Chapter 96
A lark landed on the window frame, tilted its head and chirped twice, then flapped its wings and flew away at the sound of passersby.
Yin Qiu subconsciously reached out to cover the white porcelain bowl in front of her, afraid that dust would fall on it. She carefully looked at Man Jiangxue, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.
Even though Nangong Min had told Yin Qiu many old stories long ago, and she already knew Man Jiangxue's background, Yin Qiu still couldn't help but feel a sense of surprise when she heard Man Jiangxue admit it.
After finishing the wontons, Yin Qiu drank some soup from the bowl, pondering how to respond. Just then, Man Jiangxue asked, "What did Nangong Min tell you?"
Yin Qiu thought for a moment, then recounted everything Nangong Min had told her, before hesitatingly adding, "She said that Xiling was destroyed because my martial aunt refused to arrange a marriage alliance..."
Man Jiangxue leaned back in her chair with a relaxed posture, her gaze fixed on the scenery outside the window. She said, "On the surface, the destruction of the country was indeed caused by my refusal to arrange a marriage alliance, but the truth is not so."
Yin Qiu asked, "Then what is the truth?"
“Years ago, my father was captured alive by the Eternal Night Kingdom. He was the one who proposed the marriage alliance in order to save his throne and life,” Man Jiangxue said calmly, her face expressionless, as if she were simply recounting someone else’s story. “I grew up in the countryside, not like those pampered princesses in the palace. Because my mother was from the Central Plains, according to the rules of the Western Ling royal family, she could not live in the palace and had no rank. We always lived in the royal villa outside the palace.”
·
Before the fall of Xiling, Man Jiangxue had visited the royal palace very few times.
Let alone any grand sacrificial ceremony or traditional festival, even on the birthday of King Mude, she rarely received an imperial edict summoning her to the palace. Every year, Man Jiangxue would only symbolically paint a landscape painting and send it to the palace as a birthday gift, without having the opportunity to celebrate her father's birthday in person.
She was raised outside the palace, and although she was not as noble as the royal children in the palace, she had more freedom. In addition, because her mother was from the Central Plains, she knew many chivalrous people who traveled the world. Therefore, Man Jiangxue began to learn martial arts and swordsmanship at a very young age under her mother's almost strict requirements.
This led to Man Jiangxue becoming quite famous outside the Great Wall at a young age, simply because of her excellent martial arts skills and outstanding appearance.
When he was nine years old, the war outside the Great Wall reached an unprecedented level of intensity. The twelve tribes fought day and night for territory. Xiling happened to be located in the central part of the Western Regions, sandwiched between Yongye and other small countries, and it was a very difficult time for them.
Seeing his country being divided and occupied by others day by day, and knowing that Mude was a foolish ruler who loved beautiful women and had no ability to govern, his concubine whispered in his ear that since the country was in turmoil, it would be better to hold a grand sacrificial ceremony to pray for the protection of the true god. Mude, whose beard had turned white with worry, agreed with this suggestion and ordered his ministers in the palace to make plans immediately in order to put his mind at ease.
The grandest of the sacrificial ceremonies was an unprecedented event, to be held two months later on a bright, sunny day. All princes and nobles were required to attend, including Man Jiangxue, who was also summoned to the palace by imperial decree.
The weather was clear and sunny that day. Banners adorned with the Western Feather totem fluttered above the altar, soaring into the clouds with an imposing presence.
But fate played a cruel joke. Before the ceremony had even officially begun, the clear sky suddenly turned dark, with dense clouds and a sudden cold wind. A sudden downpour caught the entire palace completely off guard.
The rain spread throughout the palaces, flowing down the white jade steps and submerging the sacrificial altar into a river. Upon seeing this strange occurrence, the ministers wept bitterly, crying out that Heaven was going to destroy Xiling, and even the true gods were unwilling to save it.
