Chapter 82 Believe in us, we can do it. ...
When Li Pan returned to the general's mansion, it was already late at night.
Inside the mansion, however, the lights were on, as bright as day. Dark water stains spread across the spacious stone brick ground, covering the entire courtyard.
It didn't rain today, so the servants fetched water and swept the courtyard. But perhaps because they were in a hurry, some residual dirt remained in the cracks between the stones, and a dark red color could still be faintly discerned.
Lou Xueying, wearing a cloak and holding a lantern, stood silently in the courtyard watching him.
Behind her stood Li's mother, Wu Zhao, Cai Ling, Cuicui... and many, many more people.
Li Pan walked faster and faster until he reached her directly and pulled her into his arms.
"Shh." He breathed heavily. "I'm back."
Lou Xueying asked in a trembling voice, "Did you manage to get through it?"
"Everything went smoothly," Li Pan said. "How about you?"
Lou Xueying: "There were quite a few of them. Wu Zhao and the others had some trouble and almost got injured. My mother and I hid in the backyard and waited until they were done before coming out."
Li Pan: "You've all worked hard."
He released Lou Xueying, then walked to Li's mother and said, "Mother, it's late. You're getting old and can't stay up all night. Go to sleep."
Li's mother looked up at him and asked, "When are you leaving?"
Li Pan: "We'll leave when it gets light."
With red eyes, Li's mother said, "It's not me who should be sleeping, it's you who should be sleeping! You're the one who can't stay up late!"
Li Pan sighed softly, "I can't sleep either way."
Lou Xueying asked, "Is the luggage...is the luggage all packed?"
"Everything is ready."
Actually, everything had been packed a few days ago, and Lou Xueying had packed each item herself. She now knew the differences between Li Pan's various suits of armor and just how heavy his spear was. She used to be too scared to even listen to gory stories, but now she could quietly watch the corpses being dragged away in front of her.
She didn't want him to leave, but she also knew that he had to go.
Li's mother held Li Pan's hand tightly and began to ramble on. In fact, these words were not much different from what he had said when he went to war before, the same old things, but Li Pan listened quietly.
Finally, Li's mother had nothing more to say, so she wiped her eyes and said, "Susu has something else to give you. Go with her."
Li Pan then followed Lou Xueying back to her bedroom.
"What are you going to give me?" he asked.
Lou Xueying took out a brocade box from under her dressing table, placed it in Li Pan's hand, and said softly, "I have written a manifesto for you."
Li Pan opened it and was stunned to see a thick stack of papers inside.
Lou Xueying said, “If you’re going to start a war, you need to have a legitimate reason for it. Although everyone knows you’re forced into this, this war is no longer a personal grudge; it will involve many innocent people. Starting a war because of personal grudges is too weak a reason. If you want to gain support from others, you must point out the ills of the times. Let everyone know that the emperor is incompetent and the court is corrupt. Even without Li Pan, there would be Zhang Pan and Wang Pan in the future. You are just going with the flow, while they are the ones who are defying the moral order and are incompetent and immoral.”
At this point, she paused slightly before continuing, "Once war breaks out, regardless of whether it is just or not, the people will be filled with anxiety. The people of the Northwest hold you in high esteem, but those outside may not feel the same way. You must make a promise not to harm civilians in order to lower their guard. This also applies to officials along the way. If you capture a city, you cannot rely solely on your own people to govern it; you will need their cooperation and obedience. Officials are driven by either fame or profit. If you are driven by fame, you must emphasize your righteousness; if you are driven by profit, you must promise substantial rewards. There are so many things to say. It will be too late to say them one by one once you are at the gates of the city. You must first issue a decree to announce it to the world so that people can make plans in advance."
Li Pan stared at her blankly.
Most of the time, they only talked about eating, drinking, and having fun, rarely mentioning politics. It wasn't until she revealed everything about her past life that they gradually began to seriously discuss politics. As for the matter of rebellion, she always felt a sense of escapism; if it weren't for the emperor's actions this time, she probably would have continued to play dumb.
He felt this was human nature; throughout history, rebels have been as numerous as fish crossing a river, but only a handful have ultimately succeeded. If he had known a year ago that he would one day rebel, he probably would have thought he was crazy and would have tried every means to stop it.
She no longer wants to back down; she's already very sensible and clear-headed.
He never expected her to help him with the rebellion; he just wanted her to stay safely in the rear and wait for him. That was enough for him.
During the days he prepared, she was no different from any other considerate wife, carefully polishing every piece of his armor, tidying up every garment, and preparing many comfortable boots for him. She also bought a lot of expensive medicine and handed it over to the military medical department.
