Before dawn, the area outside Linzhou City was already crowded with people.
Another snowfall had come during the night. Thick frost covered both sides of the official road, and the cold wind swept across the wilderness, making people’s cheeks ache. Even so, the area outside the city was still packed with commoners who had come to see them off.
Most of these people were survivors from the refugee camp.
Some leaned on wooden staffs, some held children in their arms, and some wore old padded jackets covered in patches. Their lives were still difficult, but the expressions on their faces were no longer filled with the numbness and despair they had shown at first.
Because they had survived.
And the person who had pulled them out of the depths of despair was leaving Linzhou today.
The procession had yet to depart when an old man tremblingly fell to his knees.
Xiao Yuan frowned and was about to order someone to help him up, but then he saw more and more commoners kneeling down.
A vast black mass covered the snowy ground.
“Thank you, His Highness Prince Su, for saving our lives!”
Someone shouted first.
Immediately afterward, voices rang out one after another.
“Thank you, His Highness Prince Su, for saving our lives!”
“Thank you, His Highness Prince Su, for saving our lives!”
Some people knocked their heads against the ground with reddened eyes. Others desperately stuffed the last of their family’s dried food into the soldiers’ hands. There were even several children standing among the crowd, holding wooden boards with crooked copies of the epidemic-prevention notices written on them.
Those were the things that had once been posted throughout the entire refugee camp.
Now, the children were holding them as though they were treasures.
Xiao Yuan stood there in silence for a long time.
In his lifetime, he had seen too many people kneel before him.
People in the palace knelt because of his status.
People in the imperial court knelt because of his power.
But the people before him were different.
They were kneeling simply out of gratitude.
Nothing more.
Xia Lanshi sat inside the carriage, watching the scene outside through the half-raised curtain.
After a long while, he quietly withdrew his gaze.
Chi Banyue sat opposite him. Rarely did she make no jokes. Instead, she said softly, “If Zhou Jin could see this scene today, he would probably be so angry that he’d crawl out of his coffin.”
Xia Lanshi gave a faint smile.
“That is true.”
Chi Banyue propped her chin on her hand and looked at the commoners outside.
“Actually, I never understood before why His Highness always insists on doing these thankless things.”
Xia Lanshi said nothing, because he knew the answer.
Power could make people fear and respect you, but only the hearts of the people could make them follow you.
And what Xiao Yuan wanted had never been merely the imperial throne.
Half an hour later, the convoy finally left Linzhou.
The long journey toward the northern border had officially begun.
◆◇◆◇◆
On the first day after leaving Linzhou, Xia Lanshi began to understand what the “Longshi Health Plan” truly meant.
At first, he had not taken it seriously. After all, it was merely a health-restoration plan.
But very soon, he discovered that he was wrong.
And spectacularly wrong.
Around noon, when the carriage was traveling along the road, Xia Lanshi had just taken a northern-border military report from beside him. He had not even opened the first page when a hand reached over.
The next moment, the military report disappeared.
Xia Lanshi raised his head.
Chi Banyue was smiling as she tucked the military report into her sleeve.
“Miss Banyue.”
Chi Banyue’s smile remained unchanged.
“Doctor Su says you are not allowed to handle official business for more than two shichen a day.”
“I was only going to take a look.”
“The sentence patients say most often is exactly that.”
Xia Lanshi fell silent.
The words sounded familiar. Clearly, Su Muchen had written them into the plan.
He reached out his hand.
Chi Banyue hid the military report farther behind her.
He reached out again.
Chi Banyue simply leaned her entire body backward.
The two silently confronted each other for a moment.
In the end, Xia Lanshi withdrew his hand first, because he knew there was no point arguing.
Chi Banyue had Su Muchen behind her, and Su Muchen had Xiao Yuan behind him.
There had been no chance of winning this battle from the very beginning.
But things were not over yet.
A moment later, Chi Banyue took out another strangely packaged object. It was wrapped in a layer of something soft and silvery.
“Drink it.”
