The capital bloomed with the autumn chrysanthemums that Zhuo Zifang had loved most in life.
Since the founding prime minister Zhuo Mingfeng was posthumously granted the title "Wenzheng," Zhuo Zifang became the second minister to receive this honor.
This was the highest posthumous honor for a civil official, the lifelong pursuit of countless scholars, and a fitting conclusion for the Zhuo family.
People also remembered that the Zhuo family had produced two Dukes Wenzheng.
To show respect for Zhuo Zifang and the entire Zhuo family, Xiao Qing consulted with his officials and decided to set a precedent by holding a "state funeral" for Zhuo Zifang.
From this day forward, any minister who rendered great service to the nation would be granted the rites of a state funeral.
Led by Liang Xiao, Zhang Yang, Gu Shaoyan, Nan Jiyun, Lü Changhe, and Zuo Wushang from the capital, among others, followed him to bear the coffin.
The female painter Li Jinyu and Madam Zhuo, as Zhuo Zifang's principal wives, appeared to mourn. The world now knew that Zhuo Zifang's unfulfilled youthful affection had finally found its resolution.
The ten thousand taels of gold bestowed by Xiao Qing were politely refused by the Zhuo family. It was only after Liang Xiao and Wang Canghai earnestly persuaded them that Zhuo Wulue finally accepted it. In Zhuo Zifang's name, it was divided into two portions to purchase rice in Jiaozhou and Daliang for famine relief, benefiting both regions.
In the Western Palace Villa, Liang Xiao leaned into Xiao Qing's embrace, recounting his experiences with Zhuo Zifang with great emotion, his sorrow evident in his words.
Xiao Qing held Liang Xiao tightly, comforting him softly, her heart aching.
He had always shielded her from storms, seemingly capable of anything, but he was, after all, human.
He was already over twenty-five, yet in the eyes of elders, he remained a child.
Now, it was finally her turn to cherish and protect him.
The nation was in mourning recently, especially the people of the capital. Therefore, Xiao Qing decided to wait for Qin Feng and his wife to arrive in the capital of Da Gan before issuing the Empress's proclamation to the world.
While the joys and sorrows of individuals are not the same, people seemed to understand Liang Xiao's grief and often prayed for him at home.
After all, he was the Marquis of Anguo who had saved them from the abyss of countless deaths for centuries.
"Zhuo Lingjun's last words stated that having lived past seventy and met the Marquis of Anguo, he was infinitely satisfied in this life, and thus this is a joyous funeral. Colleagues and the people should be happy for him and face life with smiles, for life must go on..."
The people of the capital passed down his words, and newspapers widely publicized Zhuo Zifang's heroic deeds during his lifetime.
People always remembered: "Zhuo Lingjun was a benefactor recognized by the Marquis of Anguo, a sworn friend of many years, and the Marquis of Anguo was his favorite junior!"
"Zhuo Lingjun has finally achieved his goal: he fulfilled the king's worldly affairs and earned fame in life and after death! Seeing the unification of the land before his departure, Zhuo Lingjun must be immensely gratified in the netherworld and can proudly account for himself to his ancestors!"
The people of the capital often recited verses for Zhuo Zifang. The populace finally emerged from their grief, realizing that their quality of life now far surpassed the past, and the land was unified. They felt proud and joyful, finally living the way Zhuo Zifang would have wanted them to.
Liang Xiao also pulled himself together. During the funeral period, after finishing his duties each day, he returned home to accompany his wife and children, finally ceasing his late-night writings.
Qin Feng, who was traveling with his family in Jiangnan, was shocked to hear the news and let out a long sigh, deeply saddened.
Liang Xiao and the members of the Zhuo manor were all working to return to their normal lives, to comfort Zhuo Zifang's spirit in heaven.
The people of the capital, meanwhile, were eagerly awaiting the legendary grand unification ceremony.
Qin Feng's deeds also spread, leaving the people sighing, but no longer with the same disdain as before.
"Someone valued by the Marquis of Anguo cannot be too bad, right? After all, the Marquis of Zhenguo only killed those who preyed on the common folk. Some innocent members of noble families were not implicated..."
