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The sounds of reality, the stench, and the bloody scent finally startled him awake. He was curled up on the blood-soaked and foul-smelling straw, still in the prison cell. He didn't know when, but sunlight leaked in from the window, turning into a pillar of light and floating dust. He slowly moved his eyes. There was another figure in the cell, sitting on a chair, quietly watching him.

Tang Minjie also looked at the other person, waiting for his blurred vision to gradually clear. He gasped for breath, moving backwards with some difficulty, then sat up on the straw, leaning against the wall, facing the other.

"...Has the Jin Dynasty fallen? People come and go in this prison every day..."

He had never imagined that this figure would appear in his prison.

It was a tall old man, his white hair meticulously combed back, wearing a brocade robe embroidered with dragon patterns.

"The Jin Dynasty has not fallen. Although the Western Prefecture has lost, in this Yun City, I can still go wherever I want, and no one can stop me."

Gu Shen, Wanyan Xiyin.

He said, "Your schemes are used too much. Did Ning Yi teach you?"

When he mentioned Ning Yi, Tang Minjie took a breath, said nothing, and quietly looked at him, leaning against the wall. The prison cell was silent for a moment.

...

"...I heard people say that you are a disciple personally taught by Ning Liheng, so I came to see you. Over the years, I have always wanted to talk to Mr. Ning of the Southwest face to face, to sit down and discuss philosophy. Unfortunately, I probably won't have such an opportunity. What kind of person is Ning Liheng? Can you tell me about him?"

The young man on the straw mat opposite remained silent, his eyes still fixed on him. After a moment, the old man smiled and sighed.

"Actually, over the years, I know some of the things my wife has been doing in secret. She has saved tens of thousands of Han people, and has sent out some intelligence, privately, more or less. For more than ten years, the Han people in the north have lived miserably, but those in my mansion can live like human beings. Outside they call her 'Han Consort'. She has done countless good deeds, but in the end, she was betrayed by you... What you have done will be attributed to the Huaxia Army. Our Jin Dynasty will publicize this, and you will not escape this sharp judgment."

The old man said, looking at his opponent. But the young man did not speak, only looked at him, with a cold mockery in his eyes. The old man nodded.

"Of course, the Huaxia Army will tell the outside world that it was just a forced confession, that it was a traitor like you who exposed the Han Consort... This was originally a life-and-death confrontation. Belief or disbelief is never about the truth, and that's not wrong... After this, the Western Prefecture will eventually not withstand the pressure, and I will have to step down sooner or later. But the Jurchen people are not supported by me alone. The Western Prefecture still has the Grand Marshal, Gao Qingyi, Han Qixian, and the will to learn from past mistakes. Even without Wanyan Xiyin, they will not collapse. We have come this way for so many years. How can my Jurchen people have the saying that they cannot survive without someone..."

As the old man spoke, his eyes gradually became firm. He rose from the chair, holding a small package, probably containing medicine for injuries, walked over, and placed it beside Tang Minjie: "...Of course, this is my expectation."

Tang Minjie ignored him. Xiyin turned around and slowly paced around the prison cell, silent for a moment.

"...I remember... the words I have spoken to my wife over the years. I had already told her that treating the Han people as slaves was not a good thing. More than ten years ago, I told her that these things would be slowly changed. A few years ago, I said so too. Before the Southern Expedition, I also said..."

"...My Great Jin Dynasty has few Jurchens. If we want to govern stably, we can only divide people into three classes. At the beginning, of course, the division should be stricter, and then slowly improve. When Wu Qimai was in power, he issued many decrees, forbidding the arbitrary killing of Han slaves. This is naturally an improvement... It can be improved faster. I often said this to my wife, and I felt that I had done some things, but there were always more important things ahead..."

