Yuzhen had always lived in accordance to whatever that woman wanted.
In this life, she was Liu Qirong, the last Phoenix of a fallen clan.
In their past life, he was a magic mirror, she was the fairest lady in all the land.
In another life before that, he was much younger, a child who steadfastly believed in his step-aunt. Before that, He was a random jailer, a farmer, a passer-by, a shop-keeper. For every single lifetime, he died after her.
After she was gone, there was no meaning for him to continue his life.
Was it love? Yuzhen was initially sure it was not. He just knew his fate was always tied to hers, for whatever reason. Rather than attributing it as an emotion called love, it was more precise to call it a mission.
Initially he hated it, but as he followed her through her lifetimes, he was mesmerized. She was truly the brightest person he had ever come across. Even when she knew she had been betrayed or schemed against, she never hated. What was she thinking exactly? Yuzhen would never know.
But for him, she was still the fairest lady in all worlds.
Yuzhen also realized; his role was getting stronger in every world they were reborn to. Although he might not be the lead character, he had begun to have authority and strength in his most recent identities.
Black Mirror had his magic, Yuzhen was a Khagan.
"Yuzhen," Liu Muyan called him, his face wincing in pain, "My children need medical aid soon.". The last attack had given Liu Muyan a large bloody gash on his upper right arm. Yuzhen was not sure if Liu Muyan would ever be able to hold a weapon again in the future. However, his three daughters were not any better. The attackers did not hold any tender feelings to women and children.
They had just buried Liu Muyan's main wife, she died protecting her son. His concubine and three daughters also sported some wounds. All of them were now feverish and delirious.
Yuzhen looked at the direction where the attackers had taken Liu Qirong to. She had asked him to save her family. He had done the best he could, Liu Muyan's wife died not long after the attack started, when Yuzhen was still protecting Liu Qirong.
Although vexed, he knew Liu Qirong should be physically safe, at least for now. From how the attackers had solely targeted Liu Qirong, they would not do any mortal harm.
But Yuzhen could not be calm. After several lifetimes, he already had a guess that this woman was a weirdo. Although she was kind to others, she was not kind to herself. It was as if she was a masochist, steadfastly willing to walk towards her death.
But how should he bring Liu Muyan and his family across the border? Yuzhen and his men had scouted the security, there would not be a problem for them to fight their way through. But if that were to be their course of action, they had to be prepared to go to war with Nan Shu in the future. After all, this was as good as a blatant announcement of annulling the alliance.
Yuzhen exchanged a glance at Anluo and his handful of men. They were all his friends who had followed him from childhood, orphans who only knew each other as family.
Anluo smiled, his hands crossed on his chest, "From the beginning, our lives are yours, not the other Khagans', not our country's. Don't be a sissy and abandon your woman now. Whoever you choose, is as good as our family too. We must not turn our back on our family. I'm sure King Yungao would understand too."
Yuzhen groaned, "She's not my wo-.... ."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's break our way through. Whatever we do, does not represent the Khaganate," another chimed in and laughed good-naturedly, "If we all live through this, we can find a remote place and do some farming."
Everyone laughed and agreed. However every single one of them knew it was just idle chatter, a dream that would never be realized.
Yuzhen gave a piece of letter to Anluo, "Once you've broken through, go to Yungao covertly. The other Khagans will most likely condemn my decision, but Yungao will give you a way out. He will read my letter and understand this is my wish too. Bring Liu Muyan and his family to a small town to settle." He bowed towards his friends, "Like you said, if we all live through this-... ."
Anluo and the other men smacked his shoulder loudly one after another, causing Yuzhen to choke on his words.
Liu Muyan and Liu Ziyu bowed deeply in gratitude towards these men, people who were just strangers to him merely a few days ago. Their own country had abandoned him and even wanted to eradicate their family. In Liu Ziyu's case, her husband the Emperor used her as a mere toy to showcase his power, and even humiliated her family in his edict before dying.
