She once said, "Why is there someone as good as me in this world?" Lan Zhi, she had always been good, but now she felt a pang of pain in her heart.
"I'm sorry." A belated apology.
Xie Lanzhi was slightly surprised: "What are you talking about?"
Si Xitong gazed at her intently: "I'm apologizing to you. I'm sorry, I didn't know about your past. I only asked you to learn about my past, but I never took the initiative to explore yours."
I never imagined your past, not even your family members ever spent a single day with you. I never asked about your birthday; I only heard you mention it.
Worry, guilt, and pity filled her beautiful eyes. In the past, she would have found it irritating to see people showing such sympathy, but now, looking at the little phoenix's watery eyes, she felt a warm current flowing through her chest.
Even the most indifferent heart can be awakened by her, whether it's a book or the real world.
Xie Lanzhi was grateful for this splash of color in her life, and she said to her, "I was born in June, just like you. I belong to the people of the hot summer."
Born in the hottest season, her heart was once frozen like winter, and no one could get in, or they would be hurt by the aloofness hidden beneath her gentleness.
Ai Min was the one who was rejected. She said that there was always an invisible wall between her and others. In the past, she only thought that she was too aloof and that it was a problem with her personality.
Until she met Xiao Fenghuang, Xie Lanzhi raised her hand to touch the jade pendant on her chest, her heart burning with passion. The woman who gave her the first gift in the world was right beside her.
She cherishes and loves herself. She also reveals all her vulnerabilities only to her, letting her know her most vulnerable side—the real her.
No one wants others to see their bad side. Even in front of family, people always put on a brave face and may not even want to confront their truest selves.
But the little phoenix was willing to bravely reveal the true self beneath her glamorous exterior to her. Her frankness and honesty subtly and profoundly influenced her.
Whether it was shooting arrows or wielding a sword for the first time, her vulnerability remained solely for her.
They each kept their vulnerabilities to themselves, using their toughest armor to resist everyone.
This relationship is like that of lovers and also like that of partners who will never part, turning their backs on each other and trusting each other unconditionally. They will live together and die together.
Because they were both family and friends, she was completely open with him. She became the closest and most vulnerable person to her in this world. At the same time, she also became his weakness and his Achilles' heel.
“Lanzhi, I think your parents might be watching over you and silently protecting you from that star tonight.” Si Xitong took her hand and pointed to the brightest star with her fingertips: “They can’t tell you face to face, but I know that as parents, no matter how they act, they will always love their child.”
"Some people have the opportunity to express it, while others don't. But the love for children is the same for everyone."
"Lanzhi, don't think that bringing it up will make you sad, or that you know nothing about them, so you don't want to think about it."
"In fact, longing can be conveyed."
The confusion about family ties that had always been in Xie Lanzhi's eyes now seemed to clear up after Si Xitong's explanation. She said in a dry voice, "Longing... can be conveyed."
Si Xitong's devotion to the stars seemed to make them shine even brighter. Even on a cool spring night, she felt warm as long as Si Xitong was by her side. She heard her say, "Even if we haven't met face to face or heard them say they love me, there are always clues to follow."
"Loving someone always leaves a mark on the person being loved, even if it's just a trace."
Loving someone leaves a mark on the person you love, even if it's just a trace.
Her father-in-law was just like that; he never expressed his love, yet he left Little Phoenix an enormous inheritance, relieving her financial worries and adding icing on the cake for her career.
Perhaps this is how engineering fathers express their love—it's quite unconventional, but it does make Xiao Feng feel the fatherly love within it.
And what about her?
Did she also leave many traces of love, yet constantly complain that her parents were too busy with work when she was a month old and neglected her by leaving her in daycare, ultimately failing to see the love her parents left her?
Xie Lanzhi closed her eyes tightly and began to recall her modern home. There were no traces of her parents, but the wardrobe contained their neatly arranged clothes, as well as piles of children's clothes, baby clothes, and pairs of small canvas shoes.
Those were all prepared for her, so little. In the photo, her parents are embracing, making peace signs. Their latest diary entry is dated June 21st. After that, it's blank.
She also inherited a large sum of money, which never left her financially strapped. She had more money than she could spend since she was a child. From elementary school to university, her parents' friends would take turns paying her tuition. No parents came to the school, and the teachers kindly did not mention it.
These people were her parents' friends while they were alive. It wasn't just an inheritance, but also the good relationships her parents had built up, which accompanied her through 23 years of her life.
