It's finished!!
In the eighteenth year of the Renzhao reign, the rebel Ta Qing killed the eldest prince in Juecheng and rebelled, taking the Ninth Prince hostage to control Li Guang. The Emperor sent troops to intercept him, but they were defeated. In October, they stormed into the imperial city, beheaded Sheng Ye, and massacred the palace roads. In the same month, taking advantage of the chaos, Nanzhou invaded the country. The Ninth Prince, Sheng Xingxing, cooperated with the Emperor to break free from control. Together with Cheng, Ye, and others, they launched a counterattack, killing the rebels, seizing Li Guang, and taking control of Lang Ce. With the full strength of the country, they fought against Nanzhou.
The war lasted for four months. With the assistance of the Northern Dai, the Southern army suffered a great defeat and fled. During the great battle, the emperor died from his injuries, leaving a will to pass the throne to Sheng Xingxing, who was posthumously named Emperor Shuoming.
Upon the ascension of the new emperor, a peace treaty was signed with the Northern Dynasty, stipulating a period of non-aggression for decades. Subsequently, a general amnesty was granted. Zhao Shengye, Deng Ning, Wu Shunyi, and others were found guilty of treason and collusion with the enemy. They plotted to kill Lang Ce, thus proving the innocence of the people.
In the nineteenth year of Emperor Renzhao's reign, the emperor bestowed upon Tang Yan, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Jianbei, the title of "Hongyi Shengwang" (Holy Queen of Medicine), appointing her to compile medical books and search for herbs throughout the land to replenish the national treasury.
—《Shuoli》
Today is the Spring Equinox. No more arrows are shooting down overhead. In the dappled sunlight, people are as free as birds.
"The rice here is growing well, and the granary is almost finished. In another month, it will all be harvested and filled." Shen Zhiqing stood in front of Ye Qian, holding a stalk of rice.
Since their marriage, she and Ye Qian have never stopped working, clearing fields, planting rice, and relieving people's suffering. The rice, like their footsteps, grows wherever they go.
"Old Yao said the rice I grew was delicious and fragrant. Before he left, he took a lot of rice seeds with him, saying he would help me spread them to various places like dandelions." She suddenly laughed: "But the bag broke on the first day, and we only found out after it had all leaked out. Xiao Yan said that Old Yao's beard stood up in anger at that time."
Perhaps the image of the old man puffing out his beard and glaring in her mind popped into her head, Shen Zhiqing chuckled: "You mustn't tell Yao Lao that I was mocking him. Xiao Yan secretly told me this in a letter. She became Yao Lao's apprentice and seems to be busy writing some kind of medicine book lately."
He remained silent.
"The first half of that medicine book was written by the old doctor himself. Unfortunately, he was old and his life's work was exhausted, leaving many regrets. Fortunately, now that we have Ayan, we can pick up the pen again for the second half of the book."
She fiddled with the rice stalks in her hands; each grain was plump, golden, and smelled reassuring.
"I forgot to mention that the Wolf Strategy Army was also successfully exonerated. It was the new emperor who personally issued the decree, posthumously awarding the Wolf Strategy Southern Camp the title of Hero Camp and bestowing upon it the Plain Yellow Army Banner. After Zhong Le left, his elder brother Bo You took command of the army. Originally, the command of the Wolf Strategy Southern Camp was to be handed over to Hu Xingche, but that kid rode away that very night..." At this point, Shen Zhiqing suddenly paused.
Ye Qian remained silent, as if he hadn't heard her words.
Shen Zhiqing stared blankly for a moment, then smiled gently.
"But that's not so bad either. He's spent his whole life following Zhong Le and has never lived a proper life for himself."
She squatted down and placed the straightened rice ears on the mound of earth.
"Everyone is living their lives well."
And what about you?
She gently stroked the wooden monument, her heart clenching with a sharp, throbbing pain.
