Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 267

Chapter 267: Rescue

The sun was gradually setting in the west.

Standing atop a low hill, Cui Zi Xuan gazed mesmerized at the landscape bathed in the sunset’s glow and the endless plains across the river. He murmured, “This landscape is truly magnificent.”

Li Zongnan, noticeably thinner, approached him from behind. He said softly, “I didn’t expect that even in this state, you still have the heart to appreciate the scenery.”

Cui Zi Xuan smiled, turned to Li Zongnan, and asked, “How are Cui Ceng and Li Yan?”

Li Zongnan shook his head and said softly, “Exhausted and utterly despondent, plus the inability to find a physician—it should be within the next day or two. However, judging from the Zhao brothers’ condition, I’m afraid we’ll die before them.” Li Zongnan said, “These past few days, more than a dozen relatives and friends have died every day. I’m numb.”

Although it was a chaotic era, these aristocratic families, especially the elderly and women, hadn’t actually suffered much hardship. But the suffering during this period couldn’t be fully described by the single word “suffering.” Those members of the aristocratic families, pampered for generations, fell ill one by one and died along the way. When they set out from Daliang, the various aristocratic families together numbered over a thousand, but now only a little over two hundred remained on the mountain.

Li Zongnan’s gaze shifted, looking at Cui Zi Xuan’s snow-white temples, then at the large armies of Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Kuangyi on the opposite bank of the river. He smiled bitterly. “This time, we have finally reached our end. We are at our wits’ end!”

Cui Zi Xuan remained silent.

Li Zongnan glanced at the Later Zhou military camp across the way, where smoke was rising from the chimneys, and suddenly asked, “I heard your wife is pregnant with your child? I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl? If it’s a boy, your lineage won’t be cut off.”

Mentioning Jiang Mi, a tenderness flashed across Cui Zi Xuan’s face, but in an instant, that tenderness turned into deep pain. He shook his head and said softly, “If he had to bear so much from birth, I would rather he hadn’t been born.” After a pause, Cui Zi Xuan smiled bitterly, “If I had known this would happen, I should have stuck with my family back then. At least I could have given my wife a few years of true peace and joy.”

His voice was hoarse as he said, “I always thought I could give her so much, but since she married me, she hasn’t had a single day of peace. If there is an afterlife, I would rather not bear this family burden, nor all these fathers and mothers. I would rather be an ordinary householder.”

To be born an orphan, with her simply staying by his side, farming and weaving, living a peaceful and carefree life. He murmured, “If one could sleep whenever one wanted and eat whenever one wanted throughout one’s life, from youth to old age, that would be a great blessing.”

Li Zongnan said softly, “What’s the use of saying all this now?”

Cui Zi Xuan murmured, “Yes, what’s the use of saying all this now?”

At that moment, hurried footsteps approached, and a servant of the Cui family came up behind Cui Zi Xuan, reporting, “Lord, the old lady is dying.”

Cui Zi Xuan slowly turned around.

Strangely, his face showed no surprise, not even much pain, and even Li Zongnan, standing to the side, wore a cold expression.

A moment later, Cui Zi Xuan said, “Let’s go see.”

Old Madam Cui was dying; she was on her deathbed. In fact, the culprits who had caused this disaster, including Old Madam Cui, were all quite old, and having made such a fatal mistake, they had all fallen ill one after another during the two or three months of fleeing. Even one of the main culprits, Old Madam Lu, had passed away half a month ago. As for the other elders, most of them had died along the way.

These elderly members of noble families had lived a life of luxury and held themselves in high esteem. Even in death, their descendants would ensure their bodies weren’t left to rot in the wilderness, but given their haste to escape, cremating their remains was a normal occurrence. Such a death was far removed from their imagined grand funerals and mourning rites.

Cui Zi Xuan walked quickly. Seeing him approach, the members of the Cui clan surrounding Old Madam Cui quickly dispersed.

Seeing her grandson near, Old Madam Cui struggled to sit up. Tears welled in her cloudy eyes, and she murmured softly, “Xuan’er.”

Cui Zi Xuan knelt before her, taking her hand.

Old Madam Cui’s gaze turned to Cui Zi Xuan’s hair, which had turned white overnight. Tears streaming down her face, she said, “Xuan’er, your grandmother is a sinner for all time. After I die, cremate me as well.”

Cui Zi Xuan remained silent.

Old Madam Cui gripped his hand tightly, murmuring, “I heard Lady Jiang is pregnant with your child? That’s good, that’s good; you finally have an heir.”

Old Madam Cui wept, saying, “Xuan’er, Grandmother is so regretful, so regretful.”

Cui Zi Xuan remained silent.

Old Madam Cui murmured to herself again, “In this life, I owe Lady Jiang an apology. With her assistance, your Cui Clan of Boling could have enjoyed another hundred years of prosperity. It was all my narrow-mindedness, my reluctance to relinquish power. I’m a sinner for all time!”

Suddenly, Old Madam Cui gripped Cui Zi Xuan’s hand tightly, tears streaming down her face. “After you leave this time, when you see Lady Jiang, tell her that it was my fault as her grandmother. From now on, treat her well, and you two must live a loving and harmonious life. She doesn’t want you to take a concubine, so do not… She was so fortunate; she could have turned the tide. It was all my fault for clinging to outdated ideas and harming everyone…” As she spoke, Old Madam Cui suddenly looked up, her eyes shining, and said to Cui Zi Xuan, “Xuan’er, after I leave, you must live a good life with her.”

