On the afternoon of the second day, seeing everything successfully accomplished, the Khan ordered the Chinese army to depart first and return to court to report the situation to the Emperor. He wrote a letter truly commending everyone’s achievements and presented commemorative gold medals to Qin Zhonghai, Lu Yun and others. Besides this, he also sent ten carts of gold and precious gifts as thanks to the Chinese Emperor. Appreciating Qin Zhonghai and Lu Yun’s participation in quelling the rebellion, he personally escorted them outside the pass. The Princess sat in her jade carriage and also came to see them off.
Lord He smiled, “Please stop here, Your Majesty! Your nation’s great turmoil has just ceased – the court cannot be without its ruler for a day. Please quickly return to the capital with your forces.” The Khan laughed, “Please rest assured, Lord He. Through this internal strife, I’ve learned the four words ‘treat people with sincerity.’ In the future, I will definitely use this as self-discipline when dealing with subjects. For our Khanate to have another internal rebellion won’t be easy!” These four words of wisdom “treat people with sincerity” were what he had heard from Princess Yinchuan – his words implied he held this woman in the highest regard.
Just as everyone was about to leave, suddenly the Princess said, “Gentlemen, please wait.” She slowly emerged from the carriage, curtsied to the Khan and said, “Your subject has something to convey to our nation’s sovereign – would Your Majesty permit this?” The Khan, thinking of her deep father-daughter affection, quickly said, “Naturally! Please go ahead.” The Princess said softly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.” She curtsied to the Khan, took several palace maids with her, and walked toward the distant mountains.
After a moment, a palace maid came over and asked, “Which one is Staff Officer Lu Yun? The Princess has words to convey.” Lu Yun made a sound and tidied his clothes slightly, then followed the palace maid.
Lord He was puzzled, not knowing why the Princess summoned Lu Yun. He gave Qin Zhonghai a meaningful look, but Qin Zhonghai couldn’t be bothered to respond – he just scratched his head and turned away, pretending not to notice. Lord He saw his lazy manner and quickly leaned over to whisper, “This Princess is a woman to be married, and Staff Officer Lu is young and handsome. You must watch carefully – don’t let Prince Karachi have suspicious thoughts.” Qin Zhonghai grunted and thought, “Damn, such boring business falls to me.” He yawned and followed Lu Yun.
Lu Yun walked to the mountain hollow and saw the Princess standing gracefully by the mountainside, gazing eastward as if lost in thought. The forest was full of snow, with pale sunlight filtering through, making everything appear especially tranquil. Lu Yun looked at the Princess’s back, knowing this was the last time he would serve her, and his thoughts surged like a tide.
For a long, long time, the Princess kept her back to Lu Yun, neither speaking nor turning around. In the complete silence, only the wind through withered branches could be heard – no other sound. Lu Yun waited for a while, and seeing the Princess still silent and motionless, he coughed lightly and was about to speak when suddenly he heard the Princess sigh, “Staff Officer Lu, thank you.” Lu Yun was startled, looking at her back, not understanding why she said this.
He heard the Princess say softly, “These past days you risked your life for me, several times sacrificing yourself to save me – I should truly repay you.” Lu Yun grunted and bowed, “This is your subject’s duty – Your Highness need not be polite.” Actually, the two had spent several days together on the cliff, sharing life-and-death hardships and becoming quite familiar, but somehow, back in the wider world, Lu Yun felt distant again, and his speech naturally returned to its original formality.
Hearing his words, the Princess fell silent again. Lu Yun saw her lonely figure and suddenly felt pity, thinking, “All of us are about to return to the Central Plains, but we must leave the Princess alone in the Western Regions – no wonder she feels sad.” Thinking of their time together these past days, his eyes also moistened, and in that moment he sighed deeply.
Hearing his sigh, the Princess slowly turned around to face Lu Yun and said softly, “Staff Officer Lu, why do you sigh?” Under the sunlight, the Princess’s face bore a faint smile, making her appear even more radiantly beautiful. Lu Yun thought of the imminent parting, felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, and only shook his head without responding.
The Princess stepped forward two paces, looking at Lu Yun’s face, “Staff Officer Lu, you shouldn’t sigh. You saved my life before and protected the Khan after, accomplishing such unprecedented merit – your future will surely turn from misfortune to fortune. What is there to worry about?” Lu Yun heard her kind words of comfort but only lowered his head and shook it, “Your subject doesn’t sigh for himself.” The meaning was clear – if he wasn’t sighing for himself, then he was sighing for the Princess. But such words could only be half-spoken; if said completely, they would inevitably cause trouble without helping anything.
