Chapter 208: Untitled

Zhan Beiye clearly knew that Meng Fuyao was headstrong, proud, and disliked being forced by others. He had also been trying very hard to change his habit of protecting women and tried to give her as much freedom as possible, and he didn’t want her to keep avoiding his love because she felt stifled. Yet, this clearly smart woman was beyond clueless when it came to affairs of the heart. Her ability to rile his anger was even more powerful than his combat skills, and he had been burnt a thousand times, as he had been once again, utterly defeated.

‘Fuyao… Who could ever cross the river to your heart and not have to stand on the other side with yearning?’

Zhan Beiye’s black robes fluttered silently around him as he stood on the road. He stood before the palace gates, ignoring the soldiers and people scattered in the street. His back was upright and straight, yet it looked as if it were burdened with something.

The Black Wind Calvary soldiers remained silent behind him, unsure what to say. They hoped that the special, mesmerizing, kind yet ruthless girl would become their queen, but looking at her exceptional stubbornness, His Majesty’s journey of pursuit would probably be filled with obstacles.

After a long time, Zhan Beiye suddenly mounted onto his horse, and with a crack of the reins, he shot forward. The reins landed hard on the horse as if he no longer had a care for horses and his black hair flew in the wind, looking like a black ball of fire.

It was rage, sadness, and the misfortune of unrequited love that sparked this fire.

Meng Fuyao was striding back, pebbles flying in her wake and scattering all four directions around her.

“I’m really an idiot, I actually let the highly respected, proud and stubborn Prince Lie lower his royal head and lie to a woman who truly loved him!

“I’m really a bloody idiot, I actually thought that after half a year, that arrogant person would actually learn to understand and treasure this kind of precious feeling!

“I’m really, really an idiot, I actually tossed away someone’s sincere feelings!”

“Oh? Whose feelings did you… toss?”

A voice tinged with laughter floated over. Meng Fuyao was still fuming at Zhan Beiye, and upon hearing the voice, she immediately replied, “Zhan Bei… Hmmph, nothing!”

Without even raising her head, she turned away to leave, saying, “Aiya, I just remembered that Yun Hen is left alone in the palace, I have to get him.”

“I’ve already sent the Secret Guard to infiltrate the palace and get him. The palace is in chaos right now, and all the servants are desperately trying to flee. The imperial guards can’t even do anything about it, and it’s not bad if they can manage to guard the gates already. There’s no need to cause more trouble for them.” Zhangsun Wuji sauntered over, smiling slightly as he tugged on her sleeve. “What are you running for, Lord Yuan Bao misses you a lot.”

Lord Yuan Bao rolled its eyes. ‘I was just sleeping with her last night, miss her my ass. You guys are really horrible, using my name as an excuse anytime you want to.’

“I definitely don’t want to see that rodent’s face,” Meng Fuyao retorted, “I’m sick of it!”

Lord Yuan Bao was enraged. ‘I’m the one that doesn’t want to see your pig mouth!’

“Then…” The person behind her was still laughing, pulling at her sleeve. “I miss you, alright?”

“Gross.” Meng Fuyao glanced at him from the corner from her eye. “We just met a second ago.”

“And within that second I suddenly started to miss you.” A certain person said seriously, “This second of separation made me suddenly realize that some things are like sand, once scattered, they would follow the wind and drift far away.”

The more Meng Fuyao listened, the more self-conscious she felt. ‘This person is truly annoying, always speaking in circles and metaphors until one couldn’t distinguish between true and false. Ah, would he really have found out about the scene from earlier?’

Zhangsun Wuji held onto her, refusing to let go. Meng Fuyao suddenly turned around and faced him, then swiftly retracted. Laughing drily, she asked, “Seen enough? Stopped missing me? Alright, I have to go back and sleep now.”

She skirted past Zhangsun Wuji and hurriedly headed towards her room, but before she could move even two steps, she heard Zhangsun Wuji sigh.

“I’ve not seen your face, but I have seen your lips as red as blood.”

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With a thud, Meng Fuyao stopped in her tracks, her face burning.

Behind her, Zhangsun Wuji stepped forward and smiled over her shoulder, running a finger over her still slightly swollen lips from being kissed earlier. His eyes held a mild concern, but he did not ask anything and only commented, “Unhappy?”

Upon hearing his question, for a moment, Meng Fuyao felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over her, and she lowered her head, standing in front of him like a little student as she sniffed, saying, “That wild boar Zhan Beiye…”

Zhangsun Wuji chuckled and patted her head. Steering her towards the house with his hands on her shoulders, he said, “Mn, I’ll have to think of a way to make that scoundrel pay…”

On the fifth day of the ninth month of Tiansha’s Thousand Springs era, Zhan Beiye descended upon Pandu. The three imperial armies laid down their weapons, and the guards of the city gates opened the gates themselves to welcome the Black Dragon army as they thundered through the capital. They headed straight for the royal palace, defeating both imperial troops. At that point, all the armed forces within Pandu had laid down their weapons and pledged their full support to Prince Lie.

