Chapter 12

Chapter 12

On New Year’s Eve, I finally gained a day of freedom.

In addition to hosting a banquet for the civil and military officials, Tuoba Lu was to go to Chengtian Tower to celebrate with the common people, and I was to accompany him.

This was the only way to show the people of Southern Tang how generously they were treating me, painting a picture of a beautiful life under the new regime.

Early in the morning, the palace servants began to dress me. My hair was adorned with pearls and emeralds, and I wore palace robes woven with gold and silver threads. My belly was not intentionally hidden; they even used a jade belt to cinch my waist, emphasizing the shape of my pregnancy.

The citizens of Southern Tang would see that I, the daughter of the former dynasty’s Grand Tutor, now carried the bloodline of the Northern Liang imperial family.

The child was already six months old, rooted in my womb more tenaciously than I had imagined, showing no signs of leaving.

Seeing Tuoba Lu again after nearly four months made me shudder. My shattered fingernails had long since regrown, yet at this moment, they throbbed with a phantom pain.

Supported by palace servants, I was seated to his right, while Feng Yu’er sat to his left.

He leaned over to speak with Feng Yu’er, looking every bit the part of a loving young Emperor and Empress.

The former officials of Southern Tang in the hall looked at me with varying expressions: mockery, disdain, resentment, hatred…

And then there was Zhou Yuanyi, staring at me coldly, as if their downfall was a result of my framing.

I looked at them and felt like laughing, but I had grown too lethargic lately; I didn’t even want to bother with a smile.

Tribute Maidens sent from various countries danced gracefully in the hall. These young women were so charming and beautiful that the court officials could not tear their eyes away.

Tuoba Lu also watched with interest, beckoning a particularly alluring Tribute Maiden forward to serve him.

“Where are you from? You dance very well,” Tuoba Lu asked her.

The girl’s eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. “Replying to Your Majesty, this servant is from Xianluo.”

Tuoba Lu nodded. “Xianluo. That is very far.”

The girl said, “Indeed, Your Majesty. We came by sea, and it took over ten days by boat. If we had traveled by carriage, I fear it would have taken more than a month or two.”

“Ten-odd days,” Tuoba Lu murmured, his gaze sweeping toward me.

I realized he now knew how I had managed to return to Southern Tang.

After the evening banquet, we went to Chengtian Tower. From here, one could overlook the entire Jinling City.

The streets were bustling with excitement. There were operas and acrobatics, and the commoners gathered around cheering, seemingly indifferent to whether the world belonged to the Zhou family or the Tuoba family.

In the past, my eldest sister and Zhou Yuanyi would receive their subjects here, while Chenglu and I would sneak off to the streets when they weren’t paying attention.

We would watch the acrobatics, listen to the operas, and eat delicious food. Father used to say I didn’t behave like a lady of a prestigious family and would get angry and threaten to punish me.

Eldest sister always protected me. She would say to Father, “It’s enough for the Lin Family to have one proper lady like me. Our Wanshu just needs to be happy.”

Now, atop Chengtian Tower, there was no eldest sister and no Chenglu.

I looked back at Zhou Yuanyi. He had a new Meiren by his side. He whispered something to her, making the beauty laugh until she trembled.

This was the man to whom my eldest sister had given her heart.

When he lived with our Lin Family, did he ever have nightmares?

Involuntarily, I began to walk toward Zhou Yuanyi, but the next moment, my arm was caught by a powerful hand.

I looked back at the person holding me; it was Tuoba Lu.

He had clearly been speaking with his ministers just a moment ago-how had he noticed me?

He kept his hand clamped around mine, hidden within his wide sleeves, as he continued to laugh and talk with the officials.

No one noticed what he was doing to me.

It was just like years ago in the Northern Liang military camp. His deputy would be reporting military affairs outside the tent while he held me inside, listening to me call him “Ah Lu” over and over in his ear.

We had been inseparable then, as close as skin and bone.

He didn’t want me causing trouble here, fearing I might try to stab Zhou Yuanyi again.

This was his empire now, and its foundations were not yet stable. He could not afford the slightest mishap.

I stood quietly by his side, as submissive as I had been in the past.

When the fireworks bloomed in the dark night, everyone looked up.

The brilliant sparks lit up half the sky.

The moment the fireworks faded, assassins rushed in from all directions.

The people around us scrambled for cover in terror, but Tuoba Lu remained standing where he was.

My hand was still in his, and I could feel no tension or panic from him.

I realized he was prepared for this.

Sure enough, countless Northern Liang soldiers appeared like ghosts. The assassins were cut down by a flurry of blades before they could even get close to us.

One heavily wounded assassin spat a mouthful of bloody water at me. “To fawn over your enemy… how will you ever face Young General Pei in the afterlife?”

So, they were Chenglu’s soldiers.

He then cursed at Tuoba Lu, “The General felt a mutual respect for you, yet you framed him and led him to his death. Even if you win this world, you are nothing but a heartless, ungrateful villain!”

Tuoba Lu looked down at him from his superior height. “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting, followed by diplomacy, then battle, and lastly, besieging cities. Where is the framing in that?”

“The one who killed him was never me. What killed him was his own naivety.”

The man’s head was severed immediately, blood splattering across both my and Tuoba Lu’s robes.

Inside my body, I felt blood flowing down my legs. Before I collapsed, I saw the panic in Tuoba Lu’s eyes.

The hand inside the sleeve tightly gripped my waist, more forcefully than ever before.

His lips moved, but I could no longer hear him. I guessed he was calling me by my old name: “Yue Niang.”