Mid-June was upon them, the dog days of summer, and the Zhenjiang naval camp was sweltering. The Jurchens had arrived, and Han Shizhong had already crossed the river to the north in preparation for the great battle, leaving Junwu in command of Zhenjiang. Although the太子 (Taizi, Crown Prince) held a position of great honor, Junwu usually resided with the soldiers in the military camp, eschewing special treatment. When the heat became unbearable, wealthy families would use ice blocks stored from the winter to cool down, but Junwu had merely chosen a house on the hillside near the river, where there was a slight breeze. Only when distinguished guests arrived would he offer them chilled drinks as hospitality.

It was not long after nightfall on the eighth when Junwu opened the window. The wind blowing from the river was still hot. He prepared a simple meal and iced desserts in his room to welcome his sister, who was traveling from afar.

Such weather, combined with the constant jostling of a carriage, would be an unbearable ordeal for many noblewomen. However, Zhou Pei had experienced much over the years, including numerous long journeys. When she arrived in Zhenjiang that evening, her face was only a little darker and a little weary. After washing her face and resting briefly, the princess regained her usual sternness.

In recent years, the siblings had carried heavy burdens. Junwu had grown a beard to hide the natural youthfulness of his face. Zhou Pei had few to confide in about her personal life, so she wore a mask of elegance, solemnity, and distance. After wearing it for so long, the mask often became a part of oneself. After washing up, Zhou Pei's face looked a little pale, her expression aloof and not very pleasing. Although she was slightly gentler in front of her younger brother, the change was not significant. Whenever Junwu saw his sister like this, he would always think of her from over a decade ago. At that time, Zhou Pei was clever and proud, but also beautiful and adorable. The current princess, however, was hardly adorable. Any man who saw her, except for himself, would probably only feel fear.

Everyone around them couldn't help but sigh at the tragedy of Zhou Pei's marriage. But, naturally, it was not mentioned at this time. The siblings met only once every few months, even half a year. Although their efforts were aligned, their words were inevitably formulaic.

After a brief greeting, dinner was a simple meal of meat and three vegetable dishes. Junwu ate simply, using pickled radish strips as an appetite stimulant, crunching them loudly. Zhou Pei had been stationed in Lin'an for several years, rarely traveling unless there was a major event. Now, with the great battle imminent, her sudden arrival in Zhenjiang made Junwu suspect that something important was happening. However, since she hadn't spoken yet, he didn't mention it. After they had eaten a simple dinner and drunk some tea, Zhou Pei, whose white dress made her seem thin, paused for a moment before speaking.

"Is there anything seriously wrong around Zhenjiang?"

This was a polite opening. Junwu simply smiled and nodded, "Nothing serious. General Han has made preparations for the battle. In terms of logistics, Xu Guangting still hasn't delivered eight thousand cannonballs, so I'm urging him. Huo Xiang's thirty thousand men will be crossing the river in the next few days. He's been slow to act, so I sent someone to prod him. Other than that, nothing major."

Zhou Pei nodded, "Yes, it's just these few days... It's good that there's nothing wrong."

"What brings you here so suddenly, Huangjie (Imperial Sister)?"

"..." Zhou Pei held her teacup and fell silent. After a while, she said, "I received news from Jiangning that Shen Ruxin is ill, and I hear it's serious."

Junwu's heart sank, and a fleeting look of gloom crossed his face. But after glancing at his sister, he nodded, "Yes, I know. In fact... others think that the imperial family lives in luxury, but it's like the saying, 'Once you enter the gates of a noble family, you're as good as lost at sea'. Since she married me, she hasn't had many happy days. This time... with Zou Taiyi taking care of her, we can only leave it to fate."

Marriages in this era were usually arranged by parents and matchmakers. Small families relied on each other, but in wealthy households, it was not uncommon for a woman to become depressed and die young after a few years of unhappy marriage. Shen Ruxin didn't have much of a family background. When she entered the太子 (Taizi) residence, she was cautious and followed all the rules, which put a lot of psychological pressure on her.

