Feng Wenbin snapped, “What are you so frightened for? General Chiyun is about to depart, there must be no delay. Besides, if this disturbs his family, I’ll have you punished.”
Chiyun Yuexuan waved his hand. “Just handle your camp’s affair first, General Feng. It’s fine to move back our departure a little.”
Feng Wenbin asked the soldier with a face full of anger, “Say it, what happened?”
The soldier gasped for breath, “I was on duty last night. When it was time to change shifts, I passed by the area of the army slaves and saw the sinned slave of the Zhuang family was hanged on a tree outside the tent, I mean that old woman who had a silly son.”
Chiyun Yuexuan creased his brows. “That wicked woman used to bully my wife before, but my wife never held her accountable and instead forgave her. She was fine when she left last night. Why would she hang herself? Have it investigated and see if it was a murder. Otherwise, I might have to bear the bad reputation of carrying out revenge murder.”
Feng Wenbin cupped his hands, “Don’t worry, General Chiyun. The wife of a sinned official who offended your wife deserves death. No one will care whether she lives or dies, so don’t delay your trip for something like this.”
Chiyun Yuexuan said sternly, “Even if she is a sinned slave, her crime is not enough for the death sentence. Besides, she died unexpectedly while maybe still having resentment for me. It can’t be ruled out that I or my men killed her. This case must be investigated.”
Murong Zhining also poked out from the carriage. “General Feng, don’t worry about delaying for a while. Please investigate how she died.”
Chiyun Yuexuan glanced over at Murong Zhining’s carriage doubtfully. “Did Cai Sang go out last night?”
Cai Sang pouted and jumped out of the carriage. “What do you mean by this, General Chiyun? You’re suspecting that I murdered that wicked woman? I hate that she couldn’t have lived a few more years in sufferings. Humph, how convenient for her to die now.”
Murong Zhining also pursed her lips and glared at Chiyun Yuexuan. “How can you doubt Cai Sang? She even asked the guard to take care of the fool yesterday. How can a person so kind-hearted kill people? Besides, she was in my tent last night and never went out.”
Luo Siyao also nodded. “I slept in the same bed as Cai Sang last night. She slept on the inner side, so she would have alerted me if she went out.”
Knowing he was in the wrong, Chiyun Yuexuan coaxed in a low voice, “Ning’er, don’t be angry. I shouldn’t have doubted her without a reason. I’ll go see the scene in person.”
Murong Zhining jumped out of the carriage. “I want to go too.”
Chiyun Yuexuan stroked her hair lovingly. “What’s there to see about dead people? You’ll have nightmares. Be a good girl, go rest in your tent. Cai Sang, take Princess to wait in the tent.”
The instant Chiyun Yuexuan left, Murong Zhining had the soldiers take her to follow him.
Not far from the tent where Murong Zhining had stayed, there was a shabby-looking camp. All the people who lived here were the female family members of guilty court officials sentenced to serving in the army.
Mrs. Zhuang’s tired figure looked lonely as she hung off the branch, swaying from side to side. There was a jumble of stones under her feet, probably once her stepping stone pile for when she hung herself. The expression on her face was extremely twisted, unknown whether from fright or agony.
The fool was sprawling on the ground nearby, rolling and wailing, “I want… mother… don’t need… wife.”
Chiyun Yuexuan approached the tree and carefully observed to see if there were any traces left by humans. Mrs. Zhuang’s hair was scattered, her right hand and lapel were stained with blood. However, the scene wasn’t messy and there was nothing out of place except for the pile of stones.
Chiyun Yuexuan propped his chin in ponder. Upon seeing Murong Zhining follow him here, he rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. “Don’t look, hanged people look ferocious. Why did you come here? You need to believe your husband will definitely investigate what happened.”
When the fool saw Murong Zhining, he immediately forgot his mother who had just died. He happily ran to Murong Zhining and took out a piece of bloodstained white cloth from his pocket. “My mother… said… give to wifey.”
Murong Zhining unfolded the piece of cloth to the bright red handwriting inside. It was a blood letter written by Mrs. Zhuang: ‘This old slave deserves to die. To be able to get Princess’ understanding, I can now die without regret. I hope Princess would forgive us and have pity on my son, who is mentally incapacitated, and take him out of this miserable place. Behind the bookcase in the Zhuang Estate’s study, there is a secret compartment hiding black books. For your kindness, I shall be your cow and horse in my next life to pay you back.’
Murong Zhining’s eyes reddened, a string of tears rolled down her cheeks. “No need to investigate. She committed suicide for her silly son. Her affection deserves sympathy. Let’s bury her and take the fool with us.”
Chiyun Yuexuan hugged Murong Zhining and ordered, “Men, come, do as my lady says.”
Chiyun Yuexuan had Wu Siyuan take a bag of silver to buy a decent coffin and shroud for Mrs. Zhuang. She was buried with dignity in the grave site behind the camp.
Murong Zhining took the fool and burned a pile of paper money in front of the grave. Cai Sang also chanted, “I hope you will be a good person in your next life. Don’t worry, Princess and I will take good care of your silly son.”
Cai Sang then looked at the fool. “I didn’t expect someone so cunning and vicious like her to give up her life for her silly son. She knew that Princess is kind, and by doing so that woman could get her son out of misery.”
