084
The chill of early spring was no exaggeration; even wrapped in a cloak, Song Ling could still feel the biting cold wind.
The footsteps of soldiers outside the city rang out in unison. As far as the eye could see, the densely packed soldiers surged toward Luoyang like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.
Jingzhou, already weakened from aiding Yangzhou, was utterly powerless to resist the encirclement and suppression of the two armies. With Jingzhou no longer an obstacle, the southwestern army was able to advance unimpeded, heading straight for Jingzhou.
Most of the powerful and wealthy families in Luoyang knew very little about this army in the southwest, and they held their commander, who came from humble origins, in contempt.
They pinned their hopes on the resistance of the army within the city, and they pinned their hopes on the Marquis of Wu'an stepping forward.
But they waited and waited.
Lu Shangwen arrived and opened the city gates wide.
They were met with the arrival of the Southwest Army, who entered the city without losing a single soldier.
They were met with the abdication of Zhou Yuanrong, who had only been in power for a few days.
They just didn't get to see Marquis Wu'an lead his army to resist.
Meanwhile, the Marquis of Wu'an, whom they had been longing for, was standing on the city wall, showing no emotion at the southwestern army's entry into the city.
To be honest, he admired Yu Baizhou's abilities.
He had heard many comparisons between him and Yu Baizhou in Luoyang, but he hadn't paid them any attention.
It wasn't just scholars who admired each other; even the most powerful military generals shared a deep mutual respect. To have someone as capable as Song Ling as his advisor, General Yu must possess extraordinary abilities himself.
"So many soldiers, are those in armor in the middle generals?"
"How handsome!"
Zhou Zihe looked down curiously, but was pulled back by the man beside her: "Xiaohe, have you forgotten? I am also a general."
“You?” Zhou Zihe glanced at him with her eyes wide open. “I think you’re more like a scholar, but you’re also good-looking. It’s just that you’re a bit old.”
After Song Ling's explanation, Zhou Zihe understood that she had amnesia. However, she still felt a little disgusted with the person in front of her. Although he was gentle, and although he remembered what she liked to eat, knew what books she read, and knew so much about her... he was too old.
Chen Hejun was just enjoying himself for a moment when he heard about his age again. His smile froze.
A sharp gaze swept over him, and Chen Hejun looked back. Their eyes met, and they nodded in understanding.
"Can you ride a horse? Can you shoot an arrow? Which general are you from?"
Zhou Zihe's voice brought him back to his senses: "Northwest."
Is it fun there?
"It's fun." Chen Hejun tentatively took her hand and led her back. "The people there are simple and honest, and there are many novel foods to eat. It's just that there's little rain all year round, so you can also go hunting..."
Zhou Zihe: "A-Ling also said you're a general, so are you going back to the Northwest?"
Chen Hejun paused for a moment: "Yes, we will."
If Zihe doesn't want to leave, he'll have to leave her in Luoyang. He can't stay in Luoyang forever. But he's also afraid that a second Zhou Yuanrong will appear.
“Then I’ll go to the Northwest with you!” Zhou Zihe’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “But you have to teach me how to ride a horse!”
Ah Ling said that if she wanted to go to the Northwest, she would pack up all the imperial chefs in the palace for her to take with her, and then cook her delicacies from all over the country.
Moreover, A-Ling assigned her a task: to keep a close watch on this Marquis of Wu'an and prevent him from rebelling. A-Ling said that the inner quarters held the noblest mission, and that she would receive a large sum of silver every month from now on…
Zhou Zihe was mentally calculating how much money she could save in the future... completely unaware of the helpless smile in the eyes of the man next to her.
If the task of surveillance were actually assigned to Xiao He, she might end up selling herself out. Only Song Ling could come up with such a wicked idea.
Chen Hejun shook his head helplessly, but thankfully she was willing to go with him.
-
"I didn't expect it to actually provoke him." Master Song stood beside Song Ling, nodding with a smile: "This Yu Baizhou is not bad."
