Chapter 73 Hatred, the Twenty-Third Cycle!
Chapter 73
The two pieces of news were more shocking than the last.
For Liang Yue and Jiang You, the former is more terrifying, while the latter is simply wondering what Chi Zhanlan Ce is plotting again. Surely a man like him wouldn't really be willing to reveal his biggest secret for the sake of a woman?
As for Ye Xiren and Yan Danqing, they were even more shocked. They looked at each other, their faces full of disbelief.
How could that be?
Chi Zhanlan Ce clearly hadn't seen her in this cycle, so how could he remember her?!
Even if one hears Ye Xiren's name anywhere and recalls memories of her, one will forget it in an instant. Why does Chi Zhanlan Ce remember her and still want to see her?
Their breathing became rapid at the same time, and countless thoughts flashed through their minds in an instant.
Liang Yue took a few steps down, picked up the secret letter from Liu Duoxi's hand, and quickly scanned it. He felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously looked at Jiang You: "Why is Chizhan Chengye at Huai'an Canal?"
After reading the secret letter, Jiang You opened his mouth, but after a long while, he finally spoke: "If Chi Zhanlan Ce doesn't intend to return, the Yan army north of Huai'an Canal does indeed need a Northern Yan prince to oversee things..."
A strange thought suddenly occurred to him.
Was Zhang Yuanmou's fabricated secret letter, which claimed that Northern Yan had appointed a new crown prince, really completely baseless?
Ying Changping's expression was grave. He continued, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Jiang, Chi Zhanlan said that if we really want to know the truth, we should decide whether or not to make the deal as soon as possible. Only today. After today, the deal will be void."
today?
Liu Duoxi, standing to the side, was both angry and annoyed.
Chi Zhanlan Ce is already a prisoner, so why is he still trying to coerce the Great Liang?
What other assets does he have?!
"On the evening of the sixth day of the third month, the letter of withdrawal was sent to Huai'an Canal. On the eighth day of the third month, the Crown Prince Chizhan Lanze of Northern Yan, who came to negotiate peace, died in the southern capital of Daliang. Northern Yan established a new Crown Prince, Chizhan Chengye, and the letter of withdrawal bearing the Crown Prince's seal was invalidated."
"Chi Zhanlan Ce was the holy son of Northern Yan, blessed by Heaven. With the death of the holy son, Northern Yan was enraged and sent a large army to invade..."
As he uttered each word, everyone was filled with dread.
Ye Xiren instantly understood!
Chi Zhanchengye has been in the Northern Yan army all along, but he keeps it a secret and conceals the news. What is he waiting for?
...until Chi Zhanlan Ce dies.
The turmoil caused by the death of the Holy Son, as well as the restlessness of various forces in the Northern Yan royal court, all turned into anger towards the Great Liang. The Northern Yan united as one and fought a desperate battle to avenge the Holy Son bestowed by Heaven.
The purpose of that letter was not to withdraw troops at all, just as there was no food or supplies to trade. The so-called letter of withdrawal was nothing more than a secret signal to Chizhan Chengye!
With Chi Zhanlan Ce dead, it's time to move on to the next step.
Ye Xiren even suspected that Chizhan Lance also had a backup plan in Northern Yan. What was Chizhan Chengye planning to do, and what was the purpose of the sacrifice?
Each step is interconnected, and Chi Zhanlan Ce will not give up until he achieves his goal.
She suddenly looked at Yan Danqing, her voice trembling slightly: "Chizhan Lance is going to die in Nandu!" This is the only thing left.
Jiang You and Liang Yue had already changed their tune.
Chi Zhanlan Ce only lives for today, therefore, he only has today.
"Have you left someone to keep an eye on him?" Jiang You asked, his face turning ashen. He then thought of rushing to the Northern Yan embassy, "I can't let him die in Daliang now."
Upon hearing this, Ying Changping hurriedly replied, "When I left, I instructed Xu Cheng to keep an eye on him to prevent him from committing suicide. I had already searched him thoroughly and found no weapons that could threaten his life. Xu Cheng also summoned the imperial physician, who examined Chi Zhanlan Ce and took his pulse. Although his injuries were quite severe, they were not fatal..."
He wasn't stupid. Of course he suspected that Chi Zhanlan Ce wanted to commit suicide and made preparations in advance. With them taking such precautions, how could he die?
Before leaving, he even had Xu Cheng tie the man's hands and feet and keep a close watch on him, so that even if Chi Zhanlan Ce wanted to commit suicide, he would have no chance!
