Chapter 106 Dream of Returning to Chang'an, A Farewell
The next moment, the people in front of the tent sheathed their swords and scattered with a "whoosh" as Bai Ming left. Yang Xiao walked expressionlessly toward the door, but the moment she stepped onto the threshold, she suddenly leaned against the door frame.
"General!" Upon seeing this, Shen Zhu rushed forward to support Yang Xiao without hesitation. "General, how are you?" She squatted down in front of Yang Xiao, frowning and looking at him with concern. "Your injuries haven't healed yet, how could you hit him so hard?"
Yang Xiao closed her eyes to calm down, then smiled and sighed, gently shaking her head, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
Jia Ding frowned and rushed over, looking down at Yang Xiao, who was squatting motionless on the ground. "What's wrong with you?"
"You've aggravated your injury..." Yang Xiao frowned as she steadied herself, glancing at Jia Ding standing to the side. "Are you brainless?"
"Speak properly to the general!" Shen Zhu roared at Jia Ding in a fit of rage. She sighed, then gently took Yang Xiao's arm and said, "Can you still move? Let me help you to the bed, General, so you don't catch a cold."
Yang Xiao sighed with emotion, then put her hand on Shen Zhu's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She then used her hand to help Shen Zhu stand up, and then unconsciously raised her hand to the door frame to ease the sharp pain in her wound.
"General, please slow down!" Shen Zhu called out with concern, then gently took Yang Xiao's arm and helped her move to the bedside. "You should rest for a while, I'll go and make your medicine right away."
Jia Ding leaned against the doorframe, frowning as he looked at Yang Xiao and Shen Zhu, his eyes lowered in thought. After a moment of hesitation, he looked up at Shen Zhu and said coldly, "Shen Zhu, do you still believe that Zhong Li's case wasn't handled by her?"
"What do you mean?" Shen Zhu clenched her fists, turned around and glared fiercely at Jia Ding. "So, everyone's kicking you while you're down, huh? You've forgotten all the favors you received from the general before, haven't you?" She angrily pointed at Jia Ding. "How dare you, such a treacherous and stubborn fellow, question the general?"
"Don't say such harsh things. You're the one who's stubborn, aren't you?" Jia Ding seemed determined to sow discord between the two. He leaned lazily against the wall and looked at Shen Zhu with disdain. "They're just pawns. If you're so determined to protect her, be careful not to get yourself involved."
Shen Zhu was furious. She clenched her fists and cursed, "Even if you drag me into this, I'm willing. She is our general, she was before, and she always will be! She is not a pawn!" She gritted her teeth and glared at Jia Ding, then stomped her foot angrily, "An ignorant and shameless person like you is not worthy to talk about a general."
“Yes,” Yang Xiao sighed helplessly as she looked at the tense atmosphere between the two, “they are just pawns.”
“General, you…” Shen Zhu retorted subconsciously. She turned to look at Yang Xiao in confusion, but suddenly saw Yang Xiao’s smiling eyes wink at her. Only then did she understand Yang Xiao’s meaning. She pretended to be angry and “humphed” before turning around and leaving in a huff. “General, please sit down. I’ll go and brew the medicine.”
Yang Xiao leaned against the bed, smiling as she watched Shen Zhu's strode away. She gently shook her head. "What, do you really enjoy seeing me all alone?"
"Not at all." Jia Ding also looked at Shen Zhu's departing figure and said uncomfortably, "If you want to pledge allegiance to Lord Xiao, I must test your sincerity."
“I’ve said it before, I’m going to vote for Xiao Yan,” she glanced back at Jia Ding, “not your dog-headed master.”
Upon hearing this, Jia Ding frowned immediately and bargained, saying, "They are siblings, so it doesn't matter who I support..."
“I guess…” Yang Xiao rolled her eyes at him, twirling her fingers indifferently, “If I, who was planning to surrender, were to die mysteriously here, you probably wouldn’t be able to go back to Chang’an, would you?”
"You..." Jia Ding pointed at Yang Xiao, too shocked to utter a word. He frowned at her, his eyes full of confusion, "You're willing to give your life in a place like this?"
Yang Xiao sneered upon hearing this, "Anyway, I'm going to die. I'm afraid even if I follow you to Xiao Yun's side, I won't live for more than a few days."
Jia Ding frowned as he looked at the stubborn Yang Xiao, and reluctantly compromised, "Fine, fine, I'll do as you say." He sighed, rummaged through the corner of the room and found a pen and inkstone. He frowned, biting the pen and scratching his head, and wrote a letter in a haphazard way. He then handed it to Yang Xiao, "Look, it's His Highness Xiao Yan."
Yang Xiao tilted her head and looked at the bruised and battered letter, then couldn't help but scoff, "Is this the first day you've learned to speak?"
"I am just an insignificant soldier under General Xiao, how could I possibly have the opportunity to negotiate directly with Your Highness?"
"It must have been really hard on you." Yang Xiao sighed with a smile and reached out to Jia Dingyi, "Give me the pen, I'll sign it, so that Xiao Yan won't be suspicious, and so that Xiao Yun won't silence you."
Yang Xiao didn't even bother to help him up. He just picked up the paper and pen and wrote his name in a careless and hasty manner, just like when he made a pledge in front of the Eagle Team five years ago.
Before long, she put down her pen, shook the paper a couple of times to dry it, and then handed it to Jia Ding, saying, "Here, go ahead and pass it out in front of me."
“This…” Jia Ding took the letter, hesitated for a long time, finally sighed, nodded, put the letter into the brocade pouch in front of Yang Xiao, then put it on the table and walked out the door.
