Chapter 69 Yuan Jiu Cai said that he had made a mistake back then
Leaving aside Zheng Yangzhi's offering of the imperial seal to the palace, let's just say that Wang Yuying galloped to the palace gate, dismounted, and immediately asked, "Where is His Majesty?"
The guards at the gate couldn't answer, so Wang Yuying headed towards the Chuigong Hall based on her own guess. Soon, two eunuchs came from ahead, and another eunuch chased after her from behind. The three almost bumped into each other, and then bowed to Wang Yuying in unison: "Lord Wang, His Majesty is preoccupied with many affairs of state and requests that you move to the warm pavilion of the Ministry of War to wait for a while."
Where is His Majesty now?
"Sparrow Tongue tea has been prepared in the warm pavilion. His Majesty will come to summon you in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea," the eunuchs respectfully repeated.
Without saying a word, Wang Yuying walked back towards the Chuigong Hall.
"Lord Wang, Lord Wang!" The eunuchs couldn't keep up with her pace and could only call out and beg from behind.
Wang Yuying seemed not to hear anything. When she reached the white marble bridge, she saw the Minister of War and a group of familiar military officers leaving the palace. She became anxious instantly, ran across the bridge in a few steps, met her colleagues on the side of the road, remained silent, exchanged only brief glances, and then climbed the steps.
The palace eunuchs looked down at Wang Yuying and closed the door even faster, but Wang Yuying rushed in like the wind, slipping through the gap and leaving the eunuchs' repeated cries of "Your Excellency, you cannot go in" behind her.
The palace was silent, the palace lanterns were bright. The emperor had already left the dragon throne and was about to descend the steps when he saw her coming. He stopped in his tracks, put his hands behind his back on the steps, and looked down.
Wang Yuying took a few more steps forward, cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "I have heard that the enemy has invaded our borders. I am willing to volunteer to lead the troops straight to the enemy's court!"
"I have already appointed Grand Commandant Yuan as commander-in-chief, General An Yuan as his deputy, and Generals Feng Zhong and Ji Shen as generals, each leading elite troops to rush to the aid from different directions. All routes are being dispatched." The emperor's voice was like a bell as he stepped down from the steps again. "The military examination is the foundation for selecting talents for the country, no less important than the front line. You should focus on the palace examination and not neglect your duties."
He brushed past Wang Yuying without glancing at her, heading straight down.
Wang Yuying hesitated for only a moment before being pulled four or five steps away.
She caught up with Xu Heng again: "Your Majesty! The palace examination is scheduled for April. I am willing to sign a military pledge that I will drive the enemy out of the country and recover the northern border within three months. I will return to the capital on time and take the palace examination without any delay!"
Xu Heng glanced back at her, then stopped and waited at the foot of the steps. As Wang Yuying approached, he said gently, "If you are truly anxious, I may grant you temporary entry into the central government to participate in the coordination efforts in the capital."
She stood next to him, and upon hearing this, the pad of her right thumb, which had been clenched into a fist, tightened on her index finger.
Upon seeing this, Xu Heng sighed, "'The best strategy is to outwit the enemy, the worst is to attack them with force.' In fact, victory can be won even from afar."
Wang Yuying continued to rub her thumb; his words had indeed stirred her heart and made her waver. Despite her righteous and stern pronouncements about going to punish Hugu Xumi, her heart trembled secretly every time she spoke, and the more resolute her tone, the more grief and pain she felt inside.
“You can still take the military exam while you’re in the capital,” he said patiently and earnestly.
Yes, she agreed in her heart. Hiding in the capital, she wouldn't be able to see for herself whether Mi lived or died. Being a coward would avoid entanglement and pain.
"Then it's settled." The emperor thought he had convinced Wang Yuying, turned and walked towards the door, where the eunuchs had already quietly reopened the palace doors for the emperor.
She quickly distanced herself from the emperor.
