Chapter 44

Chapter 44

“In years past, Crown Prince Ninglie of Southern Xu held the Northern Qian army a hundred li at bay through his strength alone, then died a hero’s death for his realm. His consort followed him in death. They left behind two children: the elder was the late Emperor Jingyu, while the younger was the Grand Princess of Southern Xu, Princess Xihe. You are all former subjects of Southern Xu. Have you forgotten your own sovereign?”

For a moment, everyone stood stunned.

Then, one after another, the southerners sank to their knees in alarm. Helan closed his eyes briefly and knelt as well.

He Sulong did not kneel. He stood proudly amid the crowd. “An unmarried princess belongs to the imperial house, but Princess Xihe surrendered her body to Northern Qian long ago! What right does a woman who has lost both chastity and honor have to call herself a descendant of Southern Xu?”

Surrendered her body to Northern Qian.

Surrendered her body to Northern Qian.

I felt as though every stitch of clothing had been stripped from me, leaving me standing naked beneath the bitter northern wind. In an instant, I had returned to the coldest winter of my life.

“That’s damned bullshit! A princess is a princess!” Zheng Long was the first to curse aloud. The other former officials of Southern Xu had reddened eyes as well.

“I said this once before while preaching. Now I will say it again.” Amid the uproar, Xia Wan looked down upon the crowd and raised his voice. “Why were the women of Southern Xu unable to preserve their chastity? Why did Xihe become Northern Qian’s empress? Because the men who should have protected them were defeated. Because the generals who should have stood between their people and the enemy surrendered. Before you despise your mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters for losing their chastity, ask yourselves whether you fulfilled those four words: defend home and realm!”

He rarely referred to himself as the Heavenly Venerable. In that moment, he was no longer a mortal sovereign but a divinity descended from the highest heavens.

Everyone knelt, He Sulong included. His white hair trembled faintly. I had never seen him look so wretched or pitiable.

Xia Wan gazed at him but ultimately left his cruelest words unspoken. He said only, “Xihe has done no wrong. Those who struggled to survive have done no wrong.”

“The divine Venerable descends from Heaven to deliver all living people!” At first, only a handful took up the cry, but their voices grew steadily louder as they recited the original proclamation of the Primordial Origin Faith. “Vengeance and vindication cannot await another day! The glory of a thousand ages must be won in this very hour!”

Some gifts are innate. The ability to bend human hearts is one of them.

He Sulong had probably intended to expose my so-called true face before everyone and use popular outrage to force Xia Wan to abandon me. Or perhaps he knew Xia Wan would never do so and merely wanted to deal a crippling blow to his authority – to prove that the supreme Heavenly Venerable they revered was, in truth, a foolish ruler lost to lust.

But he had forgotten that most of these soldiers followed the Primordial Origin Faith. Xia Wan’s teachings had been carved deep into their minds from the moment they learned to read. No one understood better than he how to turn their emotions to his purpose. They despised me, but behind every one of them stood mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters who had supposedly “lost their chastity” in wartime. And every person standing there was himself a “dishonored survivor” who had failed to die for the fallen realm ten years before. By placing me among them, Xia Wan had made any condemnation of me a condemnation of themselves.

Amid the crowd’s shouts, Xia Wan took my hand and addressed the commanders. “In Northern Qian, Xihe protected the people entrusted to her. She has wronged no one. As for these supposed entanglements between men and women, you need remember only this: she is my woman now, and no one is permitted to gossip about her.”

He Sulong suddenly raised his voice. “In that case, this subject cannot lead the expedition.”

It was the first time he had called himself Xia Wan’s subject rather than his teacher.

“Even if you wished to go, I would not permit it.” Xia Wan swept his gaze across the crowd. “I will personally command the battle for Nancheng! Who will serve as vanguard?”

Before the words had left his mouth, Zheng Long stepped forward and cried, “We are willing to fight for our lord and his lady!”

“Roaring Forest General, marshal the troops! We march tomorrow!”

Helan Zhiyan remained kneeling to one side, utterly distraught. Zheng Long tugged at him until he bowed with the others.

“We will not fail you!”

I followed Xia Wan out. The stairs were dark, and my feet had gone numb, making every step slow. He bent and lifted me onto his back, carrying me down at an unhurried pace.

His voice lost its former thunder and softened once more. “I’m sorry, Xihe. Executing a senior general before battle is a grave military taboo. But sooner or later, I will kill him for you. You can wait until then, can’t you?”

I was not thinking of He Sulong at all. Trembling, I said, “But now my identity as Princess Xihe has been confirmed. What will you do if he reveals your identity as well?”

“Then I will admit that I am Danchi’s son.”

I struck him lightly. “Have you lost your mind? Who would follow you then?”

“You would.”

Faint light filtered toward us from the foot of the tower. He set me down and looked at me. “You are all I need.”

I raised my head, my expression conflicted. He paused, then bent to kiss me, but I turned away.

