Zuo Wushang said urgently, "Young General Liang, we can cooperate in secret, playing the Northern Barbarians into our hands, and we don't need to worry about the internal strife of the nation leading to a barbarian invasion!"
Liang Xiao shook his head, "How many times do I need to emphasize? The Great Heng Kingdom is an old era eliminated by its people, and I have no interest in the great cause of restoring the nation. You can think I'm afraid of death, but I say it again, whoever disrupts the world, I will kill! Don't let my Yue Lian get involved in this vortex anymore, she is very delicate."
Zuo Wushang angrily said, "Shouldn't you consider the Princess's Highness!"
Liang Xiao said in a deep voice, "Ask her if she's willing?"
Zuo Wushang looked at Yue Lian with great anticipation, "Your Highness Princess, say a few kind words..."
Yue Lian was already crying profusely and kept shaking her head.
"I, I am no one, I am just the young master's Yue Lian. Besides serving the young master, I can do nothing and dare not do anything. I am very timid. Listen to the young master, don't harm innocent people in the future, okay..."
Zuo Wushang remained silent.
Liang Xiao held Yue Lian even tighter, feeling more heartbroken, afraid she would be snatched away from his embrace.
"Zuo Wushang, go back, forget about restoring the nation, be a rich man, and stop harming Yue Lian, she cannot bear it."
Zuo Wushang felt his hopes dashed. After a long while, he came back to his senses, cupped his hands towards Liang Xiao, and said, "I will return in a month. During this period, we, the remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom, will not harm innocents. I hope Young General Liang can change his mind!"
Liang Xiao glanced at Yue Lian in his arms, but ultimately did not respond.
After Zuo Wushang kowtowed three times again, he re-attached his mask and slowly stood up. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at Liang Xiao and Yue Lian, then turned and left, leaving only a lonely figure behind.
Liang Xiao shook his head helplessly.
This man will surely be able to restrain the remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom. Before he turns his back on us, he cannot be killed, nor should he be killed!
The two stood in the wind for a long time, and Zuo Wushang never returned.
"Young master, do you think he, he is lying to me..." Yue Lian choked.
Liang Xiao was silent for a moment and sighed, "Yue Lian, you are the person closest to me, I cannot hide it from you. Based on my judgment, at least your background is true."
Yue Lian was struck by lightning, feeling as if the world was spinning, and almost fainted, "Young master, I..."
Liang Xiao wrapped Yue Lian tightly in his outer robe, fearing she would be affected by the cold wind.
Yue Lian was already crying uncontrollably, "Yue Lian still doesn't want to leave the young master, nor does she want the young master to bear a bad reputation!"
Liang Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief and was about to comfort her when Jian Qinwan happened to walk in from a distance. She saw the two embracing and jealousy spread in her heart.
"That person wanted to escape from somewhere else, but was caught by my senior brothers. Let me question you about how to deal with him, and by the way, see how you are doing!"
Liang Xiao said, "Let him go, don't track him, lest it be counterproductive."
Jian Qinwan gave Liang Xiao a glare and walked away, "Hmph, you're corrupting another young girl!"
Liang Xiao smiled wryly and looked at Yue Lian in his arms.
Speaking of which, this little girl really seemed to have been "corrupted" by him.
A moment later, Chen Shaoling ran in, followed by a messenger.
"Marquis of An!" An urgent report has arrived from the front line!"
The messenger submitted a letter from Zhuo Wulüe, which, in addition to the seal, bore Zhuo Wulüe's handwriting: "The situation is urgent, listen to his verbal report."
Liang Xiao quickly inquired about the situation.
"General Lü's two thousand White Robe soldiers found the marriage procession of the Gui Zi Kingdom and were escorting them back to Yan Province, but they encountered the Northern Barbarian cavalry on the way. They fought and retreated, and sent someone to Yan Province for reinforcements! But the Northern Barbarian cavalry suddenly advanced, threatening to attack the city, seeming to intend to tie down the Yan Province garrison!"
"Adjutant Zhuo dared not abandon the rescue, but Duke Dugu Yun obstructed him in every possible way. Finally, Zhuo Wulüe's eldest son, the deputy general Zhuo Ying, volunteered to fight and led two thousand White Robe soldiers to the rescue! But Adjutant Zhuo worried that the Northern Barbarians had another scheme!"
