General’s Gown

Chapter 92 The north wind sweeps the earth Part 5

Yan Changqing’s eyes were full of red blood, and he stared at Murong Xiu’s face without saying a word, as if he was looking at a monster he had never seen before. 

“I never forced them. I just took out a little gold and silver, and these people scrambled to wear Beirong people’s clothes without thinking about the reasons behind it. They were so chaotic and ignorant, they even dared to hurt you. Such stupid peasants, what’s the use of keeping them? They should have been crushed to death in Qinchuan City. It was you, brother, who saved their lives and let them live a few more days. I’m just helping my brother to take it back.” 

A sharp pain kept hitting his nerves, Yan Changqing had difficulty breathing. It took a long time to move his trembling lips, and say, “…Why?” 

“Why?” 

Murong Xiu raised his eyebrows in surprise, and his smile narrowed: “Brother, don’t you know it yourself? If I didn’t set up this game, will you come back? If I didn’t threaten the safety of the world, do you plan to stay with that Dongyun man until you turn old? You are the most honored General of my Yan Kingdom. You are also my most cherished brother. You promised me that you would always stay with me and guard the world with me. But why did you never come back from Dongyun? Do you not want me anymore? You want to abandon me ?”

Yan Changqing knelt on the ground, looked at Murong Xiu with empty eyes, looked around at the so-called “prisoners of war” who were crying and shivering, and felt that his heart was being emptied bit by bit. It turned into a wisp of blue smoke that dispersed. At this moment, the vast world was completely reduced to darkness, and there was not even a single candle in sight. The only thing that can be perceived was Murong Xiu’s voice.     

“Do you think that the senior ministers don’t know about your trip to Dongyun? Do you know what they said? Because of the temper snow stones last time, they are suspicious of your stance. This time you disappeared for no reason, and they decided that you were treasonous! They have already sent killers to sneak into Dongyun, trying to use your death to blackmail me and attack me. I really had no choice but to use He Li, to have him find you. Brother, I must find you first, I must clear your name, and I must protect you…” 

Murong Xiu was talking to himself, but when he turned around, he saw Yan Changqing kneeling on the ground without saying a word, like a sculpture that had lost all its brilliance. He was extremely horrified to find that in Yan Changqing’s eyes, the beam of light was completely extinguished. 

Murong Xiu suddenly panicked, and his original speech turned into stutter: “Brother, what’s wrong with you?”

Yan Changqing looked at Murong Xiu’s panicked face and smiled slowly. “So, it’s all for me?” 

For me, you took so many lives again? 

Murong Xiu’s tone was a little pleading: “Other than that, I really had no other way…” 

“I know I was wrong, brother, please don’t do this, don’t stop talking, can you forgive me?” 

“No matter what I did wrong when I was young, you would forgive me. So, forgive me again, okay?” 

“Forgive me, okay?” 

Yan Changqing smiled palely, covered his face and did not want to look in front of him again. But as soon as he closed his eyes, countless blood-splattered pale corpses appeared in his mind, and each corpse stared at him with frightened eyes. In this ridiculous war, how many innocent lives were lost because of him?

Forgive? 

Forgive who? 

Was he qualified to forgive others? 

The cries of the battlefield still seemed to be echoing in his ears. It turned out that those “Beirong people” desperately wanted to rush into the city gate just to survive. And he, as a general with the duty of protecting his family and country, watched the people of his own country die under the sword of his own people. 

He once thought to himself that he had never lost in his life, but now it seems that he has completely and thoroughly lost. 

“Forgive you?” 

Yan Changqing looked at Murong Xiu quietly, with a sad smile: “I’m not qualified to forgive anyone, especially myself.” 

Yan Changqing slowly stood up and walked forward staggeringly. The cowardly people in Qinchuan all around shrank back in fright at his face, for fear of being killed by Yan Changqing. But Yan Changqing didn’t do anything. He just dragged his long sword and walked slowly forward step by step, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away. 

“Where are you going?!” 

A panicked voice came from behind. Yan Changqing seemed to have never heard it, and only looked down at his hands. No matter how he looked at it, his hands were covered with sticky blood, and it seemed that they couldn’t be washed clean anymore. Looking up and looking around, there was chaos everywhere, a tragic blood red. The terrified eyes of the dead came hand in hand, like a curse engraved on his body. 

He wanted to run away. 

Escape! 

Escape! ! 

“Stop him!” 

With an order, appearing in front of Yan Changqing was a row of black-clothed golden swords. It  was the secret guards directly under the emperor – Qilinwei. They stood in a row, trying to block Yan Changqing’s way, but as soon as the dazzling knife was unsheathed, Yan Changqing raised his hand and threw it away. When they went to stop him, they saw a black wind sweep in front of them and heard a “pa”,”pa”, “pa!”. The muffled sound of a few heavy blows of flesh and blood suddenly swelled up in their chest, and these Qilinwei had their legs softened, and they knelt down one after another, spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood.

Yan Changqing withdrew his hand, his eyes still empty, and he continued to move forward step by step. More guards continued to attack him like jackdaws in the sky, and when one fell, another person would pounce on him. When one was knocked back, the first three would rush forward. 

