Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 166

Chapter 166

Zhao Lingfei rushed into the military camp, joyfully bringing the news that she had secured both troops and provisions. She wanted to tell everyone that they were saved, but the atmosphere in the camp was morose, adorned with white mourning banners.

Everyone was silently transporting corpses or tending to the wounded in silence.

Zhao Lingfei stood blankly in the camp when she suddenly caught sight of Yan Xiaozhou. Yan Xiaozhou was holding a bowl of medicine, emerging from one of the tents. The slender, delicate girl stood before the camp, as clear and thin as moonlight, incredibly hazy, as if she might dissipate at any moment.

Zhao Lingfei: "Little Sister Xiaozhou!"

Yan Xiaozhou turned her head. Zhao Lingfei saw that her eyes were still clear, black, and clean, remaining calm, gentle, and beautiful. Yet, an unease stirred in Zhao Lingfei's heart, a feeling that something was amiss.

Yan Xiaozhou softly interrupted Zhao Lingfei’s questioning: "My second brother has returned. If you have any questions, ask my second brother."

Half an hour later, standing in Yan Shang’s commander tent, Zhao Lingfei listened in a daze as the soldiers summoned by Yan Shang reported the brutal battle at the Great Canyon.

The soldier was filled with indignation and grief: "Fifty thousand soldiers, all buried in the canyon! Before General Yang died, he took the powerful King of Wuman of the Southern Barbarians with him. Those Southern Barbarians were driven mad; they used General Yang’s body to vent their rage.

"Of everyone, only General Yang was left without a burial, ruined until he was unrecognizable. We could not bear to see the General suffer such humiliation after death, so we lit a fire and burned everything away."

Trembling, he pulled a golden bell from his bosom.

He dared not look at the girl crouching on the ground brewing medicine for her brother, simply turning his face away: "This is the only thing General Yang left behind."

Zhao Lingfei stared at it blankly.

Hearing that her cousin had died, her eyes instantly welled with tears. Then, seeing the golden bell held in the soldier’s hands, she suddenly remembered that her cousin had once said he wanted to marry Little Sister Xiaozhou after ending all of this. Zhao Lingfei turned her face away in a trance to look at Yan Xiaozhou.

Yan Xiaozhou was crouching on the ground, fanning the furnace, still brewing the medicine. Her eyes were focused on tending to the fire, as if she hadn't heard a word the soldier said.

Zhao Lingfei then looked at Yan Shang.

The Yan Second Brother who had once made her heart flutter and obsess was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a robe. His withered, thin hands rested on his curled knees, his hanging face as white as paper. Yan Shang lowered his eyes, saying not a word, leaving the room in complete silence.

Yan Shang, who had always been considerate of everyone’s feelings, possessed a gentle disposition, and was kind to others, just sat there without speaking.

He was already exceedingly exhausted, exceedingly lonely. He was tired to the extreme, ill to the point of coughing blood continuously, and had nothing left to say.

The tears in Zhao Lingfei's eyes dripped downward.

The tears wet her face; she wanted to collapse and say it was impossible, wanting to say how her cousin could have been so majestic yet end up dead. She resented this war, resented the Southern Barbarians, resented Yan Shang for leaving and allowing her cousin to trade his life for another... She resented herself even more.

Why couldn't she have brought reinforcements sooner?

Why was her father such a villain?

If her father had indirectly caused her cousin’s death, then she, too, had indirectly killed him.

The tears were desolate, her heart filled with bitterness. Zhao Lingfei stood stiffly, thinking of many things. After a long while, she crouched on the ground, covering her eyes and face with her hands, and began to sob loudly.

She cried until she couldn't catch her breath, trembling all over—

Cousin! Cousin!

She hated the war, hated everyone who had killed her cousin, hated all of this!

Zhao Lingfei raised her face toward Yan Shang: "I will never, never, never... forgive my father!

