"Yes, after the Battle of Mengqin City, the old King of Anluo was killed, and his former national teacher founded the Ghost Wail Sect to avenge him," Lu Ping said. "The man who attacked you last night was Gandhara, a high-ranking assassin in the Ghost Wail Sect. His father was from Dacheng, so he had Dacheng citizenship. He came to the capital eight years ago and started as a gate guard. No one would have guessed that he would end up infiltrating the Jinyu Guards."
Xiao Jingnan gave Lu Ping a few more instructions, and Lu Ping nodded and left. His voice was so low that Li Wanming couldn't hear what he said.
The curtain was lifted, and Xiao Jingnan walked in. "You're awake?" he asked with a smile on his face when he saw her. He leaned over and felt her forehead. "Good. You've finally brought your fever down."
He picked up the small copper kettle with a slender spout that had been kept warm by the bed, poured a glass of water, and carefully helped her sit up to drink.
Li Wanming had a million questions in her mind but didn't know how to start. She just stared at him with her big, bright eyes and said nothing.
It was Xiao Jingnan who broke the silence. "You're wondering about the Ghost Wail Sect, aren't you?" he asked with a smile.
Li Wanming's face was pale. She seemed to want to nod but bit her lower lip and said nothing.
Xiao Jingnan sat down on the edge of her bed and thought for a moment. "You must have heard what Lu Ping said just now," he said. "Let me see. Where should I start? Hmm, let's start with the history of the southern border of our dynasty."
"In the southern border of our dynasty, there are three small kingdoms: Anluo, Guchichuan, and Luhu. Anluo is the largest and the most ambitious. It has been at war with our dynasty for years."
"Fifteen years ago, Anluo launched another war. They were so powerful that they captured six cities of our dynasty in a row and reached the city of Lingxi. In a critical moment, a great general of our dynasty sneaked into the Anluo camp alone and assassinated their old king, forcing Anluo to retreat and buying our dynasty four years of peace."
His voice was soft and his words were slow, but Li Wanming couldn't help holding her breath. She seemed to see the battlefield, littered with corpses and bathed in blood.
Taking the head of an enemy general in the middle of a battle is often just a figure of speech. But only those who have been in the war know how difficult it is.
At that time, Dacheng had just suffered a defeat and was in low morale. The person who could stand up at that moment must have been a heroic and fearless warrior.
Xiao Jingnan glanced at her and said quietly, "That great general was my father."
Li Wanming's pupils dilated slightly.
It was a long time before Xiao Jingnan continued. "He injured his leg in that battle. As a general, once his leg was injured, he could never return to the battlefield."
"After retiring from the army, my father returned to his hometown."
"At that time, the new king of Anluo had just ascended the throne and was eager to stabilize the situation in his country. He signed a treaty with our dynasty and quickly withdrew his troops."
"However, as the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean. The old king's national teacher was not tolerated by the new king. He left Anluo and founded the Ghost Wail Sect."
"The Ghost Wail Sect is an assassin organization based in the south. On the surface, they take on assassination contracts for money and work for whoever pays them. But in fact, they have been looking for the real culprit who assassinated the old king and trying to overthrow the current Anluo regime."
Li Wanming said softly, "So, that man wanted to kill you because of your father?"
Xiao Jingnan nodded. "Yes, but I don't know how he found me. All I can say is that the Ghost Wail Sect has very accurate intelligence."
"My father's assassination of the old king of Anluo was a secret. Apart from General Huo, no one else knew about it."
"You must have heard what happened next."
"Two years later, the new king of Anluo had stabilized the situation in his country and launched another attack. This time, the battle was even more brutal than four years ago."
"In that great battle, General Huo and his son lost their lives. Dacheng suffered a great defeat and finally ceded the six southern border counties."
The room was very quiet. The only sound was the ticking of the copper hourglass.
Li Wanming felt that Xiao Jingnan's voice was full of bitterness. It seemed that he was not talking about a piece of history but his own experiences and memories.
