Chapter 1: I Hope You Will Help Me Succeed
The Year 10 of the Taixing Era, Wu Dynasty.
Early winter, the cold wind cut like a knife.
In the main hall of the Liang Mansion, Liang Xiao carefully brewed tea for his fiancée, Situ Luoyue.
Situ Luoyue wore a battle robe as fiery as flame but sat still, gazing at Liang Xiao, hesitating to speak.
“Luoyue, you’ve worked hard this past year,” Liang Xiao said.
Last year, when the Xiongnu invaded southward, Luoyue’s father went with the army to guard the border, and she followed to the front lines to manage logistics.
Until this year, when the barbarian tribes retreated, the father and daughter finally returned to the capital with the army to report back.
Hearing Liang Xiao’s praise, Situ Luoyue remained unmoved.
A brief silence filled the room.
Unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere, Liang Xiao set down the teapot and looked up at her.
In his view was also the fire rising from the brazier, barely bringing warmth.
She exuded heroic spirit, yet her face was icy cold, chilling his heart.
“Luoyue, given our relationship, is there anything you can’t tell me?” Liang Xiao asked, puzzled.
Finally, Luoyue’s expression softened.
“Liang Xiao, you know that over the past year, my father and I have been defending the border, and we’ve met many heroes and outstanding men.”
Liang Xiao noticed she no longer called him “Brother Liang Xiao,” his heart tingling with suspicion. He nodded slightly, waiting for her to continue.
“This year, Brother Ling Yun single-handedly charged into the Xiongnu camp, beheaded the Left Wise King of the Xiongnu, and made his name known throughout the world—you know this.”
Brother Ling Yun?
Liang Xiao’s brow twitched as he stared at her. “Sima Ling Yun is the rising star in our military this year. I come from a lineage of generals—I certainly wouldn’t be ignorant.”
Once, the Wu Dynasty spanned vast lands from north to south.
Later, when the princes rebelled, the northern Xiongnu seized the opportunity to march south, causing the heartland to fall and the imperial court to relocate southwards.
The world was divided, separated by rivers and standing opposed.
Now, the Wu Dynasty was but half a kingdom in the south, lacking any ambition.
It was the darkest age, dominated by powerful clans and bowed heroes.
Situ Luoyue gauged his reaction. Seeing Liang Xiao smile, she returned a charming smile, her brows filled with admiration.
“The current emperor is greatly pleased and has promised Brother Ling Yun that if he finds a girl he loves, he can issue an edict to grant them marriage!”
“And?” Liang Xiao felt an ominous premonition rising.
Finally, Situ Luoyue summoned courage and resolutely declared, “I wish to be the one who accepts the emperor’s marriage gift with him!”
Though he had expected this, hearing it so bluntly struck Liang Xiao like thunder, leaving him momentarily stunned.
“How can this be? Our families are betrothed—this was arranged by the emperor himself.”
Situ Luoyue said, “That’s why I hope you will let me and Brother Ling Yun be together, and give up our engagement!”
“What are you saying?”
Liang Xiao’s voice trembled, unable to believe the girl before him was once his beloved fiancée.
The Liang family had once been a prominent military household, the loyal Marquis’s family, long renowned as a lineage of generals, and closely allied with the equally martial Situ family.
When Liang Xiao was five, his father sent him to train in the mountains.
But the north fell, the old capital was lost, and the central plains descended into endless war.
Various barbarian tribes coveted the south, frequently sending troops.
When Liang Xiao returned after his training, he received the grim news that his father and three elder brothers had perished on the northern frontier. The loyal Marquis’s household was massacred by assassins lurking in the capital. He barely managed to save his mother and a few servants.
His three little nieces, still in swaddling clothes, were mercilessly killed.
From then on, Liang Xiao and his elderly mother depended on each other.
Over the years, great clans rose to power, suppressing military officials.
Under their political assault, the loyal Marquis’s family was blamed for defeat and suffered heavy purges. Liang Xiao was stripped of the hereditary titles he should have inherited.
His mother was stricken with grief and fell ill. Fearing he would follow his father and brothers’ fate, on her deathbed she only wished for her son to become a simple, honest wealthy man—marry the betrothed Situ Luoyue, carry on the Liang family line, and protect his wife and children without entering officialdom again.
To fulfill his mother’s dying wish, he lived an honest life, taking in Situ Luoyue and her family.
He always complied with Luoyue’s requests and naturally extended care to her family.
In those days, their love blossomed beneath moonlit skies, deep and sincere.
Situ Luoyue also vowed she would marry no one else and obey him completely.
Last year, when the Xiongnu invaded south, she left without a word to find her father in the north, warning him not to come south. Yet she did not return for a long time.
Worried for his fiancée’s safety, Liang Xiao packed his gear and rushed to the northern border. Unexpectedly, he encountered Xiongnu burning and pillaging. Under cover of night, he infiltrated their camp, slew the Left Wise King, and took his head and command token, fighting countless battles and surviving unscathed.
The one who beheaded the Left Wise King was not Sima Ling Yun.
It was him—Liang Xiao.
Yet, in the end, the court credited the merit to Sima Ling Yun.
Later, after the Xiongnu withdrew, he still could not find Situ Luoyue and returned to the capital to wait for good news.
To his surprise, Situ Luoyue had returned home before him.
“Liang Xiao, I hope you will do me the favor and let me be with Brother Ling Yun!” Her voice was firm, and when she spoke of her lover, a rare tenderness and longing gleamed in her eyes.
Liang Xiao saw this and said unwillingly, “Do you remember our vows and promises?”
Situ Luoyue’s face flushed deeply, and she turned away.
“Forget those words! When I was with you, I didn’t understand love. I treated you well only because of our engagement. But Brother Ling Yun is different!”
Recalling her lover’s heroic battlefield presence, she smiled, barely concealing her pride.
“He is the most heroic man I have ever seen—he captivates my soul. We love each other. I, Situ Luoyue, should marry such a hero. I hope you will let me be!”
“Liang Xiao, you should know your place. Because of your father and brothers’ defeat, you have lost your titles and will never rise again! If you truly love me, you should let go and let me pursue my happiness, shouldn’t you?”
Liang Xiao felt a bone-chilling cold that threatened to swallow him whole.
“What do your parents say?”
“They approve. Brother Ling Yun has already met with them. They like him very much!”
They actually agreed?
Liang Xiao was shocked.
In those years when her family was destitute, living off others—were they so hypocritical and ungrateful?
“Is that Ling Yun still in my house?” Liang Xiao suddenly recalled something and found it laughable.
“My mother is talking to him now. He knows how to treat people well and has cheered my mother up; her illness has improved a lot!”
“Do you know what you’re saying?” Liang Xiao sighed. “These years, your mother’s health worsened. It was I who spent a fortune to smooth relations and bring imperial doctors to treat her. Every day I faithfully cared for her and fed her tonics. Only then did she get better.”
Situ Luoyue curled her lips in displeasure. “But it was seeing Brother Ling Yun that made her feel better! Liang Xiao, please put the country and people first and let me be with Brother Ling Yun. He needs me more than you do! My husband should be a hero like Ling Yun—wise in strategy and brave in battle, protecting our home and country!”
Liang Xiao stared at her, speaking slowly and deliberately, “Where is Sima Ling Yun? I want to see him.”