From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 457

It was a late night, the sky was red with fire, and the shouts of killing were deafening.

That was the beginning of Zhou Yuan's career and the feat of regaining Lin'an Prefecture.

A woman in a long golden dress and a gilded mask floated out of the black smoke, like a banished fairy from heaven, appearing in the chaotic world.

That was the first time he saw Li Yu'an, and she was still the high and mighty Immortal Mother.

Whether it was her reputation or her noble temperament, Zhou Yuan was panicked.

Now, she was kneeling in front of him, her face pale, her eyes red, her voice hoarse and choked, like a homeless orphan, with only helplessness and despair left.

Zhou Yuan was stunned.

He had never thought that the Immortal Mother, who was the best in martial arts in the world and the always arrogant Li Yu'an, would kneel down to others and fall to this point.

He just stayed for a moment.

Then he hurried forward and supported Li Yu'an.

"Sister Saint, why are you doing this?"

Zhou Yuan said anxiously: "To be honest, you have been so kind to me, how could I not help you?"

"It's not even close to kneeling, get up quickly!"

Li Yu'an didn't move, just looked up at him, her eyes tearful, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and there seemed to be endless grievances and bitterness in her eyes.

Zhou Yuan squatted in front of her, sighed softly, and whispered: "I owe you a lot. How can I deal with you kneeling like this?"

"Virgin sister, national hatred and family feuds, I Zhou Yuan may not understand that kind of taste, I understand your feelings."

"Get up, let's discuss this matter carefully, how about it?"

Li Yu'an's voice was pleading: "Then are you willing to help me?"

"Help!"

Zhou Yuan said solemnly: "Of course I will help you! Do my best!"

Li Yu'an said: "Do you really want to help me, or do you temporarily compromise and say you will help me because you can't bear to see me kneeling like this?"

"I really want to help you!"

Zhou Yuan held her delicate arm and whispered: "Get up, if you continue like this, I will kneel down to you."

Li Yu'an glanced at him faintly, and then slowly stood up.

At some point, her tears had already slid down the corners of her eyes.

Zhou Yuan stretched out his sleeves and gently wiped her tears, sighing: "How many years have you not cried?"

Li Yu'an nodded and said: "Many, many years, I can't remember the last time I cried."

Her voice was full of sighs and fragility.

"When I left home, I cried all day long. Even when I arrived at Zhongnan Mountain, I was still crying."

"Compared to my sister, I am actually the weaker one."

Her eyes were blurred, and she seemed to remember many past events.

"Time is really cruel. Gradually, I have become strong enough. My martial arts are unrivaled in the world. I have no rivals. I founded the Wusheng Sect and brought chaos to the world."

"I am proud and conceited. I only have the thought of restoring my country in my heart, but I have long forgotten the taste of crying."

At this point, she smiled bitterly and said, "However, fate is cruel. My ideals for many years, Li Yu'an, did not fall under the traitors of the Jin family, but were ruthlessly trampled by the iron horses of the Eastern Tartars."

She turned her head to look at Zhou Yuan, and the long-suppressed emotions finally broke out. She cried out: "Zhou Yuan, the Eastern Tartars killed all of our Li family. We have no descendants. I have no hope."

She hugged Zhou Yuan and burst into tears, almost breaking down.

"I am sorry to my father and mother. I have learned a lot of skills, but I couldn't keep the bloodline of the Li family."

"I...even if I die, I dare not meet them in the underworld."

Zhou Yuan did not speak, but patted her back gently.

He understood Li Yu'an's pain. War is always like this, destroying one family after another and harvesting one life after another.

Li Yu'an persisted for more than ten years, hoping to return to Goryeo one day and lead the Li family to regain the country.

However, now the Li family has lost even the last bloodline, and this blow is really unacceptable.

Zhou Yuan gave her enough time.

Li Yu'an cried enough and vented her emotions, then slowly let go of Zhou Yuan.

She wiped her tears and whispered, "Sorry, I don't want this either."

