Princess
In November of the third year of the Jianyan reign, Liu Zhong, leader of a rebellious bandit army operating in the Huaihe and Yellow River basins, led his troops to attack Qizhou, Hubei. Han Shizhong, ordered to travel to Qizhou, assisted Han Shiqing, the inspector general of Qi and Huangdu, in the battle against Liu Zhong. Liang Hongyu accompanied them, and after several months, they defeated Liu Zhong. Liu Zhong ultimately fled to Hunan. While Liang Hongyu led troops to search Liu Zhong's mountain stronghold, they discovered a haggard woman in a small woodshed.
She was wearing a dull and worn dress, her hair was dry, dull and messy, her cheeks and lips were bloodless, and she sat in the corner with a listless look. The moment she broke the lock and pushed the door open, she subconsciously turned her head inside, as if she was stung by the sudden increase in light.
"Who are you?" Liang Hongyu asked standing at the door.
She slowly turned her head and opened her eyes, her large eyes dull and empty. Her eyes met his, but he couldn't be sure she was looking at him.
She squatted down and asked her: "Who are you and why are you locked here?"
He looked at her quietly, from her helmet to her armor, from her facial features to her limbs, and then he heard her clear voice.
"Are you a female general of the Song Dynasty?" she asked.
"Yes." Liang Hongyu nodded.
"You are loyal to Prince Kang." Liang Hongyu nodded again, but did not forget to correct him, saying, "The current emperor has ascended the throne. You should no longer address him as Prince Kang."
Hearing this, she smiled strangely: "Yes, he has ascended the throne as emperor."
That smile seemed to instantly light up all the remaining spirit in her. She stood up, carefully straightened her dress, and gathered her loose hair. Then she turned to look at him, chin slightly raised, and said, "I am the daughter of Emperor Daojun, the younger sister of the current emperor, Princess Roufu."
After a moment of stunned silence, Liang Hongyu solemnly sent her to the official residence of Zhen Cai, the governor of Qizhou, and settled her there. She then learned some information about the woman from several captured Liu Zhong soldiers.
She had been abducted into the mountain stronghold by Liu Zhong two weeks earlier. Liu Zhong, impressed by her beauty, wanted to take her as a concubine, but she resisted desperately, pulling out several locks of his hair and nearly biting off a piece of flesh from his arm during her struggle. Furious, Liu Zhong tied her up and prepared to rape her, but then discovered she was bleeding profusely from her vagina. Feeling filthy, he temporarily spared her and confined her to the woodshed, where he made her wash clothes and chop wood daily, hoping to make plans once she recovered. However, they were pursued by the Song army, and the situation became desperate. Liu Zhong forgot about her and made no attempt to take her with him during his escape, which is how she encountered the Song army.
Hearing her claim to be the Imperial Concubine, Zhen Cai dared not neglect her. Eager to verify her identity, she summoned Han Shiqing to interrogate her. The two men carefully donned court robes, ushered her out, and questioned her through a curtain. She recounted her escape from the Jin Kingdom and her capture by Liu Zhong. Unfazed by their questions, she answered calmly and flawlessly. Finally, under Zhen Cai's guidance, she recounted some past events in the Bianjing Palace, accurately describing the titles of the concubines, princes, and Imperial Concubines, as well as their relationships.
After the questioning, the two men came out and said to Liang Hongyu, who was guarding the outer room, "She can describe such trivial matters so clearly. I think it must be true."
Liang Hongyu smiled faintly, saying nothing. He had long since determined that she was the true imperial concubine. The moment she stood up to reveal her identity, she had such an extraordinary demeanor. Even in her coarse clothes and humble circumstances, her undeniable nobility still clung to her relaxed brows and gently pursed lips. Therefore, he never doubted the truth of what she said.
Zhen Cai and Han Shiqing hurriedly sent messengers to report the matter to Zhao Gou, who immediately ordered them to send Roufu to Yuezhou for temporary residence. He also sent Feng Yi, the chief eunuch who had seen Roufu, and Wu Xin'er, a clan member, to examine her. After they reported that she was definitely the Imperial Princess, Zhao Gou quickly ordered the construction of a cloud phoenix sedan chair, along with the appropriate ceremonial equipment and the princess's attire. He then selected an auspicious day and dispatched twenty palace maids and three thousand imperial guards to the post station to welcome the Imperial Princess into the palace.
Liang Hongyu escorted Roufu all the way to Yuezhou, but because of Roufu's status, Liang Hongyu never met her again. Before setting off, she saw Roufu again in the backyard of the post station.
Liang Hongyu had only intended to go outside her hall and say goodbye from afar, but she was now standing alone in the courtyard. It was evening, a brilliant crimson blazing across the sky, and she was wearing a light, crimson dress, her sleeves reflecting the glow and fluttering in the evening breeze. The gorgeous red and her slender figure suddenly reminded him of the herb called the poppy.
"Princess Di." Liang Hongyu called softly from behind her.
She turned around slowly, looked at her indifferently, and said nothing.
Her face was unusually pale, just like when he first saw her, and even more so against the red dress, but he didn't think there was a more beautiful face in the world.
"Princess Di," Liang Hongyu said to her, "I am leaving now. I hope everything goes well for you and that you get what you wish for."
She just replied with a light "OK".
Liang Hongyu mounted her horse and was about to ride away when she came towards her, took out the only jewelry in her hair, a wooden hairpin, and handed it to her, "This hairpin is my way of thanking you for taking care of me these days."