Xia Lanshi looked at the thing, his brows slightly furrowing.
“What is this?”
“Nutritional drink.”
“…”
Chi Banyue added, “Doctor Su specifically instructed me to give it to you.”
Xia Lanshi made one final attempt to resist.
“I’m not hungry.”
Chi Banyue immediately opened the small booklet beside her.
“If Xia Lanshi says he isn’t hungry, isn’t thirsty, or isn’t tired, it is to be treated as an invalid response.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
He suddenly very much wanted to know just how many things Su Muchen had written in Chi Banyue’s copy of the plan.
◆◇◆◇◆
Two days later, the convoy finally arrived outside Hanchuan City.
The sky was so gloomy that it seemed as though it might press down upon people’s heads. Lead-gray clouds hung low over the horizon, while wind and snow swept in from the north, each gust more biting than the last. Snowflakes struck the carriage walls and armor with a fine, rapid sound, like countless needles falling.
The closer they came to the depths of the northern border, the more horrifying the scenery became.
They saw houses crushed beneath the heavy snow, with half of the roof beams buried beneath it and frozen scraps of cloth hanging outside the doors, so ruined that it was impossible to tell that anyone had once lived there.
They also saw livestock lying dead beside the road, their bodies covered by a thin layer of snow, their limbs stiffly curled against the cold wind.
More than anything else, they saw commoners fleeing with their families.
These people were even quieter than the refugees outside Linzhou City.
At least the refugees in Linzhou could still cry, shout, and kneel to beg for a bowl of porridge.
But here, even the strength to ask for help seemed to have been scraped away by the wind and snow.
Wrapped in worn-out padded clothing, carrying children and supporting the elderly, they walked step by step through the snow. Their eyes were empty, as though they no longer even knew where they were going.
Some people saw the banner of Prince Su, but did not immediately kneel or cry out for help.
They merely raised their eyes numbly, glanced once, and quickly lowered their heads again.
As though hope had already been exhausted.
Chi Banyue sat inside the carriage and, unusually, said nothing. Through the gap in the curtain, she watched those people outside. Her fingers slowly tightened, and even the smile she usually wore had faded.
Xia Lanshi wore a thick cloak, his complexion still pale. After watching for a while, he coughed softly twice, his voice mostly swallowed by the wind and snow.
“It’s worse than Linzhou.”
Xiao Yuan did not answer.
He sat inside the carriage, his expression as cold as the snow outside. Yet his eyes were not entirely without emotion. All those emotions had merely been suppressed in the deepest part of him, like dark currents surging beneath a layer of ice.
When the outline of Hanchuan City finally appeared through the snowstorm, no one felt the slightest relief at having reached their destination.
Because the city was too quiet.
The towering city walls were covered in a layer of gray-white snow. The flags had frozen stiff against their poles, almost completely unable to flutter. The city gates were half-open, but there were no commoners lining up to enter, no merchant caravans, and no sounds of vendors or bustling crowds.
Even the shouts of the guards stationed at the gates could not be heard.
The entire city seemed to have had its voice swallowed by the wind and snow.
Xiao Yuan’s gaze gradually darkened.
Xia Lanshi also sensed something strange. He raised a hand and lifted the carriage curtain. The icy wind rushing toward him made his brows knit slightly, but he did not lower the curtain. He merely stared quietly at the deathly silent city.
A moment later, his gaze suddenly stopped.
“Your Highness.”
Xiao Yuan followed his line of sight.
In the snowy ground before the city gate, there seemed to be a blurry mass.
As the procession slowly approached and the wind and snow dispersed slightly, everyone finally saw that it was a person.
A person who had already frozen to death.
Snow covered his shoulders and hair. Frost had formed over his brows and lashes, and his body lay stiffly curled on the ground, like a stone abandoned outside the city gates.
Judging from his clothing, he was probably an ordinary commoner. His clothes were worn and tattered, the soles of his shoes had been worn through, and he was still tightly clutching an empty cloth bag in his hand.
He had fallen less than ten zhang from the city gate.