Ying Changping had eliminated all dead ends, but seeing Chi Zhanlan Ce's calm demeanor, he still felt uneasy and came to see the Emperor and Jiang You for advice...
Jiang You stopped and turned to look at Ye Xiren.
At this moment, Yan Danqing held her tightly, and since Ying Changping had just mentioned "Second Miss Ye," he wouldn't forget it so easily. However, he couldn't understand what Chizhan Lance's purpose was in meeting Ye Xiren.
Liang Yue was already thoroughly fed up with Chi Zhanlan Ce. His breathing quickened, and he gritted his teeth: "What is he plotting now? A deal? Time and time again, every single deal is a lie!"
The peace talks after killing Yan Danqing were a lie, the withdrawal order was a lie, and the grain supply was a lie. Chi Zhanlan Ce's "deal" was full of conspiracy and could not be taken seriously at all.
Jiang You looked at Ye Xiren with deep eyes and said softly, "Whether it's true or false, let Miss Ye go and take a look. Perhaps she can get some clues?"
The secrets of Northern Yan have fallen to Chi Zhanlan Ce. Regardless of his purpose in sending Ye Xiren there, as long as she goes, whatever the outcome, she will gain new insights...
Even if we fail, it will be Ye Xiren who dies, which will not affect the overall situation.
Jiang You's eyes revealed his attitude.
"He's dreaming!" Yan Danqing's eyes turned cold as he stood in front of Ye Xiren. "It's definitely another conspiracy. Whether he's really dead or faking it today, we can't let him succeed!"
He stared intently at Jiang You, determined not to let him off the hook if he dared to force Ye Xiren to her death this time!
Ye Xiren grabbed Yan Danqing's sleeve and suddenly spoke:
"I'll go."
Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes were resolute.
Yan Danqing turned around in disbelief, meeting Ye Xiren's affirmative gaze. He heard her reply, no longer trembling, but even more forceful: "I'll go take a look."
Yan Danqing's expression changed instantly. If Jiang You and Liang Yue wanted her to go, he could stop them, but she actually wanted to go on her own!
He was about to object when Ye Xiren grabbed his wrist and led him outside. "Let's talk outside, Your Majesty. I want to speak with Chunzhou alone for a few minutes."
Jiang You shook his head, his brows furrowed.
The hall fell silent. Liang Yue stared blankly in the direction they had left. The disagreement and awkwardness between the two seemed so familiar... Some fragments seemed to flash through his mind.
The next moment, heartbroken, Liang Yue clenched the letter tightly, barely managing to stay on his feet and remain clear-headed. He couldn't afford to fall in the current situation!
Outside the door, Yan Danqing's face turned cold towards Ye Xiren for the first time. His hands clenched into fists, his body tense, and his voice was piercingly cold under the frigid moonlight:
“I don’t agree with you going. We all know that Chi Zhanlan Ce has ill intentions. His deal could very well cost you your life. Ye Xiren, you don’t have another chance. No one who poses a risk can get close to you.”
They are currently lacking information. If there is another cycle, sacrificing one time is acceptable.
But they are gone!
This is Ye Xiren's last chance.
“I know, Chunzhou, listen to me.” Ye Xiren looked up at him, her voice gentle. “Sister Awan’s fifteenth cycle was not recorded. We don’t know how Daliang lost. If you go to the battlefield, are you sure you can win? What if?”
Her fair face was full of seriousness, and her dark eyes remained clear, reflecting the lanterns under the eaves, the bright moon in the sky, and Yan Danqing in front of her.
“We cannot afford the possibility of failure. The battle between Daliang and Beiyan is not limited to the Huai’an Canal. We know that Beiyan is hiding a secret that will affect the final outcome. Why don’t we investigate it? There are still many people in the court who are thinking about peace talks. The common people do not understand these things. They only know that peace talks are beneficial to them. We must make it clear to them that there is absolutely no possibility of peace talks with Beiyan.”
Ye Xiren's fingers gripped the note hidden in her sleeve, her voice growing softer:
“Chizhan Lanze is the only way we can find out the truth. We are so close to the truth, we can try.”
Once the truth is understood, the outcome can be reversed in an instant.
Yan Danqing looked down at her, her eyes already red, and she gritted her teeth as she spoke each word clearly:
"Ye Xiren, your decision is extremely foolish!"
"Knowing that Chi Zhanlan Ce has a scheme, what if you go and fall into it? This is the last time. If you die, all your efforts will be in vain. What if the world reopens?"
He had never spoken to Ye Xiren so harshly before, even using the word "stupid" with trembling lips. In the past, Ye Xiren had always scolded him for being "foolishly loyal," but today everything had turned around.
