Thorny Road
The war ultimately ended with Ningchang victorious. The surviving members of Yan Sheng's squad successfully secured reinforcements in Zhaoyang City. Lu Zhuo's tragic death and Yun Ti's coma left Yun Xiao filled with grief and indignation. Seeing the reinforcements arrive, the Ningchang soldiers rallied and defeated the enemy in one fell swoop. Several Qingli generals were killed or captured, but the crown prince of Qingli simply smiled, said, "Boring," and vanished...
A month passed, and Yunti had been in a daze since she woke up. When she regained consciousness, she couldn't wait to grab her father's shoulders and ask about Lu Zhuo's situation. Yun Xiao couldn't help but cover his face and said, "Lu Zhuo has been buried."
The ladder fell on the couch like a deflated ball.
Later, she heard that Yan Sheng had also died... Along the way, she had only made two close friends: one died because of her, the other tragically lost. War was truly cruel. She hadn't understood why her father always felt so melancholy after a battle, but now she understood. Only through personal experience could one understand. War truly robbed a person of their happiness. Yunti felt that her previous desire to protect everything, her worry about the world, was childish. She was like a puppet entangled in strings, her past actions driven by the imperial court's grand schemes.
Yun Xiao felt very distressed when his once lively daughter became dull. After all, he failed to protect his wife and daughter. One was suffering thousands of miles away, and the other was suffering on the battlefield.
Yun Xiao said with a kind face: "Ti'er, you haven't moved for a long time, come out for a walk."
"No." Yunti said sullenly.
Yun Xiao didn't want to embarrass her, so he could only lower his voice and say, "The army has been resting for over a month. It's time to go back. Are you sure you don't want to pay your respects at your nephew's grave?"
Yunti's heart was moved. She had never wanted to face Lu Zhuo's death, and she had never visited the graves of the fallen soldiers. Now she was leaving... Countless pains welled up in her heart, and after a long while, Yunti finally said, "Okay."
The army rested, and the wailing in the camp faded away. In the initial moments of victory, while everyone appeared joyful, they were actually filled with sadness. Qingli had suffered a crushing defeat, but Ningchang wasn't much better off. Many of their brothers had died in the battle, and those who survived were grievously wounded, some covered in blood, others with their stomachs ripped open.
Yunti saw that the soldiers were preparing to break camp. She hadn't moved for a long time, so she took a deep breath and prepared herself to face a new crisis.
Yun Xiao pulled her onto his horse and rode towards a forest where there were large and small mounds of earth where the dead soldiers were buried. Yun Ti knelt down to the soldiers with full respect.
Looking at the tombstones of Lu Zhuo and Yan Sheng, Yunti's eyes welled up with tears. Yan Sheng was usually very noisy and always chattering. If he hadn't died, he would have continued to live his carefree life...
Lu Zhuo… He had always been so mature and steady, polite and gentle to everyone, yet he also kept everything to himself, more adept at action than expression. Yunti's feelings towards him were complicated. Thinking of Lu Zhuo's sincere and passionate protection of her on the battlefield, she felt a surge of guilt. It would be impossible not to feel a little moved by him, but now all she felt was regret.
She poured a bowl of strong liquor in front of the tomb and bowed three times, her head bowed for a long time before she stood up: "I have bowed enough, father, let's go."
Yun Xiao was a little surprised: "Aren't you going to spend more time with them?"
Yunti smiled in relief: "There's no point in staying any longer. There are still many dangers waiting for us after we return to the capital."
"You..." Yun Xiao looked at his daughter in amazement.
The army had already broken camp, and everyone was marching back to the capital. Before leaving, Yun Xiao said goodbye to the people of Shuocheng. The people saw him off with tears in their eyes, and they were all reluctant to let him go.
In reality, Yunti's rapid recovery was entirely due to a secret letter received this morning. News of the victory at Shuocheng had reached the capital for over ten days, yet the emperor hadn't shown any sign of joy, instead offering only mild praise. The Master feared Yun Xiao's achievements might overshadow the emperor, leading him to repeat his past mistakes. Therefore, he issued this letter warning Yun Xiao to return to the city later.
When her men delivered the message in the morning, General Yun was not there, so Yunti took it. She did not expect it to be such bad news. She was unwilling to believe that the emperor would do such a thing, but Lu Zhuo's words kept repeating in her ears.
Along with it came an imperial edict, in which the emperor ordered Yun Xiao to lead the army back to the capital as soon as possible. After all, there was no way to escape, so he could only fight against the enemy with his troops and block the water with his earth.
Yunti was riding on horseback as she looked at the majestic city gate. She had so many beautiful memories of this capital city in the past that made her reluctant to leave. But now it looked more like a bubble of a bustling city, and in fact, it was unfathomable.