"...Suppressing nobles, punishing corruption, nurturing new people, promoting material studies... Over the past ten years, every single thing has been a major event. The survival of Han slaves has been alleviated, so it can only be pushed back slowly. Three years ago, the Southern Expedition was imminent. This was the biggest thing. I thought that after this Southern Expedition, I would be old, so I told my wife that after this matter was over, I would take the matter of the Han people in the Jin Dynasty as the biggest thing to do. In my lifetime, I must make them live better, both for them and for the Jurchens..."

"...One thing pushes another, and in the end, it can't be done anymore. Today, when I see you, I think of the Jurchens forty years ago..."

The old man sat back in the chair, looking at Tang Minjie.

"...At that time, the Jurchens were just small tribes in the Hushu River area. There were few people, and they were weak. We survived in the ice and snow. The Liao Dynasty was like a giant that could not be seen to the edge, oppressing us every year! We finally couldn't bear it anymore, and Aguda led us to start an uprising, three thousand against one hundred thousand! Twenty thousand against seven hundred thousand! We slowly built up a magnificent reputation! The outside world says that the Jurchens are brave, and that the Jurchens are less than ten thousand, but ten thousand are invincible!"

"...We slowly overthrew the once invincible Liao Dynasty. We always felt that the Jurchens were all heroes."

"And in the south, we gradually saw the weakness of you Han people. You live in the best places, occupy the best land, and live the best lives, but every day you write poetry and compose music, and you are unbearably weak! This is the nature of you Han people!"

The old man's eyes were fierce, and his finger pointed at the other party.

"...When Aguda was about to leave, he told us that the conquest of Liao was over, and we could take the Wu Dynasty... We went south and overthrew Bianliang all the way. You didn't even fight a few decent battles. In the Second Southern Expedition, we annihilated the Wu Dynasty and occupied the plains. Every time we fought, we massacred the soldiers. You didn't resist! Even the weakest sheep are braver than you!"

"...In the Third Southern Expedition, we searched the mountains and examined the seas, and we have been fighting in Jiangnan for so many years, and it is still the same. You are not only weak, but you are also constantly fighting among yourselves. The only people who had a little backbone during the first Battle of Bianliang were slowly squeezed out by you to the northwest and southwest. It was easy to fight everywhere. Even when attacking cities... The first time we attacked Taiyuan, Nianhan besieged it for a year. Qin Shaohe guarded the city, starving to the point of eating people, but Nianhan couldn't break through... But what happened later..."

"...By the Second and Third Southern Expeditions, we just forced them to surrender. In the siege warfare, we sent a few teams of brave warriors up. As long as they stood firm and killed you until your blood flowed like rivers, then we would go in and massacre. Why not massacre you? Why shouldn't we massacre you? A bunch of cowards! You have always been like this—"

The prison cell fell silent, and the old man paused.

"...I... love and respect my wife, and I have always felt that we can't keep killing, we can't keep treating them as slaves... But on the other hand, you people tell me that you are just like this, and it doesn't matter if we take it slow. So we waited and waited, and we waited for more than ten years, until we saw your Huaxia Army in the southwest... And today, I see you..."

"I know that you have finally been forced out..."

He looked at Tang Minjie.

"It turns out... that the Jurchens and the Han people are not much different after all. We were forced in the ice and snow for hundreds of years. Finally, we couldn't live anymore, and we couldn't bear it anymore. We took up our knives and created the legend of ten thousand are invincible. And you weak Han people have been forced, killed, and pushed for more than ten years. Slowly, you have been forced into your current state. Even if you betray the Han Consort, you must get rid of Wanyan Xiyin and cause a power struggle between the East and West Prefectures. I heard that you had someone cripple Mandu Dalu's biological son. This method is not good, but... this is ultimately a life-and-death struggle..."

"But I think, Little Tang..." Xiyin said slowly, "What I have been thinking about most these past few days is my wife and my family's children. The Jurchens have won the world and treat the Han people as if they were animals. Finally, there is you, and there are Han heroes like the Huaxia Army. If one day, as you said, your Huaxia Army defeats us and the Han people win the world, how will you treat the Jurchens? What do you think your teacher, Mr. Ning, would say if he were here?"

