Chapter 238: Hello Chang’an
Chapter 238: Chang Kuo Must Die
A woman had come, accompanied by her maid.
The woman wore a black cloak, plain and unadorned. Beneath it was white mourning attire, and her gray-white hair was coiled into a bun, fastened only with a pair of plain white jade hairpins.
Chang Suining was somewhat surprised as she approached. “Madam Lou.”
The Yun family matron’s maiden name was Lou.
Lou Shi still bore traces of illness on her face. Her gaze toward Chang Suining was gentle. She nodded, prompting Chang Suining to say, “It is already late at night. Madam, your health has not fully recovered. You should rest early.”
“It is late, yet Young Miss Chang has just returned to rest,” Lou Shi replied, her eyes showing gratitude and some embarrassment.
Chang Suining asked, “Madam knows me?”
“Your reputation is thunderous; how could I not know?” Lou Shi said. “Even though I am in Hezhou, every deed of Young Miss Chang in the capital has reached my ears.”
She herself did not strictly adhere to worldly proprieties; she always paid attention to remarkable or unusual deeds by women.
So when her second son first mentioned the name “Chang Suining,” she was utterly surprised, but not unfamiliar.
Hearing “thunderous reputation,” Chang Suining only smiled lightly and asked, “Did Madam wait here specifically for me?”
“Yes, but not for long,” Lou Shi replied honestly. “Knowing Young Miss Chang has been busy these days, returning home only at this hour, I timed my visit accordingly.”
“Then please, Madam, come inside and speak.”
Lou Shi nodded and entered the courtyard with Chang Suining, instructing her maid to prepare hot tea.
Once inside the hall, Lou Shi did not immediately sit. Instead, she bowed to Chang Suining. “I have come to thank you. My third son, Yun Gui, has regained consciousness.”
Chang Suining felt relief. The critical moment of life and death had been survived.
“It was entirely thanks to Young Miss Chang’s life-saving medicine that my son was spared.”
“It was nothing. As long as Third Young Master survived, that is enough,” Chang Suining replied.
That bottle of medicine had been prepared by her before leaving the capital, with physician Sun’s help. It was designed to stop bleeding rapidly in cases of severe injury—essential for anyone seeking revenge or engaging in battle.
Although she had only brought one bottle, physician Sun had also given her the prescription. She had handed it to Yun Hui, and the city’s pharmacies had been instructed to produce it in bulk for distribution.
One pill could save a life in critical moments—a merit entirely due to physician Sun.
“I also heard from Yun Hui that General Chang and Young Miss Chang, on their way to Hezhou, realized that no reinforcements would follow, yet still risked themselves to aid the city…” Lou Shi bowed again. “This great benevolence will never be forgotten by the Yun family or the citizens of Hezhou.”
This was no longer about orders or positions, only about strangers risking themselves to aid others.
Lou Shi’s eyes glistened with gratitude. “This is the fortune of my family and our city.”
“How could it be mere fortune?” Chang Suining said. “It is because Prefect Yun, Madam, and the three young masters all possess a righteous spirit. Those who walk the path of virtue naturally do not walk alone.”
She continued, “I came with my father, and the unity of Hezhou’s citizens is due to having a capable Prefect, a worthy Prefect’s wife, and young masters they can trust with their lives.”
In Chang Suining’s eyes, the direction of human hearts was never governed by luck.
Just as the fall of dynasties and emperors was never accidental; all events had their signs in advance.
Hearing “those who walk the path of virtue naturally do not walk alone,” Lou Shi’s eyes reddened. “Hezhou is our home and sanctuary. We defend it for our family and city, yet General Chang and Young Miss Chang truly embody the path of virtue.”
Chang Suining held her cup of hot tea and smiled. “Now we are all in the same boat; there is no need to distinguish between us.”
Lou Shi smiled, too, understanding that even though this little boat remained buffeted by storms, as the girl said, they were not alone.
“Madam, did you also study martial arts?” Chang Suining asked, curious, trying to avoid heavy topics.
“Not formally,” Lou Shi replied. “But my father was a frontier military officer. I grew up by his side, learning some archery, riding, and martial arts when he had time.”
She smiled as she continued: “My husband and I were betrothed as children. My father said that if he ever treated me poorly, I could beat him into submission. And if I failed, I could ride home, carry my father, and have him teach my husband a lesson.”
Unfortunately, her father passed away early.
But her husband treated her well, so she never had to use her skills.
Later, with her sons, she thought she might have a chance to use them—but her three sons all inherited their father’s compliant nature.
Her eldest son, especially, had grown to embody the gentlemanly spirit. At eighteen, his marriage was arranged, and all plans for his future had been set—until Xu Zhengye’s uprising stopped everything, shattering it all.
She never imagined that the martial skills she had learned as a child would find their ultimate use on the battlefield.
Chang Suining, not skilled in comforting, only whispered, “Madam, may you find peace in your grief.”
Lou Shi nodded lightly.
It would be fine—perhaps she would soon see her husband and eldest son again.
That day, when she had held their bodies, she had said they would go first. Once her duties were fulfilled, she would join them.
Not wishing the girl before her to trouble herself with consolation, she changed the topic, praising sincerely: “I had heard of Young Miss Chang’s talent, but I did not expect her to be so formidable on the battlefield.”
Moreover, she knew that many recent decisions and measures in the city bore the girl’s imprint.
At this moment, voices and footsteps approached from outside the hall.
It was Chang Kuo, accompanied by Yun Hui returning him.
Yun Hui was slightly surprised to see his mother here.
