Tang Dynasty: Starting with 3,000 elite cavalry, a bloody battle to retake the city.

Li Yingge, walking beside him, had already sensed something was wrong. She stopped, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly as she looked directly at him: "Your cold has lasted seven days and it's still not better? You had an iron body back in Youzhou, but now you've become so delicate?"

Han Ye felt a chill run down his spine, but smiled frankly: "Perhaps it's just a change in environment; I never got sick in the North before."

"A few days of rest will do the trick, it's nothing serious."

"Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow, but her gaze remained fixed.

However, the next moment, a faint blush appeared on the tips of her ears.

The reason is simple—

Ever since they left Qin Shubao's residence, Han Ye's hand had been tightly gripping her arm, his palm burning hot, his strength leaving no room for escape.

The two were so close that their breaths almost mingled.

Li Yingge bit her lower lip and gently pushed him away, saying, "Can you... please let go? This is unbecoming!"

Han Ye then came to his senses, hurriedly letting go and chuckling awkwardly, "Oh dear, I forgot, I forgot. In my haste, I didn't let go."

"In a hurry?" she glared. "What's your hurry?!"

"Hmph, there was an old man and a young master who followed and harassed me the whole way. I just wanted to shake them off." He waved his hand, completely unconcerned.

But they were completely unaware—

The "old man" and "young master" he mentioned were, respectively, a retired emperor who was still active in public and a future crown prince!

Li Yingge had no idea about any of this. She simply assumed he had encountered a few annoying busybodies and was too lazy to ask further.

The two returned to Li Jing's residence side by side, where servants bustled about in the courtyard.

"The son-in-law is back!"

"Miss!"

Everyone bowed and greeted them with smiles.

Even Xiao Tuan jumped out, her eyes crinkling with joy: "Young Master, you're finally back!"

Han Ye looked around and, seeing everyone busily working, asked in surprise, "What are you all busy with?"

Little Tuan puffed out her cheeks, looking like a little hamster that had stolen some oil, and said in a clear voice, "To make Kongming lanterns!"

Han Ye raised an eyebrow, his tone full of suspicion: "For whom?"

Li Yingge stood to the side, her gaze calm as a still night pool, and said softly, "Give it to General Ghost Face."

She paused, her voice lower, but each word was clear: "After the Battle of Wei River, there has been no news of him for seven days... The hope of him surviving is slim—but the people of Chang'an are all making lanterns."

They said they would use the light of these countless sparks to illuminate his way home.

At this point, she slowly raised her eyes, looking directly at Han Ye, her eyes swirling with indescribable emotions: "Tell me, is it useful?"

A breeze swept across the eaves, causing the lanterns to sway gently.

She didn't speak, but just stared at him quietly, as if trying to find a flaw in his expression.

Han Ye paused only slightly, a deep shadow flashing across his eyes, like ripples on a still lake in the wind, before returning to calm in an instant.

"It's fine." He smiled.

But that smile was as thin as a sheet of paper, so fragile that even the old man selling sugar paintings on the street could barely see it.

After saying that, he didn't say anything more. He turned around, grabbed Xiao Tuan, and brought out a pile of bamboo strips, plain silk, and candles. He squatted down at the entrance of Li Jing's residence and did the job quickly and efficiently.

The servants looked at each other in disbelief—this was Han Ye, the most mysterious strategist of the court, who had actually rolled up his sleeves and was making lanterns with them.

But with a single glance from Han Ye, no one dared to stop him.

We could only let this guy blend into the group of craftsmen, his fingers flying across the paper, his movements so practiced it was as if it were his first time.

Xiao Tuan blinked, leaned closer to him, and teased with a mischievous grin, "Young Master, how did you feel about personally lighting lamps to bless the 'Ghost-Faced General'?"

She emphasized the words "Ghost-faced General," her eyes full of cunning.

Han Ye didn't even look up, and said calmly, "What do you think?"

My chest does feel a little empty.

He was clearly that person, yet he was remembered by thousands, his name was written on a thousand lamps, but his soul hid in another identity and eke out a living.

This feeling is both absurd and tragic.

But it was at this moment that his heart was calmer than ever before, as if the dust had settled and all sounds had returned to silence.

Unfortunately, this peace did not last long.

"Oh! Mr. Han! We're here again!"

A familiar voice rang out, tinged with flattery and a hint of panting.

Looking up, he saw Crown Prince Li Chengqian skipping and running towards him, followed by the panting Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan.

Han Ye's eyelids twitched, and he almost dropped the lamp frame in his hand: "Why are you here again?!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan was so angry that his beard almost twisted out of shape.

I, the retired emperor, am always greeted with incense and knelt before officials wherever I go. But here I am treated like a stray dog, chased around like a dog!

He rushed ahead of his grandson, hands on his hips, and angrily shouted, "What? Is it against the law that I, an old man, came to talk to you?!"

Han Ye glanced at him sideways, thinking to himself, if you really had imperial power, you wouldn't be chasing after me every day.

Too lazy to waste words, he simply shoved a pile of materials into Li Yuan's arms with a "whoosh."

"Then don't just stand there, sit down and get to work."

We can chat while we work; if we're not working—I don't have time for you.

Li Yuan's eyes widened, his fingers trembling: "You...you want me, a retired emperor, to make lanterns for you?! Are you rebelling?!"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chengqian had already happily sat down cross-legged, rubbing his hands together: "Praying for the Ghost-Faced General? Count me in! I know how!"

"You—!" Li Yuan gasped, nearly fainting.

It's one thing for your own son to be so down-to-earth, but how come he has no backbone at all when it comes to Han Ye?!

Han Ye nodded in agreement, handing him bamboo strips to teach him how to form a fighting stance: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is quite sensible."