He looked at Tang Minjie. This time, Tang Minjie finally opened his mouth with a cold smile: "He would kill you all, so there would be no loose ends."

Xiyin also laughed and shook his head: "Mr. Ning would not say such a thing... Of course, it doesn't matter what he would say. Little Tang, this world revolves like this. The Liao people were unrighteous and forced out the Jurchens. The Jin people were brutal and forced out you. If one day, you win the world and treat the Jin people or others just as brutally, then sooner or later, there will be other people, invincible with ten thousand, who will come to overthrow your Huaxia. As long as there is oppression, people will always resist."

The old man stood up, his figure tall and thin, with only a pair of eyes on his face showing amazing vitality. The opposite Tang Minjie was also in a similar state.

"It's not easy for you," he said. "You betrayed your comrades. The Huaxia Army will not acknowledge your achievements, and history books will not leave your name. Even if someone mentions it in the future, no one will admit that you are a good person. But today, here, I think you are amazing... Tang Minjie."

At this moment, on an afternoon of unknown date, in the gloomy prison cell, Wanyan Xiyin said to him, "...You defeated Wanyan Xiyin."

Tang Minjie laughed: "Then go and die quickly."

"I will, but I have to wait a few more days... I will." What he said last was: "...It's a pity." He seemed to be regretting that he no longer had the opportunity to talk to Ning Yi.

Then, he turned and left the prison cell.

The jailer came again to move away the chair and close the door. Tang Minjie lay on the messy straw, and the pillar of sunlight slid past his side, with dust dancing in it.

He didn't know why Xiyin had come to say such a thing, and he didn't know what stage the conflict between the East and West Prefectures had reached. Of course, he didn't bother to think about it.

After betraying Chen Jun, there was nothing more for him to consider. He didn't even bother to calculate the date. Life was his only burden. This was the most relaxed moment since he came to Yun City and saw countless hellish scenes. He was waiting for his death.

However, death was long in coming.

A few days later, another dark night, strange smoke drifted from the mouth of the prison cell...

When he woke up, he was on a bumpy carriage. Someone was pouring water on his face. He tried to open his eyes. He didn't know who the people were in the dark carriage.

They left the city and bumped all the way. Tang Minjie wanted to resist, but he was tied with ropes and the effect of the medicine hadn't worn off, so he couldn't exert any strength.

The carriage stopped somewhere outside the city. It was dawn, and a sliver of fish-belly white was showing on the horizon. He was pushed out of the carriage and knelt on the ground without standing up, because appearing in front of him was Chen Jun, holding a long knife. Her white hair was more plentiful, and her cheeks were even thinner. If it were normal, he might have mocked her and Xiyin for looking like a married couple, but at this moment, he did not speak. Chen Jun held the knife to his neck.

This was the desolate wilderness outside Yun City. The few people who had tied him up consciously scattered into the distance. Chen Jun looked at him.

"Do you still remember... after the Qi family incident, when I went to you, what you told me about the Han slaves?"

Her words were low and slow. Tang Minjie looked at Chen Jun, his eyes puzzled.

In the dim wilderness, the wind was light, and Chen Jun's voice was equally light: "At that time, you told me about the Han slave who was tied up with chains, like a dog. He had a limp leg, his right hand had been chopped off, his teeth had been knocked out, and he had no tongue... You told me that the Han slave used to be a soldier... You imitated his cries in front of me, 'Hmm, hmm, hmm, ah, ah, ah, ah...'"

The wind paused in the wilderness. Chen Jun said, "I went to see him."

Tang Minjie shook his head slightly.

"These days, I went to the places where the Han slaves live outside the city. The people who froze to death last winter have only been moved out now... Some were burned together with their houses, and everyone was skin and bones... I went to see... some places that I knew about before, but had never seen with my own eyes. I went to the small casino in the south of the city... called Xiaoyao Ju... Do you know about that..."

Chen Jun's eyes were filled with tears. Tang Minjie shook his head slightly. He knew all of that, and his shaking was for other things.

