Chapter 370: General Fang, My Condolences
Chapter 370: Chapter 370: General Fang, My Condolences
Unlike the vibrant spring in the Capital City.
The weather at the border was like the very beginning of spring, with a biting chill in the wind.
In Lion Head City, every household had hung white funeral banners.
The children no longer chased each other and played, and the eyes of the common folk were steeped in sorrow.
Grand General Liang, who had brought them stability, was dead.
His body was currently lying in state at the Heroic Soul Platform.
The Emperor’s Imperial Decree had just reached Lion Head City, posthumously enfeoffing Grand General Liang as the King of Xiliang and bestowing upon his daughter the title of Princess Rongshu.
General Fang Qingdai was promoted two ranks in succession, granted the title of Flag General.
But these many honors could not conceal the grief.
Inside the Heroic Soul Platform, soldiers had removed their helmets and stood in the courtyard, bowing their heads toward the mourning hall.
The sunlight offered no warmth, as piercing as a cold sword. As far as the eye could see, there was only a dark, oppressive sea of bowed heads.
Xie Mingxu, clad in silver armor, walked into the mourning hall with heavy steps.
Amidst waves of mournful, desolate cries, he approached a female general with her hair bound up.
"General Fang, my condolences."
Fang Qingdai was nearly forty, her features strikingly heroic. Her brows were arched like blades, and her unpainted skin was tinged with the dust and sand of the border.
The daughter in her arms clung to her waist, sobbing and whimpering, but Fang Qingdai herself only had red-rimmed eyes, having yet to shed a tear.
Xie Mingxu spoke again in a low voice, "It is the auspicious time for the burial. He has lain in state for seven days, and the Emperor’s Imperial Decree arrived today. General Fang, it is time to let General Liang rest in peace."
General Liang was originally from Lion Head City. In his early years, he went to the Capital to participate in the Military Examination. After obtaining an official position, he requested to be stationed back in Lion Head City.
He had dedicated his life to the very land that had birthed and raised him.
Fang Qingdai raised her head, her crimson eyes fixed on Xie Mingxu.
"Mingxu," she only called the son of her old friend this way in private, "did the Emperor say anything about a thorough investigation of the spies in the army?"
Her husband, General Liang, had been killed by a spy!
After the main army conquered Bibo City, they split into three divisions to rescue the previously captured common folk and villagers.
Unexpectedly, the route of General Liang’s division was betrayed by a spy.
After the spy passed on the information, General Liang was ambushed. The remnants of the Changliu Country army aimed poisoned arrows at his heart.
The man who had left with a smile, promising to take Fang Qingdai and their daughter to see the flowers, had returned as a cold corpse.
Fang Qingdai steadied herself against the coffin and handed her daughter to an attendant behind her.
"I don’t want a burial! I want justice! I don’t want a posthumous title, I want to know that Liang Shi did not die in vain!" she said, her voice filled with anguish.
Xie Mingxu lowered his head in silence.
After a moment, he finally spoke. "The Emperor has already conducted a thorough investigation of the court and rooted out many spies. This time, there must have been some who slipped through the net."
"The Emperor’s Imperial Decree did not explicitly state how to handle this matter, but I believe the Emperor will not let this go."
In truth, this battle had been incredibly difficult for them to fight.
There seemed to be an endless number of spies hiding in the shadows, coordinating with Changliu Country from within.
They not only knew their marching routes but were even aware that the Emperor had ordered them to take Bibo City.
Fang Qingdai gave a bitter laugh.
She shook her head. "So we have to wait again. But I know full well how deeply entrenched and complicated the court is. Catching the mastermind behind this will be anything but easy."
At that, Fang Qingdai slowly walked to the side of the coffin.
The man lying inside was already ashen-faced.
He was tall and sturdily built. Though his looks were plain, he had protected her and their daughter for eight years.
"Liang Shi, you can go in peace. Don’t worry about Yici and me. I will find the traitors in the court, and one day, I will drag them to your grave and make them kowtow."
"Once these matters are settled and I’ve made sure Yici is safe, I will come to watch over your tomb."
