Chapter 91 Chapter 91 Epilogue
Zhe Rou suddenly woke up from the nightmare, her heart pounding, cold sweat on her back almost soaking through her shirt.
It was still early, and the light in the house was dim and gloomy. It was hard to see clearly, as if it was shrouded in a gray mist.
The dream was chaotic and fragmented. I couldn't recall the specific situation for a while, but the feeling of panic and fear was particularly clear.
The more you think about it, the more uneasy you become.
Zhe Rou closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. When her heartbeat slowly calmed down, she put on her clothes, got off the bed, washed up quickly, and went straight to find Zhou Xiao.
"Has there been any news from the front?"
Zhou Xiao had just received a tip from Funing, and he wasn't prepared for her sudden visit. He hesitated as he spoke, "...Yes, yes."
Seeing that his expression was not right, Zhe Rou's heart tightened, "Something happened?"
Zhou Xiao saw that she had misunderstood and quickly explained: "Don't worry, Ninth Lady, this is good news!"
He omitted the details of how Funing was rescued and how Sun Xian and his staff had instructed Xie Yunzhou to capture him and send him back to the capital for questioning, and only talked about the important things.
The Dangxiang retreated hastily, and the elite troops of the Jingyuan Army pursued them for more than a hundred miles, finally turning the tide of the battle.
However, there was a shortage of doctors and medicine in Funing City. Xie Yunzhou managed to finish the most important military affairs and handed over the rest of the matters to He Zhongshan. He returned to Lingzhou with Duke Xu and a group of wounded soldiers the day before yesterday.
However, his external injuries were already serious, and they worsened after days of hard work. He also developed a high fever, and he felt drowsy before even reaching Lingzhou.
After hearing this, Zhe Rou breathed a sigh of relief, but there was still a hint of indescribable uneasiness in her heart.
Mingqi is fine, but...what about Lu Bingyan?
Swords and knives are merciless on the battlefield. Although she hoped that Lu Chen would do as he said that day and forget about her from then on and never have to deal with her again for the rest of her life, she also didn't want to see him really encounter any accident.
But Nan Heng was not in the army, and Lu Chen's deputy general did not know the secret of his march, so the rest of the news could only wait.
…
Xie Yunzhou lay on the couch, his whole body in pain, as if he was being tortured in fire. As his consciousness drifted in and out, he felt his mouth dry and his tongue parched. Suddenly, he felt a chill on his lips. A soft hand lifted the back of his neck and handed him a porcelain bowl of water.
The clear water of just the right temperature flowed down his throat, and Xie Yunzhou regained his breath and opened his eyes with difficulty.
His blurry vision slowly focused, and when he finally saw the familiar and longed-for face in front of him, he was a little bit incredulous for a moment, and tentatively called her in a low voice: "...Jiu Niang?"
The voice was dry and hoarse, almost inaudible.
"Are you feeling better?"
Zhe Rou responded softly and reached out to feel the temperature on his forehead.
In a trance, a sleeve brushed past softly, bringing a faint scent of apricot blossoms, and a soft, cool palm suddenly touched him. Xie Yunzhou was stunned for a long time, and finally felt some real feeling.
The next moment, an indescribable sense of relaxation and great joy surged up at the same time. He couldn't help but reach out to cover it, but he accidentally pulled the injured area and gasped in pain.
Zhe Rou quickly held his hand down, "Don't move."
Xie Yunzhou nodded, the inky hair on his forehead was soaked with sweat, and his pair of dark eyes looked at her wetly, like a little fox whose fur was wet by rain. It was very different from his usual unrestrained appearance, and he rarely showed a bit of fragility and pitifulness.
Zhe Rou's heart softened, and she took out a clean soft cloth to wipe the sweat off his face, and said in a gentle voice: "You are seriously injured, you need to rest well."
Xie Yunzhou agreed obediently, and soon he fell asleep peacefully in a drowsy state.
After suffering for several days, Xie Yunzhou's injuries finally improved. Although he still had some difficulty moving, he felt much better.
It was at this moment that Lu Chen's news came unexpectedly.
Lu Chen's deputy general Wen Xu came straight to see him, his face was heavy with grief and his voice was very hoarse.
Zhe Rou stood in the corridor, listening quietly, with no emotion on her face, as if she had just heard a very ordinary sentence.
After a long silence, she softly asked, "Did he... leave any words?"
"My dear husband only left a letter, and it contained only twelve words."
Wen Xu's throat was rolling, and after a while, he spoke in a hoarse voice, word by word.
"I have dedicated my life to my country, and even if I die on the battlefield, that is all I wish for."
Perhaps she knew that Xie Yunzhou treated her with utmost sincerity and would never let her suffer any injustice or be bullied, so he left nothing behind, not even a token of love or any extra instructions.
It is just like his usual temperament, completely decisive and ruthless.
Since you have decided to let go, then go cleanly, without leaving any ties or worries, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble to others.
After a long silence, Zhe Rou just nodded lightly, indicating that she understood.
Xie Yunzhou stood aside, watching her reaction, the uneasiness in his heart almost bursting out of his chest.
He knew the relationship between her and Lu Chen better than anyone else. Even though they had many grievances and hatreds in the past, they still had the companionship of their youth, the dependence on each other, and the kinship engraved in their bones. Lu Bingyan was different to her after all.
But now, facing such a matter of life and death, she just remained silent, neither crying nor making a fuss, nor asking for details. How could he feel at ease?
"Jiu Niang..." Xie Yunzhou called her softly.