"They kill people there, killing Han slaves for people to watch... I only watched a little. I heard that last year, they caught Han slaves, especially soldiers, and they would... skin them... skin people..."

She said, covering her mouth with her hand, without saying more.

Another large cart came over in the wilderness, and there was another struggling figure on the cart.

"...I went to see the woman who killed Lu Mingfang... Remember? She's a mad woman, and she's from your Huaxia Army... the sister of a hero named Luo Ye... Is it Luo Ye? Is he a hero?"

"...She's still alive, but she's been tortured beyond recognition... Over the years, I've seen many Han people by Xiyin's side. Some of them live miserably, and I can't bear it. I want them to live better, but these miserable people, compared to others, are already living very well. This is the Jin Dynasty, this is the hell you are in..."

"...I remembered that time when Shi Liai asked me to choose a side. He was reminding me whether I should be a kind-hearted Jurchen Consort, or a 'Han Consort' standing on the side of the Han people. You also asked me where I should go if one day Yanran was pacified... You are really smart people, but unfortunately, I can't go to the Huaxia Army."

Tang Minjie shook his head, shaking his head more vigorously. He leaned his neck towards the long knife, but Chen Jun took a step back.

"I still hate you for betraying me. I will never forgive you in my life, because I have a good husband and a good son, and now I am going to kill them because of you. Chen Jun will never forgive your shameless behavior today! But as a Han person, Tang Minjie, your methods are really powerful. You are truly a remarkable person!"

She leaned down, her palm grabbing Tang Minjie's face, her thin fingers almost digging bloodstains into his face. Tang Minjie shook his head: "No..."

"I won't forgive you," Chen Jun stared at him. "But since you killed me, you give me roll back to your south! Your head is so useful, your methods are so powerful, in the remaining half of your life, you will live to atone for the Han people in the south! Please... make their lives better, let the tragedy of the plains never happen again, let there be no more hells like the Jin Dynasty, do you hear me... You give me go back and atone for your sins—"

A desolate and hoarse voice came from Tang Minjie's throat: "You kill me—"

Chen Jun said, "I hate you, so don't even think about dying in... my hands. You give me go back, the merit is mine, and your sins will never be redeemed!"

"I won't go back..."

"I'm going to your mother's—" Chen Jun said, she let go of the kneeling Tang Minjie, rushed to the cart next to her, and dragged the struggling figure off the cart. It was a struggling, yet timid, mad woman.

"Have you seen her! Have you seen her! It was she who killed Lu Mingfang, but she is also the sister of that hero Luo Ye from your Huaxia Army! She has suffered unbearable humiliation in the north, she is already crazy, but she is still alive—"

Chen Jun raised her knife and pointed at Tang Minjie, crying and shouting: "You now have two choices, either you kill her to avenge Lu Mingfang, and you also commit suicide and die here. Or, you take her all the way back to the south, so that that hero Luo can still see his only relative in this world, even if she is crazy, but she didn't deliberately hurt people—"

She waved her knife and cut the rope on Tang Minjie's body. Tang Minjie knelt and leaned over, his eyes also filled with tears: "You arrange for someone to send her down, you kill me, kill me..."

Chen Jun kicked him to the ground: "You want to die so easily, it's not that easy. You, in this life, you will have to remember me..."

She waved her hand and threw things at Tang Minjie: "This is a package, dry food, silver, the Lu Wang Mansion's customs clearance token! A knife, and a woman, a carriage, take them all, no one will chase you, Han Consort is the savior of thousands of families!... You are the last people I saved."

Her voice was loud, but only when she said the last sentence did it suddenly become soft.

Tang Minjie picked up the knife on the ground and stood up staggeringly: "I'm not going, I'm not going..." He tried to walk towards Chen Jun, but two people came over and reached out to stop him.

"You bastard..." Chen Jun laughed and cried, "Is it your turn to speak? Clown, hehe, you pretend to be crazy and act stupid, how do you laugh, hehehehe hahaha hahaha... Everyone, look, he's crying, haha, great hero..."