Yuzhen, just because of his absurd reason of 'wanting to make Liu Qirong happy', had gone as far as preparing to abandon his status and country. His brothers put absolute trust in him and would follow through with whatever he decided.
Thus in the blanket of the night, a few of Yuzhen's men carried Liu Muyan and his family and children who had been wounded. Anluo was in charge of protecting Liu Ziyu, the other few men killed the border patrols as they fought their way through the town and the gate. Fortunately it was at night and the townsfolk were mostly asleep, reducing the commoners' casualties to zero.
However, Nan Shu soldiers were not pushovers either, especially ones assigned for border security. Yuzhen and Anluo fought against some of the soldiers, and they soon exchanged wary glances with each other.
The both of them had engaged in wars against Hou Feihong's troops a number of times in the past. These border patrols had offensive and defensive stances unique to Hou Feihong's army. Even if they thought with their toes, they would not believe Hou Feihong did not know about their presence in this border town.
Yuzhen cursed inside his heart, "This snake won't let us off. So be it."
Hou Feihong's soldiers were different to normal men. Although his character might be doubtful, he was an able and skillful military general, every single one of his men was trained and was not afraid of death.
Anluo had lost function of his left arm, blood flowed heavily from his upper arm. Any other day, they would be able to fight against these soldiers with no issue. But they were protecting a bunch of people, how could they move freely?
Two of Yuzhen's men charged towards the gate and managed to open its gate, but not without losing their own lives. As they breathed out their last, they yelled at Yuzhen with a mouth full of blood, "Go! You will always be our Khagan!"
Deflecting arrows and swords, Yuzhen and Anluo finally managed to run through the gate. A couple more of their men fell, using their bodies to block some arrows from hurting Liu Muyan and his daughters.
All of them ran without looking back. Only when they were out of breath and the yelling and shouting could not be heard any further did Yuzhen signal for his men to stop. Liu Muyan's concubine and daughters were sobbing quietly; Liu Muyan's previously wounded arm was as good as gone due to overexertion when they were running, his young son frantically tried to stop the flow of blood.
Yuzhen gestured towards Anluo, "From this path onwards, you should be safe." It was less than half a day if they kept walking without rest, to reach where King Yungao was living.
Anluo knew Yuzhen was not coming along with them.
Furthermore, he knew Yuzhen might not come back at all.
The both of them bumped their shoulders lightly. Yuzhen grinned, "You'll have a good life."
"If not in this life, in the next one." He truly believed that. If he were the writer of fates, he would make Anluo be the richest king with a thousand wives, "Wait... that might actually kill him though... ."
But for now, he wanted to go to where Liu Qirong was. He did not realize his gaze was bright and tender as he looked back towards the direction of the border town they had escaped from.
Liu Ziyu, who had kept her silence all this while, bowed towards Yuzhen, "There are not enough words to express our gratitude and it ashamed me to make another request off our savior. My younger sister... please, look after her." Despite the dirt and fatigue on her face, as well as minor wounds on her arms, she still exuded natural grace. This was probably the first time she bowed towards anyone other than her late husband, ever since she became the Empress.
Yuzhen thought the daughters of the Liu clan were all outstanding. Perhaps that was why the late Emperor wanted to extinguish such lineage. He nodded, "Even without you asking me to, I intend to do it."
Anluo whispered in his ears, "Don't be stubborn. You love that woman."
"I don't-..."
"Shut up and listen!" Anluo smacked his master's head. He thought Yuzhen was good in every way, but he was way too stubborn. Anluo did not notice Yuzhen wincing in pain when he stumbled lightly from his slap, merely continuing to whisper, "You'll know for sure whether you love her or not if you do this... ."
Yuzhen's eyes widened.
*** *** ***
Liu Qirong looked at the refined face of the Second Prince. The pair of eyes carried appreciation, if not a slightly lecherous gaze as he scanned her from head to toe.
