Chapter 67 The Twenty-Second Time!

Chapter 67

On the 29th of the second month of the second year of Xihe, the day before Ye Xiren started the cycle, was Yan Wan's last cycle. Realizing there was no chance to start over, she left this note and hid it in the military map.

Many things in this world may be destroyed, disappear, or forgotten, but military maps are of great significance and will never be ignored. The appearance of this military map of the Southern Capital's Forbidden City in the Ye family is not because someone is plotting anything, but because a woman who is desperate and in dire straits wants to leave her traces and clues.

If fate smiles upon us, one day someone will open this notebook and learn what happened.

Every word on the note was hastily written, yet powerful and forceful. Ye Xiren seemed to see the woman who wrote this note slowly telling her story, a story that Ye Xiren and even the world did not know.

The journal grew larger and larger, like mountains and rivers, and Ye Xiren crossed time and space to land on the journal, talking to Yan Wan across dozens of reincarnations of the two of them.

She seemed to appear right before my eyes, recounting her story in a gentle, detailed manner.

"My cycle began in the thirty-fourth year of Jingyou. Emperor Xianzong was defeated in a panic and returned to Beidu, leaving my brother with a mess. My brother struggled to hold on but to no avail. He died with ten thousand arrows piercing his heart. Northern Yan attacked Beidu, and Emperor Xianzong and his treacherous minister decided to move the capital."

"That year, I was still being raised by Madam Zhao of the Ye family. My father died tragically, my younger brother was left to wander, and my mother returned to Beidu in mourning clothes. She resolutely refused to move south with the governor and chose to defend the capital to the death. The Ye family was loyal and refused to leave either. When Beidu fell, we died under a hail of blades..."

In Yan Wan's first cycle, both the Ye family and the Yan family died in Beidu.

Like Ye Xiren, she was initially confused about the situation. Several times, she died under the hail of blades because of the fall of Beidu. The great building was about to collapse and her fate was sealed. How could such a small number of people in Beidu possibly withstand the thousands of troops of Beiyan?

On the fourth cycle, she finally decided to go and see what it was like to leave the capital.

Lady Yan refused to leave and died in Beidu. Yan Wan also did not live long. On the way south, Emperor Xianzong and the treacherous minister were caught up by the Northern Yan army and all died.

"Since we're all going to die anyway, why leave Beidu?" Yan Wan looked similar to Yan Danqing. Her beautiful face was resolute and decisive, and her eyes held the fierceness of a daughter of a military family. "In the fifth cycle, with Uncle Ye's help, Jiang You and I joined forces to kill Emperor Xianzong and the treacherous minister, supported the young emperor to ascend the throne, and defended Beidu to the death."

However, they could not hold out. The capital city fell, and the Northern Yan... massacred the city.

Yan Wan and the Ye family all died in the massacre.

Therefore, Yan Wan changed her approach again. With Ye Pei's help, she joined forces with Jiang You, Zhang Yuanmou and others to kill the treacherous minister, support Jiang You to become prime minister, and let Xianzong preside over the southward relocation.

When the relocation of Xingtai to the south began, Madam Yan refused to leave.

Through countless cycles of life and death, Ye Xiren seemed to see Yan Wan's pain at that time, torn between her family and her country, unable to take her mother with her.

Madam Yan, Shen Muzhen, saw her off. The Yan family needed someone to guard the capital. Her husband was dead, her eldest son was dead, and her youngest son was wandering the land, his whereabouts unknown. Shen Muzhen refused to leave until her death, but she hoped that her daughter could have a way to survive.

Yan Wan is gone. Her staying here is just another cycle. She is going to send off the farewell platform to the Southern Capital to seek a way out for the Great Liang.

Whether the Yan family members stayed or left, wherever they were, their hearts were always with their country and their people.

They once again helped the young emperor ascend the throne, and with the help of Yan Wanhuan's abilities, they overcame many dangers and successfully arrived in Nandu in February of the thirty-fifth year of Jingyou.

"Your cycle always ends up back at the beginning?" Ye Xiren asked softly.

