Chapter 115 The Grand Finale: That scene is still deeply rooted in his heart.
The terrain of Wuli Snow Mountain is complex.
Helan Yi's men did not rest last night and kept tracking in the vicinity until dawn, but still could not find Ji An and the others.
The soldiers of Rongbei were unwilling to follow. They had been sent by their superiors to assist a Han Chinese man in searching for the younger brother of the Empress of the Great Qi Dynasty. However, they could not find him. Yesterday, the Wuli Snow Mountain raged again, causing snow to fall and many of their brothers to perish in the valley. In the end, they were not searching for the Empress of the Great Qi Dynasty herself, but only for her relatives. How much of a help could they possibly provide to Rongbei?
A sense of despondency spread, and one after another, the Rongbei people withdrew from the ranks.
By dawn, only a handful of trusted confidants remained behind Helan Yi.
A trusted aide approached Helan Yi and said, “General, Rongbei just sent a message urging you to return immediately if you can’t find him. Rongbei has something to say to you.”
The man sitting on horseback walked slowly, his back hunched over, no longer as straight as before, and his whole body exuded a heavy aura of death.
If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his body, one would have thought he was already lifeless.
“Rongbei?” His voice was hoarse.
The confidant exchanged a glance with the two men behind him, both understanding each other's thoughts—
We can't stay any longer.
He Lanyi's injuries were far more serious than imagined, and he wouldn't live much longer. This plan was originally a huge gamble, extremely risky and difficult, and failure was a foregone conclusion at this point.
Are they going to end up like Helan Yi, a traitor?
Several trusted confidants exchanged glances, then calmly slowed down to distance themselves from Helan Yi.
Helan Yi rode slowly through the snow valley, his pale face devoid of any color, his temples covered in frost and snow. His eyes, which once held a commanding presence on the battlefield, were now half-closed, his vision blurred.
The crisp sound of horses' hooves echoed through the snowy valley. Helan Yi called out to his men, but received no reply from his trusted confidants. The sound of hooves was coming from ahead.
One of the people who came said, "Your Majesty, the rest of the people have been dealt with."
Upon hearing this address, Helan Yi abruptly raised his head. A tall, magnificent horse approached, carrying a slender figure. The moment Helan Yi sensed the person on horseback, he recognized him.
"He Lanyi".
Xiao Zhuo called to him, his voice clear and cold, high as if from the heavens.
He Lanyi snapped out of his shock and instinctively gripped the sword at his waist, only to be spotted by a quick-thinking soldier.
A powerful force struck his wrist, causing his sword to slip from his grasp and fall to the ground. He also lost his balance and tumbled off his horse to the ground.
He Lanyi coughed, clutching his chest. Just as he was about to get up, several gleaming longswords were pressed against his neck. If he made the slightest movement, those swords would mercilessly slit his neck.
A metallic taste rose in Helan Yi's throat. He braced himself with one hand and raised his head. There were no more trusted men behind him. The words he had just heard, "The rest have all been dealt with," were referring to his own men.
A horse came up from behind Xiao Zhuo, and the young man on horseback said, "Helan Yi! Do you recognize me?"
Helan Yi smiled, looking at Ji An, then at Xiao Zhuo, and wondered if there was anything he didn't understand.
"I never expected that the Emperor of Daqi would go to such lengths for Yuan Chaolu, traveling thousands of miles deep into enemy territory just to find her brother."
Helan Yi laughed, blood flowing from the corner of his lips, staining his chin red. He gasped for breath, then suddenly burst with strength, trying to get up and break free, but was restrained and forced to kneel on the ground again.
The emperor of Daqi is right in front of us. What a great opportunity! As long as we summon the soldiers from Rongbei, Xiao Zhuo will surely die.
Several longswords blocked his escape route, giving him no chance whatsoever.
The soldier shouted, "Traitorous scoundrel, do you still dare to resist?"
"Traitor? You, a nobody soldier, dare to call me that?" Helan Yi finished speaking and looked at Xiao Zhuo. "In all these years, I have fought for you on the battlefield. Have I ever disobeyed your orders or betrayed you?"
"Does the Helan family have any part in serving the Great Qi, establishing its rule over the world, and guarding the rear?"
