After the words fell, the great hall remained in dead silence for quite a while.
Xiao Li stood while Wen Yu sat on the stool beside the cradle. Their intersecting gazes held no avoidance whatsoever.
Xiao Li’s Adam’s apple rolled several times, yet he still couldn’t speak. The faint crimson in his eyes deepened further in the candlelight, clearly displaying pain, suffocation, surprise, joy, and too many unspeakable emotions heavier than this night.
Wen Yu’s profile was bathed in the warm candlelight as she continued to him: “I’ve already told the Empress Dowager to find a secluded Buddhist place to send the mother and son out of the palace. To the outside, Prince Chen will be declared to have ‘died of illness.’ However, the Western Frontier war situation is currently urgent, so we still need to wait for the overall situation to stabilize somewhat…”
“Having that sentence from you is enough.” Xiao Li hoarsely interrupted her.
The eyes looking at her, stained with large patches of crimson, though domineering as they were, also revealed a fragility and fierce determination that could no longer tolerate any mistakes—like a riverbed that had been dry for so long, soaked by gentle wind and drizzle, yet unwilling to repair the previous cracked fissures, only wanting to drown completely within.
Wen Yu looked at him for a long while, seeming to sigh faintly, then raised her hand to indicate he should come over.
Xiao Li walked closer. At Wen Yu’s indication he sat down. As they looked together at A’Li sleeping soundly in the cradle, Wen Yu gently leaned her head on his shoulder, saying: “With that marriage contract, from now on whether ascending to the azure heavens above or descending to the yellow springs below, you and I can never escape our connection.”
Long ago when her father and brothers’ heads were hung high on Fengyang city gates, she had already had her bones crushed by this chaotic age. When going south, what supported her to continue walking—she could no longer distinguish whether it was hatred or righteousness.
But in that muddled chaos and life-and-death dependence, she had grasped a scorching sincere heart, time and again burning her ice-cold five fingers until they ached.
To this day, she could finally fearlessly hold it properly in her palm, unafraid of anything.
Xiao Li felt that weight pressing on his shoulder, only feeling something in his chest surging and blocking, so full it was almost overflowing. He forcefully gripped Wen Yu’s hand tightly, saying: “This is precisely what I wanted to say to you.”
Wen Yu felt the force of him clasping her five fingers. Her gaze still looking at A’Li, she asked peacefully: “Won’t regret it?”
Xiao Li said: “I only fear you’ll regret it.”
Wen Yu seemed to smile slightly: “Then you’ve misjudged me.”
Outside the hall, fine rain fell continuously. Accumulated water on the eave tiles slowly dripped down. Through the half-open window, one could only see the hall interior glowing warm yellow from candlelight.
The people in the hall, amid this pattering rain and flickering candlelight, lowered their heads and kissed quietly, their jaws meeting.
When Wen Yu was forced to tilt her head back further and unavoidably reached out to pull Xiao Li’s lapel for support, touching the scab on his neck, she stopped.
Xiao Li noticed, lightly kissing her temple, saying: “It doesn’t hurt.”
Long ago during those days trapped in Zhaohua Palace, Wen Yu had discovered his body bore many more new scars compared to when at the mountain hermitage. However, at that time the two still had many words left unsaid, so she had kept everything silent.
On the bed, due to some of his excessive positions, everywhere her eyes could see were always those scars. She was angry yet couldn’t even bring herself to bite him to vent her hatred, so could only close her eyes and endure. He thought she was resisting—driven by jealous hatred and fury, he became even more excessive until finally earning a bite mark from her. These matters, Xiao Li would naturally never know.
Wen Yu’s fingertips gently stroked those scabs, only saying: “Tell me about your time in the Northern Frontier.”
—
Heavenly Prison.
Zhaobai sat in the interrogation grand master’s chair. The whip hanging down to the ground showed mottled bloodstains in the torchlight on the wall. Not far away, the prisoner under interrogation had clothes already torn into countless pieces of cloth soaked with sticky blood under the torture whip.
Beneath those tattered prison clothes, the hideous whip marks layered new upon old, bloody and unable to find a single piece of intact flesh.
An Azure Cloud Guard glanced at the water clock nearby: “Commander, it’s the fourth watch.”
