Blutbefleckter Tod

Kapitel 45

"So, you lied to me?" He deliberately put on a stern face: "Fine, now I'll give you a chance to explain your family relationships to me!"

She smiled faintly: "It's quite simple. My grandfather followed Emperor Taizu in conquering the country and was granted the title of 'Duke of Anguo'. My father inherited the title and once served as 'Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince'. My elder brother works in the 'Central Secretariat', although he is only a fourth-rank official, it is a real position. The sons of several concubines have all gone to the provinces to gain experience, and most of the children from the collateral branches have also entered officialdom. In short, the Lu family is basically a prominent family in the capital."

Lu Ziqi spoke quite calmly, but Song Xiaohua was deeply shocked at the time.

After staring in disbelief for a long time, he finally muttered, "Damn, so you're actually the son of a high-ranking official..."

"What?"

"It's nothing." Coming to her senses, she shifted into a more comfortable position to withstand the blow, then looked at him seriously: "What you said today was very strange. Your brother... your uncle came to see you, is there something important?"

"He conveyed my father's message, asking me to return to Beijing to take up a post. I had already refused, but after these days..."

As if he was tired of talking, Lu Ziqi stopped and closed his eyes.

The three hundred soldiers who were willing to follow this man who had appeared out of nowhere on the journey were emaciated, thinly dressed, and even their weapons were rusty. Such a seemingly powerless and vulnerable force would be doomed if they faced the well-trained and strong Liao people.

Yet, they still stepped forward. They weren't afraid of death; what they feared was humiliation—the humiliation of being unable to defend their homeland and people as soldiers. They feared being treated as worthless pawns, discarded and sacrificed at will by their superiors, dying a meaningless death. Watching the enemy rampage, they longed to fight them to the death, even if it meant dying a worthy death.

However, they could do nothing but cower and watch their fellow villagers being slaughtered. For the commander was a cowardly wretch.

After a two-day, two-night forced march without rest, they found the valley where the Liao people were encamped and then silently lay in ambush at the valley entrance for three days and nights. During this time, they could only eat ice, snow, and dry rations. Seventeen people froze to death, and twenty-nine were maimed by frostbite.

When the snow melts, the Liao people emerge from the valley. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, they first use the large boulders they have prepared to cut off their retreat, then use the broken stones to disrupt their formation and injure their scattered soldiers. They also use the sound of their horns to disturb their warhorses, and finally launch a head-on attack.

After a fierce battle, the enemy was completely annihilated, while our side suffered 113 dead and 68 wounded. The remaining 73 were also all injured.

If their supplies hadn't been cut, if their weapons hadn't been so outdated, if they had trained properly, if... they wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties.

This victory was a Pyrrhic one. A Pyrrhic victory is a defeat!

Before my eyes, one after another, vibrant lives were spilled on the battlefield. Besides grief and indignation, I felt a profound sense of powerlessness. And this was not the only army like this.

Strong generals and elite troops are essential; without strong generals, how can there be elite troops?

However, the current military system is such that soldiers don't know their generals, and generals don't know their soldiers; they are unfamiliar with and distrustful of each other, lacking any cohesion and being a disorganized mob. How can they withstand a menacing foreign enemy if things continue like this? When war breaks out, the first to suffer will be the defenseless civilians, and the first to die will be the soldiers who have the will to serve their country but no way to do so.

My brother is right. He clearly has greater abilities, yet he is content to be a local magistrate. This is shirking his responsibilities and is disloyal to the country and the people.

Lu Ziqi was silent for a moment, then opened his eyes and sat up slightly. Song Xiaohua noticed that his upper body, only wearing his undergarment, was almost entirely exposed. Instinctively, she picked up the padded jacket beside her to drape it over him. Just as she stood up, a force pulled her forward, their noses lightly touching. "Yaoyao," she said, "that day at the grave, seeing you so haggard and heartbroken, I secretly vowed that I would never let you suffer such torment again, never experience the pain of losing a loved one." So, no matter how difficult the journey, I returned alive…

His warm breath made Song Xiaohua panic, but her eyes stung with tears: "I have no family left."

"Don't you consider me and Ling'er family?"

She sat down again, her voice muffled: "It's you who's always excluded me!"

