In the late winter of the fifth year of Yuanhe, Qingzhou experienced a major earthquake. Tremors were felt in Luozhou and Baizhou as well. The three families of Wei, Chu, and Song jointly issued a “Grain Requisition Order” to request grain from across the land for disaster relief. They dispatched General Chu Yu of the Northern Phoenix to lead troops in suppressing those who refused to pay. Within half a month, Chu Yu consecutively defeated the Yi family of Huaiyang Marquis, the Jiang Yong family of Bincheng, and the Chen Huai family of Luohe. The entire realm was shocked. Afterward, no one dared refuse to pay grain taxes. Meanwhile, Wei Yun sent troops to Qingzhou, taking Qingnan and Qingbei; Chu Linyang took the Ji family’s Linyi; Song Shilan acquired three cities from the Wang clan.
That winter was bitterly cold. The combination of earthquakes and severe cold exacerbated the disaster in Qingzhou. Fortunately, there was no major shortage of food, so Qingzhou managed to stabilize.
On the day the report of Qingzhou’s stabilization was sent to Huajing, Zhao Yue sat in the imperial study, allowing the imperial physician to examine him.
He had been feeling weak lately, and being a cautious person, he had many imperial physicians come to examine him.
Beside him, Zhang Hui was reading him the report from Qingzhou. Finally, he said, “Now that we’re providing disaster relief to Qingzhou, Wei Yun and his people are gaining more and more prestige among the common folk. They demand grain from the realm but don’t contribute much themselves. Your Majesty, should we make an announcement? Whoever dares to give them grain, we’ll attack them?”
Wei Yun, Song Shilan, and Chu Linyang were tough nuts to crack, but attacking smaller clans would be no problem.
Zhao Yue rubbed his forehead and asked with closed eyes, “Is Gu Chusheng planning to return?”
“General Yao didn’t say.”
Zhao Yue gave a low acknowledgment, then said, “Qingzhou is, after all, Yao Yong’s territory. If we completely destabilize Qingzhou, it will ultimately cause trouble for Yao Yong. We can’t go to extremes. Let them provide relief if they want. However, issue a notice stating that Wei Yun has plundered our disaster relief supplies, and denounce him thoroughly.”
Hearing this, Zhang Hui was stunned for a moment before he understood.
Zhao Yue was, after all, the imperial court. When Qingzhou was in trouble, the court should have been the first to provide disaster relief. But now that the court hadn’t allocated grain, it had forced Wei Yun to provide relief. If this became widely known, the court’s reputation among the people would be ruined.
Now they were turning the tables, claiming Wei Yun had plundered the relief grain. This would both show the people that the court was helping with disaster relief and salvage public opinion, while also portraying Wei Yun’s relief efforts as mere posturing.
Understanding Zhao Yue’s intention, Zhang Hui smiled, “Your Majesty is truly astute.”
Zhao Yue didn’t respond. His head was aching too much, so he asked, “Didn’t you mention earlier that some village in Baizhou had an epidemic?”
“Yes, a village called Dongjia Village near Qingzhou. The epidemic is spreading severely. Now villages adjacent to Qingzhou also have outbreaks. General Yao is handling it.”
“Bring me the map.”
Zhao Yue opened his eyes, looking somewhat exhausted. Zhang Hui went to fetch the map and pointed it out to Zhao Yue: “Your Majesty, look, it’s right here.”
Zhao Yue stared at Dongjia Village for a long time, then slowly said, “It seems to be right next to the Nanjiang River.”
The Nanjiang River was a long river that ran through Baizhou and Huazhou, originating in Baizhou and flowing into the sea in Huazhou. It was considered the main river of Huazhou.
Zhang Hui didn’t understand Zhao Yue’s meaning, but simply said, “Yes, Jiangbai City is right beside it.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yue remained silent.
He stared at Jiangbai City for a long time. Suddenly, he said, “Immediately dispatch troops to support Yao Yong. Take Jiangbai at all costs!”
“Your Majesty?”
Zhang Hui couldn’t fathom Zhao Yue’s intentions. Jiangbai was neither a strategic location nor did it have any special resources. He couldn’t understand why they needed to take Jiangbai with such force.