She had been blindfolded as soon as she was captured. When the blindfold was removed, a number of female servants immediately bathed her, scrubbing any slightest trace of dirt clean. Then, she was primped and clothed in pretty clothes and jewelries. The simplistic building she had been brought into did not match the valuable ornaments currently stuck on her hair at all.
At the moment, she was looking up at the Second Prince. He was sitting on a raised podium in a relaxed manner, numerous bodyguards all around him as protection.
"As expected, the Liu clan daughter is truly the only one worthy of being the mother of the country," the Second Prince sighed, every bit of his gaze carried intent as though he was undressing her, "Imperial Father could be senile, but his edict was right."
Liu Qirong stood straight, her eyes unyielding, her posture proud, "Why doesn't Your Highness tell me what is the meaning of all this? To be talking nonsense about such a matter of 'being the mother of the country', the Crown Prince's official consort is the rightful woman to take that title!"
The Second Prince let out a chuckle, as though the whole matter was thoroughly amusing. "Eldest sister-in-law? I've ordered my men to send her to join eldest brother for his journey to the underworld. Am I not a loving brother? I did not want my eldest brother to be lonely after he left this world."
Liu Qirong face paled a few shades, but she sneered in her heart and cursed this man millions of times inside, "You... you are despicable!"
The Second Prince frowned and his expression changed into fury for a split second, then he turned calm once again, "Power is only for the worthy. Only the strong and ruthless can become rulers of a country." He stood and walked down the steps slowly, his gaze never leaving her face, "Same goes for women. Only the best woman can be an Emperor's partner. This Emperor thinks, you, my dear, are worthy."
Liu Qirong tried her best not to gag. She took a step back backwards, showing a bit of vulnerability in front of this man, "You... you already have a consort! A-and... I... am Hou Feihong's wife! I belong to him!!"
The Second Prince laughed louder, "Your good husband and I have a deal. Let me tell you a secret. He killed the Third Prince not long after that edict came out, in exchange for my promise to grant him the minister position in the future, as well as alleviating Lieutenant Hua's status to a noble!"
Liu Qirong could not help but to be flabbergasted; not about what kind of deal Hou Feihong and the Second Prince had in regards to her, but about how this Second Prince was so gullible to be trusting Hou Feihong.
The Second Prince mused, "And my consort's appearance cannot be compared to you. In account of her having served me for a number of years in the past, I will be merciful and will keep her in the inner courtyard in the future. But, you, my dear, will rule over these women and watch over the country with me." He reached out his hand to touch her face, "Are you not happy? You will be the Empress of Nan Shu!"
Liu Qirong sent a hard slap to the man's face, "I'd rather die than betray my Lord Husband. You are a liar! My Lord Husband would never forsake me!"
The Second Prince held onto his reddened cheek, his eyes burning with fury. He grabbed onto Liu Qirong's hand and lifted her chin, choking her neck as he growled, "After tonight, let's see if you'll still remember Hou Feihong! You can only be mine!" He barked at his guards, "Men! Tie her up! Your Emperor will have a thorough love-making session with his Empress! Bring her to my room!"
Liu Qirong struggled and wailed with heartbreak, "Lord Husband~! Nooo!! I only belong to my Lord Husband!!!"
Inside her heart, she counted, "Three... two... one."
The Second Prince's lips were still pulled in a lecherous smile, then his eyes widened in surprise. A blade had skewered through his stomach. However, his bodyguards soon sprang into action and fought his attackers while protecting him from further harm.
Liu Qirong was not as surprised as he was, but she feigned lightheadedness when she saw the Prince's blood pooling on the floor.
A male's hand obscured her sight, but she recognized the voice, "Don't look, Rong'er... ."
She smiled at the change of his way of calling her. She choked a sob and hugged the man, "Lord Husband... ~!"
"Although you were wearing a standard bodyguard's uniform and might be hiding amongst the scum Prince's men, this grandma could recognize you from a mile away. Hmph!"
*** *** ***
*** *** ***