ebookland Chapter 258 Farewell
Chapter 258 Farewell
It was customary to send news of victory by express courier, which would travel 800 li. But this time, the message only arrived at the palace when Yan Zeyu had led his troops to within 20 li of the city.
Two hundred thousand enemies were killed, and the head of the Crown Prince of Beirou was taken—a great victory. An Liangchen held the letter in silence for a long time: "We will not return until we win. Now that the army has returned, it is certainly a victory."
In fact, what Yan Zeyu wrote and what he didn't write had already been sent to An Liangchen through secret reports: the rulers, ministers, soldiers, and their families of Beirou—those who fight will die, and those who surrender will also die.
Blood flowed like rivers, and wildfires burned corpses for three days straight. Yuan Feng, Nan Fei, and Yin Jing perished in battle. Le Chunqiu returned the token and took Yin Jing's ashes back to Fengzhou alone.
Xu Sheng deployed troops along the Jingjiang River but did not launch an attack. An Liangchen could not fathom Xu Sheng's intentions, but Xing Tian's cavalry had not yet returned, and his forces were currently insufficient, so An Liangchen could only delay.
Currently, the internal strife in the northern deserts only requires a small force for defense. Only when Xing Tian cavalry destroys the Northern Rou and establishes Ganzhou Prefecture will Dongyang be able to confront Xu Sheng. As long as the war with the Northern Rou remains unresolved, his anxiety only increases.
An Liangchen brought Luo An back only to avoid a direct conflict with Xu Sheng. If Luo An were to argue with Xu Sheng on Chongming Island, and Xu Sheng were to send troops in a fit of anger, Luo An would likely be powerless to stop him.
It was common for soldiers to die in battle, and An Liangchen felt regret but didn't care too much. However, the fact that Nan Fei and Yuan Feng both died in battle was unexpected.
Therefore, even though the secret report had arrived long ago and An Liangchen was already planning the defense deployment along the Jingjiang River, he never told anyone about it.
Nan Hua rarely appears in public anymore. With fewer people in the harem, there's less to do. After the concubines were brought in, some of the work was taken away from her, and she spends all her time taking care of the children.
The emperor and empress had been neglecting their duties for a long time, but they were overjoyed to have a grandson. They would send people over from time to time to take the child to play with, and Nanhua naturally had more free time.
Nanhua tried embroidering, but she was never satisfied with how she embroidered the mandarin ducks. She thought she had no talent for it and didn't force herself, so she picked up martial arts again.
When An Liangchen found Nan Hua, Nan Hua was practicing swordsmanship in the Imperial Garden. An Liangchen stood by and watched for a while, then Nan Hua twirled his sword and thrust it at him.
An Liangchen didn't dodge at all. Nan Hua's wrist twitched slightly, and the sword pierced through An Liangchen's neck, just one centimeter away.
Nan Hua broke out in a cold sweat and said urgently, "Are you looking for death?"
An Liangchen watched intently, and Nan Hua assumed that An Liangchen wanted to exchange a few moves with her. These were ordinary moves; one could easily dodge them by shifting one's foot or tilting one's head, yet she insisted on taking the risk.
An Liangchen sheathed her sword: "I have something to tell you."
Nan Hua showed little interest: "If it's about Consort Yu, you don't need to tell me. You're the Crown Prince, so you have the final say."
An Liangchen frowned slightly: "Do you know what time it is now?"
Nan Hua, not understanding why, still replied, "It's just past noon. Kang'er is with his mother, so I came over to stroll in the garden since I had nothing to do."
An Liangchen seemed dissatisfied with the answer: "It's August now."
What's wrong with August? Nan Hua, puzzled, took the sword and asked, "Your Highness, is something the matter?"
In the past, when An Liangchen looked unwell, Nanhua would always recount all the recent events in the palace and court. But since when did Nanhua lose the desire to speculate?
Rumors are circulating that the concubine is favored by the Crown Prince, often seen by his side, and is now pregnant. Prince Ming donated 10,000 coins as incense money for the unborn child.