While pasting paper, he casually remarked, "It's a good thing that the young master admires General Ghost Face."

But—don't follow his example.

Li Chengqian was taken aback: "Why?"

Han Ye lowered his eyes, dipped his brush in ink, and slowly wrote three characters on the lamp surface: Xiahou Dun.

The voice was so low it seemed to come from the abyss: "Because...it's a dead end."

As soon as he finished speaking, the second lamp was handed over.

He picked up his pen again and wrote: Cao Ande.

The third lamp, the fourth lamp... he carefully inscribed the name of each lamp.

It is not "peace", not "return", and certainly not "Ghost-faced General".

Instead, they are names—living souls, flesh and blood, who once stood shoulder to shoulder with him and ultimately fell in the yellow sand.

The lamps made by others drift lightly in the wind, rootless and adrift.

And his lamp, carrying his name, seems to carry his soul.

Li Chengqian looked at it for a while, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Han Ye, why didn't you write 'Ghost-Faced General'? What's the point of writing these names?"

Han Ye did not answer.

The night breeze stirred the unlit lamp wicks, like hearts that had never been extinguished.

He simply placed the last lamp gently on the ground and murmured softly:

"They are waiting for me to claim them."

"If I don't write my name, who will go home for me?"

Only he knew that the one who should truly be remembered was never himself.

Instead, it was people like Xiahou Dun—those masked warriors who had long since been buried in the yellow sands and turned into dust!

They are the true heroes who deserve to have a monument erected in their honor!

Li Yuan's fingertips traced the row of rankings on the wall, then he suddenly stopped.

He suddenly looked up, staring at Han Ye, his voice trembling slightly: "You...know these people?!"

Han Ye nodded, his movements light, yet as if he had struck a heavy stone.

"Then who are they?!" Li Yuan pressed, his tone now carrying a sense of pressure.

Han Ye's voice was low and husky, as if it had come from the depths of time: "He is a hero."

"Heroes of the Tang Dynasty".

Each word, each phrase, was so heavy it could break the night wind.

There was no light in his eyes, only a bottomless dark sea, churning with a past that no one could understand.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian was completely unaware.

But Li Yuan was different.

The retired emperor immediately noticed something was off about this kid!

Not only is he a prodigy, but he also harbors a huge secret! Originally, he disdained to touch these folk crafts, but he sat down, rolled up his sleeves, and followed Han Ye to paste paper and tie bamboo frames, seriously making Kongming lanterns.

Thus, a scene that shocked the court and the public unfolded in front of Li Jing's residence—

The retired Emperor Li Yuan, Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and a young boy, along with a group of servants, sat in a circle, heads bowed, folding paper, threading thread, and lighting fires.

If the entire court of civil and military officials were to see this, they would probably be utterly astonished!

Li Chengqian couldn't forget about the "Ghost-Faced General." He had heard Han Ye mention that he had "seen it with his own eyes" before, so he kept pestering him for details.

Han Ye didn't hide anything and said everything he needed to say.

But the more Li Yuan listened, the more alarmed he became, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, and he murmured to himself:

"Wait a minute... how does this kid know all this so clearly?"

"His tone and demeanor were as if he had personally experienced it!"

His pupils contracted, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed on Han Ye's face.

Just then, Han Ye was chatting and laughing with Li Chengqian when a voice suddenly rang out from nowhere:

"Han Ye, the Battle of Wei River is now over, and the Turks have withdrawn their troops."

What are your plans for the next step?

The question was abrupt and revealed his sharp edge.

Han Ye paused, looked up at Li Yuan, and his eyes flickered slightly.

He immediately regained his composure and calmly said, "Rest and recuperate, then regroup and fight again."

Within a few months, they could march north and raze the Turkic royal court to the ground.

He spoke so casually, as if he were just talking about what to eat tonight.

Li Yuan was taken aback at first, then sneered: "What an easy way to put it! Everyone knows that we need to recuperate, but my Great Tang is now full of refugees and starving people everywhere. What are we going to feed them? The national treasury is empty and the granaries are empty. You say 'recuperation'? Do you want the people to eat tree bark?" He became angrier as he spoke, his face as dark as iron.

Han Ye remained calm, like a deep well without ripples: "Since the problem exists, let's solve it."

No food? Just plant some.

"Ha!" Li Yuan laughed angrily. "Plant? You think grain is like weeds, something you can just scatter a few seeds and eat? If you're so capable, why don't you conjure up 100,000 bushels of millet right now?!"

He sneered and stared intently, waiting to see the other party speechless.

Unexpectedly, before Han Ye could even speak, Xiao Tuan beside him jumped up and down, puffing out her cheeks and shouting:

"Who says you can't plant them! My young master has been planting auspicious plants lately, and the grain they produce could feed most of the Tang Dynasty!"

boom--!

One sentence silenced the entire room.

Li Yuan and Li Chengqian stared wide-eyed, their minds buzzing.

A...lucky omen?!

Can it even be eaten as a meal?!

And they even supported half of the Tang Dynasty?!

Absurd! Outrageous! Unheard of!

Han Ye reacted quickly, covering Xiao Tuan's mouth with a warning look in his eyes.

But once words are spoken, how can they be taken back?

Li Yuan's breath hitched, and he abruptly stood up, staring intently at Han Ye: "You really have this kind of grain?! Don't joke around, this is a matter of utmost importance that could shake the foundations of the nation!"

Han Ye frowned and said coldly, "Of course not."

She's just being silly.

Xiao Tuan stomped her feet in frustration beside him, muttering, "It's definitely true..."

Li Yuan's expression shifted uncertainly, seemingly believing yet not believing, his mind churning with doubt:

This kid is definitely hiding something!