Lou Shi bowed to Chang Kuo, thanked him solemnly, then smiled: “…I was just saying, General Chang’s way of raising his daughter is remarkable. I am genuinely curious how he managed to raise such an outstanding young lady.”
Chang Kuo stroked his beard, smiling silently.
The truth was, even he did not know exactly how she had turned out so capable; it had mostly been a matter of happenstance.
If he had to explain, he would have said: “All natural. Just raised her casually…”
Lou Shi could not help laughing. “Even raised casually, she is outstanding. If not casual… how could that be?”
Yun Hui, listening, could not understand why his mother kept discussing someone not present. And why did she keep looking at General Chang?
Lou Shi did not linger. “General Chang and Young Miss Chang have worked hard all day. Please rest early. Yun Hui and I shall not disturb you further.”
Yun Hui: “…?”
Chang Kuo nodded. “Madam Lou, take care.”
Yun Hui wanted to ask, but could only follow his mother and bow before leaving the courtyard. Once outside, he could not contain his curiosity: “…Mother, the Young Miss Chang you kept mentioning just now—where is she?”
Lou Shi paused, then looked at her son seriously, placing a hand on his forehead.
Yun Hui: “…Mother?”
“Yun Hui, tell me, is your mind muddled or are your eyes failing you?” Lou Shi asked with concern.
“Your son is fine!”
The maid, equally serious, added: “Then… Young Miss Chang has been standing in the hall all along. How is it that young master cannot see her?”
Could he have brought something unclean from the battlefield affecting his mind?
The same thought crossed Yun Hui’s mind. He stared at his mother and maid, equally puzzled.
The maid, impatient, suggested testing him by bending his middle finger—an old method from her hometown to see if someone was possessed.
Lou Shi gestured for her to wait. She asked her son carefully: “Besides you, General Chang, and me, was there anyone else in the hall?”
“Of course, Chang Langjun was there!” Yun Hui replied, confused by the question.
Lou Shi finally realized.
The strangeness was not supernatural—it was in her son’s mind.
The maid suddenly understood and burst out laughing: “Where is this Chang Langjun? That is Miss Chang!”
Lou Shi sighed: “So when you mentioned this person today as ‘Chang Langjun,’ it was not to conceal her identity from the servant. You truly did not know she was a girl!”
Yun Hui felt as if struck by lightning; his mind could not immediately process it.
He stood there, frozen like a block of wood.
Lou Shi sighed: “Had I not already told you? She is called Chang Suining.”
Yun Hui finally found his voice: “…General Chang’s son is named Chang Suian, isn’t he?”
“General Chang’s son is Chang Suian,” Lou Shi said, embarrassed. “The girl is called Chang Suining.”
Yun Hui stiffly turned his neck to look at the courtyard.
He had heard of the Chang family girl’s deeds but had never memorized her full name. Seeing her dressed as a young soldier had led him to assume she was male.
From the start, he had been mistaken.
“But…” he could not accept the “revelation.” “A girl… how is it possible…”
The one so courageous, wise, and composed, making him feel inadequate the longer he was around—was actually a girl?
Silence followed all the way back. Yun Hui’s inner turmoil was louder than a thousand cicadas screaming.
After seeing his mother safely back to the residence, he reflected on his behavior these past few days in front of the Chang family and wondered—did he look foolish?
Yet he dared not ask.
Even as he returned, half the cicadas had fallen silent, but the remaining five hundred still clamorously filled his mind.
…
Hezhou continued preparing day and night for the enemy’s return.
…
In Xu Zhengye’s camp, the commander received a secret letter from Li Yi.
Li Yi expressed his desire to cooperate with him.
The officers were invigorated.
“If Li Yi joins, that is excellent!”
“This coward finally understands!”
“He has suffered so many defeats; better to ally than perish…”
“With Li Yi, the general’s strength is greatly increased”—though this referred only to Li Yi’s troops, not Li Yi himself.
Xu Zhengye smiled, holding the letter: Initially, Li Yi was made commander only for his royal lineage and to leverage his father, the Prince of Huainan.
Who could have foreseen that the Prince would die at this crucial moment?
And Li Yi, though timid, could have ambition.
The commander’s adjutant, Ge Zong, focused on another point: “…Forget the supposed 100,000 troops. Chang Kuo is bluffing!”
Recent investigations confirmed Chang Kuo’s ten-thousand reinforcements were largely a ruse, and Li Yi’s letter validated it. No doubt remained.
Ge Zong immediately knelt: “Permit me to lead the troops to attack, kill Chang Kuo, and take Hezhou to redeem my honor!”
He would personally avenge past humiliation and punish the little cavalryman who ruined his reputation.
Luo Guanlin interjected: “Chang Kuo is a rare talent. If spared, he could be of great use to the general in the future.”
Ge Zong sneered: “A cripple, that’s all he is!”
Xu Zhengye sighed: “Chang Kuo is stubborn; he likely will not submit to me.”
Luo Guanlin: “Perhaps, but after the Chang family was wronged in the capital, there is friction with him. If the general treats him sincerely, perhaps he can be persuaded…”
Ge Zong frowned to speak again, but Xu Zhengye shook his head.
“Li Yi’s intentions are clear: he wants me to eliminate Chang Kuo. Without that, cooperation cannot truly proceed.”
He seemed regretful but said: “Thus, Chang Kuo must die.”
He needed Li Yi’s forces and to use him as leverage to gain wider support.
Luo Guanlin: “But…”
Xu Zhengye raised a hand to stop him. “Enough.”
He looked at Ge Zong kneeling: “Assemble the troops. Attack the city.”
The siege plan was set; only his order was needed.
Ge Zong’s spirits soared. “Understood!”
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