Chapter 16 Chapter 16 She’s pretty amazing, don’t you think? …
Ji Lian took these bamboo slips and went to the registrar of Lantai Pavilion to register and use the seal.
Afterward, neither of them spoke, but they tacitly found the innermost study room of the Lantai Pavilion. The room was filled with the faint scent of cypress, and they knelt on mats facing each other, separated only by a desk.
Xie Tingyu raised his hand to pour two cups of tea and pushed one of them in front of Ji Lian.
Ji Lian moved the teacup three inches to the side and piled the bamboo slips in her hand onto the table. She took out a scroll, unfolded it, and lowered her head to study it, seemingly with no intention of sharing it with Xie Tingyu.
Xie Tingyu took a sip of tea, supported his chin with his hand, and began to admire Ji Lian.
The beauty reads a book, and she looks at the beauty. They each look at their own things and do not disturb each other.
Ji Lian read with his back straight, his hands slender as jade, the knuckles slightly protruding as he gripped the bamboo slips. He sat beneath the window, the sunlight streaming down his profile, perfectly outlining the small, rouge-like mole on his lower lip. His striking eyelashes cast a small shadow on his eyelids.
He was completely focused on the bamboo slips.
He read some of them very quickly, basically scanning ten lines at a glance, as if just to find some key information points.
He read some of the text very slowly, and after glancing over it, he would start reading it again and again.
Until Ji Lian picked up the record of the battle with the Xianbei.
When Xie Tingyu looked at Ji Lian, he first frowned, then bit his lip, and then the corners of his eyes gradually turned red, and a faint moisture began to accumulate in his eye sockets.
As if finally realizing that there was someone opposite him, Ji Lian took a deep breath, drank a cup of tea to calm his nerves, and in the blink of an eye his expression returned to normal.
Ji Lian looked up and saw Xie Tingyu's inquiring expression. He suddenly asked, "Xie Tingyu, do you think there's a chance of survival after a person falls off a cliff?"
Xie Tingyu was caught off guard by the question.
She began to recall the scene of her falling off the cliff that day.
The excruciating pain of an armor-piercing crossbow bolt piercing her abdomen and a honeycomb of feathered arrows stinging her back left her mind shattered and unable to hold the reins. As she fell off the cliff, the strong wind from below was like a blade, scraping her face raw. Below the cliff lay neither lake nor stream, only jagged rocks and towering ancient trees.
First there was the dull thud of the body hitting the rock wall, then the crisp sound of bones breaking, and finally the warm blood flowing down the brow bone across the eyes and into the endless darkness.
After that, she lived as a wandering ghost for many years.
"I think the question is not whether I can survive, but whether my body will be eaten by wild animals such as wolves and leopards below the cliff."
"From what you said, could it be that you have fallen off a cliff?"
"Uh...I read this passage in a book."
"What book?"
"It's a novel about strange stories in the mountains and countryside."
Ji Lian raised her eyelids and glanced at Xie Tingyu. After picking up the teacup and taking a few sips, she lowered her head and stared at the tea leaves floating on the water in a daze.
Xie Tingyu took all the bamboo slips on the table and read through each of the wooden plaques attached to them.
In addition to the records of the Northern Expedition against the Xianbei, the mourning book for the fallen generals, and the official records of the Jinwu Guard during the Jian'an period, it also contains the historical records of the Northern Expedition against the Xianbei.
...Hmm? What is Ji Lian doing looking at the Imperial Guards roster? Is he looking for someone?
Xie Tingyu opened the battle record.
She held her breath, her eyes fell on the first column of words, and began to read carefully word by word.
In the 14th year of Jian'an, the Great Zhou sent 300,000 troops to attack the Xianbei. Commander-in-Chief Wang Zhuozhang commanded the central army, while Deputy Generals Yuan Zhaoyun and Huan Zhanyue each led a division.
When Xie Tingyu read the three words "Wang Zhuozhang", his fingertips paused slightly on the bamboo slips, and then he continued reading.