"Second Brother Yan, let me go to the battlefield! Let me fight the Southern Barbarians! I want to kill them, I want to avenge my cousin!"

She sobbed uncontrollably, squatting on the ground, tears streaming down.

Yan Xiaozhou, however, remained quiet. Compared to her breakdown, Yan Xiaozhou was much calmer. Yan Xiaozhou picked up the brewed medicine and handed it to her second brother, saying softly: "Second brother, drink the medicine first. Second sister-in-law is waiting for you to go back, and all of Great Wei is waiting for you to preside over justice... You cannot fall."

Zhao Lingfei looked up in a daze, wondering why Yan Xiaozhou wouldn't cry, why she didn't shed a single tear. Why was Yan Xiaozhou so calm, as if... indifferent and devoid of emotion?

Yan Shang didn't say a word. He took the medicine from his sister’s hand and drank it in one gulp.

He covered his mouth with a handkerchief to spit blood again, lowering his head to look at the bloodstains on the cloth, and then ordered in a low voice: "You may go out now; help me call the generals in."

He had to continue presiding over the battlefield—

Yan Shang was under immense pressure.

On one side was his wife whose life or death was uncertain, and on the other was Yang Si, whose entire army had been wiped out.

He coughed blood incessantly, yet dared not delay. After waking up from his faint that day, he supported his broken body and spent the night interrogating the envoy again.

The Southern Barbarian envoy from Guangzhou asked him once more if he would withdraw his troops. Yan Shang spoke word for word: "Absolutely not."

Yang Si had eliminated Meng Zaishi; the battlefield in Jiannan would soon be won. How could Yan Shang withdraw his troops for personal feelings after a victory traded with Yang Si’s life?

The envoy was arrogant and angry: "If you don't withdraw your troops, your wife will be killed by our King! You won't have a wife anymore!"

There was no light in Yan Shang's eyes.

He seemed to smile, but the expression was utterly wretched.

He said: "Then so be it."

He muttered as if in a trance: "I will pay with my life for hers... but I cannot withdraw the troops."

Between country and self, he chose the country in the end.

Between the people of the world and his beloved, he had to give up his beloved.

Like a prophecy, he always made such choices. In the dead of night, he would hate himself, despise himself. Why was he always like this?

When his emotions broke down, he impulsively wanted to withdraw the troops, but he controlled himself with a powerful will. He felt like a walking corpse, every day a torment. Every night when he thought of Mu Wanyao, he would cough blood incessantly, his health deteriorating.

Just as his body was about to collapse, the news of Prime Minister Liu’s heroic death arrived from distant Chang'an.

And so, Yan Shang dared not fall ill, dared not think of Mu Wanyao anymore.

He supported his body to return to Jiannan to preside over the war. Meng Zaishi was dead; as long as they seized the time, the Jiannan battlefield could end in a month. At the same time, he gave up on Guangzhou, gave up on letting the envoy send messages. He prepared for the worst. Overnight, everyone found that Yan Shang had become a different person.

He spoke very little, giving orders in a few short sentences. His orders were incredibly detailed, almost dictating every step the soldiers should take.

He feared that the tragedy of Yang Si would repeat itself.

He also became exceptionally cold. He violated the principle of not executing envoys, using heavy torture to interrogate the envoy, clearly intending to torment the man to death.

Yan Xiaozhou remained in the camp treating the wounded, while Zhao Lingfei went to the battlefield.

In June, the war in Jiannan began to wind down, and the King-Protecting armies in Chang'an drove the Southern Barbarians back to Longyou and Hexi. Yan Shang finally established communication with Chang'an, which had been besieged for three months.

At the same time, the envoy, sensing Yan Shang’s fatal intent, could not withstand the torture and revealed a crucial piece of information before dying. Upon receiving the information, Yan Shang had someone ride at full gallop to find the person.