Although she and Junwu had feelings for each other, Junwu's burden was too heavy. It was difficult for him to do more than care for her in his heart, and he usually found it difficult to pay her close attention -- this was the norm in this era. This time, when Shen Ruhua got into trouble and was brought forward, he was tried for two months. Shen Ruxin dared not plead for him in the Jiangning太子 (Taizi) residence, and was only left mentally and physically exhausted, eventually coughing up blood, fainting, and becoming bedridden. Junwu was in Zhenjiang, but he didn't even have time to go back for a visit.

"I heard about this and felt it was necessary to come." Zhou Pei held her teacup, her face not showing too much emotion, "That Qingliu (Purist Official) Yao Qifang who exposed Shen Ruhua, is not without his own problems. I also have ways to deal with the Dou family and the Chen family who committed crimes before Shen Ruhua. Shen Ruhua, if you want to save his life, send him to the army first. I'll take care of things in the capital, the things that the lower officials are talking about."

Junwu's eyes twitched, and his face truly darkened. He had been under so much pressure in recent years, but he didn't expect that his sister had actually come for this. The room was quiet for a long time, the night breeze blowing in from the window. Although it was a little cool, it made people's hearts feel cold as well. Junwu put the teacup on the table.

"Huangjie (Imperial Sister), Ruhua... must be dealt with. I just didn't expect that you were... here for this..."

Zhou Pei looked at him, her gaze unchanged, "I'm here for you."

"I'm fine. I've endured so many things over the years, and I've offended everyone I needed to offend. The great battle is imminent..." He paused, "Just get through it."

Because of the emotions in his heart, Junwu spoke a little harshly. Zhou Pei stopped. She sat there with her tea, and outside the military camp, there were troops on the move, the wind blowing the firelight. Zhou Pei was cold for a long time, but she smiled for a moment.

"Shen Ruhua is not important, but Ruxin is important, Junwu, you have done very well these years... My dynasty values civil officials over military ones. To allow the army to make its own decisions in war, you have protected many people and blocked a lot of storms. You have been very tough in these years, bearing the pressure. Yue Fei, Han Shizhong... this mess in Jiangnan, the refugees from the north, many people have survived thanks to your hard resistance with your identity. I would not have said 'the strongest are broken easiest' a few years ago, so offend whoever you need to. But I'm afraid you'll regret it one day with Ruxin's matter."

Junwu was stunned and didn't speak. Zhou Pei held the teacup in both hands and was quiet for a moment, looking out the window.

"...Since crossing the river to the south, our siblings have become much harder. Others seem afraid, but it's unavoidable. Little brother, you know, I wasn't happy after I got married. I didn't like the驸马 (Fu Ma, Imperial Son-in-Law), and later I dealt with him. Others said that I was hard-hearted, that I only had power in my eyes, and that I would become an isolated person, a Wu Zetian. I didn't have any hesitation when dealing with Qu Zonghui. Even today, I don't think there's any problem with it. But as time goes by, I often want to have my own family... I won't have it in this lifetime."

She smiled sadly at the corner of her eyes, a fleeting moment, and then smiled and added, "Of course, I'm not talking about Father and little brother, you will always be my family."

The room became quiet again. Junwu gradually understood the reason why his sister had come. Of course, this matter could be very big or very small, difficult to measure. In recent days, Junwu had actually found it difficult to think clearly.

He was silent for a long time, and then he could only barely say, "Ruxin has entered the imperial family, she can handle it. Even if... she can't handle it..."

He then smiled, "Sister, that's just someone close to me after all. Over the years, I've personally ordered the deaths of quite a few people close to me. I can't lose everything today... What will everyone think of me?"

"Maybe things aren't as big as you think. Maybe..." Zhou Pei lowered her head and pondered for a moment, her voice becoming extremely low, "Maybe... you've been too tough these years, enough... I know you're learning from that person, but not everyone can become that person. If you're driving yourself to regret, wanting to take a step back... everyone will understand..."

Zhou Pei spoke these words with extreme difficulty, because she herself did not believe it. Junwu could understand the emotions within. His sister had already gone to extremes, and there was no way to retreat. Even though she understood that this was the only way to do things, she still hoped that her brother might have a path to regret before the battle. Junwu vaguely sensed this contradictory sentiment. This was the first time in many years that his sister had revealed such indecisive thoughts.

