Chang’an City, the moonlight cold and desolate.
Amid the sound of the night watch, Pei Zhen returned to his residence. The cold wind stirred the two lanterns hanging at the gate. After entering, he saw that the main rooms were still lit, his family hadn’t gone to sleep.
Pei Zhen frowned and walked through the corridor, encountering his younger brother Pei Zhao, who looked exhausted and had just come out of the study.
Pei Zhao had likely been studying late into the night and was extremely drowsy. When he suddenly ran into Pei Zhen, it was like seeing a ghost, he was so startled that all his sleepiness vanished. Then, like a mouse seeing a cat, he awkwardly pressed himself against a corridor pillar to give way, almost sticking to it.
Pei Zhen: “……” Am I really that frightening?
What he didn’t know was that, except in front of Li Chansiu, he usually kept a blank expression. To others, this came across as cold and stern.
At this moment, he also subconsciously frowned, but the next instant, recalling Yang Yuanyi’s words, the attitude you use when talking to your wife…, he paused.
His expression softened involuntarily. Somewhat unnaturally, he showed a bit of concern toward this younger brother, both unfamiliar and familiar to him, with whom he hadn’t had much interaction, saying, “Don’t study so late. Go to sleep earlier.”
You’ll turn into a bookworm at this rate.
Unexpectedly, when Pei Zhao saw him suddenly change expression and show concern, his face looked even more like he’d seen a ghost.
Pei Zhen stiffened: “……”
He knew Yang Yuanyi couldn’t come up with any good ideas. Thinking this, he left with his hands behind his back, feeling somewhat embarrassed inside.
As for Pei Zhao, after coming back to his senses, perhaps having felt closer because of that remark, he hesitated for a moment and suddenly called out to him, wanting to say what he hadn’t dared to earlier.
But before he could speak, a servant came in from outside to report: General Yang had personally come to deliver military news.
Pei Zhen’s expression changed slightly, his face immediately turning serious again. He said to Pei Zhao, “Go rest first.”
After speaking, he quickly headed toward the front hall.
Pei Zhao opened his mouth, but the courage he had just gathered shrank back at once.
In the front hall, Yang Yuanyi stood with his hands clasped, pacing back and forth anxiously.
Seeing Pei Zhen enter quickly from outside with a chill about him, he hurried to meet him.
“Let’s talk inside,” Pei Zhen said, raising a hand to stop him.
Yang Yuanyi nodded and followed closely.
After entering the main hall, Pei Zhen dismissed the attendants, then frowned and asked, “What happened?”
For Yang Yuanyi to come personally with such urgency, it could not be a minor matter.
Sure enough, Yang Yuanyi looked guilty, lowering his head slightly as he said, “Jianzhi, Ningcheng has been taken by the rebels. Our people were one step too late.”
Pei Zhen’s hand, which had just lifted a teacup, paused as he turned to look at him.
Under that gaze, Yang Yuanyi felt even more ashamed and quickly said, “I didn’t expect them to move so fast either. This definitely wasn’t Cai Shu’s strategy…”
Pei Zhen had already set the teacup down heavily and asked, “What exactly happened?”
“This…” Yang Yuanyi grew ashamed again and lowered his head. “We still don’t know. This is just the latest urgent military report.”
After a pause, he hurriedly added, “But don’t worry. The rebels have just taken Ningcheng, everything in the city is still in chaos, and defenses won’t be ready yet. Our people have already arrived and will immediately counterattack. We’ll definitely take it back.”
Pei Zhen gave him a heavy look but said, “Do you think someone capable of devising a surprise attack to seize Ningcheng would give you the chance to take it back? If my guess is correct, they seized Ningcheng at lightning speed precisely to exploit the Liangzhou army’s slow reaction, using Ningcheng’s grain supplies and manpower to quickly attack the prefectural city next.”
In that case, with two of the three cities taken, how could the remaining one form a mutual support formation for a counterattack? It would only be fish on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.
Yang Yuanyi understood what he meant but hesitated. “That seems unlikely, doesn’t it? Unless they continue attacking the prefectural city tonight, otherwise by tomorrow morning, reinforcements from the prefectural city and Anxing County will definitely reach the outskirts of Ningcheng.
