Tang Dynasty
Good family sons wield their weapons and fight on all sides
Tang Dynasty
Brave men gallop across the vast wilderness
The river rippled
Silver sand chasing white waves
The mountains are made more magnificent
Green cypresses shade the red sun
Kou Qiang
Enter my net
Jackal
Watch me draw my bow.
Why would I want a warm bed?
Better to eat chaff
A sharp arrow pierced my chest
Shen Ji chopped my spine
The boulders pounded my internal organs
A long blade ripped out my liver and intestines.
The axe severed my neck.
son
Passion Never Cools
son
The spirit does not falter
son
Rows of white bones
I've gone mad.
I am blind
I am already heartbroken.
The bright moon passes over the hills
Snow and ice cover the pine pond
Do not forget
Fragrant lips and teeth
Do not forget
Around the house, Zisang
Do not forget
Golden yellow fields
Do not forget
Sibling Ditang
Do not forget
Comrades-in-arms
To enjoy strong liquor
Tang Dynasty
The glorious Tang Dynasty
Central Guardian
Do not forget
Following my luggage
Shake my clothes
Pick up my swords and guns
Shining My Homeland
Though it was a woman's voice, it was not shy at all. Her tone was clear and melodious, and her words were tragic and solemn. Even the fierce winds on the river could not break her singing. She sang so loudly that the turbulent waves rolled and the floating ice lost its color and cracked. Gradually, the Tang soldiers drew their cold swords and frost-covered blades and struck their shields. Then, they sang out "Never forget, never forget!" and "Great Tang, Great Tang!" in unison. Generals Hou Junji and Niu Xiu also joined in, their swords and blades stained with snowflakes. The singing became more and more resounding, like metal and stone, and everyone's eyes were filled with tears.
Chapter Thirty
30. [Crossing the River]
After the ceremony, the Tang army gradually withdrew. Huan She's legs were stiff with cold. Li Weiying helped him to his feet, but he knelt down again. "Your Highness, I thank you on behalf of my brothers." He was about to bow to her respectfully when she quickly stopped him from bending over. "Huan Lang, don't do this." Huan She remained kneeling and bowing, saying, "I will repay Your Highness again after I have avenged my brothers." He looked up and saw Li Weiying staring at him with tears in her eyes. He reached out to take her hand, but she ignored him and walked away. The ice and snow were wet, and the river stones were slippery. She slipped and fell on the riverbank. Huan She rushed to help her up, but she angrily pushed his hand away, struggled to get up, and scolded, "Go away!" Huan She was stunned. "Weiying, what's wrong?" A servant rushed over to help her and exclaimed, "Your Highness, have you hurt your foot again?" Huan She caught up and felt her foot. She cried out in pain, and tears streamed down her face.
Huan She felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this. He carried her back to the shore to find a physician, asking, "Why are you angry with me?" Li Weiying clung to his neck, sobbing, "Why did you also perform such a grand ceremony? Why did you call me Your Highness?" It turned out this was what angered her. "You offered your condolences as a princess, and I, on behalf of my fallen brothers, offered my thanks. Shouldn't I be more respectful?" Hearing this, she glared at him with red eyes, "You are my Lide Hasniwit, I don't want you to be my subject." Her voice grew increasingly sorrowful: "Why should I be a princess, Huan Lang? I must return to Chang'an now..." Huan She was filled with remorse, embracing her and saying, "Yes, yes, I refuse to be your subject, I only want to be your Lide Hasniwit. I was foolish!"
The physician rushed to treat her, and as soon as Huan She loosened his grip, she clung tightly to him. The physician said awkwardly, "Your Highness, it's difficult for me to treat you like this." Huan She coaxed her, "You'd better treat your foot injury first, otherwise I'll have to kneel down and beg you again in my haste." Only then did she angrily release his hand, her face still wet with tears of grievance and resentment. After the physician finished treating her, he cautioned, "Your Highness's foot keeps spraining; you really need to be careful." Before leaving, he gave Huan She a meaningful look, "Sometimes it's better for you to go along with the princess. Don't let her become paralyzed in the future."