In the deep of a night with drizzling rain, sitting by a desk with the light of a single candle, Yan Shang, wearing an outer robe with his long hair loose over his shoulders, wrote a letter to Wei Shu in Chang'an: "The siege of Chang'an is finally lifted. I am comforted by your reconciliation with the Wei family.

"The crimes of the world and the catastrophe of Chang'an stem from the incompetent ruler. The one who destroys the world is this monarch alone.

"Furthermore, the eunuch Liu Wenji holds the government in his hands, colludes with foreign forces, and harms loyal officials; only his death can console the heroic spirits of the world.

"I have learned a piece of information: Cheng An, the former Chief Eunuch who served the late Emperor, is not dead. This man is in Hexi. You can have someone search for him according to the map. The diagram is attached to the letter.

"Although I am in Jiannan, my heart is troubled by the political affairs of Chang'an. I humbly offer my modest opinion, in my capacity as Tong Pingzhangshi (Chancellor), to discuss with you the matter of executing the head eunuch..."

The King-Protecting armies arrived, and the siege of Chang'an was lifted. They took over the duties of the elite Longyou troops, driving the Southern Barbarian soldiers back to Longyou. Furthermore, the countries from the four directions that Wei Shu had previously entrusted attacked from the rear, cooperating with Great Wei. Both sides caught the Southern Barbarians in the middle, striving to completely end the Hexi battlefield and defeat the enemy.

The Southern Barbarian forces were exhausted.

This year-long invasion war, prepared with the strength of a whole nation and countless plans, turned out like this. If they had obtained Chang'an, having it as an asset would naturally have allowed them to triumph over Great Wei and cause it to suffer a disastrous defeat. But the battle to attack Chang'an failed, Meng Zaishi died on the Jiannan battlefield, and their sovereign, King Ale, was trapped in this situation.

Now the grand building had collapsed; the Southern Barbarian troops were in chaos. They could not contact their sovereign and did not know how to proceed.

The Southern Barbarians were about to be defeated.

Everyone clearly saw this result.

Only the Emperor in the imperial palace in Chang'an did not know.

Because everyone was hiding it from the Emperor, not telling him the news. Even Liu Wenji, whom the Emperor trusted, helped the officials hide it from him.

They let the Emperor dream night after night that Chang'an had fallen and that he had been taken hostage.

Yan Shang corresponded back and forth with Wei Shu and other chancellors in the court. Too many people had died in this war. Unknowingly, Yan Shang, who controlled the Jiannan battle situation, and Wei Shu, who convinced the Imperial Guards to betray the Emperor, became the main forces in the latter stages of the war.

The officials silently cooperated with the two.

The courtiers quietly watched the counterattack woven by Yan Shang and Wei Shu, casting a dense net over the skies of Chang'an. When everyone wished for a man to die, and when everyone participated in this murder, that person had absolutely no hope of survival.

Deep in the palace, the Emperor woke up from a nightmare in a cold sweat once again. His nerves were taut; one moment he thought the Imperial Guards were going to kill him, the next he dreamt of being captured as a hostage.

In the dead of night, his throat was parched: "Liu Wenji! Liu Wenji!"

Liu Wenji entered the hall to light the lamp, soothing the Emperor. He watched as the Emperor sat up, draped in his robe, and gulped down three cups of water before he calmed down.

The Emperor, terrified and uneasy, gripped Liu Wenji’s hand: "I dreamt that the palace was unsafe, that those Southern Barbarians had broken into Chang'an... Eunuch Liu, have those Southern Barbarians not broken in yet?"

The Southern Barbarians had long since retreated.

But everyone was enjoying the sight of the Emperor’s fear; not a single person exposed the lie.

Liu Wenji remained calm: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Your servant has already driven all the Imperial Guards out of the palace to fight the Southern Barbarians. Now, in the palace, there are only the Northern Yamen troops protecting Your Majesty."

The Emperor sighed in relief: "With the men of the Northern Yamen, I am at ease."

