On the eve of Sheng Jiangli, the general guarding Jizhou,'s wedding, Song Yinghuai sat alone on a haystack beside the military tent, fiercely gulping down wine from a jug.
Around him were more than a dozen empty wine jars, lying haphazardly on the ground.
"Yuer." He looked up at the bright moon in the sky. It wasn't until the full moon was covered by a wisp of dark cloud that he finally threw the wine jar in his hand and roared, "Why!"
This "why" had been weighing on his mind for a long time.
He wanted to ride into the city alone and personally ask her why she had faked her death back then and why she had taken such a risk to leave him.
But every time he reached the city walls of Jizhou, he lost his courage.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid of hearing the answer he didn't want to hear.
"Is it because you don't love me anymore?" He stared blankly at the towering city walls of Jizhou in the distance. His eyes were moist, and there was a hint of despair in his pupils. "Because you don't love me, you've watched me besiege the city for more than ten days without even showing your face?"
His voice was carried away by the autumn wind. He raised his head again and gazed at the northern sky.
He knew that there was a vast expanse of continuous yellow sand, the homeland of Yan where he had established his foothold. When he was young, he led the army and carved out a territory in that yellow sand.
It was a vast land where he had safeguarded the territory of the Great Ye and the well - being of millions of military and civilian people in the vassal states with his blood and faith.
And behind him was the place where the woman he loved now resided, a towering tree deeply rooted in his heart.
Now, what separated them was not only misunderstandings and the passage of time but also their beliefs.
The man's robes were hidden in the wild grass, only the black corners of his robe fluttering silently in the air.
After a long time, Song Yinghuai walked back to the military tent and summoned Tan Xiong and others again, making a startling decision.
"I've decided to enter the city tonight."
"Fourth brother! I disagree!"
Unexpectedly, the first one to stand up and vehemently oppose was Xu Buyue, who had never said "no" to Song Yinghuai.
Xu Buyue was extremely agitated, with tears welling up in her eyes. "I oppose..."
Her voice was broken and murmurous. "I won't let you go!"
If it had been two years ago, she would not only have not opposed but also followed him into the city without hesitation to help him.
But now, she couldn't do it!
She couldn't bear to watch him go to his death, nor could she bear to watch the man she loved throw himself into the fire for another woman.
What her second brother said was right. Love was selfish.
She could no longer bring herself to make sacrifices.
Tan Xiong and Zhang Ce exchanged a helpless look.
They had long anticipated that since Song Yinghuai couldn't capture the city, he would surely take the risk to enter it alone on the day before the wedding.
But they still tried their best to persuade him. "My lord, this might be a trap deliberately set by Sheng Jiangli. It's a journey of almost certain death."
"If something happens to you, my lord, what will happen to our millions of military and civilian people? Will the young emperor spare us?"
Song Yinghuai's fingertips trembled slightly.
But once he made a decision, it was hard to change.
He said in a deep voice, "When I enter the city this time, whether I die or am captured, the Yan army will follow Tan Xiong's orders in my absence. If there is news tomorrow that I've been killed or captured, Old Tan and Old Zhang should immediately lead the army back to Yan to defend. Let Xiao Rencheng bring Miss Lan back to Yanjing and protect her well. Zhu Xiao should stay in Licheng and wait and see..."
His gaze shifted to Xu Buyue.
The Princess of Nan'an was now in a daze. She asked him in a trembling voice, "What about me? What should I do? And what about the Xu family?"
"Fourth brother, if something happens to you, how many people will be buried with you? You can't be so selfish!"
Xu Buyue burst into tears. "If you die, it doesn't matter if I accompany you to death... But there are so many people. How can you bear it?"
Selfish?
The black pupils in Song Yinghuai's eyes instantly darkened, bottomless, like the endless night outside.
After a long while, he stood up and bowed deeply to the Princess of Nan'an.
Xu Buyue took a few steps back and stared at him in shock.
Song Yinghuai said in a deep voice, "I know my decision is selfish, and it may ruin all your efforts... But I just want to be selfish this one time in my life."
