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Mencius' mother then asked, "Take a look, is there anything here that you like?"

Meng Yuanjing had no interest in looking at the riot of flowers at that moment, and shook his head: "Mother, I don't want to think about these things right now."

Mencius' mother's face darkened: "Are you still hung up on that promiscuous woman?"

Mencius' mother always looked down on Xiang Hongye, especially when she thought of how Xiang Hongye had cheated on her husband while he was away on a military campaign. Even though Xiang Hongye had already committed suicide, she still felt contempt and hatred towards her.

Meng Yuanjing was stunned for a moment before he reacted and shook his head vigorously: "No. No."

Seeing that her son's expression seemed genuine, Meng's mother was very pleased: "That's good. You're not young anymore, you should have settled down long ago. In the past, you were always busy with military campaigns, but now that you've returned to the capital to take up your post, this big problem can be solved. Look, this empty Minister's mansion needs a mistress, right? Your mother is too old to worry about that anymore."

"Then let's hire a capable housekeeper."

Meng's mother's face darkened: "Yuanjing, what are you saying? Can a steward replace the mistress of the house?" "Oh, let's talk about these things later, Mother. I'm really tired and want to rest for a while."

Seeing that her son looked very unwell, and remembering that he had just returned from a victorious campaign and had been busy with various social engagements without getting a proper rest, Meng's mother felt very sorry for him and immediately said, "Alright, alright, you rest first. I'll tell the kitchen to make you some nourishing food."

Meng Yuanjing nodded.

Throughout the night, Meng Yuanjing tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. In his half-awake state, he was plagued by strange and bizarre nightmares.

In his dream, he saw Xiao Junyu wearing the white clothes Mei Mei had prepared for her, a scholar's cap on her head, tall and graceful, walking back and forth in the snow on the academy square. He was about to go over and greet her, wanting to ask her, "Am I your best friend?" But in the blink of an eye, she vanished... A moment later, the dream shifted to the night Xiao Junyu left Qiansi Academy. He watched, tears streaming down his face, as Xiao Junyu was swallowed by the vast darkness, no matter how much he called out, she wouldn't answer...

He simply got up, went to the window, and opened it.

The moonlight suddenly shone into the courtyard, and the "Niejing" on the wall emitted a faint red glow.

He took his sword and began to practice in the courtyard. He finished a set of "Hands Playing Five Strings," but it was far from the tacit understanding he had when he was playing with Junyu. He suddenly remembered that the last time he saw Junyu, Junyu didn't seem to be carrying "Chasing Flying Sword."

He sat down on a cold stone chair in the courtyard, oblivious to the thick morning mist and dew that soaked his clothes.

"Yuan Jing, what are you doing sitting here?"

Mencius' mother got up early to check on her son, only to find the room empty. She went outside and found him sitting blankly in the garden, looking haggard. Looking at him with concern, she said, "Why aren't you resting? Why are you sitting here in a daze?"

Meng Yuanjing shook his head and remained silent.

Mencius' mother hurriedly asked, "Yuanjing, is something on your mind?"

Meng Yuanjing stood up: "Mother, I need to go out for a while."

"Okay, go out and clear your head, and come back early tonight."

"No, I'm going on a long trip. I'd like to ask for leave for a while, and I'll leave tomorrow."

"How can that be? Tomorrow, Grand Secretary Wang is hosting a banquet for you, and I've already accepted on your behalf. Madam Wang has already sent a matchmaker to propose marriage. His daughter is beautiful and virtuous, and comes from a family of scholars and poets. I'm very fond of her..."

"Reject all marriage proposals; I won't attend any of them."

Meng Yuanjing was extremely filial to his mother and never went against her arrangements. Even when he fell in love with the courtesan Xiang Hongye, he had no choice but to tolerate his mother's disapproval, not daring to disobey her for fear of hurting her feelings.

This was the first time Mencius' mother had seen her son so resolute, and she was quite surprised: "Why are you turning down all the marriage proposals? Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring. You are not young anymore, how long are you going to wait? Besides, the banquet at the Grand Secretary Wang's residence has already been arranged. How will you explain to them if you turn down these at the last minute?"

