Chapter 181 This Kneel is for Those Who Died for Liang State…

Chapter 181 This Kneel Is for the Fallen of Liang State...

After issuing the orders, the men dispersed to muster their troops. A Long came to report, saying there was a matter requiring the king's decision.

"What is it?"

"General Modolou found a woman while setting fire to the Xiongnu camp."

Tuo Baxiao frowned. Was this something he needed to deal with?

Seeing his displeasure, A Long quickly explained, "This woman might be a princess of Liang State."

That night, when the Xiongnu camp was set ablaze, chaos broke out everywhere. Jiang Yinzhu—who hadn’t slept soundly since her capture—immediately noticed and went on alert.

Soon, the flames reached her.

She didn’t know what was happening, but she vaguely sensed that something had gone wrong for the Xiongnu.

Sure enough, soon the entire camp was in turmoil, and the flames were closing in on her.

Gritting her teeth in pain, Jiang Yinzhu dragged her battered body out in an attempt to escape.

Smoke and flames choked the air. Coughing, she pressed her sleeve to her face, fleeing toward the unburned areas. But the moment she stepped out, she was seized by Xianbei soldiers.

At that moment, her hope died—she thought she had traded one pack of wolves for another.

They questioned her, but she couldn’t understand their words.

A short while later, another man arrived. Though he bore the appearance of a barbarian, he spoke halting, garbled Chinese.

Only then did she realize these were Xianbei Army soldiers. Uncertain whether this was good or bad, she said she was a Han woman abducted by Wudati Hou and was taken away.

She had escaped death by fire, only to fall into the hands of barbarians. As despair took hold, another man arrived two or three days later. His armor was far superior to the others', and the Xianbei guards showed him respect. She assumed he was an officer.

"Are you the princess of Liang State?"

he asked.

Jiang Yinzhu gaped at him—his Chinese was fluent.

"I questioned the Xiongnu captives and learned you were a Liang State princess offered to Wudati Hou," he continued.

Seeing no way out, Jiang Yinzhu admitted her identity.

She expected to suffer the same fate, but this Xianbei man did not touch her. Instead, he simply ordered, "Keep her guarded," and left.

When A Long finished his report, Tuo Baxiao frowned.

An ordinary woman could be sent home or disposed of as a refugee, but this Liang State princess... He thought of Jiang Congyan.

"Send her to Khatun and let her decide."

"Yes."

——

Jiang Congyan received the battle report first. Scanning it quickly, she learned that Tuo Baxiao had used fire to devastate the Xiongnu camp and killed Wudati Hou in combat.

Good.

The previous battles had been intense, and Jiang Congyan wasn’t unworried.

She believed Tuo Baxiao would win, but the battlefield was unpredictable. Moreover, every day the Xiongnu were eliminated sooner meant one fewer day of suffering for the people of Liang State.

With Wudati Hou dead, the remaining Xiongnu forces were no longer a serious threat, and the Xianbei's dominance over the land was all but certain.

Composing herself, Jiang Congyan read the letter again from the beginning.

A fire attack? Jiang Congyan smiled. He truly knew how to put his knowledge to use. History was rife with examples of great victories or defeats caused by fire. It was only because Wudati Hou was ill-read and ignorant of the war history of the Central Plains that he walked right into Tuo Baxiao’s trap.

With Hedong now pacified, the locals needed stability, and Jiang Congyan prepared to follow the army’s advance further south.

She spent several days settling matters in Pingyang City before leading her troops toward Hedong’s Anxi. On the way, she encountered Jiang Yinzhu, who was being escorted back. The Imperial Guard in charge of the escort gave a full account of how they had found Jiang Yinzhu and why she had been sent here.

After listening, Jiang Congyan felt a tumult of emotions.

Jiang Yinzhu’s suffering was not just her own—it mirrored the suffering of countless women across Liang State.

"Bring her to me. I’ll see her," she said, then ordered the troops to rest where they were.

Soon, Jiang Yinzhu was brought before Jiang Congyan by the Xianbei Imperial Guards.

Jiang Congyan looked at the approaching girl—her hair dry and yellowed, her face gaunt and weathered, her sunken eyes like lifeless pools of despair. If not for recognizing her features, Jiang Congyan could hardly believe this was the same spoiled, naive girl from her memories.

"Yinzhu," Jiang Congyan said softly, unsure what else to say.

Hearing her voice, Jiang Yinzhu finally lifted her hollow eyes to look at her.

When she saw Jiang Congyan clearly, Jiang Yinzhu froze.

They had met along the road, and now they stood under the shade of trees by the roadside, beneath a makeshift canopy set up for shade. Jiang Congyan sat on a small stool, dressed plainly in a light green gauze dress, her hair pulled up without excessive adornment, secured only by a few pearl hairpins, revealing her fair and slender neck. She looked as cool and clear as a spring, transforming the crude setting into something refined—truly embodying the phrase "a humble abode brightened by one’s presence."

Looking at herself, Jiang Yinzhu felt the gulf between cloud and mud.

Jiang Congyan was the cloud now, and she was the mud.

Back then, she had sobbed and refused to marry Tuo Baxiao, even pitying Jiang Congyan for what she assumed would be a miserable life on the grasslands. She never could’ve imagined fate would bring them to this point.

If asked whether she regretted it—she did, but not for refusing to marry Tuo Baxiao. She regretted marrying Luo Tong, regretted her youthful ignorance, regretted not growing strong enough to take control of her own life.

Over the years, she had heard scattered news about Jiang Congyan. Searching her soul, she wondered—could she have done what Jiang Congyan had done?

No.

She had come to realize that while fate was tied to the times, what truly mattered was one’s own strength.

