“My grandfather wanted to kill her because she killed my two uncles!” Situ Haonan argued back.

But just then, a sudden burst of laughter came from one side — none other than Yingzi.

“Young Master Situ, when did you become so unreasonable? Your two uncles? They led troops in an attack on the northern desert frontier — they were fighting a war, representing Western Liang and the Xiongnu! They were soldiers, don’t you forget that! On the battlefield, casualties are inevitable! Once you step onto a battlefield, no one has the right to complain about their fate!”

“What’s more, even setting the battlefield aside — if you go looking for trouble yourself and can’t beat the other side, that’s on you, not them!”

Yingzi had been listening quietly the whole time, but he truly couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.

He pointed furiously toward Longxi City, laughing coldly. “Young Master Situ, over there Wanyan Lie waits to surrender. How many people have died on this western frontier battlefield? If everyone demanded revenge for every death, wouldn’t the skies over the Longyuan continent come crashing down? Once you dare to step onto a battlefield, you’d better have the resolve to win, and the courage to accept defeat! Go tell Nangong City on my master’s behalf — if you lose, admit defeat, retreat and build your strength for another day. You can still be counted a hero, ten or a hundred years from now. If you’re going to come crying and wailing to demand justice, first ask yourself whether you were in the wrong! A prestigious clan, the pinnacle of the martial world — if you have the courage to involve yourselves in a national war, you’d better have the capacity to bear the consequences! Don’t come demanding accountability just because you couldn’t stomach losing! They came looking for this fight themselves — no one provoked them, no one went after them!”

Yingzi’s tirade was scathing, downright harsh.

But it was also the truth!

Once Nangong City had chosen to stand against Xijing, they had to have the courage to bear the consequences — what fault was there in that for Ziqing?

Yingzi paused, took a deep breath, finally calming himself, and said flatly, “Young Master Situ, one last thing I’ll say! I was there that night too. Your grandfather was killed in an explosion. It was Prince Yao who guessed that City Lord Nangong might conspire with Western Liang and the Xiongnu — but even Prince Yao never anticipated that City Lord Nangong wouldn’t just lead the vanguard, but would personally carry out the assassination himself. From the northern desert to the western frontier, even the fastest hawk messenger takes at least three days. Do you really think, with City Lord Nangong leading the charge and deploying a whole host of top martial artists, we had the luxury of time to send you word? And another thing — you keep blaming Her Highness the Princess Consort for acting without informing you. Then tell me — did your grandfather inform you before he made his move?”

Faced with Yingzi’s final, cutting question, all the fury and coldness on Situ Haonan’s face finally collapsed entirely, replaced by an indescribable anguish.

He no longer looked at Ziqing, nor at Yingzi — he simply shook his head, over and over, and slowly sank down to sit on the ground.

He had no way to answer Yelu Qianqian’s questions, and no way to answer Yingzi’s either.

He… he truly had no right to blame Ziqing at all!

Whether it was Yelu Qianqian’s explanation or Yingzi’s analysis, he understood it all, and accepted it all.

As far as duty was concerned, Han Ziqing hadn’t been wrong in the slightest — she had, in fact, handled it beautifully, turning danger into safety. The western frontier war had ended early precisely because of her intervention.

As far as personal feeling was concerned, it was he who had misjudged his grandfather — he had always believed that even if his grandfather wouldn’t help him, he would never stand against him on his mother’s side either.

All he had left was the right to grieve.

He grieved so deeply.

He sat there on the ground, silent, his eyes and the bridge of his nose turning red.

A heavy silence settled over everyone; no one disturbed him. Right now, Situ Haonan needed quiet, needed to be left alone.

Ziqing didn’t leave, one hand pressed over the wound on her arm, watching him silently. Yelu Qianqian didn’t leave either, her own eyes red-rimmed from crying.

She knew Situ Haonan needed silence, but she couldn’t help herself — she walked over, slowly crouched down, and cupped the back of his head with her small hand, gently, so gently, drawing him into her embrace.

“Haonan, I know this must hurt terribly… but it’s all right… From now on, our family doesn’t need so many complicated ties, so many conflicts, so much ambition, so much… unkindness. We’ll help each other, understand each other… and never abandon each other, okay?”

As Yelu Qianqian spoke softly, gently patting his back, her voice choked on the final words. “Haonan, don’t despair. We’ll have family again — we’ll be all right.”

Situ Haonan buried his face in Yelu Qianqian’s embrace, his expression hidden — but her words moved Ziqing deeply, her lips trembling as she wanted to say something, yet found no words at all.

Yingzi, an orphan himself, lowered his head and silently withdrew.

Situ Haonan gave no answer to Yelu Qianqian. Instead, it was Ziqing, standing off to the side, who found herself nodding along, foolishly, without even realizing it.

It’s all right. From now on, family doesn’t need so much unkindness — just staying together, never abandoning one another.

Her own family — the one she’d always been searching for, the kind that would shield and protect her unconditionally — would she ever find family like that?

For a long, long while, silence reigned; no one spoke again.

Everything seemed to gradually smooth over, soothed by Yelu Qianqian’s gentle patting hand.

But not far away, someone watched all of this coldly, a chest full of burning fury.

For the first time in his life, General Dugu felt resentment toward Princess Qianqian. How could she be so utterly thoughtless!

She should have been stoking the flames, making Situ Haonan hate Han Ziqing — that was the only way Xijing stood a chance!

But instead, she had done the opposite, siding with Han Ziqing, standing on her side!

General Dugu clenched his fists tightly, his gaze sweeping over Han Ziqing before settling coldly on Situ Haonan.

He felt unwilling to accept it, yet something also felt off.

Because Situ Haonan’s behavior, before and after, was far too inconsistent. Before Han Ziqing’s arrival, he had only shown anger once, briefly — everything else he’d kept locked away inside, unreadable to anyone.

General Dugu had assumed Situ Haonan would play it covert.

He never expected the young man to lose his composure so completely — the moment he heard Han Ziqing had arrived, he’d immediately charged out to confront her, and in the end had found himself at a loss for words.

This didn’t match at all with the cold, silent, brooding Situ Haonan of before, the one who had turned sinister and withdrawn upon receiving the news.

General Dugu watched and pondered, staying put, refusing to leave.

To his surprise, once Situ Haonan sat down like that, he remained seated the entire day, and only as night fell was he finally persuaded by Qianqian to return to his tent.

Though he listened to her, he still wouldn’t speak to Ziqing.

Back at camp, General Dugu arranged a small banquet. Situ Haonan attended, but kept his head down, eating in silence without a word, while Qianqian glanced helplessly at Ziqing and fell silent as well.

“Princess Consort Yao, this victory owes much to you. If not for your surprise strategy, this war in Xijing might well have dragged on another half a year before ending!” General Dugu said, raising his cup in a toast.

Though his words sounded polite on the surface, he was, in truth, testing Situ Haonan’s reaction — but Situ Haonan showed no response at all.

What should have been a lively, joyful little gathering ended, thanks to Situ Haonan’s silence, in an awkward and subdued dispersal, everyone returning to their own camps.

Tomorrow, they would formally accept Wanyan Lie’s surrender. What would tomorrow bring?