After Lin Zhiji said this, he did not immediately hear 03 respond.
03 seemed to pause for a moment, then laughed dryly: 【……Haha, what are you talking about?】
Lin Zhiji frowned. Something about its reaction felt strange.
At that moment, a burst of cheers rang out.
03 suddenly went silent.
Lin Zhiji realized something and stood up to look toward the city gate, where he saw Xie Yi riding a horse, surrounded by soldiers and welcomed by the crowd.
From what people around him said, the Jie tribe had attempted a sneak attack but failed. Xie Yi seized the opportunity and defeated their main force, forcing them into retreat.
Unfortunately, given Xie Yi’s current status, he could only defend and counterattack; without imperial orders, he could not pursue them, otherwise he could have directly struck their capital.
Xie Yi did not feel regret.
The Jie tribe was not particularly strong to begin with; otherwise, they would not have relied on the Gu family to secretly operate in the shadows.
Now that the Gu family had been destroyed and their carefully maintained horse ranch taken by him, combined with this defeat, they were already severely weakened and could no longer threaten Qingzhou.
As he thought, his gaze unconsciously swept through the crowd—and immediately found Lin Zhiji.
He turned his horse toward him, and the crowd naturally parted to make way.
Before Lin Zhiji could react, he was pulled up onto the horse.
The hard armor pressed against his back, and a scent of blood mixed with wind and dust rushed over him.
Lin Zhiji jolted backward in anger, but a muffled groan came from behind him, and he panicked at once: “You’re injured?”
He had originally thought that the blood and iron smell came from the enemy. But seeing Xie Yi’s reaction like this, could it be from him?
So, when they arrived at the residence—
As soon as the two dismounted and returned to the room, Lin Zhiji urgently reached out to remove Xie Yi’s armor.
Xie Yi let out a light laugh. “No wonder they say a brief separation is better than a newlywed marriage. Zhiji, your enthusiasm is truly surprising!”
Lin Zhiji said both angry and anxious, “This is not the time for jokes!”
Xie Yi lazily spread his arms, letting him take off the armor. Piece by piece, the clothing followed, until a strong, lean body was revealed.
Lin Zhiji circled him two or three times but found no wound. Only then did he realize he had been tricked. Furious, he turned to leave.
But in the next moment, an arm blocked his waist.
Xie Yi effortlessly pulled him into his embrace and, ignoring his struggle, kissed him.
The kiss was deep and heavy.
As if in that moment, he wanted to pour all his longing from the past days into it.
Lin Zhiji was both angry at being teased and breathless from the kiss, scratching red marks across Xie Yi’s bare body without restraint.
Yet this did not stop Xie Yi—instead, it only made him more excited.
Although it was already autumn, Lin Zhiji still broke into a full sweat, weakly leaning against Xie Yi’s shoulder.
Then he was lifted again, carried around the screen where a wooden bathtub had already been prepared, warm steam rising.
Realizing Xie Yi was undoing his belt, his face flushed instantly as he grabbed his hand. “N-no, a mandarin duck bath is too much……”
“I originally just saw you sweating and wanted to help you wash,” Xie Yi said with a faintly innocent smile. “But since you want a mandarin duck bath, I shall oblige.”
“I didn’t—mmph…”
Sticky water sounds echoed through the room, soon drowned out by even more intense waves.
……
Xie Yi lifted the drowsy Lin Zhiji out of the now-cool water, dried him personally, changed him into clean clothes, and placed him carefully into the bed.
But he treated himself far more roughly—simply dried off, threw on a robe, and went to the study.
Luo Zhitang had already delivered the latest secret reports.
Xie Yi glanced through them casually; they matched his expectations. Rebellions were spreading everywhere, and the emperor had finally yielded.
The imperial envoy granting him rewards was already on the way.
Xie Yi asked indifferently, “How is Liang Wenxu now?”
Luo Zhitang replied, “Still resting at the Yucheng post station. My lord, should we……”
Now that the dust had settled, Liang Wenxu’s life or death no longer mattered. There were many ways to make him disappear quietly.
Xie Yi was silent for a moment. “Leave him be.”
If it were before, he would never have spared someone who betrayed him.
But now, he no longer cared so much.
Liang Wenxu could no longer affect anything.
—
In the end, Liang Wenxu refused to accept defeat. Once his body slightly recovered, he forced himself onto the road toward Qingzhou.
Along the way, he lifted the carriage curtain and saw locust devastation all around Yucheng.
But once the carriage entered Qingzhou, everything changed entirely.
In the fields, bean seedlings grew lush and abundant. Commoners worked together in nearly every household to catch the remaining locusts.