Most of the troops were stationed outside the city, and only a few important generals went to court to report. Madam Yun originally wanted to go to the city gate to welcome her husband, but the situation was now tense, so she could only sit in the Yun Mansion and wait for her husband and daughter to return.
After entering the city, they could no longer ride freely. Several carriages were parked on the roadside waiting for everyone to transfer. Yun Xiao secretly said to Yun Ti, "Go home first. Don't go out unless necessary."
Yunti disagreed and said, "No, father, I want to go with you."
Yun Xiao scolded, "Be obedient! Go home. Your mother is waiting for you at home. Go back and tell her you're safe."
When Yunti mentioned his mother, his attitude softened and he ran away without saying goodbye to anyone. He must have been extremely worried about his mother, so it was time for him to go back and see her.
She looked at her father worriedly and said, "Then mother and I will wait for you to come back."
Yun Xiao nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Yunti followed the servants back to the mansion along the side road. Before she even reached the door, she saw her mother pacing back and forth in front of the mansion. She trotted forward and excitedly shouted, "Mom!"
When Mrs. Yun saw Yunti, her eyes immediately turned red. "Ti'er, my child, you haven't suffered these days, have you? I've been so worried about you." Mrs. Yun pulled her daughter to look left and right.
Yunti happily turned around in front of Madam Yun and said, "Look, I'm fine! It's you, mother, who are alone in the capital. You've worked hard." Yunti hugged Madam Yun tightly and said.
Madam Yun patted her on the back and said, "Silly child, as long as you and your father are fine, it's fine. It's not hard for your mother to live in this rich place."
The mother and daughter entered the house asking all kinds of questions, but the situation on Yun Xiao's side was not so good.
After Yunti left, Yun Xiao got on the carriage. Along the way, the people came to greet him with loud cheers, some of them bringing fruits and vegetables, some of them praising him loudly. Yun Xiao was a little moved by the scene, but then he thought about it and sighed secretly.
The eunuch outside the palace informed the Grand Eunuch that Yun Xiao and his companions had arrived. The Grand Eunuch whispered this to the Emperor, who nodded. The Grand Eunuch then shouted at the top of his voice, "Call in! Yun Xiao and his companions, enter the palace!"
From the moment Yun Xiao and his companions entered the court, the atmosphere inside the hall was like a cold winter. There was no joyful atmosphere, no smiling faces, only seriousness and coldness.
As the first commander, Yun Xiao naturally reported his work first. He talked about the whole process of the war, but the man in the hall did not say a word.
Finally, the man in the yellow robe said, "Although we won this battle, our army also suffered heavy casualties. I can hardly feel happy. General Yun, do you have anything to say?"
The ministers gasped. Was the emperor trying to blame someone? This war was already a war of unequal strength; victory was already a miracle. Wasn't the emperor just trying to make things difficult for Yun Xiao? The ministers who were on good terms with Yun Xiao couldn't help but worry, while those who opposed him were secretly delighted.
"It is my incompetence that has prevented me from bringing back the good men of Ningchang safely." Yun Xiao immediately lifted his clothes and knelt down.
A few smart people from Ren Xiang's faction immediately responded.
"The casualties in this battle were indeed tragic, and how to comfort the families of the deceased will probably be another huge expense."
"Alas, General Yun has always been a brave warrior. He's not uncommon for defeating a larger force with a smaller one. Why is the disparity so great this time? Could it be that he wasn't putting in the effort?"
Yun Xiao frowned, but did not refute.
Yun Xiao's good friends were also furious. These people and the emperor were in cahoots and it was clear that they wanted to punish Yun Xiao for some crime. As subjects, it was useless for them to say anything, as they might even be implicated, so they dared not speak out.
"General Yun is now in his twilight years and is no longer as strong as he was in his youth. Although the casualties in this battle were tragic, he ultimately defended the gate of our Ningchang Kingdom. Those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country are the eternal pride of our Ningchang." This group of people pressed hard, and the Master had no choice but to say this.
After listening to both sides' arguments, the emperor finally made his decision: "In that case, your merits and demerits will be balanced, and you will receive neither punishment nor reward. All the generals have worked hard, and I will send someone to give them the appropriate rewards. If you have nothing else to do, please dismiss the court."
No one among the ministers objected, so the eunuch shouted at the top of his voice: "Dismiss the court!"
As soon as they left the palace, some generals, feeling unfair towards Yun Xiao, began to grumble, "Bah, what's the point of offsetting merits and demerits? The Emperor is clearly trying to make things difficult for General Yun. If he handles things this way, which general will dare to risk his life for his country in the future?"
After hearing this, Yun Xiao immediately scolded him, "Shut up! We're still in the palace. Don't you want to die?"
The general received the instruction and said nothing more.
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