So... they had unknowingly left so many traces on her. She was simply taken for granted by being loved. Therefore, she couldn't see that they had already done everything in their power to leave their mark on the world and tell her their love.
That place has always been filled with...love.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Flowing silently.
Si Xitong turned her head and quietly remembered her tear in her heart.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the woman standing beside her, who had been silently pretending not to see her. She remembered that she was eighteen years old this year.
Xie Lanzhi turned to face her, and Si Xitong looked up into her eyes. Those eyes seemed clearer than before, yet still filled with loving tenderness. They had never changed.
She smiled knowingly, "So, has Marshal Xie overcome his inner hurdle?"
Xie Lanzhi raised her hand and gently stroked the tip of her nose, telling her the answer: "Do you remember something I once said to you?"
“There are so many things. I remember every single word you said. Even if I can’t remember them right now, I will remember them sooner or later.” Si Xitong said, “I will never forget everything you have ever said to me.”
She looked at her with doting eyes and said, "Then I'll remember it for you."
She pointed to the moon. As the round moon set, Si Xitong turned her head, and a kiss landed on her lips, incredibly light and gentle, like a spring breeze caressing her face.
She was always the gentlest and most tender towards her. Even her kisses... were never domineering.
Until she heard the words she had remembered for herself: "Because of you, I am willing to stay in this world."
The words spoken in the past at Chenxiang Mansion are gradually becoming clearly imprinted in her memory. Now, when they reappear, she is no longer the naive and ignorant girl she once was, but someone who sincerely and directly confessed her feelings to that person.
Yes, she realized that she had already said it herself long ago.
I only realized it now. Even so, it's incredibly sweet.
Si Xitong cupped Xie Lanzhi's face in her hands, and this time, she tiptoed, hooking her arm around Xie Lanzhi's neck to draw closer. Her lips met Xie Lanzhi's. Their bodies were intertwined like twin lotus blossoms, their lips locked in a deep, passionate kiss, leaving no gap between them.
"Fu Feng, I like you."
Under the night sky, the two rested for a moment, whispering sweetly to each other.
"Lanzhi, I like you very much too."
"My beloved is not Xie Ying, nor is she the head of the Xie family, but simply Xie Lanzhi, who is always by my side and only has eyes for me."
"And thank you. It is because of you that I am willing to be that little phoenix."
I don't know if you still remember, on the carriage in Chenxiang Mansion, our discussion about the phoenix and our gazing into the distance. In fact, at that moment, my heart had already firmly remembered your kindness.
Your kindness gives me the courage to face this cruel world and to be fearless again.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:25:07 on December 14, 2021 and 11:36:35 on December 15, 2021!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Windmill (28 bottles); 20535367 (20 bottles); 38324116 (10 bottles); Hongyan (9 bottles); Xinxin and Mi (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 74 The Northern Khan's Request for a Letter
The news that a construction company had reached an agreement with Xie Lanzhi over the past six months had spread throughout the entire Northern Region.
A major event soon occurred in the Northern Region.
When Xie Lanzhi heard that the eight tribes under Yelü Wen were in dire need of food, she knew that she would not get any food by offending her, so she thought of starting with the tribal Khan Yelü Beiluo.
Unexpectedly, Yelü Beiluo personally thwarted his second son's ambitions, sending Yelü Wen back to the eight tribes. Unlike his previous approach of suppressing the crown prince first, he took the initiative to repair his father-son relationship with Li Li, exchanging benefits for 30% control that Li Li granted him. But 30% was not enough for him; he demanded money and grain control from his son on one hand, and on the other hand, he took the opportunity to exchange private letters with Xie Lanzhi.
The proposal to establish a direct alliance between the Northern Region and Tianjing was put forward.
Yelü Beiluo had already offended Xie Lanzhi by supporting Yelü Wen's plan to test the waters. Now, seeing that his eldest son had a good relationship with Xie Lanzhi, he was hoping that she would forgive him for what he had done.
Xie Lanzhi was magnanimous, but she would not repay kindness with evil.
She not only refused him verbally, but also drafted a letter accusing him of being shameless, greedy, and arrogant.
Now, Xie Lanzhi is the overlord of the South, and her power and territory have long surpassed those of the two Shi Kingdoms. The Shi Kingdoms, once an equal neighboring state, have been reduced to a small state because Xie Lanzhi has led the Southern Region to grow stronger.
Although the power of the Shi Kingdom's government should not be underestimated, its resources are insufficient. Its weaknesses are also obvious, which is why the Shi Kingdom's government, led by Shi Yang, is willing to submit to Xie Lanzhi.
