“Chou’er, are you well?” When Di Qingya saw Xing Pingchun in the side courtyard of the Hang residence, she immediately pulled him into her arms with deep affection. Xing Pingchun looked rather embarrassed and said, “Aunt Qingya, I’m fine. I’m already this big, you don’t need to hug me anymore.”
Hearing this, Di Qingya released him. Xing Pingchun stood up, and Qingya looked over the tall, handsome youth before her who more and more resembled Xing Muzheng. Smiling, she said, “Indeed, you’re even taller than me now.”
Xing Pingchun patted his chest. “Of course. The teachers all say I’ll still keep growing, maybe I’ll even surpass Father!”
Di Qingya stroked him with affection, pulled him to sit down, and had all his favorite snacks prepared. Xing Pingchun didn’t stand on ceremony—he took them and ate heartily.
“And where’s Lian Jie’er?” Xing Pingchun asked about Hang Zhi and Di Qingya’s only daughter. Born the year before last, the little girl was now just over two—like a crystal doll, the jewel of Hang Zhi’s palm and his most beloved treasure.
“She’s been making a fuss, so I didn’t bring her.” Di Qingya dismissed the servants, then asked quietly, “How is little Nixue?”
Although Qian Jiaoniang had not been able to send news, at New Year when Xing Pingchun came to pay respects, Di Qingya had learned of this happy matter.
Xing Pingchun said, “I don’t know either. I haven’t heard from him in a long time, only that Father and Mother didn’t bring my little brother onto the battlefield.”
“That’s right. Your mother is truly bold—she even dares to go onto the battlefield!” Di Qingya gave a helpless smile, then remembered the main matter. She pulled Xing Pingchun closer, her expression turning grave: “Chou’er, the imperial family has gone mad. I will send you away from Yongan!”
Xing Pingchun was stunned, then gave a light laugh: “Aunt Qingya, thank you for worrying for me, but I cannot accept your kindness.”
Qingya grew anxious. “Chou’er, I’ve heard the imperial court has already issued several decrees, all to force your father back. This is by no means a good sign! Your uncle says that if your father returns, he will most likely meet misfortune. Yet because you are in Yongan, he has no choice but to take the risk alone. If you were to flee Yongan first, perhaps your father might still have a thread of hope. Rest assured, the Hang household will mobilize its finest shadow guards to escort you safely out of Yongan.”
“Absolutely not! If the imperial family learns of this, the Hang household will also be implicated. And the Hang family is a flourishing great clan—if blame is pursued, who knows how many lives will be dragged down.”
Di Qingya said firmly: “Just trust your uncle. If he says it can be done, then it can be done.”
Xing Pingchun fell silent for a while, then finally shook his head. “Aunt Qingya, I understand both your and Uncle Hang’s goodwill. Thank you for thinking of the Xing family at such a perilous time. But precisely because of that, I cannot drag you down. If Mother knew, she would surely give me a good beating.”
“Chou’er…”
“Aunt Qingya,” Xing Pingchun revealed a mysterious, unreadable smile, “you needn’t worry for me. I already have help. My father must come to Yongan, but we will also leave Yongan safely.”
Di Qingya stared blankly at the confident youth before her. Had the child who once laughed and played at Jiaoniang’s side truly grown to this point already?
Qingya felt a sudden, unexplainable peace of mind.
Xing Pingchun stood up and gave her a deep bow. “Aunt Qingya, please convey my thanks to Uncle Hang on behalf of my parents, and also deliver one sentence for me…”
***
The front-line battle dragged on, while imperial edicts kept arriving day after day. Gradually, the soldiers in camp grew restless, and murmurs of discontent began to spread.
“We’re fighting a war—why does the court insist on summoning Commander Xing back to Yongan with a decree every single day?”
“They say it’s because his eldest son is to marry the princess.”
“Bah! Since when must a marriage to a princess disrupt a war? Besides, I heard the princess is only nine years old, while the commander’s eldest son is fifteen or sixteen already. Isn’t that just marrying a child to worship her like a bodhisattva?”
“D*mn it, that’s too strange!”
“I heard the court is just using this as an excuse to call Commander Xing back. They’re afraid his merit surpasses the emperor’s authority!”
“What! Does the court mean to say it cannot tolerate Commander Xing?”
“Does the emperor want him back just to die?”
“Who knows? I heard the new marshal they’re sending is some old man, half his body already in the grave. He’s still struggling halfway here, half-dead. At such an age, if he were capable of great achievements, he’d have made them long ago. How could we wait for him to rise up and lead us instead of Commander Xing?”
“They say this Old General Xu is the father of the former grand marshal. That last grand marshal already cost us so many brothers—who knows how many more his father will kill!”
“Exactly! We came here to win battles, not to die in vain!”
“If the emperor insists on recalling Commander Xing now, isn’t that just sending us all into the fire pit?”
“There must be a conspiracy in this!”
Zhaohui disguised himself as an ordinary soldier and made a round through the camp. Everywhere he went, he heard only such mutinous complaints. He was both furious and afraid—more than that, deeply unsettled. If he punished these men harshly, he feared it would disrupt morale in wartime; but if he let it slide, the emperor would lose the loyalty of the army. And if something truly happened to Xing Muzheng in Yongan, what would these soldiers think then?
The rallying horns suddenly blared—woo, woo—throwing the camp into motion.
“Hurry to assembly! Grand Marshal Xie will personally take the field! Today we must seize Qinan!” messengers shouted on horseback, flags waving as they dashed through the camp.
“Zhaohui Gonggong, so you are here—the Grand Marshal is looking for you!” The commander of the Imperial Guard found him in the crowd.
Zhaohui rushed back to his tent to change, then hurried to the command tent. Xing Muzheng, clad in silver armor, was handing out battle tokens to his generals. Only after all the generals departed to make their preparations did Zhaohui step forward. “Has General Xing fully recovered?”
Xing Muzheng coughed twice. His adjutant, Li Qingquan, offered him a bowl of tea. After drinking, Xing Muzheng said, “I’ve taken the imperial physician’s medicine for half a year—I’ve been gradually recovering.”
Li Qingquan interjected, “He may say he’s well, but he still mustn’t overexert himself—least of all on the battlefield. The Grand Marshal is only forcing himself forward out of eagerness to return to Yongan and report.”
“Enough, no more chatter. Stand down,” Xing Muzheng said.
Zhaohui said, “General must take care of his health.”
“Rest assured, Gonggong, I know my limits. But the battlefield is perilous. It would be safer for you to withdraw to the rear.”
Zhaohui bowed. “Thank you, General, for your concern.”
Xing Muzheng donned his helmet, fastened his cloak, and strode out. Zhaohui did not leave but instead went up to the watchtower to observe as the army moved out.
The battle to retake Qinan was fiercely fought, but true to his name of never tasting defeat, Xing Muzheng broke through the gates by sunset and reclaimed the city.
Zhaohui had watched from beginning to end, clutching the railing, his heart stirred to its depths. With such a god of war in the Xie dynasty, how could the realm ever be unstable? If only Emperor Yongtai had the magnanimity of the late emperor, how could the dynasty’s foundations be insecure!
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