Finally, tears welled up in Cui Zi Xuan’s eyes. He slowly covered them with his sleeve. At that moment, behind him, one of Cui Clan of Boling’s disciples suddenly spoke up: “What future is there? The foot of the mountain is already surrounded by Zhao Kuangyin’s massive army. Now, we are just waiting for his order to exterminate us all!”

Old Madam Cui, who had been ill, was completely unaware of this. Her eyes widened, and after a few choked sobs, she stared blankly. Her hand, which had been holding Cui Zi Xuan’s, loosened, her head drooped, and she died with her eyes still open.

Cui Zi Xuan reached out and gently wiped Old Madam Cui’s wide-open eyes back. When he turned his head, tears streamed down his face.

…

Jiang Mi hurried along and finally arrived at the place the Cui clan’s men had described. From there, she was less than half a day’s journey from the mountain where Cui Zi Xuan and his men had finally stopped.

The journey had been arduous, and Jiang Mi was terribly haggard. Perhaps driven by her belief in saving Cui Zi Xuan, despite her immense pain and frequent vomiting, her eyes remained bright, and she sat ramrod straight.

After looking outside for a while, Jiang Mi said, “Stop.”

The carriage stopped.

Jiang Mi asked, “Are Young Master Cui and his men up ahead?”

A subordinate replied, “Yes, they are.”

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached. In an instant, a Cui subordinate rushed to Jiang Mi, his voice trembling, and reported, “Madam, we’ve spotted Later Zhou’s army ahead! It’s Zhao Kuangyin’s and Zhao Kuangyi’s force, said to number fifty thousand!”

The appearance of Zhao Kuangyin’s army in this place—needless to say, everyone knew their purpose.

Jiang Mi closed her eyes briefly.

After a moment, Jiang Mi opened her eyes and asked, “Where are the geographical records? I asked you to collect them. Have you collected them?”

A subordinate quickly replied, “We have.”

They brought over two geographical records.

Jiang Mi buried herself in the book, flipping through it.

After a while, Jiang Mi abruptly closed the geographical treatise and turned to one of her subordinates, saying, “Summon everyone.”

Soon, five hundred Cui clan subordinates stood before Jiang Mi.

Jiang Mi, supporting her aching back, climbed down from the carriage. Looking at her subordinates, she said in a low voice, “I don’t think I need to tell you the situation.”

Jiang Mi picked up a twig from the ground and began drawing on it. As she drew, she said, “I just read the local geography. There’s a river here; it flows like this…” Jiang Mi drew a map on the ground, then looked up at the group and said, “It’s the rainy season now. I noticed this along the way; the river is very strong. And the place where Zhao Kuangyin’s army is stationed is located in a plain formed by the river’s erosion over many years. Such plains are prone to flooding every July and August.”

Jiang Mi slowly traced a line with her finger, finally pointing to the dam upstream. She said in a hoarse voice, “Send three hundred men to guard this place. Once I signal with the fire, you breach the dam!”

Hearing this, everyone was delighted. One of the subordinates asked, “Madam, what about you?”

Jiang Mi replied in a hoarse voice, “Me? I’ll go negotiate with Zhao Kuangyin!”

…

Looking at Zhao Kuangyin’s army gradually coming into view, Jiang Mi said in a hoarse voice, “Where are my clothes and face powder? Bring water; I need to wash up.”

“Yes.”

It was midday, and smoke billowed from the Zhao family’s army camp. Zhao Kuangyi walked to Zhao Kuangyin’s side and asked, “Brother, we’ve found the ships; aren’t we going to attack?”

Zhao Kuangyin didn’t speak, but Shi Shouxin, standing to the side, said, “To be honest, these aristocratic families are somewhat pitiful. They want to kill Chai Zongxun, and he even wants to kill us.”

Zhao Kuangyin glared and roared, “Silence!”

Shi Shouxin immediately shut his mouth.

Zhao Pu said from the side, “Regardless, we brought back the heads of these aristocratic families, which can be considered an explanation to the late Emperor.” Of course, he didn’t say the most important thing: Chai Zongxun, as the son, didn’t remember revenge after the late Emperor was poisoned and was only busy eliminating dissidents.

Zhao Kuangyin, the late Emperor’s confidant, however, was single-mindedly focused on avenging the late Emperor. Let the world see that in terms of character and conduct, Zhao Kuangyin and Chai Zongxun were clearly of vastly different levels.

Ever since learning of Chai Zongxun’s intention to attack them, after some discussion, the Zhao clan had harbored a growing rebellious intent, leading to this campaign to ambush the aristocratic families. In their calculations, once the heads of these family members were placed before the late Emperor’s grave, Zhao Kuangyin would have gained the moral high ground before Chai Zongxun and the world.

As they were still discussing, a sudden commotion arose from the army. Shi Shouxin turned around and exclaimed in surprise, “Who’s coming?”

Everyone turned in unison and saw a carriage appearing among the troops, surrounded by dozens of guards, heading towards them.

Why was a carriage arriving at this time and appearing from behind them, no less?

After exchanging glances, Zhao Kuangyin and a few others walked over. Soon, they were face-to-face with the carriage.

As Zhao Kuangyin and his group appeared, the soldiers surrounding the carriage stepped back, the carriage slowly came to a stop, and then, Jiang Mi, heavily pregnant, appeared before them, supported by a guard.