Meng Yuanjing said, "I'm going to see a friend. I want to ask her some questions in person."

Mencius' mother was very displeased: "What kind of friend is more important than your lifelong marriage?"

"This is more important than anything else. If I don't figure it out, I'm afraid I'll never have peace of mind for the rest of my life."

Perhaps it was her son's strange tone, or perhaps it was the unprecedented look of his haggard face, but Mencius' mother felt a pang of heartache and softened her voice: "Who is this friend of yours? Do I know him?"

Meng Yuanjing was silent for a moment: "Mother, do you still remember Junyu?"

Meng's mother laughed: "Junyu? How come I don't know him? I've heard you mention him at least 99 times out of 100. By the way, before we went to the capital, some of the ladies from my prominent families gathered. All of them praised Junyu highly, especially Wang Jun's mother and grandmother. They raved about him, saying he was the best person in the world. His grandmother even said regretfully that Junyu had saved Wang Jun's life, and if Wang Jun were a girl, she would definitely make him repay her with his own body, trying every means to find Junyu to be her grandson-in-law. They all envied my son for having such a friend. I heard that many wealthy families in Jiangnan with daughters were vying to find out if he was married and wanted to propose marriage to him... Hehe, at the time, I was a little unhappy. How come this Junyu is even better than my son? It's just a pity that I wasn't home when Junyu went to Jiangnan, and I never got to meet you, this friend who is said to be like a god... Yuanjing, when will you invite him to our house as a guest, so I can see him..."

A smile finally appeared on Meng Yuanjing's face: "Junyu is even better than the rumors you've heard. Mother, if you meet her, you will definitely like her very much."

"You went there just to see him?"

"right."

"Mother, have you ever heard of 'Lancisi'?"

Mencius' mother looked at her son with great surprise: "Why would you ask about this?"

What exactly is the conflict between Lancia and her uncle and aunt?

Mencius' mother said displeasedly, "Why are you asking this? How do you know about Lan Xisi?"

“Lanxi Si is Junyu’s mother.”

Mother Meng's expression changed drastically. Over the years, she had never mentioned the name "Lanxisi" to her brother and sister-in-law. After more than twenty years, she had almost forgotten the name, but she never expected her son to ask about it today. Even more unexpectedly, Lanxisi's son turned out to be her son's best friend.

"Did your uncle and aunt do anything to wrong Lancisi?"

Mencius' mother sighed, "Your uncle has already passed away, what else is there to say?"

"Uncle, he had been depressed all these years and had a bad relationship with Aunt. Wasn't that the main reason he died so young?"

Mencius' mother, thinking of her recently deceased younger brother, sighed deeply: "Your aunt's family background, character, and appearance were all excellent. I really don't understand why your uncle has been holding a grudge all this time..."

"What about Lancia? Isn't Lancia good?"

"To be honest, I don't like Lanxisi. A girl who doesn't stay at home, doing her embroidery and weaving, fulfilling her wifely duties, but instead spends all her time being competitive, fighting and killing, even wanting to become the leader of the martial arts alliance, causing chaos in the martial arts world. How can she not be hated?"

“Lancisi is an orphan. Perhaps because she was left unsupervised from a young age, she is very wild and has been arrogant since her debut. Our family is a traditional noble family, but later the number of descendants decreased, leaving only your uncle and me. Your uncle studied under a famous master from a young age and his swordsmanship is very superb. Therefore, the family has high expectations for him. Perhaps it was a twist of fate, but your uncle liked Lancisi very much as soon as he met her. The two were in love, and even the family’s attempts to stop them were futile.”

"Once, your grandfather personally warned Lanxi to stop causing trouble and to stop bothering your uncle, but Lanxi resolutely refused. Your grandfather intended to teach her a lesson, but Lanxi arrogantly declared that she never argued with those who were too far inferior to her. Your grandfather, who was originally quite renowned, fell seriously ill after this outburst. However, instead of blaming Lanxi for her rudeness, your uncle blamed the family for treating her that way and simply ran away from home."

"Just when we were all feeling utterly hopeless, Lancisi broke off her relationship with your uncle for some unknown reason, and no matter how much he begged, she wouldn't change her mind. When we learned that your uncle was going to marry your aunt, the whole family was overjoyed. However, no one could have imagined that your uncle would end up like this after the marriage... Sigh."

