The Unexpected - The General's Death in Battle

The 38th year of the Yuan calendar, summer.

Five months had passed since New Year's Eve. During this time, life at the academy remained as usual.

It was just that during this period, whenever Xue Qin went to the Firefly Study, he never again ran into Chu Jin, who used to come looking for Senior Brother Jiang.

While relieved, he belatedly felt a bit puzzled.

To be more precise, the frequency of these two appearing together was practically zero. Apart from their daily classes at Duji Hall, they had no other interactions.

Xue Qin looked at Qi Yu, who was lying on his desk, unsure if he was asleep or not. He hesitated for a moment, but his worry ultimately won out, and he quietly walked over.

"Brother Qi." He patted Qi Yu's shoulder. "Wake up."

Qi Yu opened one eye, looked at him sleepily, and was about to lie back down.

"Wait, Brother Qi! Don't go back to sleep yet!" Xue Qin said hastily. "This is Brother Chen Xi's leave request. He asked me to give it to you."

Shen Mengzhi had assigned Qi Yu the idle task of managing leave requests, but there was so little to do that he had unconsciously forgotten about it. He took the slip, glanced at it casually, and was suddenly taken aback. "Chen Xi wrote this?"

Xue Qin didn't understand. "Yes."

As if just realizing, Qi Yu said, "Oh. I thought it was Jiang Zhen's handwriting... Oh, I remember now. He said before that he wanted to practice his calligraphy, so I gave him some of Jiang Zhen's copybooks. I didn't expect this Chen Xi fellow to be so diligent. His handwriting can almost pass for the real thing now."

Xue Qin's mind was elsewhere. He nodded absently and, before Qi Yu could close his eyes and lie down again, quickly brought up his main topic. "Brother Qi, do you know what's been... happening with Senior Brother Jiang and Brother Chu lately?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt Qi Yu's body stiffen. Then, Qi Yu spoke as if nothing was wrong. "What? What's wrong with them?"

"I feel like something's not right," Xue Qin said in a low voice. "I keep getting the feeling that they've been avoiding each other these past few days."

Qi Yu lay back down, his voice muffled as it came from below. "Haven't they always been like that?"

Xue Qin blurted out, "Of course not!"

"..."

Qi Yu was silent for a long time before saying, "Don't overthink it. You're making me unable to sleep."

He sighed, stood up, and walked toward Shen Mengzhi, who was sitting alone by the window.

Shen Mengzhi had lost a lot of weight recently. He was already thin, and now he was like a snapped bamboo, too slender to grasp.

He was in a rare daze, his fingers lightly tapping the bamboo leaves outside the window, his gaze distant, fixed on some unknown point.

"Jiang Zhen," Qi Yu sat down opposite him and said seriously, "do you want to go down the mountain with me tomorrow?"

Shen Mengzhi returned to his senses and withdrew his hand. "To do what?"

"I know a friend who came from Xiangjing. They call him an encyclopedia," Qi Yu lowered his voice. "He knows everything about the news from the front lines, the details of the battles at Pengcheng and Shi City."

Shen Mengzhi paused, then realized Qi Yu wanted to inquire about Shen Yunyan's news on his behalf, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"For me," he said, "no news is the best news."

It had been half a year since the two states went to war with the State of Dai. During this time, he had heard all news concerning the Shen Family from Fang Hechao. Without special circumstances, he couldn't communicate with the Shen Family on his own, because if he were discovered, it would be a capital offense punishable by the execution of his entire clan.

He had lost count of how many years it had been since he had seen his family's faces. Perhaps when Shen Yunyan returned victorious, he could rush to Xiangjing, squeeze into the welcoming crowd, and catch a glimpse of him from afar.

That alone would be enough to satisfy him.

Qi Yu looked at him with an unreadable expression for a while, took a deep breath, and said, "What... happened between you and Chu Jin?"

On New Year's Eve, the more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong. When he rushed to the Firefly Study, he saw Shen Mengzhi standing alone in the room, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight.

No matter how he asked afterward, Shen Mengzhi remained silent. To this day, he still didn't know what had happened that night.

Qi Yu's question was hesitant. After hearing it, Shen Mengzhi shook his head. "Nothing happened."

The more he denied it, the more Qi Yu felt the matter was serious. He rolled up his sleeves and said angrily, "Did he bully you? Tell me, I'll go beat him up! I can take him!"

"..." Shen Mengzhi said, "Don't act rashly."