Ten zhang.
He had been only that little distance away.
Perhaps he could have entered the city.
Perhaps he could have begged for a bowl of hot soup.
Perhaps he could have taken shelter from the wind and snow beneath the city wall.
But in the end, he never made it.
The sound of hooves gradually stopped.
The entire procession fell into a heavy silence.
No one spoke.
Even the warhorses seemed to sense something. They uneasily pawed at the snow, their breath turning into white mist in the cold wind.
Xiao Yuan stepped down from the carriage.
He did not immediately walk toward the city gate. Instead, he stopped before the frozen corpse.
Snow fell upon his shoulders, quickly melting into tiny wet marks before being chilled by the cold wind.
He lowered his head and looked at the man’s tightly clenched hand.
His gaze was so heavy that not even a trace of light remained within it.
Chi Banyue also climbed down from the carriage and stood behind him, her expression turning cold as well.
Xia Lanshi was helped down by the guards. After walking only a few steps, he began to breathe slightly heavily.
He looked at the corpse, his fingers slowly tightening inside his sleeves.
After a long time, he finally said quietly, “If there is still grain in the city, a person should not have died outside the city gates.”
The sentence was very soft.
Yet it was like a nail, ruthlessly driven into everyone’s hearts.
Xiao Yuan immediately ordered his men to bury the dead.
Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly came from inside the half-open city gate.
A squad of guards rushed out from within.
The leading officer was covered in wind and snow, ice crusted over his armor, and his eyes were bloodshot, as though he had not properly closed his eyes in many days.
He had been forcing himself to hold on.
But the instant he saw the banner of Prince Su, it was as though he could finally no longer support himself.
He fell heavily to his knees in the snow.
“Your Highness…”
His voice was so hoarse that it was almost incomprehensible.
Several guards behind him also knelt.
When some of them lowered their heads, their shoulders trembled faintly.
Not because of the cold.
It was the despair they had suppressed for too long finally seeing a glimmer of hope, nearly causing it to break apart completely.
Xiao Yuan stood in the wind and snow, his voice low and deep.
“Where is the commander of Hanchuan?”
The officer’s Adam’s apple moved several times, as though there were countless things he wanted to say.
But when they reached his lips, only the heaviest sentence remained.
“This subordinate is Qin Feng, Deputy General of Hanchuan. The commanding general contracted the epidemic three days ago. His fever has not subsided, and he is now unable to attend to military affairs.”
Xiao Yuan’s eyes darkened.
Qin Feng heavily knocked his forehead against the ground, his voice trembling despite his efforts to suppress it.
“Your Highness, Hanchuan City’s granaries are running out. The commoners in the city and the soldiers in the army have already had their rations reduced for many days. There is very little medicine left as well. If this continues…”
He paused.
As though merely saying the next sentence required him to use every ounce of strength he possessed.
“We can hold out for five days at most.”
The northern wind howled past, making the frozen flag above the city gate emit a faint cracking sound.
Xiao Yuan did not speak immediately.
He raised his eyes toward Hanchuan City.
The city stood silently in the wind and snow, like a wounded beast that still refused to fall.
Behind those walls were the sick, starving commoners, soldiers waiting in vain for reinforcements, and countless pairs of eyes that were on the verge of going out.
Linzhou had been a warning.
But Hanchuan was the true northern border.
Xiao Yuan slowly tightened his hand around the hilt of his sword.
His voice was calm to the point of being chilling.
“Open the gates.”
Qin Feng abruptly raised his head.
Xiao Yuan looked at him and spoke word by word.
“Now that this prince has arrived, Hanchuan is not yet at the point of death.”
In the wind and snow, Qin Feng’s eyes suddenly reddened.
He bowed down again, knocking his head against the ground.
His voice was hoarse.
“This subordinate respectfully welcomes His Highness Prince Su into the city.”
Far in the distance, dark clouds hung low, while the cold wind carried snow mist across the city walls.
The true northern border had finally revealed its most brutal face to them.