A disagreement arose between them, leading to this heated argument where neither side would back down.
In Yan Wan's notes, she also had a disagreement with Liang Yue. Liang Yue wanted her to live, while she wanted the Liang family to win, just like now.
However, she will persuade Yan Danqing.
Ye Xiren shook her head: "No, it won't all be for naught. As long as we get closer to the truth, how can all our efforts be wasted?"
She tiptoed and whispered a few words in Yan Danqing's ear. Based on Yan Wan's notes, she had a guess, and this guess gave her a gamble...
"Let me give it a try." Ye Xiren's eyes were firm.
Yan Danqing shook his head again, took two steps back, and said with increasing difficulty, "No, you're risking your life. I don't agree. What if you die? What if you're wiped out by the world?"
Ye Xiren's eyes reddened, filled with fear, but even more so with... anger.
She tilted her head back, her eyes resolute.
"I am not afraid of death as long as I can get closer to the truth."
"Ye Xiren, you weren't like this before." Yan Danqing looked at her and shook his head. "Your previous deaths weren't real deaths, and you still knew to cherish your life. Now, facing a truth that you may not even be able to obtain, are you going to gamble your irreversible life?"
In the past, it was Yan Danqing who was willing to sacrifice for the Great Liang.
Ye Xiren once said that she was not that kind of person; she would strive to live on, and for that goal, she had already died twenty-two times!
This time, with food and hope, is it worth the risk for her?
Ye Xiren pulled a military map from her sleeve, opened Yan Wan's journal, and presented the "result" of the fourteenth cycle to Yan Danqing. She spoke with difficulty, her voice gradually choking with emotion:
"I won't go until I see Sister Awan's notes, but now, as long as we can win, I'm willing to sacrifice everything. I'm not afraid of death, as long as Great Liang can win in the end and drive Northern Yan out."
Yan Danqing looked at the journal, at the result of Yan Wan's fourteenth cycle...
“I am just an ordinary person. I don’t have as much loyalty to the emperor and patriotism as you do. I also don’t have the spirit of devoting myself to the Great Liang until my dying breath. I’m stuck in a cycle of running around again and again. At first, I only wanted to save the Ye family. Later, I wanted to save you.”
Ye Xiren's expression was resolute, her eyes were decisive and powerful, and her voice was choked with emotion yet every word was clear:
"The dynasty is about to collapse, and I am still an ordinary person. I don't want to carry this country on my frail shoulders, and I can't spout any grand theories. I want to live."
Yan Danqing's gaze was fixed on the sentence in the journal, his eyes filled with horror. Ye Xiren had already etched the "result" of that cycle into her mind. Now, with tears streaming down her face, she slowly read out each word:
"When the Southern Capital fell, 300,000 people from Daliang were drowned in the river. They were like sheep with two legs, wearing straw raincoats with rotten bones. The river was filled with blood and human heads floating in the water."
She and Yan Wan, along with 300,000 people of Daliang, died by drowning after the fall of Nandu!
The Holy Son of Northern Yan died in Southern Capital. The people of Northern Yan harbored as much hatred as they had faith. They risked their lives to break through the Great Liang and storm into Southern Capital, all to make the people of Great Liang die for their Holy Son.
Three hundred thousand people were drowned in the flood control river!
Ye Xiren trembled with rage, her teeth chattering: "I want to live, but I hate even more! What right does the Northern Yan have to eat the food of my Great Liang, trample on the land of my Great Liang, and finally kill the people of my Great Liang?"
"Invading wolves should be driven out!"
"Spring day, I never understood why the cycle started. Now, I think I understand. Yan Wan's cycle started with the massacre of Beidu, and my cycle started with the drowning of 300,000 people in Nandu."
The massacre of Beidu left no one alive among its inhabitants.
If Nandu sinks into the river, all the living people of Nandu at this moment will turn into corpses and sink into the protective river that nurtured this land...
How could Beidu accept this?
How could Southern Metropolis Daily accept this?!
Therefore, Yan Wan went through cycle after cycle, and she restarted time and time again.
"Daliang cannot be defeated, you must win, for the people of Daliang behind you, for the Ye family, for me, and I must help you at all costs, even if it means risking my life."
Ye Xiren's eyes were bloodshot as she spoke, each word distinct and clear:
“I used to criticize you for your blind loyalty, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Today, I still don’t understand what national righteousness is. I haven’t seen the scene of starving people everywhere in the north, with nine out of ten houses empty. I haven’t seen the land trampled by the Northern Yan, from the Sixteen Prefectures to the White Plain, the Wei River City, and even the Huai’an Canal.”
