Chapter 96 Conquering the Western Rong, That's Your Father
Fangru did not go straight home.
She navigated the intricate alleyways of Tara, skillfully evading any potential eyes and ears by utilizing her familiarity with the terrain and several pre-arranged temporary hideouts.
She knew Zhou Ling's cautious nature and that it was impossible for him to completely dispel her doubts over just one meal.
After confirming her safety, she did not immediately flee. Instead, she did the opposite and hid for half a month in an inconspicuous warehouse in the back alley of the most dangerous city lord's mansion, disguised as an old woman who worked there.
During this time, she saw Zhou Ling's guards conducting a thorough search of the city several times through the window of the warehouse, with the main focus being the search for "Xia Kingdom women".
She stroked her slightly protruding belly, a cold smile playing on her lips, and grew even more cautious.
Once the storm had died down a bit, she mingled with a camel caravan heading further west, not as a passenger, but as a mute servant woman responsible for tending to the camels.
The journey was arduous, with sandstorms lashing her face, but she silently swallowed all her suffering, hoping for a glimmer of hope.
While crossing a desert, the caravan was robbed by bandits.
In the chaos, Fangru hid behind a sand dune and witnessed the bloody massacre.
After the robbers left, she found a buried Western Rong girl named Vilei in the ruins.
Virei's family members have all perished, and she herself is seriously injured.
Fangru recalled her own helpless past and felt compassion. Using her limited knowledge of herbs, she carefully cared for the girl and pulled her back from the brink of death.
When Virei woke up, she learned that Fangru had saved her. Seeing Fangru's obvious pregnant belly, she struggled to kneel down and swore an oath with the most solemn ceremony of the Xirong: "I will repay your kindness with my whole life. From now on, you and your child are my masters."
Looking into her clear and determined eyes, Fangru finally nodded.
Two women, whose lives were filled with hardship, became each other's only support from that moment on.
They eventually settled in a secluded oasis town called Moonlight Spring.
The local people are simple and honest, and the area is far from the main trade routes.
Soon after, with the help of a kind-hearted herdsman from Xirong, Fangru gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Holding this little life that carried all her hopes and future, she burst into tears and named him "Chen Xiyuan".
"Xi Yuan," she gently kissed the baby's soft cheek, her voice choked with emotion yet firm, "may you live a life far from strife, peaceful and joyful, as far away from that capital city as possible."
Inside the Zichen Palace in the capital of the Xia Kingdom.
Zhou Ling stood with his hands behind his back in front of the huge map of the territory, his gaze fixed on the map of the Western Rong.
He rubbed his temples, his handsome face showing undisguised fatigue, but his eyes burned with an inextinguishable flame.
"Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance." The personal attendant carefully served ginseng tea.
"Still no news?" Zhou Ling's voice was a little hoarse.
"...The trail to Tara City has gone cold, and the woman named 'Awu' has vanished as if she had evaporated. But based on the information gathered from all sides, the direction in which Miss Shen disappeared last undoubtedly points to Xirong."
"Send more men to infiltrate the cities of Xirong, at any cost." His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve. "I want to see them alive, or... I want to see their bodies."
Inside Qingyi Garden.
The Empress Dowager listened to her trusted eunuch's secret report, her face covered with a layer of frost.
"The emperor is so infatuated with a woman that the harem has become nothing but decoration! The situation in the Western Rong is complicated. How can we lightly start a war because of personal feelings? This trend must not be allowed to continue!"
She pondered for a long time, and a meticulous and cruel plan took shape in her mind.
The first step she took was to use her long-established network of informants to subtly spread false information within Xirong territory that "a woman suspected to be Shen Fangru has died in a tribal conflict," and to guide Zhou Ling's search team to "accidentally" discover these clues.
The second step was to find the body of a female prisoner who was similar in build to Fangru and had died from injuries or illness. She then ordered people to use special drugs and methods to make her facial features blurred and difficult to distinguish, yet still retaining some resemblance.
Thirdly, she sent someone into the Shen residence to steal Fangru's personal belongings, a pair of jade earrings given to her by her grandmother. These earrings had extremely small, special markings engraved inside, which were extremely difficult for ordinary people to imitate. She held one of them tightly in the hand of the female corpse.