“But it won’t be easy for them to immediately attack the prefectural city either. Not to mention the soldiers would be exhausted after continuous marching and fighting, but also the grain and supplies in Ningcheng couldn’t be organized that quickly. Besides, the Liangzhou prefectural city has high walls and strong defenses, it’s much harder to attack than Ningcheng. If they get bogged down attacking it, once our main army arrives, they’ll have no chance of winning.”
Pei Zhen frowned but said, “Battles are unpredictable. We still don’t know who exactly commanded the attack on Ningcheng.”
If it were Cai Shu, it might just be coincidence. But if it were someone else…
At least if it were Pei Zhen himself, after taking Ningcheng, he would immediately strike again and capture the prefectural city in one go. Otherwise, taking Ningcheng would have been meaningless.
Pei Zhen didn’t believe that someone capable of devising such a rapid strategy would fail to understand this.
Thinking of this, he suddenly said to Yang Yuanyi, “Send a message to our people, have them immediately turn back and head to the prefectural city. Inform Liang Xingrong, Lord Liang, to make sure to set up defenses and hold the city. Do not leave the city to engage in battle.”
If his guess was correct, before the Liangzhou governor even received news of Ningcheng’s fall, the rebels would already be advancing toward the prefectural city.
Moreover… although if the rebels moved on to attack the prefectural city, Ningcheng would certainly be left empty and easier to retake, he felt things might not be that simple. Someone capable of devising this plan would likely have anticipated that as well. Ningcheng… might not be so easy to capture.
Especially since, for the sake of speed, the force they had sent was not large.
“Also, have our people leave one unit behind to ambush near Ningcheng, so they can intercept grain supplies,” Pei Zhen added.
He guessed that when attacking the prefectural city, the rebels would certainly transport grain from Ningcheng.
***
Inside Ningcheng.
Li Chansiu rode into the city. After joining up with Xuanping and the others, he learned that Li Xuan, upon receiving the news, had quickly dispatched five thousand troops as reinforcements. That was how Xuanping and the others had been able to take the west gate so quickly.
As for Ningcheng’s defending official, Fan Hong, he had initially put on a show, going up to the city tower to supervise the battle. But when he saw the walls about to fall, he hurriedly made an excuse to leave, intending to abandon the city and flee as before.
But since he had already done this once, how could the soldiers not guess his intentions? They seized him on the spot and refused to let him go.
But as a result, the army’s morale also collapsed. Coupled with how quickly Xuanping and the others broke through the city gate, they directly captured that defending official alive.
“That dog official is now tied up in the center of the marketplace, waiting for Your Highness to deal with him,” Xuanping said, clasping his fists, still somewhat unaccustomed to addressing Li Chansiu this way.
Li Chansiu nodded and, sitting astride his horse, said to the others, “Guard the city gates. The rest, follow me first.”
He wore ordinary armor, yet it set off his straight shoulders and long legs, his posture upright like a pine. Under the flickering torchlight, his refined features shone brilliantly.
Some of the townspeople who had dared to come out and watch couldn’t help but secretly marvel when they saw him.
Chen Lingwan was also among the group, anxiously looking around.
Just then, an elderly man by the roadside, his hair already white and his appearance somewhat disheveled, caught sight of her and couldn’t help but shout excitedly, “Miss! Miss!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Lingwan looked up and was instantly overjoyed. “Uncle Zhong?”
She was about to ride over, but suddenly remembered she was among Li Chansiu’s troops and paused, turning to look at Li Chansiu expectantly.
Li Chansiu smiled and gestured that she could go.
Only then did Chen Lingwan, unable to hide her excitement, dismount and hurry over, helping the old man up as she asked urgently, “Uncle Zhong, why are you here? And in such a state, where is my father?”
Supported by her, Uncle Zhong couldn’t help but burst into tears. “Miss, the master was taken away by Lord Fan. He said the master had colluded with the rebel forces. Not just the master, many merchants and wealthy households in the city were arrested.”
“What?” Chen Lingwan was shocked upon hearing this and immediately grew anxious. Then, recalling that Xuanping had just said the dog official had been captured, she looked at Li Chansiu again with hope.
Understanding the situation, Li Chansiu directly instructed Zhou Kai, “Commander Zhou, take men to the prison and release all the merchants who were wrongly arrested. Then… bring them to the marketplace center.”