"I have devoted myself to assisting Your Majesty and obeying your orders to expand the territory, which is why we have the Great Qi we have today. Do I not count as a key minister in the founding of the nation?"
"But now, you've brought me to this state! Xiao Zhuo, you're truly heartless!"
In the end, it sounded like a dying, trapped beast howling in despair.
After a long while, the echo finally subsided, and Xiao Zhuo's indifferent voice rang out again—
"Who gave you the illusion that I wouldn't kill you for her sake?"
Helan Yi suddenly raised his head.
He pressed Xiao Zhuo to tell him if he still had a sliver of hope because Yuan Chaolu was targeting him. He said that there was no need for the relationship between the ruler and his subject to be so strained. Yuan Chaolu was just a nobody; why should they be forced to the brink of life and death?
But now the emperor has made the final decision, telling Helan Yi that Xiao Zhuo killed him for only one reason: Yuan Chaolu.
Xiao Zhuo raised his hand and placed it on the long sword at his waist.
"Helan Yi, you overestimate yourself. You are where you are today because I chose you. Even without you, countless others would have followed in my footsteps."
The sword was drawn extremely slowly, accompanied by a clanging sound, and a long sword as white as water was unsheathed.
Helan Yi's shoulders trembled violently, his jaw tightened, and he looked up. "All this way, you've treated me like a dog, slowly leading me on a leash, waiting for me to guide you to Ji An. You've already planned everything. My injuries mean I can't go back, haven't you?"
He dragged his knees and took a step forward: "You convicted me of being a traitor and put me seriously injured, sending me to infiltrate Rongbei. You've been trying to test me to see what choice I will make."
Xiao Zhuo said, "He truly deserves to be called the General Who Guards the West."
He Lanyi smirked and let out a low, hoarse laugh.
This was truly the Emperor's doing.
What a clever scheme! He made himself a dog to find Ji An, while constantly putting pressure on himself to see if he would defect to Rongbei under such extreme circumstances.
If one defectes to another, that would be treason.
He was forced to his knees, his cheek pressed against the cold ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the long sword hanging above his head, its coldness blinding him.
He knew he couldn't escape today.
Before his fate was sealed, he heard the emperor ask, "Did you also make the empress kneel before you like this before, and bully her?"
The longsword didn't fall in the end; it merely lifted his chin.
Xiao Zhuo smiled, his phoenix eyes gleaming. "It would be such a waste to leave such a fine head to me to deal with."
**
Everything was happening quietly in the snow valley, in complete secrecy, without alerting the Rongbei people.
Yuan Chaolu walked through the icy snow, still unaware of Ji An and Xiao Zhuo's whereabouts.
They encountered their pursuers in a narrow pass and ultimately won a hard-won victory. However, the cost was severe: Han Peng was wounded in the ribs, and another man was stabbed in the leg and unable to stand.
The group counted the horses, and their hearts sank even further. Now, only two horses were still able to carry people.
In the end, Yuan Chaolu chose to continue on foot, leaving the two horses to the two wounded soldiers.
Their speed also slowed down.
Han Peng said, "Your Majesty, let me take your place. My injuries are not serious."
Yuan Chaolu shook her head and continued leading the horse forward, "If we go a little further, we might run into the soldiers we previously transferred to support us."
Han Peng said, "But you were injured too!"
Yuan Chaolu pulled the warm clothes he'd taken from the pursuers over his shoulders. "I was only pecked by an eagle; it's you and him who can't be together."
Han Peng tried to persuade him, but before he could utter even half a sentence, a piercing pain shot through his ribs. He groaned, drenched in cold sweat, and steadied his horse.
The group walked and stopped intermittently. The snow under their feet was soft, and each step felt like walking on cotton, yet it was also sluggish and slowed their pace.
The plains of Rongbei are vast and boundless, with cities hundreds of miles apart. In such an extreme environment of wind and snow, there were hardly any people along the way.
Han Peng murmured repeatedly, "We've been walking for a long time, we're almost there."
Yuan Chaolu nodded.
The north wind was like a knife, carrying snowflakes that stung my face.