Rows of palace lanterns cast concentric circles of light on the ground, and as the emperor passed through these circles, a shadow appeared in each one. In a daze, she felt these shadows stand up, transforming into the outlines of her father and his former subordinates. They were no longer walking on the bluestone slabs of the Forbidden City, but on the walls of Yangguan Pass, patrolling tirelessly, time and again. The "Strategic Essays" were the ones her father's chief clerk had taught her on the city walls, describing soldiers as "going through fire and water, dying without hesitation."
Wang Yuying took off chasing after Xu Heng, shouting, "Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing her call, Xu Heng unconsciously slowed his pace.
She caught up with the emperor on the white marble bridge: "Your Majesty, I once lived in the northern frontier and am familiar with the local mountains, rivers, and roads. I am also fluent in the local dialect."
Xu Heng lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable.
Wang Yuying continued, "Although you generals are all brave, none of you have been stationed in the northern frontier for long. Therefore, I humbly request to serve as a military advisor to the vanguard, to assist you generals, and to serve you faithfully at the front, so that the royal army can advance and retreat more quickly."
The emperor slowly turned around. Although the palace lanterns illuminated his robes, the night still shrouded them in a black veil.
He looked at her for a moment, then asked quietly, "Is it absolutely necessary for you to go?"
At this moment, his expression resembled the deep, hidden canal beneath the white marble bridge, where a few drops of light occasionally fell into the water, flickering in the darkness.
Wang Yuying gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and then said, "Yes."
When she answered, she clenched both hands into fists, but she didn't rub them anymore, she just held them tightly.
When the word "yes" landed firmly, I felt as if a knife was ruthlessly gouging out the tumor in my heart. Although it kept bleeding, the growth was finally gone.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she continued, "I am from a military family, and my family has received the country's favor for generations. My father spent his life defending the borders, and I have been supported by the Han government for twenty-six years. Now that the country is in trouble, how can I be afraid to sacrifice myself? Moreover, I truly understand the northern frontier and am also somewhat familiar with the customs of the Di people. When I get to the battlefield, I will have no second thoughts. I am willing to go through fire and water and die without hesitation!"
Faced with the greater good, she remained steadfast and vowed never to be tempted again.
Xu Heng felt truly distressed as she spoke of death in every word. He lowered his eyes for a long while before turning away. He couldn't allow her to go through with the danger; what if something happened to her… No, he abruptly stopped himself from imagining it, because the mere word "what if" was enough to make him panic.
Xu Heng lifted his leg to step off the bridge, when Wang Yuying suddenly shouted from behind, "Why won't His Majesty allow me to?"
Xu Heng's legs continued to move forward.
"I'm the most suitable person to go to the aid of northern Xinjiang."
Xu Heng landed with his right foot and then lifted his left foot.
"Is Your Majesty afraid that I will leave the capital and never return?" Wang Yuying's eyes reddened. "As the ruler of the country, you should prioritize righteousness and not be so petty when things are so urgent!"
Xu Heng turned around abruptly: "Is this how you think of me?"
After a moment of silence, Wang Yuying curled her lips into a smile: "Then what should I think?" Her lips curved but were devoid of warmth, hardly a smile. "His Majesty should be eager for me to go, because once I go, I will finally... understand His Majesty."
Xu Heng suddenly tensed up.
Wang Yuying slowly continued, "Your Majesty killed Jiang Shuren, and I will kill Hugu Xumi. I am no longer a person who acts impulsively, but have become exactly like Your Majesty."
Xu Heng's face suddenly hardened. The New Year's Eve fireworks in the city burst high above his head, their intense white light illuminating his complex and expressive face.
Finally, all expression faded to a deathly stillness on his face.
Wang Yuying took another step forward and said with a smile, "I'll personally wipe away the stain of my own foolishness. Your Majesty must be very happy, right?"
Her face was illuminated by the re-emerging fireworks, turning deathly pale. Xu Heng, seeing this, felt only sorrow for her grief: "I didn't..."