Zhou Kai immediately accepted the order and went to carry it out.
Chen Lingwan couldn’t help but feel deeply grateful, even briefly thankful that it was Li Chansiu and his people who had come to attack Ningcheng.
Hearing that their master could be released, Uncle Zhong was also overjoyed. He immediately knelt down and kept kowtowing, saying, “Thank you, sir, thank you, sir.”
Li Chansiu quickly had someone help him up. In addition to sending Zhou Kai to release the wrongly imprisoned merchants, he also dispatched people to invite the Three Elders and local gentry of the city.
The “Three Elders” were local officials established by the court at a level below the county, usually respected elders chosen for their virtue and reputation. They were responsible for mediating disputes, guiding the populace, and held considerable influence among common people. As for the local gentry, they were naturally individuals of standing and influence in each area.
Inviting them served two purposes: to warn and to win them over, and to first stabilize the hearts of the city’s people.
After Uncle Zhong got up, he remained trembling. Only after standing behind Chen Lingwan did he feel somewhat at ease, quietly asking, “Miss, how are you with… these soldiers? Weren’t you with the young master… with Lord Gu, heading to Yongzhou? Where is Lord Gu?”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance around nervously.
Although Li Chansiu had ordered the release of Master Chen and the others, in Uncle Zhong’s eyes, they were still rebels. Even if the master was released now, what would happen when the imperial court drove away the rebels and came back to settle accounts?
Hadn’t it been like that before?
So Uncle Zhong was still placing his hopes on Gu Heng, thinking that since Gu Heng was an official of the court and had already attached himself to Liang Wang Shizi, if this group of rebels were driven away again and the court army returned to settle accounts, the only one who could save his master would be Gu Heng.
But unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Chen Lingwan’s eyes reddened, and her tears again fell like broken pearls.
Uncle Zhong hurriedly tried to comfort her.
Li Chansiu heard part of what Uncle Zhong said but remained silent, pretending not to have heard, it concerned Miss Chen’s private matters.
However, on the way here, Chen Lingwan had already spoken about what she had gone through,
It turned out that after she and Gu Heng left Yongfeng Town together, for some unknown reason, Gu Heng suddenly fell out of favor with Liang Wang Shizi. The official post he had finally obtained was also taken away.
It was also from her that Li Chansiu learned that Yongzhou had changed governors again, and that Yan Tonghai and members of the Wang family had all been executed.
Hearing this, Li Chansiu couldn’t help but fall into a daze, wondering how Pei Er was doing now. When he came back to himself, he felt a bit unnatural, he shouldn’t keep thinking about the other party, as if… they were truly husband and wife.
Meanwhile, Gu Heng had broken his leg, fallen out of favor with Liang Wang Shizi, and, after witnessing the tragic fate of the Wang family, became deeply disheartened.
Seeing him like this, Chen Lingwan couldn’t bear it. Remembering that Master Chen was in Ningcheng, she had wanted to bring him there to seek help from her father. But on the way, her maid Chuncao overheard Gu Heng and a confidant discussing plans to go to Chang’an and seek connections through Princess Changle to be recommended again.
Princess Changle was the eldest daughter of the current Emperor and was greatly favored. It was said she kept numerous male companions in her residence and often recommended “talents” to the Emperor. For Gu Heng to seek her help, wasn’t that essentially wanting to become one of her favored men?
Chen Lingwan was furious and went to confront Gu Heng. Gu Heng naturally denied everything, but Chen Lingwan refused to believe him, and their relationship grew strained.
Afterward, they encountered roaming bandits. In order to save his own life, Gu Heng actually had his confidant push Chen Lingwan and her maid Chuncao off the carriage to delay the bandits’ pursuit. Chuncao, in trying to protect Chen Lingwan, fell down a slope and her fate was now unknown. Chen Lingwan was also captured by the bandits until she happened to encounter Li Chansiu and was rescued by his orders.
After hearing all this, Uncle Zhong was dumbfounded, unable to believe it. “Th-this… Gu Heng is actually such a despicable and shameless person?”
Li Chansiu shook his head inwardly and did not continue listening, instead riding quickly toward the marketplace center.
Though it was late at night and the wind was cold, many people stood gathered in the marketplace center. The soldiers stood solemnly, torches in hand illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.