He never imagined that she would secretly write such a manifesto.
He hadn't had time to examine it closely yet, but just looking at this thick stack of paper, so full and densely packed, it must have contained three or four thousand words. Such a labor of love—he wondered how long it had taken her to complete it.
He actually knew what she had just said, but he never expected it to come out of her mouth.
In his heart, she was always just a weak, vulnerable, and pitiful woman who needed protection. Sometimes she was very clever, after all, someone who wasn't clever couldn't learn such complex arts like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; but sometimes she was also very foolish, making numerous mistakes when she tried to force him into marriage after falling into the water, lying and deceiving him, and contradicting herself when she was nervous.
He felt that her naivety was actually a good thing. The Lou family had nurtured and protected her, and she was unaware of any scheming. So he would continue to shield her from the wind and rain and keep her safe.
But he was wrong.
She's not cunning or adept at intrigue, but that doesn't mean she's incapable of doing anything productive. After all, she comes from the Lou family; her father and brothers are officials in the court. It's impossible for her to be completely ignorant of politics—even if she doesn't become the Crown Princess, she'll certainly become the matriarch of some powerful family in the future. How could she truly be an ignorant young girl?
"How did you come up with the idea to write this?" Li Pan asked softly.
Lou Xueying lowered her eyes: "I see that you are surrounded by military officers, and there are not many civil servants. In the past, when you were fighting against foreign tribes, you did not need to write so many high-sounding documents, but now it is different. People may not listen to them, but you cannot be without them."
Li Pan stroked her hand: "How long did you write?"
Lou Xueying pursed her lips: "Actually, I'm not very good at writing... It took me two or three days to finish. If my father had written it, he probably could have finished it in a day."
Unfortunately, her family is now trapped in the capital.
She was naturally worried that if Li Pan raised an army, her family might face retaliation, but if she worried about all that, they would never escape being controlled.
She could only try her best not to think so much, comforting herself that her father and brothers must have their own solutions. They couldn't be a burden to each other.
Li Pan sighed, "Finishing it in two or three days is already quite impressive. Even if you gave me a month, I couldn't write this many words."
He was illiterate before, but after joining the army, he was forced to learn to read and write. Later, as his official rank rose, he had to write for the court. If his writing was too rough, he would be scolded, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and learn some formal language to make his memorials look more refined.
His skills were much better than others in the military camp, but he still couldn't compare to proper civil officials.
He had discovered while studying history that whenever people wanted to do something big or rebel against something, they would write a manifesto to suppress the other side and elevate themselves. But unfortunately, he didn't have anyone around him who could write such a document. So his original plan was to first take over a few cities in the northwest and then find a sensible civil official to write one for him.
Unexpectedly, Lou Xueying had already prepared it for him.
Li Pan began to carefully read her manifesto.
He looked at the pages slowly, flipping through them one by one, his expression unreadable. Lou Xueying watched him anxiously, wondering what he meant.
Finally, Li Pan finished reading the last sheet of paper and let out a soft sigh of relief.
Lou Xueying: "...How is it? Is it still usable?"
Li Pan said, "Do you want to hear the truth?"
Lou Xueying was taken aback: "Is it... is it not well written?"
Li Pan scratched his face, looking a little embarrassed: "To be honest, I only understood the second half, the part where you criticized the imperial court. In the first half, you were quoting classical texts, ancient legends, and sages from past dynasties. I really don't know what you're talking about... There were even a few characters I didn't recognize! Sigh, it's been a long time since I've encountered any characters I don't know!"
Lou Xueying: "..."
She seemed a little embarrassed and said, "Well, I'll revise it again. Wait for me a moment..."
“No need, don’t change it. I know these kinds of manifestos have a fixed format. You can use all the classics you want, the more profound they are, the more reasonable they seem. Often, the more people read, the more opinions they have. This part of yours isn’t written for the common people, it’s written for those magnanimous officials who love to pontificate,” Li Pan said. “The common people only need to read the second half. If you write the second half concisely, clearly, catchily, and with strong emotion, that’s enough.”
He put his arm around Lou Xueying's waist and kissed her lips: "Susu, how can you be so amazing? How can I thank you enough?"
Lou Xueying whispered, "Your safety is my thanks."
Li Pan pulled her onto his lap and kissed her repeatedly before finally folding up the proclamation and putting it back into the brocade box: "I'll have my men copy it when I get back."
Lou Xueying watched him put the brocade box away, and then said, "I have something else to give you."
She took out a small brocade pouch from her bosom and whispered, "I got you a good luck charm... You can carry it with you, it won't take up much space..."
