The Road to Glory

Chapter 106: Winds of Change

Zhou Sui was momentarily stunned by Xiao Li's words. By the time he gathered his thoughts to respond, Xiao Li had already walked far away.

The wind swept through the forest sea, rustling the lush mountain vegetation. As Xiao Li passed through a mountain col, he spotted Song Qin, Zheng Hu, and their band of brothers who had been waiting for some time. Seeing his approach, the men rose from beneath the trees, many calling out "Second Brother" in greeting.

Xiao Li nodded toward them. Song Qin called out, "Let's move!"

As the men gathered their belongings to mount up, Xiao Li hesitated briefly before stopping Song Qin. "Big Brother, I'm no longer any general from Pingzhou. If you lead the brothers to follow me, I can't guarantee everyone will secure a bright future..."

Song Qin cut him off with a heavy pat on the shoulder, asking with a laugh, "When I took you all to work in gambling houses before, what kind of future did that bring you anyway?"

He turned to address the crowd: "These are chaotic times. Every turtle in the well and frog in the mountains claims kingship now. Those street ruffians just need to slip into military camps and put on soldier's uniforms before they dare piss everywhere to mark territory, acting like lords of heaven while squeezing every last coin from common folks. Even when we brothers ran honest businesses like security bureaus, we'd get harassed every few days for 'tribute money.' As long as we don't have to swallow this bullshit anymore, we'd rather follow others' example - become outlaws, take to the mountains as Greenwood bandits!"

The brothers roared with laughter and agreement.

Zheng Hu added, "Second Brother, don't speak such distant words. As long as we brothers stay together, anywhere can be home!"

Xiao Li knew well how precious this unconditional trust was. His hand tightened around the silk cord binding Xiao Huiniang's ashes box, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. Swinging onto his horse, he declared to the crowd, "Good! After we fetch Godmother and the others, we'll head to Tongzhou and carve out our own domain!"

At the end of July, Han Yang, the Great Liang's Guardian Princess, departed through the pass with three thousand ceremonial guards to marry into King Chen's royal court. Simultaneously, the vanguard forces of the Liang, Chen, and Wei coalition marching north against Pei Song began breaking camp toward Jinzhou.

On the day Wen Yu left the city, the common folk spontaneously followed the bridal procession beyond the city walls to see her off, chasing her carriage while weeping and calling out "Princess!"

Seated in her bridal sedan in full wedding regalia, Wen Yu's vision was obstructed by the dense curtain of agate beads hanging from her crown. Even with both carriage curtains raised, she could barely make out the tear-reddened faces calling to her, yet each mournful, reluctant cry of "Princess" pierced through the gongs and firecrackers to strike her eardrums with perfect clarity.

Behind her beaded veil, Wen Yu's eyes also reddened. She straightened her spine, not daring to glance again toward the source of those cries.

This was the path she had walked ever since the disaster at Luodu.

Only back then, those seeing her off were just her elder brother, sister-in-law, and mother. Now, she had gained all of Pingzhou City's common people.

Upon reaching Hundred Blades Pass's gate, they could see the dark mass of Chen Kingdom's bridal escort troops waiting beyond. Wen Yu ordered the procession to halt. Supported by Zhao Bai, she emerged from the sixteen-bearer phoenix carriage. Li Xun, Chen Wei, Fan Yuan, and other officials stood at the city gate, their expressions complex as they bowed and addressed her with mixed emotions: "Princess."Wen Yu's beaded veil had been hooked to either side of her headdress before she alighted from the sedan chair. Her bridal makeup was richly applied, yet held no trace of seduction—accumulated between her brows and eyes was only the nobility and authority tempered through a century of Liang's history. She gazed at the crowd, her eyes holding reluctance and complexity, but not a shred of timidity. She spoke: "Gentlemen, let the farewells end here."

All officials present understood that her departure meant she alone would shoulder the fate of the entire Liang nation once more. Some officials had already bowed their heads to wipe away tears.

Li Xun's eyes were also rimmed with red. He swallowed several times before saying: "The Chancellor has fallen ill and lies bedridden, unable to bid farewell to Your Highness in person. He entrusted this old minister to wish Your Highness smooth winds for this journey."

Wen Yu and her mentor Li Yao had not met since the estrangement that arose from the plot to poison Xiao Li.

Hearing Li Xun's words, Wen Yu offered no further comment. After turning back for one last look at the land of Liang behind her, she bowed deeply to the assembled officials: "I entrust Great Liang to your care."

At these words, not a single Liang official present could suppress their heartache, and the sound of weeping filled the air.

Jiang Yu, waiting on horseback at the forefront of the Chen army, glanced at the sun before casting his eyes toward the city gate where Wen Yu was still bidding farewell to the Liang officials. His gaze lingered for an extra moment on that exquisitely beautiful yet supremely authoritative face before he turned to his guard and said: "Go urge them to make haste. It's time to depart."

The guard quickly jogged over and delivered the message.

Jiang Yu saw Wen Yu glance in his direction. No longer confined in Pingzhou, with Wen Yu about to enter Chen territory, the situation had reversed. By all reasoning, he shouldn't harbor any fear toward this Liang princess anymore.

Yet when Wen Yu's calm gaze fell upon him, he still felt his entire body involuntarily stiffen.

Only later would he understand that even the most ordinary glance from her was still the gaze of a ruler representing her entire people.

Wen Yu returned to her sedan chair. Her three-thousand-strong procession, flanked by the Chen army escort, continued southward.

After the procession set out, Jiang Yu urged his horse closer to Wen Yu's carriage. The Azure Cloud Cavalry escorting her immediately drew their swords, watching him as if facing a formidable enemy.