"Lancelot is actually a very contradictory person. Although I've only met her twice and don't particularly like her, sometimes I admire her unparalleled martial arts skills and profound knowledge. Her words and actions, her radiant smile—in short, she's the kind of person you'll never forget once you've met her. Alas, in all these decades, I've never seen anything like her in any other woman. So much so that many years later, when I saw your uncle looking so melancholy, I couldn't help but hate her for abandoning him back then..."

Meng's mother sighed, "Lanxi is so heartless, far less tender and considerate than your aunt. I really don't know what your uncle was thinking when he was alive..."

Meng Yuanjing recalled the long story told by the "Demon of Love" in "Hanjing Garden" about the grudges between Lan Xisi and her uncle and aunt, and felt his face still burning. He couldn't help but say loudly, "That's not necessarily true."

Mencius' mother asked suspiciously, "What do you know about the feuds between elders?"

Meng Yuanjing shook his head. His uncle had already passed away, and Lan Xisi had been gone for even longer. With the arrival of the Shi Lanni sisters in the palace, his aunt was left all alone. What was the point of bringing these things up now?

He didn't mention the story of the "love demon" to his mother, but simply said, "I won't ask about those past things anymore."

Meng's mother said, "I never imagined that Junyu was Lanxisi's son. However, after hearing Wang Jun's grandmother praise him so highly, I'm a little unconvinced. It's probably because he saved Wang Jun, so she might be exaggerating. How could anyone in the world be better than my son?"

"There is no one better than Junyu in this world, Mother. You must like Junyu. You absolutely must like Junyu."

Meng's mother laughed: "Yuanjing, what magic does Junyu have that everyone says is good? The way you are acting, it's not like you want me to like your friend, but rather that you want me to like the girl you like."

"What if Junyu were a girl?"

Mencius' mother smiled as she looked at her son, then suddenly glared at him and said, "Yuanjing, how come your friend who is the Grand Marshal is a girl?"

Meng Yuanjing forced a smile and shook his head, then after a long while said, "Of course—no."

Chapter 111: Identity Exposed (2)

In early June, Zhou Yida joined forces with Lin Baoshan and Lu Ling's armies. As planned, they clashed twice with the Chijin tribe's army on the outer grasslands. When Zhenmutier saw the army approaching, he retreated without a fight and led his remaining troops to flee overnight, reaching the border area thousands of miles away.

The Northwest Army captured over 3,000 people, including leaders, family members, children, and clansmen, from an important Chijin tribe, while the number of other captured soldiers reached tens of thousands. The Chijin deserters in the Tarim Basin were completely annihilated by the large armies led by Geng Ke and Zhang Yuan.

In the tents where they were about to return to their camp, the soldiers counted their large spoils of war, and were all overjoyed.

Lin Baoshan, Zhou Yida, Lu Ling, and others were reporting the situation when Junyu, lost in thought, suddenly heard a commotion in the distance. She listened carefully; it sounded like laughter mixed with cheers. For some reason, the laughter and shouts gave her a slightly eerie feeling.

Junyu and the others went outside together.

A mile away, thousands of soldiers were surrounding a large pit, shooting arrows and filling it with soil. Junyu walked closer and suddenly saw a boy's head struggling in the soil, with an arrow still stuck in his neck. Then, another arrow was shot swiftly, and Junyu flew over and caught it...

A surge of hot blood seemed to rush to his head, about to explode. Junyu shouted sharply, "What are you doing?"

The soldiers, who had been driven to madness, suddenly fell silent. Junyu's gaze swept over the faces that had been completely distorted by the war, and a huge sense of fear and disgust suddenly welled up in his heart.

The leading supervisor laughed, "We plan to bury all three thousand-plus important prisoners alive. As for the rest, we're too lazy to escort them; we'll just deal with them on the spot..."

"Who gave you permission to do this?"