Aside from the invited Three Elders and local gentry, Master Chen and the others who had just been released from prison also stood nearby in a half circle, the flickering torchlight reflecting the unease and fear on their faces.
Additionally, in the buildings on either side of the street, many merchants and townspeople hid behind windows, secretly watching the scene.
At the center of the marketplace, Ningcheng’s defending official Fan Hong was tied to a pillar. He was over forty, with a heavy build, and the ropes bound around his waist and belly squeezed his flesh into layers.
At this moment, he was trembling all over, his short, stubby legs like radishes shaking uncontrollably. Seeing that the leader among the rebels was Li Chansiu, he burst into tears and snot, desperately begging for mercy: “Young general, young general, I surrender, please spare my life. The wealth in the county office, you can take it all…”
In his view, these people were rebels, and the refugees before them were also rebels, there was likely no difference. They were all like bandits who robbed wherever they went. The moment they heard of money, their eyes would surely light up, and they wouldn’t kill him.
However, after hearing this, Li Chansiu only smiled faintly. Under the torchlight, his strikingly beautiful face became even more dazzling.
“Wealth? Is that your money?” As he spoke, he dismounted, drew the long sword from its scabbard, and walked forward step by step.
Fan Hong’s expression grew even more terrified. Watching that stunning face draw closer, his legs shook like chaff in a sieve.
Xuanping hesitated, then stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Your Highness, how about I do it instead?”
Perhaps influenced by their previous time together in Yongfeng Town, in his subconscious, Li Chansiu was still that resilient yet gentle Miss Shen. This kind of bloodshed…
Li Chansiu smiled. “No need.”
As he spoke, he tossed the sword horizontally into the air, caught the hilt in a reverse grip, twisted his arm, and the blade cut down cleanly.
In an instant, Fan Hong’s eyes bulged wide. A line of blood appeared at his throat, followed by a gush of blood.
Li Chansiu’s gaze sank as he calmly withdrew the sword.
Back in Yongfeng Town, he had deliberately acted gentle and demure, but that was not his true nature.
Of course, his true nature was not bloodthirsty either. It was simply that Fan Hong deserved to die. Killing him would establish authority and win over the people.
Holding the scabbard, this was Li Chansiu’s first time killing someone. Yet his hands did not tremble, nor did his heart panic. There was only calmness.
He still remembered that in his dreams, the first time he killed someone was when he had been swept into chaos and taken to Western Qiang. The one he killed was a Hu soldier. At that time, in the struggle, he stabbed a dagger into the soldier’s throat. When the man’s blood sprayed onto his face, his mind had gone blank, his heart raced wildly, his limbs lost strength, and it took him a long time to recover from the terror.
He thought that perhaps those were not dreams, but things he had truly experienced. Otherwise, how could he now be so composed, completely unlike when he killed that Hu soldier in the dream?
Li Chansiu’s gaze was calm. After sheathing his sword, he turned to the Three Elders, the local gentry, and Master Chen and the others, then slowly began to speak, listing more than a dozen of Fan Hong’s crimes.
His voice was like clashing metal, clear and forceful, yet well-ordered, striking directly into people’s hearts.
In an instant, the Three Elders and gentry were both shocked and fearful.
But immediately after, Li Chansiu smiled again and gently reassured them, stating that the righteous army had come and would not harm the city’s people, and that all the wealth and grain Fan Hong had extorted would be returned in full to the populace.
Before the Three Elders and gentry could even respond, some of the merchants beside Master Chen were already overjoyed, repeatedly shouting in praise.
Many of them, though called wealthy households, were merely shopkeepers along the streets. Having just been thrown into prison and then released, and now hearing they could reclaim their original property, they were so happy they wept.
Most of Master Chen’s wealth was in Wuyang City, but Ningcheng was his ancestral home, and he had considerable assets here as well. Hearing this, he too was delighted.
At this moment, when the townspeople along the streets saw that the righteous army had killed the previous corrupt official, they also couldn’t help but cheer excitedly.
The Three Elders and gentry, having come back to their senses, immediately understood Li Chansiu’s intent. Seeing that the imperial forces had already lost the overall situation, they all wisely cupped their hands in salute.
As for whether the prefectural city would send troops to attack again tomorrow, that was a matter for tomorrow. At least for now, they did not dare say much, for fear of ending up like Fan Hong, with a sword across their throats.
