Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Gu Yu’s injuries had not worsened after seven days. Several minor superficial wounds had already healed, with only a deeper wound on his waist still requiring careful attention. However, the army doctor reported that the wound showed no signs of festering or decay, and since Gu Yu experienced no other discomfort, he was likely on the mend.

Jiang Xing was not as fortunate.

His injuries were no more severe than Gu Yu’s, yet his wounds stubbornly refused to heal. After seven days of treatment, he continued to suffer from intermittent fevers.

"Madam, the young master’s fever has spiked again. Please come quickly to see him!"

Since Jiang Xing’s injury, Jiang Heng had sent Rui Zhu to care for him. That evening, Rui Zhu rushed in once more, weeping as she reported, "The young master seems to be fading!"

Because Gu Yu was still recuperating, Jiang Heng did not inform him and went alone to see Jiang Xing.

It had only been seven days since she last saw him, yet Jiang Heng barely recognized her elder brother. How had he become so emaciated?

He had suffered external injuries, not a stomach or spleen issue that would prevent him from eating. Why had he wasted away so drastically?

The military physician attending to Jiang Xing, seeing the tears welling in Jiang Heng’s eyes and fearing blame, hurriedly explained, "General Jiang has long struggled to adapt to the local food. Since his injury, the pain has made it even harder for him to eat. He barely consumes anything beyond a little rice broth each day, growing thinner by the day."

"I cannot die—I have not yet achieved any merit. I cannot die!"

On the bed, Jiang Xing murmured incessantly, his bony hand clutching the bedsheet tightly.

"The young master has been saying this often these days—both in his feverish delirium and in his lucid moments, as if to force himself to eat," Rui Zhu remarked.

In her youth, Rui Zhu had witnessed the Jiang family’s influential days during the previous dynasty. Back then, Jiang Xing, as the eldest son of the leading noble family in Qingzhou, had been a dashing figure in fine robes and jade belts, captivating the hearts of many noble maidens.

Who could have imagined that such a distinguished scion would fall to such a state?

"Elder Brother," Jiang Heng said softly, seating herself beside the bed, "do not fret. Focus on recovering. Once you are healed, there will be plenty of opportunities to earn merit."

Jiang Xing started as if awakening from a dream, his eyes snapping open. He stared blankly at Jiang Heng for a moment before murmuring, "A-Heng, you’ve come to see me?"

Jiang Heng nodded gently.

In recent days, preoccupied with tending to Gu Yu’s wounds, she had found no time to visit. Had she known her brother had deteriorated so severely, she would have come sooner.

"A-Heng, do you blame me?"

Perhaps facing death made one vulnerable. Far from home in Lingnan, with Jiang Heng as his only kin, Jiang Xing spoke to her with rare tenderness.

Jiang Heng did not answer, merely urging him to rest easy and focus on recovery.

"Do you blame me for tricking you into going to the Cold Water Pond? For lying to you that Duke Wei was drowning and sending you to rescue him?"

Suddenly, Jiang Xing remembered with perfect clarity every detail of that past incident.

It had all been intentional. Had it not happened, perhaps Gu Yu would never have met his younger sister. Perhaps he would not have had to force the lovers apart, severely injure Yan Hui, or incur Yan Hui’s enmity…

Jiang Heng remained silent, unwilling to revisit those old grievances.

"A-Heng, do not blame me. At that time, Duke Wei was at the height of his power, and I had already offended him. I had to win him over."

"Enough. Rest now," Jiang Heng said, rising to her feet.

"A-Heng, don’t go!"

His skeletal hand seized her sleeve. "A-Heng, your brother does not have much time left. I beg one more favor of you."

"Your brother will die in disgrace, without a single military achievement to his name. If I return to the court like this, I will have no face. Could you ask Duke Wei to consider recording a minor merit for me?"

Jiang Heng sighed softly. "Elder Brother, set such thoughts aside. Focus on healing."

Jiang Xing clung to her sleeve. "Promise me! Promise me!"

Jiang Heng hesitated, offering no reply.

Jiang Xing’s breathing grew increasingly labored, his voice filled with resentment. "Since I'm going to die anyway, rather than dying here, let me die on the battlefield. I will leave the city now and seek out Prince Zhennan. Dying at their hands would at least count as dying in service to the crown!"

Dying in service to the crown would be counted as merit.

Jiang Xing pushed away the physician who tried to stop him and struggled to rise from the bed. But his legs could no longer support his weight, and he collapsed to the floor, barely able to move.

"I cannot die! I cannot die!"

