Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 263 Blood Debt

Su Qingwan slowly woke up, feeling as if her body had been crushed by heavy stones, the pain excruciating. Her injuries were too severe, and everyone around her was hesitant to act, even the doctor could only frown and shake his head in the face of her miserable state, not daring to take any rash actions, and could only let her lie quietly flat.

When she awoke, all she saw was Lu Jing guarding her bedside. Su Qingwan was stunned. She had never expected that, in this turbulent situation, Lu Jing would resolutely return to Huainan, and she dared not even hope that she could escape death.

She thought she would die on this battlefield, sacrificing her life for the land of Huainan. Before she lost consciousness, her mind was already blurred, but only one thought remained in her mind, like a lifeline she clung to tightly: The troops of Zhongzhou, come quickly, come faster!
She exerted all her strength, racing against time, her sole aim being to buy time. The southwest was a long way off, and if the Central Plains saw the beacon fires, they could immediately dispatch troops, their light cavalry traveling day and night, theoretically reaching Huainan in time. But what she feared most was that the governor of the Central Plains, for his own selfish reasons, would refuse to send troops to the rescue.

She and her soldiers were determined to die for the city, and she only hoped that the reinforcements from Zhongzhou would arrive in time to save the thousands of people in Huainan.

The Xilin army was notorious; if they were to breach Huainan City, the massacre would surely repeat itself. She hoped Huainan would survive this calamity and rebuild its homeland. But fate is cruel; who could have imagined she would miraculously survive?

Lu Jing whispered in her ear that the crisis in Huainan City had been resolved. Lu Nianqing had returned and was currently taking over military command, working closely with General Xiao Ning to deploy city defenses.

The reinforcements from Zhongzhou had arrived, and the Xilin border army was forced into a series of defeats, retreating all the way to the banks of the Lanning River. Su Qingwan stared blankly out the door. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow, and everything within her sight was bright and clear. But there was no warmth in her eyes; the morning breeze was dead, and the green bamboo was dead too.

Before she lost consciousness, she witnessed Green Bamboo being brutally murdered by the enemy while protecting her. That little girl, without hesitation, stood in front of her, her frail body fulfilling this vow of life and death.

Green Bamboo, Morning Breeze, and Azure Cloud were all trained from childhood to be assassins. In their belief, a subject dies for his lord, and each of them had undergone rigorous training, always ready to shield her from bullets and knives.

They were utterly loyal to her, and would not hesitate to sacrifice their own lives to save her. "How many men are left in the Huainan army?"

Su Qingwan's hoarse voice broke the long silence. The number of bandits was difficult to estimate precisely, but it was about four thousand. The light cavalry and guards originally numbered five thousand, but after fighting fiercely outside the city, they were reduced to less than four thousand, with more than half of them lost.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jing's expression darkened, and he fell silent. Seeing this, Su Qingwan slowly closed her eyes, tears welling up in her eyes. Lu Jing raised his hand and gently wiped away her tears, wanting to comfort her, but he was speechless for a moment, not knowing where to begin.

In this battle, Su Qingwan's defensive strategies and offensive decisions were impeccable. However, due to the enemy's overwhelming numbers and the Xilin army's surprise attack, Huainan City was short-handed, lacked supplies, had exhausted its arrows, and was out of oil.

Taking the initiative is their only way out of this desperate situation. If they simply defend the city gates, they will be lambs to the slaughter, powerless to fight back.

"I'm fine," Su Qingwan said, forcing herself to speak, but the sorrow on her face was impossible to hide.

Fortunately, with Lu Nianqing, General Xiao Ning, and Prefect Yun in charge of the overall situation, military supplies allocated from Zhongzhou were arriving one after another. Soldiers were stationed outside the city, constantly vigilant against enemy attacks, and Huainan City was gradually regaining some vitality. Besides taking meticulous care of Su Qingwan, Lu Jing spent the rest of his time patrolling the city, constantly monitoring its defenses. The imperial court was already aware of the Xilin border army's surprise attack on Huainan, and the Eldest Princess was also procuring supplies to be transported to Huainan to support the front lines. Lu Nianqing was currently in Huainan, and General Xiao Ning, understanding the greater good, voluntarily reduced his own prestige within the army to fully support Lu Nianqing in establishing his authority.