After dealing with Fan Hong, Li Chansiu and the others were welcomed into the county office.
Under his orders, the soldiers opened the government granaries. In addition to returning the grain that Fan Hong had extorted from the people, they also set up cauldrons to cook, preparing to eat their fill before going on to attack the prefectural city.
After sitting down in the main hall of the county office, Li Chansiu pressed his temple and began to consider how, while sending troops to attack the prefectural city, the remaining forces could still hold Ningcheng.
In addition, his father’s army was short on grain, how should he send troops to deliver supplies? If they transported it directly from Ningcheng to the prefectural city, Pei Zhen would certainly anticipate it and send people to intercept along the way…
As he was thinking, someone suddenly came to report that Lu Zhi had arrived with more than a thousand troops.
Li Chansiu was immediately delighted and stood up at once. “Bring him in quickly!”
It was like rain for parched seedlings, now that Lu Zhi had arrived, couldn’t he help guard Ningcheng? Back in the stronghold, when defending the eastern camp, he had maximized the use of just two hundred men.
Of course, for someone like Lu Zhi, who would become a pillar of the state, guarding a small place like Ningcheng was somewhat beneath his abilities.
But at present, Ningcheng was of utmost importance to them. They absolutely could not afford to lose it after gaining it.
After Lu Zhi arrived and learned of Li Chansiu’s plan, he did not hesitate at all and immediately went to the city walls to arrange defenses.
Li Chansiu couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, this was the advantage of having a capable assistant. At least when it came to holding Ningcheng, he could be completely at ease.
As for whether the city’s people could live in peace or might try to flee, aside from relying on the Three Elders and gentry to stabilize them, the person Li Chansiu most wanted to use was Master Chen, especially since he could also help manage logistics, gather grain, and arrange transportation.
However, Master Chen’s true base was in Wuyang City, and he was unfamiliar with the southwestern righteous army, so he likely would not join easily.
After all, not everyone was like Lu Zhi, driven to desperation and daring enough to rebel.
Li Chansiu did not force the matter. He only asked him to help prepare grain for now. As for transportation, he already had a plan.
After the third quarter past the Hour of Chou, the soldiers had eaten their fill.
After receiving a carrier pigeon message from Pingcheng, Li Chansiu reorganized the troops and, without a moment’s delay, marched toward the prefectural city.
***
Inside the Pingcheng prefectural office, though it was deep into the night, it was still brightly lit.
In the center of the main hall, a soldier who had ridden back swiftly from the front lines knelt on one knee, reporting the battle situation.
After he finished speaking, the hall fell into complete silence. No one dared even breathe loudly. Only a few of Li Xuan’s confidants dared to lift their heads and glance toward the seat above.
It turned out that after repeated requests from Cai Shu, Li Xuan had finally agreed today to his plan to attack the prefectural city. However, just now, a soldier had reported that Cai Shu’s attack had gone poorly, he had been personally defeated by Liangzhou Governor Liang Xingrong and had fled in panic for over a hundred li, nearly retreating all the way back to Pingcheng.
For a moment, those in the hall who supported Cai Shu did not dare make a sound.
Li Xuan sat in the seat of honor, his eyes still closed, his fingers turning the prayer beads, as if he had not heard of such a defeat.
Only when a black-clad guard stationed outside received a carrier pigeon, removed the small tube tied to the bird’s leg, and hurried into the hall to respectfully present it to Li Xuan,
did Li Xuan finally open his eyes, pull open the finger-sized tube, take out a slip of paper, and slowly unfold it. Then, in his calm, pool-like eyes, a gentle smile suddenly appeared, like a breeze rippling across a lake.
Everyone was immediately puzzled. Clearly Cai Shu had suffered a defeat, yet not only was their lord not angry, he even seemed… somewhat pleased?
Could it be that the message contained some good news?
The crowd was filled with doubt, but unable to gauge Li Xuan’s temperament now, they did not dare ask.
At this moment, as if sensing their confusion, Li Xuan spoke with a faint smile in his cool, measured voice, his tone casual: “Nothing much. Chan… the child has just taken Ningcheng.”
As if someone had asked him.
The crowd immediately understood, and several confidants hurried to offer congratulations:
“Congratulations, my lord!”