[In the first battle, they recaptured the cities of Huaiyin and Xiaxiang. In the second, they recaptured the towns of Pengcheng and Lanling, killing 30,000 enemies and capturing 5,000 war horses. Later, Wang Xuanji led 800 elite cavalrymen in a night raid on the Helian tribe's tent, beheading Helian Shu, the legitimate daughter of the Xianbei king, and taking her head. The Xianbei army was thus demoralized.]
In the 15th year of the Jian'an period, due to a strategic error by Commander Wang Zhuozhang, the central army was trapped in the reed marshes downstream of the Sishui River. After three days of desperate fighting with the main Xianbei force, the Wang family's Iron Blood Army was nearly annihilated. In this critical moment, Yuan Zhaoyun led the Qingluan Army to rescue, cutting off the Xianbei's retreat and slaughtering over 10,000 men, including Helian Chinu. However, this was a tragic victory, with the Wang family's Iron Blood Army suffering losses of over 70%, and the loss of their commander, Wang Zhuozhang, and his valiant general, Wang Xuanji. While the Jiankang court and the people praised the victory, the reputation of the Wang family of Langya was tarnished from then on.
A tragic war was recorded in the history books with just a few words. The words are cold, but the trauma caused by the war is difficult to heal.
Xie Tingyu's fingers trembled slightly, and his mouth suddenly became dry.
She closed her eyes, and in the endless darkness, the final tragic scene of Wang's Iron-Blooded Army suddenly emerged in her mind.
Arrows rained down like locusts, but soldiers, wounded by several arrows, held on with their spears, refusing to fall. Shouts of "Fight to the death! Fight to the death!" filled their ears, along with the gasps of dying men, and the rusty smell of blood lingered in their noses.
Eleven years have passed since the day of his death.
As the soul gradually separated from the body, Xie Tingyu looked at the blood-stained face. What was she thinking?
She was wondering why the marching route that she and Wang Zhuozhang personally planned went wrong?
She had clearly cut off Helian Shu's head, so the remaining remnants should have been routed, right?
What went wrong?
Every day for the past eleven years, she felt that she had committed a grave sin. She felt sorry for Wang Zhuozhang and for the soldiers who had died on the battlefield.
If she had been more careful, would everything have been different? Would both she and Wang Zhuozhang have survived?
In the first few years of being a lonely ghost, Xie Tingyu was in a state of panic every day and was always blaming himself.
Although the years have accumulated layer by layer, the guilt in my heart has slowly been smoothed out by time, but looking back, it is still a scar that hurts.
For a moment, neither of them spoke again, each immersed in their own thoughts, and the school study was as quiet as a lake.
Until a flying bird swayed and hit the window frame, making a dull sound, which suddenly woke up the two people who were in deep thought.
Someone outside the window shouted, "Why does this stupid bird come here every day? Quick, find someone to shoot it down and cook it!"
Ji Lian was startled by the sudden noise and her hand trembled, accidentally knocking over the teacup on the table. The pale yellow tea slowly spread out, soaking most of the open bamboo slips.
He quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and carefully pressed the edge of the bamboo slip to absorb the excess tea stains.
Xie Tingyu quickly rolled up the unaffected bamboo slips and tied them up again with a silk rope.
After the two of them tacitly tidied up the mess on the table, they went out together.
In fact, there are two roads leading out of the innermost school library. One leads directly to the main hall of Lantai Pavilion, and the other winds its way to the side pavilion.
The two of them didn't pay attention to it when they came, but when they left, they accidentally chose that secluded path.
The road was deep and winding, and happened to pass by a half-open room, from which the faint sound of storytelling could be heard.
"Back then, she was just a lowly thug in the underworld. She wasn't famous, but she was a very good fighter. She didn't even have a surname; she gave herself a name..."
It seems to be talking about a very mysterious but powerful person.
Xie Tingyu and Ji Lian continued walking forward without paying any attention to this.
This spare room actually served as a lecture hall, specifically for the scholars of the Lantai Pavilion to lecture, discuss doctrines, and tell stories. The topics covered varied widely, ranging from mythical stories and strange tales to anecdotes about important officials in the court, and even commentaries on the gains and losses of historical battles. However, despite the variations, the core principles remained the same, ultimately revolving around the great principles of loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.