Ye Qian left two months ago. He didn't tell anyone, nor did he leave any clues. Or rather, everything before him was a clue, but no one realized that it was his way of saying goodbye.
From his improved health, from his normal complexion, from his drawing of the bow and shooting of arrows, from his normal appearance.
At the time, Shen Zhiqing and others only thought that he was recovering day by day, and Tang Qi even joked that Ye Qian was "getting more and more energetic as he fought".
As a result, no one knew that he was burning his life.
On the day the dust settled, everyone gathered together for a big drink. The joy of victory overwhelmed everything. Even now, Shen Zhiqing still can't remember what happened that night. She can only recall the thin letter she found by her pillow.
The letter paper was the rough paper he usually used, but the handwriting on it was somewhat weak and not as steady and powerful as it used to be.
That was a letter of divorce, written to her.
The letter was very short; not even the last word was written.
"You are like the warm sun, illuminating my remaining years."
The last stroke of the character "生" was drawn out long and fast, as if he had exhausted his last bit of strength.
He said that although his life was short, he had no regrets, but that he was happy and should live a long and joyful life.
Therefore, she should not become anyone's widow.
She had to become Shen Zhiqing.
Her footsteps should roam the north and south of the Yangtze River, not be confined to a small courtyard.
While he was alive, he should accompany her to travel across mountains and rivers; after he dies, he should also act as a wind to send her off to even farther places.
Ye Qian will not be an obstacle to her progress.
I won't do it while I'm alive, and I won't do it after I'm dead.
Any infamy that might befall her should not exist in this world.
May everything be clear and peaceful, and may we find joy and happiness in this life.
Shen Zhiqing held the letter in her hand, sitting in the empty room from late at night until dawn. She didn't cry, but felt cold; an inexplicable chill froze her heart.
She waited until Tang Qi burst open the door, and then their eyes froze when they saw what the other was holding.
This letter was the last one Ye Qian wrote; it contained only three crooked characters.
"sorry."
Only these three words remain.
Ye Qian fled this place on a starry night.
This was the only time he rebelled in his otherwise ordinary life.
He had planned it all along. From the moment his health "improved," he was preparing for this silent farewell. With the last of his life, he wove a facade of recovery to comfort all those who cared about him, and then, on his happiest day, alone and quietly, he went to his own end.
Shen Zhiqing leaned gently against the wooden tombstone, her cheek pressed against the cold wood. It was just a cenotaph, but doing so made her feel incredibly at ease.
“Everyone is living their lives well,” she repeated, her voice as soft as a sigh. “I am too, I just miss you a little.”
Shen Zhiqing slowly stood up and patted the dirt off the hem of her skirt. She took one last deep look at the wooden tablet, as if trying to etch its image into her heart.
"I will be fine." She said to the wooden monument, and to herself, "I will take the rice seeds to more and farther places."
She turned around and, step by step, left the field that held so many memories.
*
Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story; Shen Zhiqing was not the only one trekking alone deep in the mountains and forests. Tang Yan was the same; in order to write a book on medicine, she often had to travel through mountains and rivers to collect medicinal herbs.
In the distance, a simple tavern at a fork in the mountain road serves as a resting place for travelers from the north and south.
She often went deep into the mountains to dig up a large basket of herbs, and after dusk she would go to the tavern to drink tea and write books.
A few traveling merchants sat scattered around the wooden tables in the tavern. Tang Yan chose a corner by the window and carefully placed the heavy bamboo basket at her feet. Inside were rare herbs she had just picked at the edge of the cliff that day, which needed to be carefully preserved.
She ordered a bowl of hot noodle soup and a pot of coarse tea from the shopkeeper, and then began to concentrate on organizing today's records. The first half of the book in her hand was a windfall for Tang Yan, and she needed to study it carefully and delve into every word.
Just as I was concentrating, the creaking wooden door opened again, followed by a clear and unrestrained voice:
"Junshi, quickly find a spot! I've got two jars of rare, fine wine here; today's a real bargain!"