Looking down at the army entering the city, Song Ling asked him, "What exactly did you say to him before you left?"
Master Song smiled upon hearing this: "I said that your red threads were already intertwined. As long as he becomes emperor, your fate will be resolved, and you will not die young."
Song Ling: "You don't need to do this."
“I have to assess him for you.” Master Song’s eyes held an unreadable emotion. “After all, he’s not just going to be your lord, is he?”
"You're really sure about him?"
"Wasn't this all your doing?" Song Ling scoffed. "What are you pretending for now?"
"I never intended for you to choose him."
Song Shiliu had originally chosen Chen Hejun for her, but who knew Song Ling would act so unpredictably. So rebellious, I wonder who she learned that from.
Song Ling hesitated, then said, "Chen Hejun has a destined partner. Do you really have to be the one who does the despicable thing?"
“I’ve done plenty of wicked things, one or two more won’t make a difference.” Master Song took off the bracelet from his hand and handed it to her: “When I brought you back from the foot of the mountain, this was the only thing you had on you. Perhaps it was left to you by your mother.”
This was the first time her master had told her about his biological parents.
The next leader of Huailai has always been chosen through divination. He severed ties with his family and went up the mountain when he was young, and never had any contact with his biological parents again.
Therefore, Song Ling had never asked about her biological parents since childhood, and she never expected that her master would bring it up now.
“There’s something I lied to you about.” The master looked into the distance, as if he saw someone or something from the past. “That year I went down the mountain to find the successor’s child. Actually, you weren’t in the direction indicated by the divination at that time.”
"I saw your mother on the road. She had abandoned you by the river when she was desperate. I'm not a kind person and didn't intend to help you at all. But in an instant, I found myself standing in front of you."
"You opened your bright, watery eyes and nestled obediently in the thin blanket. For the first time, I felt a pang of pity and brought you back."
"When I was about to descend the mountain again, I discovered that your destiny chart had shifted. I realized that this so-called 'fate' is not irreversible."
So I tried playing a game of chess.
At this point, Song Shiliu sighed.
"What I want to tell you is that from the moment you decided to take on a mission that wasn't originally yours when you were five years old, Huailai's fate was already changed by you."
"Your fate was not changed because of who you chose as your lord, who you made emperor, or who was willing to share your imperial destiny; it was because you entered the game."
"From the moment you willingly entered the game, my game came alive."
"Therefore, you should not swallow your anger. If he changes in the future and treats you badly, do not compromise yourself." Song Shiliu's tone was somewhat heavy: "You still have many people in Huailai behind you, and they will be your support."
"But the only one I feel sorry for is you, so you've carried this burden of responsibility and fear for the past ten years."
Song Ling felt her head buzzing, and looked at him incredulously: "You mean, I won't die early?"
"But you clearly..."
"Ah Ling, there are some things you'd better know less about." After many years, he touched her head again and said slowly, "From now on, do what you want to do."
"You no longer need to worry about the people of Huailai, nor about your lifespan. Your body is weak, I will leave you some prescriptions to help you improve your health."
Before Song Ling could recover from the shocking news, she heard him say, "You're leaving? Then what was the purpose of bringing me to Luoyang? You haven't done anything."
"The purpose... is to see if the person my apprentice chose is qualified enough, and whether he is worth my apprentice's effort? Is this reason justified?"
He actually wanted to see Ah Ling get married, but it was probably too late.
"Where are you going?" Song Ling looked up at him. "Back to Huailai?"
"No." The man's voice was long and tinged with weariness: "There will be no more Huailai. The fate of this world and its people is not determined by destiny, but by human effort."
“We should have understood this principle long ago. Just like how even though A-Ling was not the destined sect leader, she was still able to push General Yu, who was not destined by heaven, onto the throne.”
He said, "I'm going to Xueyuan."
“That’s where the sect leader will end up, and that’s where I’m going to atone for my sins.” The man gave her one last look. “I should have died long ago. To live a few more years, I’ve killed many people and committed many atrocities. Now that things are looking up, I have to go and atone for my sins.”