His eyes narrowed, and he sighed softly, "The Lu and Xue families are old friends. Tong'er... Ling'er's biological mother, and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts. She married me naturally when she was seventeen, and after our marriage, we lived in perfect harmony. Tong'er was physically weak but had a strong will. She always swallowed her grievances and never revealed a word to me. At that time, I was young and ambitious, eager to achieve great things. I spent my days discussing politics with my close friends who shared my ideals. After passing the imperial examination and entering the court, the emperor had already heard of my past views and wanted me to reform certain abuses. I only knew to act boldly out of a burning desire to serve the emperor, completely unaware that I had already touched a nerve with some people. My father and brothers warned me many times, but I thought they were just being conservative and weak, and I stubbornly persisted. Later, I was finally framed by my political enemies and imprisoned. At that time, Tong'er was already pregnant..."

As if disturbed by the chill of the prison, Lu Ziqi coughed lightly for a while before continuing, "Every time she came to see me, she would smile and say that everything at home was fine, everyone was kind to her, the baby in her womb was fine, everything was good... So I believed her completely, only thinking about how to overturn the case and clear my name with my father and brothers, how to turn the tables, thinking about getting out of here as soon as possible, to be with her, and to wait for our child to be born... Several months later, the case finally made progress. On the very day that the Emperor issued an edict pardoning me from all my crimes, Tong'er's white sable suddenly rushed into the prison..."

Song Xiaohua had been listening silently, and then she let out a soft "ah".

Lu Ziqi was lost in his memories, his expression somewhat ethereal: "That sable was wounded by the guards' arrows and crossbows for forcibly entering the prison, its body covered in blood. It ran to me, barely alive, glanced at me, and then died. I'll never forget that look in its eyes, that helpless, urgent, and desolate look… I knew something must have happened to Tong'er. When I rushed home like a madman, Tong'er was already…"

It was only then that I learned that because my case involved powerful figures in the court, the Xue and Lu families belonged to opposing camps, and their decades-long friendship was severed just days after I was imprisoned. The Xue family wanted to take Tong'er back, but she insisted on staying to become a daughter-in-law of the Lu family. However, not being accepted by the Xue family, she was also not accepted by the Lu family. Because she lost the support of her family, and my future was uncertain, Tong'er suffered endless cold stares and bullying. Born into a prestigious family, she had been pampered and protected since childhood; she had never experienced such humiliation or treatment. Yet, she never uttered a single word to me… She was frail and pregnant; months of physical and mental torment had exhausted her, and after giving birth to Ling'er, she passed away…

I was utterly disillusioned by the intrigues of the court and the cold-blooded ruthlessness of my family. I hated my own recklessness and incompetence, and I felt immense guilt and longing for Tong'er. So I drowned my sorrows in alcohol. It wasn't until Huo Nan brought my two-year-old son, Ling'er, to me that his cry of "Daddy!" finally brought me back to reality. Tong'er's bloodline continued in his veins. I had already wronged Tong'er; I couldn't possibly wrong our child too. After regaining my composure, I left the capital and my home, taking Ling'er to 'Beiya County.' I thought I would never again enter that treacherous center of power…

The morning sun streamed through the closed windows, casting golden rays into the room. Looking at Lu Ziqi's pale yet serene face, Song Xiaohua felt a pang of pain in her heart.

So, he had such a background and such a past. So, the love between him and his deceased wife was so profound. The reason he spoke up to warn the white sable that day was because he couldn't bear to see it also die by arrows, unwilling to see its pure white coat stained red with blood again…

How could one remain indifferent to such excruciating pain?

"Holly, have you made a decision?"

"I didn't want you to know these things. I wanted to spend my life with you in this place far from trouble. However..."

"You don't want anyone else to lose their loved ones to foreign invasion like I have, do you?"

"yes."

"You want to agree to your uncle's request to return to the capital for a position, don't you?"

"yes."

"You're confident you can change the deep-seated problems in the court, aren't you?"

"yes."

"You're worried that I won't be accepted by your family, that I won't be able to adapt and will be mistreated, right?"

"yes."

Song Xiaohua smiled and raised her hand to touch the mark between his eyebrows: "You've fallen for me, you've fallen in love with me, haven't you?"

Lu Ziqi's brows gradually relaxed, and he nodded gently: "Yes."

"The man is in charge of external affairs, and the woman is in charge of internal affairs. You can handle things outside; I'll just make sure the three of us are well-fed and clothed. Don't worry, I'm always the one bullying others. Anyone who dares to mess with me or my family is dead meat!"

"distant……"

"As the saying goes, 'A woman follows her husband wherever he goes,' so now that I've married you, I have no choice but to follow you wherever you go!"