"However, I heard that the Marquis of Zhenguo himself said that he knows his sins are deep and does not wish for anyone's understanding, only to atone to the world with a lifetime of loyalty to the Qian clan."
People gradually stopped discussing Qin Feng's controversial actions.
In the south, within the Peacock Dynasty, countless Tianri tribesmen wailed along the streets, sacrificing the indigenous people of the Peacock Dynasty to vent their anger.
"Achilles... Tianri Cavalry!!" The King of the Peacock Dynasty's face turned ashen as he read the battle report and fainted on the spot.
Following the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Tianri tribe, which had been operating in the region south of Asia for hundreds of years, experienced bitter consequences far exceeding anything before, and trembled in fear!
The names Tian General, Marquis of Anguo, and Liang Xiao had become synonymous with "demons" in the mouths of the Tianri people.
In this war, the Peacock Dynasty had depleted its reserves and shattered its foundation.
The Peacock Dynasty still had some rebel forces. Upon hearing of the Tianri tribe's crushing defeat, they all rose in rebellion, only to be brutally suppressed.
When the King of the Peacock awoke, he gritted his teeth and declared, "After Yizhou submitted to Da Gan, it displayed unprecedented vitality! Jiaozhou and Daliang are precious lands. If they also submit, the consequences are imaginable... Notify the royal families of our people in all regions. From now on, if there is any land we can no longer hold that is about to be taken by Da Gan, we must eliminate all the population on that land and never allow the nation of Da Gan another opportunity to develop it!"
The bravery of the Da Gan army and the enlightened rule of the Da Gan court confirmed to this extreme ethnic group the correctness of their path toward absolute extremism. Using this as justification, they launched the first round of southward migration of the low-caste "untouchables" north of the Peacock Dynasty, slaughtering all who could not keep pace.
North of the Peacock Dynasty, there was widespread suffering and devastation, yet the Tianri tribe continued to warn these "untouchables."
Within the lands they ruled, the Tianri tribe propagated Tianri teachings and Brahmanism, forcing the people to accept their lowly status. After hundreds of years of conditioning, the vast majority of these indigenous people had forgotten what resistance was, and even demanded that the rebel forces surrender to the Tianri tribe, lest they be further implicated.
In the far west, the Tianri tribe suffered repeated defeats, with even Achilles falling at the hands of the Tian General. The news spread like wildfire.
The Tianri tribesmen in this region were also filled with dread, lamenting and grieving day and night.
The Grand Marshal of the Tianri tribe, Mars, trembled violently as he held his pen.
"I fear that currently, our tribe alone has no chance of breaking into that land..."
The Kushan Dynasty troops on the front lines were greatly demoralized, but Mars resolutely refused to retreat.
This was a supply line that the Tianri tribe had painstakingly established, with vast farmlands and pastures along the way, raising livestock.
Once the front line failed, if the Da Gan army were to march into the flat terrain of the Kushan Dynasty homeland, they could advance unimpeded, threatening the Tianri heartland from the northwest!
The various western peoples, long oppressed by the Tianri tribe, were utterly astonished and looked on with eager anticipation.
"Is Da Gan's Tian General the rumored Marquis of Anguo?! To have annihilated the Tianri forces and beheaded the invincible Achilles... that nation called Qian will surely be able to defeat the Tianri tribe in the future!"
In the southwest of the Europa continent, Liang Jing, leading a rebel army in the mountains against the Tianri, was both surprised and delighted upon hearing the news.
This hidden wolf guard from the Great Gan country had traveled thousands of miles to deliver letters from Liang Xiao and Heraclius, along with Xiao Qing's imperial decree, to her.
"So that's how it is, he is also a descendant of our ancestors... Is he a reincarnation of our ancestor!" Liang Jing, holding her child, gazed eastward with her clansmen, filled with newfound hope and a familiar tenderness.
Heraclius had written in his letter that Liang Xiao's appearance bore at least a fifty percent resemblance to the portrait of her ancestor, the Martial Saint of the Great Zhou!