EWRN - Chapter 67
Chapter 67: Reunion
Freed from the constraints of the imperial palace and the throne, Huo Jinyu had spent the better part of the last month in blissful comfort. She commanded nearly two hundred thousand Brocade Guard Army soldiers clad in Reinforced Iron Armor. One could say the world was no longer in her hands, yet her hands could still reach out and touch it.
As night fell, the Brocade Guard Army soldiers on Baili Mountain, having trained all day, had already returned to their barracks to rest. Huo Jinyu, however, summoned General Jian Wei to the training grounds alone.
"My lord, it is already late. For what reason has my lord summoned this subordinate?" Jian Wei asked, standing respectfully on the training grounds.
"Let's have a match. Give it your all. We'll talk after we're done," Huo Jinyu said, standing in the center of the training grounds and stretching her limbs.
Jian Wei nodded grimly at her words. He too stretched his limbs, warming up on the spot. "My lord, forgive my impertinence."
With that, Jian Wei closed the distance and attacked.
Just as in their first duel, neither used any weapons, relying entirely on hand-to-hand combat. They traded blows back and forth, each unleashing their true strength.
Months ago, not long after her rebirth, Huo Jinyu had yet to grow accustomed to this body from decades past, with its less profound inner strength. She had relied on her years of combat experience to defeat Jian Wei. This time, however, after months of secretly adapting, Huo Jinyu took down Jian Wei with ease.
Jian Wei was kicked to the ground in a rather sorry state, yet he felt not the slightest bit wronged. In fact, his heart was filled with utter admiration.
"My lord, this subordinate readily concedes defeat!" Jian Wei scrambled up from the ground, cupping his fist in a salute.
"You are very strong," Huo Jinyu nodded.
"Does my lord have something to instruct this subordinate?" Jian Wei had clearly been well-schooled in etiquette; his speech never overstepped its bounds.
"General Jian, I will ask you one thing." Huo Jinyu brushed the dust from her clothes and stood with her hands clasped behind her back. "Regardless of my identity, are you willing to follow me, Huo Jinyu?"
Jian Wei assumed Huo Jinyu was referring to the matter of the throne. He cupped his fist and said, "No matter who the current emperor is, my lord is the sacred sovereign in this subordinate's heart! This subordinate swears to follow you to the death!"
Huo Jinyu watched him with a cool gaze. "And what if I were a woman? What would you think then?"
Jian Wei was truly taken aback by her words. He stared, dumbfounded, at the handsome and dashing young master before him, unable to process it for a long moment. What was His Majesty Huo Jinyu saying? His sovereign was actually a woman?
"Well?" Huo Jinyu took a step forward, pressing him with her words. "What are your thoughts? Are you still willing to follow me to the death?"
Huo Jinyu paused, then continued, "If you are unwilling, I will not force you…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Jian Wei dropped to his knees with a thud. "This subordinate is merely shocked and harbors no disloyalty!" he declared loudly. "From the moment His Majesty's Baili Mountain gave me refuge, from the moment His Majesty defeated me with absolute strength, I swore an oath in my heart. No matter His Majesty's identity, I have accepted it! Whether His Majesty is a man or a woman, old or young, it makes no difference. This subordinate swears to follow His Majesty to the death! I ask for His Majesty's clear judgment!"
Jian Wei was shocked to his core. The esteemed leader of hundreds of thousands of Brocade Guard Army soldiers would certainly not deign to lie about something like gender. If Huo Jinyu said she was a woman, then she must be one. He was shocked that she had deceived the world and lived in the imperial palace for over a decade, shocked that she had deceived the world to ascend the throne, shocked that as a woman she possessed the ambition to build the Brocade Guard Army, shocked that as a woman she had even married three consorts, and shocked that with a woman's body she had so decisively defeated him—a man who had studied martial arts under a master since childhood. There were far too many shocking things about Huo Jinyu!
He was so shocked he could barely compose himself.
Huo Jinyu looked with satisfaction at Jian Wei, who knelt on the ground professing his loyalty, and her heart was filled with joy. She had not misjudged him. This Jian Wei was a man capable of great things! It was no wonder he had climbed step by step to the rank of general.
