Chapter 90

Xie Zheng smiled faintly and asked in return,

“Who exactly could I tell?”

After thinking about it, Fan Changyu realized he had a point. After all, being kicked squarely in the face and knocked into a river by her wasn’t exactly something he would want to boast about.

She glared at him and said fiercely,

“Anyway, you’re not allowed to tell anyone.”

Only after Xie Zheng repeatedly promised did he hand her the fish.

“Eat.”

Looking at the golden-brown fish in his hand, fragrant and tempting, Fan Changyu had just stubbornly declared, “I’m not hungry,” when her stomach let out a loud growl.

The heat that had only just faded from her face immediately returned.

Suppressing the upward curve of his lips, Xie Zheng gave her an easy way out.

“I roasted too many. I can’t finish them all.”

At that point, continuing to be stubborn would only embarrass herself further.

Filled with indignation, Fan Changyu reached out and snatched the fish.

“Then this matter isn’t allowed to be mentioned either.”

Xie Zheng swallowed his laughter and replied,

“Alright.”

There were no seasonings in the wilderness.

Most roasted game smelled delicious but tasted bland or even fishy.

Yet the fish Xie Zheng had roasted not only lacked any fishy taste, it carried a faint sour and spicy flavor.

After taking a few bites, Fan Changyu asked in confusion,

“You brought seasonings?”

Xie Zheng picked up some leftover berries beside the fire and showed them to her.

“Some of these wild fruits are sour. Some are spicy.”

Fan Changyu muttered softly,

“Did you taste every single one before picking them?”

Xie Zheng’s hearing was excellent.

He heard her clearly but only smiled faintly before lowering his head and continuing to remove the bones from the fish in his hands.

“I joined the army at thirteen, starting as an ordinary soldier in the Vanguard Camp. Eight years have passed since then. Just like when you first came up this mountain, food isn’t always available in the army.”

“At our hungriest, even grass roots and tree bark tasted delicious. Naturally, I’ve eaten wild fruits too. The edible ones, I remembered their flavors. As for the poisonous ones… after watching comrades die from poisoning, I learned never to touch them again.”

Listening to him speak of the past, Fan Changyu suddenly found the fish in her hands difficult to swallow.

She looked up at him blankly.

When she first learned he was the Marquis of Wuan, she had felt as though he belonged to a world far removed from hers.

As if they were people who should never have crossed paths.

Only now did she realize that behind that glorious title lay not just honor, but hardships few others could imagine.

She had personally experienced the cruelty of the battlefield.

At thirteen years old, he had entered the army.

At that age, he had been younger than Wu Sanjin was now.

Over all these years, he had climbed his way upward through countless struggles.

The bitterness and hardship of that journey were likely known only to him.

A complicated emotion settled over her heart.

Lowering her head, she silently picked fish bones from her own meal.

Soon, a fish that had already been carefully deboned was handed to her, wrapped in a cleaned wild banana leaf.

Xie Zheng took the fish she had been eating and said,

“Eat this one. The bones are already removed.”

Holding the small piece of banana leaf, Fan Changyu remained motionless.

The movement of Xie Zheng’s hands paused.

Looking up at her, he asked,

“What is it?”

Fan Changyu said quietly,

“Yanzheng… I’ll keep calling you Yanzheng.”

“Don’t be so good to me.”

“You are a marquis. A legendary hero admired by the people of Great Yin. The woman worthy of you should be a refined young lady from a prestigious family.”

“I am only a rough border-town girl who hasn’t even finished studying the Four Books. I’m not worthy of you.”

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and continued removing fish bones.

He seemed to smile.

“But among all the women in the world, you’re the only one I like.”

Fan Changyu froze.

This was the first time Xie Zheng had expressed his feelings so directly.

Her heart immediately began pounding wildly.

Yet along with it came an overwhelming bitterness.

“You shouldn’t like me,” she said.

“You’ve earned unparalleled military merit. You became a marquis before reaching adulthood. You should marry a woman whose family matches yours in status. You should spend your whole life standing proudly in the light, admired by everyone.”

Xie Zheng handed her the fully deboned fish.

“I reached my current position through military achievements, not through the admiration of others.”

“Besides, there are people who respect me and people who hate me.”

“Those who respect me do so because I drove back the Northern Di tribes and reclaimed lost territory.”

“Those who hate me fear me because I kill without mercy.”

“I spent half my life on battlefields to earn this reputation. If I still had to worry about public opinion when choosing a wife, then I would be a rather pathetic marquis.”

He looked directly at her.

“Before I met you, I truly did intend to marry a strong-willed woman from a noble family and spend our lives together in mutual respect.”

“If I died on the battlefield, she could raise our children and continue living comfortably with the support of her family.”

“After meeting you, I stopped thinking about dying on the battlefield.”

“How could I die?”

He laughed softly.

Resting his head on one arm, he lay back and gazed at the star-filled sky.

“Once this war ends, I’ll request a frontier command in Liaoxi. As long as I keep the barbarians from moving south, the political struggles in the capital will have nothing to do with me.”

“Then I’ll ask the young emperor to grant us a marriage.”

“I’ll send an eight-man bridal sedan, drums and gongs announcing the celebration, and marry you properly.”

“I’ll let the entire world know that you’ve become my wife.”

The youthful confidence and happiness on his face made Fan Changyu feel as though a lump of wet cotton had been stuffed into her chest.

Heavy.

Damp.

Painfully soft.

Even her eyes began to sting.

“You haven’t seen the sunrise over Yan Mountain.”

“You haven’t seen the hunting grounds of Huizhou.”

“When the time comes, I’ll take you everywhere.”

