Chapter 50: The Last Time
Yongzhao's vast army marched grandly into Dudong. Before the Yuanliao Wutao Army could arrive to reinforce, the border fortress Koushu City had already fallen. Dudong's forces retreated to Liule City to join forces with the Wutao Army, but Yongzhao's million-strong army pressed forward with unstoppable momentum and enjoyed tremendous popular support. Despite the Wutao Army's support, Dudong still couldn't turn the tide. They lost Liule City, Pai City, and more than a dozen small towns and villages, finally retreating with the Wutao Army to Zhijun to make their final stand.
He Mingpei remained in Koushu City, allowing his young sworn brothers Chu Mu and Tang Shounian to lead the troops to earn glory. For half a month straight, he received victory reports daily, nodding happily with each one.
In Yuanliao City, ever since the King lifted the house arrest order on the Commander-in-Chief, neither the Commander-in-Chief nor the Guardian General had appeared at court. The ministers had grown accustomed to it—those two had been running wild for longer than one or two days.
As the northern front grew more dire by the day, the officials and generals alike wondered why the King hadn't deployed the Prestige Army. Those dogs that bullied others by riding on their masters' power, those scoundrels of the Prestige Army who wouldn't fight—they were nothing but human trash. So many people wished the King would send the Prestige Army to Dudong. When Qu Zhenlie once mentioned the Prestige Army before the King, the King coolly replied, "How about you lead the Prestige Army there, Your Lordship?" That silenced Qu Zhenlie instantly. Who else could possibly lead the Prestige Army besides the Commander-in-Chief and the Guardian General?
What puzzled everyone was: now that the Commander-in-Chief had been restored to freedom, why was the King still keeping him buried and unused?
If someone tried to probe the Prince, the answer they received was even more disappointing—"Mancheng is feeling unwell and needs to rest for a while."
Who would believe that excuse? Wasn't it the Commander-in-Chief who had been living it up in the brothels day after day? Wasn't it the Commander-in-Chief who was openly staying at the Guardian General's residence? Wasn't it the Commander-in-Chief who caused chaos in the city market, shamelessly hugging and leaning on the Guardian General?
Fine. Even the Son of Heaven turned a blind eye to all this, so what could others say? Just two immoral military officers—let them be.
He sat before Mancheng, brow slightly furrowed, eyes full of words yet hesitating to speak. In Anqing, he never wore that expression.
"Zhangzhou, do you remember? Before my father died, you took me to climb into the Jinhua Garden, and we crouched beneath the window eavesdropping on my father and the Queen. I was crying softly, and you squeezed my hand tightly while reaching out with your other hand to wipe away my tears, whispering comfort. Your eyes were full of heartache."
But now, the tenderness in your eyes has vanished without a trace. Zhangzhou, what you want to say now is: "Mancheng, this time, there's really no one else."
Those words, I hear them once, and I lose heart once.
"Zhangzhou." Mancheng finally spoke, unable to hide the sorrow on his face, yet forcing a smile. "I've been having the same dream lately."
This sentence—why did it sound so familiar? As if many years ago, somewhere, someone had said it before? Zhangzhou didn't think too deeply about it, asking casually, "What kind of dream?"
"I dreamed about our time in Anqing, when you..."
There he goes again! Zhangzhou felt impatient, stood up, and interrupted gruffly, "Mancheng, why are you like a woman?"
Mancheng fell silent, his eyes somewhat dazed, more so despair.
Zhangzhou regretted it, glanced at him hesitantly, and after a pause, said, "Mancheng, I should go. There's still a lot to handle over there..."
"Zhangzhou!" Mancheng called out to him, saying calmly, "The Prestige Army stands ready."
Zhangzhou stared at him, not feeling relieved; instead, there was a sense of dejection. "Mancheng..." Zhangzhou sighed, took his hand, and urged, "Mancheng, I'm sorry... When you come back from Dudong, I'll take your military authority. I'll never let you take risks again!"
Mancheng pulled his hand away, lowering his voice, "I trust you. This is the last time."
