Chapter 117: Defeat the scheming boy and tease the sultry general (End)
"Welcome back, General!"
"Congratulations, General, on your return!"
Inside and outside the capital, there was singing and everyone was shouting the joy of victory.
The city gates were wide open, and Chu Heng led his troops in. The people in the capital were stunned. On the way back to the capital, the army dispersed and personally sent the bodies of the fallen soldiers back to their hometowns for burial. Only one body was left in the army.
Chu Heng was riding a tall horse, but he was not wearing military uniform. Instead, he was wearing black clothes and a white cloth on his head. The other soldiers were dressed in the same way.
Behind Chu Heng, in the middle of the team, there was a black coffin, and hanging on it was Chu Heng's personal sword.
For a moment, the whole street was quiet, and there was no more noise about victory.
"General Dingyuan, Chu Heng comes to see you!"
The eunuch's sharp voice rang out, Li Zihan stood up, and the ministers turned around and bowed towards the door. Chu Heng was worthy of this courtesy.
"This humble general pays homage to His Majesty."
"General, please stand up." Li Zihan's face was also haggard, but not as haggard as Chu Heng's. In the past, Chu Heng would return from battle exhausted but full of vigor. Now, his eyes were dark, as if there was nothing more tragic than a broken heart. He looked at Chu Heng's plain clothes, and his heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. "General, is the... Saint Prince back?"
That day, Li Zihan was kidnapped. Yun Le found out and contacted the guards. Li Zihan knew that they were able to win because Li Ziyan had sacrificed his own safety to buy them a glimmer of hope. However, the battle was already over, so why didn't anyone come back?
"Your Majesty, the prince...is back."
"That's good, but are you in the palace? Are you feeling well?"
Chu Heng felt a lump in his chest, unable to breathe in or out, and he tightened his hands.
"My Lord, it's in my house."
"That's good, then..."
"Your Majesty, the prince's body is in my house." This sentence seemed to have exhausted all Chu Heng's strength. He felt dizzy for a moment and staggered.
Li Zihan's smile froze, and his arms trembled. "My dear, what did you say?"
Chu Heng was in such a state that he couldn't speak, but fortunately Rong En was by his side and told him everything.
“…”
No one in the court made a sound. After a long moment, a sob could be heard. Li Zihan sat on the throne, his eyes bloodshot and his heart aching. He had failed to protect his beloved brother, his only brother.
"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences!"
"Please accept my condolences!"
All the ministers knelt on the ground, and the few who admired Li Ziyan had cried until they lost their voices. Such a promising man, just in his twenties, whose best years had not yet begun, died at the hands of a traitor.
"Your Majesty, the Holy Prince's sacrifice for his country is truly touching, but his merits do not outweigh his faults. The Holy Prince's crime of treason cannot be pardoned, and according to reason, he cannot be buried in the imperial mausoleum. This subject..."
"The merits don't outweigh the faults? Treason? Ziyan's body is still warm! All you know is treason! Treason! Treason! How could our Great Jin Dynasty have such a foolish minister like you!"
"Your Majesty, calm down!"
Li Zihan was enraged and revealed everything. The ministers knelt on the ground, feeling that this was all absurd. They were accusing the true loyal hero, while they themselves were the executioner's accomplices.
"Your Majesty," Chu Heng, who had been silent for a long time, spoke in a hoarse voice, "The prince's body will not be buried in the imperial mausoleum. I request that the prince be included in my family tree and buried with me."
"Huan Zhi..."
"I married the prince, and I swore to be his only love in this life. I protect the country and its people. I do not need any reward, but only his love."
"..." After a long while, Li Zihan finally spoke, "You are still young."
"Your Majesty, I have made up my mind. Your Majesty is my only love for you in this life."
"I, it's approved."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
One is the emperor, the Saint Prince's elder brother, and the other is a general, the Saint Prince's...lover. No one dares to interfere with their decisions.
The death of the Holy Prince was like a haze that enveloped the entire capital.
Dingyuan Hou and the Marshal withdrew and bowed to the emperor, and followed Chu Heng. None of the family members were good at speaking, so they could only pat their sons and brothers on the back to comfort them.
Li Ziyan was buried in a secluded place in the suburbs. On the seventh day after the burial, Chu Heng moved out of the general's mansion and guarded Li Ziyan's grave.
No one else followed him, only Caiwei and Yunle followed him.
When they returned to the court that day, Yunle and Caiwei saw Li Ziyan's body and cried until they fainted. They learned that Li Ziyan would be buried in the Chu family, so they took their indentures and found Chu Heng.
"Master, it's time to eat."
"Okay, got it."
Yunle grew up overnight, and the smile on her face became less. She picked up the milk cake in Chu Heng's arms and went to feed it.
The small courtyard was much simpler than the general's mansion, and was incomparable to the prince's mansion. He remembered that Li Ziyan didn't like noise, so he chose such a place on purpose.
"You've been here for a few days, why aren't you coming in today?"
The dark shadow in the woods paused for a moment and slowly walked out. It was Wenzhu.
"General."
"I'm no longer a general," Chu Heng said, without much regret, "Why are you still in the capital?"
"Before the prince passed away, he asked me to bring you something."
"...What is it?" Chu Heng's heart ached, and his throat felt like it was filled with gravel, hoarse and unpleasant. "What is it?"
Wenzhu walked forward, took out a purse from her bosom, opened it, and took out a jade pendant.
"After the prince was captured, I met him. He asked me to bring this jade pendant to you," Wen Zhu took a breath and calmed down. "The prince said that he has no regrets about knowing you in this life."
"...Thank you." Chu Heng took the jade pendant and stroked it gently. "Thank you."
Wen Zhu felt utterly depressed. He still loved Chu Heng, but he wouldn't do anything about it. He could never make up for the mistakes he had made.
He looked at Chu Heng's back, knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, then bowed three times and kowtowed nine times in front of Li Ziyan's tombstone, folded his hands and bowed. From then on, he would travel around the world with Li Ziyan's kindness and his own sins.
The breath behind him disappeared. Chu Heng looked at the jade pendant in his hand and smiled. But that smile seemed painful no matter how he looked at it.
"Didn't you say you were going to give me a gift? Why did you drag someone else to deliver it? A prince, how could he be so insincere?" A tear fell on the jade pendant, splashing a small drop of water, which fell into Chu Heng's palm and merged into the lines. "Wear the red string on your hand, and don't take it off when you get down there. Wait for me to find you."
It’s only you in this life, and it will be you in all the lives to come.
Three years later, General Chu Heng of Dingyuan returned home due to illness and died a month later. He never married and was buried together with his husband, Prince Sheng Li Ziyan, in the mountains.
In World Five, Chu Heng successfully completed the target mission.
Earn 52 points.
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