“Liaoxi is vast. You won’t be bored.”

“But you keep rejecting me because you’re worried our statuses don’t match.”

“Back when I had absolutely nothing, you weren’t afraid to be with me.”

Still looking at the sky, he seemed to laugh at himself.

“In the end, the things people are born with and die with amount to nothing. Most people spend their lives trapped by empty reputations.”

“The things you think stand between us… are actually nothing at all.”

“You say I can find a better woman.”

“But how do you know that, to me, you’re not already the best woman in the world?”

Fan Changyu opened her mouth.

Yet her throat felt painfully tight.

Covering her face with one hand, tears overflowed from her eyes.

Xie Zheng sat up and gently wiped them away.

“I didn’t tell you all this to make you cry.”

“I just wanted you to know that I like you not because of anything else, but because you’re Fan Changyu.”

“My parents died when I was young. There were no elders in my family and no siblings.”

“At first, I didn’t really understand the things that worried you.”

“Later, I asked others about them and came to understand the implications.”

“Whether you’re afraid of gossip or fearful of the future, I should have resolved those issues before asking anything of you.”

“I asked my teacher to accept you as his adopted daughter.”

“The same Elder Tao who taught you and wanted to take you as a disciple.”

“He is one of the greatest scholars of our age and once served as Grand Tutor.”

“Even without my request, he already liked you very much.”

“From now on, he’ll be your family.”

“Even if you don’t marry me in the future, with his adopted daughter status, no one will dare look down on you.”

As he spoke those final words, Xie Zheng lowered his eyes, concealing the bloodshot redness within them.

If that day ever came, it would probably be after his death.

Even if he died, he wanted her to live well.

He could not bear to let her go.

She was the only sun he had ever embraced in his life.

Yet he despised becoming someone like his mother.

And so he wished for her happiness.

As long as she continued shining her warmth and light in the human world, he would not feel cold even in hell.

Fan Changyu bit her lip hard.

Yet she still could not stop the sob that escaped.

Large tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I’m not as wonderful as you think I am…”

Xie Zheng gently wiped away another tear.

“You’re the kindest and bravest girl I’ve ever met.”

“Do you think just anyone would have the courage to step onto a battlefield?”

When he finally pulled her into his embrace, Fan Changyu rested her forehead against his shoulder and continued crying.

After her parents died, she had wandered through life alone with her younger sister.

Then someone had suddenly entered her world.

Someone who cherished her in every possible way.

After all the uncertainty and caution, the walls around her heart had gradually crumbled.

What spread afterward was not only happiness, but also a deep, aching tenderness.

Gently patting her back, Xie Zheng said,

“I’ll help you avenge your parents as well.”

At the mention of her parents, Fan Changyu immediately straightened up.

Wiping her tears haphazardly with her sleeve, she said,

“My parents’ revenge is mine to take.”

Thinking of how she had searched the archives in Ji Prefecture and still found no clues, she suddenly looked at him.

“Do you know who killed my parents?”

Xie Zheng slowly nodded.

Pressing her lips together, she asked,

“Who was it?”

Xie Zheng answered with two words.

“Wei Yan.”

Fan Changyu froze.

Then, remembering the relationship everyone in the empire believed existed between them, she asked,

“Your uncle?”

Xie Zheng’s expression turned cold.

“He doesn’t deserve that title.”

Afraid his expression might frighten her, he added,

“The powerful enemy I once told you about… is him.”

Clearly puzzled, Fan Changyu asked,

“Wei Yan is the Grand Chancellor of the empire. My father was only an escort. Why would Wei Yan want him dead?”

Xie Zheng looked at her for a moment before finally revealing the truth.

“Your father once worked for Wei Yan.”

Shock filled Fan Changyu’s eyes.

But then she remembered what Old Master Fan had told her after Fan Da’s accident.

Her father had not originally been Fan Erniu.

After being sold away as a child, he had returned more than ten years later and resumed living under the identity of Fan Erniu in Lin’an Town.

Realizing this, she knew Xie Zheng was probably telling the truth.

Wei Yan had committed countless crimes.

Had her father once been helping him commit those crimes?

Her heart tightened painfully.

Noticing her silence, Xie Zheng seemed to guess what she was thinking.

“Governor He Jingyuan of Ji Prefecture also worked for Wei Yan, yet he never oppressed the people.”

“If He Jingyuan called your father an old friend, then your father was likely someone who shared his principles.”

He Jingyuan was widely regarded as the most upright official in Ji Prefecture.

Hearing Xie Zheng say this eased much of the burden weighing on her heart.

“When did you start investigating my parents’ case?” she asked.

“After leaving Qingping County.”

The memory of their parting back then still filled Fan Changyu with guilt.

Then she remembered kicking him into the river earlier that night.

Her guilt only deepened.

“I won’t hit you anymore in the future.”

“Then you shouldn’t keep kissing me whenever you feel like it.”

The hand Xie Zheng was using to stir the fire paused briefly.

“Just don’t hit so hard.”

Fan Changyu froze.

When she finally understood what he meant, the firelight made her face look even redder.

She glared at him.

“I’m being serious!”

Xie Zheng raised his phoenix eyes slightly.

The natural curve at their corners gave him an arrogant yet strangely captivating look.

“I’m being serious too.”

“When am I allowed to kiss you without getting hit?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Fan Changyu grabbed an empty banana leaf from beside her and threw it at him.

Xie Zheng tilted his head and easily dodged it.

A quiet laugh escaped him.

Hugging her knees, Fan Changyu sat beside the fire, puffing up with indignation and refusing to speak to him anymore.