Zhangzhou, every time you hear me say "I trust you," what does it feel like?
Mancheng arrived at the Prestige Army's mess hall and found it unexpectedly empty, when usually it was noisy and chaotic. Zhongshan must have played some trick again. Mancheng didn't need to ask; the smell of meat wafted over immediately. Zhongshan grinned triumphantly. "Lian Heng and the others caught a wild boar. Coincidentally, I ran into them and snatched the best cuts."
Mancheng's face lit up with joy.
Zhongshan lifted a pot lid, and fragrance poured out. Mancheng moved closer, reaching his hand into the pot. Zhongshan grabbed his wrist hastily. "Slow down! It's hot!" He picked a piece of meat with chopsticks, placed it in a bowl, and handed it over. "Here, chew on this."
Mancheng asked, "Did you cook it?"
"Who else would bother thinking about your gluttony?"
Mancheng took the bowl, blew on it a few times, grabbed the meat and took a bite—it was still too hot. He tossed it back into the bowl, blew again, then grabbed it and took another bite.
The meat was thoroughly stewed, fragrant to the bone, with a unique flavor. Who knew what seasoning had been used?
Mancheng ate happily, speaking indistinctly through his mouthful, "Whad's in there?"
Zhongshan laughed. "Stewed with dried pineapple. Can you taste it?"
"Oh..." Mancheng nodded vigorously. Then came a sound: "Owww... owww..."
The two froze. Zhongshan's face showed a strange expression. Mancheng swallowed what was in his mouth. "That wasn't me."
"..."
Another low sound: "Owww, grr..."
The two looked around and saw a dog face poking out from the pile of firewood against the wall—pea-green eyes, pink nose, watching them slyly. Mancheng wanted to coax it out, making clicking sounds: "Tsst, tsst, tsst." The dog seemed frightened, hesitated for a long while, and seeing that the two people didn't seem threatening, it crept forward. Zhongshan waved a meat bone in his hand, scaring it back into hiding. Mancheng saw its silly behavior and laughed, about to run over and drag it out, but Zhongshan grabbed him and warned, "Don't! What if it bites you?"
Mancheng tossed a bone near the firewood instead. The dog smelled the aroma and finally couldn't resist, darting out with a swoosh. It was a big mongrel, almost half a person's height, with white fur covered in wood chips and soot. The dog wolfed down the bone in three bites, looked up at the two of them with its pea-sized eyes, wagged its tail madly—utterly silly.
Mancheng burst out laughing and tossed it another bone. The dog pounced and caught it mid-air, burying its head to chew. Zhongshan laughed. "How did such a dumb dog get into the mess hall! Must be one the cooks raised."
Mancheng was in excellent spirits. While gnawing on a bone, he watched the dog. After finishing the bone, the dog felt closer to these two humans and came wagging not just its tail but its hind legs and whole rear end. Mancheng laughed so hard he nearly fell over, handing the half-eaten bone to it. The dog was careful not to bite Mancheng's hand, just licking the bone delicately.
Zhongshan laughed. "This dog actually knows manners."
Mancheng nodded repeatedly, and then—impossibly—took back the bone the dog had been chewing on and ate from it himself.
Zhongshan slapped the meat bone from Mancheng's hand to the ground. "Disgusting! You idiot."
Mancheng didn't care, just grinned stupidly, reached roughly into the pot, and stuffed a piece of meat into Zhongshan's mouth, chewing happily himself, unable to spare a word. He kept tossing bones to that silly mongrel from time to time.
The two humans and one dog cleaned out the entire pot of meat. The dog had eaten its fill today and considered these two people benefactors, nuzzling and licking them affectionately, its tail wagging so hard it seemed about to break.
Mancheng didn't mind how dirty the dog was, holding it close, absolutely delighted. Zhongshan wiped the grease from Mancheng's hands with a clean cloth, smiling. "If you like it, take it home."