Huan She was shocked: "How...how could this be?" He was so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat and his hands trembled. Li Weiying, however, smiled and said, "I heard you clearly, don't make me angry anymore." She was secretly pleased with herself. The physician from earlier was a disciple of Sun Simiao, named Fei Heng. He had served as a doctor in the army for many years and had also treated patients in the palace. Fei Heng was an optimistic and humorous person. Li Weiying had known him since she was a child and they were very close friends. Huan She hugged her tightly: "Weiying, don't scare me. I will never go against you again. Don't hide from me or run away from me." Li Weiying sighed, her happiness beyond words.
The pontoon bridge over the Hulu River was narrow and treacherous, built only for wartime use; large Tang troops still had to cross by ferry. Huan She had half his body submerged in the water at first, and Li Weiying, whose feet were already wet, was soaked after being embraced by him. Since the ferry was already prepared, the two had no time to change their clothes. Although they were wearing fur coats and blankets, the river wind made them shiver with cold, and they huddled together. Li Weiying, wrapped in a long black fox fur coat, nestled in Huan She's arms, watching the wide, rushing river water carrying broken ice and churning up turbid waves, with a cold, wet, and glistening white spray occasionally splashing onto her.
The boat glided along the river, bobbing gently. Suddenly, a river breeze carried a faint murmur: "Floating on the sea, water is nothing; wandering in the forest, sights are nothing." Li Weiying naturally replied, "Beyond the clouds of Wu and the Luo River, what value do clouds and water hold?" As soon as the words left her lips, she remembered these two lines of poetry she often recited in her youth. The first line was a poem by Lu Yun of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the second was a famous saying by Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Back then, she and Cao Ling would often recite these poems to each other playfully while boating on the Taiji Palace's lake. The profound meaning within was self-evident. Looking up, she saw a figure standing precariously at the bow of a boat to her right, a lonely and thin back that was an old acquaintance.
Suddenly, a huge wave crashed in, and Li Weiying swayed slightly in Huan She's arms. He comforted her, saying, "Don't be afraid." But suddenly, a jolt went through her, tearing through the gloom of the snow-capped mountains of the north, and she cried out in terror, "Cao Ling!" But Cao Ling's boat was still churning in the river, spitting out a pale white spray, while he had vanished from the bow.
"Minister Cao!" People on several surrounding boats cried out in alarm, but the water was deep and swift, and they couldn't see where he had landed for a moment. "Cao Ling!" Li Weiying was about to lean out from the gunwale when Huan She grabbed her back. "Weiying, stay put." Seeing a soldier taking off his robe and about to jump in, Huan She shouted, "Don't jump! You'll die if you go in!" Everyone understood that the river water was freezing cold, and anyone who entered the water would freeze instantly, let alone rescue someone. Moreover, the waves were high and the current was strong, and they could easily be swept away. Huan She had his boat move closer to a light guard boat and ordered the guards, "Get the princess ashore quickly, don't linger." He jumped onto the small boat and ordered the boatman to go downstream with the current.
"Huan She!" Li Weiying's voice called anxiously behind him. Huan She didn't turn around, his eyes fixed intently on the river. Suddenly, he saw a flash of red light in the water and exclaimed, "It's here!" Sure enough, a corner of a scarlet official's robe surfaced. Huan She held a long spear upside down and thrust it towards it. But the boat Huan She was on was suddenly swung by the river's current, and in that split second, he missed. He tried several times but still couldn't reach it, and Cao Ling drifted even further away. Huan She then tied the rope around his waist, aimed at the scarlet robe, and jumped in.
The river surface seemed to suddenly calm down, and everyone's hearts were in their throats, ready to leap out. Li Weiying had already reached the shore, and ignoring the guards' attempts to stop her, she mounted a horse and rode downstream in pursuit. The guards, not daring to be careless, also mounted their horses and followed closely. Suddenly, a wave surged, and Huan She's black robe and Cao Ling's scarlet robe floated to the surface together. The people on the ferry and on the shore cheered. The boatman on the river hurriedly pulled back the rope tied around Huan She's waist, but unexpectedly, with a "whoosh," the current was too strong, and the rope broke free. Huan She and Cao Ling were immediately swept downstream again.
