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After Li Muyun's death in battle, Yang Fujin sent Yang Nancheng to take over the Northwest Border Army. From then on, the Northwest fell into Yang Fujin's hands.
He conspired with Li Ling that if the Northwest campaign succeeded, he would gain military power, while Li Ling would demand Yongye and the land to its east.
The Northwest is vast, but the area east of Yongye is only a tiny patch of land. The people there make a living by digging for jade, but there are no mines or salt, so there is no profit to be made. Yang Fujin agreed.
As long as he holds military power, it will be as easy as taking something out of a bag if he wants to reclaim that territory later.
After the situation in the Northwest was settled, Lu Chang's actions in Lingnan were finally reported by the spies he had been sent there.
The boy who was sent to this desolate land empty-handed back then has now replaced the Feng family and become the new master of Lingnan.
Yang Fujin ordered Feng Ji to take action, determined to reclaim the lost port. Unfortunately, Feng Ji ignored him, and all the secret letters he sent were burned to ashes, with no further communication.
When Yang Fujin learned that the Feng family, this powerful tree, had fallen, he realized that his decision to let Lu Chang return to the Northwest was actually a case of raising a tiger to cause trouble!
He listened to the words of that treacherous Yuan Cheng and sent him to Lingnan, but in the end he fell into Yuan Cheng's trap!
With Li Muyun dead, another Lu Chang has appeared. Yang Fujin is unwilling to repeat the same mistake. If he were to become too powerful and turn into another Li Muyun, that would be disastrous.
Thinking of this, he had another solution.
When news of renewed fighting in the Northwest reached Lingnan, Lu Chang considered writing to Mu Yun, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.
He was unaware of the battle situation and couldn't offer any help, so he shouldn't bother her.
That day, Jingwan returned from Shiyu City. As soon as she arrived at the gate of the house, someone rushed at her.
The first thing she smelled was the strong, unsettling stench of blood emanating from her.
A servant rushed over and helped her up. Jingwan looked up and was shocked. She blurted out, "Wuxia!"
Wuxia couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground. Jingwan rushed over, hugged her, and frantically called out, "Wuxia, wake up! Wake up!"
Wuxia barely opened her eyes, and after finally confirming that it was her, she took out the letter from her bosom: "Give...give it to the young master."
She fainted and lost consciousness after he finished explaining.
When I woke up again, it was already evening.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Jingwan sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her with concern. Looking down, she saw that all the wounds on her body had been treated, with white cloth wrapped around her abdomen, and bloodstains seeping out in the middle.
"Hey, don't move. I'll get you whatever you want."
Jingwan held her down, not allowing her to get up: "Although it wasn't a serious injury, the doctor said the wound is too deep and she needs to rest properly."
She had no time to ask her, "Where is the young master?"
At this point, Jingwan comforted her, "I gave him the letter, and after reading it, he said he was going to stay in his study for a while. He hasn't come out yet."
She didn't know what was written in the letter, but it must have been something bad. After her cousin read it, the color drained from his face, and he turned pale instantly. He said he was going to stay in the study for a while.
Jingwan was worried, but she still nodded and let him leave.
Wuxia said, "Why don't you go and check on the young master?"
Jingwan was puzzled and looked at her with suspicion, only to see Wuxia turn her head to one side, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, and a sob came from her. Jingwan was shocked.
The unease in her heart grew stronger and stronger, and her voice began to tremble: "Then you should rest well, I'll go... I'll go see my cousin."
She walked hurriedly, and when she reached the study door, the door was tightly closed. She knocked: "Cousin?"
There was no response from inside.
Jingwan pushed open the door and went inside. The room was dark, and not a single oil lamp was lit, as if no one was there.
She looked around and saw a dark figure at the desk.
"Why aren't you lighting the lamps? It's already dark." As she spoke, she reached for the flint, but Lu Chang said, "Don't light them, Jingwan, don't light them."
Jingwan could tell from his sorrowful words that her cousin was crying.
Wuxia is crying, and her cousin is crying too. What happened?
Jingwan placed the flint on the table and went to Lu Chang's place in the dark, only to hear him say, "Jingwan, your sister is gone."
She didn't understand at first: "Huh? Cousin, what are you talking about?"
Lu Chang couldn't hold back anymore. He burst into tears and said, "Sister Muyun... is gone..."
Jingwan stopped in her tracks; she hadn't even reached Lu Chang's side yet.
"What?" She really didn't understand at first, still wondering why Her Highness had left. Wasn't she in the Northwest anymore?
Lu Chang held the letter, the envelope still stained with Li Muyun's blood. Tears fell on it, and the blood seeped into the envelope.
Jingwan slowly approached Lu Chang. She picked up the letter, which contained only a few lines of text.
The eldest princess had been leading troops in the northwest for many years. She was fierce and impatient, and her reckless nature made people forget that she was also born into the royal family and raised as a princess. She had Confucian scholars as her teachers since childhood.
Amidst the powerful strokes of her calligraphy, she asked Lu Chang:
"In the Northwest, there are many who generously serve their country and many who sacrifice their lives for it. I ask you, what kind of person are you?"
Who are you, sir?
Lu Chang also asked himself, what kind of person is he?
Jingwan shook her head, still unable to believe it. Lu Chang sobbed, "Gongsun Jiadao brought Wuxia to Lingnan. He first came to Shiyu Town to find me and told me about everything in the Northwest. Jingwan, Sister Muyun is really gone!"
As if struggling to breathe, Jingwan barely managed to support herself on the table with one hand to avoid falling to the ground.
How could this be... how could this be... She was the fearless princess, how could she die!
She looked down at Lu Chang.
He finally couldn't hold back any longer, and pulled Jingwan into his arms, hugging her waist as he burst into tears like a child.