The Princess said calmly, “Don’t say such things. From today onward, I am the Khanate’s imperial consort and you are China’s general – we both have beautiful futures ahead. We should be happy, don’t you think?” She smiled lightly, though it was unclear whether from joy or sorrow, grief or happiness.
Seeing the Princess force a smile, Lu Yun felt even more sad and thought, “The Princess is truly pitiful – even in this situation, she must pretend everything is fine. She’s really suffering.” He grunted and went along with her words, “The Princess is right. The Khan is very fond of Your Highness – I think when you go to the Khanate, you’ll surely have his exclusive favor and live happily without any worries.” But his words rang hollow.
Hearing this, the Princess suddenly lowered her head and remained motionless. Lu Yun wanted to say something comforting but couldn’t think of the right words for the moment, so he pressed his lips together and remained silent.
Suddenly a mountain wind blew – it was the depths of winter and immediately made the Princess shiver. Lu Yun saw she was cold and quickly removed his fur coat, about to drape it over her shoulders, but then thought, “I’m her subject – wouldn’t this be too intimate?” Knowing it wasn’t quite proper, he held back, just standing there awkwardly holding his fur coat.
The Princess saw Lu Yun holding the fur coat with a somewhat troubled expression. She raised her head and smiled faintly, “Staff Officer Lu, why must you be so formal? After all… after all, this is our last meeting, isn’t it?” Lu Yun heard her say this and suddenly realized, “Yes! After today, I’ll never see her again.” Thinking that the two would never meet again, Lu Yun felt sad and said softly, “When Your Highness goes to the Khanate, please take great care. Your subject, far away in China, will pray for Your Highness day and night.” Hearing these words, the Princess could no longer hold back her tears, which fell as she began to sob.
Lu Yun was alarmed, “Princess, what’s wrong?” The Princess wept and said sadly, “Staff Officer Lu, from today onward, I… I will also pray for you day and night.” Lu Yun said in a trembling voice, “Your Highness, you… you…” He heard the Princess say through her tears, “That day when I saw you fall from the cliff, I felt so cold, so cold all over, couldn’t see anything. I wanted to cry but couldn’t. Do you know how happy I was when I saw you were safe and sound…” Lu Yun cried out and stepped back. He listened to the Princess pour out her heart in bewilderment, never expecting he held such importance in the Princess’s heart. For a moment, overwhelmed with mixed emotions, he stood there dazed.
In the complete silence, he heard the Princess say quietly, “Staff Officer Lu, from the moment I first met you, you’ve always treated me as a noble princess. But do you know that from birth I had to receive royal education, shoulder the sufferings of the people, and even my marriage had to be arranged by others? Everyone thinks I’m of noble birth living in luxury, but actually… actually I’m just an ordinary girl…” Speaking to this point, she quietly turned away, supporting her shoulders with her hands, her body trembling constantly as if extremely cold.
Lu Yun stepped forward and gazed at her. Seeing the Princess’s face covered with tears, it was as if they had returned to beside the Heavenly Mountains – the Princess before him was still that pitiful girl he had once held in his arms, needing constant protection. Lu Yun felt a wave of sadness and wanted to do something more for her. He immediately raised his hands and gently draped the fur coat over her shoulders.
The Princess gripped the fur coat tightly with both hands as tears slid down her cheeks again.
Lu Yun saw her face full of sorrow and felt great pity, wanting to hold her in his arms and comfort her tenderly. But their stations were too different – even if he were a hundred times bolder, he wouldn’t dare do so. For the moment, he could only lower his head and endure, not daring to move.
The mountain wind blew, making them feel even colder. The two faced each other in silence, both motionless.
After a long, long time, the Princess finally wiped away her tears, then slowly turned and said softly, “This journey spans thousands of mountains and rivers – Staff Officer Lu must take care.” With that, she turned and was about to walk out of the forest.
Lu Yun’s mind buzzed as he thought, “This… she’s really leaving!” He rushed forward and called, “Your Highness, wait!” The Princess slowed her steps and looked back at Lu Yun, her eyes seeming to expect something yet unable to speak.
Seeing her expression, Lu Yun felt sad and pained. He pondered for a long moment as if weighing something, then suddenly gritted his teeth and said loudly, “Your Highness! Your subject knows you don’t like the Western Regions – let me take you away!”
Hearing these words, the Princess immediately cried out “Ah!” She stepped back and said in a trembling voice, “Do you mean this truly?”