After a long silence, Jiang Congyan sighed. "You’ve endured so much suffering and still survived. From now on, live well."

"Live well? What does that even mean?" Jiang Yinzhu asked.

Jiang Congyan thought for a moment. "Liang State has fallen, but Huan Jun has stabilized the south. You could go to Jiankang. Given his character, he would acknowledge your status as a princess and ensure you live in comfort."

Jiang Yinzhu shook her head. "I don’t want to go."

She was no longer that naive princess. With her identity, going south would only make her either a pawn in their power games or a bird in a gilded cage.

"Then you can choose a place you'd like to go. I'll arrange for someone to take you there, where you can live quietly under a new name."

Jiang Yinzhu thought for a moment—this wasn’t the kind of life she wanted.

"I want to follow you."

The moment she said it, she regretted it. She was certain Jiang Congyan would refuse her.

Why would she agree? They had never been close before, and her own mother had schemed against Jiang Congyan. If Jiang Congyan didn’t seek revenge, it would already be mercy—why would she ever agree?

Jiang Congyan remained silent.

Jiang Yinzhu grew increasingly uneasy, even wanting to flee, fidgeting nervously.

After a pause, Jiang Congyan asked, "Why do you want to follow me?"

Jiang Yinzhu was the daughter of the Emperor of Liang, and though Jiang Congyan hated the emperor deeply, she felt no such animosity toward Jiang Yinzhu. The grudges of their parents’ generation should die with them.

"I don’t know... I just want to follow you."

"But I don’t take on people with no purpose. If you follow me, what can you do?" Jiang Congyan deliberately pressed.

Jiang Yinzhu was stumped, standing there, flustered, before finally lowering her head and mumbling, "I guess... I don’t know how to do anything."

It hit her then that after more than twenty years of living, she truly had no skills to speak of.

"Could I... be a maid?" she ventured timidly.

Jiang Congyan laughed at this. "Is that the only thing you can think of? Many women with me are educated and teach, some run businesses, others train in combat, some paint, and some even serve as officials, just like men. As long as you have something you want to do and work hard for it, you can do anything."

"Anything?" Jiang Yinzhu echoed, dazed.

"Yes."

"But I still don’t know what I can do."

"No hurry. Think it over."

Jiang Congyan allowed her to stay.

Jiang Yinzhu had been severely abused, her body marred by scars. Jiang Congyan arranged a carriage for her and asked Su Ye to examine her and prescribe medicine, temporarily assigning two maids to care for her.

The group moved on and arrived safely in Anyi.

Jiang Congyan stayed there for a month.

By the end of July, the Xianbei army stormed Chang’an.

The battle in Hedong left nothing but ashes.

Tuo Baxiao, riding the tide of victory, was determined to completely annihilate the Xiongnu and cleanse the entire Guanzhong region.

The remnants of the Xiongnu forces crossed the Yellow River, retreating westward—but they had no idea where to flee.

How could such a lost and broken army possibly withstand the Xianbei forces, whose fighting spirit surged like a tidal wave, overwhelming as mountains and rivers?

Tuo Baxiao advanced from east to west, cutting through like a blade. The Xiongnu remnants could barely mount any meaningful resistance. In just over half a month, he drove straight to Chang’an, seizing the city in mere days.

There was no need for him to personally pursue the remaining stragglers. Tuo Baxiao simply ordered a few of his generals to split their forces and give chase while he turned his attention elsewhere.

He was coming to bring her to Chang'an.

Upon receiving Tuo Baxiao's letter, Jiang Congyan prepared to set off again. After crossing the Yellow River, she coincidentally met him.

As soon as the convoy stopped, he slipped into Jiang Congyan's carriage.

The couple hadn't seen each other for three or four months, and the moment he entered, the man couldn't keep his hands to himself.

It was late summer, and the weather was still hot. He had a naturally warm body, and after riding all the way, he was soaked with sweat. But since it had been so long, Jiang Congyan decided to endure it—until she couldn’t. She pushed him away.

"If you keep crowding me, go ride your horse instead."

She hadn't been sweating much before, but now she was reeking of him.

Tuo Baxiao — "Is it really that bad?" He lifted his arm and sniffed.

Jiang Congyan didn’t want to talk to him. She picked up the fan that had fallen beside her and waved it.

He dug in his heels, refusing to leave, so Jiang Congyan summoned a bucket of water to let him wipe off the sweat.

To this, the man didn’t object. He quickly stripped off his clothes.

After a hasty wipe-down, he embraced her again—this time, she couldn’t break free.

...

After traveling westward for another three or four days, they finally arrived in Chang'an.

Two rows of vigilant Xianbei Army soldiers stood neatly outside the city, welcoming their king and Khatun.

When the carriage reached the city gates, Jiang Congyan called for a stop.

She stepped out and looked up at the battle-scarred city, a flood of emotions overwhelming her.

When she had left years ago, she had imagined what it would be like to return one day. She still remembered the city’s former splendor. Now, the walls were in ruins, the fields outside bore the scars of war, and even the soil beneath her feet still reeked of blood. Vultures circled overhead, occasionally landing as if they had found prey. Apart from the Xianbei soldiers standing guard, not a single commoner could be seen.

After the Xiongnu army had captured Chang'an, scarcely one in ten remained.

Whether by heaven's wrath or man's cruelty, it was always the common people who suffered.

Jiang Congyan stood gazing for a long time. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she took a few steps forward, then lifted the hem of her robe, knelt, and prostrated herself.

A single shining tear fell onto the blood-darkened soil beneath her.

This obeisance honored the millions of Liang State’s fallen citizens, for the Founding Emperor and Crown Prince Zhaowen—and for herself, her lost homeland.