“I want to ask you something… What you said just now – did you truly mean it, or were you merely winning their loyalty?”

“Which part?”

“What you said about women who lose their chastity. You said that struggling to survive is not a sin.”
“I meant every word. Since ancient times, women have been denied any say in military or political affairs, yet when a realm falls, they are expected to die with it. There is no justice in that…”

I rose onto my toes and kissed him. He froze for an instant, then wrapped an arm around my waist and returned my kiss with sudden heat.

It was only the second time I had kissed him first. We kissed for a long time in that dark passage. By the time I finally pushed him away, tears covered my face.

I thanked him on behalf of every woman beneath heaven – no, on behalf of everyone.

I looked up at him. A thousand thoughts crowded my mind, yet in the end I managed only one trembling sentence. “Xia Wan, you will be the finest sovereign the world has ever known.”

He gazed at me for a moment, then slowly covered my eyes. “Don’t look at me that way, Xihe,” he murmured. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to restrain myself.”

When we finally emerged, everyone was cheering the name of the Heavenly Venerable. He became once more that remote, cool, immaculate divinity – except that he never released my hand.

From that moment on, something between us had changed.

We marched at dawn the next day.

The cold light of an early-winter morning lay across the soldiers’ armor. Xia Wan rode at the head of the formation to oversee the advance, while I sat in a carriage farther back and silently watched the immense column of men. This was the battle that would break the old order and establish a new one. Because Xia Wan was leading the campaign in person, morale soared. Yet I could not shake the premonition that victory would not come so easily.

The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted. Helan Zhiyan stood outside, supported by a young soldier. His face was pale, and he appeared ill. The moment he saw me, he turned to leave. The soldier hurriedly apologized. “Please forgive us, my lady. Lord Helan is ill and cannot ride, so we were looking for a carriage. We never meant to offend you.”

“Wait.” I held up the curtain and called after Helan. “This carriage has the most room to spare. At a time like this, why stand on ceremony? Get in.”

“Thank you, my lady! Thank you!”

Helan still tried to leave, but the soldier practically forced him into the carriage. He must truly have been ill. He was terribly weak and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, saying nothing.

We traveled in silence until I finally broke it. “With a great enemy before us, Lord Helan ought to take care of himself.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. It is an old ailment, nothing more.”

“Has your old ailment truly returned, or is this because of the scene He Sulong caused yesterday?”

Even Helan’s lips were bloodless, yet a faint smile appeared upon them. “Does Your Highness know why Songzhi City surrendered?”

I did not understand why he had brought it up, so I shook my head.

“The city was under siege and its provisions were limited. To preserve the soldiers’ morale, Jingtun seized the people’s grain and stored it in a government granary, then had officials distribute daily rations. Our lord sent Lord Rat into the city to burn the granary. With no food left anywhere, Jingtun still held out for reinforcements. Corpses of the starved filled the streets. When the people could endure no more, Lord Rat told them Jingtun’s soldiers were still eating their fill at every meal. If they did not believe him, they need only go and see.”

A chill crawled up my spine. “Don’t. Please don’t say any more…”

Helan continued. “They were starving. When they broke open the barracks gates at midnight, they found meat boiling in the great cauldrons. Jingtun had cooked his own concubines and fed them to his soldiers. The citizens would presumably have been next.”

Nausea surged through me, and I nearly retched aloud.

“So the people killed Jingtun. Northerners killed a northerner. An excellent scheme – taking the city without shedding our own blood and earning a reputation for benevolence besides.” Helan sighed.

Neither of us spoke for a time. Even our breathing seemed to stop.

At last, I forced out the question. “You think the scheme was too vicious?”

“What strategy in war is not vicious? But have you truly failed to see it?” Helan said mildly. “He is not a man of Southern Xu.”

I did not answer.

“When he was small, I taught him the classics, histories, philosophers, and anthologies – the learning of the sages. He mastered everything with astonishing speed. His insight into the people’s welfare and benevolent rule was extraordinary. He possessed every virtue the histories attribute to wise sovereigns. I thought then, what did bloodline matter? He would be the finest king the southern people could ever have.” Helan gave a bitter smile. “Now I see that it was all false. He is a northerner to the bone. Nothing can change that.”

“Why?”

Helan did not answer. Gray-faced, he leaned against the carriage wall and murmured, “All these years, everyone has tried to use him to obtain what they desired. He Sulong wanted to wash away his disgrace. Qin Liuyuan and Lord Rat wanted revenge. Zheng Long wanted to become a celebrated founding general, while I wanted to restore Southern Xu. We all imagined we controlled him. Looking back now, I realize that from the age of six, he held every one of us in the palm of his hand…”

At that moment, a wolf’s howl sounded nearby – three calls, two long and one short.

It was Northern Qian’s signal to attack.

My heart lurched. I had time only to shout, “Ambush!” before an arrow hissed past the window. From the cliffs on either side, Northern Qian soldiers poured down with unstoppable force.