Normally, he wouldn't need to say it. But today Mancheng was different, a hint of regret on his face. "Forget it. If I take it home, I won't have time to care for it, besides..." Mancheng stopped mid-sentence.
"Besides what?" Zhongshan asked.
Mancheng changed the subject, grinning. "Besides, it probably tastes good."
The dog was rubbing against him enthusiastically; upon hearing this, it let out a "yelp," tucked its tail, and ran back to the pile of firewood, diving in.
The two of them laughed until tears came. Zhongshan said, "Look, you scared it."
Mancheng was still laughing. Zhongshan wiped the grease from his face with the cloth.
This action—so familiar. In that distant memory, who had cared for him so attentively? Mancheng suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Zhongshan.
Zhongshan's smile remained unchanged. "What are you looking at? This cloth is very clean."
Mancheng lowered his eyes. He thought of his childhood again, those memories that wound through his entire life, the person who had spoiled him, loved him, the one who had always held his hand!
Zhangzhou! Zhangzhou! If you hadn't come to Anqing, what would my life have been like?
Mancheng gripped Zhongshan's hand, eyes suddenly reddening. After a long while, he said, "I've been having a very strange feeling lately. I keep having the same dream, so I... I'm very scared..."
Tender sympathy showed in Zhongshan's eyes, yet he smiled. "I thought you were truly fearless. What's wrong? Having nightmares?"
Mancheng didn't answer that question, continuing on his own, "When my father was seriously ill, besides the Queen, he didn't want to see anyone. But I still wanted to see him so badly. Zhangzhou took me to climb into the Jinhua Garden. I didn't dare go in, so I just listened to his voice through the window. I heard him say to the Queen: 'I thought we could grow old together, but it seems I won't make it. Lately, I've been having the same dream. In the dream, I'm writing as a child, and you're standing beside me grinding ink... I glance at you, and you smile. I write for a while, glance at you again, and you smile again... So that dream was telling me my time was up. But I didn't pay attention then, otherwise, I could have spent more time with you...'"
"Mancheng!" Zhongshan embraced him urgently, pleading, "Don't think such things!"
Mancheng sighed and continued, "When he died, he was holding the Queen's hand. The ridiculous thing is, the one who went with him was my mother."
Zhongshan leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "Your father must have been like you—outwardly domineering and resolute, but privately timid as a mouse. Your mother must have known he was afraid of being alone, so she went with him."
Mancheng furrowed his brows. "But he didn't love my mother. Who knows if he even wanted her company!"
Zhongshan smiled as always and asked, "When you reach the other world, would you let me accompany you?"
This sentence was unexpectedly so romantic! Mancheng froze, unable to hide his feelings any longer, embracing him tightly, tears gushing out, sobbing, "I... I would!"
Zhongshan, forgive my incurable selfishness! I don't want to leave you!
"Mancheng..." Zhongshan's voice was low and tender: "Whether you're willing or not, I will accompany you! Not one second will you wait..."
Mancheng was so moved he couldn't speak. Zhongshan's voice in his ear was so devoted: "Mancheng, I... I..."
Zhongshan, say that you love me! I'm done playing around. Starting from this second, let's make it real!
Zhongshan said two "I"s but still didn't manage to speak that sentence.
Mancheng, this sentence, you can waste it as you please, but I cannot say it even once, because the moment I say it, I will lose you immediately!
Yang Daochun, the Queen, and that Fan Xi—their fates, I watched with my own eyes, felt the pain deeply. It's because I could hold back that sentence for so many years that I could stay by your side for so many years.
I don't know how much longer I can hold back. If I can hold back one more day, I can be by your side one more day. If I can hold back a lifetime, can I be by your side a lifetime?
If that's the case, I would be content.
Zhongshan secretly wiped away the tear at the corner of his eye, released Mancheng, and changed the subject. "Mancheng, I remember when we first met, I promised to take you to the Fupeng Township lantern festival."
Mancheng was deeply disappointed, asking indifferently, "Did you? Really."
"I did, and I remember it clearly. Mancheng, it's been over seven years. This year, the wait ends."