"Princess, please immediately lead the army south and quickly occupy Pengcheng, the key passage to the south."
"Pengcheng is the gateway to the north - south battlefront and is very close to the Xu family's base. As long as we capture Pengcheng, relying on the natural barriers of the Yangtze River and the Wei River, the Xu family, like the Yan army, can rule the area south of the river with the young emperor."
Xu Buyue shook her head vigorously. "No... I don't want to!"
She stepped forward and hugged Song Yinghuai tightly, crying sorrowfully, "Fourth brother! Let me go into the city with you! I don't want to go south! I don't want to..."
The woman, who had been in the army for many years, had never been so panicked. Her heart ached as if being repeatedly torn by a knife.
"No..."
But the man's expression remained as cold and hard as iron. He gently pried the woman's fingers off his waist one by one.
Song Yinghuai held her shoulders and looked at Xu Buyue with such a serious look for the first time. He said slowly,
"Princess, be obedient."
Xu Buyue was stunned for a moment.
It was the first time Song Yinghuai had coaxed her, but it was because he was leaving her to go into the arms of another woman.
How cruel this was to her!
The night was serene.
The woman's broken cries drifted from the silver - white military tent into the distant sky.
In Jizhou City.
Sheng Jiangli strode into Caiyu's room with a fierce aura and took off his armor.
Caiyu took the armor and hung it on the rack beside. She asked, "How was the battle today?"
"Same as usual." Sheng Jiangli gave her a loving look, pulled her back to the bedside, sat down next to her, and laid his head on Caiyu's shoulder. "That useless Li Muge is no good at fighting but loves to give orders."
At first, Li Muge listened to Sheng Jiangli. But a few days later, the Hu cavalry controlled the sea route, forcing back the Yan army that had been trying to seize the sea route. Since then, the reinforcements' supplies and troops had started to arrive by sea.
In a few days, the supplies would reach Jiaodong.
Moreover, with the firearms in their hands, they had defended the city for fourteen days, far exceeding Li Muge's expectations.
Li Muge had become complacent and remembered his position as the commander - in - chief of the three armies.
He had repeatedly tried to order the southern army to go out of the city to fight, but was stopped by Sheng Jiangli.
Li Muge was very dissatisfied. He secretly wrote a memorial accusing Sheng Jiangli of neglecting military affairs and sent someone back to the capital by sea, planning to ask the young emperor to recall this person for punishment so as not to delay his chance of making great achievements.
"What are you going to do now that the situation is so precarious?" Caiyu pushed the head on her shoulder away, complaining, "You're so heavy, and you stink of blood!"
Sheng Jiangli's ear twitched slightly. A hint of killing intent flashed across his calm face but quickly disappeared. He sat up straight and joked,
"Okay, okay, you think I stink... After we get married tomorrow, I'll be your stinky man. I'll stink up your pillow and your quilt every day."
The gauze curtain behind them fluttered without wind, as if carrying someone's anger.
Caiyu was so annoyed by Sheng Jiangli's flirting that she forgot to ask about the battle situation. She slapped him on the back of his head:
"Go take a bath quickly! You talk too much!"
Sheng Jiangli howled, covered his head, and dodged left and right off the bed. His mouth didn't stop:
"I'll go! Wait for me! Wait for me to come back all fragrant and hug you!"
Caiyu stared at the man who never knew when to be quiet. When he finally disappeared, she slumped back onto the bed like a deflated balloon.
She stared blankly at the back of the door, feeling extremely uneasy.
Tomorrow... was she really going to get married?
But there was still someone she couldn't let go of in her heart!
She thought that by faking her death and leaving, she could live freely.
But after she left, she found that the shadow of that person haunted her mind all the time.
Caiyu's fingertips moved slightly. She raised her hand to trim the candlewick before going to sleep.
A gust of wind blew, and a familiar sandalwood scent suddenly wafted into her nostrils.
Caiyu was shocked and quickly turned her head.
A tall black shadow loomed over her. A strong arm wrapped around her from behind and pulled her to the corner of the bed.
It was just like the scene when they first met...