"Drive..."
Zhou Fugui, holding his spear in his left hand and the reins in his right, rode through the crowd under the watchful eyes of the Jin Ci Ala soldiers, guards, and attendants, and came before Murong Huiying.
"Whoa..." Zhou Fugui reined in his warhorse, staring intently at Murong Huiying, his gaze filled with a complex mix of love, pity, sorrow, confusion, and determination.
Murong Huiying dared not meet Zhou Fugui's gaze, averting her eyes, her heart feeling as though it were bleeding.
"Yingying, come with me!" Zhou Fugui, mounted on his horse, extended his right hand towards Murong Huiying, who was also on horseback.
These few simple words from Zhou Fugui conveyed an air of unparalleled confidence, unwavering resolve, and the determination to pay any price.
A true man's deep affection and loyalty are as firm as a rock; facing a precipice or treading fire, shedding tears and blood, death would be but a mere consequence!
Unexpectedly, Murong Huiying said softly, "You should leave!"
"Come with me!" Zhou Fugui repeated, staring at Murong Huiying.
"Why should I go with you?" Murong Huiying asked.
"The oath made at the Temple of the Earth Mother is still fresh in our ears!" Zhou Fugui replied.
The oath at the Temple of the Earth Mother? Hearing this, Murong Huiying's eyes immediately reddened, her eyes brimming with tears. She longed to throw herself into Zhou Fugui's embrace, but her reason forbade her. With all her might, she bit her lip and slowly said, "You should leave."
"Why?" Zhou Fugui asked. "Yingying, I don't know what has happened, but I know you must have a hidden difficulty. Yingying, with me here, don't be afraid. Whether life or death, I am willing to face it with you."
"What am I afraid of?" Murong Huiying said coldly. "Who are you? Who am I? And what am I to you? Why should I go with you?"
"A lowly Han, daring to look up to my noble Xianbei princess?"
"Hahaha, what is this called? This is a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"
"Indeed, indeed. Don't you even know your own worth? Go pee and look at yourself!"
"A noble descendant, consorting with the lowly? Who knows where this insignificant Han came from, daring to seek alliance with a high-born family?"
"..."
As soon as Murong Huiying spoke, ridicule, mockery, and sarcasm erupted from all around. The Xianbei people displayed contempt, looking at Zhou Fugui with schadenfreude.
"Pfft!" Zhou Fugui, enraged, thrust his spear and killed one of the Xianbei. Then, looking at Murong Huiying, he roared, "Do you truly think this?"
Zhou Fugui was, after all, too young, his eyes blinded by anger, his mind disturbed by the humiliation.
The distinction between Hu and Han, perhaps for a long time, had become a hidden worry in Zhou Fugui's heart.
Zhou Fugui's heart bled, and was Murong Huiying's any less? But now she could only remain silent, indicating her tacit agreement, not daring to look at Zhou Fugui again.
"Yingying, if you truly think this, then Zhou has nothing more to say!" Zhou Fugui felt utterly disheartened, his heart turned to ash, and said.
There is no sorrow greater than a dead heart. Zhou Fugui had gathered his courage to come, but at this moment, he swayed precariously on his horse, almost falling off.
"Take him down!" Gu Yin Qidan coldly commanded.
Dozens of Xianbei Jin Ci Ala responded to the order, swarming forward, knocking the crestfallen Zhou Fugui from his saddle and binding him tightly.
"Second Brother!" Xu Mancang saw this from afar and was instantly enraged. Raising his weapon, he prepared to launch a charge to rescue Zhou Fugui.
"Scram, get far away, or you are no longer Zhou's brother!" Zhou Fugui, with a sliver of reason remaining, roared with his last ounce of strength.
...
"How has the Great General treated you?" Pi'e asked the personal guards and attendants, brandishing his vajra pestle.
"His kindness is as heavy as a mountain!" Hundreds of personal guards and attendants replied in unison, placing a hand over their chests.
Most of these hundreds of personal guards were brought back from beyond the frontiers by Zhou Fugui. They were mostly slaves and gladiators, freed by Zhou Fugui. Without Zhou Fugui, their fates would have been extremely miserable, perhaps long since turned into piles of bones. Therefore, their kindness being as heavy as a mountain was truly no exaggeration.
"And you?" Pi'e then asked Hu Jue, glancing sideways at him.
"Where brother goes, Hu Jue goes," Hu Jue replied.
"In that case, return your lives to the Great General!" Pi'e, a man of few words, stood up, carrying his vajra pestle.
"We obey!" The personal guards and attendants loudly responded, raising their weapons, their faces revealing unwavering resolve and a willingness to face death to repay Zhou Fugui's great kindness.
"Creak!" Just then, the door was pushed open, and Li Qing walked in.
"Strategist?" everyone asked, looking at Li Qing in surprise.
"What are you intending to do?" Li Qing asked, glancing at Pi'e, Hu Jue, and the others. "Break him out of prison?"
"Indeed! Do you intend to stop us?" Pi'e asked.
"Foolish!" Li Qing said angrily upon hearing this. "For this action, you wound the Great General's heart and ruin his life's work."
"Why?" Hu Jue asked.
Hu Jue's question was also everyone's question, so they all stared at Li Qing.