“Also, send 200,000 troops from Yanzhou,” Zhao Yue tapped the armrest and continued issuing orders, “Bypass Niucheng and march directly on Bailing.”
“Your Majesty,” Zhang Hui frowned, “If you don’t attack Niucheng and go straight to Bailing when Wei Yun leads his troops back, he could join forces with Niucheng’s army to attack Bailing from both sides. That seems unwise.”
“After taking Bailing, don’t linger,” Zhao Yue rubbed his forehead, “Take Wei Yun’s family members away.”
With this explanation, Zhang Hui finally understood.
This emperor wasn’t a man of military talent, but he was more adept at vicious political maneuvering. Capturing a city was never about its military importance or resources, but simply because it held people the opposing general cared about.
Years ago, he had let the Northern Di win against the Wei family at Baidi Valley, exploiting Yao Yong’s cowardice and the Wei family’s righteousness. Now, he intended to do the same.
Zhang Hui accepted the order and went to make arrangements.
After Zhang Hui left, Zhao Yue opened his eyes and looked at the imperial physician kneeling on the ground taking his pulse, “Imperial Physician Gao, do you have a diagnosis?”
“Your Majesty…” Imperial Physician Gao said nervously, “You seem to be overly worried…”
“I’ve been feeling fatigued lately.”
“You are indeed extremely fatigued.”
Zhao Yue was silent for a moment. He finally stood up and walked towards the Princess Royal’s palace.
When he arrived, the Princess Royal was directing people to dig under a plum blossom tree.
Most of the plum blossoms had fallen by now, with only a few trees scattered throughout the grove still in bloom. He watched from a distance as the Princess Royal calmly directed people to dig up the soil and then place several jars of wine into the hole.
Zhao Yue remained silent until the Princess Royal had finished burying the wine. Then someone reminded her, “Your Highness, His Majesty is over there.”
The Princess Royal looked up and saw Zhao Yue standing by the trees. Seeing that she had noticed him, Zhao Yue walked over to her, adjusted her clothes, and said gently, “What are you doing?”
“Burying some wine,” the Princess Royal smiled. “We can dig it up and drink it next winter.”
Zhao Yue reached out and held her hand. Her hand felt like ice in the winter air. Zhao Yue enveloped her hand in his and smiled, “Next year when the child is born, I’ll drink with you.”
The Princess Royal smiled without speaking. Zhao Yue led her into the palace, saying wearily, “The realm is in chaos now. Wei Yun, Song Shilan, Chu Linyang… none of them give me peace of mind.”
He led the Princess Royal to sit inside the room, had hot water brought over, and personally wiped her face with a cloth. He said softly, “But don’t worry too much. I will take care of everything. When our child grows up,” Zhao Yue looked up at her and smiled, “I will hand over a stable throne to him.”
“You will be the Empress, and later the Empress Dowager,” Zhao Yue raised his hand and touched her hair, his expression tender and solemn. “For your entire life, you will always be the most noble woman in the world. You will never suffer any grievance.”
Hearing these words, the Princess Royal’s heart trembled slightly. She lowered her gaze to look at her own hands. After a long while, she finally responded softly, “Mm.”
“Your Highness,” he leaned gently on her shoulder, just like he used to do at the Princess’s mansion, relying on her. “Everything I do is for you and the child. Don’t blame me.”
The Princess Royal didn’t speak. She felt the warmth on her shoulder. His spirit had been deteriorating lately, and occasionally he would feel dizzy and his vision would blur.
She knew why. Feeling his weakness, clearly aware of the loss of his life force, she showed rare tolerance. She held his hand and slowly said, “Ah Yue, a person’s life is governed by fortune. Accumulate some virtue for me and the child.”
Zhao Yue leaned against her. After a long while, he slowly said, “Don’t worry.”
He hugged her and laughed softly, “I’ll go to hell, but you and the child will be fine.”