It was autumn, and the city was filled with red maple leaves fluttering about. A grand carpet covered the thousand steps of the white jade imperial square, ready to welcome the new king and the new dynasty. With his black robes billowing behind him, the Prince of Lie stepped onto the red carpet. A light rain had begun to fall as he reached the imperial palace and the court officials came out to greet him, kneeling at the front of the Dancing Sun Gate. As expected, several officials refused to bow down to the new king—two of the three top officials were executed, and the Prince of Lie ordered a proper burial for them, earning praise for his benevolence.

Kou Zhongshi was detained in the palace and cursed him in front of everyone and refused to kneel. The Prince of Lie was not angry; instead, he went down from his seat personally and exclaimed, “Kou Zhongshu is wrong to be suspicious of me. My conscience is as clear as the sun and the moon.” Following that, he said a piece on brotherly betrayal and pain, receiving an emotional response from everyone as they sang praises yet again—another beautiful line for the history books.

However, at the time, a certain sharp-eyed official stated—His Majesty looked unhappy, and his expression was dark, and when Kou Zhongshu cursed at him, his eyebrows had twitched, and he looked as if he was about to explode with rage. Yet no one knew what happened, and he simply squeezed the object in his hand and suppressed his anger. As for that object… he was truly sharp-eyed, and he said that it was either a garlic bulb or chili pepper.

At the time, nobody believed his words—The Prince of Lie had traveled several thousand miles and finally fought his way onto the throne, why would he be holding onto a garlic bulb or chili pepper? It couldn’t be that it was his protective talisman, right? It was simply absurd!

When Zhan Nancheng fell, there was no ringing of the mourning bell—the procession was canceled for the celebrations of welcoming the new king.

However, Zhan Beiye did go and visit the grave, shutting himself inside alone for a long time before coming out. Ji Yu and Little Seven, who were guarding the doors, could faintly hear him say, “Although you were killed by her, if your soul is unable to rest, please remember to come to me for revenge.”

Ji Yu and Little Seven exchanged glances and silently sighed.

That day, the new emperor returned to the adjacent palace; since he had not yet ascended to the throne, he could not move into the official palace yet. That night, the lantern fire burned throughout the night, faintly reflecting Zhan Beiye’s lone silhouette against the white paper windows, showing the loneliness of one in a high position.

Ji Yu and Little Seven looked at each other again and sighed silently once again. After that, Ji Yu left the palace and went to the general’s manor on the second south street to pay a visit, only to see that the gates were shut tight and a note on which the following words were scribbled: “I’m not receiving any guests, especially the emperor!”

Yet, a letter was lodged within the door frame.

Ji Yu retrieved the letter and hurried back to the palace, thinking that Zhan Beiye did not know that he had gone to the general’s manor, but Little Seven had already secretly told him. Zhan Beiye didn’t go to sleep and frequently peeked out to take a look until Ji Yu returned before shutting the door tight with a thud.

Ji Yu immediately offered the letter, and Zhan Beiye received it happily. However, upon reading it carefully, he slapped the table angrily and roared, “Damn Zhangsun Wuji! He’s made a move first!”

The seventh year of Tiansha’s Thousand Springs era was also the final year of the nation of Tiansha.

Deep into autumn that year, at the same time that the flames of battle tore through the lands of Tiansha, a purge happened simultaneously. The person who had spent a lifetime building up the resources and power finally surfaced and made his move. Under the secret orders of Zhan Beiye, they infiltrated Pandu, assassinating countless nobles who stood against him, the death toll amounting to thousands. Numerous scholars would later write poetry and prose about the story of the rise of the new emperor. With the help of several mysterious individuals, he went through the land, carrying out the wishes of the people despite fighting a civil war, and seized the throne. Politics and military affairs were like an eight trigram diagram, and they were balanced perfectly by the experienced officials of Tiansha. Within a short period of time, Tiansha experienced its smoothest transition ever.

Many years later, when historians analyzed the fall of Tiansha, after tracing back the many clues and facts, they would all come up with the same answer; the ones who caused the end of Tiansha—Zhan Beiye, Meng Fuyao, and Grand Preceptor Zhou.

In the sixteenth day of the ninth month of the Thousand Springs era, Zhan Beiye ascended the throne of Yongde Imperial Palace and renamed the nation as Dahan ¹ , and the new era Eternal Progress, the seventh year of the Thousand Springs era as the first year of the Eternal Progress era.

From that moment on, Thousand Springs was no more, and Tiansha was no more.

As for why the nation was renamed as Dahan, Zhan Beiye, Meng Fuyao, Ji Yu, as well as the eight soldiers of the Black Wind Calvary who had left their souls deep within the Forest of Death, knew.

Those who belonged to the heroic, the brave, and those who sacrificed their lives and feelings would never be forgotten by the ones who walked alongside them. They were remembered in different ways—

On the day that Zhan Beiye ascended the throne, the sky was clear for thousand miles, and the sun shone brilliantly upon the land, casting Yongde palace in a golden glow as the new emperor, clothed in a black and gold dragon robes, looked upon his land, his gaze limitless. All the officials immediately bowed down, bending like grass in the wind.