Song Ling suddenly grabbed his sleeve, just like many times in their childhood, her eyes filled with determination: "Do you have to go?"
The answer Master gave was exactly the same as the one he had given before.
"We must go; it's karma, and it's only right."
Her master said this every time he punished her, every time he locked her in the bamboo house, and every time he apologized on her behalf...
This time, the words came down to the master himself.
*
"Lord Su, please."
"I can go in by myself."
"yes."
The prison was dark and cramped, so dark that no one could be seen. The further Su Duan went in, the heavier his heart became.
The ground beneath our feet was covered in sticky, foul-smelling mud and sewage, with the occasional large rat darting past.
Su Duan walked to a cell at the end of the road. It was more spacious and cleaner than the others, but still far inferior to the magnificent palace and princess's residence.
Why did you ask to go to jail?
Su Duan frowned as he looked at the woman with her eyes closed on the straw mat, a hint of bitterness rising in his throat.
"General Yu won't kill you. Come with me. You can live out the rest of your life without any worries."
Zhou Yuanrong opened her eyes, and when she looked at the person in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled.
He really didn't die.
“I thought we had discussed scriptures and texts together, and that we were kindred spirits. You should know what I want.”
"Can you give me what I want?" Before he could respond, Zhou Yuanrong said to himself, "You can't, Su Zhengze, so don't make things difficult for yourself, and don't make things difficult for me either."
Su Zhengze, this name seems to have been lost to the marketplace long ago, and no one has called him that for a long time.
Perhaps only she still remembers that he was the young and famous Left Prime Minister Su Zhengze.
"Of course the new emperor won't kill me, because he needs the Zhou royal family to abdicate legitimately. But what right do you have to demand that I relinquish the Zhou family's rightful succession?!"
Zhou Yuanrong stood up and said calmly, "From the day Luoyang fell, my Zhou royal family died."
"I, Zhou Yuanrong, do love power and am vain. I am reluctant to give up the glory that power brings me. But that doesn't mean I want to eke out a living under the charity of a treacherous court."
"Su Zhengze, I am the eldest princess of my Great Jin Dynasty."
"I cannot bring myself to do such a despicable act as betraying the Great Jin."
"Yu Baizhou wants me to live in order to win over and intimidate the old ministers, but I will not do as he wishes!"
As she spoke, Zhou Yuanrong forcefully plunged the shards of porcelain she had hidden beforehand into her neck, causing blood to gush out.
With a thud, the person fell straight to the ground.
"Yuan Rong!"
Su Duan kicked open the cell door, but when he got close to her, she was already barely breathing... and slowly fell silent.
They didn't want to leave a single word.
The wound was so deep that Su Duan dared not look at it directly.
This shows how resolute his decision was.
Su Duan slowly raised his hand and closed her eyes. Then he picked her up.
When he reached the prison gate, his subordinates were terrified by his blood-covered body and the person in his arms.
All that could be heard was their master, Lord Su, giving a hoarse order: "I will take the princess back to the princess's residence."
"Go and inform Miss Song that the princess is seriously ill and will pass away in six months."
Zhou Yuanrong cannot die, at least not before General Yu has secured his position.
The princess really presented them and him with a difficult problem.
He looked down at the woman in his arms, a deep, aching pain welling up in his heart.
A few days ago, he received a letter from Song Ling, asking him to go north immediately to persuade Zhou Yuanrong, because she knew about the vague affection between the two of them.
Song Ling thought that perhaps the appearance of "Su Zhengze" could change Zhou Yuanrong's suicidal thoughts to some extent.
But only Su Duan himself knew that his appearance would only strengthen the eldest princess's resolve to commit suicide.
As Zhou Yuanrong herself stated, she was a princess of the Great Jin Dynasty.
She has her own pride.
Thinking of this, Su Duan closed his eyes.
However, he also has his own responsibilities.
He cannot allow the eldest princess to ruin his lord's great cause.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
