were very petulant. If one didn’t look at his expression, Jiang Li might find them childishly laughable. But unfortunately, the current Yin Zhili had become very obsessive. He stubbornly believed everything was others’ fault, and that he absolutely had to take this path, with no one able to persuade him otherwise.

“Why must you kill Ji Heng?” Jiang Li said. “The previous generation’s grievances are already settled.”

“They’re not settled!” Yin Zhili interrupted Jiang Li. He said, “My father killed his parents, and he in turn killed my father. To avenge my father, I must kill him. The Yin family and Ji family are destined to be mortal enemies. Either I die or he dies, until one side is completely dead with no descendants. Why did my father leave behind trouble? Because when killing the Ji family, he left survivors. This mistake won’t be repeated by me.”

Jiang Li looked coldly at Yin Zhili. Her last trace of sympathy for him vanished into smoke. Hatred would blind one’s eyes, turning them into another person. And the current Yin Zhili was completely different from the past Yin Zhili. He was single-mindedly intent on killing Ji Heng, regardless of whether Yin Zhan was at fault first back then, or how many lives would be devastated after raising an army.

“You’ll regret this,” Jiang Li said.

“I only regret not killing him earlier.” Yin Zhili laughed loudly. He said, “And letting him obtain the imperial edict, and you! However,” he smiled again and said, “as long as he’s dead, you’ll still be mine.”

“But I could never love you.”

“Then why did you fall in love with Ji Heng?” Yin Zhili stopped smiling and stared at her, pressing forward step by step. “How many lives are on his hands? He kills like cutting grass! Just because you like him, his sins aren’t sins? Just because you don’t like me, I’m a villain in your eyes? The biggest difference between Ji Heng and me is that his father didn’t make him bear infamy, while I was born into the Yin family and am destined to sacrifice for the Yin family!”

“That’s not it,” Jiang Li looked at him coldly and answered. “Ji Heng is an evil person feared by the world, but he has never harmed me. And you are a good person praised by the world, but you’ve used me. You and he are of course different people, but it has nothing to do with your parents.”

Yin Zhili stopped talking. He just stared at her viciously, as if wanting to kill her yet unable to bear it. He abruptly turned his head away, snorted coldly, and said, “Say what you like. In any case, when Ji Heng arrives today, he won’t survive the day!”

“What do you plan to do?” Jiang Li demanded sternly.

“Nothing much,” Yin Zhili said casually. “All of Luye, top to bottom, are my men. The archers outside have long been prepared. Luye is a plain with nowhere to hide. If Ji Heng dares to come, he must be prepared to be pierced by ten thousand arrows. Of course, he can bring troops, but since you’re in my hands, he’ll have to be cautious. I heard that back when my father ambushed Ji Minghan, it was a hundred archers lying in ambush at Hongshan Temple. Ji Minghan couldn’t escape even with wings. Second Miss Jiang, letting Ji Heng die the same way as his father is already my greatest respect for him.”

Jiang Li rebuked angrily, “Despicable!”

“He’s not exactly an honorable person either!” Yin Zhili seemed stimulated by this remark and shouted angrily, “Of course I can be despicable too!”

Jiang Li was furious. This Yin Zhili was simply a madman, impossible to reason with. Just as they were about to continue the standoff, suddenly a sharp whistle sounded from outside. That whistle was shrill and urgent, sound after sound in rapid succession. Yin Zhili was startled, grabbed Jiang Li and threw her to the side, then rushed out.

Jiang Li also wanted to go out, but was blocked by the young soldiers and could only stand at the tent entrance. She saw only a vast expanse of white across the wilderness. But between heaven and earth, a red figure appeared. That red figure rode on a horse. The steed’s entire body was also covered in red armor. One person, one horse, in the wind and snow, like a returning soul, so vividly striking that even the snow couldn’t obscure it.

Jiang Li’s eyes grew hot, and she nearly shed tears. She called out “Ji Heng!”

Outside, Yin Zhili also froze. After a long moment, he sneered, “It seems he’s very bold, and deeply in love with you too. Unfortunately, extreme intelligence leads to injury, deep love leads to short life.” He shouted, “Archers, prepare!”

The armored archers all aimed at that person. Jiang Li wanted to rush out but couldn’t, no matter what. She watched helplessly as that touch of red became increasingly brilliant.

He came alone.