In the pouring rain, the royal children in the palace hurriedly ordered their palanquins to evacuate. The beautifully dressed women were terrified and, supported by their maids, ran into the hall. No one paid any attention to Mude. Mude was still standing before the altar, his chest and back chilled to the bone. He pushed aside the belated guards and, in the rain, leaned on the corner of the table, tears streaming down his face, and cried out mournfully, "Xiling cannot perish, cannot perish... the banners... the banners must not fall!"
The fierce wind swept across the land without mercy, and the flagpole was battered by the torrential rain, teetering on the brink of collapse. The officials scattered and fled in the crowd, knowing that if the flagpole were to fall, many people would be crushed to death.
Mude wasn't worried about anyone getting killed; he was just anxious that the banner absolutely mustn't fall.
The banners have fallen, and the Western Feather will perish; this is an extremely ominous sign.
Mude held onto the flagpole with his bare hands, and the guards also tried to maintain their balance, but they couldn't hold on for long and were exhausted by the increasingly violent wind and rain.
With a "crack," the flagpole snapped in half in the wind and crashed heavily down onto the ground. Mude's face was deathly pale, like a ghost. He was dragged aside by the guards, still shouting for the flag.
"Don't fall...don't fall! If you fall, you won't be able to get back up!"
The wind and rain destroyed the blooming flowers in the palace, leaving behind a ground covered in withered red and green petals. The rainwater had risen to half a knee's height. As the flagpole came crashing down on them, the crowd screamed and howled, desperately trying to escape through the water, their hearts breaking as they tried to avoid the heavy, dark shadow.
At the critical moment, a slender and tall white figure appeared out of nowhere and flew through the air like a savior to catch the flagpole.
Nine-year-old Man Jiangxue was already quite tall, and her appearance was not much different from that of a girl of marriageable age. However, she was still a child. Even though she was usually exceptionally talented and skilled, she did not have a strong body at such a young age. She only had thin shoulders, which could not bear the weight and pressure of the flagpole. As soon as she was hit, Man Jiangxue was smashed in mid-air and coughed up blood, her face as white as paper.
But she didn't hesitate for a moment. Enduring the excruciating pain, she held onto the flagpole tightly and managed to turn the tide, preventing the flagpole from crashing down on the people below.
She even managed to grab the flag before the flagpole crashed to the ground, and gracefully landed on the ground to Mud's astonishment.
The torrential rain shrouded the world in an indescribable cacophony. The officials, still shaken, all looked up at the snow-covered river.
They didn't even know who Man Jiangxue was.
Mude stumbled and rushed to Man Jiangxue. He didn't care who the child in front of him was or where he came from. He only cared about the banner that symbolized Xiling. Fortunately, it hadn't fallen into the mud pit; it was still clean.
It wasn't until the torrential rain stopped and the mess in the palace was cleaned up that Mud, amidst the beauties of the harem, overheard someone mention the child who had bravely saved the banner that day.
The next day, Man Jiangxue was summoned to the palace. Mu De sat on the throne and asked her, "You saved Xi Ling. You are a hero among all the princesses. What reward do you want?"
Man Jiangxue was still recovering from her serious injuries. Her right shoulder, hidden under her clothes, was wrapped in bandages very tightly. She had broken half a bone, and the skin on her chest was covered with deep bruises. The bandages were so tight that she could hardly breathe.
But she spoke at her usual unhurried pace, and you couldn't tell she was injured. Man Jiangxue said, "I didn't save Xiling, but those people's lives."
This meeting was the first time Mude had spoken to Manjiangxue seriously since she was born. He had never understood his daughter before, nor had he cared to. There were many beauties in the palace, and Mude had no shortage of children. After yesterday's dangerous incident, Mude had already developed a great fondness for Manjiangxue. However, after hearing Manjiangxue's words, the warmth between father and daughter in his heart vanished in an instant.
"You're saying you didn't save Xiling?" Mude roared in fury. "You're Xiling's princess! If you don't save Xiling, who should you save? A princess who dares to disregard her own country, what face do you have to stand before me!"
Man Jiangxue said, "I have never considered myself a princess. I have only considered myself an ordinary person." The way she looked at Mude was not like that of a king or a father. She said calmly, "I can't save Xiling, and no one can save it. If you want Xiling to continue, you should allocate the huge sum of money spent on the grand ceremony to the generals who are defending against foreign enemies. There are no true gods in this world, only living people."
