Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Half a month later, I finally set foot on the soil of Southern Tang.

By the bustling docks, I clung to a small tree and retched until the world spun. A kind woman gave me a few green plums to sniff, saying they would help with the seasickness.

For some reason, I ended up eating them.

They were sour, but they made me feel much better.

My body had reached its limit, forcing me to find an inn in Tianhang to rest for a day.

While I was eating, the people in the inn were discussing the affairs of Northern Liang.

They said that after the late Emperor of Northern Liang passed away, Crown Prince Tuoba Lu ascended the throne in a bloodbath, and Feng Yu’er was instated as Empress.

I listened to it all in silence.

For the past three years, Tuoba Lu had been my Chenglu, and I had been his Feng Yu’er; we had each taken what we needed from the other.

Now, everything had finally returned to its proper place.

We would never see each other again in this lifetime.

Just as I was about to return to my room to rest, I heard them speak again.

“Have you heard? The first thing the new Emperor of Northern Liang did after his coronation was execute our envoys who were delivering the annual tribute.”

“I heard. The envoys had already left Northern Liang for several days, yet they still hunted them down.”

“Even in war, one does not kill the messengers-let alone when war hasn’t even begun. Why would Northern Liang do such a thing?”

“Who knows? They’ve always been driven by wild ambition.”

Yes, Tuoba Lu had always been ambitious.

From the moment he demanded two million taels of silver in tribute, I knew he would march south. Southern Tang couldn’t possibly produce two million taels; he was merely looking for an excuse.

I just hadn’t expected him to start the war so soon.

I had to get to Jinling quickly, or my enemies would die at Tuoba Lu’s hands first.

Three days later, I reached Jinling City.

On the high city walls, the swaying figure of Chenglu was gone. I didn’t know where his corpse was now.

As the sun began to set, I finally returned home.

On the long street, the Lin Family estate was overgrown with weeds and in a state of ruin, the front gate covered in filth.

When night fell, I went to the other end of the street to the Pei Family home. The former Zhenguo Mansion had been burned to the ground.

I stood quietly in the night breeze as the delicate laughter of singing girls drifted from afar.

They probably didn’t know that the Northern Liang army was likely already crossing the river.

A passerby stopped beside me, looking at the broken walls and sighing. “If the Pei Family were still here, how could Northern Liang have taken Dingzhou so easily?”

I froze. Dingzhou was a vital defensive line for Southern Tang. Once Dingzhou fell, there would be no one left to stop Northern Liang’s southern advance.

“Thinking back, General Pei might truly have never colluded with the enemy,” another person said.

“True, but it’s too late for regrets. In less than a month, Northern Liang will likely be at the gates of Jinling City.”

“That new Emperor of Northern Liang is cruel and tyrannical. They say he slaughtered Dingzhou for three days. If Jinling can’t hold, it will likely suffer the same fate. You and I should hurry and flee for our lives.”

So it was Tuoba Lu who took Dingzhou and ordered the massacre.

My stomach churned again, and I couldn’t help but retch, though nothing came out.

I knew I must be ill, or perhaps even pregnant.

My period still hadn’t come, but I didn’t go to see a doctor.

I am a dying person; these things are no longer important to me. Why add to my troubles?

I inquired about where the bodies of the Pei and Lin Families had been taken. In the end, they had been tossed into a mass grave. By now, their bones had merged with the dust, and it was impossible to tell who was who.

I bought spirit money to offer at the mass grave. I had so, so many things to tell them.

But in the end, I couldn’t say a word.

Because for the past three years, my life had been filled with Tuoba Lu. They wouldn’t want to hear about that.

Finally, I told them to wait for me, that I would come to find them soon.

Over the next half month, I used my remaining money to bribe a palace eunuch in charge of recruiting dancers so I could see the man my eldest sister had once loved most-the Emperor of Southern Tang, Zhou Yuanyi.

And then, I would kill him.

But I never expected that Tuoba Lu would already be waiting for me inside the Southern Tang palace.