Beyond the shock, Jian Wei's heart also swelled with excitement. For His Majesty Huo Jinyu to be willing to share such a momentous secret with him was a clear sign of trust! A sign that she intended to entrust him with great responsibility!
And indeed, Jian Wei was not mistaken. Huo Jinyu did have an important task for him. "Rise. From this day forward, let the entire Brocade Guard Army know that their leader is a woman!"
Huo Jinyu was tired of the days spent pretending to be a man, tired of forcing herself to live in another's image. She would never admit that the male persona was the real her.
Now that she was free from the shackles of the throne, free from the incessant chatter of civil and military officials and the pressure from the great clans, she could finally do what she hadn't dared—and hadn't been able—to do for decades. She could finally be her true self again!
Of course, she had not abandoned her long-planned revenge. In this life, she, Huo Jinyu, would insist on using this female body to viciously topple her dear imperial brother, Huo Jinye.
What was the best way to torture an arrogant man? First, let him obtain everything he desires, and then make him lose it all! She, Huo Jinyu, would first torture Huo Jinye mentally, and then ravage him physically! Utterly destroy him!
At this thought, Huo Jinyu trembled slightly with excitement. Marvelous. Truly marvelous!
Jian Wei was once again shocked by Huo Jinyu's decision. This sovereign was truly no ordinary person! To choose to make her gender public just like that… But if the leader was a woman, surely there would be soldiers unwilling to obey?
"If any refuse to obey, have them all beaten to death!" Huo Jinyu said suddenly, her voice cold. The powerful aura surrounding her, tinged with a bloodthirsty hostility, made Jian Wei involuntarily take a small step back. "Are the benefits for my Brocade Guard Army not generous enough?"
"Yes, this subordinate understands! I will see to it at once!" Jian Wei saluted, and after receiving Huo Jinyu's permission, he turned and hurried away. The amount of news tonight was a bit much; he needed to calm down and, while he was at it, help His Majesty strategize how to get the Brocade Guard Army to accept Huo Jinyu's identity without reservation.
After watching General Jian Wei depart, Huo Jinyu retracted her sharp aura, once again resuming the appearance of a graceful, jade-like young master. She gazed up at the starry sky, where a bright moon hung. It was almost the fifteenth of the month. The moon would soon be whole again, but she, Huo Jinyu, feared she would never have the chance for such a reunion.
Huo Jinyu let out a soft sigh. Gazing at the bright moon, she wondered, Is Xi'er also looking up at this moon, so close to being whole? I wonder how she is doing. Is everything going smoothly for her in the Northern Kingdom?
A faint, sharp pain pricked at Huo Jinyu's heart, accompanied by a hollow feeling. She wondered who could fill this void, thinking that perhaps only Xi'er could mend the emptiness within her. But in the end, she and Xi'er were heading in opposite directions, destined to be like strangers on different paths.
She wondered what Xi'er must have felt after leaving the Great Yuan Kingdom and seeing the pure, unstained Bridal Cloth. Sudden realization? A sense of relief? Or perhaps anger? Confusion?
But none of that had anything to do with Huo Jinyu anymore. Once Yan Xi was out of the Great Yuan Kingdom, they were no longer connected. From then on, Yan Xi would walk her wide, sunny road, and she would walk her own narrow, single-plank bridge.
Huo Jinyu's mood sank. Reflected in her pure, flawless eyes was not the light of the moon, but loneliness.
A cold wind swept over her, and Huo Jinyu shivered, snapping back to her senses. She chided herself for indulging in such sentimental melancholy. What was past was past. Her grand plan for revenge required her to look forward.
Huo Jinyu walked back to her bedchamber under the moonlight. A night of foul moods called for a little wine to lift the spirits.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. The news that the leader of the Brocade Guard Army was a woman spread like wildfire through the ranks. Huo Jinyu sat in a side hall, listening to Jian Wei's report.