The Emperor worried again: "I don't know when the Southern Barbarian army will break in, and that ambitious Wei the Seventh is controlling the government and won't let me leave! Do they really want to see me become a captive? Wouldn't that be a humiliation to Great Wei?"

Liu Wenji thought to himself that having an Emperor like you is the true humiliation to Great Wei.

Liu Wenji scrutinized the Emperor’s confused appearance and suddenly asked: "Does Your Majesty really want to leave Chang'an so much?"

The Emperor exclaimed excitedly: "Chang'an is about to fall! I am only thinking of leaving to preserve my strength! It’s a pity those ministers... If only Su-chen were here. Su-chen is the most loyal minister, the one most dedicated to me. Su-chen would definitely protect me and let me leave safely."

Liu Wenji sneered.

The Emperor remembered Yan Shang at a time like this.

Liu Wenji: "The ministers don’t want the Emperor to leave simply because they fear losing their backbone and fear that the city residents will panic. They are only using Your Majesty’s status to provide peace of mind to the people. If Your Majesty wants to leave, there is one way—Your Majesty can pass the throne to the Crown Prince, let the Crown Prince defend the city, and Your Majesty can become the Retired Emperor, then you can leave."

The Emperor was pleasantly surprised: "Let’s do just that!"

Liu Wenji: "..."

He lowered his eyes: "It’s a pity Great Wei does not yet have a Crown Prince."

The Emperor was dismissive: "Shouldn't the Empress’s son be the Crown Prince? I shall appoint a Crown Prince right now! Eunuch Liu, what else do I need to do? You represent me to negotiate with Wei the Seventh and the others; as long as they are willing to let me go... I don't care about being this Emperor anymore!"

Liu Wenji said calmly: "Your Majesty is truly heroic."

Turning the world into this, yet still wanting to just walk away.

Liu Wenji took out the white silk that had been prepared long ago and spread it on the desk: "If Your Majesty wants to abdicate, you must first write a 'self-accusation edict.' Once Your Majesty writes the 'self-accusation edict,' this servant can take it to negotiate with the ministers, and only then will they let Your Majesty go."

The Emperor hesitated for a moment.

However, thinking that the Southern Barbarians were about to break into Chang'an, he gritted his teeth and picked up the brush: "I will write it!"

He began to write the self-accusation edict, and fearing that he wouldn't write it sincerely enough and that the ministers would reject it, he poured all his ink into writing such a passionate letter—

"I, in my humble person, am guilty, failing the world; if the world is guilty, the guilt lies with my person..."

"If the world is guilty, the guilt lies with my person."

When the Emperor’s abdication letter, the edict establishing a new emperor, and the self-accusation edict were all delivered to the Secretariat, the ministers gathered there patiently read through the three documents. Wei Shu took the Imperial Edict and read the self-accusation edict aloud; the hall was brightly lit, and the ministers murmured the words "the guilt lies with my person."

At first, the sound was extremely low, then their voices trembled.

Then, someone let out a hoarse, sorrowful laugh: "He admitted it... he admitted it... he admitted that he is the one who brought catastrophe to this world! Admitted that he is an incompetent ruler, admitted that he harmed Prime Minister Liu, killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and killed countless innocent people...

"He admitted it! He admitted it!"

The hall erupted in laughter, followed by tears.

The ministers sat on the floor hugging the Emperor’s manuscript, wailing in despair.

The little eunuch who came to deliver the letters took a step back, fearing these officials. He trembled: "The Emperor’s letters have been delivered... Eunuch Liu asks if the Emperor may be allowed to leave the city."

Wei Shu looked up.

Wei Shu said: "Open the city gates and let him leave the city!"

The little eunuch sighed in relief and hurriedly ran away. Prime Minister Zhang wiped the tears from his face, crawled up from the floor, and asked in surprise: "Juyuan, how can we let such an incompetent ruler leave..."

