Homeward Journey

It was raining heavily, and the servants seemed to have been dismissed. There was no one in sight until we arrived at the mansion.

The dim light could only penetrate a crack in the darkness of the room, and the light at the door could only illuminate his shadow reflected on the ground in the thunderstorm.

Xiao Yingzhu folded her umbrella and leaned it against the wall. Raindrops trickled down her umbrella, dripping onto the floor, leaving pale stains.

There was no one in the empty hall, and the already lonely mansion now seemed like a dead old dream.

There was a thunderstorm, and the white light once again shone through the crack of the door behind him, illuminating the furnishings in the hall for a moment, and then sank into infinite darkness again.

Xiao Yingzhu raised her hand and closed the door behind her. The subtle sound of pushing the door prolonged, and finally covered the dazzling white light in the sky behind her.

“…”

Emperor Changde gave him a time period, asking him to find out where the rumors about the Duke's Mansion came from and to pull out the person behind the scenes and bring them to the light.

After this, there was a way to gain his trust.

Xiao Yingzhu slowly walked forward a few steps. After returning from the battlefield, when he was recuperating at Qin Lan's place, he couldn't recall what he had experienced on the battlefield for a long time. He couldn't even bear to hear the tearing sound of the sharp blade piercing into bones and cutting through flesh.

But the current environment did not allow him to avoid these things. He could only pick up the sword he got from the craftsman and complete his unfinished journey home.

—

"And then?"

The blocked road ahead was cleared, and the cold wind outside penetrated into his sleeves. Jiang Nian covered the small gap for ventilation with some discomfort, and raised his eyes to meet Xiao Yingzhu's gaze.

"Have you found out where that...public opinion comes from?"

"Yes, I found it."

Xiao Yingzhu's eyes were indifferent as they swept across Jiang Nian's face. The gaps in the bamboo curtains were mixed with the bright colors of autumn, and memories came flooding back.

During that period, the weather seemed to change with my mood. Every time I looked up at the sky, it was gloomy. After searching for several days, the clues were intertwined, and the chaos seemed to have no end, making it difficult to unravel.

Xiao Yingzhu was taking a deep nap at midnight when he felt a dangerous aura suddenly emanating from the bedside. He opened his eyes reflexively and the next second he touched the sword that he had never left.

The cold hilt of the knife touched the warm palm, and it was so cold that it went through my heart. With the pale lightning shining through the open curtain, I saw the man standing silently in front of me. I didn't know when he came into this room.

When he met the eyes of the man whose features were shrouded in darkness, the clues that were not clear in his mind instantly connected together, and the cause and effect were instantly connected.

The letter left by my grandmother on the table, the keepsakes I read when I was sorting out my father's belongings, and the mansion that was empty when I returned, with not a single servant left.

Their ever-victorious general had rebelled at some point without anyone noticing.

Why?

Xiao Yingzhu was not very familiar with this uncle who used to come to his father to chat, laugh and drink. He usually would not get close to them when they were talking, so as not to hear things that he should not hear.

Because of this, he missed the clues left behind by the traces in the fragmented life.

And now, this traitorous general has returned to the Duke's mansion. Does he want to eliminate him, the only person who can verify it?

He didn't understand, but he didn't need to understand.

All the past experiences were pieced together into fragments, and the blood in his body rushed upwards. Xiao Yingzhu felt that his completely frozen and cold emotions surged out again, enveloping him and driving him to draw his sword, resist the nausea surging in his heart, and pierce the chest of the person in front of him.

Blood was gushing out.

Thick, dark scarlet liquid gushed out from his sword, splashing onto his bed, the floor, and the unfolded apricot letter on the table.

Xiao Yingzhu looked expressionlessly at the man, whose face had turned pale from excessive blood loss, but she had no intention of asking any further questions.

Since Emperor Changde had handed the matter over to him, he just wanted to erase all the memories from before the war and start a new life from now on.

There wasn't much to look forward to in that new life.

…

Emperor Changde was ultimately merciful.

Maybe I know in my heart how to finally resolve those things that cannot be explained or calculated.

We can only leave it to time.

After Xiao Yingzhu eliminated those nobles or officials who had planned and were ready to act, those people

They were so frightened by Xiao Yingzhu's methods that they behaved themselves for a while.

The scars left by that battle were like an insurmountable hurdle, forever remaining between the ministers and the emperor.

—

The weather outside the car did not clear up.

Jiang Nian no longer had the same eagerness to reach the destination and complete the task. He leaned against the carriage wearily, flipping through the ancient books he had taken from Xiao Yingzhu.

The content above is obscure and difficult to understand. I wonder how Xiao Yingzhu can have the energy to read these boring texts after reviewing so many official documents.

Jiang Nian, who always liked to read books in his spare time, found it difficult to concentrate on the contents. After raising his hand to block the densely packed and compact text, his vision instantly became much more spacious.

Feeling the gaze coming from the side, Jiang Nian smiled faintly: "...I can't quite see it."

However, she was about to enter the capital city, but she did not relax because she was about to reach her destination. Instead, she became more nervous, as if she had a vague premonition that something unexpected was about to happen.

