Сhарter 259: "I hopе уou will all tаke cаrе."
Wеn Yu hаd nоt уet fully rеcovered from her sеvеre illnеss and wаs unfit fоr thе rigоrs of trаvеl, sо shе tеmpоrarily remаinеd in Golе City to rеcupеrate.
With Li Хun аnd Zhоu Sui рrеsеnt, thеy discussеd аnd drew uр рlаns for thе manу сompliсаted аnd essential tаsks, only neеding tо рresеnt them to Wen Yu fоr finаl аpрrоvаl.
Сhеn Wеi was оrdеred tо leаd thirty thousаnd troорs, сarrуing Не Yi's сoffin and a grоup of Surrendered Хiling Generals, tо the Xiling rоyаl сity tо bring a final end to the war.
The twenty thousand Elite Northern Cavalry led by Song Qin had rushed from the heartland of Liang to Tiger Gorge Pass. Upon arriving, they learned the war was already over and hurried on to Gole City, just managing to catch the tail end of the campaign against Xiling.
Xiling, which had been barely holding on, lost all will to fight upon seeing He Yi's corpse and the host of Surrendered Xiling Generals.
Before the new year, Wen Yu received a peace proposal personally drafted by the King of Xiling.
Both Liang and Chen had been exhausted by two years of war, and Wen Yu had no intention of fighting further. She summoned her ministers to discuss the terms of peace. When she had formed an alliance with the Sixteen Tribes of the Great Desert at the royal court, she had promised to help them reclaim the territories seized by Xiling.
However, an urgent report soon arrived from the front lines. After Xiling proposed peace, the Liang army and the Sixteen Tribes had indeed ceased hostilities, only to be ambushed in their camps at night by Xiling forces, suffering heavy casualties.
Enraged, the Liang army and the Sixteen Tribes, believing Xiling had used trickery, stormed the Xiling royal city. Only then did they discover that the King of Xiling was already dead in the royal palace, a Liang-made Battle Blade plunged into his abdomen.
The Xiling queen, who had escaped the royal city, turned the tables, claiming that after the King of Xiling had sued for peace, the Liang army and the Sixteen Tribes had still launched a night raid, stormed the royal city, and brutally murdered him. She declared that Liang and the Sixteen Tribes had no intention of negotiating peace with them.
The various tribes of Xiling, which had lost their will to fight, were roused once more to continue resisting the Liang army and the Sixteen Tribes.
After reading the urgent report, Wen Yu knew that a decisive, all-out war was now inevitable. She said only four words: "A swift and decisive battle."
The thirty thousand Liang troops and the forces of the Sixteen Tribes of the Great Desert began to sweep through Xiling.
At the end of the first month, another victory report arrived from the front.
Xiling, already a spent force, finally crumbled under this thunderous offensive.
The various tribes originally belonging to Xiling all broke away. They killed the Xiling queen as a pledge of allegiance, declaring their willingness to surrender to Liang and pay annual tribute. They also returned all the territories they had seized from the Sixteen Tribes of the Great Desert and provided compensation.
The Sixteen Tribes of the Great Desert, perhaps fearing that the Xiling tribes would become a threat to them with Liang as their new backer, in turn declared their wish to become vassal tribes of Liang.
When the army returned in triumph, Wen Yu signed the Documents of Allegiance and Documents of Mutual Trade with the leaders of the various tribes in Gole City.
When the news reached Liang and Chen, the ministers could hardly believe it was true. Only after repeated confirmations did they become so emotional that tears streamed down their aged faces.
The common people below were also ecstatic, rushing to spread the news. The city markets were so bustling that they remained brightly lit for several days and nights.
In the middle of the second month, Wen Yu led her army back to the Chen royal court.
When the army was still more than ten li from the city gates, people were already lining the road to welcome them, chasing after Wen Yu's carriage and eagerly shouting "Princess!" Joy radiated from every face.