On the manuscript, Yan Wan seemed to stand opposite, with a desk in front of her, writing in despair while murmuring:

"The pattern of my reincarnation is that I keep returning to September of the thirty-fourth year of Jingyou. I have experienced countless times the fall of the Northern Capital, the tragic death of my mother, and the panicked escape..."

It hurts so much!

Each cycle brings a catastrophe, and seeing corpses everywhere, she stands at the end of time, watching the inevitable and unstoppable tragedy repeat itself again and again.

Her desperate situation could not truly defy fate, because it was the thirty-fourth year of Jingyou, when the Great Liang was trampled by the Northern Yan and there was no way to reverse the situation. Yan Wan could only use her life and death to prolong this desperate road ahead, but she could not turn the tide.

Ye Xiren's heart skipped a beat.

Like Yan Wan, her initial cycle would return to the starting point. It was only after Yan Danqing died in the seventh cycle that the cycle node officially changed, as if it was from that time onwards... Yan Danqing officially entered the cycle, and she had a companion.

Previously, she was just like Yan Wan, performing a desperate one-woman show.

Compared to Yan Wan, her cycle was much better. She had a companion and didn't have to go through that long, hopeless repetition with no end in sight, again and again, day after day.

"I reunited with Liang Yue after I came to Nandu from Xingtai." Various emotions flashed in Yan Wan's eyes, eventually turning into longing and warmth. There was even a touch of warmth in her despairing strokes of writing.

She had known Liang Yue for a long time, and they corresponded when they were very young. They fell in love when they grew up.

However, during Emperor Xianzong's reign, Liang Yue was an unappreciated Prince Yu, while the Yan family were generals guarding the border. Emperor Xianzong could never arrange a marriage between Liang Yue and Yan Wan, so neither of them married.

After arriving in Nandu, Yan Wan and Liang Yue reunited. Her cycle of trial and error continued, and from that moment on, Liang Yue unconditionally believed in her in every cycle and accompanied her step by step.

That was Yan Wan's only warmth in the cycle of reincarnation, as she was on the verge of madness.

It was at this time that her younger brother, Yan Danqing, appeared.

This younger brother, who had been separated from his family, did not die, nor did he wallow in grief. With the blood of the Yan family flowing in his veins, he raised a large army to resist the Northern Yan.

“The moment Chunzhou appeared, I knew that I had finally glimpsed hope amidst countless cycles of reincarnation.” Yan Wan’s eyes softened, and a smile appeared on her lips. “With my father and elder brother ahead of me, few others have noticed my younger brother Chunzhou, but we, the Yan family, all know that he has exceptional talent and can grow into a great general who will be remembered in history, achieving great feats like sealing the wolf’s lair…”

Her smile froze, and her expression turned gloomy.

My father once said that once Chunzhou grew up, the Great Liang would no longer fear the Northern Yan. However, before Chunzhou had even grown up, Chizhan Lance from the Northern Yan had already set his sights on the Great Liang...

In the same era, it seems that there is more than one genius. They discovered Yan Danqing's talent, and then an even more monstrous talent, Chi Zhanlan Ce, appeared in Northern Yan.

The other party was the son of the King of Northern Yan, and was deeply favored. It seemed that all the accumulation of Northern Yan over hundreds of years was above him. He was called the "Holy Son" and was born to sit above power. He could do whatever he wanted without any obstacles.

Fortunately, just when the Great Liang was in despair, Yan Danqing, who had grown stronger through hardship, appeared in time.

Yan Wan and Liang Yue wanted to control the court and support Yan Danqing, but they never expected that the country had become so rotten, with wolves eyeing it from the outside and these people inside only thinking about how to seize power!

She and Liang Yue were plotting to preserve the country, but the officials were always worried that Prince Yu and his wife would plot to usurp the throne.

Thus, they seized control of the young emperor, throwing the Liang dynasty into chaos.

One imperial edict after another urgently summoned Yan Danqing back to the capital, but he gritted his teeth and refused to leave. He was left alone to defend the Huai'an Canal, without food or support, and was even stabbed in the back by someone, ultimately suffering a crushing defeat.