He rubbed the spot between his eyebrows and said in a low voice, "There's nothing between us. I'm just too tired these past few days."

He did indeed look exhausted. Every time Qi Yu went to Wanzong Pavilion, he would see him there with a lamp lit, sitting and flipping through books as if trying to drown himself in a sea of literature.

Qi Yu waved his hand. "I'm serious. If you're unhappy about something, just let it all out. Don't keep it bottled up."

"Alright." Shen Mengzhi smiled.

His smile dissipated half of Qi Yu's anger. After a moment, he said irritably, "So, are you coming down the mountain with me tomorrow or not?"

There wasn't much going on on the mountain recently, and Shen Mengzhi wasn't too busy, so he nodded.

"Great!" The other half of Qi Yu's anger vanished. His face lit up with joy, and he began to plan animatedly, "Then we'll go to the teahouse by the river first, chat with that encyclopedia, and then go to Hibiscus Bridge..."

Listening helplessly to his enthusiastic chatter, Shen Mengzhi picked up his brush and wrote down the itinerary for the next few days on a piece of paper.

"This time it's just the two of us brothers! Everyone else can stand aside..."

Qi Yu's voice lingered by his ear. He gave a wry smile and continued writing.

From outside the window, a sudden rush of footsteps could be heard. Drawing closer, accompanied by gasps for air, a breathless Chen Xi stumbled into everyone's view.

His face was pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat. From running in such a hurry, his clothes were in disarray, making him look somewhat disheveled, and even his breathing trembled slightly.

Everyone looked at him strangely. Someone asked, "Brother Chen, didn't you go down the mountain to go home today? What's wrong, did you forget something?"

Chen Xi didn't answer.

His eyes were filled with absolute terror, as if he had heard something incredibly difficult to accept. His terrifying gaze sent a chill down everyone's spine, causing them to break out in a cold sweat.

Chen Xi's gaze swept over everyone, passed over Qi Yu, and then moved very, very slowly to Shen Mengzhi, who was sitting at the very back.

Shen Mengzhi had already raised his eyes and was looking at him quietly, the faint trace of a smile still lingering on his lips.

With a hint of confusion, he said softly, "Chen Xi?"

Chen Xi opened his mouth, his teeth practically chattering. He was so terrified that he couldn't even make a sound.

After a long moment, he finally managed to force out a few words in an extremely hoarse and panicked voice—

"General Yanchao... has died in battle."

In the 38th year of the Yuan calendar, the Yanling army was ambushed while marching. The entire army was annihilated, and General Yanchao, Shen Yunyan, died in battle at the foot of Mount Chenyin.

Upon hearing the news, the imperial court was shaken, and the entire nation mourned. The Prince of Yanling, Xiao Zhuo, issued a decree to give General Yanchao a grand burial befitting a great general, to console the Shen Manor, and at the same time, to appoint Lou Xing, the son of Supervisor of Attendants Lou Ya, as the new commander to take General Yanchao's place and lead the troops into battle.

On the day of Shen Yunyan's burial, the Shen Manor was draped in white. Shen Ke stood at the main gate, watching the funeral procession gradually recede into the distance. After the initial seething hatred, his gaze had turned completely cold, almost chilling to the bone.

The old steward supported him tightly, whispering, "My lord..."

Shen Ke waved his hand, pressing his knuckles against his brow. Only after the wave of heat subsided did he slowly raise his head.

"I don't know..." he said in a heavy voice, "if this was the right choice."

"In these past decades, I have made too many choices. Even though I couldn't see the outcome, I still had to walk this path."

The old steward's eyes were red, and his wrinkled face showed a pained expression. "My lord, you have already done more than enough. For the rest, let the two young masters choose for themselves."

Shen Ke froze for a moment, then suddenly murmured, "Ming Yu... I regret it."

The old steward looked up in astonishment, a sour feeling welling in his chest, leaving him speechless.

He didn't know how many years it had been since he had heard the madam's name from Shen Ke's lips.

"I sent Mengzhi away, and I sent Yunyan away."

Shen Ke spoke softly, but his eyes stared straight ahead, as if an invisible person were there, listening quietly.

"This Shen Manor has finally become cold and deserted, with only me left. I remember you loved liveliness the most. Seeing it like this now, you would probably blame me again."

"Yunyan accompanied me for many years, and I was content. I knew his journey would be fraught with peril, yet in the end, I resorted to this last-ditch plan and sent him away."

"Mengzhi was young and faced many hardships at birth. You always doted on him the most." Shen Ke paused abruptly. "And I... have wronged him the most."