Lu Yun’s mind flashed with lightning – if he really took the Princess away now, it would inevitably bring the disaster of family extermination. But anyway, he was poor and had nothing, already a fugitive, and had no family left, so there wasn’t much to fear. He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and said resolutely, “Your Highness! In life, one seeks only peace of mind! If you don’t like the Western Regions, why force yourself? Let your subject escort you back to Beijing!”
Hearing the word “Beijing,” the Princess’s body suddenly trembled. She lowered her head and said darkly, “I can’t return to Beijing. If I break my promise and don’t marry, Father Emperor will kill me the moment he sees me.”
Lu Yun saw her expression full of sorrow and didn’t know where his courage came from. He immediately snorted and said, “If we can’t return to Beijing, we won’t starve to death! If His Majesty won’t show mercy, then Your Highness must endure hardship for a while. Let’s first hide in the Shandong countryside for a year or so. When His Majesty’s anger subsides, we can make plans.”
The Princess’s eyes showed a gleam of joy as she said in a trembling voice, “Staff Officer Lu… you… you’re truly willing to take me away?”
Lu Yun nodded forcefully and said loudly, “Indeed! Though Lu is not of noble birth, I’ve always kept my word! How can I bear to see Your Highness go alone to the distant Western Regions today? Your subject has endured hardships and repeatedly risked his life to save you – this was definitely not for any reward, but only hoping Your Highness could live peacefully and happily! Today’s promise is definitely not casual words!”
The Princess saw his face full of righteous indignation and knew his words were true. In her great joy, she actually began to cry, tears soaking her sleeves in an instant.
Lu Yun saw her crying again and quickly bent down to look at the Princess’s face, saying gently, “Your Highness, what’s wrong now?” The Princess suddenly threw herself into his arms, holding Lu Yun tightly. Lu Yun held her delicate body, not knowing what to do, feeling quite embarrassed for the moment.
Just as he was thinking of gently pushing the Princess away, he felt her lean close and whisper in his ear, “Staff Officer Lu, with these words from you, Yinchuan has no regrets even in death.” She then kissed him deeply on the cheek.
Lu Yun was startled and was about to speak when the Princess had already released him, stepped back, her eyes filled with infinite tenderness.
Lu Yun didn’t understand the Princess’s meaning and said in confusion, “Your Highness, you… this is…”
The Princess gazed at Lu Yun and said softly, “Staff Officer Lu, being able to know you is the greatest fortune of this life – I hope to repay you in the next life.”
Lu Yun said in alarm, “Didn’t we agree? Why aren’t you leaving again?”
The Princess smiled faintly and shook her head, “Your words are already enough. If you really took me away, it would be unfair to General Qin and Marquis Liu – that wouldn’t work.” She turned away, her back to Lu Yun, and said softly, “I hope Heaven has eyes and lets you and Miss Gu become lovers who marry. When you wed, please have someone send word to the Khanate – I too will be happy for you.”
Only then did Lu Yun understand the Princess’s heart. Tears streamed down his face as he choked, “Princess, I… I…” The Princess lowered her head and said softly, “Lu Lang, Lu Lang, take care of yourself – may we meet again if fate allows.” Though her voice was steady, there was a hidden choking sound – she must be extremely heartbroken but didn’t want Lu Yun to know.
The north wind was bitter as the Princess slowly walked out of the forest, never looking back along the way.
Lu Yun watched her small figure step by step moving away, about to disappear from sight. His heart was greatly pained and he called, “Your Highness!” He was about to leap forward in pursuit when suddenly he saw someone with arms crossed, leaning lazily against a tree with a drowsy expression – it was Qin Zhonghai.
Seeing him arrive, Lu Yun couldn’t help feeling sad, “General Qin, I… I…” Qin Zhonghai looked at him, shook his head and sighed, “Brother Lu, don’t chase her. The Khan is waiting outside now – if you rashly chase after her, how can the Princess not cry? How can she not lose composure? Right now she’s just a delicate girl!” It seemed Qin Zhonghai had been watching for a long time and had heard the two’s conversation, but he didn’t want to disturb them, so he hadn’t shown himself until this critical moment when he intervened to block the way.
Hearing these words, Lu Yun seemed to wake from a great dream. Thinking that the Princess would henceforth live permanently in the Western Regions and never return to the Central Plains, his heart felt cut by knives as he stood there dazed, as if stupefied.
Qin Zhonghai patted his shoulder, “Let’s go! Don’t think about it anymore – it’s time to return home.” Lu Yun looked at the forest, knowing he would never see the Princess’s figure again in this life. Despite having weathered many storms and dangers, tears still couldn’t help flowing down.