CH 113.2

In the past few days, she had also been paying attention to the news of Shi Cui and Cao An, and learned that with the help of Great Zhou, they have successfully misled Xi Ju, luring him to go north in person, leading people to chase in their direction.

Now, she only needed to use Shi Cui and Cao An’s route to lure the enemy, and then she could find Xi Ju’s location. And once he was found, she would definitely find the news about Zheng Zhuo and Zheng Hong. This was the insurance method of working on both sides.

Two days later, in the middle of the night, Yuan Ci Xian settled down near the Shiyu River in the east of Shuzhou, intending to tell everyone to rest for the night before going back on the road. Unexpectedly, after half an hour’s sleep, she was awakened by the news brought by Chen Zhan.

In the past two days, whenever there was a break, Yuan Ci Xian ordered everyone to take turns to rest, and assigned a team of people to search the vicinity, in order not to miss any news. And it was Chen Zhan who brought back information about Zheng Zhuo’s whereabouts: he found the mark in the woods on the other side of the river.

Yuan Ci Xian finally gave birth to a glimmer of hope when she got this news. At least so far, Zheng Zhuo was safe, and because he was safe, Zheng Hong should also be fine.

She immediately formed a team and ordered everyone to search the woods, and then found a few more marks. They crossed Shuzhou overnight and entered Qiongzhou, and lost the clue again near Tongguan Mountain.

The sun broke through the clouds, the sky was bright, and everyone was sweating profusely. Half because of the heat, half because of the anxiety, for fear that they would miss Zheng Zhuo again after running all the way here. At the foot of the mountain, Chen Zhan asked Yuan Ci Xian where to chase next.

Yuan Ci Xian frowned, picked a branch and scribbled on the muddy ground, thought for a while, and was about to point to the east when she suddenly paused.

Chen Zhan wanted to ask what was wrong, and just about to open his mouth, but he immediately realized what was going on — there was a sound of horseshoes came from the east, and it belonged to one person.

If it was one person, it was unlikely to be an enemy. He was ecstatic in his heart, and followed Yuan Ci Xian who was stiff because of nervousness, and looked intently. Everyone also held the handle of the sword in their hands, clenched it nervously and then loosened it, and then clenched it tightly again.

In the past five days, after tracking and missing the clue again and again, everyone had exhausted their strength, not physically, but their hearts have cooled down a little bit.

What they were looking for was not only Zheng Zhuo, but also Great Zhou’s hope.

But now, this voice brought everyone back to life, but they were also afraid that it would be like all the clues along the way, lead to nothing.

The sound of horseshoes was getting closer and closer and everyone held their breath, until at the end of the wilderness, a figure in black armor appeared on the horizon. Facing the rising sun, he leaped straight up, galloping all the way. Under the grass and dust, the black crown in his hair was straightened by the wind, like a hunting banner.

The string in Yuan Ci Xian’s head that had been tighten for several days suddenly slackened, at the same time her legs softened, and all the strength in her body seemed to be sucked out. Fortunately, she held a tree branch to stabilize himself.

After seeing clearly that the person on the horse was indeed Zheng Zhuo, and he was still holding the young Zheng Hong in his arms, everyone was so excited that they even forgot to run the horse to greet him, just staring blankly like a group of fools, waiting for him approach.

It was Yuan Ci Xian who came to her senses first, let out a long breath, and said with a smile: “What are you doing in a daze, why don’t you hurry up and welcome…”

Before she finished speaking, the horse neighed from a distance, followed by a loud “bang”.

The smiles on everyone’s faces were stagnant, and when they saw that it was Zheng Zhuo who lost his strength and accidentally fell off the horse, they rushed up to him.

But Yuan Ci Xian was as motionless as a carved stone. She seemed to see the man who fell from the horse has a heavy arrow stuck in his back.

She suddenly unable to hear anything for a moment, and then, the next moment, the exclamation and shouts of countless people poured into her ears.

She could clearly distinguish Zheng Hong’s voice, he was crying and calling “Sixth Brother”.

Yuan Ci Xian trembled and ran up to them.