Wei Shu said coldly: "Outside the city, there are still scattered Southern Barbarian soldiers who are eyeing Chang'an and harboring the ambition to fight their way back. Outside the city is not safe; for him to leave the city is to seek his own death."

Prime Minister Zhang: "If he tells the Southern Barbarians that he is the Emperor and wants to be protected..."

Wei Shu: "We have a new Emperor; what other Emperor could there be? He must be an impostor; just kill him when you encounter him to appease the world."

Prime Minister Zhang lowered his eyes and nodded.

He suddenly asked: "The Cheng An that Su-chen asked us to find, did we find him?"

Wei Shu said calmly: "Cheng An is only to be used to convict Liu Wenji. Liu Wenji... should be killed."

Liu Wenji received the news from the officials and learned that Wei Shu was actually willing to let the Emperor leave; for a moment, he couldn't believe it. But Liu Wenji immediately realized this was his chance. Wei Shu and the others were determined to kill him, so he had to find a way out.

He immediately arranged for men to escort the Emperor as he left.

Liu Wenji took the Northern Yamen troops to escort the Emperor. When the Emperor left, he even wanted to round up his favorite concubines to bring along. But just as they reached the gates of the Imperial Palace, they were faced with the Imperial Guards filling the Imperial City.

Flickering torches stood quietly against the black night.

Wei Shu stood before the Imperial Guards.

Liu Wenji’s heart suddenly sank.

The Emperor shouted angrily: "Wei Juyuan, what is the meaning of this? I am no longer the Emperor! I have obeyed your orders and abdicated; are you now blocking me and not letting me leave!"

Wei Shu stared at Liu Wenji.

Wei Shu said: "You may leave, but everyone else must stay; not a single Northern Yamen soldier is allowed to leave. Chang'an is in desperate need of troops, and elite soldiers cannot be used to protect a useless person."

The Emperor was panic-stricken.

He didn't even dare to argue about being called a useless person by Wei Shu; his cunning instinct told him he could not stay in Chang'an. With the Imperial Guards willing to let him go, he suddenly couldn't care about the concubines he wanted to bring, nor did he dare to look Liu Wenji in the eye. He ran toward the Imperial City gates, completely ignoring his dignity.

Tens of thousands of Imperial Guards silently watched the fleeing Emperor, who looked like a bumbling clown.

Wei Shu and Liu Wenji locked eyes.

Wei Shu raised his hand, and the Imperial Guards raised their arrows at the Northern Yamen army. Wei Shu spoke word for word: "Eunuchs disrupting the state must not be spared!"

Liu Wenji sneered.

He retreated, letting the Northern Yamen army behind him step out to face the Imperial Guards.

The eunuchs behind him tied up the concubines and pulled them back into the palace. Separated by the palace gates, the two armies stood in opposition.

Liu Wenji knew the trend was lost, but he held the new Emperor in his hands... He roared: "Charge! Kill these rebellious subjects! They are trying to control our new Son of Heaven, trying to kill all the Imperial heirs!"

The Emperor, no longer holding the status of Emperor, ran out of Chang'an city. He stood in the moonlight of the empty wilderness, looking at the flames of war in the four directions.

He didn't know where to go, yet he felt that he was finally safe. He had just revealed a relaxed smile.

However, at this moment, malicious Southern Barbarians in the darkness aimed their arrows at him—

"This person actually dared to run out of Chang'an city. His clothes are so magnificent, he must be that boy surnamed Wei! I heard that boy is very eloquent and connected the surrounding small countries to attack our rear.

"He is out of the city now, he must be coming out to negotiate with us again, plotting against us! We can't let him go!"

The Emperor felt relieved and relieved, daring not to think too much, daring not to look back. Even after leaving the Chang'an gate, he still felt as if it were a dream. He jolted, thinking of the nightmares he had, thinking of those Southern Barbarians killing him in various ways in his dreams.

