Meng Xiangyang brought his own people along. He wasn’t afraid of Shi Ting playing any tricks — besides, he wanted to see exactly what the other man was up to.
Meng Xiangyang followed behind Shi Ting’s cavalry and pressed onward, until in the distance he could make out a brightly lit encampment ahead. It was Liu Qingnian’s garrison.
Wang Yuan immediately grew wary at the sight: “Minister, I fear there may be a trap.”
Meng Xiangyang’s own confidence had begun to waver. He immediately ordered his men to stop.
Even if that was Liu Qingnian’s force, what if Liu Qingnian had already been captured?
While he was weighing whether to continue advancing, Liu Qingnian emerged from one of the military tents.
Shi Ting’s horse stopped in front of him. Shi Ting dismounted cleanly and walked straight toward Liu Qingnian.
Liu Qingnian gave him a nod: “Seventh Young Master.”
“Commander Liu, Minister Meng is here. Please receive him.” Shi Ting turned and looked at Meng Xiangyang, who sat bewildered on his horse.
Meng Xiangyang saw Liu Qingnian standing alongside Shi Ting and was overcome with doubt.
Could Liu Qingnian have gone over to Shi Ting’s side? No — that was impossible. Liu Qingnian and Shi Ting had never had any dealings with each other. Two such different people could never have formed an alliance so suddenly.
Besides, Liu Qingnian was his man, loyal to him through and through. If Liu Qingnian had betrayed him, he couldn’t possibly have heard nothing about it.
“Minister Meng.” From some distance away, Liu Qingnian called out loudly: “I have obeyed your orders and brought my troops here. What are your next instructions, Minister?”
Meng Xiangyang glanced at Wang Yuan beside him. Wang Yuan said quietly: “Minister, something doesn’t feel right. I think we should fall back first.”
“Agreed.” Meng Xiangyang also felt that the atmosphere around him was deeply strange, and it left him deeply unsettled. Without having probed Liu Qingnian’s true position, he decided to retreat to Shun Cheng first and then contact Gao Qingyou and Liu Hetian.
Meng Xiangyang did not answer Liu Qingnian’s question. Instead, he turned his contingent around and prepared to return to the city.
“Minister Meng.” Liu Qingnian spoke from behind him: “Has Minister Meng forgotten — Bei Di bears the Shi surname, not the Meng. Has Minister Meng also forgotten that we are the Shi family’s army, not the Meng family’s?”
When Meng Xiangyang turned to look at Liu Qingnian, he saw someone step out from behind the military tents. At the sight of this person, every drop of color drained from Meng Xiangyang’s face in an instant.
The Marshal!
The Marshal was dressed in a sky-blue uniform, his deep gaze carrying a trace of sorrow: “Xiangyang — I have not treated you poorly. Why have you committed such an act of grave treachery? You have truly disappointed me.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Xiangyang was first stunned — then he threw back his head and laughed, his expression full of fury and grief: “Marshal, you have not treated me poorly? First you arrested Xiangli, then you detained Xiangchen — you drove me step by step to a dead end, and yet you say you have not treated me poorly?”
“Meng Xiangli plotted to murder an official’s son — a heinous crime. My arresting him was simply a matter of upholding Shun Cheng’s laws. And Meng Xiangchen attempted to harm me — was I to be magnanimous enough to forgive even that?” The Marshal narrowed his eyes: “Xiangyang, your Meng family has relied on its power and position to act however it pleased — when have you ever truly regarded me? My home is my private domain, yet you secretly planted informants there to report every movement to you. Your sister Meng Qiu was vicious and cruel, scheming to harm my offspring. When you learned of it, rather than restraining her, you pressured me to overlook it. Between us — who erred first?”
Meng Xiangyang had always been arrogant in the belief that his achievements outweighed his faults, and he had never put such petty matters to heart. In his mind, only the lives of the Meng family were of consequence — everyone else’s life was nothing but grass. He had always believed he had done no wrong, and even now, in this moment, he still felt that the Marshal had borne a grudge against the Meng family all along — that the Marshal was making mountains out of molehills.
“In consideration of the two generations your Meng family has served and been loyal to the Shi household, I will not take your life today, and I will not put you in prison. But from this day forward, you will remain within the Meng family compound and will not be permitted to take so much as a single step outside.” The Marshal let out a long, heavy sigh. “I leave the Meng family a path to survival. I hope you will conduct yourself accordingly.”
“Marshal, do you think winning over a Liu Qingnian is enough to bring me to heel? Ha! Marshal, do you truly know the extent of my strength? I came prepared — I have contingencies in place.” Meng Xiangyang felt no fear of Liu Qingnian’s forces, for he had long since kept reserves in readiness.
The Marshal said: “Xiangyang — even now, do you still not surrender?”
“Who will end up the victor is far from decided — there is no need for the Marshal to speak in absolutes.”
At that very moment, a clamor arose in the distance. Two separate forces came closing in from two directions at once.
Wang Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he cried in startled joy: “It’s Commander Gao and Commander Liu!”
A look of elation crossed Meng Xiangyang’s face. Gao Qingyou and Liu Hetian had arrived at exactly the right moment. Whatever Liu Qingnian was — friend or foe — the moment these two arrived, dealing with Liu Qingnian would be no problem at all.
What Meng Xiangyang had not anticipated was that Gao Qingyou and Liu Hetian’s forces moved to surround him entirely.