The captured locusts were placed into straw bags and handed to officials to be recorded in exchange for salt.
Bonfires burned in open spaces, and officials threw collected locusts into the flames.
Noisy and chaotic—but full of life.
Far better than the dead silence outside Yucheng.
Liang Wenxu, once a regional governor, immediately understood: Qingzhou’s ruler had long prepared for the locust disaster. These measures were not something that could be achieved overnight.
This only confirmed his suspicions.
He closed his eyes, gripping the carriage window so tightly his nails dug into the wood.
His attendant asked worriedly, “My lord, are we still entering Qingzhou City?”
“Enter!” Liang Wenxu said through gritted teeth.
He had to see Xie Yi with his own eyes.
But after entering the city, he saw another imperial envoy delivering a decree: Xie Yi was being promoted to Qingzhou Commandant and General of Pacifying the West, along with countless rewards.
Not only were all previous honors restored, they were even increased.
Liang Wenxu’s expression darkened.
He had to admit—he had lost.
From the moment his men were struck by illness, no, from the moment he failed to anticipate the locust disaster, he had already lost to Xie Yi.
Lost to this cousin he had once completely looked down upon.
Since childhood, Liang Wenxu had been competitive. After his mother’s divorce, his father feared his maternal uncle’s power and did not dare keep him.
On the surface, he was the general’s household young master, but he knew he was merely living under someone else’s roof.
He liked acting generous and magnanimous, letting crumbs fall through his fingers so servants would be grateful and worshipful.
Or deliberately causing mistakes so he could appear as the benevolent savior.
Especially Xie Yi.
He was clearly his uncle’s biological son, yet worse than a servant.
Though Xie Yi was always expressionless and gloomy, Liang Wenxu didn’t mind—the status alone gave him satisfaction.
So he treated Xie Yi “well,” even occasionally “helping” him rise.
But that did not mean he could tolerate Xie Yi surpassing him.
That was worse than death.
His usual gentle expression could no longer be maintained; hatred filled his eyes.
At that moment, Xie Yi seemed to sense something and shot a glance in that direction.
But the crowd was too dense; he found nothing.
Lin Zhiji asked softly, “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Xie Yi replied.
The envoy continued reading the decree and leaned in, smiling: “General Xie, this honor is thanks to Prince Qi……”
Xie Yi returned his attention and responded casually.
Behind them, a carriage quietly left Qingzhou.
—
Spring came after autumn.
Since last year, rebellions erupted continuously across the land. Wherever one was suppressed, another rose like wildfire, impossible to control.
In contrast, Qingzhou prospered like a paradise.
Many displaced people from nearby regions secretly brought their families into Qingzhou, and Xie Yi accepted them all.
If it were peacetime, this would have drawn accusations. But now the court was overwhelmed and had no time for such matters.
Lin Zhiji boldly opened workshops in Qingzhou.
At first, it was just something to do and to help absorb refugees.
But later it became interesting, as if leaving his mark on this unfamiliar world.
Glass, soap, cement—the classic “transmigrator trio.”
One day, after returning from the glass workshop, he was called to the study.
To his surprise, not only Xie Yi was there—Luo Zhitang, Song Lü, and others were also present.
He immediately sensed something serious.
Xie Yi handed him a secret letter.
It said Liang Wenxu had defected to the Crown Prince and advised him to assign Xie Yi as Governor of Jiangnan. The emperor had approved.
Lin Zhiji was shocked and furious.
He knew Jiangnan’s situation well—seemingly peaceful, but in reality a deadly swamp. Two successive governors had already died under mysterious circumstances.
Compared to chaotic rebellion zones, Jiangnan was even more dangerous.
And at this moment, forcing Xie Yi there was clearly a trap.
Luo Zhitang said solemnly, “The court wants us and Jiangnan to exhaust each other while they profit.”
Song Lü was so angry his teeth itched.
Xie Yi remained calm.
This was not unexpected.
Even without Liang Wenxu, someone else would eventually suggest it.
When he saw Jiangnan’s situation earlier, he had already prepared to go.
Risks meant nothing.
Opportunity always lay within danger.
He had once spared Liang Wenxu, but since he refused to cherish it, he would simply take his life back.
Lin Zhiji misunderstood his silence and squeezed his hand under the table. “It’s okay. Don’t be sad. You spared him out of righteousness—he’s the one who betrayed you……”
Xie Yi raised a brow.
Lin Zhiji gritted his teeth. “It’s just Jiangnan! I’ll go with you!”
Xie Yi tightened his grip on his hand. “Alright.”
Because of that sentence, Liang Wenxu’s life was temporarily spared.