Only Wu Guozhong stood there unharmed. At this point, how could Ouyang Chenxi not understand?
"Why? Why would you do this?" Ouyang Chenxi plunged his sword into the ground, propping himself up, and weakly asked.
"As long as you were at the border, I would never have a chance to rise. Moreover, given our many years of friendship, you never seemed to trust me much. Every time I offered a suggestion, you would send someone to investigate. It's clear you were always guarding against me." Wu Guozhong looked at his weakened state with a sense of satisfaction. Hadn't he been arrogant and bossy in front of him for so many years? And now this?
"That was my prudence, not directed at you alone. Besides, if I didn't trust you, would I have come with you? You've betrayed the court and the Emperor. Have you considered the consequences? Treason is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations." Ouyang Chenxi shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind. He felt he could barely hold on and wanted to salvage something before collapsing, making an effort to persuade him.
"If you're gone, no one will know. I'll make up a story, making everyone believe you're dead. With our relationship, they'll only listen to me from now on." As he spoke, Wu Guozhong couldn't help but burst into laughter. The mountain that had been pressing down on him was finally removed.
Ouyang Chenxi reached out, summoning all his strength, wanting to say something. But the words wouldn't come out, and he slumped to the ground, falling into darkness, filled with regret.
When he woke up again, he found himself in an iron cage. Periodically, a Xiongnu would come to persuade him, but no matter what they said, he refused to surrender.
He didn't know how many days he spent in that dark and suffocating room until one day, a group of people entered and asked him one last time if he was willing to surrender. He still shook his head firmly.
As they approached him with a knife, he closed his eyes. He had long expected this outcome and was remarkably calm.
The pain from his hands and feet made him break out in a cold sweat, and he eventually passed out from the agony. When he woke up again, his body had been replaced. Not long after, he was pushed onto the battlefield. The moment he arrived, he realized that many others had suffered the same fate as him over the years.
After hearing his account, the governor sighed with sympathy, "When you left, it was about five or six days later that Wu Guozhong rode back alone, claiming he had sprained his leg and couldn't walk. A few days later, news of your disappearance came, and he cried so mournfully, trying to go find you with his injured leg, but was stopped by the soldiers. He then lived in self-reproach."
Although he didn't elaborate further, Ouyang Chenxi could imagine that everyone kept comforting him, and he gradually gained people's trust and rose to power.
Understanding the full story, the governor quickly took his leave, intending to inform the Emperor. If their suspicions were correct, Wu Guozhong might be fighting a neighboring country in the south. With a traitor like him, it posed an extreme danger to the Heavenly Dynasty, like a sword hanging over their heads.
As Wu Caiwei had predicted, the enemy continued to provoke them, trying to enrage them into a major battle. They specifically sent several groups of people to curse below the city walls every day.
Others didn't mind; they could be cursed at freely, as it wouldn't hurt them. Their main objective now was to defend the city. But Liu Da Niu was different. He had a hot temper and, seeing the enemy call their men bastards daily, wanted to fight them to show them his prowess.
However, he remembered what his superior had told him about not acting impulsively. Every time, he told himself to ignore it, not to look. But he couldn't help himself. Seeing the enemy's curses become increasingly outrageous, he could no longer bear it and grabbed his spear, heading towards the city gate.
"General, what are you preparing to do? Our superior instructed us to stop you. We hope you won't make things difficult for us." The soldiers guarding the city gate looked at him with a headache. This task assigned to them by their superior was truly difficult. If he charged out recklessly, they would be no match for him.
"Open the city gate for me. I'll go confront them. Otherwise, do they really think we have no one left?" General Liu said indignantly.
"But our superior said, no matter what, you cannot leave. If you go out like this, won't you fall into their trap?" The guarding soldiers refused to let him pass. If something happened to him outside, they couldn't take responsibility.
"Just let me go out. I'll be back soon."
"Where are you going?"
Liu Da Niu stiffened, then immediately forced a smile and turned his head. "Master, why are you here?"
"I was just strolling around idly and saw how reckless you were. I, a calm person, do not have a disciple like you. Don't call me Master anymore." Wu Caiwei looked at him calmly. Honestly, she couldn't stand people like him, as if they had no brains.
"No, no! You are my Master. I'll listen to you. I won't go out, alright?" Liu Da Niu immediately backed down. He quickly stepped forward to admit his mistake. To him, his Master's martial arts were unfathomably profound. Even she didn't come out to face the enemy, and his own mediocre skills were not worth mentioning in front of her. He suddenly regretted his impulsiveness. Moreover, he had just received a bit of recognition from his Master and some pointers on his martial arts, which had benefited him greatly. He still hoped his Master would teach him further.
Wu Caiwei rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with him, and left. Liu Da Niu quickly followed, constantly pleading.
Seeing that their taunts were ineffective, the Xiongnu attacked several more times. Under the governor's command, everyone responded in an orderly fashion. Wu Caiwei only watched from the city walls, only stepping in to help when emergencies arose.
The enemy suffered significant losses but still couldn't do anything to them. Wu Caiwei initially thought they would endure several more waves of such surprise attacks, but unexpectedly, the Xiongnu Khan suddenly passed away, and the Crown Prince rushed to the capital overnight.
With the external threat resolved, Wu Caiwei finally had time to properly treat Ouyang Chenxi's hands and feet. Injuries to the bones and tendons take a hundred days to heal and cannot be cured overnight. However, during this period, the two were not idle and were preparing for the wedding.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Ouyang Chenxi had largely recovered. A small wedding was held, and when the veil was lifted again, they exchanged glances, everything understood between them. Sudan Novels.
After getting married, they devoted almost all their time to nurturing these children. After experiencing these events, although the governor still hadn't figured out Wu Caiwei's true intentions, he sent all the orphaned children to her without her even asking, to expand their scale.