Jiang Yu looked surprised, then smiled wryly and raised both hands to show he meant no harm. Speaking loudly through the carriage curtains, he said: "This humble official comes only to inform Your Highness that before reaching the royal court, we will traverse about half a month's journey through the Gobi desert. The temperature difference between day and night is extreme in the wilderness, and wolf packs are common. May Your Highness' troops remain vigilant. Should Your Highness require anything during the journey, you may also command this humble official."

Zhao Bai, riding alongside Wen Yu's carriage, showed no intention of having the Azure Guard sheathe their swords. She leaned close to the carriage window as if receiving instructions from within, then straightened up and stared expressionlessly at Jiang Yu: "Her Highness says she understands. Many thanks for Commander Jiang's consideration."

Her expression and tone made it difficult to detect any gratitude.

Jiang Yu smiled indifferently, performed a Chen-style salute toward Wen Yu's carriage, then rode away from the spot.

On the watchtower towering over Hundred Blades Pass' peak, an old man with graying hair leaned on his cane, watching the Azure Dragon Crimson Cloud Banner of Great Liang gradually disappear through the winding mountain valleys, his eyes filled with profound sorrow.

Li Xun climbed the watchtower and stood beside the old man, gazing at the receding army. He sighed: "Since you've come all this way, why refuse to see her off in person?"The wind was strong atop the city tower, ruffling even the meticulously combed sparse white hair of Li Yao. He said, "That child holds a grudge against me. I suppose he has no wish to see me."

Upon hearing this and recalling Xiao Li's "death," Li Xun let out another sigh.

Li Yao, leaning on his cane with one hand behind his back, turned somewhat hunched. Amidst the howling wind and the fluttering of banners, he said, "Let's return."

In Yongzhou, the Pei officials were all on edge lately.

First, Zhou Sui and that young general surnamed Xiao remained missing despite the city being locked down and searched for nearly half a month. Then, the allied forces of Liang, Chen, and Wei from the Southern Border marched straight toward Jinzhou.

To make matters worse, Wei Qishan's main forces were growing increasingly aggressive on the Northern Border battlefield. From every perspective, the current situation was highly unfavorable for the Pei clan.

Battle reports from Jinzhou in the Southern Border and Mozhou in the Northern Border arrived every few days, underscoring the urgency of the situation.

Yet, even now, Pei Song showed no intention of heading to either front to oversee the war efforts. He remained in Yongzhou, still issuing orders to capture the escaped Zhou Sui, Xiao Li, and others at all costs.

The Pei generals in charge of Yongzhou and the officer responsible for raiding the Zhou residence had already been severely punished, but the search had yielded no progress.

The longer this dragged on, the more terrified the lower-ranking officials became. Each time they were summoned by Pei Song, they would break out in a cold sweat before even stepping through the door.

One day, Pei Song's personal guard brought urgent reports from various regions to see him. Before he could approach the room, he heard scolding from inside, followed by the sound of a cup shattering and an official's panicked pleas for forgiveness.

Moments later, the minister who had been reprimanded emerged disheveled and left in disgrace.

The guard paused for two breaths before raising his hand to knock.

"Enter," came a low, weary voice from within.

The guard pushed the door open and placed the urgent reports on the desk, bowing his head respectfully. "Master, urgent reports from Jinzhou and Mozhou."

Pei Song sat reclined in his armchair, elbow propped on the armrest, fingers pressed to his forehead. His entire demeanor was gloomy, clearly worn down to the extreme.

He didn't look at the reports the guard had presented but asked, "Has the Jiang Beauty made any moves recently?"

The guard replied, "Everything is as usual."

Pei Song lifted his eyelids. "What about her attendants? Any new faces added?"

The guard shook his head.

Pei Song's brow furrowed with even greater irritation.

Xiao Li wasn't dead and had appeared safe and sound in Yongzhou with Zhou Sui. This meant Han Yang hadn't fallen for his scheme to sow discord but had deliberately spread the news of Xiao Li's death in Pingzhou to mislead him.

Instead, his plot using Jiang Yichu to set a trap for them had been exposed.

Even before this, Han Yang had already managed to plant people around Jiang Yichu. Now that the scheme had come to light, for Jiang Yichu's safety, Han Yang would undoubtedly send additional protection.

Yet his men had found no trace of this. It could only mean Han Yang's agents were deeply and expertly concealed.

Connecting this to the disappearance of Zhou Sui and Xiao Li within Yongzhou city, Pei Song's expression grew even darker. His eyes filled with venom as he muttered, "So that's how it is..."

The guard didn't understand his meaning. "You mean...?"Pei Song let out a low, grim chuckle. "I've pulled out Zhou Sui, the nail Han Yang planted in Yongzhou. The Zhou Family is already cornered, yet those who escaped that night have vanished without a trace despite a month-long citywide lockdown and search. What does that tell you?"

The guard caught on, exclaiming in realization, "There are still Zhou Family collaborators in the city!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Pei Song's eyes as he ordered, "Investigate. Jinzhou is guarded by Han Qi with Pei Shisan's support—it won't fall into chaos anytime soon. Mozhou is under the Master's control and won't let Wei Qishan gain much advantage. Yongzhou is now the heartland of our Pei clan. We cannot allow pests to burrow holes here anymore."

The guard promptly acknowledged the command and withdrew.

With the investigation making progress, Pei Song's expression eased slightly. He casually picked up a battle report from the desk, skimmed the contents, and just as the guard was about to open the door, suddenly called out, "Come back."

Author's Note: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated with nutrient solutions between 2024-07-02 23:59:30 and 2024-07-04 23:37:44~

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