Chapter 255: War
Su Qingwan was extremely anxious and quickly got off the horse.
Xilin Yongxuan was already exhausted and knelt heavily on one knee. The long sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
Su Qingwan stepped forward quickly, held him firmly, and asked anxiously, "Second Prince, how are you?" Xilin Yongxuan's face was as pale as paper, blood was spitting out of his mouth, and his consciousness gradually faded on this bloody battlefield.
As both sides were caught in a fierce battle, a strange sense of calm suddenly welled up in his heart.
Could this be the last gasp of life? He felt that the pain in his body seemed to be relieved, as if he was embraced in a warm embrace, and this was exactly what he had been longing for deep in his heart. "Princess, I'm sorry, I'm going to break my promise!"
His breathing was weak and his voice was almost inaudible.
"No, you will be fine!" Su Qingwan said anxiously. She reached out and touched, her hands were covered with warm blood.
Xilin Yongxuan's abdomen was pierced by a sharp blade, and blood was pouring out of the wound. Seeing this, Luzhu immediately stepped forward to feel his pulse, and then carefully examined the wound, then shook his head helplessly.
Su Qingwan's heart instantly sank to the bottom of the valley. She understood what Luzhu's silent action meant - Xilin Yongxuan was beyond redemption. Xilin Yongxuan seemed to have expected this, and pulled the corner of his mouth, revealing a bitter smile: "I have been running around for half a year, and finally lived up to everyone's expectations and signed an armistice treaty with Dayuan.
I was looking forward to making great achievements after returning to Xilin and bringing decades of stable life to the people, but I didn't expect... all my efforts would fall through at the last minute!" As he spoke, he slowly looked towards the direction of Lan Ning River, his eyes full of nostalgia and unwillingness.
As long as he crossed the Lanning River, he would be home, but now, he was ruthlessly stopped on this side of the river. Moreover, he was stabbed in the back by his own people, and his life was in danger.
Looking back on the past six months, he has been running around in a foreign country and experienced many twists and turns. During this period, Dayuan had a civil strife, and he was not without thoughts, trying to fish in troubled waters, hoping that the internal strife in Dayuan would last longer, so as to buy Xilin some breathing time. He mediated and instigated between various forces, deliberately creating chaos, just to get more relaxed terms for Xilin in the armistice negotiations.
He knew better than anyone that Xilin was a defeated country and had little room for negotiation at the negotiation table, so it could only rely on wits and strategies to win. But now, the fruits of his hard work were brutally killed at the moment he set out on his way home.
The pinnacle of power is always accompanied by infighting among brothers, a life-and-death struggle, and this time, he lost, completely, and he didn't even have the chance to return to his hometown.
"Second Prince, do you have any wishes?" Su Qingwan looked at Xilin Yongxuan, who was barely breathing, and didn't know how to comfort him for a moment, so she could only ask softly.
A wish? Xilin Yongxuan murmured to himself. When a person is about to die, what wishes do they have? His unfulfilled wish was to bring peace and prosperity to the people of Xilin, but now, with the passing of his life, this wish will not only be shattered, but worse, his death may provoke war between the two countries again. The war that was finally calmed down will be reignited, and at that time, the ordinary people of the two countries will suffer.
“Princess… I have spent half my life doing nothing. I have neither been a wise monarch who defends the city nor a brave general who fights on the battlefield. Now, even when I am sent as an envoy to negotiate peace, I am being used as a pawn to start a war.
I only ask to die with dignity. When I die, burn me. Find a day with south wind and scatter my ashes in the Lanning River. Maybe with the help of the south wind, I can return to my hometown along the river.
Su Qingwan listened, and her eyes instantly turned red. She and Xilin Yongxuan had known each other for many years. They had different positions and were enemies, but they also developed a friendship as they got along. At this moment, she could truly feel that Xilin Yongxuan's life was slipping away bit by bit, and her heart was full of pain and sadness, and a sour feeling of grief spread in her heart.
"Okay!" Su Qingwan held back her tears and said firmly, "I promise you!"
She knew in her heart that if Xilin Yongxuan's body was left on the battlefield, he would either be trampled into mud by the horses of both sides, or be taken back to Xilin and become a pawn for someone to provoke a war, and these were things Xilin Yongxuan did not want to see.
"Thank you, Princess!" Xilin Yongxuan's breath became weaker and weaker, but his thoughts drifted back to the first time he met Su Qingwan. At that time, Su Qingwan was still young, wearing the mask of the Southwest Princess on her face.
The spy reported that it was a princess from the southwest who came to Xilin City to do business. Xilin Yongxuan was sitting under the shade of a tree by the roadside at the time, and saw a father and son begging on the street. When the father saw Su Qingwan passing by, he begged her for a full meal. Xilin Yongxuan had a younger sister who was about the same age as Su Qingwan. His sister was gentle and kind. He subconsciously thought that all girls were like his sister, living a rich life. Seeing such a pitiful scene, he would be kind and give a full meal. If he was lucky, he might even give some silver so that the father and son could survive for a while. But Su Qingwan said coldly: "I can give you an ingot of silver. You can eat this meal, but what about the next one? You have healthy hands and feet and a healthy body. Even if you work as a coolie at the dock, you can support yourself and your family. Why are you begging on the roadside? I won't give my silver to useless people."
Xilin Yongxuan was interested in this unique girl at that time. Since then, he was responsible for connecting Su Qingwan every time she came to Xilin. During their time together, he gradually fell in love with Su Qingwan, but he also knew that they were not destined to be together because of their different positions. "Princess... I wish you all the best."
After Xilin Yongxuan said this, the scene in front of him began to blur and disperse, gradually losing focus, and then he completely lost his breath.
"Princess, it's time for us to go back to the city. Troops are constantly increasing at the Xilin border, and they are attacking us!" Lu Zhu reminded softly.
Su Qingwan nodded slowly and looked at Chen Feng. Chen Feng understood and stepped forward to carefully pick up Xilin Yongxuan's body and climbed onto the horse. Su Qingwan looked grim and ordered loudly: "Send a message to General Xiao Ning to retreat to the city, defend the city gate, light the beacon fire, and ask for help from Zhongzhou!"
"Yes!" The messenger received the order and immediately whipped his horse and galloped towards the direction where General Xiaoning was. In this way, the 50,000 Xilin border troops took advantage of the death of Xilin Yongxuan and once again launched a war against Dayuan.
Su Qingwan stood at the city gate, looking at the massive Xilin army. They shouted slogans for revenge for the second prince of Xilin and came in droves. The death of Xilin Yongxuan was thus pinned on Huainan.
Xilin Yongxuan became a pawn to provoke war.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