To repel one hundred and twenty thousand elite enemies with thirty thousand troops, and then to go on and completely eliminate Xiling, which had harassed the borders of Chen for years—Chen had never achieved such a great victory since its retreat beyond the pass.
The gloom of taxes and levies brought on by years of war was swept away from the people's hearts.
Empress Dowager Jiang personally led the officials who had remained at the royal court to wait at the city gates. Watching the people who also waited, craning their necks in anticipation of the army's return, she was momentarily lost in thought. She looked toward the official road, where the triumphant army was not yet visible, and said, "The royal court... it hasn't been this lively in many years, has it?"
The old momo beside Empress Dowager Jiang was about to reply, but the shadow of the army had already appeared on the official road ahead. The banners of the Liang, Chen, and Xiao armies fluttered in the cold wind, exuding a stern, chilling air.
Empress Dowager Jiang and the accompanying officials composed their expressions slightly, but the people at the city gates erupted in a tsunami of cheers: "The army has returned in triumph!"
"The princess has returned to court!"
The shouts came one wave after another. If not for the soldiers stationed along both sides of the official road beforehand, the crowd would have surged forward and stopped the procession.
Even so, the soldiers holding the line were pushed and shoved until they could barely stand their ground.
The army advanced slowly. When the lead carriage reached the city gate, an Azure Guard lifted the curtain. Wen Yu, dressed in a magnificent wide-sleeved robe, stepped out of the carriage with Zhao Bai's support. The people's cheers grew even louder, and the officials at the gate bowed deeply in unison. "We respectfully welcome Your Highness's triumphant return to court!"
Surrounded by a sea of people, it seemed for a moment as if echoes were coming from all directions.
Wen Yu took Zhao Bai's hand and stepped down from the carriage. She walked to Qi Simiao and personally helped him up. "Prime Minister, please rise. During my absence from the royal court, I am indebted to you and the Empress Dowager for managing the affairs of the court."
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Empress Dowager Jiang. Her eyes were serene. In those young, gentle eyes, which were as calm as the sea but could also stir up towering waves, Empress Dowager Jiang saw her own reflection, her temples streaked with silver.
So, she was already this old.
After Qi Simiao rose and said, "This is merely my duty," and Wen Yu gestured for the other bowing officials to rise, Empress Dowager Jiang remained dazed for a moment before slowly speaking, "You have suffered in Gole City. Seeing you return in triumph today brings me great joy as well. The journey must have been arduous. Let us return to the palace first."
The procession set off once more, accompanied all along the way by the people's shouts of "Princess Han Yang."
Even after Wen Yu's carriage entered the Chen royal palace, the people remained on the streets, unwilling to disperse for a long time.
The sound of rolling wheels was distinct in the long, narrow palace corridors. Empress Dowager Jiang leaned against the carriage wall, watching the curtain sway gently in the cold wind, revealing new green shoots on the branches beyond the palace walls. The thunderous cheers, even after passing through several palace gates, were still faintly discernible.
"Your Majesty?" the old momo called softly, seeing her staring blankly at the scenery through the gap in the curtain.
Empress Dowager Jiang merely sighed and said, "Spring has come. Everything in this royal court, from top to bottom, has become so new."
The old momo was bewildered by her words, but the Empress Dowager said no more.
On her way back to the palace, she had been slowly reflecting on her life—from entering the palace during the selection, to becoming queen, and then empress dowager. Suddenly, she felt that the pearl and jade hair ornaments in her hair had become a heavy burden.
Wen Yu returned to Zhaohua Palace for a simple change of clothes. When she went to Lingxi Palace, she was told that Empress Dowager Jiang was feeding fish at the lakeside pavilion.
Winter in the state of Chen ended early. Though the wind was still biting, the green willows swaying by the lake had already sprouted new buds.
As Wen Yu and Zhao Bai stepped into the pavilion, they saw the Empress Dowager dressed in plain clothes, taking fish food from a small jade bowl and tossing it bit by bit to the red and white koi gathered in the lake, as if she hadn't noticed their arrival.