On the bank, Jiang Xingben shouted, "Logs! Drop the logs!" Some logs, intended for a pontoon bridge, had been piled up on the bank. The soldiers immediately cut the ropes binding the massive logs together and pushed them into the water. The swiftly flowing river swirled and pushed the logs downstream. Huan She, holding onto Cao Ling with one hand and barely managing to hook onto a log that drifted beside him with the other, was too weak to swim any further. Li Weiying cried out repeatedly, "Crossbows! Crossbows!" The crossbowmen attached bolts to ropes and fired at the log Huan She was holding. After several shots, they finally managed to stabilize the log and slowly drag it ashore.
Before Huan and Cao had fully reached the shore, Li Weiying jumped off her horse, limping and splashing through the river water, and rushed to Huan She's side, crying, "Huan Lang! Huan Lang!" As she embraced him, she felt his stiff body was like solid ice on Mount Tanhan, a chill penetrating to her heart. Huan She's face was pale, his lips purple, his eyes wide open but he couldn't utter a single word. The guards hurriedly carried him and the already unconscious Cao Ling ashore.
As soon as they reached the shore, a gust of north wind blew, and a layer of ice crystals formed on Huan She's hair, eyebrows, and beard, which were soaked to the bone. His clothes also began to stiffen. Li Weiying was anxious to take off his wet clothes, but she was restricted by his shackles. She also saw that his wrists were cut by the tightly locked iron shackles. The bloody cuts had long since lost their color and turned white and swollen after being soaked in the cold river water. She was so angry that she shouted, "Who nailed these on!" Cheng Yi, who had put the shackles on Huan She, was standing nearby. He was a calm person. Hearing the princess's angry rebuke, he remained silent, drew his sword, and forcefully cut off Huan She's shackles. He then helped to remove Huan She's outer garment.
Li Weiying wiped the water off Huan She's body and frantically scrubbed him until his skin turned red. Only then did she wrap him in a blanket and hold him in her arms. Huan She's teeth chattered, and he trembled for a long time before slowly calming down. He managed to take a deep breath and said, "...Okay, I'm holding you again." Li Weiying hugged him with all her might, so tightly that she herself could hardly breathe. Huan She felt a tightness in his chest and wanted to suffocate. "No..." But she hugged him even tighter. "Huan Lang, I won't let you go again."
Fei Heng arrived and sighed upon seeing the scene, "Your Highness, the young master is dying." He summoned a guard and pried open her tightly clasped hands, then fed Huan She some medicine. Meanwhile, Cao Ling had also regained consciousness. The guards carried him and Huan She, and the two lay on the stretcher facing each other. Cao Ling said softly, "Alright, that settles things." Huan She was furious: "You owe me so much more!" He was so angry that he tried to punch her, but his arm was stiff and cold, and he could only lift it slightly before he couldn't move it again. Li Weiying quickly grasped his hand. Huan She felt that her small hand was also icy cold, and seeing her tearful eyes, his heart softened. He slowly breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes to sleep.
***
It seemed as if someone was calling him to wake up, perhaps it was Qin'er, or perhaps Lu Shuang, but he rejected them all from the bottom of his heart, utterly exhausted.
"Huan Lang!"
It was Qin'er, but it wasn't him she was calling. That scoundrel was here too! Cao Ling felt a wave of disgust, and her soul, which had already drifted away from her body, crashed heavily back onto this body she no longer cared about.
“Your Highness need not worry. Mr. Huan is fine now, he is just too tired. Let him get some rest. As for Cao Ling, he has no will to live, and I am at a loss.”
Fei Heng? Aren't you a miracle worker? When did you start admitting your medical skills were lacking? Cao Ling sneered from the shadows.