Zhao Congming's yellow dragon robe was wrinkled with bloodstains. As he dismounted, a heavy snow fell from the dark sky.
The entire military camp was deathly silent, and the soldiers knelt on the ground.
"Your Highness, Guard Tong is gone!"
Zhao Cong's long eyelashes trembled, his sinister and murderous aura concealed by the snowflakes, and when he looked up again, he exuded an indescribable loneliness.
He has been losing everything his entire life.
Whether it's given to him by others or earned through his own blood and sweat, it's all leaving him little by little.
Tong Di had followed him for twenty years. Even when she was still a child, she knew how to persuade him to study and practice martial arts, calling him "Your Highness the Crown Prince" in a childish yet earnest manner.
"Tong Di swears to protect His Highness's safety with his life."
"Her Majesty the Empress has selected me from among many guards. I carry Her Majesty's hopes for you and I will surely break through the encirclement and pave the way back to the capital for Your Highness."
When the Empress passed away, with the Emperor's tacit approval, Consort Ning suppressed the Empress's maternal clan. In order to leave a way out for Zhao Cong, his maternal grandfather and uncle deliberately fell into Consort Ning's hands at the cost of their own lives, thus preserving the foundation of their families.
Even more so, the death of a great general, who personally intervened in the conflict, ignited the fighting spirit of the border soldiers. As the Xiongnu gradually advanced into Daming, Zhao Cong requested permission to send troops, vowing not to return to the capital until the Xiongnu were driven out.
The emperor personally saw him off; Zhao Cong had just turned thirteen that year.
The war lasted for twelve years.
He did not betray everyone's sacrifices. Holding military power, he prevented Consort Ning from easily harming him again. When he returned to the capital that year, Consort Ning tried every means to obstruct him, even forging letters between Zhao Cong and the Xiongnu. Fortunately, Zhao Cong discovered it in time and escaped disaster.
The forged letter was in Jiang Su's hands. Zhao Cong used a diversionary tactic to lure Jiang Su away, which allowed him to successfully return to the capital.
Tong Di witnessed all the hardships and despair Zhao Cong went through.
Zhao Cong knew that no one could accompany him for a lifetime, but wasn't Tong Di's departure a little too early?
He walked to the tent and suddenly felt extremely tired. He had to lean on the door frame with one hand to keep his balance.
"Your Highness!" Cang Ying, her eyes red, immediately went to help him up.
"It's nothing," Zhao Cong said in a hoarse voice. He lifted the curtain and saw Lin Qingwan kneeling in front of the bed, her forehead pressed against the zither, crying uncontrollably.
Tong Di closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips, and even the scar no longer seemed frightening.
It felt as if a huge boulder had been pressed down on Zhao Cong's chest. Just a second before he was completely deprived of his breath, he abruptly pulled down the curtain and turned his back.
It seems that as long as he runs away quickly, the sadness will let him go.
"A lavish funeral."
The day after Tong Di's funeral arrangements were completed.
Lin Qingwan's eyes were terribly swollen. She dozed off for a while, and it took her a long time to feel the light after opening her eyes.
Mu Xue didn't dare delay and told Cang Ying about it. Cang Ying mentioned it to Zhao Cong, and at noon, Zhao Cong brought Physician Zhu over.
"It's nothing serious, but you can't cry anymore, or you'll really go blind."
Physician Zhu's face was pale, and his tone was no longer as light and playful as before. He habitually glanced at Zhao Cong's side, and then a wave of depression washed over him.
"But it's good for him to cry. He'll probably be happy over there that someone is thinking of him."
Physician Zhu remembered that the last time they met, he had been sarcastic and teased Tong Di for being so taciturn. If he had even a fraction of Mr. Ruan's shamelessness, he might have won the beauty's heart long ago.
Tong Di, that fool, blushed and stammered, "I don't ask for anything."
Physician Zhu usually travels between two worlds and is used to life and death. He always looks down on the ignorance of the world because he has lived for hundreds of years. But when Tong Di died, he couldn't sleep all night.