Murong Zhining handed a piece of sugar cake to the fool. “Maybe she has suffered enough, lived enough? Who knows? If there is a reincarnation of karma, the Heaven must think that she had been punished enough to pay her debts and allowed her to escape this suffering. In some ways, death is not a bad thing.”
Chiyun Yuexuan held Murong Zhining’s hand. “Let’s go, Ning’er. The woman died a meaningful death. Let’s bring the fool back to the capital first. Mrs. Zhuang’s maiden family is also a wealthy one. If the relatives are willing to adopt her son, that would be more suitable for him than to follow us. If his family doesn’t want him, we can let him stay in the General Estate, I’ll take care of him for you.”
Murong Zhining was touched. Looking up at Chiyun Yuexuan, she vigorously nodded.
The team still decided to remain in the camp for a day. Early the next morning, when they prepared to set off, Chiyun Yuexuan called Feng Wenbin, “We’re ready over here. Inform your team we’ll hit the road immediately. By the way, just take several dozen soldiers with you. The land of Huayan is very peaceful, let the rest remain in the station.”
Per order, Feng Wenbin rearranged an escort group of 100 people. Under the lead of Feng Wenbin, the cavalcade headed towards the Imperial Capital.
Luo Siyao was ordered to take care of the fool in another carriage while Cai Sang accompanied Murong Zhining in the same carriage. Chiyun Yuexuan chatted with Feng Wenbin while riding his horse in front of the team.
Cai Sang was sullen all the way. Murong Zhining looked at her. “Cai Sang, I had a dream last night that we were running like crazy around a small mountain village. That place had my adoptive mother, but you called her ‘aunt.’ It’s really strange. I’ve been having bizarre dreams recently.”
Cai Sang frowned thoughtfully. “All that Princess dreamed of were what happened in the past. Maybe your memory will slowly recover over time. But I don’t know how I should feel. Should I be happy for your, or should I hope that you won’t have to remember anything at all?”
A thin layer of mist clouded Murong Zhining’s almond eyes. “Was my past really that unbearable? Cai Sang, I’ve already thought it through, even if the memories are painful, they’ll still be my most precious experiences. No matter how much it hurts, I hope I can remember.”
Cai Sang took Murong Zhining’s hand in hers. “Mhm, but Princess must remember that people should never be too kind, or everyone will want to bully you. Appropriate evil is actually a good protection for yourself. Evil that does not aim to harm people is not considered evil.”
Murong Zhining nodded in somewhat understanding. “I will protect myself, but I will never harm people.”
Less than two miles into the trip, a man holding a yellow flag galloped to the front of the cavalcade on a fast horse. The team had to pause again.
Chiyun Yuexuan rode to Murong Zhining’s carriage and lifted the curtain. “Ning’er, there’s some small trouble General Feng’s camp. We need to return there and might not be able to leave again today.”
Murong Zhining anxiously leaned out from the window. “What’s the trouble?”
Chiyun Yuexuan lifted her onto his horse. “That Bai Xianwu and his son-in-law Yao Shilei refused to give up and chased all the way to Huayan border. This is just perfect, I don’t want to let them off either.”
Murong Zhining hugged Chiyun Yuexuan’s waist in fear. “Don’t mess with them, let’s just leave. They’re only two mad dogs.”
Chiyun Yuexuan dropped a light kiss on her forehead. “I don’t want to bother with those mad dogs, but they refuse to let go of their bite. Let’s stay and rest for a day or two. We’ll set out again after I finish those two dogs with my own hands.”
The cavalcade turned around and returned to the camp. After arranging everything for Murong Zhining, Chiyun Yuexuan went to Feng Wenbin’s tent. Murong Zhining could faintly feel that the situation was a little too serious.
She summoned a guard and asked, “What happened in the camp?”
The guard respectfully replied, “Our Huayan has always been friends with Shangxia and therefore never attacked each other at the border nor being on guard against the other. Today, the city’s north garrison post reported that a team of 2,000 Shangxia soldiers had captured a town in the north. They threatened to slaughter the town and demanded General Chiyun to come out and publicly apologize.”
…
At lunchtime, Chiyun Yuexuan returned to Murong Zhining’s tent in a hurry. He embraced her and kissed her forehead. “I have something to do the next two days. Ning’er stay in the tent and wait for me.” Murong Zhining clung tightly to his waist. Chiyun Yuexuan softly added, “You must know that you are married to a general who has countless wars to fight in the future. Don’t worry, I’ve been through my fair share of battles, there’s nothing those two dogs can do to me.”
Murong Zhining tearfully said, “I’m not worried about your safety, but I know very well that this battle isn’t easy to fight. They threaten to kill the civilians and soldiers in the town, and this must have been troubling you very much. I’m scared that you will compromise with them and hurt yourself in order to make peace. It won’t be and easy thing if you want to retake the town without hurting a single person in it. How about you take Ning’er with you? Perhaps I may be able to help you come up with ideas.”
Chiyun Yuexuan pushed her aside. “Wars are too cruel for women to participate in. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. Stay here at ease and wait for my good news.”
Murong Zhining silently watched as Chiyun Yuexuan got into a full-body armor and mounted Flash in a heroic manner. When he looked at her with his charming eyes behind the eyepatch, his gaze was so ever gentle. Without hesitation, he rushed out of the camp on horseback, behind him followed long rows of troops.