Fourthly, she chose to arrange the "discovery" of the corpse when Zhou Ling was exhausted and at his lowest point due to his fruitless search. The impact of the body, dressed in clothes similar to those Fang Ru had worn when she left and clutching the "ironclad evidence" earring, being presented to Zhou Ling was devastating.
Looking at the blurry face and the earring confirmed by Shen's father, especially the special mark inside the earring that needed a magnifying glass to see clearly, Zhou Ling suddenly swayed and staggered backward, barely managing to stand up by supporting himself on the table.
He closed his eyes, the intense pain feeling like a sharp blade tearing his heart apart.
He dismissed everyone and spent the entire night alone in the hall.
The next morning, when he stepped out of the palace gates, his face was devoid of any vulnerability, only a chilling, murderous aura and boundless hatred remained.
"Issue my decree," his voice was icy cold, "The Western Rong murdered my beloved; this is an irreconcilable hatred! Send troops to crush the Western Rong!"
The flames of war swept across the Western Rong region, and naturally spread to the remote "Moonlight Spring".
Fangru, along with Weilei and the toddler Xiyuan, embarked on another journey of escape.
During her wanderings, she heard countless rumors about the causes of the war.
"Do you know? The Xia emperor was furious because his beloved woman was killed by the Western Rong people!"
"What kind of breathtaking beauty could make a king destroy a kingdom for her..."
Every time Fangru heard it, her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles.
She dared not think about whether the person she desperately wanted to escape had truly started this devastating war because of her.
Those deliberately forgotten tender moments belonging to "A-Qi" intertwined with Zhou Ling's cold and domineering nature as an emperor, leaving her heart in turmoil.
One day, in a town recently taken over by the Xia army, she was queuing to receive meager relief porridge when she seemed to clearly hear a deep, affectionate call, carrying a tender feeling she dared not touch even in the depths of her memory:
"Fangru..."
She trembled and turned around abruptly, her eyes frantically searching through the crowd, only to see numb, unfamiliar faces and the cold armor of the Xia soldiers patrolling by.
Was it a hallucination? Or was he... really nearby?
She immediately dismissed her own thoughts, hugged Xi Yuan tightly in her arms, and whispered self-deprecatingly, "Shen Fangru, you're just too afraid of him to have such a hallucination."
Today, the land she lives on belongs entirely to the Xia Kingdom.
The checks are becoming increasingly stringent.
One early winter evening, a cold wind blew sand and dust, stinging people's cheeks.
Fangru leaned on her rough wooden cane, wrapped herself tightly in her old, patched, and bulky cotton-padded coat, kept her head down, and blended into the sparse crowd, wanting only to get through the town intersection that had just been completely taken over by the Xia army as soon as possible.
A troop of cavalry, escorting a man, galloped down the main street at that moment, their hooves striking the bluestone slabs with a crisp, imposing sound.
The surrounding people respectfully moved to both sides of the road.
Fangru felt a pang of anxiety and quickly followed the crowd to the side of the road, lowering her head even further, wishing she could shrink herself into the shadows of the wall.
However, the leader reined in his horse a short distance in front of her.
Fangru could feel a very heavy gaze falling on her.
She dared not look up, only able to catch a glimpse of a pair of dusty black military boots and the sleek calves encased in the boot shafts.
"you."
A deep and familiar voice rang out. Although the volume was deliberately lowered, it still carried an undeniable authority that instantly pierced through Fangru's disguise, making her blood almost freeze.
It's Zhou Ling! What's he doing here? And disguised as an ordinary captain?
She stood frozen in place, too afraid to move.
The pair of military boots stopped in front of her, so close that she could almost smell the clear, unique scent of agarwood, mixed with the dust and rust of the battlefield.
“Raise your head.”
His orders were concise and clear.
Fangru's heart pounded wildly, almost bursting out of her chest. She gripped the wooden cane tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, her mind racing as she considered countermeasures.
Just as a hand with distinct knuckles and leather gauntlets slowly reached out towards her, about to touch the edge of her tattered hood that concealed her face!
"grandmother!"
A child's voice, tender and anxious, rang out.
