[Bonus Chapter 3] A Pledge of Allegiance (Part 2)

Su Zili stood aside, hesitant to agree, but unable to resist Li Ye's repeated pleas. "Your Majesty, I... can only try." Regarding the withdrawal of troops, Su Zili had also considered it, but ultimately couldn't make the decision for Li Linglan. He didn't even know how much he held in Li Linglan's heart. However, seeing the young emperor standing before him, he couldn't help but soften and agree. "Sir, you are kind. I only hope you can kindly persuade him that the Great Ruan will be divided in two along the Muxi line. Li Ye thanks you on behalf of the people of Great Ruan." Seeing Li Ye bowing to him, Su Zili quickly helped him up. "Please rise, this is too much for me."

“Sir, we need to make this clear,” Li Ye said, extending his little finger and waiting for Su Zili’s action. Su Zili looked at Li Ye’s sincere expression, sighed, and hooked his hand around Li Ye’s little finger. “Your Majesty, I will do my best, but let me make this clear first. The strength of the Great Ruan Kingdom is declining day by day, and it’s only a matter of time before they rebel. Even if the Prince of Yan doesn’t rebel, the other princes whose fiefs have been reduced will inevitably do so. Your Majesty naturally knows why the Great Ruan Kingdom has come to this point. If my plea is effective this time, and the Prince withdraws his troops, there’s no guarantee that Li Lingyan won’t repeat the same mistake. So let’s make it clear beforehand: if Li Lingyan has no compassion, I will persuade the Prince to withdraw his troops. But if Li Lingyan still has the idea of ​​destroying the Great Ruan Kingdom, then I cannot keep my promise.” Li Ye knew Li Lingyan’s temperament and abilities well and nodded. “Don’t worry, sir, I understand.”

After seeing Li Ye off, Su Zili couldn't fall asleep for a long time. She had made a quick promise to Li Ye, but how was she going to discuss it with Li Linglan the next day?

The next morning, Su Zili was awakened by the commotion outside the camp. After changing his clothes, he lifted the curtain and saw Su Qiao'er standing at the door. "Qiao'er? What are you doing here?" Su Qiao'er seemed flustered and quickly said, "It's Muxi City! Emperor Jinglian hanged himself on the city wall! Everyone's going to see, but I'm too scared... so I waited for you to wake up so we could go together." Upon hearing that Li Ye was dead, Su Zili didn't react for a moment. "You said... Emperor Jinglian is dead? Li Ye?" Seeing Su Qiao'er nod, Su Zili stumbled backward. "Let's go... let's go see."

By the time Su Zili arrived, Li Ye's body had already been taken down from the city wall and placed on the ground, where a crowd gathered to watch. Su Zili looked at the corpse on the ground and sighed; he could have lived.

In the winter of the fifth year of the Mingyuan era, Emperor Jinglian hanged himself in Muxi City. His body was hung under the plaque on the city wall. He was only sixteen years old.

After Li Ye's death, Li Linglan did not order his men to give him a proper burial, but instead left his body in the tent. Su Zili looked at Li Ye's corpse and shook his head. "Truly foolish! He had already abdicated, yet he still cared about the world. He had the heart of an emperor but not the fate. How pathetic!" Zhang Ruoming patted Su Zili's shoulder. "He's gone; why add to the grief? Let's go back!" Su Zili nodded, but did not return with Zhang Ruoming. Standing at the main camp gate, he said, "Old Zhang... you go back first! I have things to do." Zhang Ruoming naturally didn't ask further, assuming he wanted to discuss matters with Li Linglan, so he nodded and went back. Su Zili entered the tent and saw only Li Linglan inside. He breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward, saying, "Your Highness."

Li Linglan looked up and saw Su Zili enter. She wanted to greet him, but after hearing him address her as "Your Highness," she couldn't help but frown. "Ah Li has really become distant with me. Now he calls me 'Your Highness' all the time, but before he used to call me Linglan."

Su Zili lowered her head and called out "Linglan." Seeing Li Linglan smile with satisfaction, she stepped forward and said, "Now... Emperor Jinglian hanged Mu Xi, and you neither buried him nor returned him to Li Lingyan. Leaving the body exposed to the elements in the military camp, isn't that... inappropriate?" Li Linglan put down the military book in her hand and replied seriously, "It's not that it's exposed to the elements. It's just that after three years of civil war, the national treasury is empty, and the people are suffering terribly. There isn't a single coffin maker within dozens of miles. Once I find one, I will send someone to transport the body back to Xiling." Su Zili hadn't expected Li Linglan to mention the people's suffering. Since the conversation had come to this point, she continued, "After three years of civil war, rivers of blood flowed, and corpses piled up like mountains. As you've seen, even without our attack on the city and without the people's resistance, there were still refugees starving and freezing to death along the way."

Li Linglan looked at Su Zili, somewhat confused. "Ali, what are you trying to say? Why are you suddenly saying all this?"