"But I have seen the refugees outside the city, read Yan Wan's notes, and know the consequences of failure. I hate it! I, Ye Xiren, would rather die than die in the Protectorate River, and I would rather see 300,000 people sink into the water and turn into white bones. I would rather risk my life and drag the Northern Yan people down with me!"
Yan Wan's fifteenth cycle was not recorded, and she didn't know how she lost. What if she lost again if the war started under the current circumstances? Therefore, to have a better chance of success on the front lines, she had to go. The closer she got to the truth, the greater her chances of winning, and it was worth risking her life for.
Even though in more than twenty cycles, Ye Xiren encountered countless officials of the Great Liang Dynasty, including loyal ministers like Yan Danqing and Ye Pei, blindly loyal people like Zhang Yuanmou, traitors like Lu Qian, and Jiang You who committed evil for the country...
She still didn't think she would become any of them, nor did she think her loyalty to the emperor and her patriotism were particularly strong. She had only seen the notes and dreamed of being drowned in the river.
She was unwilling to accept it, she hated it!!
Yan Danqing opened his mouth, but no sound came out; his eyes were heavy.
Xixi said that she is still an ordinary person.
But it's not like that anymore. She's willing to risk her life for 300,000 people, just to increase her chances of winning. Yan Danqing doesn't know how to stop her, because if he had done this before, Xixi would never have stopped him...
He has his own pursuits, and Xixi has them now too. How can we stop him?
Ye Xiren took two steps forward, approaching Yan Danqing, took a deep breath, and tugged at the corners of her mouth, her eyes filled with anticipation, "If I can get the clues, the entire Daliang won't have to hang white banners in every household. Spring Day, it's worth it."
"And what about you?"
Yan Danqing's voice trembled: "This cycle has failed. You've disappeared, and everyone will forget you..."
Ye Xiren paused for a moment upon hearing this, bit her lip, and tilted her head: "You still remember, don't you?"
Yan Danqing is bound to her cycle.
She didn't forget anything this time, and she wouldn't forget even if she failed.
"What about the others?" Yan Danqing pressed on, her lips pressed. "Your parents and family will all forget you. All those beautiful memories will vanish. Xixi, do you really want to take this risk?"
He knew Ye Xiren was right; if it were him, he would have done the same.
But this is Xixi! What will he do if she fails? How will he face it?
Yan Danqing struggled to restrain the urge to pull her away and lock her up, his fists clenched tightly.
Ye Xiren forced a smile, her face streaked with tears, but her smile was radiant: "It's alright, they may forget me, but I will not lose them, because I remember, I will always remember." Until the moment of her death, her consciousness faded.
She had a loving family, a fiancé who walked hand in hand with her, and people from her childhood in the north, and now in the south, one after another who appeared in her memory and left a deep impression on her...
Yan Danqing turned her back to Ye Xiren, not wanting her to see her tears. She bit her lip until it bled, her nails digging into her palms. "If you want to go, then go..."
Six words, so light they drift away in the wind.
Ye Xiren reached out and hugged him from behind, gently pressing her cheek against his back with affection and tenderness.
Yan Danqing could no longer restrain himself. He turned around and pulled her into his arms. Love arose without warning and deepened over time. In this world, no one could help but love Ye Xiren.
Beneath that timid and panicked exterior lies a steadfast and courageous spirit, a determination to forge ahead.
"Don't be afraid, I will do my best to protect you."
Even though his fingers were trembling and he felt a chill run through his body, he still stood behind her and told her not to be afraid.
Ye Xiren's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded emphatically in his arms.
Although she knew that Chi Zhanlan Ce was plotting something and that there was danger ahead, it didn't mean she wouldn't survive!
"I'm not afraid."
Northern Yan Embassy
Chi Zhanlan Ce was tied up in the room, leaning against a soft couch. Xu Cheng was watching him closely, afraid that he would do anything to kill himself. His eyes were full of vigilance.
He didn't care at all, only lowering his eyes to calculate.
Will she come?
Chi Zhanlan Ce looked on with interest.
Just then, footsteps sounded. Looking up again, he saw Ye Xiren and Yan Danqing walking side by side, with Jiang You and Liu Duoxi beside them. All the key figures of the Great Liang that he hadn't seen yesterday had arrived...
Chi Zhanlan Ce sat up, his eyes fixed on Ye Xiren, only looking at her.
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Author's note: See you tomorrow!
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