When she got close to Zheng Zhuo, she could see his injury clearly at a glance. The heavy arrow shot to the back of the heart, right in the vital point, and the flesh around the wound seemed to have turned black and necrotic. Judging from the color, it had lasted at least three hours.

In such a deadly position, he should have died when he was hit by the arrow. But he miraculously survived for three hours and survived until he saw her and Yuan Yu just now and knew that Zheng Hong was safe, so he slacked off and fell off the horse.

This arrow, coupled with three hours of holding on, had rendered all remedies ineffective.

Yuan Ci Xian froze in place, making no movements.

Zheng Zhuo strenuously raised one arm, but did not look at her, he turned to Zheng Hong first, grasping for breath, “…a man, why are you crying?”

Zheng Hong wiped away his tears desperately, but the more he wiped the more it fell down. The six-year-old child could see the situation clearly, and said in a choked voice: “Sixth brother, don’t die, don’t die… I, I haven’t finished learning martial arts from you, you said last time, let’s make an appointment to fight together…”

Zheng Zhuo’s complexion quickly turned gray after falling off the horse, and he said with a smile: “Sixth brother is not dead, but I may not be able to fight with you for the time being, and I can’t return to the capital. You promise Sixth Brother to help Sixth Brother manage the court for a few years first, and wait…” He coughed and vomited out a mouthful of bright red blood.

“Zheng Zhuo…!” Yuan Ci Xian squatted down, grabbed his hand, and went to check the temperature of his palm.

After she shouted, he didn’t say anything, but Zheng Zhuo turned his head and glanced at her, knowing that he couldn’t hold on any longer, and he couldn’t talk to the child in a roundabout way, so he told Zheng Hong, “Listen carefully to Assistant Minister Lu and County Princess in the future.”

Then he looked at Yuan Ci Xian, and said with a wry smile: “Great Zhou… I can only leave it to you.”

Great Zhou, I can only leave it to you.

This sentence was almost exactly the same as in the dream.

Tears welled up in Yuan Cixian’s eyes, flowing like a spring. It seemed as if she was grieving over her inability to change Zheng Zhuo’s fate and also regretting letting Lu Shi Qing down. She nodded vigorously, desperately assuring, “Don’t worry, don’t worry… No one can bully Hong’er, and no one can invade Great Zhou. For ten years, twenty years, I will protect it, we will protect it…”

Zheng Zhuo pulled out a smile with difficulty: “Don’t cry, if he knows, he would be jealous again…”

Yuan Ci Xian choked, her tears burst out more and more, she kept shaking her head, but she didn’t know what else to say.

Zheng Zhuo looked at her, his eyes gradually became lax, and before he lost his consciousness, he suddenly saw a strange scene.

He saw himself sitting at the stone table in the back garden of the Prince Mansion, while Yuan Ci Xian was in front of him, throwing a pair of Wumu. After throwing the dice, she said triumphantly: “I said this one will definitely win, but you all still don’t believe it!”

When he heard the phrase “you all”, he felt strange, and then looked at the side. It was Lu Shi Qing who was wearing “Xu Shan” mask.

He wondered how could Yuan Ci Xian played Wumu with him, but Lu Shi Qing was as stable as Mount Tai, and didn’t overturn the vinegar jar? Sure enough, when people were about to die, they would have some illusions.

He smiled helplessly, and his hand on the side dropped down as if out of strength.

Yuan Ci Xian looked at Zheng Zhuo’s tightly closed eyes, and seemed to hear a distant voice slowly approaching, until it reached her ears, and then spread far away, and finally resounded in the sky.

The voice said——Father likes to be in power, but power can cure Father’s heart disease, but it can’t cure Father’s world. I want to make the rotten trees all over the world rejuvenate, the withered grass regenerate, capable people with lofty ideals to be used, the common people are blessed and able to enjoy life, and all countries in the eight directions congratulate me on the prosperity of the Great Zhou, and dare not go one step further.

She stood up stiffly amidst the cries of the people around her, slowly clenched her fists, looked in the direction of Chang’an, and said word by word: “Virtue cultivates the people, righteousness treats the scholars, ritual secures the state, law governs the nation, military guards the four borders, and benevolence brings peace to the world.”