Zhaobai forcibly suppressed a restlessness and impatience between her brows. Since returning to the royal court, she had begun interrogating Pei Yuan, applying extreme torture day and night without any pattern, then throwing him back into the water prison. Under such severe punishment, she still hadn’t been able to pry open Pei Yuan’s mouth.
Her gaze swept like a blade toward Pei Yuan bound to the torture rack, coldly mocking: “Pei Song has truly raised a loyal good dog.”
Pei Yuan’s hands were shackled to the torture rack above. Were it not for these chains binding him, he would long ago have been unable to stand. Under disheveled hair, his eyelids along with his nose bridge and left cheek were all swollen high from a bleeding whip mark. Blood stuck in his throat, yet he laboriously laughed: “Commander Zhaobai, this loyal dog of the Wen clan, is no less so.”
Zhaobai’s eyes narrowed slightly, knowing the other person was deliberately provoking her to seek a quick death.
Footsteps came from outside. An Azure Cloud Guard entered, whispering by Zhaobai’s ear: “Commander, we captured a group of assassins attempting to raid the Heavenly Prison. We’ve verified their identities—they’re Wolf Cavalry from Xiao’s faction. They claim to have discovered Xiling army movements and will only reveal them after seeing their Mister Xiao.”
Zhaobai raised her hand to indicate that Azure Cloud Guard should withdraw first. As she stood to leave the torture chamber, she coldly glanced back at Pei Yuan, instructing the Azure Cloud Guards: “Pierce through both his shoulder blades.”
The cell holding Zhao Youcai and his group wasn’t far from the torture chamber. When Pei Yuan’s agonized screams from having his shoulder blades pierced came through, Zhao Youcai couldn’t help but shudder in his cell, stammering: “We won’t also be tortured for forced confession in a moment, will we?”
None of the accompanying Wolf Cavalry answered him. Zhaobai was already striding over from the torture chamber with Azure Cloud Guards.
Zhao Youcai had originally planned to clamor to see Xiao Li, but upon suddenly seeing Zhaobai, he was intimidated by her imposing aura. Even when Zhaobai had walked right up to the cell, he still couldn’t squeeze out half a sentence.
Zhaobai’s gaze swept over everyone in the cell, her brows and eyes seemingly holding frost: “Where did you discover Xiling army movements?”
Zhao Youcai was clever and habitually good at flattery and cunning. On this trip back to the royal court to investigate news of Xiao Li, he counted as the small leader of this Wolf Cavalry unit. Now questioned by Zhaobai, he still remembered the purpose of this trip and reluctantly said: “After seeing our lord, we’ll naturally… naturally reveal it.”
“Clang”—a loud sound as Zhaobai’s blood-dripping whip in her hand viciously struck the cell bars.
From the torture chamber came another agonized scream as Pei Yuan’s other shoulder blade was pierced.
Zhao Youcai, under Zhaobai’s gaze severe as frost, swallowed and finally spilled everything: “At… north of Henghu Lake, at least thirty thousand Xiling troops are marching north along Jiashi Mountain.”
Zhaobai’s expression turned sharp and cold: “Absurd. Why would Xiling march north? To attack Huxia Pass that relies on natural barriers?”
Reaching this point, Zhaobai’s expression suddenly changed almost imperceptibly.
After Wen Yu discovered Pei Yuan and the hawks and hounds appeared within Chen Kingdom territory, she had also sent urgent letters to Liang territory, having Fan Yuan lead soldiers who could overcome the cold barriers of the land to advance deep into the Western Frontier first.
After all, if Pei Song and his hawks and hounds could appear in Chen Kingdom, it meant they must have left through Huxia Pass.
Whether they had deceived the exit inspections at Huxia Pass, or whether Yang Shuo himself was in some way abnormal, was hard to say.
Now Xiling was beating Chen Kingdom into retreat to Gele City, and dividing out a large army to go north… If Yang Shuo had long ago turned to Pei Song, then those thirty thousand Xiling troops entering Liang territory through Huxia Pass—Great Liang would be in danger!
At that time, never mind Chen Kingdom being without aid, even Great Liang itself, having just experienced several years of bitter warfare, would be hard-pressed to protect itself.
Zhaobai’s face sank like frost as she turned and strode away rapidly.
Zhao Youcai didn’t know the reason, only feeling his earlier action had brought shame to Xiao Li and the Wolf Cavalry. Wanting to make amends, he shouted at Zhaobai’s back: “This young master understands righteousness deeply and has told you the military intelligence first. You can go verify its truth. Don’t forget to release our lord later, otherwise… otherwise our other brothers still lurking in the royal court aren’t pushovers either!”