As a direct descendant of the Huainan royal family, Lu Nianqing was like a wolf cub growing up, with Su Qingwan, General Xiao Ning, and Prefect Yun all pouring their hearts and souls into him. Now, Lu Nianqing was the de facto King of Huainan, second only to Su Qingwan in prestige. The Eldest Princess was determined to have Lu Nianqing control Huainan, and at this critical juncture, she naturally wouldn't turn against Lu Jing. Instead, she would do everything in her power to help Lu Jing stabilize the situation in the capital and assist Huainan in overcoming the current crisis. Therefore, Lu Jing was not in a hurry to return to the capital.

Su Qingwan was in terrible condition. As soon as Qingyun was able to get out of bed, he rushed over to keep her company.

The sudden loss of so many loved ones plunged Qingyun into deep despair. She had tasted this same grief when Qingyi passed away, and now she had to endure it again. However, she dared not fully reveal her sorrow, for she was now the only one left by her mistress's side. Green Bamboo, Morning Breeze, and all the guards had perished in battle; she alone remained alive, a fact that Qingyun felt was a profound disgrace.

She was filled with the thought that she would rather die on the battlefield with Green Bamboo than live such a wretched life alone.

She dared not say these words to Su Qingwan, for fear of upsetting the fragile Su Qingwan. That day, unable to suppress her emotions any longer, she confided her bitterness to Zhang Huaining.

Zhang Huaining's expression was gentle as he softly comforted her, "Qingyun, I know you're heartbroken. This battle has cost us all so many lives. I've lost my neighbors, and my comrades who were like brothers and sisters to me. Every decision the princess made while defending the city carried an immense burden. Those who died were all willing to sacrifice themselves for Huainan. They fought desperately to buy time and protect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Huainan. Of all the princess's confidants now, you're the only one left. If you were gone too, how lonely and pitiful she would be. She really needs you!"

It was Zhang Huaining's words, "The princess needs you," that shone like a ray of light into Qingyun's heart. From then on, Qingyun mustered his spirits and ate and took his medicine on time. Once a person regains their energy, their injuries heal quickly. Under the meticulous care of Lu Jing and Qingyun, although Su Qingwan was still immersed in grief, her health gradually improved.

Once she was able to get out of bed and walk, Qingyun accompanied her to pay respects to Chenfeng, Lüzhu, and the others. Many of the fallen soldiers were buried in the woods to the west. Prefect Yun personally collected the remains of Chenfeng and Lüzhu and buried them not far from the ancestral cemetery in Huainan. That place was the final resting place for the meritorious officials and subordinates of Huainan.

Looking at the tombstone before her, Su Qingwan was overcome with grief, and tears blurred her vision once again.

Just months ago, she had moved her sister's remains to the ancestral gravesite, and now she had to bury Green Bamboo and Morning Breeze as well. When she brought them back to Huainan, she had hoped to give them a free and peaceful life.

Qingyun said softly from the side, "Princess, we, this group of warriors, were born to die for you. Without you, we would not be where we are today. Green Bamboo and Morning Breeze are both willing to die for you. As long as you are safe and sound, they will die without regret."

Su Qingwan slowly shook her head and said softly, "Qingyun, your life belongs to you, not to me! You are skilled in medicine, martial arts, and are good at accounting and disguise. Even without me, you would definitely live a wonderful life, better than most women in the world. It is I... I have let you down."

In her heart, the inability to protect those around her remains a wound that is difficult to heal.

Qingyun's expression was firm as he said in a deep voice, "Princess, please do not blame yourself. All of this is Xilin's fault. They went back on their word and invaded our territory with their army. This is a man-made disaster. We will avenge this blood debt sooner or later!"