"distant……"

"Besides, it's a good thing that you're going to become a high-ranking official; it'll broaden my horizons too. Oh, by the way, the capital is Kaifeng, right? I wonder if Bao Zheng has appeared yet..."

"distant!"

"ah?"

"So, you consider Ling'er and me as family?"

“Ling’er is my dear son, that’s true. As for you…” Song Xiaohua stood up and whispered in Lu Ziqi’s ear, “You are mine, my lover.”

Whether he was a lowly seventh-rank official deeply loved by the people, a scion of a wealthy family determined to serve the emperor, or a high-ranking official who would one day serve the country and its people, he was simply her man, the man she loved, and the man she finally fell in love with...

No matter whether the road ahead is rugged or smooth, walking hand in hand leads to a broad and prosperous path.

"Holly, are you still going to take that medicinal bath?"

"...The chill has dissipated, so we probably don't need it anymore..."

"Oh dear, what a huge loss!"

"…………"

Author's Note: The mysteries from before have been solved! Xiao Hua and Xiao Lu's relationship is now equal! Hooray!

In my opinion, when Xiao Lu recounted his past with his deceased wife, it meant that he had completely opened his heart to Xiao Hua and that he fully trusted her heart. This marked the beginning of their true integration into each other's lives.

In my personal opinion, Xiao Lu has always had a rather tragic life. Before meeting Xiao Hua, he faced numerous setbacks in all aspects of his life, including family, love, career, and beliefs. The transformation from a flamboyant and carefree young master of a prominent family to a composed and reserved local magistrate, abandoning everything from the past to start anew, was no easy feat.

After meeting Xiaohua, things continued to go wrong. His feelings for his deceased wife were more than just love; they were complicated by many other factors. Having experienced the pain of loss, truly accepting someone again is not easy. In these past few months, Xiaohua has given a lot, and Xiaolu has given no less, only he's more reserved and it's not readily apparent. (The description of the failed demon is a bit disheartening...) Also, this unfortunate guy is always plagued by injuries and illnesses, so I've truly tormented him both physically and mentally.

What do you guys think?

Chapter Forty-Nine: Three Months of Abstinence

Lu Ziqi's injuries recovered quickly and well under Yuan Hao's care and Song Xiaohua's treatment. Apart from still being a little weak, he appeared to be in good health.

Yuan Hao only said that Lu Ziqi's stomach problem was quite serious and that he should be more careful with his diet in the future. Song Xiaohua, who was completely clueless about diseases, firmly believed this. As for Lu Ziqi, he naturally wouldn't tell her the truth and happily watched her breathe a sigh of relief.

Anyway, as long as it doesn't recur, everything will be fine.

After this battle, the local people regarded Lu Ziqi as a great hero. Although everyone wanted to come and express their respect, they all knew that he was unwell and it was inconvenient to disturb him. So they entrusted the elders of Song Xiaohua's clan to express their feelings on his behalf, and all kinds of local specialties and medicinal materials were piled up in half a room.

Lu Ziqi tried to refuse in every way, but to no avail. It would be impolite to refuse, so he asked the clan leader to distribute these things to those in need after they left. In the meantime, he also made a decision about the matter of Song Xiaohua's family.

Because Song Xiaohua married far away, she couldn't personally manage the household affairs. Therefore, she entrusted all the family's property to the clan for management. After deducting a certain fee, the money was converted into cash and deposited. After all, it was money earned through the efforts of several generations, and it couldn't be left to Song Xiaohua. Once a certain amount was accumulated, they would find ways to build roads and schools to do practical things for the people, which could also be considered as accumulating some merit for their deceased relatives.

Her clansmen pitied her loneliness and hardship, were moved by her sincerity, and respected her husband's noble character. They readily agreed to her requests and were determined to do their utmost to fulfill them.

After dealing with family matters and handing over official business to the local officials who were filled with anxiety, Lu Ziqi decided to set off with Song Xiaohua that very day to return to 'Beiya County', which they had left more than a month ago.

At the same time, Yuan Hao also bid them farewell.

During this period, Yuan Hao's behavior perfectly befitted that of a close friend of Lu Ziqi. When they had free time, the two would drink tea, chat about anything and everything, or play a few games of chess. Occasionally, he would help Lu Ziqi, who was still recovering from a serious illness and lacking energy, with some complicated matters. He also addressed Song Xiaohua respectfully as "sister-in-law" in public and private, maintaining proper etiquette despite their close and friendly relationship. This made Song Xiaohua feel a little embarrassed to even glance at his captivating face…