It was midsummer in June. Outside the farmland in the suburbs of Beijing, there was a large natural lake. It was the season with lush green trees and a gentle breeze blowing over the water. Deep in the shade of willows, Yuan Xi was sitting motionless facing the lake, staring at the float in front of him with a frown, afraid to miss any movement of the float.

Xiao Du walked out of the woods, parted the willows in front of him, and saw Yuan Xi's intense concentration. He couldn't help but smile, so he tiptoed to her side and put a freshly made wreath on her head. Yuan Xi was startled, and felt that there was something on her head. Before she could touch it, Xiao Du came up from behind and kissed her.

Yuan Xi was afraid that he would scare away the fish that was about to be caught, so she was extremely anxious, but she didn't dare to say anything. She just blushed and used her eyes to signal him not to disturb her. However, Xiao Du bit her lips maliciously, deliberately preventing her from looking at the float. Yuan Xi was so angry that she reached out and slapped him on the back, but the fishing rod in her hand slipped into the lake.

Seeing that Yuan Xi was about to get angry, Xiao Du stopped teasing her with a smile, ran to the lake to pick up the fishing rod for her, and then sat behind her to teach her how to fish. Yuan Xi had never experienced such leisure in the mountains. Whenever a fish was caught, her eyes lit up with excitement and she clapped her hands and shouted. Xiao Du hadn't seen her so happy for a long time, and he felt that it was right to bring her to the farm to escape the summer heat.

The two played for a whole day until the sunset filled the sky. The setting sun was reflected obliquely on the waves, dyeing the water half pink and half golden. Yuan Xi felt a little tired, so she leaned back in Xiao Du's arms. The breeze gently blew on her face, making her close her eyes lazily. There were the rustling sounds of birds flying over the water and the chirping of cicadas in the trees, as if it was an outdoor paradise, making people forget all their worries.

Yuan Xi was intoxicated for a long time before reluctantly opening his eyes and saying, "Haven't you figured out that matter yet?"

Xiao Du tightened his grip on her hand and said, "I've thought about this for a long time. This matter shouldn't be decided by me alone. After all, that man is your father. If the Queen Mother's crime of murdering the late Emperor is proven, not only the Queen Mother and your father, but the entire Xia family will suffer."

Yuan Xi was silent for a while, then he exhaled softly and said, "I've said it before, Xia Mingyuan and I have no relationship with the Xia family anymore. He never treated me as his daughter, so why should I treat him as a relative?"

Xiao Du turned his head and stared at her and said, "Can you really not care at all?"

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "You are my husband. You, Xuan'er, the old man, and my second brother are the ones who truly care about me and regard me as a family. So as long as you decide to do something, I will accompany you to do it. Even if I have to give up everything now, or even live in the open air, I will never be unwilling."

A warm current surged in Xiao Du's heart. His eyes slowly swept over the scenery in front of him, and he said, "If one day you must go with me to a place without such beautiful scenery, not as prosperous as the capital, but with only desert and sand, would you be willing?"

Yuan Xi had guessed his intentions, turned around and smiled softly, "You once said you would take me to see the sunset at the border, I have been waiting for this day for a long time."

Xiao Du was a little worried all the time. "But you have never left the capital, and you are always afraid of the cold. It is very hard to live there. There is no floor heating, especially in winter. The wind is strong and the water is cold. I am afraid you can't stand it."

Yuan Xi sighed, held his hand, and said firmly: "Adu, I will follow you wherever you go. No matter how cold the place is, you will keep me warm. As long as you are here, what do I have to fear?"

Xiao Du's eyes warmed up, and he held her tightly in his arms, unable to utter a word. With her promise, he finally untied his biggest knot in his heart. There were some things he had to do even if he knew the consequences.

On the second day, in a small courtyard in Fenglefang in the west of the city, Uncle Feng had finished taking care of the flowers and plants in the courtyard and was about to go to the stove room to make some food when he suddenly felt something was wrong behind him. He turned around and looked up, only to see Xiao Du in the backlight, wearing a white robe and black boots, sitting on the courtyard wall, holding a pot of wine in his hand and looking at him with a smile.

Uncle Feng rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not mistaken, and hurriedly called out, "The Marquis is coming, why not go through the main gate? Oh, come down quickly, be careful not to fall."

Xiao Du laughed out loud, jumped down from the wall, threw the wine bottle in his hand into Uncle Feng's arms, and said, "It's not even this height that can make me fall, I just want to give Uncle Feng a surprise. I specially bought the good wine that Zui Xiang Lou has just arrived today, let's drink a few cups together."

Uncle Feng didn't understand why Xiao Du was so happy, but he still cheerfully went to wash the wine glasses and skillfully fried a few side dishes. Then the two of them sat under the shade of a tree and drank together amidst the abundant flowers and plants.

Uncle Feng and Xiao Du drank several glasses in a row, and they were a little drunk, but they felt that they had not felt so happy for a long time. At this time, Xiao Du smiled and praised: "Good wine, good wine, it is really enjoyable to drink!"

Uncle Feng couldn't help being curious and asked cautiously, "What on earth made the Marquis so happy?"

Xiao Du slowly put down the cup in his hand, his eyes became a little complicated, and he lowered his head and said word by word: "Uncle Feng, if I say that I can avenge Xiao Ji and Xiao Qi right away, will you be happy?"