’He protected me for half a lifetime; I will guard him for all of eternity.’
Having said her piece, Fang Qingdai wiped away the tears that were about to fall, her expression hardening with resolve.
She lifted her gaze to the somber sea of soldiers outside, her voice heavy.
"Seal the coffin!"
At Fang Qingdai’s command, four soldiers worked together to slowly slide the coffin lid shut.
"Papa, WAH, Papa!" Fang Qingdai’s daughter suddenly pushed aside the attendant’s hands.
She threw herself against the coffin, her little eight-year-old face stained with tears.
Fang Qingdai’s eyes were bloodshot. "Yici, let your father go in peace."
Liang Yici choked back sobs, clinging to the edge of the coffin, unable to part. "Let me look at Papa one last time."
As she spoke, she pulled a Jade Lock from her robes with her small hand and tossed it into the coffin.
This was the longevity lock she had worn close to her heart since she was a child. ’Let it accompany Papa in his eternal sleep beneath the earth.’
Unexpectedly, when Fang Qingdai, who was standing to the side, saw the Jade Lock, her expression suddenly changed.
She quickly raised her eyes to look at Xie Mingxu.
Fortunately, Xie Mingxu had his back to them, giving instructions to the pallbearers at the door, and did not notice the Jade Lock.
Fang Qingdai pulled the still-heartbroken Liang Yici into her arms.
"Seal the coffin."
With a heavy thud, the living were separated from the dead.
...
「The seventh month of summer.」
The scorching sun baked the earth, and the heat waves were thick in the air.
Fortunately, along the wild path next to Xiangyun Village, the trees were lush and green.
Many of the older villagers had moved out their reclining chairs and, cattail fans in hand, were seeking shade from the sun beneath the trees.
These very trees had been dragged down from Wolf Mountain by Shen Ningning back in the spring.
After a devastating cold spell, most of the trees that grew outside the village had been cut down by people for firewood.
However, only Wolf Mountain and the area around Xiangyun Village remained a deep, vibrant green, teeming with life.
Dong Sanhua of Xiangyun Village, wearing a straw hat, walked onward carrying a shoulder pole with two buckets of water.
She had a small, thin frame, but she was extremely strong-willed.
Because her previous house had been abandoned for a long time, hers was the only home in all of Xiangyun Village without a well.
Uncle Deng had once said he would find someone to help her dig a well, but several days had passed with no sign of action.
So, Dong Sanhua could only go to Granny Chen’s house to fetch water and carry it back.
Under the blazing sun, sweat soaked through her blue-patterned cotton shirt, and her feet moved so quickly they seemed to stir up the wind.
Suddenly!
Dong Sanhua stepped on a protruding rock and suddenly fell.
"Ouch!" she cried out.
The water buckets on her pole went rolling down the slope.
She clutched her ankle, sucking in a sharp breath from the pain.
Uncle Liu’s house was nearby. He was chopping firewood in his yard when he heard the commotion, opened his gate, and saw that Dong Sanhua had fallen. He was just about to go over and help.
"Wait!" Sister-in-law Liu grabbed him from behind, pulled him back inside, and shut the gate. She glared at him. "What do you think you’re doing?"
Uncle Liu was taken aback. "Sanhua fell. I’m going to help her up."
Sister-in-law Liu was furious and smacked him. "Does she need *you* to be so attentive? Deng Jixiang’s eyes are already glued to her. Has she bewitched you, too?"
Uncle Liu grumbled, "What nonsense are you talking about! We’re all neighbors. What’s wrong with helping out?"
"I don’t care, you’re not allowed to go!" Sister-in-law Liu shoved a basket of corn into his arms. "You go dry the corn. I’ll help her."
Then, she went out the gate.
Dong Sanhua had already pushed herself up from the ground and was standing, limping with each step.
It looked like she was in a great deal of pain.
Sister-in-law Liu came forward. "Oh my! Sanhua, how could you be so careless? Why are you carrying water all by yourself? Where’s Brother Deng? Why isn’t he here helping you?"