Wen Yu said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for what you did on the day of the incident at Zhaohua Palace."
She was referring to the time King Chen had stormed Zhaohua Palace, intending to harm A Li.
At that time, the battle in Gole City was tense. Fearing that Wen Yu would have to worry about A Li on top of the crisis of a formidable enemy at the gates, Tong Que had temporarily omitted the matter from his reports.
Later, when the news of victory from Gole City reached the royal court and King Chen's death no longer needed to be concealed, the Azure Guard who had remained behind immediately informed Wen Yu of that day's events in a detailed letter.
At her words, Empress Dowager Jiang's hand, which was about to take more fish food, paused slightly.
The pain of losing her son was, after all, a scar on Empress Dowager Jiang's heart, especially since King Chen had taken his own life in such a resolute manner before her very eyes.
The initial anger and hardness, like the winter rain and snow of the royal court, had melted away, leaving only faint traces of rust-colored water. Then, the wisps of sorrow that only came in dreams in the dead of night seeped in through those traces, corroding her day by day.
After a long moment, Empress Dowager Jiang finally said, "I was also acting for the sake of Chen."
She pinched a few more pellets of fish food and tossed them into the lake. "You once said you had found a quiet place for me to practice Buddhism. You have returned, and I have handed the royal court back to you in good order. I have grown weary of staying in this palace and wish to go to Chan Mountain to enjoy some peace and quiet soon."
Hearing this, the old momo hurriedly knelt, crying out in grief, "Your Majesty..."
Wen Yu paused for a breath and also said, "Empress Dowager, there is no need for this..."
Empress Dowager Jiang continued to feed the koi in the lake, but said, "I am truly weary."
She turned her head to look at Wen Yu. "You will make the arrangements for me."
This time, Wen Yu did not refuse.
After Wen Yu left, the old momo prostrated herself at Empress Dowager Jiang's feet, weeping sorrowfully. "Your Majesty, why must you put yourself through this..."
Empress Dowager Jiang tossed the last of the fish food from the bowl into the lake and looked at the red walls and green tiles of the Chen royal palace in the distance. Besides exhaustion, her eyes held only endless desolation. "Here, I have sent off my husband, my nephew, my siblings, and finally, my son..."
"Zhifang, I am tired. The old royal court is gone. What are you and I still doing here, guarding this place?"
The old momo seemed to understand something in a daze, and her sobs grew more intense.
The edict of mourning for King Chen's death had been issued long before Wen Yu's return to the royal court. However, the entire nation was immersed in the ecstasy of the great victory, so the national mourning failed to cause even a ripple among the common people.
In fact, due to King Chen's various absurd actions during his lifetime, including his attempt to use his own child's blood to refine Immortality Elixirs even before his death, even the Chen court historians, who were most adept at embellishment, were at a loss as to what to write in the mourning records.
In the end, it was the Empress Dowager—whether for her son's sake or for the dignity of Chen—who instructed the historians to write that King Chen had fallen ill from worrying about the border war and died coughing up blood.
But the common people scoffed at this explanation. After all, King Chen's reputation for absurdity was already well-known, and his spineless act of tying up Wen Yu to offer her in surrender when Xiao Li besieged the city was still fresh in their minds. Not even a three-year-old child in the streets believed that King Chen had died from worrying about the nation.
For a time, speculation about the true cause of King Chen's death was rampant among the populace. Some said he died from excessive indulgence, others from an overdose of elixirs, and some even claimed he was scared to death by the sight of Xiling's one hundred and twenty thousand-strong army at the border.
Wen Yu was unaware of all this. In order to settle the many affairs in Chen before returning to Liang, she had been working nonstop recently.
The Empress Dowager was no longer willing to involve herself in any of the Chen royal palace's affairs. With King Chen dead, there would be no new King of Chen in the future. It was even uncertain whether the Chen royal palace would be preserved. The concubines in the palace all needed to be properly settled.