Yue Lian, who had been crying, stopped crying and was startled.
Liang Xiao sighed, "Understood. You go back immediately and tell Adjutant Zhuo to do his best to contain the barbarian forces outside the city, be ready to march west from Yan Province at any time to provide support, and always be wary of Duke Dugu Yun."
After the messenger left, Liang Xiao said to Chen Shaoling, who was worried, "Brother Shaoling, I trouble you to guard this place, and also notify the Imperial Guards outside to heavily guard it before we leave, and not to be negligent or let any strangers in."
This was to prevent Zuo Wushang from changing his mind, or for Zuo Wushang's subordinates to lose control and come to cause trouble, or to abduct Yue Lian.
Chen Shaoling also knew the urgency of the situation. Seeing that it was getting late, he hurried to deliver the message.
Jian Qinwan walked in from outside, looking at Liang Xiao, who was still embracing Yue Lian, with a resentful gaze.
"Bodhisattva, I have something I want to talk to Yue Lian about privately..."
Upon hearing this, Jian Qinwan's heart ached, and she snorted, "I'm going to sleep, I don't want to bother with you!"
After Jian Qinwan left, Liang Xiao took Yue Lian back to his room.
Yue Lian's tears gushed out again, her eyes vacant.
"Yue Lian, I know it's hard for you to accept reality. In the future, even if you meet Shuang'er and Xiao Shuangzi, you may not be able to remain calm," Liang Xiao sighed, "And I also know very well that because of the relationship between Xiao Shuangzi and Shuang'er, I am not qualified to teach you."
Yue Lian choked, "Young master is qualified, it's just that I haven't recovered yet..."
Liang Xiao held Yue Lian in his arms and sighed, "Yue Lian, no matter what choice you make in the future, I will not blame you. Even if you want to leave, I will always wait for you to come back. Because you will always be my Yue Lian, and I will always be your young master. I am so afraid of losing you."
Yue Lian hugged Liang Xiao tightly and said mournfully, "I don't want to leave the young master, I will never leave, I will take care of the young master for all eternity!"
"Yue Lian, whether you know Xiao Shuangzi and Shuang'er or not, my stance will not change. He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, and he who loses the hearts of the people loses the world. The common people just want to live a peaceful life and don't really care who is emperor. I don't want to see the country in chaos."
"Even if the country is not in chaos, the Northern Barbarian cavalry can still invade on a large scale... Do you know the northern border of Yan Province? After the Northern Barbarian cavalry arrived, it turned into a living hell. Men were beheaded, women were treated as lambs and publicly violated during the day, and at night they were roasted and eaten. Babies were stabbed to death by the Northern Barbarians, and then their corpses were threaded onto long spears and spun around for amusement..."
As Yue Lian listened to Liang Xiao's words, she became increasingly alarmed, and tears streamed down her face.
What horrific cruelty!
"When I opened my eyes and saw the world clearly, I wanted to be a wealthy man and enjoy life in peace. However, I am ultimately a soldier at heart. No matter where I am, I dare not go against my oath to protect my home and country... I thought, what if you and grandfather were also ravaged by the Northern Barbarians? I would suffer! And thinking of the unfortunate common people, I could not bear to stand by and do nothing."
"If Xiao Shuangzi becomes a tyrant one day and can't turn back, I will overthrow him. But I believe he will create a truly peaceful and prosperous era and become an emperor for the ages. At that time, I will retire to the mountains and forests, and we will live a leisurely life together."
Yue Lian clutched Liang Xiao's hand and cried uncontrollably, "Young master, I, I will not resent the Princess and His Majesty anymore..."
Liang Xiao gently stroked Yue Lian's dark hair with relief and sighed, "Yue Lian, I need to leave for a while, perhaps a day, perhaps half a month. You stay in my room."
"Is the young master abandoning Yue Lian?" Yue Lian trembled all over.
"I am going to the battlefield to save people. My most gentle and obedient Yue Lian, you must wait for my triumphant return." Liang Xiao shook his head, held Yue Lian's hand, walked to the corner where the Tian Long Po Cheng Ji was placed, and opened the largest iron chest.
A white battle robe, a reforged precious sword!
A helmet with a ferocious ghost mask!
And, a Heavenly General Token!