The battlefield, the smoke of war, the cold wind, and the glint of swords...
All these seemed to be closely related to him, and her heart ached for him.
After a moment of silence, Li Wanming asked, "Fifteen years ago, was it when the former emperor was seriously ill?"
Xiao Jingnan was slightly stunned.
He didn't expect her to be so perceptive. He was a little surprised but still smiled and replied gently, "Yes, it was at that time."
At that time, the former emperor suddenly fell seriously ill, and the court was in chaos.
He was ill for four years.
The Dacheng Dynasty was on the verge of collapse.
The queen mother, the chief minister, and the ministers of the six departments... Almost everyone was busy taking sides and seizing power. No one cared about the lives and deaths of the soldiers on the battlefield.
Although Zhao Yanke was the only son of the former emperor, he was still very young at that time and not the biological son of Queen Mother Kang. The court officials were wavering between supporting him and supporting a son of the royal clan.
Zhao Yanke was afraid. During that time, he often left the palace to play with Xiao Jingnan.
Although he was only a few years old, he could already sense the danger from the solemn and tense atmosphere in the palace. He knew that his life was in danger at any time.
During those years, the three sons of the Xiao family had all died on the battlefield, and the Prince of Ning had injured his leg.
The entire prince's mansion was shrouded in gloom.
So Xiao Jingnan, Zhao Yanke, and Feng Xiao, who had lost his father, often played together, giving each other support and warmth.
By the time the former emperor passed away and Zhao Yanke ascended the throne, four years had passed since the assassination of the old king of Anluo.
The situation in the Dacheng Dynasty finally stabilized.
But the six southern border cities were lost, and the dead would never come back.
...
After a long silence, Li Wanming suddenly said, "So, that's why your father didn't know how to farm. He wasn't a farmer in the first place."
"His retirement from the army was a secret, so the local officials in Langya County must not have known about it. No wonder they didn't give him any special treatment. Your father is a great hero!"
Xiao Jingnan didn't expect her to come to this conclusion after thinking for a while. He felt a little ashamed but couldn't help smiling. "Yes, you're right, my dear."
Li Wanming said, "But since the Ghost Wail Sect wants to overthrow the current Anluo regime, can we cooperate with them?"
Xiao Jingnan shook his head. "It's not that simple. Although the national teacher hates the new king of Anluo, his old king was killed by a Dacheng person. He hates Dacheng even more."
After a pause, he added, "Since they were able to find me, they should have also found my father. There may be more assassination attempts in the future. Are you... afraid?"
He wanted to say that if she minded, they could get a divorce, but the words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say them.
Li Wanming scoffed. "Afraid of what? They're just a bunch of rats and bugs! Dacheng is not what it was fifteen years ago. We're strong and powerful. Why should we be afraid of a bunch of bugs?"
There seemed to be a gentle smile in Xiao Jingnan's eyes, like spring water melting. "You're right. As you said, we're a couple. We should share the joys and sorrows together."
Li Wanming said, "Did I say that?"
Xiao Jingnan helped her lie down and tucked the quilt in for her. He said softly, "You did. You said that we're a couple, and if I'm in trouble, you're in trouble too. It's the same thing."
"Get some rest. I'll go and check if your medicine is ready."
Xiao Jingnan didn't want his parents to worry, so he and Li Wanming stayed in the wine shop to recover from their injuries for the past three days. He just said that he was busy with business and told Lu Ping and Wu Yao not to tell the prince and princess about the incident on Banshi Mountain.
His injury was not serious, and he recovered the next day after taking the medicine.
On the other hand, Li Wanming was ill for three days.
During these three days, they stayed in the wine shop, and Chuntao moved in with them. She was now in the kitchen, boiling medicine for Li Wanming.
Li Wanming watched Xiao Jingnan's back as he walked out. She wondered how many of the things he said today were true...
But then she thought, who cares?
Anyway, the princess is also trying to kill her to cover up her tracks... She and Xiao Jingnan are a dangerous pair. Who knows who is more dangerous?