The Grand Marshal of Yanling, who always held his back ramrod straight, finally stooped slightly. His brows were deeply furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a thin line, making him look very, very sad.

"My lord..." The old steward's face was already stained with tears. "Please don't say that... The Second Young Master, being like this now is how he can live in peace year after year..."

Shen Ke leaned on his hand, his voice slowly growing heavy. "...As a subject, failing to win the sovereign's heart is the subject's fault."

After a few quiet breaths, he slowly raised his head. His expression was one of unprecedented coldness, the light in his eyes as sharp as a blade's edge.

"When the sovereign's heart is unclear and he seeks to condemn without cause, it is the sovereign who is unjust."

The old steward's expression tensed.

"Why was Yunyan's troop suddenly attacked, and why did they defend Mount Chenyin bitterly for seven nights without receiving reinforcements?" Shen Ke closed his eyes. "I originally thought that the arrangements for Yunyan might not be needed. That was the worst-case scenario. But... I am truly and utterly disappointed in that person."

The old steward asked in a low voice, "My lord, what are the Shen Family's plans then?"

As if having made a decision, Shen Ke slowly opened his eyes.

"Loyalty to the state first, then loyalty to the sovereign."

He turned to return to the manor, but his peripheral vision unexpectedly caught a glimpse of a white figure hiding in a nearby alley.

Shen Ke froze, his steps halting as he turned his head to look.

But that person had already left quietly, their retreating figure hurried, and in a blink of an eye, they were gone.

The old steward noticed something was amiss and reminded him softly, "My lord?"

Shen Ke snapped back to his senses and shook his head. After a moment, a complicated smile appeared on his face.

The emotions in this smile were too mixed and incredibly bitter. The old steward had never seen the usually iron-willed Grand Marshal Shen with such an expression, and he stood frozen in place for a moment.

Then he heard him whisper, "Such a resemblance..."

The old steward's eyes widened.

Behind him, the great gates of the Shen Manor shut heavily, just as they had years ago.

"Teacher, I have come to confess my wrongs."

The floor tiles were frigid at night. Kneeling on them, one's body heat would be sapped away in an instant.

The door before him remained closed.

Shen Mengzhi kowtowed properly once more. He looked at the dried bloodstains on the stone steps and repeated, "Teacher, I have come to confess my wrongs."

He could no longer clearly remember how long he had been kneeling here, nor how many times he had kowtowed.

He repeated the motion mechanically, waiting until Fang Hechao's figure finally appeared in his blurry, wavering vision.

Shen Mengzhi said in a low voice, "Teacher..."

But Fang Hechao interrupted him. "Shen Mengzhi."

Shen Mengzhi's body stiffened. He raised his face with a slight delay, his eyes somewhat vacant. It was as if the name he heard was not his own, but a completely unfamiliar name belonging to someone else.

"Once that name appears in the world, it will cause the deaths of many people," Fang Hechao said calmly. "Just now, everyone in this entire academy could have been charged with deceiving the sovereign and executed."

"Yet today you secretly left the mountain and ran back to Xiangjing. Do you want to drag the entire Shen Family and the entire academy down with you to the grave?"

"Do you think you can bear such a crime?"

The moment his voice fell, Shen Mengzhi began to tremble uncontrollably, his gaze gradually turning helpless.

"I..." he began with difficulty, "I can't... I can't act like nothing happened..."

"That's my elder brother..."

"That's my elder brother..."

His hands resting on his knees clenched into tight fists, his nails nearly digging into his flesh. "I can't just stand by and watch the entire Shen Family go to their deaths..."

"The Shen Family will not go to their deaths!"

Fang Hechao suddenly roared.

"If I can protect you, I can protect others!" He abruptly raised his hand, using his fingers as a sword, as if to slice through the vast sky. "If the heavens fall, I, Fang Hechao, will hold them up—"

"As long as I do not die, the nation will not die!!!"

A sudden clap of thunder appeared on the horizon, shaking the heavens and earth.

Shen Mengzhi looked up, his mind reeling, unable to utter another word.

Fang Hechao stared at him fixedly for a long time, then patted his shoulder.

His tone softened. He gently wiped the blood from Shen Mengzhi's forehead and said softly, "Child, don't be afraid."

Shen Mengzhi stared at his gradually blurring face, and tears began to fall.

Then, as if he had finally found an outlet for his overwhelming emotions, he prostrated himself on the ground and cried his heart out.