Her mind was in chaos, like swirling snowflakes. One moment she was worried about her husband and younger brother, wondering if they were out of danger. The next she was thinking about how Xiao Zhuo had slipped a bone whistle into her hand before they parted, saying that they had met long ago.
when?
She couldn't remember either.
Apart from the Northwest region, she had never been anywhere else, and she had no recollection of any important figures in her life.
After an unknown amount of time, Yuan Chaolu's legs suddenly gave way, and she could no longer support herself and fell forward. The whistle bone in her hand flew out and fell into the snow in front of her. She stood up, supported by the cold snow, put the whistle bone away, and then stood up.
Jiangnan.
Memories flooded in like a tidal wave, as if a floodgate had been opened.
She suddenly remembered that in Jiangnan, she had been taken to an inn by servants of the Helan family, and in her panic, she had stumbled into a guest room reserved for a distinguished guest.
The bone whistle in his arms also fell out, rolled across the ground, and finally landed on the corner of the distinguished guest's silk robe.
His robes were made of extremely expensive silk, embroidered with gold embroidery. Even from just this corner, one could tell that the young master sitting at the tea table brewing tea was of immeasurable nobility.
Throughout the journey with the Helan family, no one had helped her, yet she knelt before him, reaching out her hand to this nobleman and pleading, "Young master, can you save me?"
Before Yuan Chaolu could say anything more, she was dragged away. In the rush, she only saw that slender hand pick up the whistle bone and slowly hand it back.
She strained with all her might to reach it before finally getting it.
...
As the snow fell heavily, Yuan Chaolu turned to Han Peng and asked, "You have served His Majesty for many years, so do you know whether His Majesty visited Jiangnan in his early years?"
Han Peng asked, "Jiangnan?"
Yuan Chaolu gripped the whistle tightly and looked at him nervously.
After a moment, Han Peng seemed to remember and nodded. The emperor had indeed visited Jiangnan before ascending the throne.
Yuan Chaolu's voice trembled: "It really is him."
Suddenly, she regained her strength in her weak legs and started walking forward again.
She would always remember being locked in the dimly lit carriage of the Helan family, feeling almost hopeless, and sinking into a deep abyss of confusion.
When the car door opened, she was huddled in the corner.
In that instant, the bright morning light suddenly shone in, illuminating her world.
That soldier was sent by the nobleman from the inn. He opened the Helan family's carriage, untied her, and told her to leave quickly.
In the dawn light of Jiangnan, she ran quickly to escape, passing through reed beds where the catkins flew like snow. She stopped, the intense sunset clouds obscuring her view of what was behind her, only his carriage in the distance, and the indistinct figure of a nobleman behind the curtain.
Yuan Chaolu's heart pounded, his eyes welled up with tears, and he looked up at the swirling snow.
Even though she was later forcibly taken back by Helan Yi's men, she never forgot that early autumn morning in Jiangnan.
In the countless dark days of the Helan family, this scene was like a ray of light, supporting her and telling her, just like her longing for her family, not to accept her fate and not to give in.
Yuan Chaolu braved the snow to walk forward. The wind blew away her face covering, so she buried her face in her collar. Her legs were so stiff that she could not walk, so she repeatedly pounded her legs.
She absolutely had to live to see him.
But the only response she received was the howling wind and snow.
In a daze, I seemed to hear the sound of horses' hooves behind me.
Yuan Chaolu suddenly turned her head and alertly picked up her crossbow.
A figure on horseback appeared in the misty snow.
Yuan Chaolu dropped his bow and crossbow to the ground, released his grip on the horse's reins, and galloped headlong towards the figure on horseback.
"Xiao Zhuo!"
She rushed into a warm embrace, a pair of strong arms encircling her and holding her tightly in their arms.
He called out in an extremely soft voice, his throat bobbing: "Aju".
Yuan Chaolu handed the bone whistle to him. "You said we met a long time ago, back in Jiangnan, right?"
Xiao Zhuo looked at the whistle bone. "You remembered."
Yuan Chaolu forced a smile, refusing to let her tears fall, "Yes, I remember everything."
As she buried her head in his shoulder, she saw someone rushing up behind him.
Yuan Chaolu paused, released Xiao Zhuo, and walked towards Helan Yi.