He simply shook his head.

Zhou Pei no longer tried to persuade him, "I understand... I sent someone to get the best medicinal herbs from the palace and sent them to Jiangning. It's not a bad thing to have you at the front."

The siblings no longer spoke of this matter. After a while, the heat of the night remained. They left the room and went to the hillside to enjoy the cool breeze. Junwu thought of Shen Ruxin in Jiangning. They had met during the search-the-mountains-and-seas escape. They had been married for eight years, with little time together. For a long time, Junwu had told himself that there were important things that had to be done. Before the major events, personal affection was just a display. But now, thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel sad.

His sister's arrival was to remind him of this matter.

"Not everyone will become that person. Take a step back, and everyone will understand... Imperial Sister, that person you mentioned also spoke about this matter. The people of Bianliang were like that, and everyone could understand. But not everyone can understand, and bad things will not happen." After walking for a while, Junwu spoke of this matter again.

A trace of sadness flashed in Zhou Pei's eyes, and she just nodded. The two stood on the hillside, looking at the lights in the river.

"These years, I often read the things that came from the north, those imperial edicts that Emperor Jingping was forced to write every year, saying how good the Jin emperor was to him. For a time, he was kept in a well by the Jurchens, without any clothes to wear. The queen was subjected to all kinds of humiliation by the Jurchens in front of him, and he had to watch with a smile, begging the Jurchens for some food. All kinds of imperial concubines and palace maids lived worse than prostitutes... Imperial Sister, the imperial family was also vain back then, and the people in the capital looked down on the idle princes from other places. Do you still remember the way those older brothers and sisters looked? Back then, I remember that time you went to the capital with your teacher, and you met the郡主 (Junzhu, County Princess) Zhou Qing of the Chong Prince's mansion. She even invited you and your teacher over, and the teacher even wrote a poem. The shame of Jingping, Zhou Qing was taken north by the Jurchens. Imperial Sister, do you remember her? A couple of years ago, I found out where she was..."

Zhou Pei looked at Junwu, and Junwu smiled bitterly, "The Jurchens took her to Yunchong Prefecture, subjected to all kinds of humiliation along the way. When they arrived, she was pregnant and sold to a brothel in Yunchong Prefecture to be a prostitute. She was six months pregnant when she was beaten and had a miscarriage. A year later, she was pregnant again, and then the child was aborted with drugs. Two years later, a group of wealthy Jin noble scions went to the brothel and competed to see who was the bravest, pinning her on the table, cutting off her ears, and driving her mad. Later, she had a leg broken... She died three years ago... She was considered to have lived a long time..."

Junwu tried to calmly tell this story, "Outsiders talk about the imperial family and the struggles in the court, using all means possible. Empress Lu Zhi, the empress of Emperor Gaozu of Han, could chop off people's hands and feet to fight for favor, how cruel... Imperial Sister, can you imagine how that County Princess Zhou Qing felt when she was treated like that? Those things are happening again, the Jurchens are already here..."

"I know," Zhou Pei replied. In recent years, the spread of those things that happened in the north had certain limitations among the common people, but for them, as long as they had the will, they could understand them clearly.

Junwu looked at the distant river, "These years, I've actually been very afraid. As people grow older, they slowly understand what war is. Someone rushes over to kill you, and you pick up a knife to fight back. If you beat him, you will definitely break your arms and legs. If you don't resist, you will die. I don't want to die, and I don't want to break my arms and legs. I also don't want Ruxin to die like that. If she dies... I will regret it one day. But these years, there is one thing I am most afraid of in my heart. I have never told anyone. Imperial Sister, can you guess what it is?" He shook his head when he said this, "It's not the Jurchens..."

Zhou Pei looked at him.