Even though her thoughts were faintly gathered between her brows, Xiao Yingzhu seemed to see through her thoughts and asked, "Are you thinking about the Jiang Mansion?"

Jiang Nian's expression paused, and his fingertips subconsciously brushed across the ancient book in his hand. The edge of the paper page scratched his fingertips, and a trace of scarlet seeped out.

A faint pain came from her fingertips, as if it affected her heart, causing her heart to shrink.

During the journey, Xiao Yingzhu mentioned some of his previous events. In fact, he spoke in a very concise manner, but it almost told everyone about his entire journey.

Now I know everything I want to know, and it has become easier to see through the minds of both parties.

Jiang Nian raised his hand and rubbed his aching forehead, sighing, "Leaving without saying goodbye... I thought I'd relax when I left, but now I'm still a little hesitant and wondering whether I should write a letter."

“…”

Xiao Yingzhu didn't respond. After a moment's shift in his gaze, he asked, "Do you remember everything that happened before?"

It had been a long time since they mentioned the time travel. Jiang Nian was obviously stunned for a moment and shook his head slightly: "I have no impression. I have to wait for Lan to come back."

Xiao Yingzhu said calmly, "It won't be too late to make a conclusion once we recall what happened before."

Not too late?

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Yeah, I don't have an exact number right now."

Seeing the 180-degree change in attitude of Jiang's father and mother, as well as Fuling and Guizhi, even though Jiang Nian himself felt guilty towards them, he couldn't help but feel disappointed and accepting at the same time.

After all, she has put a lot of effort into Liangdu Pharmacy in the past few months, and it can even be said that she has done it herself. Most of the credit for Liangdu Pharmacy's revival goes to her.

It was difficult for Jiang Nian to express the thoughts in her heart in words, and she was unwilling to express these conflicting thoughts in her heart, because she knew that only she could regulate these emotions.

Meeting Xiao Yingzhu's gaze, Jiang Nian shook his head slightly, and in the gloomy evening weather, he used the dim shadow to cover his face.

This kind of expression will not make you feel better, so it’s better not to let anyone except her see it.

Even if it was Xiao Yingzhu...she didn't want Xiao Yingzhu to comfort her all the time.

It's too exhausting and might cause him to worry.

Sometimes, even if Xiao Yingzhu didn't say it, she could feel it.

—

It took them more than two months to get from Pingzhou to the capital, and the progress was slightly slower than Xiao Yingzhu's previous trip. After all, the route was different, and when the weather was bad, the necessary routes would be blocked by various emergencies.

During this period, Jiang Nian was worried that Dong Lan would directly start a war, but Xiao Yingzhu seemed calm.

Donglan has been showing signs of this since the beginning of this year, but has been delaying the uprising until now. This may be due to the numerous internal conflicts.

During this period, Meng Hao was preparing to synchronize border information with Xiao Yingzhu at the instruction of Emperor Changde, so he also sent the remaining envelopes.

Jiang Nian sometimes saw fat crows fluttering into carriages on the mountain road, and sometimes saw crows staggering and trying to slack off in mountain houses.

The crows all have different temperaments, but the content of the letters they deliver is more urgent than the last.

But the person who was anxious was not Meng Hao, or even Huandu, but Donglan.

It is said that there is a conflict within Donglan. The troops have been dispatched, but the puppet emperor who is controlled by the Wu Mi people seems to have regained consciousness and found his conscience. He has decided to suspend the war and prepare to deal with the pile of family and national affairs first.

But the Wu Mi people would not miss this opportunity to enter Huandu and find more people to join their cult. They continued to lobby the emperor with "insect repellent" and tried to exchange the emperor who was previously at their mercy.

The two sides were entangled in an endless dispute, and the crumbling court was attacked by a third party.

That is, the people who had endured the chaos for a long time spontaneously formed a team and prepared to revolt, to drive the foolish and incompetent emperor out of power and replace him with the son of destiny to be emperor.

However, these conflicts and entanglements all revolved around famine and insect plagues. After endless debates, the parties finally realized that no matter what the current situation was, solving the food problem was the most important thing at hand.

So they reached a consensus at this moment, which was to find a way to drive away these insect plagues.

The dream returned to where it began, and eventually everyone's attention shifted to the insect repellent.

However, because they had previously joined forces with Xuan Mo to occupy Huandu, and had been rejected when they went to Huandu to ask for insect repellent without negotiating peace, they would still be rejected if they sent people to inquire about the formula of the insect repellent and those advanced methods of this era.

After much discussion, the parties finally decided to start fighting.

Although the country is in ruins, it is still possible to find food and supplies to support the soldiers to go to war.

So soon, they went to pray to the gods, prepared to choose a good day, and began to move towards the originally planned attack point on Huandu.

“…”

Jiang Nian finished reading the latest letter from Meng Hao, met Xiao Yingzhu's indifferent glance, and closed his eyes helplessly.

Sure enough, no matter what changes happen to Donglan, she is still the most tempting and popular one.