When love draws near, it's like snow - Chapter 64
"Miss, it's time to take your medicine." Xiaoyu handed me a bowl of medicine with a blank expression, while Xiaohuan's hateful eyes clearly showed her contempt.
"Cough, cough! Just leave it there." I coughed twice and sighed softly. "Could you please bring me a basin of snow?" — In their eyes, I'm probably already labeled as shameless and a scourge to the country, nailed to the cross, right?
"I advise you to take your medicine first, Miss. It's not too late to show off your elegance when that golden dog arrives," Xiaoyu said coldly, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Bearing their inexplicable contempt and hostility, my heart suddenly clenched, the pain unbearable. I had no idea who Xiaoyu and Xiaohuan were, and I already felt deeply wronged by their misunderstanding; but when they judged Huaiyuan guilty without even asking, wasn't his grievance and pain a thousand times greater than mine?!
"Alright, Sister Xiaoyu, let's just listen to Miss, shall we? Otherwise, if she files a complaint, we'll be doomed." Xiaohuan said sarcastically, and as instructed, she brought over a copper basin filled with snow and placed it heavily in front of me.
"Alright, that's all for you. Go and keep watch outside the tent." I didn't bother arguing with the two teenage girls and gave them my indifferent instructions.
As soon as they disappeared, I suppressed my dizziness, quickly sat up, and as usual, took off my socks, enduring the biting cold, and placed my feet in the copper basin—Wu Chun's medical skills were indeed superb; seeing my health improving day by day, Zong Wang was in high spirits, seemingly ready to return north at any moment. I had no other choice but to resort to the worst possible tactic: feigning illness. Perhaps, seeing how serious my condition, Zong Wang would consider letting me stay in the Song Dynasty instead of forcibly taking me to Yanjing?
"Marshal, please wait. Miss is not available to see you right now." Xiaoyu's cold voice rang out from outside the tent—Oh no, Zong Wang is here. There's no way Xiaoyu could stop him! I hurriedly picked up the bowl of medicine, ignoring that my feet were still immersed in the basin, and poured it in. I lifted my skirt to cover the copper basin completely—only at this moment did I truly appreciate the ancient ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).
Sure enough, just as he sat down, Zong Wang stepped in. Wu Chun followed closely behind him.
"Qingyang, didn't you say you were doing much better the other day? How come you've gotten so sick again?" Zongwang walked up to me with a worried look on his face. "I brought Wuchun with me. Let him take your pulse again."
"Oh! Miss Ye, this is caused by an external pathogen invading your lungs, preventing the lung qi from descending properly, resulting in coughing and wheezing." Wu Chun gently tapped my right wrist, looking at me with surprise and uncertainty: "Miss, are you not sleeping well at night? How did you catch a cold?!"
"Cough, cough. No, perhaps Dr. Wu's medicine isn't right for my condition?" I gently shook my head, meeting his gaze calmly—weren't you hoping I wouldn't go to Yanjing with you?
Wu Chun seemed to understand my unspoken words. He raised his left eyebrow and said, "Although I really don't want you to go, the lord has given the order, and I have no choice but to obey."
I sneered – since you can't make me stay, I'll figure something out myself. You just need to play dumb and mind your own business.
Wu Chun turned around in a flustered manner: "My lord, Miss Ye's illness is due to wind-cold obstructing the lungs, and it cannot be taken lightly. If she doesn't take good care of herself, it could easily turn into tuberculosis!"—Wu Chun, everyone has their own selfish motives. Your move of going with the flow is far more clever than mine, managing to link acute pneumonia to tuberculosis. I'm impressed! You're clearly taking advantage of Zong Wang's lack of medical knowledge!
"Xiaoyu, Xiaohuan! How did you take care of Miss? How could you let her catch a cold again?!" Zongwang's eyes darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Guards, drag her out and give her twenty lashes!"
I was startled and stood up abruptly, yelling, "Big brother, no! This has nothing to do with them!"—As I stood up, there was a loud crash as I stomped on the copper basin, which overturned and spilled onto the ground. This revealed a basin of snow, now dark brown and mixed with black medicinal liquid, and my feet, already blue and bruised from the cold.
Upon seeing this, Zongwang immediately understood what had happened. He was both shocked and furious; his handsome face turned ashen with rage, and he gritted his teeth, shouting, "Guards! Drag these two useless girls out and behead them!"
"No! No!" I rushed forward barefoot and grabbed Zongwang's hand tightly. I watched in horror as the four burly men ignored my cries and carried Xiaoyu and Xiaohuan out of the command tent, one on each side.
