It was three hours later when Zuo Wushang regained consciousness.
In the spacious courtyard, Zuo Wushang was bound and seated on a chair. Hong Jie and his three companions stood guard beside him, while Zuo Qing was still weeping and calling out, "Brother Liang Xiao."
Around them were Liang Xiao, Jian Qinwan, Yue Lian, Zhuo Xun, Zhuo Zifang, and forty Tianshan knights led by Yu Qingchuan.
Zhuo Xun, with tear-filled eyes, gazed at Zuo Wushang with resentment, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Noticing Zuo Qing's unusual reaction, Zuo Wushang was taken aback. Then, his gaze fell upon Hong Jie beside him, and he became furious.
"You ungrateful wretch, abandoning the restoration of the kingdom is your choice. But I treated you like my own son, and you used the Xuanming Powder I gave you against me?!"
Hong Jie looked ashamed and sighed, "Marshal, I only wanted you to see the error of your ways, lest a single misstep lead to eternal regret..."
"Regret what! You beast!" Zuo Wushang roared like a furious tiger, almost breaking free from the chair to devour Hong Jie.
"Zuo Wushang!" Liang Xiao's angry roar suddenly erupted, his gaze fixed on the stubborn old man before him.
Zuo Wushang shuddered, looked at Liang Xiao, and his senses returned. He shouted, "You win! You managed to turn my subordinate against me!"
Liang Xiao calmed himself and sneered, "They have merely seen the error of their ways. The restoration of the kingdom is a path that harms both sides and is doomed to fail. Do you know that these so-called countrymen of yours are responsible for how many families live in constant fear each day?"
"You speak the truth, but I reject such words! You don't understand what it means to be loyal to the monarch and serve the country!" Zuo Wushang retorted angrily.
Yue Lian finally spoke, "Mr. Zuo, if even he doesn't understand, can you?"
Sensing that Yue Lian had dropped her respectful address towards him, Zuo Wushang looked disappointed. "Your Highness..."
Upon hearing this, Liang Xiao slapped Zuo Wushang. "Yue Lian is my woman, Liang Xiao's woman. You, a good-for-nothing who almost killed her, have no right to drag her down and make her live a life of constant fear and flight with you?"
Zuo Wushang was silenced. He looked around. "Where is Yun Tianwei?"
"They followed the commander's orders and surrendered," Shangguan Jiusi chuckled dryly.
"Traitors, all of them!" Zuo Wushang despaired.
Hong Qu quickly said, "Marshal, please listen to Marquis Anguo first. You will change your mind..."
"Impossible!" Zuo Wushang shook his head repeatedly.
Zhuo Zifang finally couldn't hold back and sighed, "Your Excellency is Xiao Xun's biological father, Zuo Wushang, Marshal of the Great Heng Kingdom. The late Emperor, unable to bear it, entrusted Xiao Xun to my care, allowing me to give her a stable life. I never expected that the 'Xun' in her name would be the name you gave her..."
Zuo Wushang froze, then sneered, "Unable to bear it? When he exterminated thousands of our countrymen, why wasn't he unable to bear it?"
Zhuo Zifang replied, "Grand Tutor Gongyang He reported it and acted on his own initiative, instigating the soldiers to surround and attack. The late Emperor intended to surround them and persuade them to surrender. By the time he arrived with the Shadow Guards, it was too late..."
Seeing Zuo Wushang's disbelief, Zhuo Zifang continued, "This matter was recorded by the late Emperor, and Gongyang He's memorial is also preserved."
As he spoke, Zuo Wushang took the memorial and record of the year handed over by Liang Xiao and showed them to Zuo Wushang himself.
"I heard you have also cooperated with the Gongyang clan. Gongyang He's calligraphy is famous throughout Jiangnan. You couldn't possibly not recognize it, could you?" Liang Xiao said coldly.
Zuo Wushang read the contents of the memorial, his heart churning with a tempestuous storm. "Gongyang He betrayed us..."
One line clearly stated: "Your humble servant has ascertained the base of the Great Heng remnants. It is a ranch two hundred li south of the capital. A siege will be conducted on an auspicious day to repay the imperial favor!"
The signatory was indeed Grand Tutor Gongyang He!
Zhuo Zifang said with a wry smile, "You should understand now why the remnants of your Great Heng Kingdom are always caught. It's just that your so-called allies repeatedly betray you, coveting your property! I have patiently explained to you because you have been much more compliant in recent years."
Zuo Wushang stared at Zhuo Zifang, then looked at the tearful and silent Zhuo Xun, his emotions complex.
This old man had adopted his daughter...