Uncle Feng's hands trembled, and the wine glass suddenly slid to the ground. Then, his lips began to tremble violently, and then his whole body was shaking. He looked up at Xiao Du, and made sure that there was no joke in it, and tears burst out, and he laughed wildly with tears. Then he tilted his body and knelt in front of Xiao Du, shouting in a hoarse voice: "My Lord, they died too tragically. Even their corpses cannot return to their hometown, and they cannot accompany an old man like me. If you can really avenge them, I am willing to sacrifice my life!"

Xiao Du's eyes also became hot. He quickly squatted down and helped Uncle Feng up, trembling and saying, "Don't worry, I have never forgotten their hatred! I remember the murderers who killed them and tens of thousands of Xiao's soldiers every day. I swore that one day, I would make those people pay with blood and let the wronged souls of the soldiers rest in peace! Don't worry, it won't be long before I can avenge them!"

Uncle Feng hunched over, covered his face and burst into tears. He had waited for this moment for too long and thought that he could only spend the rest of his life in hatred and unwillingness. Now he finally waited for the day when justice would prevail. If he could meet his two children in the underworld in the future, he would not be so ashamed to see them!

Xiao Du leaned against the stone table, silently watching him cry and vent. His vision was a little blurry, as if he was back in Pingdu Pass that year. He hadn't eaten for a few days and was so weak that he trembled when he held the sword. Outside his camp, there were countless soldiers who were also weak and hungry, and all they could see were despair.

At this time, a deputy general beside him walked into the tent, looked at him guiltily, and then opened the bundle in his hand. A strong smell of meat immediately filled the entire tent, and Xiao Du's eyes suddenly lit up, but when he saw the painful and twisted expression on the deputy general's face, he immediately understood everything, stretched out his hand and fiercely knocked the piece of meat to the ground, but he didn't even have the strength to say a word of blame.

The deputy general picked up the meat on the ground while crying, knelt beside him and said: "My Lord, just eat a piece! If even you fall, the Xiao family army will be wiped out! Then all the brothers who died in the battle will have died in vain! We must get out alive to avenge them!"

Xiao Du closed his eyes and trembled, trying hard to hold back the hot tears in his eyes. After what seemed like a lifetime, he finally put the piece of meat into his mouth. Then he ate and vomited at the same time, and finally swallowed the piece of meat. The deputy general beside him had already cried so hard that his whole body was twitching. He looked at this iron-boned man who could laugh and scold the enemy even if he was shot by several arrows on the battlefield, and cried in front of him for the first time. It was as if countless sharp blades were piercing his heart. At that moment, he silently swore: "Everything I owe you now, I will pay you back sooner or later! For all the wronged souls who died here in vain, I will definitely pay tribute to you with the blood of my enemies!"

A gust of cold wind blew by, making Xiao Du feel the chill falling on his face. He reached out and wiped his cheeks, as if he saw again those brothers who had lived and died together and guarded the border standing in front of him, with smiles of relief and gratitude on their faces.

That's right, I owe you this! So even though he knew that if the Xia family fell, the Marquisate would be in danger; even though he knew that only by continuing to tolerate the Xia family's power to check the imperial power could he give himself a few more years of breathing space, he had to take this opportunity to completely defeat the Xia family. Because he couldn't wait any longer, this was his responsibility, for the promise he had made, for the sake of thousands of loyal souls!

It was another day when willow trees were in full bloom. On the top of Zhongshan Mountain, Zhao Yan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the mountain scenery in the distance. Hearing footsteps behind him, he slowly turned around and said with a smile, "You are finally here. I knew you would come sooner or later."

Xiao Du walked up to him and said, "Why do you think I will come? I can just sit back and watch the fight. What good will it do me to help you?"

Zhao Yan brushed off the fallen leaves on his body, and suddenly showed arrogance on his face. He said: "Because you and I are the same kind of people, with the same clear-minded ambitions. Back then, you and I swore here to return Da Mu to an era of peace and prosperity, so you would never sit idly by and watch the Xia family do nothing." He sighed again, with sadness in his eyes, and said: "It's a pity that you and I will never have the opportunity to be a pair of true good brothers!"

Xiao Du had a mocking look on his face, as if he was too lazy to respond. He just took out the paper in his hand and spread it in front of Zhao Yan, saying: "This is the secret hidden in that bow, the secret that the late emperor painstakingly left behind!" Zhao Yan hurriedly looked at it carefully, and when he saw clearly that it was actually a prescription, doubt appeared in his eyes.

Xiao Du said: "There are two herbs in this prescription that are poisonous when taken together. Taking too much is enough to kill you. This is the prescription that the Empress Dowager personally fed to the late Emperor when she was taking care of him personally."

Zhao Yan was shocked. He had never thought that such a thing would be aimed directly at the Queen Mother and be so deadly. Just as he was in doubt and hesitant, Xiao Du had already put away the prescription and said slowly, "This is the opportunity that can destroy the entire Xia family. Now it's your turn to choose. See if your Majesty can be ruthless and help your father to deal with your mother."

Zhao Yan showed a painful expression on his face. After a long while, he let out a long breath and said, "The arrow is on the string and must be shot."

Xiao Du seemed to have expected this, and raised the corners of his lips, saying, "Then let's see what Your Majesty is prepared to exchange for this prescription."