Li Pan took the brocade pouch, which was less than the height of his little finger. It was indeed very small, with a red background, gold patterns, and a white sphere embroidered in the corner. Li Pan asked, "What is this?"
Lou Xueying: "...This is 'snow'."
Li Pan: "..."
Li Pan held the brocade pouch to his nose, examined it closely, and ran his fingers over the ball of white thread before finally asking, "Is your embroidery not very good?"
Lou Xueying raised her hand and gently tapped his chest.
Li Pan laughed and said, "So it turns out you're not an expert in everything."
Lou Xueying muttered, "I tried embroidery when I was little, but I got pricked by the needle a few times. I didn't like the pain, so my family wouldn't let me touch it again."
Li Pan: "Don't you feel pain when you practice the piano?"
"It hurts too, but I like that one," Lou Xueying said. "I don't like this one."
Li Pan: "If you don't like it, then don't bother embroidering it. Did you get pricked this time?"
“This is easy, it will be over soon, and I didn’t get pricked,” Lou Xueying said. “I didn’t mean to make things difficult for myself. I just wanted to leave something with you so that you would think of me whenever you saw it.”
Li Pan: "I don't need to see anything to remember you."
Lou Xueying blinked.
Li Pan: "Tie it on for me."
Lou Xueying then tied the brocade pouch to his belt.
Li Pan weighed it in his hand and said, "Once I put on the armor, it will be covered up and won't get dirty."
Lou Xueying gave a soft "hmm".
In the flickering candlelight, Li Pan held her and gently kissed her again.
There was no desire involved, only a gentle exchange; they touched briefly, then parted briefly, then touched again, then parted again. The light and shadow flickered, and he saw her long eyelashes cast delicate shadows, trembling like fluttering butterflies.
He then kissed the corner of her eye and the center of her forehead.
“Li Pan…” She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and felt the soothing warmth from his palm. She said, “Take good care of yourself. I don’t expect you to eat and sleep on time, but you can’t forget to eat and sleep.”
"good."
"Even if you lose a battle, don't panic. It doesn't matter if you lose face, but you only have one life, so saving your life is the most important thing."
"good."
"Stay safe and sound. If anything happens, just say it. Don't keep it to yourself."
"good."
...
As dawn broke, Li Pan mounted his horse and prepared to set off.
"Mother, Susu, I'm leaving." He pulled on the reins and looked at the people at the door. "While I'm gone, there may be many rumors. You must distinguish right from wrong and not let your concern cloud your judgment."
Li's mother nodded with tears in her eyes.
“If I have time, I will write back,” he said. “If you are all well at home, I will be at ease on the front lines.”
Li's mother forced a smile: "I understand, don't worry, we won't cause you any trouble."
Li Pan swallowed hard and said, "Then I'm really leaving."
Lou Xueying pursed her lips tightly before saying, "Let's go."
Li Pan took a deep breath, turned his horse around, and just as he raised the whip, he abruptly pulled it back. He hurriedly turned back, bent down from his horse, and in front of everyone, grabbed Lou Xueying by the back of the head and pressed his forehead against hers.
He was wearing the same armor she had worn when she first met him in this life, with a phoenix-winged helmet and a crimson tassel hanging from the top. He carried a jet-black spear in one hand. Under the cover of the fine iron armor, the small brocade pouch she had tied to his belt was no longer visible.
The cold helmet pressed against her forehead, but his eyes were burning hot.
Lou Xueying was stunned.
“Swoosh,” he said quickly, “Trust me, trust us, we can do it.”
Then he released her, straightened up, and lashed out with a crisp whip.
With a neigh, the warhorse galloped away, carrying Li Pan into the distance.
Lou Xueying subconsciously chased after him, but after only a few steps, his figure disappeared at the end of the long road.
She stopped abruptly, stunned.
“Madam,” Cailing followed and said softly, “The Marquis has already left, let’s go back too.”
But she seemed unable to take a step, even though she knew he had already gone far away, she still fantasized about seeing him one more time.
The cold wind blew against her face, making her eyes sting.
"Shushu." Li's mother also came forward and took her hand. "Let's go back. Don't catch a cold and make Shitou worry."
Lou Xueying glanced at Li's mother, a thin, small old woman with a few strands of white hair peeking out from under her hood, fluttering wildly in the wind.
She quickly grasped Li's mother's hand and said "okay".
She helped Li's mother up the steps and across the threshold. Behind her, she heard the door slowly closing. She couldn't help but turn back for one last look.
Empty streets, pale blue sky, withered tree branches.
What will the weather be like on this new day?
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Author's Note: I've solved a real-world problem, so I can update twice a week now!
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