"I overheard Liang Yue talking to Jiang You. This country must reform, but the current situation doesn't even give them time to do so!" Yan Wan's indignation, conveyed through her pen, appeared before Ye Xiren's eyes. "In this twelfth cycle, I've decided to support Liang Yue on the throne. He will be the emperor, and I will be the empress. That way, my Chunzhou can support my family in fighting against Chizhan Lance on the front lines, right?"

However, this time it still failed.

The war and drought in Jiaozhou and Xuzhou broke out one after another. Daliang had no food and was betrayed by Zhang Yuanmou, whom they trusted. The grain sent to Huai'an Canal was turned into river sand. She and Liang Yue could not hold on, Huai'an Canal could not hold on, and the refugees could not hold on either.

This time, it was refugees and rebel troops who stormed into the Southern Capital, and she and Liang Yue died in the internal strife...

That was the eighth day of the third month in the second year of the Xihe era.

That is, Ye Xiren's tomorrow.

If it weren't for the refugee uprising on the night of the fifth day of the third month, the refugees would have revolted and caused chaos on the eighth day of the third month as well, and together with the rebel army in Jiaozhou, they would have captured Nandu and destroyed Daliang from within.

Even if Jiang and You allocate grain to appease the displaced people now, how long can it last? A day or two?

"In the thirteenth cycle, I started with the food supplies and managed to save the situation in time," Yan Wan continued.

Yan Wan's cycle is more painful, but she has an advantage: she has plenty of time.

This time, she sent people to Yunlai to retrieve grain, stabilize the refugees, control Zhang Yuanmou ahead of time, and successfully deliver the grain to the Huai'an Canal. Yan Danqing dealt with external threats, while she, Liang Yue, and Jiang You pacified the internal situation.

“Chi Zhan Lan Ce is a madman. He doesn’t know what happened at the front. This madman died together with Chun Zhou. The Holy Son of Northern Yan died at Chun Zhou’s hands. The people of Northern Yan are like madmen, attacking Daliang recklessly.” At this point, Yan Wan was filled with doubt and extreme anger.

Ye Xiren understood her all too well.

Chi Zhanlan Ce is an absolute madman!

Ye Xiren was always puzzled that he was willing to risk his own life to kill Yan Danqing. Could it be that in his eyes, General Yan's life was more important to the Great Liang than his own life as the Holy Son to the Northern Yan?

She couldn't understand it.

Yan Wan couldn't understand it either.

Yan Danqing said that after they all died, the outcome between the Great Liang and the Northern Yan was fifty-fifty. From Yan Wan's notes, she learned that the outcome was the fifty percent failure.

"On the fourteenth cycle, I was shocked to realize that the people around me seemed to be forgetting me..." Yan Wan's face was covered in tears, which fell onto the note. "The closer they are to me, the faster they forget me!"

Yan Wan knew all too well how much Liang Yue loved her.

That was a fact verified through life and death in the cycle of reincarnation, yet Liang Yue, who loved her so much, remembered everything she liked, and remembered every word she said, was actually forgetting her.

Ye Xiren understood Yan Wan's despair, just like her own at this moment, her whole body was chilled. It wasn't an illusion, nor was it wishful thinking. She really would be forgotten little by little by everyone in this cycle, starting with those closest to her...

Yan Wan still did not give up hope. Whether she was a member of the Yan family or the Empress, she wanted to save everyone in the world.

In the fourteenth cycle, she prepared food early, reminded her younger brother to be careful, and even informed Yan Danqing, who knew the military situation in advance, that Daliang had a greater advantage and that Yan Danqing had driven the Northern Yan army to the vicinity of the Yellow River.

"Failed again!"

Yan Wan was breathing heavily, almost exasperated: "Chi Zhanlan Ce actually used the Yellow River again, sacrificing ten thousand Northern Yan soldiers and himself, just to kill Chun Zhou!"

Those were ten thousand iron hooves from the Northern Yan!

Chi Zhanlan sacrificed himself to lure Yan Danqing to his death. In this scheme, he even used his own life as bait. In the end, he and Yan Danqing both died.

Chi Zhanlan Ce made the most "unprofitable" deal ever; he risked his own life and ten thousand Northern Yan cavalry just to kill Yan Danqing alone...

But he won.

