After lunch, Liang Chengxian yearned to stay, but alas, state affairs were pressing. After seeing Liang Chengxian and his entourage off, Su Li stood idly by the window. This afternoon was the most leisurely time she had experienced in days. Yet, another matter weighed on her heart, causing her brows to furrow slightly.
Jun Mo entered to find her standing contemplatively by the window.
"Li'er." Jun Mo called out, stepping forward to embrace her.
Su Li turned, asking, "Ziyan, are things settled?"
"Everything is arranged properly. Little Chengxian has sent over Liang Shao's head and captured both Liang Wei and Liang Xuanting. We can set off tomorrow."
Su Li nodded. Jun Mo softly asked, "When I entered just now, I saw your brow was tightly furrowed. Is something on your mind?"
Su Li turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. She muffled, "Ziyan, there's still no news of your medicinal primer, and I worry about your cold poison..." It had been a year since he took the antidote pill. If they couldn't find the Thousand-Layer Frost soon, and the cold poison flared up, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jun Mo gently patted her back, comforting her, "It's alright. See, aren't I standing perfectly fine before you now? Once this matter is taken care of, I'll personally make a trip to Western Chen."
Su Li looked up, "I'm coming too."
Jun Mo smiled, "Good, we'll go together."
Su Li asked, still uneasy, "Will we go immediately after returning to Heavenly Qilin?"
Jun Mo fell silent for a moment. Su Li grew anxious, wanting to break free from his embrace to get a clear answer. Jun Mo soothed her, "Alright, we'll go as soon as we return." Only then did Su Li obediently remain in his embrace, muffling, "Ziyan, I am a healer. I know this matter is very serious and cannot be delayed. You must also take it seriously." He always prioritized others' concerns, but was ever so lax when it came to himself.
"Alright, Li'er, don't worry anymore."
How could Su Li not worry? In her previous life, he had lost the ability to walk due to the cold poison. In this life, she absolutely could not let such a thing happen!
"Ziyan, once we return to Heavenly Qilin, let's first go to the Imperial Palace for the White Ion, then set off for Western Chen to find the Thousand-Layer Frost."
Jun Mo knew the unease in her heart and quickly agreed, "Alright, everything as Li'er wishes."
Leisurely days were always fleeting, and soon it was the next morning. Early that day, the group was ready to depart.
Liang Chengxian, dressed in civilian clothes, saw them off all the way to the city gates. "Little Chengxian, hurry back. Don't see us off any further," Su Li said.
"Sister, take care!" Su Li nodded, her nose feeling a little raw. She disliked scenes of parting the most.
"Little Chengxian, you take care too."
Jun Mo watched the two, who looked as if they were about to hold hands and shed tears, and immediately stepped forward, clearing his throat. Liang Chengxian turned to him, saying, "Prince Jing, and all your great benevolence, I engrave it in my heart. In the future, if you ever need me or Southern Frontier, do not hesitate to speak."
Jun Mo nodded, "You should go back. The imperial court cannot do without you now. Don't be foolish again. If you need anything, just send a letter."
"Take care!"
"Take care!"
Jun Mo stepped forward, taking Su Li's hand. "Li'er, let's get in the carriage."
Su Li nodded and walked towards the carriage.
"Have a safe journey!"
"Farewell!" Jun Ce and the others also bid farewell to Fu Yecheng and his group.
Liang Chengxian did not withdraw his gaze until the carriage was completely out of sight.
"Little Chengxian, let's go," Fu Yecheng said softly. Liang Chengxian felt a hollow ache in his heart, a deep sense of discomfort.
"Uncle, sometimes I truly wish I were just an ordinary person."
Fu Yecheng patted his shoulder and sighed, "Little Chengxian, things in life don't always go as one wishes. Let's go. We must clean up the mess Liang Shao left behind and not disappoint your imperial father and mother."
Liang Chengxian nodded and said softly, "Let's go."
Su Li lifted the carriage curtain, looking front and back, then asked, "Where are the two surnamed Liang?"
Jun Mo said, "I had Mo Yang and the others take them ahead. We'll follow slowly."
