Just be alive
The next morning, the soldiers came to report: "Deputy General, the general is missing!"
Yi Shi's face darkened, and he slammed the table and stood up, "When did you find out?"
The soldiers' faces were filled with anxiety. "We went to the general's tent this morning to deliver food, but he was nowhere to be found. The bed and bedding were untouched, and the bowl of soup on the table was cold. The general was nowhere to be seen in the entire camp, and there was even a warhorse missing from the stable."
Yi Shi's expression froze, and he whispered, "Oh no! Could it be that he has gone alone to seek revenge on the young prince?"
The soldiers looked up and asked, "Should we send troops to support the general now? We are afraid that he is injured and will be attacked from all sides if he goes deep into the tiger's lair alone. He will be outnumbered."
Yi Shi frowned in thought, rubbing his chin with his right hand for a moment. "Don't act rashly for now. Order the scouts to keep a close eye on the enemy and report any movement immediately. Send down the order to send a group of elite troops to search for the general. Make sure they find him and bring him back before nightfall!"
The soldiers received the order and quickly left the tent, passing on the deputy general's order, and the two sides began to act.
The sound of wind blowing through the valley was deep and melodious. Light shone on his face, blinding him. He couldn't open his eyes. Shangguan Yichen tilted his head to the side and felt a coil of snakes beneath him, swaying slightly as he moved. Had he fallen into a snake den in hell? Which of the eighteen levels of hell was this? He wondered what kind of torture he would endure. But...why was there light in hell?
He shielded himself from the light with his hands, opened his eyes, and sat up. Looking down, he was startled to find himself sitting on a rattan mat. It was large enough for a grown man to lie on. The rattan was tough and extremely sturdy, and this rattan mat, like a large bed, hung on the edge of a cliff amidst a thousand-foot abyss. Shangguan Yichen looked up, but couldn't see the top of the cliff. Looking down, he couldn't see the end either. He was all alone, stranded halfway up the mountain.
It turns out that this place is not hell, and he is not dead. Then is Zhong Yujing also... He was overjoyed, and his dead heart revived in an instant. He looked up at the cliff. The entire cliff was covered with vines. Presumably, the person who made the futon used them as materials. Growing on such a steep cliff, these vines are as difficult to break as their tenacious vitality.
Shangguan Yichen discovered that directly across from him, behind a dense network of vines, was a large cavern. He reached out to try to pry open the vines, but found they moved easily, indicating that someone frequently entered and exited. He cautiously leaned forward and entered the cavern.
After Shangguan Yichen landed on the ground and stood firmly, he found that there was another world inside the cave. It was suddenly bright and the scenery was magnificent. The rock wall was made of crystal stones that had been washed by water for many years and naturally emitted a glassy luster. The cave was wide and the top was extremely high. Milky white crystal stones of various shapes were hung upside down, reflected in the water on the ground, like fairies dancing, graceful and beautiful. The water happened to gather in the circular groove on the ground, like a treasure pot, gathering all the water vapor flowing through the rock wall.
Shangguan Yichen was filled with emotion. Who would have expected that such a magical place would be hidden on this deadly cliff?
He continued to walk inside. The cave narrowed slightly. At the end of a winding road, there was another long goat road on the left, which led to an unknown place. On the right, he turned into a stone chamber. The walls inside the stone chamber were not made of crystal stones, but were still as smooth as glass. In the corner of the wall was a milky white stone bed, which was polished smooth and square. At the head of the bed stood a square table with an oil lamp on it. Shangguan Yichen walked forward with trembling hands, and shuddered when he touched the lampshade of the oil lamp. The residual heat on it had not dissipated yet, and it was not long after it was used. He touched the stone bed with trembling body. There was no dust on it, and it was obvious that someone had slept on it.
Shangguan Yichen's heart was pounding. He could hear his own heartbeat, like a drum. His breathing was rapid, as if he wanted to hold on to something tightly, but was afraid of letting it go again. Suddenly, he heard the rustling of clothes behind him, and a voice whispered, "Who is it?"
Shangguan Yichen turned around suddenly and saw a man dressed in military uniform, holding a lantern, standing at the door of the stone chamber, looking at him warily, "General?"
Shangguan Yichen's heart finally settled down at this moment. In the past, present and future lives, even in the next few lives, he would never be as moved as this again. He never believed in fate, but at this moment he was grateful to God for returning her to him.
Before the person could react, Shangguan Yichen hugged her tightly and painfully, as if he would break all the bones in her body. However, she felt no pain. The joy, sadness and emotion in her heart were beyond words. She just let the tears pour out and soak into his shoulders. She let him hold her in his arms, crush her, break her, and embed her into his body, willingly.
Shangguan Yichen was reluctant to let go of Zhong Yujing for a long time. His breathing was heavy. Zhong Yujing felt her back was a little wet. She wanted to turn her head to look at him, but he was sticking to her so tightly. She turned her head slightly and rubbed his cheek, which was wet and stuck to her face. She was slightly stunned and wanted to pull away to look at him. He obediently loosened his grip so that they could see each other's faces, but his arms were still tightly around her.