Liang Hongyu looked at the hairpin and said, "Princess Di, it is my duty to take care of you. You don't have to do this."
Roufu forced the hairpin into her hand and said, "Take it. It's not easy for women to live in troubled times. You and I are both women, but you have become a role model for women all over the world. You fight in the battlefield and are no less capable than men." Roufu suddenly lowered her head, her eyes filled with turbulent emotions, and continued, "If I could have your martial arts skills, I wouldn't have to suffer this."
Her eyes gradually became red. Liang Hongyu didn't know what she had experienced in the Jin camp, but she could imagine how miserable it would be for a beautiful woman to be trapped in the enemy camp.
Liang Hongyu held the wooden hairpin that still carried the warmth of her gentle body. The hairpin was rough and simple in style, which was extremely inconsistent with the princess's former glory, but it was all she could offer at the moment.
As a woman, she can fight with the enemy on the battlefield and fight for life and death, while Roufu can only exchange for a glimmer of hope for survival in the cruel purgatory of the Jin camp.
A strong sense of sadness and powerlessness surged in her heart. She was a respected noble princess who lived a luxurious life of fine clothes and delicious food, but because of the incompetence of her father and brother, she was imprisoned and brutally abused.
This was more than just a hairpin; it was clearly a woman who had forced a life she couldn't bear to look back on, along with her last shred of dignity. She accepted this thank-you gift as if it were a heavy, tear-stained secret.
She subconsciously wanted to speak, to say something soothing like, "It's all over," "Everything will be fine in the future," but as the words rolled to her tongue, she swallowed them back. In the face of the immense sorrow brought by fate, any consolation seemed pale and hypocritical.
She simply gripped the hairpin tighter and uttered two words in a hoarse voice: "Take care."
Liang Hongyu pulled the reins hard and rushed resolutely into the setting twilight. She didn't dare look back, lest she see the red dress finally swallowed up by the dusk.
The wind whistled past her ears. She knew that the palace could offer Roufu a luxurious life, but it could never erase her past in the Jin Camp, a past that would gnaw at her day and night. And she was just a woman, so innocent.
After returning to the camp, Liang Hongyu treasured the wooden hairpin in a small agarwood box and seldom took it out. Occasionally, when she touched it, she would feel a slight coolness on her fingertips, as if she saw again that evening with blood-red glow and that pale woman in crimson clothes.
Upon entering the palace, Princess Roufu was treated with great respect. Zhao Gou chose a husband for her and arranged a marriage for her, seemingly doubling down on the glory she had lost. Within and beyond the palace, the story of Princess Roufu's past in the Jin camp became a taboo, and she was meticulously revered, becoming a delicate symbol of the imperial family's survival after the catastrophe.
Liang Hongyu continued to fight alongside Han Shizhong, crisscrossing the front lines against the Jin army. Her repeated military exploits bolstered her reputation, earning her the acclaim of a "heroine." Yet, she knew only she herself: whenever she heard from the palace about how Princess Roufu, enjoying her honor and seemingly oblivious to her past, she felt no comfort, only a deeper sorrow. She understood that this wasn't forgetfulness; it was simply a more desperate silence.
Sometimes, during her visit to the palace, she might catch a glimpse of Roufu, the phoenix-shaped procession, from afar. Her attire was ornate, her sedan chair a solemn one, but her face, hidden behind a pearl curtain, was indistinct. Liang Hongyu would always subconsciously search for her, but she could no longer find the frail, scarlet-clad woman in the backyard of the post station, her eyes filled with resentment and pain.
It was not until several years later that another royal woman who was released by the Jin people, perhaps out of jealousy or other hidden thoughts, secretly ridiculed Princess Roufu's past service to Concubine Jin during a palace banquet while drunk, with frivolous words.
At that moment, everyone in the audience was shocked and the singing and dancing stopped abruptly.
Princess Roufu, who had been sitting quietly at the head of the table, suddenly turned pale as paper. Her fingers clenched the wine glass tightly, her knuckles turning white, and her body trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. She raised her head abruptly, but her gaze was not directed at the person who had caused the trouble. Instead, it passed through the crowd and shot directly at Liang Hongyu, who was also looking up in shock.
Their eyes met, and in a flash, Liang Hongyu saw in Roufu's eyes the excruciating pain of having his wound torn open unexpectedly, the shame and anger that had nowhere to hide, and... a hint of indescribable begging.
Without hesitation, Liang Hongyu stood up suddenly. The clang of her armor caught everyone's attention in the silence. She faced the throne and spoke in a voice as resounding as a bell, drowning out all whispers.
"Your Majesty! The Jin thieves have brought disgrace upon our dynasty, and the princess is trapped in the enemy's court. This is a great sorrow for our nation! The details of what has happened are beyond the comprehension of our ministers, and certainly not something we can discuss at a banquet! Every time I think of this, I wish I could immediately lead my troops north to avenge this national humiliation! Now, there are those who use such filthy words to slander the princess. Their hearts are damned! Your Majesty, please enforce the law and set the record straight!"
Her words were powerful and instantly elevated that unbearable past to the level of national hatred and family feuds, and she glared back at all those who tried to peek into her personal scars.
Zhao Gou's face turned pale. He immediately scolded the talkative princess and expelled her from the palace and put her under strict discipline.
The banquet ended in a bad mood.
The next day, Liang Hongyu received a secret letter from the palace. There was no signature, only a line of thin handwriting on plain paper:
"The general's noble character will be remembered forever."
Liang Hongyu lit the letter in the candlelight and watched it turn to ashes.
There was still silence between them.
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