Wen Yu sent people to the residences of these concubines to respect their own wishes. Those willing to leave the palace were given a generous sum of money. Those with nowhere to go were settled in a secondary palace to be cared for.
In addition, she needed to select a group of officials to relocate to Liang with her, and another group of trustworthy officials to remain in Chen to oversee the situation.
Incense burned in the Boshan censer, the smoke spreading out layer by layer like a canopy, filling the entire imperial study with the scent of agarwood.
Seated behind the desk, Wen Yu rubbed her faintly throbbing temples for what felt like the umpteenth time.
Previously, fearing that Gole City would not hold, she had selected a batch of Chen officials to accompany Tong Que and A Li back to Liang.
Unexpectedly, a complication arose. Some of the aristocratic families and royal relatives who had cautiously remained neutral during the Yan faction's rebellion directly usurped the officials' spots, moving their entire clans to Liang.
Qi Simiao had originally been among the officials slated to move to Liang, but he had chosen to stay behind to stabilize the situation in Chen.
Though it was a headache, ever since then, both the common people and the middle-to-lower-ranking officials of the court seemed to have completely lost faith in Chen's aristocratic families and royal relatives. Thus, after Wen Yu's return to court, everyone regarded her as the true master of Chen.
One by one, the Chen officials on Wen Yu's list were summoned to the imperial study. After she finished questioning them, they would step out, wiping tears with their sleeves, either from the sorrow of parting or from the weight of her grace and recognition.
But after today, the entire state of Chen would no longer bear the surname Chen, but Wen.
As the Prime Minister, Qi Simiao was the last Chen official to be summoned by Wen Yu.
After being announced by Eunuch Li, he stepped into the imperial study. Seeing Wen Yu at her desk, focused on writing something with a brush, he first bowed. "Your old servant, Qi Simiao, pays his respects to the Princess."
"Prime Minister, there is no need for such ceremony." Wen Yu put down her brush, looked at Qi Simiao below, and said, "I have summoned you today, Prime Minister, to ask you something. In the past, you were willing to go to Liang to ensure the continuation of Chen's lineage. Now, although the world is settled, I still wish to invite you to accompany me to Liang and continue to assist me. Are you willing, Prime Minister?"
Qi Simiao's lips trembled several times. Finally, he bowed and replied, "I am grateful for Your Highness's consideration. This old bag of bones is not yet ready for the grave. I am willing to be at Your Highness's command. However... this old servant has a highly presumptuous question to ask Your Highness."
Wen Yu said, "Please speak, Prime Minister."
"May I be so bold as to ask Your Highness... what are your plans regarding the Northern Border's Xiao Army?"
Wen Yu looked at the old minister, who was over fifty, her gaze peaceful but leaving no room for negotiation. She said, "Liang and the Northern Border's Xiao Army will be united by marriage."
Neither Wen Yu nor Xiao Li had any close clan relatives. The moment the words "united by marriage" were spoken, the meaning was self-evident.
But this was also the best strategy to unify the realm as quickly as possible.
Qi Simiao knew that after the battle of Gole City, their state of Chen no longer had any right to make demands of Wen Yu, yet he still asked with difficulty, "Then the Little Commandery Princess..."
Wen Yu said, "The fact that A Li will be established as the crown heir will not change."
Qi Simiao felt a sense of shame. He lowered his head and bowed to Wen Yu once more. "This old servant... thanks Your Highness."
After Qi Simiao left, Wen Yu picked up her brush again to comment on a memorial. She pressed her temples, which were throbbing more noticeably from fatigue.
She knew why Qi Simiao had asked those two questions.
He had been selfless for the people of Chen his entire life. This one bit of selfishness could be seen as giving an account to the Chen royal family he had served for decades, or it could be seen as a move for the sake of all the people of Chen.
After all, while she was on the throne, she had made the officials of Chen believe that she would be fair to all. But what about the future crown heir?