"Qingyang, it's no use. No matter what method you use, I will bring you back to Yanjing. You, accept your fate!" Zongwang held my shoulders, pinched my chin with one hand, and wore a gloomy, dark smile—I instinctively shivered and turned my head away, avoiding his piercing gaze—the heart-wrenching scene just now had chilled me to the bone. I finally understood that no matter how smiling and polite he appeared on the surface, years of warfare had turned him into a ruthless and merciless tyrant who treated human life like dirt. Deep within him lay a bloodthirsty and cruel side. As the saying goes, "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand," this may not have been his intention, but it was an undeniable fact! Compared to him, Huaiyuan, though cold and aloof, always had a soft and warm heart!
"What's wrong?" Zongwang's dark eyes, fixed on me, already held a hint of disappointment. He tried hard to suppress it and said softly, "You seem a little afraid of me?"
I pushed Zongwang away blankly, silently shedding tears, staggered to the soft couch and crawled into the quilt, hating my own weakness and incompetence, regretting that I should not have been so clever, which led to my own failure and ultimately cost two innocent lives!
"My lord, there is a Song man named Lu Jianfeng who claims to be a secret envoy sent by the Prince of Yun. He is currently waiting outside the camp for a summons," Sang Man cautiously entered to report.
"Qingyang, you should get some rest. I'll come see you another day. Your health is your own responsibility. No matter how much you resent me, don't joke around with it, okay?" Seeing that I remained silent, Zongwang sighed softly and silently walked out of the command tent.
For the next three days, I was immersed in deep regret and had no heart to investigate what Lu Jianfeng's purpose was in coming to the Jin camp. Zong Wang increased the number of people watching over me and even came to check on me several times at night—for fear that I would repeat my old trick and ruin my body.
It was so quiet! It was as if tens of thousands of Jin soldiers and hundreds of thousands of warhorses had vanished into thin air in an instant. Just as I was filled with astonishment and uncertainty, Zongwang lifted the curtain and entered, sweeping me, blanket and all, into his arms without a word. He then stepped out of the tent, leaped onto his snow-white steed, and charged forward. The Jin army, with men carrying grass in their mouths and horses with gags in their bridles, was already fully prepared for battle.
Zongwang commanded with composure, and tens of thousands of Jin troops disappeared into the vast forest in an orderly and silent manner, leaving behind only countless empty tents and hundreds of weak and disabled soldiers patrolling around.
The night was as black as ink. A deathly silence hung in the air. I could clearly hear Zongwang's steady, powerful heartbeat—was something about to happen?
In the distance, the faint sounds of wind and thunder began, gradually escalating with the clatter of hooves and the clamor of voices. Against the backdrop of the calmly flickering campfires outside, a swarm of people, like ants, suddenly surged forth from the horizon. Countless gunpowder arrows rained down on the golden tent, and in an instant, the golden camp was engulfed in flames. Amidst a burst of wild laughter, a young general, riding a tall, chestnut horse and clad in heavy armor, triumphantly led the charge into the golden camp.
Zongwang held me in his arms, a cold smile playing on his lips as he untied a carved black iron bow from his waist and drew a white-feathered arrow. He drew the bow to its fullest extent, the white feather whistling past my ear, transforming into a shooting star as it hurtled towards the Song general. With a soft "whoosh," the red tassel on the Song general's helmet fell off. Tens of thousands of Jin soldiers roared in unison, and in an instant, ten thousand horses surged forth from the forest, attacking the Song army from all directions.
Ironically, the red tassel on the Song general's helmet was shot off by Zong Wang's arrow, and he was so frightened that his face turned ashen. He immediately turned his horse around and fled in panic. The 400,000 Song troops who came to the aid of the emperor collapsed at the first contact and were slaughtered by the 60,000 Jin cavalry in a hail of blows. They were routed and lost their armor and weapons.
"Hmph! How dare that coward Yao Pingzhong dream of 'storming the Jin camp at night and capturing Zong Wang alive'?! Zhao Huan appointed him as commander-in-chief, and the Song army deserved this defeat!" Strategist Liu Yanzong shook his head and curled his lips contemptuously, then turned to Zong Wang with obvious admiration.
"Hmph, let's go. There's nothing more to see." Zongwang casually turned his horse around, leading me into the vast night...