“As expected, a tiger father has no dog son, the young prince is unmatched in wisdom and courage!”
“The young prince has not even reached the army yet, and has already taken a city for you, truly cause for celebration!”
“…”
The smile in Li Xuan’s eyes deepened. After listening for a while, he raised his hand to stop them.
Then he looked toward the soldier who had reported Cai Shu’s defeat and finally said, “Cai Shu has used troops poorly. Demote him for now to deputy general. Yan Xiaoming.”
“Your subordinate is here!” A general in the hall immediately stood up, it was the same one who had earlier pointed at the sand table and explained the importance of the three cities.
As if long prepared, Li Xuan spoke slowly, “You will take another ten thousand troops to the front lines, assume Cai Shu’s position, reorganize the army, and together with Li Chansiu advancing from Ningcheng, launch a pincer attack on the prefectural city.”
After a pause, his tone turned calm, yet carried an unmistakable authority: “You have two days. You must take the prefectural city.”
“Yes!” Yan Xiaoming clasped his fists, his voice ringing.
After speaking, he turned and strode out.
Those present couldn’t help but feel a chill, this order was no different from making Yan Xiaoming stake his life on it.
Two days, how could the prefectural city possibly be taken in that time?
But upon further thought, they realized it could only be two days. After two days, the Bingzhou army stationed outside Chang’an would arrive in Liangzhou. By then, if the prefectural city had not been taken, there would be no more opportunity.
Then someone else realized, previously, Cai Shu had repeatedly wanted to attack the prefectural city, yet their lord had not agreed. Of course, this was because Cai Shu had been eager for merit and only knew how to recklessly attack, which would certainly lead to defeat. But today, when Cai Shu proposed it again, why had their lord agreed?
Could it be… to coordinate, allowing the young prince to take Ningcheng?
After all, in this way, while the young prince attacked Ningcheng, the prefectural city would also be under attack by Cai Shu, leaving it no time to reinforce Ningcheng. And Cai Shu would inevitably be defeated, after which their lord could justifiably replace him and appoint a new commander. Not only that, it would also weaken Cai Shu’s authority in the army to some extent.
Realizing this, some people felt a layer of cold sweat break out on their backs.
***
On the other side, within Chang’an City.
After finishing discussions with Yang Yuanyi, before he could even rest, Pei Zhen received the latest military report, the Liangzhou prefectural city was under attack.
By dawn, more detailed intelligence arrived:
It was said that just after dusk yesterday, the Liangzhou prefectural city had been attacked by Cai Shu leading his troops. However, Cai Shu was brave but foolish and was personally driven back over a hundred li by Prefect Liang. But late at night, the rebel forces suddenly regrouped and split into two routes, launching a fierce assault from the direction of Ningcheng and Pingcheng.
It was also because Prefect Liang, having earlier driven Cai Shu into a panicked retreat, had grown somewhat complacent. After returning, he went to sleep, neglecting defenses for a moment, and was caught off guard by the two-pronged attack, forced to urgently request reinforcements.
At one point, Prefect Liang even suspected that Cai Shu’s earlier defeat had been a feigned one, deliberately luring him into a trap.
Meanwhile, Anxing County, upon learning last night that Ningcheng had fallen, had sent troops to retake it, but failed after prolonged fighting. Then, upon hearing that the prefectural city was in crisis, they turned to reinforce it, only to be pursued and defeated by the Ningcheng rebels during their retreat.
Because of this, the Liangzhou prefectural city was temporarily without reinforcements and could only desperately send requests for aid to the imperial court.
After reading the report, Pei Zhen showed no expression and simply tossed it to Yang Yuanyi.
Yang Yuanyi picked it up and, after reading, exclaimed in shock, “How did the Ningcheng rebels get through? Didn’t they run into the ambush we set?”
Pei Zhen glanced at him but said nothing.
Yang Yuanyi understood at once and immediately thought of something, gritting his teeth. “That guy who attacked Ningcheng must have guessed where we’d set the ambush and went around it!”
After saying this, his competitive spirit flared, and he struck the table with his fist, saying resentfully, “It’s rare to encounter someone this clever, we make a move, and he guesses it every time. Just wait till I find out who he is.”
Pei Zhen’s expression remained heavy, still saying nothing.
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