Helan Yi was pulled off his horse by the guards. A dark shadow fell in front of him. He chuckled and looked up. Unsurprisingly, he saw Yuan Chaolu.
"Your Majesty the Empress."
The once mighty hero has reached the end of his road. He looks haggard, but he is smiling. "Back then, I trapped you in the Helan Mansion. Now I am trapped by you, like morning dew."
This "morning dew," which sounded almost like a sigh yet seemed to convey emotion, did not cause Yuan Chaolu's expression to waver in the slightest.
The girl took out a dagger, used the scabbard to lift Helan Yi's chin, turned her head to look at Xiao Zhuo who was walking behind her, and smiled, "Thank you, I really like this gift."
The wind made the girl's long hair flutter as she looked down at him and slowly drew her dagger.
Helan Yi's gaze froze. The husband and wife, even in the act of taking a life, were remarkably similar.
Helan Yi was forced to look up at his former female slave in a humiliating way.
She said, "It wasn't easy to see you again, to make you kneel before me and speak to me. I've been waiting for this day for a long time. All the misfortunes that befell the Lu family and the Helan family were orchestrated by me."
He Lanyi: "I guessed it was you."
The girl's eyes still gleamed with cunning. "It was incredibly difficult to dismantle your alliance and eliminate your forces, but I did it."
The moment Helan Yi saw her, he was drawn to her eyes. She was like a wild beast that had not yet lost its wildness—agile, untamed, proud, and full of allure.
But the more unruly and proud she was, the more a desire to destroy her arose in his heart. He wanted to see what it would be like to break her spine and make her willingly submit.
The wind carried her voice: "You tried to tame me, but you are the prey I have tamed."
"A beast I wouldn't even bother to look at."
The dagger was thrust towards his neck.
"Just kidding." She suddenly stopped, admiring the momentary tension on his face.
The veins on Helan Yi's neck throbbed as he clearly felt the coldness of the dagger.
As soon as he finished speaking, the dagger pierced through his throat. The man's body convulsed violently, and as blood spurted out, he fell forward, only to be pulled back by someone.
Blood gushed out and splattered on her, but she was completely unaware, gripping the dagger and stabbing again.
One, two, three... As the dagger was pulled out, it would splatter blood and foam, which would then stick to her hair. She would only slightly turn her head to avoid the flying blood.
Later, almost as if venting his anger, he repeated the actions over and over again.
The soldiers had witnessed countless bloody scenes in their lives, yet now they were plunged into a deathly silence.
The Empress's hatred for Helan Yi had reached such a profound level.
Only Xiao Zhuo came to her side at this moment.
Yuan Chaolu severed Helan Yi's head, turned back, and staggered towards him. The head fell from her hand and was discarded at her feet. She did not look at it again.
Xiao Zhuo supported her body, cupped her face in his hands, and wiped away the blood with his fingertips: "Your face is dirty."
Yuan Chaolu's eyes welled up with tears, and she hummed in agreement.
Snowflakes fluttered down, enveloping the men and women in the snow.
He stroked her face, sensing her fluctuating emotions.
"I will always remember the day you fled Helan Yi."
He moved closer, and Yuan Chaolu felt a gentle touch on her forehead as he placed a light kiss on it.
"When I went to Jiangnan, I intended to leave everything behind in this world, as there was nothing to miss. But then I saw you."
His eyes shone brightly, “You walked through the reeds in the dawn of Jiangnan. So many years have passed, but the wildfire cannot burn it all away. That scene continues to take root in my heart.”
“I love you,” he said.
Yuan Chaolu looked up, tears welling in her eyes. She felt a sense of relief and said, "Then take me back to Luoyang, let's go home."
"good."
The wind and snow stopped, and sunlight shone through the clouds onto the snow, illuminating the road ahead.
After a long and tiring journey, we can finally stop now.
After the heavy snow, everything was quiet and clear.
————————!!————————
The main storyline has ended, but there are still some minor plot points to wrap things up, which will be included in the epilogue.
What kind of side stories would you like to see? Feel free to leave a comment, and I'll do my best to write sweet tales of the Emperor and Empress's daily lives to satisfy everyone.
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