The military supervisor was taken aback. As an important official appointed by the emperor, he had never been spoken to so harshly before. Moreover, handling post-war matters, such as prisoners of war, was precisely the duty of the military supervisor of this dynasty. He was extremely embarrassed: "The Crimson Gold Clan army is extremely brutal. In recent years, every time they have captured a city, they have massacred the entire city if they encounter the slightest resistance. The people of our dynasty hate them to the bone. Isn't it just right to bury these three thousand prisoners alive and give them a taste of their own medicine?"

"Those several hundred important figures of the Crimson Gold Clan should be handed over to the imperial court for punishment. However, among these three thousand people, there are more than a thousand women, children, the elderly, and the weak. How can they be massacred on the spot?"

The supervising officer laughed and said, "Marshal, you are mistaken. We must nip it in the bud. They are the Red Gold Clan, and they may just grow back in the wind, like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. To boost the morale of the people and the army, I am also prepared to massacre all ten thousand of them."

Junyu coldly replied, "No matter who they are, the morale of the army and the people cannot be boosted like this. The supervising officer need not say more. I have my own plan."

The military supervisor, having met with a major setback, gave a cold laugh: "I have the right to exercise my authority..."

"No matter what power you have, you cannot be so inhumane."

For the first time, the soldiers saw their invincible and gentle commander display such fury. The supervising officer wanted to argue, but he immediately fell silent.

"Immediately take stock of the remaining prisoners. Except for important leaders and professional soldiers, release the rest of the women, children, the elderly, the weak, and civilians on the spot. General Zhou and Lu Ling will be in charge of this matter personally. No one is allowed to interfere..." She glanced at the supervisor's angry face, her gaze sweeping over the soldiers like a blade: "No one is allowed to intercept or pursue the released prisoners. Anyone who violates this rule will be punished like this arrow..." She released her hand, and with a "snap," the arrow broke in two and fell to the ground.

The military supervisor snorted coldly and walked away sullenly.

The army returned to Xining Prefecture in late June.

The following evening, news suddenly arrived that Xia Ao was coming to visit.

Junyu went out to greet him, only to see Xia Ao dragging an iron rod. He bowed deeply and said, "I have come on the orders of Chiba to invite Marshal Jun to participate in our temple's 'Snowy Region Festival'."

Junyu accepted the specially made invitation from the Holy Palace. The "Snowland Festival" held in early July each year is one of the Holy Palace's most important festivals. Unlike purely religious festivals, the "Snowland Festival" is not limited to religious activities. It also includes song and dance performances and theatrical performances by various folk groups, and allows ordinary people to visit the park. Therefore, in some ways, the "Snowland Festival" is even more lively than their New Year.

Seeing that Junyu readily agreed, Xia Ao happily dragged his iron rod and took his leave.

Junyu calculated the time and found that there were still nine days until the "Snowy Region Festival". He then instructed Lin Baoshan, Zhou Yida, Lu Ling and others on military affairs, and set off alone the next day.

Traveling slowly, Junyu took the time to appreciate the beautiful scenery of this extremely mysterious land for the first time. Four days later, at dusk, she arrived at a valley facing south and backed by north at the foot of Mount Namcha Barwa.

It was the height of summer, and looking around, the familiar little wooden cabin in the valley was no longer covered in snow. Scattered clumps of low shrubs grew lush and green around it, and on the large open ground outside the cabin, some grasses had begun to wither and turn yellow, while others remained verdant. Various wildflowers grew among them, and the abundant fruit of a patch of thorns emitted a mysterious, sweet fragrance.

A melodious piano tune echoed between the blue sky and white clouds.

At that time, the sun was setting in the sky, and on the grass in front of the wooden house, the person playing the zither was dressed in hemp clothing as white as snow, and was handsome and otherworldly.

When the music ended, Junyu slowly walked over.

The person playing the zither looked up and watched the smiling young man approach, then said softly, "Junyu, I knew you would come."

Junyu nodded and sat down next to him: "Tuosang, you've been waiting for a long time, haven't you?"

Tuosang's eyebrows and eyes were full of joy. In the distance, two birds took off from the bushes and fluttered into the sky.

The waning crescent moon slowly climbed overhead. The distant snow-capped mountains emitted a cool, clear light, while the summer night breeze on this lush green meadow carried an unparalleled coolness.