“Ah Yue…” the Princess Royal gripped his hand tighter. “Why must it be this way…”
“Chunhua,” Zhao Yue sensed her unease. He raised his head to look at the Princess Royal, his eyes filled with bitterness. “Some paths, once I’ve stepped on them, there’s no turning back. Wei Yun won’t let me go, do you understand?”
The Princess Royal stared at him blankly. Zhao Yue suppressed his emotions and said with difficulty, “From the moment I forced the Wei family to their deaths for my revenge, there was no turning back.”
“Between Wei Yun and me,” Zhao Yue slowly calmed down, “one of us must die. But don’t worry,” he held her hand, saying with certainty, “It won’t be me.”
As Zhao Yue’s orders were being passed down, Wei Yun had just taken Qingnan. He first returned to Bailing, made some arrangements, and then contacted Shen You, preparing to join forces to attack Yuishui. Once Yuishui was taken, conquering Qingzhou would be just a matter of time.
At this time, Chu Yu had just arrived in Yuancheng. The news of Wei Yun taking Qingnan had just reached Yuancheng. Sun Yi had been appointed as the commander of Yuancheng, so Chu Yu asked Sun Yi to write a letter back, inquiring about Wei Yun’s current activities.
Sun Yi found this strange and asked, “General, why don’t you ask him yourself?”
Chu Yu felt a bit embarrassed and waved his hand, saying, “Just ask as I told you. Why so many questions?”
As Sun Yi was writing the letter according to Chu Yu’s request, he said, “This is strange. By all rights, whether as the commander of this campaign or as his lover, it would be perfectly natural for you to write to the Prince. What are you being shy about?”
“Who says I’m being shy?” Chu Yu finally said, “I’m thinking of him, aren’t I?”
“Thinking of him?” Sun Yi was confused. Chu Yu sighed, sat cross-legged on the table, and rested his chin on his hand, saying, “If I write a letter, he’ll know I miss him. If he knows I miss him, he’ll miss me too, and won’t he be thinking about me day and night, wanting to come see me? If he’s so focused on wanting to see me, how can he fight this war properly?”
Such straightforward words left Sun Yi stunned. He couldn’t react for a long time. It was only when Wan Yue’s voice came from outside that he snapped out of it: “Miss, there’s someone outside asking to see you. They say they’re looking for Lord Gu.”
Chu Yu was surprised. Gu Chusheng had been away from Yuancheng for many days now. Who would be looking for him?
However, Chu Yu didn’t think too much about it. He stood up and said, “Alright, I’ll go take a look.”
Chu Yu led the way out and saw a woman standing at the door. The woman looked very young, wearing tattered clothes and holding a child. Chu Yu looked her up and down, then stepped forward and respectfully said, “Are you looking for Lord Gu?”
The woman saw Chu Yu and was about to kneel, but Chu Yu quickly stopped her. After exchanging pleasantries, the woman said, “To be honest, it’s not that I’m looking for Lord Gu, but someone told me that Lord Gu is looking for me.”
“And you are?”
Chu Yu frowned. The woman sighed, “I am a woman of the Li family. I heard that Lord Gu is looking for my father-in-law, Li Le, so I came here.”
Chu Yu wasn’t sure why Gu Chusheng was looking for Li Le. She thought for a moment, realizing she hadn’t seen Wei Qingping and Gu Chusheng for a long time and didn’t know where they were or how the disaster situation was. Since all the grain was now entering Qingzhou through Yuancheng, she thought for a bit, then informed Sun Yi and led the woman into Qingzhou herself.
At this time, Gu Chusheng and Wei Qingping were providing disaster relief in a small town called Quanyong.
It took Chu Yu and the woman five days of travel to reach Quanyong.
On the way, Chu Yu talked with the woman and learned that her name was Chen Jiu’er. The Li Le that Gu Chusheng was looking for was her father-in-law, and she was the wife of Li Le’s third son.
The Li family had two sons and one daughter. Earlier, when troops were being recruited, the eldest son went to the battlefield and never returned. Later, when taxes became too heavy, Chen Jiu’er’s husband couldn’t pay the required taxes due to a poor harvest that year. He was beaten by government troops and died in his sickbed. The youngest daughter was sold into slavery in a rich merchant’s household due to poverty, and her whereabouts were now unknown. This left Chen Jiu’er to take care of the remaining three children.
