Chapter 311: Chapter 216:
Bianzhou.
The chill in this small Southern town had not dissipated at all just after the Lantern Festival. With half a month’s rain, the damp cold felt as if it could seep into the bones.
Xie Wanqing had settled here, pausing her travels for more than half a month.
It was here that she heard the news coming from the North.
—The Prince Zhenbei, stationed at the Northern Border and having achieved consecutive victories, forcing the Jin Thief back to their lair, had suffered a recurrence of his old wounds and was in critical condition.
The common people of the Great Khan, even those farmers scraping a living from the land, would listen attentively to the news of the frontier battles. While they might not know much about Lu Ziyuan, his name was indeed well-known.
Almost everyone was discussing this matter.
As a result, Xie Wanqing did not need to make any special inquiries to hear the widespread rumors.
Since the news had passed through many mouths, with various versions, Xie Wanqing, as someone involved, culled and trimmed the information enough to make sense.
The Prince Zhenbei had a fiancée he cherished dearly. They had been childhood sweethearts with a long-standing affection and were close to getting married.
However, the young lady had an accident while traveling, suspected of having fallen into Dayang Lake, neither alive nor with her body found.
This invincible and accomplished young General lost his beloved, leading to a recurrence of his old wounds, and he coughed up blood, fainting on the spot.
The rumors that followed were even more outrageous.
Some said that after Lu Ziyuan fainted, he never woke up, the Empire’s star was in critical condition and about to fall.
Others said that Lu Ziyuan went berserk on the spot, angrily beheading dozens of officials in Lu Zhou in a bloody rampage.
There were even claims that Lu Ziyuan was coughing up blood non-stop and his hair turned white overnight.
Xie Wanqing couldn’t believe any of it.
Although she had seen Lu Ziyuan cough up blood a few times, it was under the extreme circumstance of being provoked by her; otherwise, he showed no signs of abnormality.
He led troops into battle, fought enemies, and was always victorious.
Moreover, she had personally experienced how robust and vigorous he was.
Any notion of him being severely injured or near death, Xie Wanqing did not believe it at all.
In fact, she even grew suspicious of how such news could spread so widely.
Who was Lu Ziyuan?
He was the commander guarding the border, achieving great victories over the Jin Thief.
In the people’s hearts, the Emperor might not even hold as much prestige as he did.
If something happened to him, it would not only greatly diminish the morale of the frontier soldiers but also further destabilize the already bandit-infested Great Khan realm.
If he was truly in critical condition, the news would be completely suppressed, just like in a previous life, and not a hint of it would be allowed to leak.
But now, this news could spread from the border to this Southern town within a month...
This fundamentally defied logic.
Thinking of this, Xie Wanqing slowly let out a breath.
When she had just heard the news of Lu Ziyuan’s imminent death, her heart seemed to be gripped tightly by a large hand, kneaded and struck hard, leaving her mind blank and momentarily forgetting to breathe.
It was a reflex of her body; she had no intention of resisting.
Fortunately...
This news was probably released deliberately by Lu Ziyuan.
If she hadn’t died at the bottom of Dayang Lake and was still alive, she would definitely go to see him knowing he was severely injured and dying.
It must be so!
Xie Wanqing thought to raise her hand to wipe her face, only to find her fingers trembling.
It was a lingering fear.
Even understanding this was Lu Ziyuan’s scheme, the instinctive fear she felt was real, though rationality had dispelled it, leaving an aftertaste of terror.
She was indeed terrified of Lu Ziyuan dying.