The Brocade Guard Army was not in the state of unrest she had imagined. It seemed everyone was able to accept it calmly, with few objections. According to Jian Wei, this was likely because the soldiers' compensation was too generous. They weren't about to argue with their silver, so the atmosphere remained quite harmonious.
Huo Jinyu thought to herself that it was a bit of a pity. She had been planning to beat one or two to death to make an example of them, but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary now.
These days, Huo Jinyu had taken to studying women's clothing. She had people buy all sorts of robes, dresses, and fitted martial attire. Since she was idle all day anyway, she had a full-length mirror made for her bedchamber. Whenever she had a spare moment, she would try on an outfit or two, feeling utterly delighted.
Still, having worn men's clothing for decades, she was ultimately more accustomed to it. Though the dresses were beautiful, they weren't very practical for movement, which didn't suit Huo Jinyu's tastes. Thus, she found herself preferring women's fitted martial attire.
Freed from the tight bindings on her chest, Huo Jinyu felt for the first time that even breathing was liberating. She seriously suspected that in her previous life, even without Huo Jinye's coup, she would have sooner or later suffocated to death from the constant chest binding.
As Baili Mountain was unsuitable for non-combatants like Di An and Huo Jincheng, the vast Star-Plucking Tower on Qianzu Mountain became their new residence. Though called a tower, Star-Plucking Tower was in fact a massive mountain villa, more than spacious enough to accommodate a consort and a prince. The maids and servants were all former palace maids and eunuchs, and their service was impeccable.
Di An found everything to her liking, with one exception: she missed Hua Ying's company.
Time flew by, and soon the day came for Yan Xi to follow the fifty thousand Brocade Guard Army soldiers back to Baili Mountain. Early that morning, Yan Xi packed her belongings and set out on the journey with Yan Liang.
The journey was neither long nor short. Taking advantage of the chaos of war on the northwestern border of the Great Yuan Kingdom, and the absence of the Northern Garrison Army, the fifty thousand Brocade Guard Army soldiers marched openly back into Great Yuan territory. Along the way, the sight of countless displaced refugees caused a pang in Yan Xi's heart, for she too was the ruler of a nation. It was all the fault of this damned war.
And then there was Huo Jinyu, the one she held dearest in her heart, who had also suffered the cruelties of war and the betrayal of his own brother, tragically losing the throne.
Little did Yan Xi know that Huo Jinyu was far from tragically losing the throne; she was, in fact, absolutely ecstatic about it.
After four or five days of trekking, the army finally reached the Baili Mountain range. Yan Xi knew they had arrived, and a slight nervousness fluttered in her heart. The thought of seeing Huo Jinyu soon filled her with excitement. A tangle of complex emotions intertwined within her, and the hand she held on the reins began to tremble slightly.
Yan Liang, having been away on assignment, did not yet know that his leader was now a woman. Thinking that Yan Xi was already Huo Jinyu's woman, he assumed there was no need for formalities. After ascending the mountain, he led Yan Xi directly to Huo Jinyu's bedchamber.
"My lady, this is His Majesty's bedchamber. This subordinate will escort you this far. I still have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now." With that, Yan Liang saluted and hastily withdrew, little knowing that he had just pushed his own leader into a fiery pit.
Yan Xi stared at the tightly closed door and thought, The door is shut tight in broad daylight. He couldn't be doing something indecent in there, could he?
Yan Xi frowned. What she didn't know was that Huo Jinyu had sent all the maids away so she could change her clothes. Yan Xi knocked lightly on the door. A familiar voice drifted out from within. "Who is it? Did I not say that I was not to be disturbed at this time?"
This only confirmed Yan Xi's suspicions that Huo Jinyu was up to no good. That man, who had been so perfectly restrained with her, was now engaging in debauchery in broad daylight! The anger Yan Xi had been suppressing for the better part of a month suddenly erupted. She pushed the door right open, and it swung inward with a creak.
"Jinyu, Xi'er has come to see you," Yan Xi announced as she stepped inside.
Huo Jinyu, who was changing clothes behind a screen: !!! Holy shit!?? Isn't Xi'er in the Northern Kingdom???
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