Zhong Yujing looked up and met Shangguan Yichen's tearful eyes—vulnerable, aggrieved, helpless, and relieved. She had seen him cry before, on the day of King Yao's funeral, but he had quietly wiped them away that day, believing no one had seen, and she had feigned ignorance. But this time, he was so frankly exposing his vulnerability to her, unabashedly. The stubble on his face grew thicker, the bruises under his eyes deeper. Zhong Yujing wiped the tears from his face. Shangguan Yichen sobbed a few times, aggrieved, and then he held her in his arms again, tightly, for a long time.
Zhong Yujing's heart was filled with an inexplicable feeling, but her rationality forced her to not cross over and jump into that abyss. She didn't know if she would be doomed, but she knew that her family and her mission would not allow it. She couldn't do it. She clenched her fists tightly and didn't reach out to hug Shangguan Yichen.
After an unknown amount of time, Shangguan Yichen calmed down. They sat down and looked at each other, not knowing where to start. Zhong Yujing asked first, "How did the general find himself here?"
Shangguan Yichen stared at her intently, as if afraid that if he didn't keep a close eye on her, she would slip away at any moment. After a while, he opened his mouth and said, "I wasn't looking for her. I jumped down by myself." There was some grievance in his tone, just like a child blaming you for leaving without saying goodbye and abandoning him all alone.
Zhong Yujing was stunned. "General, how could you be so foolish! You take your own life so lightly. If anything were to happen, how would the Concubine Dowager cope? King Yao has already left. Are you going to leave her to fend for herself?"
Shangguan Yichen looked at her with grievance and said, "Then why did you have the heart to abandon me?"
Zhong Yujing was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "If it weren't for the situation..."
Shangguan Yichen didn't wait for her to finish before he said, "Didn't you say that you would stand with me, and that after the battle, we would return to Daqi together? Didn't you say that you would move forward with me, even if there were mountains of swords and dangers ahead? Didn't you promise me that you would not give up easily, and would never abandon your troops to save your king? Why are you breaking your promise?"
Zhong Yujing was speechless. Yes, she had broken her promise, completely betraying it. She said, "I have let the general down, but I am just a small soldier in the army. My death is not a pity. The general has a heavy responsibility. The war of a country and the safety of an army depend entirely on you. How could the general abandon the interests of the country and the army and act so impulsively for a small soldier like me?"
Shangguan Yichen sneered and said helplessly, "Since I was six years old, I have never indulged myself in living for myself. Doing what I want? The moment I saw you fall off the cliff, I felt that all the masks and burdens in my life were shattered. If there are people in this world who have no thoughts, what does the world mean to me?"
Zhong Yujing's heart was suddenly struck. She pondered for a long time and solemnly said to Shangguan Yichen: "I am grateful for the prince's kindness, but I hope that the prince will cherish his feelings and not put them in the wrong place, which will make the pearl covered in dust and the sincerity betrayed." After a pause, he said: "Your servant is not only a prime minister, but also a celestial official of Daqi." Yes, celestial officials cannot marry. The Zhong family has been like this for generations. The ancestors are like this, the uncle is like this, and Zhong Yujing is also like this.
Shangguan Yichen's eyes were firm as he looked at her and said, "So what? I've already told you that the person I want doesn't care about family background or rules. As long as I love her with all my heart, I will pull her to my side, even if it means we're on a high platform or at the top of a clear peak. I'll stay with her forever and never leave her side."
It turned out that he had already been deeply in love with her at that time. Zhong Yujing's heart was completely swallowed by that inexplicable feeling. A stream of hot tears overflowed from her chest to her eyes, wanting to burst out, but she pursed her lips to hold back the tears. Her eyes were red and full of tears. She looked at Shangguan Yichen and could not speak. In her tearful sight, Shangguan Yichen's figure was blurry and clear at times, but she heard him suddenly say gently and firmly: "If one day, I can create a world for you without rules and regulations, without shackles and constraints, will you be willing to join me?"
That was his ideal, a world of peace and harmony? If in that world, she was no longer herself, yet she was still herself, how wonderful it would be. Zhong Yujing didn't dare to think about it anymore. Finally, she couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and they burst out, flowing down like a spring.
He always easily knew everything she tried hard to hide. Without saying a word, he understood everything. Zhong Yujing recalled that cold winter in the snow long ago. She tried to keep a distance from him without making a sound, but he saw through her inner needs at a glance, made a joke of the mask, and asked her to let go of all her restraints. He was like a warm breeze that made people feel comfortable, and like a towering mountain that gave people support.
She looked at Shangguan Yichen, sobbing and crying like a child, even whimpering. That was her most authentic appearance. She was not the Prime Minister Tianguan who usually sat on the high platform, nor was she the heir entrusted with the mission of the Zhong family.
Shangguan Yichen held her face with a smile and gently wiped away the tears on her face. "You have to wait for the day when I realize it for you, and I will also wait for you until that day to stay with me for the rest of your life." His eyes were like a sea of stars, and Zhong Yujing was immersed in it, without comment.
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