He lay prostrate on the ground, forehead pressed to the floor, pounding the earth with his fists.

After only a few strikes, a fit of violent coughing seized him.

"Young Master!" The physician and Rui Zhu hurried to lift him, noticing his already gaunt eyes now bore the hollow stare of one nearing death, as if he could no longer draw breath.

"Elder Brother, don’t do this!" Jiang Heng rushed to support him.

"A-Heng," he gasped, seizing her wrist as if clutching his last lifeline. "A-Heng, avenge me! Kill Yan Hui! Kill Yan Hui!"

"Kill Yan Hui!"

"Promise me, kill Yan Hui!"

Both his bony hands gripped her slender wrists, his wide, desperate eyes fixed intently on her. Then, his breath vanished like an extinguished lamp, though his eyes remained wide open, pupils dilating as life faded away.

His hands remained curled, but their strength was gone, unable to hold anything.

His body slumped forward.

"Young Master!"

The physician checked his pulse, felt for breath, and attempted resuscitation, but it was too late.

"Madam, General Jiang has passed."

Jiang Heng stood rigid, her arms instinctively curling protectively against her chest, recoiling from her brother’s grasping hands.

His eyes still stared at her, unblinking in death, as if chasing her with his final plea for vengeance.

······

Soldiers who died far from home received no formal funerals. Those who perished today would be placed in coffins and buried in mass graves by tomorrow.

Seven days after her brother’s burial, Jiang Heng still did not disturb Gu Yu. She went alone to the cemetery to pay her respects.

After mourning her brother, she offered a bowl of wine before Zhao Qing’s grave.

The cemetery lay on a small hill where local women often worked, occasionally singing folk songs as they labored.

*Moonlight bright, shines on the pond,*

*Riding bamboo horses, crossing Hongtang.*

*Hongtang's waters run deep and hard to cross, my lady rows a boat to fetch her man.*

*She asks if his journey will be short or long,*

*and when he will return.*

The clear, crisp song, carried by the wind, swept past rows of tombstones.

Jiang Heng listened quietly for a while before rising to leave. As she turned, she saw Yan Hui standing behind her.

Since Gu Yu's injuries had taken a turn for the better, the martial law prohibiting civilians from entering mountains, forests, and marshes for farming, fishing, or hunting had been lifted. By all accounts, Yan Hui should have had the opportunity long ago to sneak out of town like he used to.

Why hadn’t he left yet?

Yan Hui held a dagger in his hand. He was already close to her and took two more steps forward, closing the distance until they stood mere inches apart.

"A-Jiu, kill me."

He grabbed her hand, forced it open, pressed the gleaming blade into her palm, and then closed her fingers around it, guiding it toward himself.

Jiang Heng fought with all her strength to resist, refusing to harm him in the slightest.

How could she ever strike him down?

They had met when she was six, were forced apart at eighteen, shared twelve years side by side, and she had spent three years longing for him, making vows before the Buddha. When they finally reunited, he was whole and unharmed.

Now, he was asking her to end his life with her own hands...

Would the Buddha who'd heard her three years of prayers and granted her wish mock her now?

"A-Jiu, kill me. Avenge your elder brother." He gripped her wrist tightly as he spoke.

Jiang Heng struggled to pull her hand back, turning the dagger sideways to keep its blade from pointing toward him.

"What are you trying to do?" Jiang Heng's voice was thick with sorrow. "Do you want my elder brother to see that I refuse to kill his enemy?"

"Yan Hui, you and my elder brother had long-standing grievances. It was my Jiang family who wronged you first. If you seek revenge, it is only right. I don’t blame you. But must you put me in such a difficult position?"

Yan Hui’s brow furrowed.

She was using his full name so coldly?

"A-Jiu, don’t speak to me like this. You can kill me, but don’t speak to me like this."

If he could die and she would treat him as she once did, he would willingly give his life.

Like a lost and desperate young animal, he clung to her wrist, pleading for her to kill him rather than cast him aside.

Jiang Heng closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat.

She had resented him—for breaking his promise in the capital and failing to come for her, for refusing to leave Prince Zhennan's side and flee far away with her, for being so preoccupied with caring for that Xiao girl that he neglected her.

But she knew she had never hated him.

Even after he mortally wounded her brother, and her brother, dying with his eyes wide open, begged her to take revenge, she still could not bring herself to hate Yan Hui.

Twelve years of affection—she didn't even have that kind of bond with her own brother. How could she possibly hate Yan Hui?