Su Li nodded. Although Jun Mo's group traveled slowly, they arrived in Blue An on the seventh day.
In the main tent, Duke Weiguo and others looked at Jun Mo and Su Li, beaming with joy. Wei Yuanling patted Jun Mo's shoulder and said, "Impressive! Without losing a single soldier, you took Liang Shao's head and captured Liang Wei and Liang Xuanting alive."
Jun Mo smiled, "This is all thanks to Li'er. She picked up a little Southern Frontier emperor along the way. Otherwise, it would have been a tough battle indeed." If their over two hundred thousand troops had truly fought the enemy, the casualties would undoubtedly have been significant.
Duke Weiguo looked at Su Li and said, "Li'er's luck has always been good. In this great victory, you two deserve all the credit." Su Li smiled, "This is everyone's contribution. Li'er dares not claim all the glory."
Jun Mo spoke, "Hang Liang Shao's head in Shuiyong City! Tomorrow at noon, publicly execute Liang Wei and Liang Xuanting by Lingchi!"
Lan Canghai excitedly roared, "Good!" The thirty-five thousand Southern Frontier troops who had sacked the city were mostly left in Shuiyong City. Now, killing Liang Xuanting and Liang Wei would be their vengeance. However, the tens of thousands of common people in Shuiyong City could never be brought back to life. He hoped their souls in heaven could witness this scene!
...
The next day, noon.
Battle flags fluttered, and drums thundered. Liang Wei and Liang Xuanting, disheveled and battered, were escorted to the high platform. All the generals and soldiers glared at them with hatred.
The two looked at the scene. Liang Wei seemed composed enough, but Liang Xuanting's face was filled with terror. He looked in Jun Mo's direction and loudly begged for mercy.
"Jun Mo, Jun Mo! Prince Jing! I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Please spare me. If you let me go, I will make my imperial father turn Southern Frontier into a subsidiary state of Heavenly Qilin!"
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
"Imperial Father! Imperial Father!"
Su Li watched the crying man on the platform from afar, frowning slightly. Back then, when this man, unable to achieve marriage through proper means, resorted to kidnapping, she had vaguely felt that the rumors about him might be unreliable. She never expected him to be so weak. Had Liang Wei not told him the truth that he wasn't Liang Shao's biological son? Besides, Liang Shao was already gone.
No one paid him any mind, letting him cry hysterically on the execution platform. He didn't consider: if not for them, would this war have happened? Would tens of thousands of common people in Shuiyong City have perished? How could their hatred be quenched without killing a few of them?
Wei Yuanling felt that to kill someone, one must first break their spirit. He slowly walked out, looking at the wailing Liang Xuanting and the defeated Liang Wei.
"Liang Xuanting, don't you know? You're nothing but a bastard born in the shadows! Your biological father is kneeling right beside you, the very uncle you've called 'uncle' for decades!"
"And don't expect Liang Shao to come save you. Liang Shao's head is already hanging on the city wall of Shuiyong City, ahead of you! Soon, you'll meet him underground!"
Liang Xuanting shrieked, "Impossible! You're lying!! My father is Liang Shao! The King of Southern Frontier! How could he die!" All this time, he had regarded Liang Shao as a towering tree. At first, when Liang Wei said he wasn't Liang Shao's child, he had furiously cursed him.
Now, hearing it mentioned again, he frantically looked around. He saw everyone looking at him with either hatred or disdain. He was the Young Prince of Southern Frontier, the future emperor of Southern Frontier! These people were all lying to him; his imperial father would surely come to save him! The more he thought this, the more terrified he became.
"It is noon! Proceed with the Lingchi execution!" So many lives in Shuiyong City, taking only their two lives was too lenient. Only Lingchi could comfort the departed souls.
Jun Mo stepped forward, blocking Su Li's gaze. "Li'er, there's nothing good to see from the execution. Let's go back first."
Su Li nodded and walked down from the platform with Jun Mo. Screams of agony echoed, voices like evil spirits from hell, chilling the heart. Jun Mo held her hand and quickened his pace.
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