He held her tightly, his tears burning. Jingwan knew that her cousin had lost another family member.
She hugged him back, holding his trembling shoulders, letting him have a good cry.
Her tears, one by one, fell onto her cousin's back.
Lu Chang held her for a long time, and when he learned that Wuxia had woken up, he took Jingwan to her.
Wuxia glanced at Jingwan: "You go out first."
Jingwan nodded: "Then I'll go check if the medicine is ready?"
After she left, Wuxia gradually revealed the secrets of the Northwest to Lu Chang.
“I have been staying in the Alha tribe. The Qiang people around us have indeed grown stronger, but they are not strong enough to contend with the Northwest Border Army.”
"After I fled to Yanzhou, I met Gongsun Jiadao. At that time, I was seriously injured. He took me south. On the way, he told me that Yang Fujin had ordered the two prefectures to open their passes and let tens of thousands of soldiers go north. Only then did I realize that the princess's guess was correct. The people causing trouble in the northwest were not the Qiang people, but our own people. All they wanted to do was to hunt down the princess and seize her military power!"
"Your Highness... was killed by Qin Ziyou! Qin Ziyou... was a man of the Prince of Runan! Your Highness was murdered by them!"
She recalled the scene before Li Muyun died; she was bleeding to death, yet she still charged forward…
The thought of it only intensified her heartache, and she cried until her pillowcase was soaked.
Lu Chang remained silent until he stepped forward, at which point he said, "I will repay all the grudges!"
Jingwan squatted in front of the small stove. Even though there were servants looking after her, she still sat there, hugging her knees and lost in thought.
She turned around as she moved, and saw Lu Chang lifting her up.
Jingwan hugged Lu Chang's neck and looked at him. His eyes were still a little red, but they were better after applying hot water this morning.
She kissed Lu Chang's eyes to comfort him, and Lu Chang finally smiled and returned her a long kiss.
After Wuxia arrived, Pingdu also sent an imperial edict ordering Lu Chang to return to the capital immediately without delay.
Lu Chang coldly threw the imperial edict into the flames.
He was Lu Zhi's son, and he knew how to survive.
Building water fortresses and training naval forces was not enough for Lu Chang. He continued to recruit soldiers and train troops in Lingnan, aiming to completely transform Lingnan into a solid iron cage.
When ships of weapons were being transported to Lingnan, Lu Chang met his familiar old friend, Li Zheng, on the deck of Gujin Port.
Back in Jianchuan, Lu Chang had heard Li Zheng say that Wang Min, sent by Yang Fujin, was there for the Jianchuan copper mine.
The iron mine originally belonged to the imperial court, but Yang Fujin wanted to embezzle it and ordered Wang Min to sell it privately to merchants.
Li Zheng intercepted the iron ore mine under the guise of a businessman.
Later, Lu Chang led the mountain people of Lingnan to reclaim the mountain land. A large amount of ironware used was transported by people sent by Li Zheng. When the navy was established, he recruited soldiers and horses to increase the number of soldiers in Lingnan. All the weapons needed were provided by Li Zheng.
It was all planned long ago; they were just waiting for an opportunity.
Li Zheng stepped off the deck, and his first words were: "We've finally waited for this day."
Lu Chang invited him to talk in Jinning, but Li Zheng waved his hand and refused: "The Emperor has issued an edict that members of the imperial clan must return to the capital immediately."
Lu Chang worried, "This is probably not the Emperor's intention. If we go back rashly, we'll be trapped like turtles in a jar."
Li Zheng shook his head and chuckled, "No matter what, I'm still a member of the Li family. It's just that I can go back, but you can't! You can't no matter what!"
Lu Chang said, "I know!"
They had only spent a short time together before they had to part ways.
Li Zheng stood on the deck as the ship continued westward. The figures of the departing people grew smaller and smaller until they reached the horizon, at which point even the ship could no longer be seen.
With the changing times, who knows where everyone will end up?
When they parted ways in Yancheng that year, Lu Chang never imagined that it would be the last time he would see Li Muyun.
Jingwan sat on the terrace, lost in thought, with her energetic dog, Ali, on her lap. If her owner hadn't been holding Ali, Ali would have run off to play somewhere long ago.
After Li Muyun left, she often spaced out.
The last time I saw her was in Pingdu. She passed by in a hurry with her army, and Jingwan didn't even get to see her.
Even if they met, His Highness wouldn't recognize her. To the Princess, she was just an ordinary commoner from the Northwest.
She never knew herself.
Jingwan was able to see her because of Yuancheng.
She went to Pengcheng to sell jade and happened to meet Yuancheng. Yuancheng invited her to dinner, and at dusk, the two walked to the foot of Wangyue Tower.
He stopped, looked up, and smiled at her, saying, "Look, that is the eldest princess."
She looked over in surprise and saw a woman with long, flowing black hair tied up with a fishbone hairpin, lazily drinking wine.
On several later occasions, when she passed through Pengcheng, she would deliberately look up at Wangyue Tower. Sometimes she would see her there, and sometimes it would be empty.
So this is Her Highness the Princess!
She was beautiful, with a spirited air about her, a rare beauty among young women.
Lost in the past, she discovered that Lu Chang had already fallen into her cousin's arms when she arrived.
The first thing they did was a lingering kiss, which Jingwan responded with her eyes closed. They had been enjoying this intimacy a lot lately, and she was already quite used to it.
"What are you thinking about?" He had been there for a long time, but she hadn't noticed.
Jingwan breathed slightly out of breath: "I miss the Northwest."
Lu Chang understood what she meant and returned the kiss deeply: "We will go back."
He picked up Jingwan and they went back to her room together.
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