"Hmph! Why?" Li Qing snorted. "How did the Great General obtain these more than ten thousand troops? How was the Snow Bear Army established? It was exchanged for the Great General's life and death struggles. It is his life's work of these past few years. Your actions today will destroy the Snow Bear Army, and destroy the Great General's life's work. His life's work, exchanged for life and death struggles, will be destroyed in an instant. How can he not be heartbroken?"
Regarding Zhou Fugui, Li Qing was both vexed and resentful. He resented Zhou Fugui's impulsiveness and immaturity. Was a mere Hu woman worth him going to such lengths? He was already a dignified marquis; what kind of woman couldn't he marry? Moreover, there was already a woman at home who was devoted to him... Li Qing was frustrated by his lack of progress but still had to offer him strategies, thus he was also extremely exasperated.
"But... but..." Pi'e was loyal only to Zhou Fugui. If Li Qing forcibly stopped him, Pi'e would tie him up first. Even if it meant disobeying orders and insubordination, this matter involved Zhou Fugui's years of hard work. Thus, Pi'e said resentfully, "Our master is suffering torment in prison. Whenever Pi'e thinks of it, his heart is like being cut by a knife. If we can save him, we will. If not, Pi'e will give up this life."
"Indeed, Pi'e is loyal. How could we brothers not know?" Li Qing sighed. "Where is Pijin City? It is a place where the court's most heavily guarded prisoners and death row inmates are held. How strict are the defenses? If you rashly go there, besides losing these hundreds of lives, what use is it? It will be of no use at all, and it will harm him. Therefore, such a reckless move is absolutely not permissible. We must proceed cautiously and observe the situation. Furthermore... is your master... truly suffering torment in prison? I don't see it."
"Brother Pi'e, I think the strategist speaks sense," Hu Jue said.
Pi'e glared fiercely at Hu Jue upon hearing this.
...
"Marquis Pingliang, please enter. The Empress Dowager is waiting for you," Gu Yin Qidan said coldly to Zhou Fugui after escorting him to Yan Palace.
"Mmm..." Courage in battle is like the first blast of a horn; it flags with the second, and is exhausted with the third. At this moment, Zhou Fugui was like a defeated general, disheartened and listless. Hearing this, he dejectedly entered the sleeping quarters of Empress Dowager Murong Qing of Yan.
Summoning a minister in the sleeping quarters signifies great trust, usually reserved for confidants.
"Marquis Pingliang, you have arrived?" Today, Empress Dowager Murong Qing was not heavily made up but wore light makeup. Sitting in the hall, she said calmly upon seeing Zhou Fugui enter.
"Empress Dowager, what is this...?" Zhou Fugui, surprised to see Murong Qing in tears, asked.
Zhou Fugui had originally expected Murong Qing to be furious, followed by a barrage of reprimands, then dismissal from office, and perhaps even the loss of his life.
"Marquis Pingliang, I do not blame you for what you have done," Murong Qing said, shaking her head slightly. "Marquis Pingliang is loyal and righteous, but it makes this empress seem cruel and heartless."
"Empress Dowager..." Zhou Fugui lowered his head, speechless.
"You Han people have an old saying, 'It is better to tear down ten temples than to ruin a marriage'..." Murong Qing stood up, took Zhou Fugui's hand, walked to her seat, gently pressed his shoulder, and made him sit in the chair before slowly saying, "Do you think this chair is easy to sit in? How does it feel now?"
"Empress Dowager... what do you mean?" Zhou Fugui looked up at Murong Qing and asked.
"Marquis Pingliang, you are such an intelligent person, can you not understand my meaning?" Murong Qing wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Blood, cruelty, ruthlessness – I have lived under such dire circumstances, and survived them. Ministers betraying their lords, sons against fathers, brothers against brothers, even husbands and wives against each other... Marquis Pingliang, do you think I have to obey my heart every time for a reason?"
"Empress Dowager..." Hearing this, Zhou Fugui leaped up from the chair. How dare he sit in such a high position?
After jumping up, Zhou Fugui looked at Murong Qing and said, "Your subject understands the Empress Dowager's intentions. I was rash, and I have sinned. I beg the Empress Dowager to punish me." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Is it truly not her own will? Zhou Fugui could no longer discern.
The actual situation in the palace was indeed as Murong Qing described: bloody, cruel, ruthless, barbaric, and so on. For a weak woman to survive in the palace, she truly had to be strong, and truly had to be more bloody, cruel, ruthless, and barbaric than others. She truly had to be extremely cunning, otherwise, she would have long since been eaten until not even a single bone remained.
Murong Qing was once also a pure and kind grassland woman.
The cold and stern deep palace could turn a benevolent monk into a man-eating beast.
"I said I would not blame you," Murong Qing said, shaking her head.
"Empress Dowager, your subject knows what to do now," Zhou Fugui nodded.
"I hope you will not disappoint me this time," Murong Qing said with relief.
"Your subject takes his leave!" Zhou Fugui felt a chill emanating from this cold and stern deep palace and did not want to stay any longer. He bowed and said.
"Fugui, do you know? I am extremely envious of you. Envious that you dare to love and hate!" As Zhou Fugui walked towards the hall door, Murong Qing suddenly said to him, "Also, I don't care that you are a Han. This is truly what I feel in my heart."