"That banner is just an inanimate object; it cannot represent a country or any living being."
Mudd was extremely disappointed.
The conversation ended in Mudd's fury.
However, because of the incident of saving people, Man Jiangxue became a household name in Xiling overnight.
But this does nothing to change the decline of Xiling.
The following year, the Kingdom of Yongye launched an invasion. The enemy army marched straight in from the border and stormed into the royal palace. Mude was captured alive and became a prisoner.
The King of Yongye was already very old, with a full head of white hair and deep wrinkles on his face, like the bark of an old tree. He asked Mude, "I have heard that your Xiling has a princess who is as beautiful as a celestial maiden. I have no children and no daughter. Atuduo, call your daughter here so I can see what she looks like."
That night, the King of Yongye did not see Manjiangxue, but the next morning, the news that Xiling and Yongye had reached a marriage alliance agreement spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys.
·
Customers gradually arrived at the teahouse, and the seats in the hall became increasingly crowded. All sorts of cheerful laughter and chatter rose and fell around them, but the words of those outsiders could not drown out Man Jiangxue's deep and slow voice in the slightest.
The streets outside have been swept clean by the people, and there are more pedestrians now. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, shouting, and children chasing and playing fill the air. Everything is lively, but the small world by the window is strangely quiet, a stark contrast to the bustling world around it.
“That night, my father urgently summoned me to the palace,” a few scattered snowflakes drifted down from under the eaves, and Manjiangxue reached out and caught them, gently twirling them between her fingertips. “My mother told me to stay in the other courtyard and not to go anywhere. However, things happened so suddenly that we didn’t have enough time to escape. The news of the marriage alliance spread the next day, and I was taken to the Eternal Night Palace that evening.”
Yin Qiu listened with a pounding heart and a heavy heart. This was the first time she had directly confronted Man Jiangxue's past. Those long-buried old stories were like a thick fog filled with smoke and dust, making it hard for Yin Qiu to breathe and her palms were sweaty.
"And then?" Yin Qiu asked.
The tea had gone cold during the conversation, so Man Jiangxue called a servant to bring her a fresh pot of hot tea. As she poured the tea, she said, "Later, I saw my father's body."
A single, understated sentence.
Yin Qiu was stunned, her eyes widening in disbelief: "...a body?"
“Hmm,” Man Jiangxue took a sip of tea, her expression remaining calm throughout, “He’s dead.”
Yin Qiu remained silent for a long while before asking with a furrowed brow, "How did he die?"
Man Jiangxue looked up at her: "Beheading."
Cutting off the head of a king symbolizes a complete victory, but it also means that the country has come to an end.
Killing Mud was not only to satisfy the Night King's desire for conquest, but also to boost the morale of the Night army.
They've already conquered Xiling, so what do they have to fear from other tribes and small countries?
Yin Qiu's expression was grave.
For Yin Qiu, witnessing her father's decapitation and subsequent body being killed was something she could never have imagined.
But it truly happened to Man Jiangxue.
A draft of wind wafted through the hall, carrying the frosty air unique to winter. Hearing this, Yin Qiu couldn't help but feel complicated. She shifted her gaze to the window, trying her best not to imagine that cruel scene.
After a long silence, Yin Qiu finally spoke again: "Wasn't a marriage alliance treaty agreed upon? Since Martial Uncle hasn't... how can they go back on their word?"
“This is the real reason why I refused the marriage alliance,” Man Jiangxue said. “If Yongye had truly kept its promise, it wouldn’t have been impossible for me to agree to the marriage alliance for the sake of Xiling and my father. But since they broke their promise, there is no need for me to continue with the marriage alliance.”
I see!
What's the point of being related to someone who's already dead?
Yin Qiu said angrily, "If it were me, I would have made the same choice as my martial uncle."