Chen Jun laughed wantonly, mocking Tang Minjie, whose medicine was gradually wearing off. At this moment, in the wilderness at dawn, she looked more like the "clown" who used to be feared in Yun City.

Tang Minjie charged at the obstruction of the two people: "You leave me, you listen to me, Chen Jun... you idiot—"

Chen Jun walked towards the carriage in the distance.

"I won't go—"

"I'll kill her—"

"Don't do this..."

"You kill me..."

"You stinky bitch, I deliberately betrayed you—"

Chen Jun got on the carriage, and the carriage gradually drove away from here, and then the two obstructers also retreated. Tang Minjie once walked towards the mad woman on the other side. He threatened to kill her with a knife, but no one paid attention to this matter. Instead, the mad woman also screamed and cried loudly in fright from his roar and the light of the knife. He slapped her to the ground.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah—"

In the wilderness, Tang Minjie howled madly like a wounded beast: "I'll kill your whole family, Chen Jun—"

The mad woman next to him also screamed and cried, rolling on the ground, holding her head: "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah—"

These voices from the depths of their hearts, filled with extreme sorrow, merged into one in the wilderness...

...

The carriage gradually drove away from here, and gradually the howling and crying of Tang Minjie could not be heard. Han Consort Chen Jun leaned against the wall of the carriage, no longer with tears, and even slightly, revealed a little smile.

The carriage drove towards the towering city walls of Yun Mansion, and when it reached the city gate, it stopped after receiving a reminder from others. She got out of the carriage and walked to the city wall, where she saw Wanyan Xiyin looking into the distance. It was morning, and the sunlight shone on everything in sight.

The two looked at each other.

"I thought you would leave," Xiyin said.

"The affairs of the country and the Han people are no longer related to me. Next, it's just family affairs, why would I leave."

"It would be good if you left."

Although he said so, Xiyin still reached out and held his wife's hand. The two walked slowly forward on the city wall, talking about family matters, talking about past events... At this moment, some words and some memories that were originally difficult to mention could also be said.

Chen Jun told Xiyin in general terms about her being abducted to the north when she was young, and that the Secret Investigation Department led by Qin Si Yuan developed members here, originally wanting her to break into the upper echelons of the Liao Kingdom, but who knew that later she was liked by high-ranking figures in the Jin Kingdom, and so many stories happened.

"...What kind of person was Qin Si Yuan back then?" Xiyin asked curiously.

Chen Jun shook her head: "I have never met him, I don't know, but my parents had some dealings with him."

She talked about her feelings when she first came to the north, and also talked about her feelings when she was first noticed by Xiyin, saying: "There was a poem I liked in those poems, but I never told you about it. Of course, after having children, slowly, it wasn't that kind of feeling anymore..."

"Which one?"

The sunlight sprinkled down, Chen Jun looked towards the south, where there was a place she could never return to in this life, and she said softly: "Fu Bo only wishes to return wrapped in his shroud, why should Dingyuan enter the pass alive. Don't send even a single wheel back to the sea cave... Still leave an arrow to shoot Tianshan. When I was young, I liked this poem the most, but I never told you back then."

"Don't send even a single wheel back to the sea cave, still leave an arrow to shoot Tianshan..." Xiyin took her hand and slowly laughed, "Although we each serve our own masters, my wife, you are really a remarkable heroine."

The sunlight crossed the sky, crossed the vast northern land.

Many years ago, the arrow shot towards Tianshan by Qin Si Yuan had completed its mission...

**********************

ps: Fu Bo only wishes to return wrapped in his shroud, why should Dingyuan enter the pass alive.

Don't send even a single wheel back to the sea cave, still leave an arrow to shoot Tianshan.

——Li Yi of the Tang Dynasty, "Tune of the Borderlands"

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*Son-in-Law* Episode 10 *The Long Night Passes Into Spring* (End)

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