The blood mist rose, screams following again and again, and there was already a circle of injured black shadows lying around, but the Qilinwei continued to come up. 

Yan Changqing almost used up all his strength, his eyes were blood red, his hair was messy, and his shoulders and legs were injured. Of course, these injuries were not fatal, but they hindered his actions in the end. Yan Changqing frantically resisted the Qilinwei’s attack, kicking and hitting with his fists, but his every move became more and more incoherent. 

He wanted to break free and escape, but the dark figures in front of him surrounded him more and more tightly, making him almost unable to breathe. 

But even if he fled, broke free, where would he go? 

Where could he escape to? 

Yan Changqing raised his head and let out a long howl of despair. 

The sky was overturned, the sky and earth torn apart, and the unprecedented darkness fell on him like rocks and collapsed. 

Yan Changqing’s eyes darkened, and he fell back heavily. 

However, just as he was about to fall to the ground, Murong Xiu stretched out his arms and hugged him firmly. 

Did he pass out? 

Murong Xiu gently brushed away the messy hair on Yan Changqing’s forehead, and looked at this handsome and pale profile that had appeared in his dreams countless times. Why was it that even though he passed out, his brother’s brows were still so tightly wrinkled, and his jet-black eyelashes drooped weakly, a vulnerability he had never seen before. 

“Brother, I’m sorry.” 

Murong Xiu hugged Yan Changqing tightly in his arms. But I have to do it. 

I can only do this. 

—————————————-

Sheng An City’s winter came very early this year. Before the leaves had fallen, heavy snow had already fallen. Once it fell, it snowed all night, and didn’t stop until dawn. The wet cold air diffused from the snow, penetrating the scarlet palace walls little by little, and spread throughout the palace. Everyone in the palace could not help shrinking their heads and walking in the heavy snow with their heads lowered. Silent and quiet, there was almost no human voice, just the crunching sound of stepping of the snow can be heard. 

In Zhaohua Hall, a young eunuch was holding a steaming food box and went out with a gloomy face. As soon as the curtain was lifted, he happened to meet the palace maid who was standing outside the door. 

As soon as the door curtain opened, a faint bitter fragrance came out. This maid in charge was an old senior in the palace. Which palace building had she not been to, but she had never smelled such a strange incense in another palace. She only heard people say that this incense was specially prepared by the emperor for the master in Zhaohua Hall. A piece the size of a fingernail was more precious than an ingot of gold. But this Zhaohua Hall was constantly smoking this incense day and night, just like burning charcoal. Every time the maid came in and smelled this incense, she thought, this incense was no better than the incense in other temples, and even had a bitter taste of herbal medicine, why was it so valuable? 

But at this time, the maid in charge was no longer in the mood to think about the incense. While helping the little eunuch lift the curtain, she lowered her voice and pouted inside the inner hall: “…Still refuse to eat?” 

The little eunuch’s eyebrows and eyes were bunched together, his head drooping, he was about to cry: “Since he came, he hasn’t used his chopsticks and haven’t even drank water. It’s already the third day!” 

“They won’t be able to last!” 

The maid in charge scolded in a low voice, turned and beckoned. A chubby little girl with a round face like a red apple, her cheeks red with cold, dressed in colorful winter clothes came out. It was very festive, but it was not the dress of a palace maid.

“Little ancestor, I’m counting on you.” The palace maid said, stuffing the food box into the little chubby girl’s hands, clasping her hands together, and bowing devoutly. 

The little chubby girl nodded timidly, holding a food box that was half her height, and walked into the hall with an ignorant expression. As she walked, she looked around. She was too young, and this gorgeous empress bedroom was very spacious, with high pillars and a dome carved with dragons and phoenixes, but there was no shadow of a person, only a strange bitter fragrance lingering on one’s nose. The little chubby girl became more and more frightened as she walked, and before taking a few more steps, her legs fell softly. But she kept the palace maid’s instructions in mind, pursed her little mouth, and staggered forward with the food box in her arms. 

Under the gorgeous curtain, the little chubby girl vaguely saw a thin back, with long blue silk covering it. They were hugging their knees, and said nothing. Only a small half of his pale but extremely handsome profile was revealed. The little chubby girl put down the food box, rubbed her eyes with her chubby fists, and took a closer look. Suddenly she used her milky voice and shouted excitedly: “Hey, immortal brother!” 

Yan Changqing was stunned when he heard the sound. He turned around and saw a chubby ball plunge into his arms. With two fluffy pigtails and a red round face, Yan Changqing recognized that this was the little girl he and Helian Rongchuan rescued on the day the Qilinwei slaughtered Qixia Village. 

“It’s you?” Yan Changqing felt his eyes warm slightly: “Why are you here?” 

The chubby girl raised her round red face proudly: “Someone from the palace said that there was a big brother who was angry and refused to eat. They were worried to death. They also said that I am the most delicious child in the world, as long as I am able to help them coax, then the big brother will definitely eat, so I came.” 

The little chubby girl spoke, while rubbing against him like a small animal. He said curiously: “I didn’t expect the big brother to be you. Big brother, why don’t you eat, are you not behaving?”