She seemed to have had little contact with people. Despite her exceptional intelligence and artistic talent, her heart was like that of a child of a few years old. Perhaps it was because she had been too well protected and had not encountered many people...
Perhaps it was precisely because of this pure heart that she created the painting "Ten Years of Lamp in the Martial World Night Rain," which became a masterpiece passed down through generations?
Zuo Wushang felt a lump in his throat.
Liang Xiao then said, "The founding Emperor of the Great Heng Kingdom and the King of the East Sea massacred the royal family of the Great Zhou. After the Great Gan's founding Emperor established the kingdom, he hoped to prevent such tragedies from recurring, so that future generations would not imitate them. Thus, he chose the policy of appeasement. The emperors of the Great Gan have shown you sufficient tolerance, waiting for you to surrender, or give up the restoration and live in peace thereafter."
"Why do you, Zuo Wushang, cling to your misguided path, sacrificing the lives of innocent compatriots? Do you truly regard them as your countrymen? In the final analysis, they are merely tools for you to express your loyalty to the ancestors of the Great Heng Kingdom!"
"A selfish and obstinate person like you, even if you were lucky enough to restore the kingdom, what would you leave behind for this land except devastation, chaos, and suffering?"
Liang Xiao's questioning made Zuo Wushang clench his teeth, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. "You are loyal to the Great Gan, so it's easy for you to say!"
"He is truly loyal to the people, Marshal..."
Before Hong Jie could finish, Zuo Wushang's roar interrupted him. "Traitors, shut up!!"
Hong Jie felt deflated and dejected.
"Mr. Zuo," Yue Lian also spoke, "you repeatedly claim loyalty to the Great Heng royal family, yet you almost killed me. In the end, the only one who can protect me and Xiao Xun is the young master. Besides causing us suffering, what have you done for us?"
Zuo Wushang was filled with shame and could not reply.
Yue Lian said softly, "The young master has been benevolent to you. Those who surrendered just now have been well protected, and no one has harmed them in the slightest. The young master has already discussed with His Majesty that I am now his wife, and our future offspring, after ensuring the Liang family has heirs, may bear the surname Qiu, so that the Qiu clan will not be extinguished, and they will accept enfeoffment to appease the former Great Heng remnants."
Zuo Wushang looked at Liang Xiao and Zhuo Zifang in shock, disbelieving.
Liang Xiao said solemnly, "The offspring born to Xiao Xun and me in the future can also bear the surname Zuo, at least one of them, to ensure that you, Zuo Wushang, have descendants. But you must completely abandon the restoration of the kingdom."
Zuo Wushang's eyes reddened, Zhuo Xun blushed, and her tears stopped.
"I have asked Hong Jie. The remnants of your Great Heng Kingdom, including you and the infant, now total one thousand two hundred and thirteen people. Not one of them can be harmed. The Great Gan will dispatch soldiers under the guise of guardianship to protect them, providing them with ample food and clothing, strictly prohibiting any harm, until they are convinced of your submission and can live as true citizens of the Great Gan. None of your property will be confiscated."
Listening to Liang Xiao's words, Zuo Wushang almost suffocated.
"I will give you time to consider," Liang Xiao said, giving Zhuo Zifang a look.
Zhuo Zifang understood. He left Zhuo Xun and seven Tianshan knights behind, and had Liang Xiao lead the others away from the courtyard to another one.
"Hong Jie, on behalf of Yue Lian and Xiao Xun, I thank you." Liang Xiao bowed deeply to Hong Jie.
Hong Jie smiled bitterly, "Out of selfishness, I don't want my wife, children, brothers, and sisters to live this kind of life anymore. Out of righteousness, destiny belongs to the Great Gan. Moreover, I don't want to see Marshal stubbornly persist, allowing his countrymen to be continuously betrayed by their so-called 'allies.' If it weren't for you, Liang Xiao, and someone else came to appease us, I would never have accepted."
Liang Xiao, grateful, looked at Zuo Qing.
"Wuwuwu, Brother Liang Xiao..." Zuo Qing looked at Liang Xiao with tears in her eyes and walked over with light steps.
Liang Xiao sighed, patted Zuo Qing's head, and comforted her, "It's alright, it's all over."
Everyone smiled with relief, only the three of Hong Jie were puzzled: is this fiery woman who always says "old lady" going to be a demure and well-behaved lady forever for her Brother Liang Xiao?
Just then, Zuo Qing suddenly stretched out her hands and pushed Liang Xiao's chest, knocking him to the ground. Then she jumped on him, her fists raining down on him!
"You see! I've got him! He didn't see through me!"
"In the end! It was! I! Who won~"