He tried to defend himself, but Wang Yuying interrupted him without hesitation: "Does Your Majesty know why you sometimes say this and sometimes say that, and can never make sense of it all?" She didn't want to waste any more time beating around the bush with him, and she didn't care about hurting him. "Because I dare to admit that I am in love with the King of the Northern Di, but you dare not acknowledge Consort Jiang!"
A persistent denial will only expose numerous flaws in the argument.
If he had still had a shred of love for her during those years, he wouldn't have let her suffer so much in Kunning Palace and Yuqing Temple.
After the fireworks ended, her face darkened again: "Then why was His Majesty moved?"
"Stop talking!" Xu Heng quickly stopped him.
She pressed on relentlessly, her lips curling into a high grin, her eyebrows raised, as she revealed the answer: "Because you are His Majesty!"
A dragon must be paired with a phoenix, but she is not good enough.
Later, Jiang Mei's reason for abandoning him was probably the same: he was unwilling to admit that he had liked someone who was even less worthy of him.
The light still shone on Xu Heng's side, and his face could be seen turning red and white.
After a long silence, he clenched his fist and then released it: "At that time, I only wanted the two of us to advance together on the path and support each other."
Isn't a wise ruler and virtuous empress good?
In those years, he really couldn't understand what she was dissatisfied with. No matter how he coaxed her or lowered himself, he was always met with a cold face and endless ridicule when he went to Kunning Palace. She always had a hundred ways to spoil the fun.
With her shouts, rebukes, and sarcasm, did she realize that she was questioning or even judging a monarch?
Finally, one day, he turned around and saw Jiang Mei, only to realize with surprise how gentle and obedient the person who had been waiting behind him was, with not a trace of temper in her eyes. She was so obedient that as soon as she saw him about to pinch her chin, she would raise her face and look up at the king with a devout and dependent gaze.
Why did Wang Yuying never give him that look?!
So he did something he would regret for the rest of his life—he kissed her.
Their eyes met, and Wang Yuying, reading Xu Heng's gaze, surprisingly understood what he was thinking. Memories that had remained dormant for years suddenly resurfaced, sending chills down her spine. Her shoulders trembled violently, like plum blossoms falling in the Fuyu Palace years ago.
She recalled that when she went to Fuyu Palace, Jiang Mei stood quietly and gracefully under the plum blossom tree. Before entering the palace, everyone kept it a secret from her, but after she came out of Fuyu Palace, they all looked at her with pity, sympathy, and even a hint of pleasure.
She had long since realized the reason: the king's harem only had two tasks: interpreting words and procreation. No king wanted to face a woman who could do neither and would even question him.
But why would she question it?
Because only she saw the weakness, hypocrisy, wickedness, and cruelty of the man before her! He was never invincible in her eyes!
Xu Heng watched Wang Yuying's changing expressions without blinking, and understood what she was thinking.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he silently added in his mind: Yes, that's right.
He hated that she couldn't love him like an emperor, but then he spent three years figuring out that the most precious thing wasn't treating him like an emperor, but treating him like a husband and wife.
There are only eight hours of light in a day, and people cannot live only in the sunlight; the remaining four hours of darkness are equally indispensable.
Fate plays tricks on the greedy, making them realize their mistakes only after they've lost them.
Wang Yuying coldly turned her head away, not even blinking: "You're just a cripple with a good leg who's thrown away his crutches."
Whether he later changed his mind or, after comparing, thought he still loved her, it didn't matter to her anymore.
Xu Heng's throat tightened again. Even though she was scolding him now with plenty of energy, and was randomly poking at his sore spots because of his country and another man, he couldn't let go, because she didn't see him as a king anymore!