Su Zili suddenly lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, bowing deeply and saying, "Your subject advises Your Highness to use Muxi as the boundary and withdraw your troops from Xiling." Su Zili knelt on the ground, unaware of Li Linglan's expression. The surrounding silence was eerily low, the atmosphere terrifyingly oppressive, making it difficult for Su Zili to breathe, and he dared not rise.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Li Linglan's words were unusually cold, devoid of any emotion. Su Zili couldn't help but tremble, clenching his fists to suppress the fear in his heart, and looked up at Li Linglan. "I say, take Muxi as the boundary and withdraw your troops to Xiling." Li Linglan stood up and walked to Su Zili. "Stand up." Su Zili slowly rose, but still bowed. "Your Highness, you've seen the refugees along the way. A third of Da Ruan's territory is already yours. Besides, north of Muxi is the Mo family, a place perpetually covered in ice and snow, freezing cold. It's of no use to you... so let's stop here!"

As Li Linglan listened, her anger flared. She grabbed Su Zili's chin, forcing him to look up at her. "I came here to unify the Great Ruan, and now you want me to release a tiger back into the mountains? Do you even know who that person is? How many people support him?" Seeing Su Zili remain silent, Li Linglan's temper flared even more. She pulled out the compass from Su Zili's waist and smashed it on the ground. "You think you can calculate? Then calculate it for me right here. I don't believe that if I release him, he can stay peacefully in the Mo family for the rest of his life."

Su Zili looked at Li Linglan, bent down to pick up the compass, and said, "Your Highness, the Nine Stars and Eight Trigrams are not for divination; I cannot comply."

With a whoosh, Li Linglan drew his sword, pointing it at Su Zili. "What else is this sword for if not to command armies? Today, either you stay here, or you attack the Mo family. If you obstruct me, I will kill you." Li Linglan didn't intend to kill Su Zili; his sword was eight zhang away, merely meant to intimidate him. Unexpectedly, Su Zili walked towards the sword's edge, pressing his chest against it. "Then I must say, either Your Highness withdraws your troops, or I die!" Seeing Su Zili push forward another 30 centimeters, the sword almost piercing his chest, Li Linglan quickly threw the sword aside. "How...stubborn you are! Fine, fine, I will withdraw my troops, but let's make this clear: if one day Li Lingyan rebels, no matter where he is, you will have to bring him back. After all, you were the one who released the tiger back into the mountains."

Su Zili breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Of course, we pinky swear."

In the spring of the sixth year of the Mingyuan era, Li Linglan negotiated with Ruan Jun, establishing Muxi as the boundary, agreeing to a peaceful separation and that any further transgressions would be punished, no matter how far away. Both sides reached an agreement, Li Linglan withdrew his troops to Xiling, changed the dynasty name to Yanyun, and adopted the reign title Xinchao. He appointed Su Zili as prime minister.

Despite being the Prime Minister, this was the fourth time Su Zili had been imprisoned. Now that Li Linglan had risen to the throne, their relationship could no longer be kept secret. The news spread like wildfire through the palace, eventually reaching the ears of the Empress Dowager. Su Zili was repeatedly confined to the Prime Minister's residence and prevented from leaving.

After much deliberation, Su Zili finally watched with a heavy heart as her younger sister married the man she loved most. Sitting on the city wall, Su Zili held a jug of sake, sipping it slowly. "You really know how to torture yourself. Tomorrow is the Emperor and Empress's wedding. If you don't like it, you can simply not go. Why torture yourself like this?" Tang Zhaonan, a scholar, climbed the city wall, panting heavily, and put down his sake before sitting down as well.

"He is the ruler, and I am his subject. My neck is still against the blade; how can I not go? ... I am unworthy. The wind of Xiling is so refreshing. If only it could blow away my blood-stained hands and filthy body. How could I, now, be worthy of the true emperor?"

Tang Zhaonan frowned as he looked at Su Zili, a mixture of helplessness, madness, and sorrow in his eyes. "What are you talking about! You're just spouting nonsense when you're drunk. Where did the blood come from? What filth? You're the cleanest. You haven't changed at all in all these years. Even Old Zhou said you might be a fox spirit in disguise."

Su Zili chuckled upon hearing this. "If I were a fox spirit in disguise, would I have spared your lives? Old Tang... if you can't comfort others, then don't. It sounds rather awkward." Then Su Zili looked at his hands. "These hands have calculated the fate of the world. Hundreds of thousands of heroic souls have been counted in my compass. I never used divination for this, but..."

In the fourth year of the new dynasty, the legitimate princess of Yanyun was born. Su Zili named her Wuyou, meaning "carefree and joyful, boundless and without worry." The Empress Dowager's relentless pressure forced Su Zili to leave Yanyun and travel far away to Shanghan.

Su Zili stayed in Shanghan for over ten years, during which time she inquired about various matters concerning Yan Yun. She heard that the Emperor and Empress were deeply in love, and that the Empress never remarried after her death. She also heard that the Emperor had taken a woman of unknown identity as a concubine. Su Zili frowned. Unknown identity? Su Zili looked at the compass in her hand and shook her head. "I clearly promised not to go back, but... I promised before."