Zhou Yuan said, "Let's sit down and talk about this, okay?"

"Well..."

Li Yu'an nodded gently, but seemed to remember something, and quickly looked back at the table.

She walked over, picked up the teacup, and lifted the kettle.

Before taking the next step, a big hand tightly covered the back of her hand.

She turned around and saw Zhou Yuan with a serious face.

"Sister Saint, don't be like this."

Zhou Yuan said solemnly: "It will never be your turn to serve tea or water. You are too polite."

Li Yu'an opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

ZhouYuan took the teapot and cups and poured a cup for each of them.

He sat down, looked at the pale Li Yu'an, and said, "Tell me about the situation in Goryeo."

Li Yu'an nodded gently and whispered, "Cai Ni and I returned to Goryeo and met the relatives of the family and the few ministers and generals who were loyal to us."

"While reminiscing about the past, we analyzed the situation in Goryeo and thought about how to deal with it in the future."

"But late that night, the iron cavalry of the Eastern Tartars came. There were tens of thousands of people, and they killed all the way. We couldn't stop them at all."

Her voice became hoarse again: "I knew I couldn't stop it, so I wanted to take Cai Ni away, but I was afraid that my family would not be able to escape in time, so I went back to save them."

"I couldn't save them... The other side fired thousands of arrows, one round after another. I killed hundreds of people and couldn't get close. Finally, I was shot in the shoulder and had to leave."

"I watched them kill everyone, including the elderly and children."

The Immortal Mother covered her face and trembled all over.

Zhou Yuan whispered, "What happened next?"

"Later... Later we were chased..."

"The enemy had too many people, and they surrounded us in the rain of arrows. They used horses as footsteps, surrounded us without attacking, and constantly consumed my internal energy with bows and arrows."

"I was injured, my mind was broken, and I couldn't stop it at all."

Li Yu'an shook her head and sighed, "Cai Ni saved me. She took out her identity token and entered the Donglu army."

"That was the token Wanyan Daichan gave her. The Donglu generals didn't dare to touch her, nor did they dare to chase me again."

"That's why I escaped."

Zhou Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Cai Ni was Wanyan Daichan's apprentice, and Wanyan Daichan's status was high enough, and the shaman token was deterrent enough.

Otherwise... the consequences were unimaginable.

Zhou Yuan said, "I understand. Is there any news about Goryeo?"

Li Yu'an said, "The soldiers of the Jin Dynasty could not stop the iron cavalry of the Eastern Tartars. They surrendered after only a few days. Now the whole Goryeo has submitted to the Eastern Tartars."

"The Eastern Tartars looted a large amount of gold, silver, treasures, weapons and ironware, and left with a lot of money."

"Goryeo...exists in name only."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "It seems that Goryeo has been colonized. The Eastern Tartars plan to integrate resources from all over the country and launch a general attack on the Jin Dynasty."

Li Yu'an looked at him and choked up, "I don't know what to do, Zhou Yuan. I just heard that you were here, so I came here."

She wiped away the last tear and sighed, "I didn't expect that you would also become a wanted criminal and be in such a mess."

Zhou Yuan said, "Then you kneeled down and begged me to help you? I might not be able to save myself."

Li Yu'an "You ruined my plan in Lin'an Prefecture. I should have killed you, but I didn't."

"You haven't kept your promise, but I have helped you a lot. Sometimes I even think you are fooling me."

"But I... have never threatened you or forced you."

"Do you know why?"

Zhou Yuan said, "Why?"

Li Yu'an murmured, "Because I trust you."

"I trust a man who dares to fight in a riot. I trust a man who can defend Lin'an Prefecture under such circumstances."

"I trust a man who can write 'Who knows that the food on the plate is hard-earned.'"

"I trust a man who can write a book like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" full of loyalty and integrity."

"I always think that you can help me in the end, so even if I am uneasy, I never want to force you."

Her calm tone seemed to be telling a normal thing.

But Zhou Yuan has lived two lives and experienced many vicissitudes. He knows how precious this trust is.