“Minister Meng — forgive us.” Gao Qingyou and Liu Hetian rode in on two great horses, dressed in full military uniform, their dark ranks of soldiers stretching out behind them.
Meng Xiangyang was stunned: “Qingyou, Hetian — what are you saying?”
Liu Hetian replied: “Minister Meng, though we have served under your command, the person we ultimately pledge our loyalty to is the Marshal. You now ask us to take up arms in rebellion — that is something I cannot obey.”
Meng Xiangyang’s eyes went wide enough to rival a brass bell. He almost believed his ears had malfunctioned. Gao Qingyou and Liu Hetian were his men — he had fought through countless campaigns alongside them over the years. He had believed that whatever he did, these two would remain absolutely loyal to him.
“How can this be?” The blood drained from Meng Xiangyang’s face. If the Marshal had turned Liu Qingnian against him, he could still make sense of that. But Gao Qingyou and Liu Hetian had both betrayed him.
“Is there still something Minister Meng does not understand?” Shi Ting, who had been silent until now, watched him with cold eyes. “From the day you acted with arrogance and insolence, treating the Marshal with contempt, this ending was already sealed. From Meng Xiangli’s imprisonment to Meng Xiangchen’s execution, the Meng family’s ruin and collapse was destined. Commanders Liu, Gao, and Liu saw further than you — they understood which way the tide of history runs. You, on the other hand — from beginning to end, you were blinded by power. You held fast to the small plot of land before your eyes. You could not see the future; you could not see the changing world beyond. You believed everything was within your grasp. And in the very moment you sat at the bottom of the well looking up at a sliver of sky, every person you thought trusted you and remained loyal to you abandoned you — because they understood what truly endures. Minister Meng, you have lost. And yet you have lost without any injustice.”
“No — this is impossible.” Meng Xiangyang nearly fell from his horse. His face contorted into an expression of frenzied disbelief. “Impossible, impossible — how can this be? I must be dreaming. Wang Yuan, am I dreaming? Tell me quickly.”
Wang Yuan let out a long, heavy sigh and shook his head: “Minister, we have lost.”
Meng Xiangyang believed he had been manipulating the whole situation — and yet from start to finish, he had been nothing but a piece on someone else’s board.
“The Marshal must have spent a very long time laying this strategy.” Wang Yuan’s gaze was cool and clear as he looked toward the Marshal, who stood tall and straight. “We accept our defeat.”
As Wang Yuan made as though to dismount, in the moment he sprang down, a pistol appeared in his hand. The black muzzle swung suddenly toward the position where the Marshal stood — but before he could fire, a bullet struck his wrist, followed immediately by another in his right leg. He let out a cry of agony and fell to the ground at once.
Shi Ting lowered his gun and looked toward the contingent behind Meng Xiangyang, raising his voice: “Listen, all of you — Meng Xiangyang’s defeat is sealed. The Marshal acknowledges that you were led astray by Meng Xiangyang and fell into error. Starting now, any man who lays down his weapon and abandons resistance will be pardoned without punishment.”
At these words, the soldiers at Meng Xiangyang’s back immediately began to exchange glances.
The Marshal had not spent a single soldier or expended a single bullet, and victory was already his. Looking at Liu Qingnian, Gao Qingyou, and Liu Hetian’s forces — disciplined, full of spirit — if they chose to fight, all that awaited them was a pile of bones.
In ordinary times, Meng Xiangyang had treated his subordinates as things to be summoned and dismissed at will, never showing the genuine care that Liu Qingnian had for every one of his soldiers. But in Meng Xiangyang’s mind, these soldiers were his and therefore existed to serve him — regardless of how he treated them, that was their duty.
Watching now as his subordinates put down their weapons one after another, Meng Xiangyang felt his vision blur. His throat turned sweet. A mouthful of blood shot out, and he fell from his horse.
At the Meng Mansion at that moment, Meng’s First Lady and Lady Shi sat in the places of honor in the main hall, while Meng’s Second Lady and Meng’s Third Lady sat to either side. Each of them held a cup of tea.
At first, the women had managed to exchange a few words. But as midnight passed and the atmosphere in the hall grew deeply oppressive, conversation ceased.
Meng’s First Lady glanced at the young maidservant at her side, who immediately stepped out. Meng Xiangyang had said that any news would be sent back at once — yet it was already past one o’clock, and still not a single word had come.
While the Meng family women sat restless and unsettled, that same maidservant suddenly came rushing back in with a face drained white: “My Lady, my Lady, something is wrong — there are soldiers everywhere outside. They have surrounded our Meng Mansion!”
“How can this be?” Lady Shi was the first to panic.
“Don’t be alarmed — they may be men the master has sent to protect us.” Meng’s First Lady still maintained a measure of calm. “It is, after all, a critical time. Our safety matters too.” She turned to ask the maidservant: “Do you recognize who is leading them?”
The maidservant shook her head: “I don’t recognize them.”
“Was there any message?”
“None.”
“Elder Sister-in-law.” Lady Shi grew more urgent. “If they were the master’s men, how could they have come without a word of greeting to us? The people outside may not be our own.”
Hearing that they might not be their own people, every woman in the room was struck dumb. The concubines also dissolved into panic.
Between the three Meng brothers, only three daughters had been born — and all three had long since been given away in marriage.
It was said that the Meng family’s ancestral graves had been cursed, and that after Meng Xiangyang’s generation, no sons would ever be born to the family again.
“I’ll go out and see.” Meng’s First Lady steeled herself and clenched her jaw.