He dared not stop, continuing to run outward.

"Whoosh—"

"Whoosh, whoosh—"

In the air, the faint sound of arrows being fired came, and several arrows were shot from bushes and shrubs toward the man running frantically.

The man was struck and fell to the ground. He looked up in a daze, and again thought of his dreams. The dark wilderness was filled with hidden murder.

He suddenly regretted it, suddenly feeling that escaping the palace was a mistake. He shouted loudly: "I am the Emperor, I am the Emperor, you cannot kill me—everyone must listen to me, I am the Emperor, I am the Son of Heaven destined by fate!"

Arrows pierced through mercilessly, turning him into a hedgehog. He lay on the ground in unwillingness, several arrows stuck in his body, his withered hands extending from his long sleeves, waving wildly in the air.

On the watchtower of the Chang'an city gate behind, soldiers stood there, quietly watching the shooting outside the city. The general held the railing of the watchtower, quietly watching the man draw his last breath.

He turned his head and said to the soldiers: "It might be a useless person driven crazy by fear of the war, shouting that he is the Emperor. Such things happen often, don't worry about it."

The crowd was silent, sharing the same secret, watching the same slaughter, and acting as murderers together. This slaughter, they would remember in their hearts for a lifetime, and they would never tell anyone about it for a lifetime.

Outside the city, the Southern Barbarians muttered in the jungle: "What did he say? He wouldn't really be negotiating peace with us, would he?"

"Never mind him, we can't understand him anyway."

In July, Guangzhou was exhausted, with no food left to hold out.

The Southern Barbarian King, who had been attacking the city for a month, was still directing people to dig tunnels into the city, but in recent days, the Southern Barbarian army stationed under the city had also lost its motivation.

Inside and outside the city, grain was completely cut off.

King Ale despairingly listened to the bad news coming from all directions every day, knowing that the situation was irretrievable. He refused to admit defeat. His voice was hoarse as he commanded his remaining soldiers to shoot flaming arrows into the city:

"Hold on a little longer! The city has run out of grain! The city can’t resist anymore; as long as we break into Guangzhou, we aren't defeated..."

A general under his command sat on the ground, wiping his face and laughing miserably: "Aren't we defeated? What’s the use of taking Guangzhou? Jiannan has no hope, and Hexi is probably finished too... Even if we take Guangzhou, can we hold it?

"King, we have lost.

"We will die in poverty, we will starve to death, we will pay the price; Great Wei will not let us off easy... We shouldn't have fought this war at all!"

His sorrow spread through the camp, and everyone began to cry in anguish.

King Ale was silent but still roared: "We are blessed by the Goddess of the High Mountains, we are an undefeated nation! We will not lose! All of you, get up... take Guangzhou for me!"

This Southern Barbarian army didn't have many troops left. Urged by King Ale, they barely pulled themselves together and shot arrows at the city wall. A little hope was encouraged in their hearts by King Ale: If they really took Guangzhou, would they not lose so miserably?

A scout came to report with a pale face: "It’s not good, a large army is coming from the west; it’s the flag of Great Wei..."

With these words, a signal arrow flew into the sky, one after another, exploding in the air like daylight fireworks. The Great Wei army used their unique language to pass information, the sound of the signal arrows thunderous.

The entire camp fell into a deathly silence—

Mu Wanyao stood on the city wall, watching the arrows being shot at the city across from them. As the enemy said, the army was at the end of its rope, and the city’s grain reserves were empty. The soldiers were exhausted, and when the arrows came from under the city, they didn't even have the strength to dodge.

They had fasted for two days and lost hope.

No matter how Mu Wanyao encouraged them, the soldiers had no strength left... Mu Wanyao felt despair in her heart. Looking at everyone’s exhausted faces and bloodshot eyes, she couldn't even bring herself to scold or encourage them.

Already tired to the limit, what more could be asked of them?