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PS: There are various versions of the accounts of the various armies sent to defend the Northern Song Dynasty, some saying 200,000, others saying 400,000; I chose 400,000. Faced with a favorable situation, the hot-headed Emperor Qinzong of Song hastily agreed to the young general Yao Pingzhong's plan to "attack the Jin camp at night and capture Zong Wang alive" without careful analysis and deployment. Ironically, this military secret was leaked just three days before its execution. On the first day of the second lunar month, Yao Pingzhong's army, launching a surprise attack under cover of darkness, was routed by the well-prepared Jin army. Yao Pingzhong broke through the encirclement and disappeared without a trace, only being recorded decades later in Sichuan. After the failed raid, Emperor Qinzong was forced to agree to all of Zong Wang's demands for withdrawal. The Jin's eastern army withdrew north on the ninth day of the second lunar month, while Zong Han, who had already advanced to Zezhou in Shanxi, returned to Taiyuan after receiving the Song court's promise of ceding territory.
[Volume 4 Finale: Chapter 9: Laughing and Talking About Life and Death]
Zongwang settled me in a civilian house, gave me a few instructions, and then hurriedly left—although the Jin army had won a great victory, the Song army had also burned many of their tents. Thick smoke still billowed in the sky; my nostrils were filled with the acrid smell of burning leather, hair, cloth, and corpses; and I could hear the neighing of horses, the shouts of officers, and the cries of able-bodied soldiers driving stakes into the ground…
Envoys from both countries traveled back and forth, with Song's gold, silver, treasures, jade artifacts, and antiques being sent to the Jin camp in loads and carts. The Jin army also intensified its looting of a large number of court musicians and skilled craftsmen... It all seemed like preparations were being made for their return north.
Zongwang somehow "found" two more young maids, supposedly from wealthy families, to serve me. After all the running around, the fright, the anger, and the sadness, plus my own self-inflicted suffering, my physical strength was probably really at its limit. Without me even pretending, I was already burning up with fever.
After lying in the hospital bed for a few days, I regained a little strength. I looked out the window; it was still early. I decided to talk to Zongwang again—he hadn't come to see me for several days. I didn't know if he was genuinely too busy or deliberately avoiding me! But if I didn't try, I might really be taken to Yanjing in my sleep!
Stepping out of the room, I discovered it was actually a small market. From where I stood, all I could see were scattered low walls and dilapidated houses. A small river, shimmering with dappled silver light, meandered down its course, its bed covered with thick, murky, grayish-black ice. I didn't know where to look for Zongwang, so I blindly followed the riverbank.
Busy Jin soldiers were everywhere, so when that figure, standing alone in the wilderness, gazing into the distance, came into my view, it stood out all the more.
"Your Highness, how have you been?!" I walked towards him with a faint smile—so many unexpected things had happened lately that I had almost forgotten about him.
"You are...?" Zhao Gou looked at me with a puzzled expression—that's right, he hadn't seen me since I fainted on the field, so he didn't know I was a girl.
"Have you forgotten so quickly, Your Highness Prince Kang? I am Ye Qingyang!" As I spoke, I reached his side. Zhao Gou's handsome face was now etched with the marks of time—being held hostage in the Jin camp was already an ordeal; moreover, Emperors Huizong and Qinzong disregarded his life and rashly launched an attack on the Jin camp, only to suffer a crushing defeat. The psychological impact on Zhao Gou was unimaginable—he later ascended the throne in the south, clinging to a life of ease, refusing to march north and welcome back the two emperors. Besides witnessing Zongwang's invincible power on the battlefield, which had a profound impact on his mind, there must have also been the irreparable trauma inflicted on his heart by the betrayal and abandonment by his father and brothers!
"Lord Ye, uh, Miss Ye?" Zhao Gou stared at me in shock, somewhat at a loss for words.
"What? Don't you recognize me?" I turned my head and smiled gently at him—I suddenly felt a sense of sympathy for this twenty-year-old boy.
"Miss Ye seems to have lost a lot of weight." Zhao Gou looked me over for a while and sighed softly. In his pupils, I could clearly see a girl wearing a light purple embroidered short jacket, a snow-white pleated skirt, and a snow-white fox fur around her neck. Her pale cheeks made her look even more bloodless, and she looked like a willow leaf in the wind, frail and delicate.
I coughed twice, rolled my eyes at him, and smiled faintly: "Cough, cough! I'm in this state all thanks to Young Master Zhao! If you hadn't dragged me here, I wouldn't be suffering from this illness and unable to go home!"
"Ah, uh, are you sick?" Zhao Gou was not expected to be accused of this so directly. After a slight pause, his fair and handsome face quickly flushed with shame.
"Thin bamboo pole." A faint, almost inaudible voice suddenly called in my ear. I froze, instinctively turning around to look—am I delirious from the fever? Am I hallucinating?