With each new ruler comes a new court; there would always be distinctions between close and distant.
Only if a crown heir with the blood of the Chen royal family in their veins inherited the throne would the two lands continue to be treated as one in the future.
Xiao Li came in carrying the tonic Wen Yu was supposed to take daily. Seeing that her headache seemed to be acting up again, he directly took the brush from her hand, closed the memorial for her, and placed the medicine bowl in front of her. "Look at it later. Drink your medicine first."
When Wen Yu got busy, it was common for her to skip meals, let alone drink tonics.
She was the master. The people under her could only offer earnest advice but were generally powerless against her. Now that Xiao Li was watching over her, Zhao Bai and the other Azure Guards were much more at ease.
Not only would he personally brew and bring her the post-meal tonic without fail, making sure she drank it, but he also never missed the twice-daily medicinal applications.
Thanks to this, Wen Yu's body had already recovered seventy to eighty percent before her return to the royal court.
Wen Yu's thoughts were still entangled in the government affairs on the memorial. She frowned slightly, pressing her temples and saying, "I'm almost done."
Normally, when the Azure Guard saw her frown, they would not dare to disobey her. But Xiao Li directly gathered all the memorials piled on her desk and moved them aside. Then he sat down in a nearby armchair, crossed his arms, and stared at her, uttering two words: "Drink it."
Wen Yu had no choice but to put aside her thoughts of continuing to review memorials. She picked up the medicine bowl on the table, closed her eyes, and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls. A bitterness that was almost numbing instantly spread from the root of her tongue to her throat, even causing her eyes to water uncontrollably.
Xiao Li had already passed her the box of preserved sour plums. Wen Yu had to eat several before she could suppress the bitter taste in her mouth.
Perhaps it was because her taste buds had become more sensitive after her recovery, or perhaps the new prescription from the imperial physician was simply more bitter, but drinking this medicine was now quite an ordeal for Wen Yu.
To make matters worse, she disliked sweets, so she could only eat sour preserved plums to mask the taste of the medicine after each dose.
After finishing the sour plums in the box, Wen Yu's furrowed brow finally relaxed a little. She said to Xiao Li, "I'm already much better. Tell the imperial physician to stop this medicine."
"Good medicine is bitter to the taste. I've already asked. The imperial physician said you need to drink this for at least another half a month before you can stop," Xiao Li refused flatly.
He had always been unyielding when it came to matters of her recuperation and medication.
The moisture in Wen Yu's eyes had not yet receded, and they were still tinged with a physiological blush. She suddenly hooked a finger, beckoning Xiao Li to come closer.
Although Xiao Li was wary, his body moved closer uncontrollably.
Wen Yu hooked her arm around his neck and kissed him. As their lips and teeth met, she vengefully passed all the bitter medicinal taste from her mouth to his.
Pleased with her prank, she released the hand on the back of his neck and was about to pull away, but was caught off guard when a large hand pressed against the nape of her neck, suddenly pushing down.
Her lips crashed against his again, with a force that allowed no struggle.
Before she could react, her breath was completely stolen by him.
Tumbling, sweeping, sucking.
The bitter taste of medicine still lingered between their lips and teeth. Amidst the curling smoke from the Boshan censer, there was another kind of humid heat and suffocation.
Wen Yu couldn't breathe. In the chaos, she only felt herself being lifted and seated on the long desk. From the end of the desk came the sound of many documents being pushed and swept to the floor. Xiao Li still held her chin in a deep kiss, devouring the last trace of bitterness from between her teeth.
She couldn't catch her breath and could only clutch the fabric of his shoulders and arms with her five fingers in helplessness.
The searing kiss then traveled down her neck. Sharp teeth bit through her clothes, revealing a glimpse of a fair shoulder covered in marks of varying shades.
Amidst Xiao Li's messy, light kisses, Wen Yu managed to regain her senses and reached out to block him.
