Xie Xun’s face was as calm as still water. His interactions with Marshal Fang were limited, mostly during holidays, exchanging perfunctory greetings. As a child, he rembered Marshal Fang for his harsh discipline of Fang Chuning, even to the extent that his father sided with Fang Chuning, deeming Marshal Fang overly ruthless and coldhearted.
"Marshal Fang, I understand your duty, but I must leave today. Whoever tries to stop will have to reckon with my sword!" Xie Xun slowly unsheathed his sword, pushing Fengyu behind him with one hand.
Fengyu held a fla-red umbrella, stepping on the accumulated snow, protected by Nuanyang and the personal guards. Xie Xun said, "If a fight breaks out later, take her to the pier—do not linger."
"Yes!"
His gaze fell upon Fengyu’s face—a look of deep affection mingled with intense emotion. Fengyu responded with a gentle smile and no further words. After experiencing such a life-and-death separation, her outlook had transford entirely. Regardless of life or death, she and Xie Xun would be together.
Marshal Fang frowned, gesturing for over ten thousand black-armored soldiers behind him to step forward and arrest Xie Xun and Fengyu. Suddenly, Fang Lingjun seized Nuanyang’s longsword and held it against her neck. "Father, let them go, or I will die here!"
"Junjun!" Marshal Fang’s voice thundered with fury. "Put down the sword!"
Fengyu grew tense as well. "Junjun, don’t!"
The ten-thousand-strong black-armored army stood motionless, holding their spears, waiting for orders. With one command, they could act—and for Xie Xun, escape from Yangzhou would be impossible unless he possessed otherworldly powers.
"Junjun, your father sent you to the academy as a child, teaching you to be literate and discerning. Which book taught you to blur the line between right and wrong, loyalty and treachery? And which book taught you to defy your parents? Your body and soul co from your parents—yet you threaten your life to release a tiger back to the mountain. When his troops are at our gates soday, those who will die are your father, your brother, and your clansn!"
"I know!" Fang Lingjun’s tears stread down her face. "Father, your daughter understands loyalty. For five generations, the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion guarded the borders, resisting Beiman. Generations of n sacrificed their lives on the battlefield—that is loyalty. Your daughter also knows treachery. There are people... who fra loyal ministers and generals, seizing others’ property—that is treachery. Your daughter recognizes your loyalty, that you wholeheartedly wish to protect the royal lineage. Our Fang Family and the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion have been Yuwen’s most devoted subjects for generations. But your daughter also understands gratitude. On the night of Yangzhou’s riot, my carriage overturned amid chaos. The State Mansion sent soldiers to slaughter innocents; the streets were awash with blood and piled high with corpses. I was hunted by the soldiers and robbed by desperate, disease-stricken people. So I killed soone—for the first ti, I killed soone. I was terrified, praying for my father to co to save . But the ones who ca were Xie Xun and Ayu. Were it not for her, I would have died that night in Yangzhou’s riot. Xie Xun and Ayu brought grain and dicine from Jiaozhou, saving a city of people. Without them, the plague-stricken people behind would not have survived to today. Yet you dismiss half a month of riots and plagues in Yangzhou with a re sentence, claiming their rits solved everything. How ridiculous! They saved so many lives. Ayu contracted the plague herself, only recently recovering. Why is she not allowed to leave? If soone must die today, then let it be —to honor the innocent souls lost in Yangzhou!"
The riots, epidemic, death, and fear that befell Yangzhou for half a month—those who had not personally endured such horrors would never understand the preciousness of life, nor the sacrifices made by Xie Xun and Fengyu.
"Junjun..." Marshal Fang was visibly moved.
Fang Lingjun appealed once more, "Father, I beg you to let them go!"
As Marshal Fang hesitated, figures began to erge from the epidemic zone behind the blockade. At first, a dozen people walked out hesitantly. Then, one by one, the entire populace stepped forward. The guards holding the defense line shouted angrily, raising their spears to stop the infected—but the sick ignored them, steadily advancing.
The guards retreated repeatedly.
Xie Xun shouted vehently, "What are you doing? Get back!"
Though the epidemic-stricken were gradually recovering, they remained contagious. Yangzhou City’s quarantine zone had yet to be lifted. Yet, for the first ti, these infected people disobeyed Xie Xun’s orders. They crossed the boundary with quiet determination, positioning themselves orderly between Xie Xun, Fengyu, and Jiangnan’s troops.
An elderly man stepped forward. "Marshal Fang, we don’t understand grand principles. But the Prince has given Yangzhou a second chance at life. Without him, tens of thousands in Yangzhou would have perished. You haven’t witnessed the horror of countless corpses dragged outside the city to be burned, or the slaughter that befell Yangzhou that night. The Prince saved our lives—he is our savior. If you insist on killing him, you’ll have to trample over our corpses first!"
More and more infected stepped forward in silence, opposing Jiangnan’s troops. Marshal Fang—a figure of towering prestige in Jiangnan, whose troops were unbeatable and trusted by the people—faced resistance for the first ti. This opposition was unlike anything before: there was no noise, no outcry, only silence.
A silence that brought sha to Yanyang!
Xie Xun and the people of Yangzhou achieved sothing profound: "If you protect with your life, I shall return the favor with mine." A city of people stood unwaveringly behind Xie Xun.
Even those in Yangzhou who had not been afflicted by the epidemic stepped out in solidarity, silently confronting Jiangnan’s troops.
Xie Xun trembled all over, overco by a deep indescribable emotion.
This tidal wave of quiet benevolence was like gentle waters, soothing his shattered soul. The fiery hatred towards Yanyang ingrained in his heart was gradually extinguished by this flow. Such tender kindness rekindled hope within him.
These disaster-stricken refugees, despite their suffering—hunger, illness, and loss of loved ones—still harbored goodwill toward him. Life continues amidst cycles of cause and effect, sorrow and joy.
Saving Yangzhou was the cause; the people protecting him was the effect.
"This is what it ans to win the hearts of the people!" Zhang Boju stood in the southeast corner of the third floor, gazing down at the scene on the streets. He had heard of Marshal Fang entering the city but chose not to venture out, observing from above.
Water can support a boat but can also overturn it. To oppose the will of the people is to forfeit the realm.
Marshal Fang stared in shock at the crowd before him. The two sides were separated by ten ters, as though an uncrossable chasm divided them. His heart pounded like a drum. How could he give the order for his troops to trample these innocent citizens?
"Prince, go now!" Soone in the crowd murmured softly. As the infected crossed past Xie Xun and Fengyu, they deliberately kept their distance, aware Xie Xun had not been infected.
Fang Lingjun glanced back, lowering her sword and waving a hand. "Ayu, go now!"
Xie Xun took Fengyu’s hand, retreating step by step. Fengyu turned her head multiple tis to look back, waving toward Fang Lingjun. This farewell made her heart heavy, uncertain of when they might et again, leaving Fengyu lancholic.
Fang Lingjun, however, let out a sigh of relief, lowering her sword. If one is alive, there is always a chance to et again. Only while living can there be hope.
Father, did you see?
Has the Yuwen Royal Family you’ve protected ever earned the people’s willingness to sacrifice their lives?
"Ayu, I’ll wait for you in the Capital City!" Fang Lingjun gazed at their retreating figures. "You must win!"
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