He had marched with Zheng Hu to Henghu Lake. After discovering Xiling army movements there, Zheng Hu sent them back to find Xiao Li and report. From the Wolf Cavalry who had narrowly escaped with their lives at Suoyi Lake that day, they learned Xiao Li had unexpectedly encountered danger and fallen into Wen Yu’s hands, which was why they had the idea to raid the Heavenly Prison to rescue him.
Zhaobai glanced back at Zhao Youcai. Zhao Youcai immediately fell silent.
Zhaobai instructed those around her: “Just keep them confined, don’t mistreat them.”
Then continued striding rapidly toward the torture chamber.
Zhao Youcai thought his shouting had worked. After Zhaobai and the Azure Cloud Guards had walked far away, he straightened his back somewhat and said to the Wolf Cavalry confined with him: “See that? She’s afraid.”
—
Zhaobai returned to the torture chamber again, grabbing up the person whose shoulder blades on both sides had just been pierced by iron chains and who was barely breathing. A pair of cold eyes like quenched fire: “Stirring up conflict between Chen Kingdom and the desert tribes, forcing Chen troops to retreat and defend Gele City, then completely cutting off Chen troops’ eyes and ears in the desert—Pei Song then joins with Xiling troops to go north. You’re planning a two-pronged attack—while attacking Chen Kingdom, also attacking into Liang territory from Huxia Valley, aren’t you? Has Yang Shuo submitted to Pei Song?”
Blood overflowed from Pei Yuan’s mouth. Hearing Zhaobai’s furious questioning, his lips laboriously curved up. So weak as to almost use breath sounds, yet still maliciously enunciating word by word: “Commander Zhaobai… is wise… this was all… discovered by the Commander…”
Zhaobai’s complexion was extremely ugly. Having no time to instruct how to deal with him, she strode rapidly out of the Heavenly Prison.
—
The pitch-black sky curtain, rain pouring down.
In Xiling’s central command tent, Xiling Princess Heyi sat with legs crossed, her upturned leather boots almost pointing directly at the jaw of Pei Song kneeling on one knee before her. Her features were extremely bright and extremely deep, her sharpness revealing ambition she had never bothered to conceal.
“You said you have your people inside Huxia Pass. As long as this Princess lends you troops, when the time comes with coordination from inside and out, you can seize Huxia Pass and attack into the Central Plains sheltered by Jiashi Sacred Mountain. In view of you presenting Great Liang’s Imperial Jade Seal to this Princess and helping this Princess force Chen troops to retreat to Gele City, this Princess will trust you once.”
Heyi’s sharp eye corners lifted, scrutinizing the Central Plains general kneeling before her. She had a large frame and very dark skin. By relying on blades and halberds to fight her brothers and uncles to sit in her current position, she had not half a trace of ordinary women’s fragility. On that arm wearing an armband, one could clearly see the slightly bulging arc of muscle—the robustness of being able to wield blades and axes.
“Xiling court ministers won’t allow a rootless defeated Central Plains dog to command our Xiling sons. This Princess gives you the identity of this Princess’s third prince consort. Thirty thousand troops have already set out toward Huxia Pass. Prince Consort must absolutely not disappoint this Princess.”
Her voice seemed to contain laughter, yet deliberately emphasized the word “Prince Consort” in the last sentence. Her knuckles tapped one by one lightly on the Imperial Jade Seal Pei Song had presented, laughing in a warning yet casual manner: “This Princess’s previous two husbands let this Princess no longer see their usefulness, so they died. Prince Consort was born so handsome—this Princess hopes Prince Consort lives longer.”
Pei Song knelt on one knee, right hand placed over his left chest. Though already humiliated to this extent, the corner of his lips still bore a smile seemingly most devout and admiring: “Song is willing to be driven by the Princess. If unable to conquer the Central Plains for the Princess, Song is willing to be buried in Jiashi Mountain’s frozen soil that never thaws year-round, never entering reincarnation for eternity.”
Heyi occupied a high position and was accustomed to hearing such words of loyalty. She only contemptuously and playfully tugged the corner of her lips slightly: “Speaking of which, this Princess is very curious—though the Wen clan destroyed Prince Consort’s clan, Prince Consort is also a Liang person. Entering the pass this time, isn’t Prince Consort afraid of bearing eternal infamy?”