A short while later, Jia Ding brought back a raggedly dressed soldier, gave him a few instructions, solemnly handed the brocade pouch to the man, watched him agree, and then ran out of the tent.
Jia Ding sighed with satisfaction, then turned to Yang Xiao and asked, "How was it? Are you relieved now?"
Yang Xiao smiled and nodded at him, "Reliable."
-
The letter flew towards Chang'an on the west wind and landed safely in Xiao Yan's hands within a few days.
She initially thought it was just normal military intelligence, but as soon as she opened it, she frowned. The hesitant, fragmented text caught her eye, and after a quick glance, she noticed Yang Xiao's handwritten signature at the end.
She was startled and quickly went back to watch it again, her heart beating faster than usual.
"Yang Xiaolai surrendered?" Xiao Yan stood up in disbelief. She held up the letter, frowned, and looked at the assembled civil and military officials. "Who is this Jia Ding?"
Xiao Yun, who was standing to the side, was also taken aback at first, but then arrogantly raised his head and said, "This Jia Ding is just one of my subordinates."
Xiao Yan frowned as he looked at the letter, twirling Yang Xiaolong's flamboyant signature. He let out a long sigh, then looked up at Yang Song, who was equally incredulous beside him. "It seems you didn't know about this either."
Yang Song stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and nodded, "I truly do not know."
Xiao Yan glanced at Yang Xiao's handwriting again, raised his hand and held up the letter, glancing sideways at Xiao Yun, "Tell me, how did you do it?"
Xiao Yun looked at the letter that Xiao Yan was holding between his fingers, his face full of smug smiles. "Yang Xiao suffered three consecutive defeats and developed a grudge against Zhong Li'an. He was caught red-handed during the assassination attempt in the middle of the night, received fifty lashes, and survived by sheer luck."
"Xiao Yun, you..." Yang Song glared at Xiao Yun in a fit of rage upon hearing this.
“She had nowhere else to turn, so she came to us for help.” Xiao Yun still maintained her composure, turning back to smile at Yang Song. “Now, you siblings can be reunited.”
Yang Song's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but he restrained himself and didn't punch him in the hall.
Xiao Yan's hand had become wrinkled at some point. She stared at Xiao Yun, who was arrogant and self-important, and then looked at Lu Qi beside her, whose brows were also furrowed. Finally, she suppressed her anger, sighed, and nodded to him, "Send someone to pick him up."
"yes."
-
A few days later, news from Chang'an reached Jia Ding. Seeing that Yang Xiao's injuries had almost healed, he decided to set off for Chang'an early the next morning.
The silver spear had been brought by Jia Ding, but Chi Lian had been kept tied up in the camp, making it impossible to get close to it.
She had intended to reluctantly give up on the relationship and let it go. But to her surprise, the next day at daybreak, Yang Xiao pushed open the door and saw Chi Lian standing there.
Its crimson fur gleamed in the morning sun, and its watery eyes gazed at Yang Xiao as it stomped its hooves incessantly.
Yang Xiao felt a mix of emotions. She stepped forward and hugged Chi Lian's neck, then gathered her belongings, mounted her horse, and headed west.
She rode her horse along Jia Dingyin's road, spear in hand, her eyes lowered as she gazed at Chi Lian's swaying mane. A thousand emotions welled up in her heart, yet she remained silent.
Jia Ding led the way, glancing back at Yang Xiao repeatedly. Finally, unable to bear the loneliness of the journey, he turned his horse around and rode to Yang Xiao's side. "How did your horse know you were leaving? Wasn't it tied up? How come it was standing in front of you as soon as I opened the door this morning?"
Yang Xiao rubbed Chi Lian's head without looking up, "It's been with me for so long, how could it not know what I'm thinking?"
"Isn't it always being watched by Zhang Ping?" Jia Ding tilted his head at Yang Xiao. "Your two deputy generals, one in charge of guns and the other in charge of horses."
Yang Xiao lowered her eyes and chuckled, "Yes, Qin Yi asked you to bring me the gun, so this Crimson Flame," she glanced at Jia Ding, "guess why it was standing in front of my door this morning?"
Jia Ding immediately understood, and looking at Chi Lian walking steadily, he was speechless for a moment.
Horses gallop into the rising sun, spears reflect the sunlight. What military generals consider their very lives now carries countless hopes and expectations, surrounding Yang Xiao.
They rode in silence until the streets gradually became bustling. The gilded Chang'an plaque on the city gate tower suddenly appeared before Yang Xiao. Only then did she rein in her horse and gaze at the plaque with a dazed look.
The land of her dreams was so clearly reflected before her eyes. She gazed at the city tower with deep emotion, then closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
The sunlight gilded the city gates, and the city was bustling with people. Street vendors shouted their wares, and flowers bloomed in abundance on the trees. Looking at the prosperous scene before her, she felt a surge of satisfaction.
Memories of her first visit to Anping County flooded back. She closed her eyes, and the unrestrained and bold black figure appeared in her mind as promised.
She chuckled and glanced at Jia Ding, "What if someone suddenly appears out of the city and tries to fight me?"
“That can’t be,” Jia Ding said, following Yang Xiao’s gaze as he looked into the city. “His Highness shouldn’t be that kind of person.”
Before he finished speaking, a small squad ran out of the city, and the war drums at the city gate boomed, followed by the sound of horns.
Yang Xiao's expression suddenly turned cold. She twirled the gun in her hand, got into a fighting stance, and warily stared at the group of people running towards her.
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