After a long while, Zhe Rou slowly shook her head and whispered, "I'm fine. Warfare is unpredictable. When I was in Taozhou, I was always prepared every time I sent him to battle."
She even tried to comfort him, her voice light and airy, "Your injuries haven't healed yet, don't stand there for too long, go back to the house and rest."
Xie Yunzhou didn't care whether his injury had healed or not. He was so worried about her that he was going crazy, but he didn't know what to do.
I wanted to try to comfort her, but I didn't dare to say anything easily, so I could only stay by her side.
It wasn't until a few days later, when the two of them were having dinner together, that she finally took the initiative to speak and called out, "Mingqi."
Xie Yunzhou hadn't even swallowed a mouthful of rice when he immediately put down his chopsticks and turned around to reply vaguely, "I'm here."
Zhe Rou pursed her lips and whispered, "I heard that the Western Qiang and Dangxiang sent envoys to deliver a letter, expressing their willingness to submit to the government and negotiate peace, and to return the occupied Hehuang land... But is it true?"
Xie Yunzhou carefully assessed her expression and nodded quickly, "That's right."
Since the successive losses of Lingzhou and Mochi Pass, the Dangxiang had shown signs of defeat. They originally wanted to make a last stand against the Jingyuan Army, but in the end they had to retreat hastily. Instead, they were pursued by the elite troops of the Jingyuan Army and suffered considerable losses.
After this battle, the Dangxiang knew that they could not defend themselves and could not withstand any more wars, so they sent envoys to send letters seeking peace, expressing their willingness to pay tribute and return the Hehuang territory that they had occupied for decades.
Zhe Rou was silent for a moment, then asked softly, "Then...where are the remains of the soldiers in Luowu City?"
Xie Yunzhou immediately understood.
She wanted to find Lu Chen and take his remains home.
The tense mind that had been in place for many days finally relaxed.
If there is a response, it is good.
It's better than keeping silent and keeping everything in your heart.
However, the battle was too brutal, and the Liao people set fire to the place to vent their anger. The corpses were no longer recognizable, and the only relics that could be found were probably broken armor and blades.
He didn't dare to say this out loud, so he could only lower his head to look into her eyes and say seriously, "The Dangxiang will send someone back in the next two days. I'll take you there then."
Hearing this, Zhe Rou pursed her lips and smiled, then responded softly.
Within three days, the relics returned by the Tangut envoys were indeed seen.
A few pieces of broken armor, a broken sword with a bent blade, and a piece of blood-soaked, half-broken, half-torn cloth wrapped around the handle, the original color of which could no longer be seen.
Zhe Rou's eyes swept over them one by one, and finally landed on the mottled, narrow piece of cloth.
It seemed to be the old silk ribbon that he had replaced for her outside the Big Buddha Temple that day.
The moment she recognized him, Zhe Rou's breathing stagnated, and her slender white fingertips trembled slightly.
--"do what?"
"Didn't we replace them every day? This one's only been used for three days. It's time to replace it."
I thought he had thrown it away a long time ago, but I didn't expect that he was taught to put it away.
Her fingertips gently stroked the torn and bloodstained silk ribbon, and Zhe Rou blinked slowly.
The originally flawless snow was burned into one tiny but clear circular mark after another.
Tears rolled down without warning.
Once the tears that have been pent up in my heart for many days burst out, it will be difficult to stop them.
Everything in front of me became blurry, and big tears rolled down, leaving patches of wet marks on the snow.
Xie Yunzhou felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He stepped forward and held her in his arms, his warm palms covering her slender back and soothing her gently.
Zhe Rou buried her head against his chest, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, her fingers tightly clutching his collar, but she cried without a sound.
Xie Yunzhou could only hold her tighter, listening to her rapid and suppressed breathing, feeling the warm tears continuously flowing out, wetting her outer shirt little by little, soaking through her middle shirt, and finally spreading a burning wetness to his heart.
By the end of her crying, she felt dizzy and exhausted, and finally released all the unspeakable sorrow, resentment and regret in her heart.
Four years passed, love and hate passed in a hurry, and this life seemed like a dream.
…
After everything in Lingzhou was settled, more than a month later, Xie Yunzhou's injuries had healed greatly, and he accompanied her back to Taozhou to build a cenotaph for Lu Chen.
Not far from their old home, surrounded by mountains on all sides, a brook flows quietly. In spring, apricot blossoms can be seen reflecting on the water, and in summer, there are waves of pine trees and chirping birds.
He gently brushed off the fallen snow on the monument and pressed the soil down carefully.
Zhe Rou supported herself on her knees and slowly stood up, turned around, and was about to leave when suddenly a cold wind carrying snow foam brushed past her ears, and she vaguely heard someone calling her.
"妱妱."
A very light and very familiar call, as if whispered in the ear.
Zhe Rou was startled and suddenly turned around to look.
But all I could see was a vast expanse of snow and wind, and the silent mountains. There was no one there.
"Jiu Niang?" Xie Yunzhou looked at her with concern.
Zhe Rou came back to her senses, shook her head slowly, pursed her lips and smiled, "Nothing."
I heard it wrong.
Taking one last look at the simple stone tablet, she reached out and gently took Xie Yunzhou's warm hand, "Let's go."
Xie Yunzhou paused for a moment, then turned his hand to hold her slender fingertips in his palm and held it tightly.
"good."
From then on, no matter how far the mountains and rivers were, or whether the weather was windy or cloudy, he would walk with her, and together they would go to the spring of March on earth.
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