The smile on Pei Song’s lips gained more bloodthirsty air: “My father devoted his entire life’s loyalty to the Great Liang court, yet didn’t he also bear the eternal crime of intentional rebellion? Song, from the day the Qin family was unjustly accused and the entire clan imprisoned, ceased being a Liang person. Entering the pass this time, whether Liang people live or die—what does it matter to Song? If they stubbornly refuse to reform, Song killing them is merely helping the Princess kill some uncivilized pigs and sheep.”
This answer greatly satisfied Heyi. She sat slightly straighter, her body leaning forward to pinch Pei Song’s jaw, examining this refined face unique to Central Plains men, suddenly laughing: “This Princess awaits Prince Consort establishing this war merit, becoming my Xiling’s first brave warrior. Go.”
Pei Song’s expression didn’t change. As he humbly lowered his head to take his leave, his gaze swept over the jade seal Heyi had placed to one side of the low table.
After walking out of the great tent, the hawk and hound waiting outside immediately held an umbrella and followed his steps.
However, Pei Song walked with large strides. The rainy day roads were slippery and difficult to walk on. The hawk and hound was half a step slow, letting Pei Song’s body get wet from rain.
The hawk and hound quickly lowered his head to apologize for deserving death. The aura around Pei Song’s entire body was gloomy and depressed. Without a word, he only took a handkerchief to forcefully wipe his jaw.
Passing by a three-legged brazier, he threw that handkerchief into it. Noticing another shadow escaping into the darkness, the depths of his eyes deeply concealed a portion of sinister coldness and disgust. After walking another distance, he asked in a cold voice: “Has Pei Yuan sent back any news?”
The hawk and hound holding the umbrella for him answered: “No news has been sent back for quite a few days.”
Pausing, he asked somewhat uncertainly: “Master, could something have happened to the Captain?”
Pei Song stopped his steps. In the night rain, looking toward Chen Kingdom’s direction, his expression was so cold it didn’t seem at all like discussing a subordinate who had risked life and death for him, close as brothers: “Even if assassinating Hanyang failed and he fell into Hanyang’s hands, at most it would just be having Yang Shuo being this司 Minister’s person interrogated out.”
Cold malice overflowed from beneath his lowered long lashes: “Doesn’t that Yang Shuo want to be a Liang subject? This Minister wants to see—with the reputation of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country pinned on Yang Shuo’s head, how can his Yang clan still be Liang subjects!”
—
A shadow lifted the curtain and entered the central command tent, whispering something by Heyi’s ear.
Heyi played with the Imperial Jade Seal carved with five-clawed true dragons in her hand. After hearing this, she only nonchalantly hooked the corner of her lips slightly: “No matter. Hatred is the most solid shackle in this world. As long as hatred toward Great Liang remains, he is the most vicious hound under this Princess’s seat. If he truly showed complete submission to this Princess, this Princess would be wary.”
After speaking, her tiger-leopard-like eye corners lifted slightly: “His people at Huxia Pass may be Huxia Pass defending general Yang Shuo, or may not be. Have Nilu be more alert after entering the pass.”
Nilu was the Xiling general who would accompany Pei Song to Huxia Pass this time.
After the shadow withdrew, Heyi held up that Imperial Jade Seal with one hand to gaze at it. The depths of her eyes revealed ambition vigorous as surging tides: “Central Plains?”
—
Chen Kingdom, Royal Palace.
Dawn approaching but not yet arrived, the rain sounds hadn’t stopped. Under the eaves water dripped in lines. The wind chimes that had swayed all night in wind and rain hung still at the eave corners, only rain pearls still falling down along the copper bells.
Zhaobai, rarely anxious, knocked on the palace hall door.
Wen Yu was always a light sleeper, but last night she was fatigued. Only when the second knock sounded restrainedly did she finally lift her eyelids.
In the inner hall corner remained a palace lantern for nighttime needs, illuminating everything within the gauze curtains in warm yellow haziness.
She pushed aside the iron arm across her waist, donning clothes to cover her body that was clean only above the neck but unbearable to look at below the neck with marks, then rose.
After the daily morning court session, she still needed to privately summon ministers for political discussions. At this season, if marks were left on her neck, she had no way to conceal them. Not allowing him to leave marks on her neck, he redoubled his efforts in other places.