She glanced at Lou Xiyue and frowned.
I said, “This is my disciple. My master has been poisoned by wolfsbane and may be feeling unwell. So Lou Xiyue and I came to check on him.”
When I mentioned that my master had been poisoned by wolfsbane, I glanced at Zi Mo. Her eyes darkened, and the three petals of fire on her forehead tightened.
I casually asked, "Lord Zi Mo was also once poisoned by wolfsbane. Could you tell me how to cure it?"
Zi Mo did not answer; she leaned back in the soft chair.
The chair was covered with a checkered carpet, which looked exceptionally luxurious under the light of the glass lamp.
Lou Xiyue stood by, hands clasped, watching us. It made me feel that, at least in terms of numbers, we had achieved an overwhelming victory.
Zi Mo remained silent for a while.
During this time, I gave Lou Xiyue a look, "What do we do if she doesn't tell us?"
Lou Xiyue gave me a look that said, "I don't know."
I threw it at him again, "like holding a knife to her neck, forcing her to talk."
Lou Xiyue gave me a half-smile, and I think he was probably thinking to himself that I was a heartless snake.
Things were much simpler and more straightforward than I had imagined. Zi Mo got up, lit some incense in the incense burner, her fair skin devoid of any color. She said, "There is no cure for wolfsbane. I lied to An Chen back then."
In late autumn and early winter in Yubu, the white snow fell gently and accumulated several inches on the ground.
An Chen wore a fox fur cloak and black leather boots, his robes fluttering in the wind. The north wind howled, making his hair visible in strands.
He smiled slightly at Zi Mo and said, "There's a fire in the tent. Wait for me here. After I return, we'll go to Jinling."
This was the Battle of Baiguan that Lou Xiyue and I mentioned. It was a magnificent and devastating defeat. The Eastern Lands breached the city in just one day.
The general rushed back to the camp, grabbed his broadsword, and went into Zi Mo's tent. His armor was covered in wounds, and the blood and sand could not conceal his rage. Without a word, he swung his sword; Zi Mo dodged easily, her hand resting on the dagger. After hesitating for a long time, she finally pulled it out and plunged it into the general's heart.
Before his death, the general said two things: "To die with the army is my good fortune."
Then, he glared at Zi Mo with wide eyes and said fiercely, "Do you really think An Chen doesn't know anything?" After that, he died from his injuries.
At this time, the Eastern Army, carrying the Xue-character flag, marched into Yubu in a grand procession.
Zi Mo rushed up the city wall, and ten miles outside the city, the mountains and rivers were stained with blood.
Yubu was massacred, and the corpses of tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers piled up like mountains.
Zi Mo sat on her Ferghana horse, enjoying the jewelry and honors bestowed upon her by the Emperor.
Alone in the gauze curtains, she looked at the name "An Chen" on the Xuan paper, while a triangular cup held purplish-red mulberry wine.
Snowflakes continued to fall from the sky, their dazzling light reminding one of the winter a year ago.
She leaned against the soft couch, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
The candle was blown out by the wind, and someone stood quietly in her room.
Zi Mo put down the triangular cup, lowered her eyelids, and tentatively asked, "An Chen?"
An Chen's voice was utterly devoid of emotion, "Zi Mo."
She turned her head and saw him, a smile gradually creeping onto her alluring face.
However, An Chen's next words completely extinguished her radiant smile.
He said, "When we first met, the arrow wound on your leg ran from top to bottom; you stabbed yourself in it."
A hint of surprise flashed in Zi Mo's eyes. From beginning to end, her actions with An Chen were purposeful, organized, and planned. Whether any unplanned feelings had developed along the way, only she knew.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but be shocked. It was all nonsense to think that a hero could save a damsel in distress. There were so many people at the time, some dead, some injured, and even the most beautiful woman's face would have been obscured by the sandstorm. How could An Chen have caught a glimpse of Zi Mo's stunning glance among thousands of people?
Zi Mo said she was quite shocked at the time. Actually, it's not scary to frame someone, but it's scary when someone knows you're framing them and just watches you carry out the framing.
Zi Mo stood up and looked at An Chen in the moonlight. His handsome face showed no emotion. She trembled slightly, stepped forward, and whispered in his ear, "An Chen, will you come with me to the Eastern Land?"
An Chen looked at her quietly. After a long while, he reached out and lifted Zi Mo's long hair, and said softly, as if in the past, "What you were poisoned with was not wolfsbane, but black needles. You couldn't bear to poison yourself with wolfsbane because there is no cure for this poison."
Zi Mo gradually grew cold, and she looked up at An Chen.
An Chen glanced at her indifferently, "Back at Lishan, the poison used on the hidden weapons was wolfsbane, right?"
An Chen chuckled lightly. “Zi Mo, when I first met you, you gave the camp's blueprints to the Eastern Land. When I met you again, you forged my letter.” He paused, then slowly said, “You studied my handwriting so diligently, but you didn’t know that I never sign my letters as ‘An Chen.’ I use my own seal.”
Zi Mo frowned as she looked at An Chen, probably not expecting him to know so much.
An Chen whispered in her ear, "Zi Mo, I know you have a younger sister and an older brother. Your family all died on the battlefield. I've told you, I know everything about you."
As she moved, the bronze triangular cup on the table overturned, and mulberry wine dripped down the edge of the table, wetting the hem of her skirt and darkening a corner.
An Chen lowered his head slightly, dipped his fingertip in the wine, and tasted it. "This wine is as cold as your blood."
Zi Mo was at a loss. She suppressed her panic, bit her lip, and looked at An Chen, "Since you knew all this, why didn't you stop it?"
An Chen smiled faintly, "Originally, I wanted to take a gamble."
His handsome features dimmed slightly. "But I lost, at the cost of tens of thousands of lives in Yubu."
The sky outside the window was dotted with stars, and the earth was covered in snow, making it as bright as day.
An Chen said, "Zi Mo, my family also died on the battlefield. Jinling is my hometown."