Man Jiangxue said, “But others don’t know that my father is dead. Only I have seen it.” She turned her teacup and tapped her fingers slowly on the rim. “So in the eyes of outsiders, the destruction of Xiling and the killing of its king are all the result of my refusal to make peace through marriage.”
“It has nothing to do with my master,” Yin Qiu said, her mind reeling, as she gripped Man Jiangxue’s hand tightly. “It was the Eternal Night Kingdom that betrayed us first. Others are unaware of the truth. My master has been wronged.”
“Others won’t pursue the truth,” Man Jiangxue lowered her eyes, looking at Yin Qiu’s hand that was tightening slightly. “I am a sinner, and that is the only truth.”
Yin Qiu's eyes reddened, and she choked out, "No, Martial Uncle is not a sinner..."
Man Jiangxue laughed, touched the corner of Yin Qiu's eye, and said softly, "Whether it is or not, the world will judge. It's not up to you or me to decide."
“I don’t care what outsiders think of my martial uncle,” Yin Qiu said blankly. “In my eyes, my martial uncle is innocent.”
Man Jiangxue smiled with relief. She seemed not to feel any sorrow because of those painful past events. On the contrary, her smile was even deeper than usual. Man Jiangxue said, "That proves that your master did not love you for nothing."
Looking at her calm and composed demeanor, Yin Qiu felt an overwhelming pang of tenderness.
Yin Qiu no longer had the courage to ask about what happened after that.
Mude was secretly beheaded, a secret operation unknown to outsiders. As a result, Man Jiangxue fled the Yongye Palace and took her mother to the Central Plains. They lived peacefully for less than two months before the Yongye pursuers captured them. Man Jiangxue then killed the guards and once again took her mother on the road to the Central Plains. This time, however, she lost her mother once more under the relentless trampling of horses' hooves.
It was a winter night when blood flowed like a river.
At the age of ten, Man Jiangxue killed all the Yongye pursuers at the gate. Her blood stained the moat and the snow that night. This attracted the attention of the martial arts world in the Central Plains and also brought her a deadly disaster.
No one would want to send a princess from a fallen kingdom, burdened with the deep hatred for her family and country, into the Central Plains.
Moreover, she is a swordsmanship prodigy who, despite her young age, cannot be ignored.
Such a person, if recruited into the sect, would be a treasure; but if not, and they join another sect, they would become a future calamity and a formidable enemy.
Faced with the olive branches extended by numerous sects and their well-intentioned but unverified offers, Man Jiangxue had lost the ability to think. She collapsed into a pool of blood, leaning against her mother's still-warm body, staring blankly at the snow falling from the night sky. Finally, she saw her master's hand reaching out to her, and Shen Mandong's bright smile in the night.
“Speaking of which, I have to thank Nangong Min for my survival,” Man Jiangxue said, her lips curving into a silent smile. “Back then, some sects wanted to recruit me, while others wanted to kill me as soon as possible. Nangong Min was only a few years older than me, and she was still young at the time. It was she who begged her father to stop the sects that wanted to kill me and planned to take me into the Ziwei Sect.”
If the Ziwei Sect hadn't been fighting with other sects behind Man Jiangxue, Yunhua Palace wouldn't have had the chance to take her away amidst the chaos.
It's all fate.
She was destined to meet her master, and she was also destined to enter Yunhua Palace.
Yin Qiu held her hand for a long time without letting go.
“You probably know what happened after that,” Man Jiangxue said. “I entered the palace, became a disciple, and became best friends with my senior sister. She treated me like a younger sister. She and my master gave me all the warmth I needed except for my mother.”
Yin Qiu asked, "Was the name of that martial uncle also given to him by our grandmaster later?"
Man Jiangxue shook her head: "I chose it myself."
She wanted to remember that night; she didn't want to forget her mother. Perhaps hatred shouldn't be remembered, but she couldn't completely forget it, so she simply made peace with it.
"Then what is your real name, Uncle-Master?"
A cold wind blew, ruffling Man Jiangxue's long hair. She looked quietly at Yin Qiu's slightly red eyes, her tone remaining as calm as ever.
She said, "I don't have a real name anymore; Man Jiangxue is my only name."
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