Wei Lei, carrying three-year-old Xi Yuan, squeezed through the crowd and ran quickly to Fang Ru's side. She grabbed Fang Ru's arm and said in a perfectly timed panicked voice, "Grandma, what are you doing here? It's so windy, let's go home!"
Time seemed to stand still.
Fangru could feel that sharp gaze lingering on her wrinkled neck and slightly trembling hands for a long time, each moment like torture.
She leaned all her weight on Vire, coughing and gasping intermittently, as if she would fall apart at any moment.
Finally, the hand with its distinct knuckles slowly withdrew.
Zhou Ling straightened up, his tone returning to the usual coldness of a captain, tinged with a barely perceptible hint of...disappointment? He waved to the soldiers behind him: "Just an old woman, let her pass."
The sound of horses' hooves rang out again, and the procession escorted him away without looking back.
Only when the oppressive feeling completely disappeared around the street corner did Fangru dare to truly breathe a sigh of relief; her cotton coat was soaked with cold sweat. Wei Lei held her tightly and whispered, "Sister, let's go quickly."
Fangru deceived Zhou Ling.
This harrowing experience made Fangru even more cautious.
She knew that this place was not a safe place to stay. However, just as she was preparing to take Wei Lei and Xi Yuan away to another place again, young Xi Yuan developed a high fever due to the bumpy ride and cold. His little face was flushed and he slept all day.
Fangru was extremely anxious, and all her escape plans were forced to be put on hold. She found a very inconspicuous old house on the edge of town to settle down temporarily, and took care of the child day and night without sleep.
Vire went out to find herbs and try to exchange them for rice.
Under their meticulous care, Xi Yuan's high fever finally subsided, but he was weak after the illness and needed to rest. He could no longer endure the hardship of a long journey.
Looking at the child's weak, sleeping, tender face, Fangru couldn't bring herself to do it. She could only sigh and decide to hide there for the time being.
At the same time, the former territory of the Western Rong was officially incorporated into the Western Lin Commandery of the Great Xia Dynasty.
The influx of a large number of immigrants from the Central Plains brought new customs and order.
On the city wall, the old Western Rong totems were removed one by one and replaced with black banners symbolizing the Great Xia Dynasty.
The streets and alleys were plastered with notices proclaiming the majesty of the Great Xia Dynasty and portraits of the new emperor. Although for safety reasons, the painter did not paint a completely realistic portrait, the person in the portrait was majestic but lacked some of Zhou Ling's true spirit.
The days passed slowly in a tense yet calm atmosphere.
Xi Yuan gradually recovered and began to take his first steps and babble.
One day, Fangru took him to sunbathe at the alley entrance. Several newly arrived Han children were playing nearby. Seeing that Xiyuan always followed his mother and Weilei, one of the older children pointed at Xiyuan and shouted, "You don't have a father! You're a child without a father!"
Although Xi Yuan didn't quite understand, she sensitively sensed the rejection in the words. Her little mouth twitched, and crystal tears rolled around in her big eyes as she threw herself into Fang Ru's arms, feeling wronged.
Fangru felt as if her heart had been clenched. She hugged her son tightly, her gaze unconsciously sweeping across the mottled wall before finally settling on the unremarkable portrait of the emperor.
A thought flashed through my mind like lightning.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the myriad emotions in her heart, knelt down, gently wiped away the tears on Xi Yuan's face, then pointed to the portrait on the wall and said in as calm and certain a tone as possible:
“Xi’er, don’t cry. Look,” she said, her fingertips lightly touching the blurry outline on the portrait through a gap in the air, “that’s your father. He’s a… very powerful person, doing very important things in a very, very far place.”
Little Xi Yuan looked up, her eyes blurry with tears, at the "majestic" "father" on the wall, then at her mother's gentle yet firm gaze. The grievance on her little face was gradually replaced by a sense of novelty and a vague pride.
He blinked his tear-filled eyes, finally breaking into a smile, and stretched out his little hand, mimicking his mother, babbling towards the portrait, "Daddy...Daddy..."
Fangru held her son tightly in her arms, her cheek pressed against his soft hair, her heart filled with mixed emotions. This absurd lie, at this moment, became the only remedy to soothe her child's heart.
The question is, how long can this lie last? And how will she face the day the truth comes out?
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