This was originally one of the responsibilities of the Lantai Pavilion, to learn from history and educate all living beings.
Lantai Pavilion's duties were relatively undemanding, and it housed a vast collection of ancient books. Many people, after finishing their work, would come here to listen to this passage. Today, the hall was sparsely populated, but all held their breath, listening intently.
——Bang!
The lecturer sitting behind the desk slammed the wake-up stick hard. Seeing that everyone below stretched their necks with an impatient look on their faces, she continued her lecture with satisfaction.
"She snatched up a three-foot-seven-inch broadsword, her eyebrows raised, and stood alone among dozens of bandits, showing no fear. The blade flashed like snow, and the weapon flew between her fingers like a dragon playing with a pearl, switching between her left and right hands with ease. In a flash of cold light, heads fell to the ground in the blink of an eye, and corpses were scattered all over the ground."
After hearing the applause from the audience, the lecturer took a sip of his teacup and then slowly explained, "This was the first meeting between Captain Wang Xuanji and General Wang Zhuozhang in the army."
Xie Tingyu had never expected to hear the three words "Wang Xuanji". He stopped in his tracks and turned around silently, intending to go back.
Before she came to Lantai Pavilion today, she never imagined that one day she would be able to hear her past life stories compiled into a storytelling by future generations.
Xie Tingyu pushed open the half-closed door and quietly moved to the seat in the last row. Only then did she realize that there was a faint scent of green lotus closely around her.
She turned her head and looked.
...Huh? Why did Ji Lian follow me?
Ji Lian sat behind the screen in silence.
The screen was narrow and high, completely covering his figure. It was a perfect position for eavesdropping.
Xie Tingyu leaned closer and lowered her voice: "Why did Your Highness follow you? Aren't you going to return the bamboo slips?" As she spoke, her breath inadvertently brushed against Ji Lian's ear.
Ji Lian stroked her slightly red earlobe with her fingertips and glanced at Ni Xie Tingyu. "I'm just like you. I listen to everything and see everything. Is that not okay?"
"Yes, yes, Your Highness, like me, is a studious person."
Xie Tingyu looked around.
The lecturer's wife sat on the stage, dressed in an indigo-colored, straight-collared gauze gown, a plain white sash tied around her waist. Some of the people below were leaning forward, wearing the elegant blue and white official uniforms of the Lantai Pavilion, while others were dressed casually, apparently auditors like her.
Ji Lian placed the bamboo slips in his hand on the table, supported his chin with his hand, his eyes gradually fixed, and he listened very attentively.
"The two hit it off right away, feeling they'd met too late. Wang Xuanji is only sixteen, yet he possesses such profound martial arts skills. He's truly a formidable young talent!"
When the lecturer was enjoying herself, she suddenly slammed the table and pointed at a young woman in the audience: "When you were sixteen, could you also easily take out eighteen bandits with just a broadsword without blinking an eye?"
The man shook his head repeatedly and denied it three times, "No, no, I can't."
The lecturer's wife flung her sleeves and raised her voice sharply, "Of course not! That's Wang Xuanji!" She clapped her hands, "Have you ever seen another sixteen-year-old who could single-handedly challenge bandits without batting an eyelid and escape unscathed?"
Except for Ji Lian and Xie Tingyu, everyone answered in unison: "No!"
Why should I sit down? Why do I suddenly want to dig a hole and bury myself?
Xie Tingyu tried his best to control the twitching of the corners of his mouth and glanced to the side.
Seeing Ji Lian listening with a look of unsatisfied interest, a thought suddenly popped up in her mind: Could it be that the person Ji Lian had been looking for in the bamboo slips was her?
The next moment, she thought her bold guess was unreasonable.
How about taking another look?
Xie Tingyu simply turned his head blatantly, and unexpectedly met Ji Lian's clear eyes.
"Your Highness, you seem to be very interested in this Wang Xuanji?"
Ji Lian nodded, "She's amazing, don't you think?"
Now Xie Tingyu was really confused.
A big question mark slowly rose in her heart.
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