"A-Xiong, attend to your duties."

Yan Hui could tell she had truly made up her mind to cut him from her life and go their separate ways.

The last time they were here, she had tried every means to persuade him to leave with her.

This time, she had already decided to cut off all contact with him for the rest of their lives.

"A-Jiu, kill me."

A-Jiu had cared for him so deeply before, her eyes only on him. They had twelve years of history together; even three years of separation hadn’t made them forget each other. Not long ago, she had even told him she had traveled a thousand miles, leaving home behind, all for him.

They were clearly in love...

How had it come to this?

If he'd known it would come to this, he would rather never have had those beginnings.

······

"My lord, Military Advisor Xiao has come again. He waylaid the lady in the cemetery..."

The attendant didn’t dare elaborate, especially since Gu Yu’s injuries were not fully healed. If he were angered again...

Gu Yu’s expression darkened, his brow heavy with tension.

Had he not been merciful enough toward Yan Hui?

He had tolerated him again and again, well aware that his surrender was a sham, yet never pressed him or forced him into any impossible choices. Yan Hui had killed Jiang Xing and Yang Zhihong and inflicted serious injuries on Gu Yu himself, yet Gu Yu had still let him leave unharmed.

He had shown every mercy and given him all the respect he was due.

And how did Yan Hui repay him? Not only was he ungrateful, but he also pushed his luck, wandering in and out on Gu Yu’s territory, and even... bothering his wife!

Did he really think Gu Yu was a toothless tiger?

"Arrest him."

After all, Jiang Heng had said he need not hold to what she'd said before. Moreover, she had witnessed his indulgence toward Yan Hui. Surely she wouldn’t, as before, pick fights with him to protect another man.

······

Gu Yu arrived at the prison and saw Yan Hui sitting calmly on the damp floor of the cell, utterly at ease, as if he were right where he wanted to be.

Had he come here just to be imprisoned?

The attendant said he had handed the dagger to Jiang Heng, telling her to kill him for vengeance.

If he truly sought death, why come here? Couldn’t he hang himself from any tree? Couldn’t he find any blade to fall on?

He was simply unwilling to accept this, and wanted to make one last grab for what he wanted.

He knew full well that Jiang Heng could never kill him.

He probably wanted Gu Yu to know that even after killing Jiang Heng’s own brother, she still could not bring herself to end him.

"Military Advisor Xiao, we meet again."

Gu Yu’s injuries were not yet fully healed, so he could not stand for long. He took a seat on a high stool brought by a jailer, staring at Yan Hui through the bars of the cell.

Yan Hui lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Gu Yu.

Gu Yu was not angered; he remained composed and spoke calmly.

"I did not want to capture you, because A-Heng once asked me as a favor to spare your life if we ever faced each other in battle."

Yan Hui’s expression froze, and he lifted his eyes, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

"But a few days ago, A-Heng told me that you two are now like strangers, and that I need not honor my past promise to her. If necessary…"

Gu Yu deliberately paused, ensuring Yan Hui heard every word clearly, "I can kill you!"

As he finished speaking, he watched Yan Hui’s previously stirred expression turn to ice.

He gave him no chance to recover, adding another cutting remark.

"Asking A-Heng to kill you—isn’t that just making things difficult for her? You know how much she once cared for you…"

He paused again, said with feigned regret, "Though she is utterly disappointed in you now, she is kind-hearted by nature. How could she ever bring herself to kill someone?"

"If you truly have no will to live, there are plenty of ways."

He tapped the rough stone wall of the cell, implying that you could just crash into it.

Yan Hui looked at Gu Yu and suddenly smirked defiantly, "Duke Wei, haven’t you already gained A-Heng's affection?"

"So eager for me to die—are you afraid I might win her back?"

Gu Yu also smiled scornfully and was about to retort when he heard someone approaching.

"Madam, the prison is dim—watch your step."

It was Jiang Heng.

Gu Yu pressed his lips together, wiped the mockery from his face and adopted a humble, courteous demeanor. He deliberately raised his voice slightly and changed his tone.

"A-Heng was greatly looked after by you since childhood. That she has grown to be so generous and principled—I believe much of it is due to your guidance. For that, I am deeply grateful. My earlier promise to spare your life was also influenced by this consideration."

"A wise bird chooses its branch; a wise man avoids dangerous walls. Lingnan is a narrow land with scarce resources—it can hardly stand against the vast Qi Dynasty. For both public and personal reasons, I hope you can... live a good life."

The last four words were spoken with particular gravity, sounding utterly sincere.