The torrential rain pierced the air with a sharp, mournful sound, the wind howled, and raindrops pelted the earth relentlessly.
Yan Yuan held him tightly with both hands, tears or rain streaming down her beautiful face as she repeatedly reminded him in a hoarse voice.
“We are husband and wife, I am your wife.”
The wind howled and roared, and rainwater, carrying a hazy mist, flowed through the mountains and fields.
Wang Hezhan knelt in the rain, his body bent over, staring blankly at the corpse in the coffin, his features seemingly indifferent, his body motionless.
He didn't know how long he had been kneeling. His limbs were numb, and his already weak body couldn't hold on any longer. His vision went black, and he collapsed into Yan Yuan's arms.
The wind howled and the waves surged, the storm poured down, and the world was desolate. The cold wind blew to the bone, and the heavy, oppressive rain mingled with the howling of the mountain wind.
In the dense forest, a woman dressed in white watched this scene from afar, her eyes suddenly filled with mist.
Footsteps came from behind her, and a man in an oilcloth held an umbrella over her head.
"You've just recovered, and you've come here to suffer?"
The figure in front remained silent, her beautiful eyes fixed on the two people in the distance, her eyes slightly reddened.
The cold wind howled like knives, and the rain roared like a wild beast. The surroundings were desolate. After an unknown amount of time, a slightly choked voice rang out in the storm.
"Brother, is he crying because of me?"
The man's name was Xie Zhi. He was from the same branch as Xie Rongyue and was her elder brother. At a young age, he served as the Left Lieutenant General in Changzhou, Southwest China.
A few months ago, she returned to Yangxia to pay respects to her ancestors. He went out to enjoy the Lantern Festival and saw her having private conversations with Wang San. He told her about the shop in Yandu and said that she should come to him if she needed anything.
After Xie Rongyue was locked in the woodshed, she asked her maid to go find her. She fell into the lake and was rescued by the Xie family's guards.
Upon hearing the news, Xie Zhi personally came to Yandu. Seeing his half-sister's disheveled state, he ordered his guards to investigate what had happened. Only then did he learn about their past and sent someone to fake a corpse.
"Rongyue is the eldest son of the Langya Wang clan. There is no future for you two."
Even the legitimate daughters of their branch of the family could not marry into the Langya Wang clan, and it was difficult for them to even become concubines.
"Since the master believes you are dead, come back to the southwest with me."
The long, cold rain blurred the view, and the bleak, mournful mountain wind lashed at the person, making everything around seem still.
Her misty eyes looked at the people in the rain, her bloodless lips trembling slightly.
Xie Zhi glanced at her sideways, giving her a meaningful look. "You've fallen for him?"
Xie Rongyue paused, her thoughts drifting back. The surging past flashed before her eyes like erupting lava, crashing against her limbs. The slanting rain soaked the hem of her skirt, and her whole body felt cold as if she had no life.
A metallic taste rose in her throat, and she tried her best to suppress her emotions, speaking in a low voice.
“Brother, he can’t marry me as his legal wife, and I don’t want him anymore.”
With a whoosh, lightning ripped across the sky, and a faint white light illuminated the world.
Yan Yuan struggled to support the man on her back as they descended the mountain. A cold wind blew, and slanting raindrops soaked the hems of their clothes.
Xie Zhi watched the two figures leave in the rain with a calm expression, his lips moving slightly.
“Let’s go back to the Southwest. We Southwest men are no less capable than the young masters of noble families in Yandu.”
The rain in Yandu lasted for half a month. After Wang Hezhan woke up again, he ordered people to take everything out of the house and burn it, and sealed off Qingfeng Garden.
He moved to Nanyuan and erased all traces of Xie Rongyue's existence. No one in the mansion dared to mention her again.
Less than half a month later, he requested permission to go to the Northwest.
Nowadays, wars break out frequently in the north, and the kingdoms of the Western Regions are advancing southward. One after another, they take turns to compete for control of the Central Plains, and the world is in turmoil.
The Great Qi and the Northern Capital have been fighting for several months. Yan Rongli personally went to Jiaozhou and recovered half of the twelve cities along the Yan River. The Northern Capital was driven back to Liangzhou and was locked in a fierce battle with the Northern Yan.
However, Helian Ye, the young master of the Western Regions, personally led an expedition, with hundreds of thousands of cavalry attacking the Great Qi. Several passes in the northwest were breached one after another, and several generals died.
He then requested permission to go to the northwest to fight, and the Emperor of Qi naturally did not disagree.
But swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield. The eldest son of the Langya Wang clan only had a few sons. If they died on the battlefield, the eldest son would have no heir, and the clan would turn against them.
But Wang Hezhan was determined to lead the troops, causing a huge commotion in the ancestral hall.
At that time, the situation in the north was in great chaos, and the Jin Dynasty launched a northern expedition. Xie An, the eldest son of the Xie family of Chen Commandery, disregarded the fate of his clan and insisted on leading troops to attack the Southern Yan on his wedding night.
When news of her feigned death reached Yandu, the bride, from a prestigious family in the north, committed suicide by throwing herself against the coffin.
It's a tragedy that the eldest son of the Xie family, who was exceptionally talented in his youth, was crippled in this battle and faded into obscurity, withdrawing from the Xie family's power struggles.
Wang Hezhan was a promising descendant of the Langya Wang clan. In his early years, he had also been on the battlefield, fighting alongside the Emperor of Qi in the north.
Because he nearly died in the battle against Northern Yan, he was forced by Wang Dun to hand over his military power and never fought a battle again.
No more than two years later, they were going to the battlefield again. The Langya Wang clan was naturally unwilling, and Prime Minister Wang Dun rejected the suggestion in court, demanding that another general be sent to lead the northern expedition.
But Wang Hezhan clearly wouldn't listen to anyone. That night, a series of shrill noises echoed through the South Garden.
Inside the brightly lit room, Yan Yuan looked at the man at the table and smiled bitterly.
"Are you really going to the Northwest?"
A silence hung in the air.
Wang Hezhan stood up, picked up a robe from the rack, and headed out.
Yan Yuan watched his movements, stepped aside to block him, her face showing a hint of helpless sadness.
"I know the general is worried about the northwest. This journey is dangerous. I hope the general will take care."
The candlelight crackled inside the room, and the two were very close to each other.
Looking at the handsome and dashing face before her, she slowly removed her thin dress, revealing her young and beautiful body completely naked before him.
"I beg the general's mercy, and let me give birth to a legitimate son."
Wang Hezhan lowered his eyes, looking at the snow-white body in front of him. Suddenly, a body flashed through his mind, a body that was always delicate and fragile on the bed, like a flower in bloom, and would cry out endlessly with the slightest exertion.
Yan Yuan saw him staring intently at her body and reached out to wrap her arms around his waist.
"I want a child of our own."
The woman's sweet fragrance wafted into his nostrils, snapping Wang Hezhan back to his senses. He grabbed her arm and flung her away, speaking softly.
"Tell me if you want to go to the southwest."
Having said that, he took his cloak and strode away.
The war in the Northwest has been going on for several months, and the Great Qi has suffered heavy losses. There are no generals in the Northwest who can fight.
The eldest son of the Langya Wang clan disregarded the clan's orders and led an army of 200,000 from the capital northwards. On the day he went to the northwest, Xie Rongyue followed her brother and secretly crossed back to the southwest.
One in the south, one in the north, with no way back.
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