As he was speaking, Cheng Junshi suddenly stopped moving, as if someone had acupuncture.
Tang Qi found it strange and frowned, casually asking, "What are you doing? Why aren't you moving?"
He seemed oblivious to the two frozen in place, brushing the dust off his clothes as he chuckled in Cheng Junshi's direction, "Found a spot? I'm drooling..."
His words trailed off when he met Cheng Junshi's unusual gaze. Following Cheng Junshi's gaze, he turned his head and saw the girl sitting by the window, her eyes wide and her face blank.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The tavern was filled with a cacophony of voices—noisy, joking, arguing—but all Tang Yan heard was a ringing in her ears. She was oblivious to what the others were saying; she simply stared intently at Tang Qi, as if afraid he might vanish into thin air at any moment.
Tang Qi looked at her, initially taken aback. He didn't say anything, just quietly looked at her.
There were no gasps, no weeping, not even an immediate rush forward. The tavern remained bustling with activity, while the sky outside grew increasingly gloomy. Three people, separated by a few empty tables, met in this small space filled with the aroma of cooking.
The man appeared before them without warning. Apart from the long scar on his face, he was no different from before, and his laughter was still as enthusiastic and arrogant as ever.
"Brother..." Tang Yan's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
The next instant, as if waking from a dream, she abruptly sat up and threw herself into the man's arms:
"elder brother--!"
Tang Qi was knocked back half a step by her sudden lunge. He was stunned at first, but then that stunned look turned into an undisguised sense of guilt. He raised his hand and, somewhat awkwardly but very gently, stroked Tang Yan's hair again and again: "Our Ayan has grown so tall."
Cheng Junshi stood to the side, quietly walked to the table, and tidied up Tang Yan's scattered manuscripts, a faint smile on his lips.
After a while, Tang Yan calmed down a little from her excitement, raised her tear-filled face, but still held tightly to Tang Qi's sleeve and refused to let go.
She stubbornly believes that Tang Qi "died" in Katyu because she let go that year.
He didn't explain what happened afterward, and Tang Yan didn't press him for details. Some things are better left unsaid; simply living is the best answer.
After they sat down, they briefly chatted about recent events.
"I'm writing a medical book with Master Yao," Tang Yan wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, her voice still choked with emotion, "The new emperor has granted us permission to go anywhere we want, and this book, once completed, will be passed down for ten thousand years."
“Sister Chen took the rice seeds westward,” she paused, then revealed her first genuine smile in days: “Everyone is doing well.”
The word "very good" encompasses so much. The Wolf Army has been exonerated, the new emperor is diligent in his duties, and the borders are gradually stabilizing. The bloodshed and turmoil of the past have finally brought about this hard-won peace.
Tang Qi filled the three people's wine glasses, his gaze passing through the window lattice as he looked towards the distant mountains behind the rain curtain.
"The world can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
Indeed, signs of peace and tranquility are beginning to emerge. Within the capital, the new emperor is diligent in his duties, and everything is in need of rebuilding. The palace walls, once stained with intrigue and bloodshed, seem to have lost some of their former ferocity.
The wounds of war are slowly healing in various places, refugees are gradually returning home, and barren fields are turning green again. Although there are still skirmishes on the border, the shadow of a major war is no longer looming.
This is an era that needs rest and recuperation, an era in which order and hope are being rebuilt from the ruins. The road ahead may still be bumpy, but there are no longer arrows that could be shot down at any moment. In this vast world, people can finally spread their wings like birds and pursue their own freedom and peace.
As the land gradually stabilizes, old friends depart. But wherever they are, they all know that this land they deeply love will eventually usher in the long-awaited peace and prosperity.
Tang Qi raised his glass, a gentle light shining in his eyes: "To Heaven and Earth," the three of them celebrated together.
"Bless us."
I'll warm a pot of wine and wait to see how this world turns out.
————————The End———————
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