The Great Liang was already on the verge of collapse. Even though Yan Wan had made preparations in advance, she couldn't grow crops and couldn't salvage the country that Emperor Xianzong had emptied and the mess he had left behind. The grain sent by Yun Lai was also very limited.

The generals of Daliang no longer had anyone as capable as Yan Danqing. Northern Yan had gone mad again, determined to avenge their holy son. It was a country with religious beliefs. Chi Zhanlan Ce was a ruthless man; he had bound the faith of Northern Yan to himself.

The Holy Son was killed, leaving behind a dying letter written in blood.

Even if it meant certain death, these Northern Yan people were determined to attack Daliang.

We lost again!

Ye Xiren trembled as she read the last sentence. Yan Wan's death filled her with despair and anger. She wished she could perish together with Chi Zhanlan Ce and the people of Northern Yan!

Yan Wan's writing became heavy, as if mountains and rivers were pressing down on her, and the torment of more than ten cycles of reincarnation was all expressed through her pen.

It was as if she stood on the journal, sobbing:

"This is the last time, because everyone in this world has forgotten me. I'm standing right here, and if I don't say a word, no one will even glance at me, as if I never existed..."

Only when she grabbed the person and took the initiative to speak did the person seem to suddenly come to their senses and remember things about her. And this only applied to people who were close to her; people who weren't close to her couldn't remember anything at all.

Yan Wan and Ye Xiren both understood that this was the last time.

Next time...

Can she still stand here? Can anyone still see her? Will her loved ones still remember her?

Ye Xiren's teeth chattered from the cold, and the words in front of her became increasingly blurry, reflecting her wet eyes and Yan Wan's large, falling tears.

"This is my last chance. I want to live. I want all the people of Daliang to live well. But March is almost here, and I still can't find a way to break through. Liang Yue noticed the abnormality in me. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten me for a while, and he didn't believe the reasons I made up to coax him."

Yan Wan burst into tears:

"So I told him everything in detail: A-Yue found the peace treaty that Chi Zhan Lan Ce had sent some time ago, decided to negotiate, and wanted me to live..."

This time, after the reopening, Yan Danqing had taken back Beidu, and Chizhan Lance had sent a peace treaty.

Hope was right in front of her, but she knew that Chi Zhanlan Ce was like gunpowder that could explode at any moment, and no one knew what he was plotting.

Yan Wan agreed. Since Chi Zhanlan Ce was willing to go to Nandu in person, even if the peace talks failed, they could still kill the Holy Son of Northern Yan and have a better chance of winning.

"This time we are going to negotiate peace. A-Yue cannot allow any more possibility of failure. We have some disagreements. For some reason, I am always uneasy. So, I wrote this note and stored it in the map of the Southern Capital. I asked Jiang Xiang to take it to the Ye family and give it to Madam Zhao."

"I am such a terrible junior. The Ye family has treated me extremely well, and Madam Zhao treats me no differently than Xixi. Yet I have entrusted such a dangerous thing to her, hoping that she will still remember me after I am completely forgotten by everyone else..."

Yan Wan's face was full of shame, and her voice trembled:

"But I've found that the closer you are to someone, the sooner you forget them, but the closer you are to someone, the easier it is to leave traces!"

"The military map will only seem strange to the Ye family if it suddenly appears. If fate is on our side, this manuscript can be preserved and handed over to someone who can save the Great Liang. Only then will this country and the entire Southern Capital have hope!"

The Ye family is so kind, Madam Zhao dotes on her, and her favorite younger sister Xixi is so adorable... Yet, she delivered something dangerous to their family and placed her hopes on them.

If this cycle ends and the Great Liang Kingdom falls, this military map will be of no use.

If the Great Liang Dynasty is still alive, or can be reopened, this notebook, carrying information from her previous fourteen cycles, might be the hope for the Great Liang Dynasty!

"This is the fifteenth cycle, my last. We will negotiate with Northern Yan. If I and Great Liang can overcome the crisis, I will come back to retrieve the notes. If there is a next time, I will add another record to the notes."

"If no one comes, and the journal doesn't record a fifteenth cycle, then I've completely failed and am no more. I don't know if the journal will ever see the light of day, or who will discover it..."

Yan Wan put down her pen and looked at Ye Xiren:

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Author's note: See you tomorrow!