Since Shi Yang had pledged allegiance to her, she was bound to be more lenient with the vassal states. However, the grain was arranged to be transported from the northern border to the Shi Kingdom, requiring the Shi Kingdom to make a roundabout journey of nearly a thousand miles to bring the grain home.
The Shi Kingdom had to go to great lengths to find supplies from afar, incurring huge costs, and also had to take a great risk to reclaim their grain from those unreasonable generals in the Northern Region, because that desolate desert was the territory of the Eight Generals.
The envoy from the Shi Kingdom reported this matter to Shi Yang, who readily accepted it. For the Shi Kingdom, any amount of grain was a lifeline; having a way out was always better than having no way out.
However, his son, Shi Jian, fell ill from anger and remained bedridden for three days. The Shi Kingdom suffered from food shortages, causing morale to waver and the army to disintegrate. There was also a peasant uprising. Peasant uprisings were common in chaotic times, but it was rare to see the people of the Southern Region living peacefully and contentedly, seemingly unaffected by the chaos. This once earned the Southern Region the reputation of a paradise on earth.
In Shi Jian's memory, Shi Guofu and Nanyu were on equal footing, but in just one year, Xie Lanzhi had already surpassed him.
His father always scolded him for not being as good as Xie Lanzhi, but he refused to accept it. Now, Xie Lanzhi showed him with her strength how far he was from her and how arrogant he was.
Xie Lanzhi's excellence made him seem like a fool.
The news that Yelü Beiluo, the Khan of the Northern Regions, had humbled himself to ask Xie Lanzhi for help had shocked the five states. He then raised the slogan of a North-South alliance to jointly resist the Xiongnu.
To restore peace and tranquility to both the people of the Central Plains and the people of the Hu people, and to protect the common people of both the Central Plains and the common people of the Hu people—this is the common aspiration of the people of both countries.
Although the people of the Northern Regions are of non-Han origin, their ancestors were all vassal states of the Central Plains dynasties. Now that the dynasties exist in name only, the Northern Regions have become independent, and in reality, many of the people under the rule of the Northern Regions are from the Central Plains. They are now considered one family with the people of the Central Plains.
Beiluo still refers to itself as one family of Chinese and barbarians.
While it's true that they're acting in the name of the Central Plains, their real purpose is to establish an alliance. They're using various pretexts to justify the alliance, and the North-South Alliance sounds impressive.
After Yelü Beilu raised the banner of a North-South alliance, he quickly gained the unanimous support and endorsement of people from both the North and South Central Plains.
Countless people were unaware of the cruelty of the dynastic struggles, but they were willing to believe in this bright future: the restoration of the Central Plains' power to protect its safety and status, so that the surrounding nations would no longer dare to take advantage of the situation and seize the land and islands that the Central Plains people had guarded for generations.
If Xie Lanzhi doesn't agree, it would be as if she were short-sighted.
Inside Lanzhang Palace, she was wiping Eshi when she heard about this. She couldn't help but smile: "It seems there are quite a few people who are good at playing the public opinion game."
Bei Luo's past leniency towards his second son had already given her a certain assessment of him. If anything went wrong, it was her son's fault, not his, the father's. If anyone was to blame, it would be the father for not teaching his son properly. As long as she found another excuse to use corporal punishment to make a filial son, the father's fault would naturally be offset by educating his son.
The people of the Central Plains were known for their etiquette, and the Central Plains once revived the state by governing with etiquette and educating many states. Now, with the Hu and Xiongnu wielding power in their respective territories, all other states fear their authority and do not cherish virtue. Etiquette, caught in the middle, appears very weak and is even despised.
The sword Eshi in Xie Lanzhi's hand was even darker and shinier than before. When it was slightly drawn from its sheath, it shone with a cold light, revealing a restless energy that yearned for blood.
She looked at the sword that had been with her for a year and smiled again: "The more I look at it, the more it resembles a person. It even looks quite imposing."
E Shi seemed to understand his master's praise, and his gaze grew even colder.
These words were overheard by Prince Fengning, who was returning from court.
Si Xitong returned travel-worn. Although he was not far from the Golden Palace, he looked as tired as if he had just returned from a long journey.
When Xie Lanzhi saw her lover return, she put Eshi back on the sword rack. It seemed that the beauty was more important than the sword. The sheath of Eshi, which had been put aside, reflected the light more brightly, as if accusing its master of valuing beauty over sword.
She turned around and went to the tea table without hesitation to pour her some tea.