Xiao Li's breathing was already heavy. When he looked at her, his eyes were still clear, but the whites were starting to burn red.
Wen Yu's breathing was unsteady. "I've also summoned Chen Wei. He's waiting in Qining Hall."
As she spoke, she was about to jump off the long desk, but her waist was held fast.
Xiao Li braced his long arms on either side of the desk, easily trapping her between his arms and chest. On his handsome, well-defined face, the corners of his eyes were flushed red. His long, dark lashes were half-lowered as he looked down. "You started it," he said.
Wen Yu looked up at him, their breaths tangling in the small space between them. "So what should we do?" she asked.
Her eyes held a smile, and also an air of innocence.
Xiao Li stared at her, his Adam's apple slowly bobbing. In this position, he lowered his head and continued to kiss her.
More memorials on the desk were pushed to the floor in the scuffle. All unspoken words were swallowed between their lips.
When Chen Wei was summoned to the imperial study, he happened to see Xiao Li coming out with an empty medicine bowl. He stopped and called out, "Xiao Jun."
Xiao Li nodded and continued on his way, the dark collar of his robe just barely covering a fresh bite mark on his neck.
Chen Wei, completely unaware, entered and saw Wen Yu pressing a hand to the side of her neck, looking somewhat fatigued as she sat behind the desk. The corners of her eyes were still a little red. Recalling Xiao Li leaving with the medicine bowl just now, he guessed that Wen Yu must have overworked herself with state affairs recently and was feeling unwell again.
They had all witnessed for themselves the extent to which Wen Yu had exhausted her body at the border pass.
For a moment, a hundred flavors mixed in Chen Wei's heart. He lowered his eyes and bowed to Wen Yu. "Your humble servant... pays his respects to the Princess."
Wen Yu's fingertips rested on the memorial that would decide Chen Wei's future. She raised her eyes and said, "Lord Chen, you've come."
Chen Wei stood respectfully below, waiting for her to continue.
"The affairs in Chen are settled. I will be departing for Liang in a few days. However, although Xiling and the various tribes of the Great Desert have now made peace, as a precaution, I must leave a general I trust to garrison the border here. I intend to arrange for you, my lord, to remain in Chen. What are your thoughts?"
Realizing what Wen Yu was saying, Chen Wei dropped to his knees at once. "Your humble servant... is overwhelmed with gratitude, but... how can your humble servant bear such a heavy responsibility?"
Wen Yu said, "My lord, you need not be so modest. When my imperial father was still alive, he always held you in high praise. During the three years Bandit Pei plagued Liang, you held up Pingzhou and the entire Southern Border. You are deserving of the highest praise for your hard work and great merit. Now, you have rushed a thousand li to Southern Chen to rescue me, and you have the achievement of pacifying Xiling to your name. There is no one more suitable than you, my lord. Only with you guarding Chen for me can I be at ease in Liang."
After hearing these words, Chen Wei's eyes were completely red. Knowing he could no longer refuse, he bowed to Wen Yu and said, "I... Chen Wei, will defend this territory to the death for my lord. I will not fail my mission!"
When the time came to withdraw, likely thinking that with mountains and rivers now separating them, it would be difficult for sovereign and subject to meet again, he ultimately could not hold back his tears. Once more, he bowed deeply to Wen Yu and said, "I only pray that Your Highness, upon returning to Liang, will take utmost care of yourself!"
Having spoken, perhaps fearing he might become even more distraught in Wen Yu's presence, he followed the example of the previous officials and hastily wiped his eyes with his sleeve before quickly withdrawing.
Wen Yu, covering the bite mark on her neck left by Xiao Li, realized that Chen Wei might have misunderstood something.
But with this parting, separated by thousands of miles between north and south, it was indeed uncertain when sovereign and subject would meet again.
Her heart filled with complex emotions, she watched Chen Wei's retreating figure descend the stone steps of the imperial study and slowly said, "I hope all of you will also take good care."
OpenNovel