Junwu was silent for a long time, pointing to the river, "In the second year of Jianshuo, the army escorted me to the river, and only found a small boat. The guards put me on the boat, and the Jurchens rushed over. That day, tens of thousands of people were killed in the river by Shuliesu and his men. Some people swam desperately, some dragged others down to drown, some had families with them... There was a woman holding her child, and the child was swept into the water. I could hear her shouting from the boat. Imperial Sister, do you know how I felt at that time?"

Junwu widened his eyes, "I felt... fortunate... I survived, I didn't have to die." He said.

The night wind swept across the hillside.

"For so many years, I've been thinking of their eyes at night. I was terrified, they were slaughtered, and what I felt wasn't anger, Imperial Sister, I... I just felt that they died, but I was alive, I was very fortunate, they sent me on the boat... For so many years, I have killed so many people with military law. I told Han Shizhong, I told Yue Fei, and countless others that we must defeat the Jurchens. I am with them, I kill them for the sake of resisting the Jin. Yesterday I brought Shen Ruhua here and told him that I must kill him, I am for the sake of resisting the Jin... Imperial Sister, I have said so many heroic words for several years, I think about what to say the next day every night, I practice those words here alone, I am afraid... I am afraid that someone will jump out on the spot and ask me, for the sake of resisting the Jin, they have to die, the soldiers on the battlefield have to fight bloody battles, what about yourself?"

"All the people who died that day were looking at me, they knew I was afraid, I didn't want to die, there was only one boat, I went on it pretendingly, why was it me who could go on? Now so many years have passed, I have said so many big words, I ask myself every night, when the Jurchens come again, can you hold on? Can you grit your teeth? Do you dare to bleed? Sometimes I take the knife out and want to cut myself!"

Junwu said, pulling out a dagger from his waist, gesturing towards his left arm. Zhou Pei's face changed, and she took two steps, grabbed Junwu's left arm, and lifted his sleeve.

There were no scars on his arm. Junwu smiled, "Imperial Sister, I can't do it even once... I'm afraid of pain."

"You, you..." Zhou Pei's face was complicated, looking into his eyes.

"What I'm most afraid of is that one day the Jurchens will come and I'll find that I'm still afraid of pain, afraid of death. I'm afraid that one day tens of thousands of people will be squeezed to the river with me, I'll get on that boat, and I'll still be glad that I survived. I'm afraid that I will kill so many people righteously, and then give my brother-in-law a way out. I'm afraid that I will kill my brother-in-law righteously, and when the Jurchens come, I will still be a coward. I haven't told anyone about this, but Imperial Sister, I'm afraid every day..."

"I'm afraid of everything..."

He said this with a sad look, his eyes already red, but his teeth clenched tightly. Yes, who in this world is not afraid? He was just a spoiled公子哥 (Gong Zi Ge, young noble) born into the imperial family. Afraid of bleeding, afraid of sacrifice, afraid of losing battles, afraid of experiencing all the tragedies. And before the test of reality truly comes, no one knows what they will become.

That night, the siblings talked a lot. The next day, Zhou Pei found Wenren Buer before leaving, instructing him that if the war at the front became critical, he must take Junwu off the battlefield. She left Zhenjiang and returned to Lin'an, while the weak太子 (Taizi, Crown Prince) guarded the riverside, continuing to surround his heart with iron and stone every day.

On the tenth day at noon, the eighteen-year-old Shen Ruhua was beheaded and displayed to the public in Zhenjiang City. In the Jiangning太子 (Taizi) residence, the health of Fourth Consort Shen Ruxin was deteriorating, struggling on the boundary of life and death. This was just an insignificant rise and fall of life and death in the world. That night, Zhou Junwu sat on the riverside on one side of the military camp, not sleeping for the whole night.

At this time, in the north, the vanguard of the Eastern Route Army of the Jurchen Wanyan Zongbi had left Xuzhou and was advancing towards Huaiyi, less than three hundred miles from the Yangzhou line.

Around Yangzhou, Changtian, Gaoyou, Zhenzhou, Taizhou, Zhenjiang... With Han Shizhong's army as the core, more than eighty thousand troops, including one hundred thousand navy soldiers, were waiting in full force.

The great battle in Jiangnan broke out on the twenty-third of June in the tenth year of Wujian Shuo.