Seeing Lin Qingwan's eyes well up with tears, he felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.
"Qingwan, once you've cried enough, forget about him."
"He is a free man, and it's not good for him to be bound by either responsibility or emotion."
Lin Qingwan choked up, "I...I know."
If you save someone, you should try your best to explain so that she doesn't feel any pressure.
The ginseng slices were meant to explain that everything originated with the crown prince, not himself.
"He's the dumbest person I've ever met," Lin Qingwan said weakly, tears welling up in her eyes.
After giving a few instructions, Physician Zhu left. Mu Xue grabbed him and asked, "Physician Zhu, what medicine did you give Miss on New Year's Eve? She didn't faint from the pain this time."
Mu Xue was unaware that Lin Qingwan was poisoned, but she knew that she would be in so much pain that she would lose consciousness, which was extremely dangerous.
Although she wasn't injured this time, the matter of Guard Tong... was even more distressing than her own injury. Mu Xue would only feel at ease if she had some medicine on hand.
Physician Zhu paused for a moment, then looked back at Zhao Cong, who was standing ramrod straight. The blood transfused last time should not have been completely metabolized yet. If the Crown Prince is willing, Lin Qingwan can probably live a life without pain.
"That medicine was given to me by the Crown Prince. I can make it whenever he wants."
Mu Xue froze on the spot, secretly glancing at the serious and aloof Crown Prince, but she really didn't have the courage to speak.
Zhao Cong and Lin Qingwan both heard what the two were saying.
Zhao Cong looked down at her red, tear-filled eyes and rubbed his fingers together, hidden under his sleeve. "Those Xiongnu from yesterday were brought by Jiang Mingting."
"He escaped from prison, and the Gao family deliberately provoked him, framing the Jiang family for having secret dealings with the Xiongnu."
Lin Qingwan paused for a moment, then, because her eyes hurt, she couldn't help but want to rub them with a handkerchief.
Zhao Cong warned, "Don't touch it."
"I just applied the medicine, so closing your eyes is enough."
Lin Qingwan obediently closed her eyes. "Jiang Mingting didn't have the ability to escape; it was Prince Jing who released him."
Zhao Cong raised an eyebrow. "To be precise, it's Consort Ning."
He lowered his eyes slightly, "Father Emperor protected Prince Jing and only punished the soldiers guarding the imperial prison."
They even blamed him for being useless, holding the capital's guards in his hands, and not even noticing the Xiongnu sneaking in.
Consort Ning then tried to strip him of his military power, but the cabinet ministers objected, so the emperor remained silent.
Not only that, he also cut off the Gao family's lucrative interests, which further strained the relationship between Jiang Su and Prince Jing. Now that Jiang Zhenlin is seriously injured, it is even less likely that Jiang Su will wholeheartedly serve Consort Ning.
The Ning family grew anxious and urged the emperor to select a crown princess for Zhao Cong.
The list has been drawn up, bearing the names of noble families, but most of them are illegitimate children.
Even if there were two legitimate children, they were either chronically ill or notoriously stupid.
This was an attempt to use marriage alliances to hinder Zhao Cong, and the emperor's silence was tantamount to acquiescence.
At this critical juncture, Zhao Cong lost Tong Di as well.
Lin Qingwan learned these things from Physician Zhu a couple of days later when her eyes had improved.
Jiang Zhenlin suffered severe internal injuries and was kept in bed by the military doctor for three days before his complexion became less pale. However, his sharp tongue and talkative nature were unbearable even for the military doctor.
"Where is Lin Qingwan? I can't get out of bed, can't you have her come over?"
"Guard Tong has been buried for several days now, and she still hasn't remembered me?"
The military doctor frowned. "Young Master Jiang, we send someone to tell Miss Qingwan every day that she doesn't want to come."
Hold!
Jiang Zhenlin had the energy to rage again, "Watch me get down on the ground and settle the score with her!"
Just as he finished speaking, Cang Ying came in to deliver a message, "Young Master Jiang, the Prime Minister and his wife have arrived, and the Crown Prince requests your presence."
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