Chunhua and Qiuyue would occasionally mention it to Nanhua, but Nanhua would stop them. She felt she had become lazy, and she no longer cared whether An Liangchen came to visit or not.
An Liangchen said, "It seems like you don't care about anything else except your child now?"
Children grow up so fast, they change every day. They can smile, roll over, sit up, and crawl...
Nan Hua's mind was entirely focused on the child, as if she had resigned herself to her fate: perhaps this is how women in the palace are.
Nan Hua's voice was somewhat hoarse: "Perhaps. Your Highness has sufficient ability and others care about you, so I have nothing to worry about."
An Liangchen paused for a moment before saying, "We won the war against Beirou, and the soldiers will be outside the city soon."
Nan Hua's eyes lit up: "I knew they could win. Shall I go with you to pick them up?"
Nan Hua hadn't attended an event with An Liangchen in a long time, but these were her younger brother and sister-in-law; she couldn't very well let Yu Shuxian accompany them. Otherwise, Nan Fei would definitely be angry. Nan Hua vaguely sensed that An Liangchen was somewhat wary of Nan Fei.
An Liangchen said, "Let's go."
Nan Hua followed An Liangchen for a few steps before realizing something was wrong. Ying Beirou was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but An Liangchen showed no joy.
She had truly been confined to the palace for so long, dealing with children every day, that her mind had become dulled. Nan Hua grew increasingly terrified as she thought about it, and suddenly stopped in her tracks.
An Liangchen took a few steps forward before stopping, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning back. His eyes were filled with sorrow and pity.
Nan Hua's lips trembled, and his voice shook: "Nan Fei, how are they?"
An Liangchen shifted his gaze slightly: "Nanhua, they are heroes of Dongyang."
Nan Hua's legs went weak, and he seemed about to collapse.
An Liangchen quickly stepped in to support her: "Don't go, stay home and rest, wait for me to come back."
"No!" Nan Hua straightened up: "Let's go together."
His resolute and strong demeanor was familiar to An Liangchen. He gently stroked Nan Hua's face, his voice tender: "Okay."
The two sat in the carriage. Nan Hua was lost in thought, while An Liangchen quietly watched her.
I don't know when it started, but a rift developed between them. There were no more all-night chats, no more drinking sprees until dawn; they would occasionally talk about the children, and then fall silent.
Sometimes An Liangchen would come over, watch Nanhua playing with the children from afar, feel a little unfamiliar with him, and then quietly leave. Whether he came or not, Nanhua didn't seem to care much.
Yan Zeyu led his troops to wait outside the city. When they saw An Liangchen and Nanhua, they knelt down in unison: "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince, Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Princess."
Nan Hua seemed not to hear, and walked step by step toward the coffin, each step feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds. She stood between the two coffins, touching them on the left and right.
The entire place was so quiet that it was as if a pin dropping would be a deafening sound; the atmosphere was so oppressive that everyone had to be careful even when breathing.
"Caw... caw..." Two crows flew in from nowhere, swooping overhead and making rough, hoarse cries that sent shivers down one's spine.
Nan Hua tilted her head slightly, and only after the crow disappeared from sight did she slowly turn and walk towards An Liangchen. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes were lifeless, and her back was ramrod straight.
An Liangchen stood at the front and extended his hand to her. Nan Hua placed her hand in An Liangchen's palm; it was colder than ice in winter.
Anliang gripped her hand tightly, placed his other hand on Nanhua's shoulder, and almost forcibly helped Nanhua into the carriage, reassuring her, "You ride in the carriage, I'll walk them."
Nan Hua was speechless. An Liangchen summoned Chunhua and Qiuyue to keep Nan Hua company. He himself walked, guiding the soldiers to carry the coffin into the Wanshou Palace.
The Crown Prince led the procession, banners fluttering, the soldiers' expressions solemn. People along the roadside stopped to watch, whispering amongst themselves; rumors spread like wildfire throughout Bianjing.