However, amidst the chaos of war and earthquakes, two of the three children fell ill and died, leaving only her newborn son, who might not survive much longer.
When Chen Jiu’er met Chu Yu, she had already run out of milk, and her little son was only drinking rice porridge distributed as disaster relief. It was only on the way to Quanyong City that Chen Jiu’er ate some meat and finally had milk again.
Quanyong City was now the last city to receive disaster relief.
Quanyong had been severely affected by the disaster, but the officials didn’t report it. By the time Gu Chusheng found out, it was already too late.
When Chu Yu arrived in Quanyong City, she saw broken walls and collapsed beams. Bodies were being pushed out on carts, to be collectively cremated as per Wei Qingping’s instructions. Unlike other cities, Quanyong was eerily quiet, with a kind of wordless gloom that weighed heavily on one’s heart.
Chen Jiu’er, holding her child, followed behind Chu Yu and said timidly, “My lord…”
“It’s alright,”
Chu Yu said calmly, “Just follow me.”
Saying this, Chu Yu had the soldiers lead the way and escort the grain.
There were very few people in Quanyong. When Chu Yu arrived at the grain storage area, there wasn’t even anyone to help unload the cargo. Chu Yu had to unload it herself and then found someone to ask for directions to where Gu Chusheng was.
Following the directions of locals, most people were now at the medical pavilion. Chu Yu led Chen Jiu’er to the medical pavilion. As they approached, they could hear wails of anguish, cries, and chaotic voices from inside.
Chu Yu entered the medical pavilion and saw rows upon rows of patients lined up. Many people were moving back and forth among them, bandaging wounds and administering medicine.
From a distance, Chu Yu saw a figure in red. His hair was tied up with a cloth band, and his fine clothes were stained with mud. He wore a white medical apron and held a bowl of medicine, hurrying to an elderly man. At first, he patiently tried to feed the medicine to the man, but suddenly, the man began to cough violently, with fresh blood flowing from his mouth. Gu Chusheng panicked and began to shout frantically, “Wei Qingping! Wei Qingping!”
However, there were too many patients, and Wei Qingping was administering acupuncture to another one nearby. Gu Chusheng expertly but shakily retrieved a needle and pierced it into the acupoint that Wei Qingping had treated him before. At the same time, he grabbed the medicine handed to him by a nearby medical apprentice and shoved it into the patient’s mouth.
“Hang in there…” he said, his voice trembling. “My lord, you must hold on! Your son will be back soon!”
He seemed frantic as Chu Yu slowly approached, watching him desperately trying to save the elderly man who was coughing up blood.
In the end, despite Gu Chusheng’s best efforts, the man gradually lost his breath, closing his eyes for the last time.
Gu Chusheng knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the old man.
After a long moment, Chu Yu placed a hand on his shoulder. “Gu Daren,” she said softly, “he’s gone.”
Gu Chusheng slowly turned to look at her. He raised his gaze to the woman beside him. She wore a fitted black outfit, a leather whip at her waist, and her hair was tied up high, giving her a capable and assertive appearance. Yet her smile carried a warmth and gentleness that only time could provide, her expression offering some comfort. “Gu Daren, take a moment to rest.”
Hearing her words, it took Gu Chusheng a while to regain his composure.
Eventually, he smiled and called her name, “A Yu.”
With that, he raised his hand, supported by a medical apprentice, and stood up. Others had gathered to tend to the elderly man, but Gu Chusheng didn’t look back at him. Facing Chu Yu, he said, “It’s been a long time.”
“Mm.”
Chu Yu sized him up for a moment before stepping aside. “I heard you were looking for Li Le. This is Li Le’s daughter-in-law; I brought her for you to meet.”
Gu Chusheng’s gaze fell on the woman behind Chu Yu, who was holding a child and looking down, too afraid to meet his eyes.
He took a glance at her and quickly grasped what had transpired.
Tightly clenching his fists, he took a deep breath before finally speaking, “Is there anyone else at home?”