Chapter 321: Chapter 311 Yearning
To Ayu, Zhixu.
Xie Xun’s letters home were always in his unique style, delighting in sharing amusing anecdotes from Ningzhou with Fengyu. For instance, he mentioned catching a six-pound fish in the Shaling River. He visited Qianling Town, a prominent stronghold of the Beiman, remarking how their six-year-olds were taller than ten-year-olds in Ningzhou City. He further shared that many nomadic families from Ningzhou had now settled in Beiman and lived in relative harmony. He said Grandmaster Zhang had been driven out of the State Mansion by Second Brother. Grandmaster Zhang sought him out numerous times, hoping for reconciliation, but Xie Xun bluntly joked that were it not for the Grandmaster’s advanced age, he would have already thrown a punch, adding that he hoped not to become such a detestable old man himself in fifty years.
Fengyu couldn’t help but chuckle. Mundane matters became vivid and delightful through Xie Xun’s words. His letters were always thick, as if he longed to share every single detail with her during their separation. He would also complain, asking why Fengyu wouldn’t take off the Soul Suppressing Pearl to meet him. In the end, he wrote that he and Xie Jue managed to steal a rare half-day of leisure, with Second Brother finally agreeing to hike with him. Xie Xun added with playful admiration that Second Brother praised her again, likening her to a gold mountain, urging Fengyu to continue her efforts and earn another one.
Within those thick stacks of letters filled with day-to-day musings, Fengyu could still feel his yearning hidden between the lines.
The letter sprawled across four pages, and only in the final sentence did he reveal his true feelings.
On the mountain, osmanthus blooms, and red beans weigh down the branches.
Plucked a sprig as a gift for you, sending it afar with longing.
At the bottom layer of a sandalwood box was a sprig of red beans, harvested from Ningzhou. The cluster was abundant but dull in color. Nevertheless, a faint fragrance lingered. Fengyu could almost picture Xie Xun’s expression as he penned the letter and picked the red beans, her face slightly flushing.
His affection was always so fervent and profound, stirring the heart.
Zhixu...
Fengyu devoured the amusing stories in the letter with relish. Everyday scenes brimmed with warmth and gentleness, as though she were Xie Xun’s eyes, walking alongside him to witness life and savor the landscape.
They were both born in the season of fragrant osmanthus. She had originally promised to return to Ningzhou by month’s end to celebrate his birthday together. Yet now that he was in Jiaozhou, she wasn’t even sure if they could meet by then.
Staring at the sprig of red beans, her heart fluttered with an aching sweetness. No matter where he was, they would meet again. Fengyu harbored no fear of separation.
Every reunion after parting was a rediscovery.
And that was the most romantic thing in the world.
When he penned this letter, the court had yet to plan a military campaign against the Twelve Prefectures, and Xie Xun never anticipated being sent to Jiaozhou. Fengyu thought to herself, in ten days, if he remained in Jiaozhou, she would go there to celebrate his birthday with him.
Holding the red beans in her hands, bittersweet emotions surged through her. Months had passed since their last meeting, and longing pierced her soul. "Zhixu, I miss you so much."
Just as Fengyu was organizing the West Continent’s affairs to clear ten days for a potential trip, trouble erupted in Jiaozhou.
The governor of Jiaozhou, Lin Zhi, refused to open the gates when Xie Xun’s army approached. Instead, he publicly declared that Jiaozhou belonged to Yanyang and would never recognize rebel leadership. The city, already fortified with twenty thousand troops, escalated its defenses. After stepping out to negotiate with Xie Xun and failing, Lin Zhi—aware of Jiaozhou’s inferior military strength—suddenly took his own life between the two opposing forces, pleading for mercy on behalf of Jiaozhou’s citizens. Xie Xun tried to stop him, but no one foresaw such a drastic turn of events.
Lin Zhi’s death amidst the armies sparked outrage among Jiaozhou’s ten thousand soldiers and countless civilians. Anger surged through the city, with unarmed townsfolk swarming the walls, vowing to live and die with Jiaozhou!
Above Jiaozhou, crimson clouds gathered, and a storm approached.
Autumn in the Bei River region was a season of heavy rain. Both the unfolding crisis and the impending downpour hampered the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry’s advance. Xie Xun, clad in silver armor astride a white horse, stood outside the city with a dark expression. Lin Zhi’s self-sacrifice utterly unsettled him.
Before arriving at Jiaozhou, Xie Xun had corresponded with Lin Zhi, assuring him that the Iron Cavalry’s entry would neither harm the city nor seize its grain stores. Lin Zhi had agreed. Why then did he take his own life at the last moment?
"Prince, retreat the troops!" General Xu Zhou’s expression was grim. Several generals had read Lin Zhi’s letters. Jiaozhou’s State Mansion had agreed to the Iron Cavalry’s deployment, which was why they came. Why then had Lin Zhi died before the armies, making it appear as though the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry had arrogantly seized the city and forced Lin Zhi to his death?
With tens of thousands of soldiers camped outside the walls and Lin Zhi’s lifeless body lying at the gate, his blood pooled vividly under the looming stormclouds. It was at once a sacrifice and a declaration of defiance.
Xie Xun stared intently at Jiaozhou in the fading light of dusk. Who was behind this scheme? The maneuver was unexpected, leaving him cornered and forced into retreat. Yet if he withdrew, what would Zhongzhou’s response be?
There was no time to contemplate Zhongzhou’s reaction now. Lin Zhi had been deeply loved by Jiaozhou’s people. His forced death at the front lines meant—
The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry and Xie Xun would become targets of scorn and condemnation across the land. And Ningzhou’s strategy to claim the Twelve Prefectures without bloodshed was now an unqualified failure.