He desperately wanted to stretch out his arms and embrace her tightly, but he could do nothing. A gentle night breeze rustled through the air. He looked at the ditch beneath the railing; the murmuring water sounded exactly like a hollow sob. The shimmering light flickered and rippled, and he felt as if the black water had come to swirl, no longer just water, but transformed into flowing names: Hugu Xumi, Jingye, Zheng Yangzhi, Jiang Mei…
If a person doesn't step into the ditch, they will never get wet. No matter how much these names circulate, they can never be linked to him and Wang Yuying.
He stepped in first, then pulled her down, and the longer she was submerged, the wetter she became.
He gave others a chance.
If they had held on back then, they would have remained a loving couple forever, as steadfast as gold and stone, unbreakable by anyone, with no one able to interfere.
It's all his fault!
But water, like time, never flows backward; it only flows ever forward.
Xu Heng looked up, turned his neck, and stiffly and slowly looked back at Wang Yuying, observing her pain.
After returning from the northern frontier, if he hadn't changed, she wouldn't have changed either, and she wouldn't have suffered because of Hugu Xumi; all her suffering was caused by him.
Xu Heng was the root of all Wang Yuying's suffering.
Xu Heng suddenly grabbed her wrist. Wang Yuying tried to pull away, but he held on tightly and slapped her hand hard across his face with all his might. The sound was crisp and loud, and he turned his head to the side.
Wang Yuying's expression changed, and she suddenly pulled her arm away.
Xu Heng's empty hand fell limply to his side: "That slap you gave me back then wasn't enough." His scalp tingled, and his voice trembled, "I'm a bastard, bullying your family because you have no one to rely on..."
This not only frightened Qingfu so much that he knelt down with his forehead touching the ground, but also attracted many eunuchs and guards who hadn't seen clearly and mistakenly thought that the deposed empress had slapped the emperor again, who rushed forward to subdue Wang Yuying.
"Get back!" Xu Heng roared. The pain surged, his left cheek burning, a clear finger mark visible on his face.
"Xu Heng".
His ears were ringing from the vibrations, and it took him a while to hear her call his name.
He looked at her intently, listening and waiting for her to speak.
She simply told me in a flat tone, "I don't have time to talk to you here. Let me go to the northern frontier."
Having said that, he walked straight around the bridge, stepped off the white jade bridge, and headed towards the Ministry of War.
On the way, they saw someone coming towards them from afar. He was carrying a lantern and a box. Although he was thin, his steps were steady. Upon closer inspection, it was Zheng Yangzhi again.
He wasn't wearing an official robe, but a fur coat with mink sleeves, and a pearl was inlaid on his golden crown. He looked as if he had just come down from a New Year's Eve banquet, and his rich attire made his golden appearance even more striking.
She looked further into the distance, but she still couldn't see the Honglu Temple. How did they "coincidentally" meet again?
Because Wang Yuying wasn't carrying a lantern, Zheng Yangzhi walked another five or six steps before he finally saw her. Seeing her wandering alone in the darkness, his heart clenched, and he changed from walking to running. Just as he was about to reach her, a sleepless owl suddenly flew down, its eyes so black they looked like they had no pupils.
Zheng Yangzhi was terrified and instinctively turned back.
He stopped after taking three steps. Usually, he would wait for the bird to fly away, but now time was running out. He gritted his teeth, made a firm decision, turned around, and, despite the goosebumps all over his body, circled around the owl's side to get to Wang Yuying.
Wang Yuying watched him circle around, initially suspicious and wary, before remembering that he was afraid of birds.
There was nothing we could do.
Zheng Yangzhi stepped forward and presented the armor: "The journey to the northern frontier is extremely dangerous. This soft armor is impervious to swords and spears. I know you are brave, but the enemy is treacherous. Please wear it close to your body." He looked at Wang Yuying and paused: "Your life is tied to the safety of the nation. I earnestly hope you will be safe. This is not a gift from me for personal reasons, but for the sake of all the people."
After a moment, Wang Yuying lowered her eyes and said, "Zheng Yangzhi, even if you didn't put it so grandly, I would still accept it."
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