It wasn't that they were clinging to life, but that they truly could not see any hope.

Everyone asked her: "Princess, what should we do?"

What to do, what to do...

Mu Wanyao stood wood-faced on the city wall. She wished for heavenly rain to save the people of the city; she wished for meteorites to fall and crush the enemy troops under the city...

And at this moment, the soldier who had been observing the distance from the watchtower climbed up the city wall, shouting excitedly: "Princess, we are saved!

"The Jiannan army has come to support us!

"The Prince Consort is here!"

All the soldiers slumped against the walls struggled to climb up, confirming the news. Mu Wanyao looked at their hope-ignited eyes, leaned back, revealed a smile, and closed her eyes.

Even if the flaming arrows under the city were still being shot into the city, even if the city gates could no longer resist the enemy, even if the houses of the city residents were being burned by fire... it didn't matter anymore.

Mu Wanyao raised her voice: "Forget about the battle outside the city, let them set their fires! We are going to save the people, save the city from the fire!"

The soldiers shouted in unison: "Yes!"

Yan Shang led his troops to assist.

Before coming, he had prepared for the worst. He said he was here to assist, but before he came, he had arranged everything and left all his letters.

He didn't come to support Guangzhou; he came to seek death.

He came to die with the city, alone, to compensate her for her life. After months of suffering, he had reached his limit. His heart was ashen, and he had no desire to live, only seeking death.

However, the situation in Guangzhou was different from what he had imagined...

Yan Shang entered the city. His armies fought the enemy outside, easily surrounding them. He led another part of his troops into the city to rescue the people and distribute grain... He moved through the crowd as if in a dream, dazed and ghost-like.

Everyone who ran into him said happily: "Prince Consort!

"Governor, you have finally returned!

"The Princess and we have all been waiting for you! The Princess went to the east of the city to fight the fire; didn't you encounter the Princess?"

Yan Shang walked down the street, heading toward the east of the city where they told him to go. Confused crowds, fires everywhere. Houses collapsing, ruins and broken walls. Women hurrying to receive grain, men rushing feverishly to pour water and extinguish the flames.

Yan Shang suddenly saw Mu Wanyao before a broken wall scorched by fire.

She sat on the ground, her clothes covered in dust, sitting with her knees held, her head buried between her knees. Even if it were just a shadow, even if her clothes were messy, Yan Shang recognized her at a glance.

He stared blankly.

Qiuxi, kneeling beside Mu Wanyao, leaned over to say a word to the Princess, and Mu Wanyao looked up in this direction. Her eyes were still blank, her beautiful face entirely covered in dust, but her eyes were exceptionally bright; when she saw him, they erupted with unprecedented light.

Yan Shang walked toward her.

He knelt before her, staring blankly at her.

The two looked at each other.

It seemed like there was a torrent of words to say, yet it seemed there was nothing to say.

The two of them just watched each other like this.

Yan Shang said softly: "Where is the jade pendant I gave you?"

Mu Wanyao was stunned, not expecting this to be his first sentence. She didn't react, her brain going numb for a moment, not even remembering how to lie.

She looked at Yan Shang and saw his eyes suddenly turn red.

He perceived her confusion and knew she wanted to lie to coax him again. The corners of his mouth curled, and he laughed out loud.

But immediately after, tears rolled down from his eyes.

Mu Wanyao had never seen him shed tears; she was stunned, then hurriedly suppressing her fatigue, she leaned over to ask him what was wrong. She just looked at him like this; he looked at her and laughed, while tears kept falling from his eyes.

His face was extremely thin, his expression haggard, tears brimming in his eyes, his eyelashes dripping with light.

He lowered his shoulders tremblingly, reaching out shakily to wrap his arms around her neck.

He held her, cherishing her incomparably as he pulled her into his embrace. Hurt to the extreme, he curled up his body, unable to control himself, sobbing into her neck.

Filled with bitterness, who else could he tell?