The Demon Lords

The sound of hooves echoed dully on the blue bricks of Li Tian City.

The leading man,

clad in white mourning attire,

rode on the slow-moving Pixiu.

The group of officials prepared to welcome him fell silent upon witnessing this scene, and the previously arranged festive words of goodwill were rendered useless.

The citizens of Li Tian City were initially quite interested in this Lord Pingye, partly due to his military achievements and partly because of the Chu Princess.

They were from Jin and naturally lacked that sense of pride and glory, but they were nonetheless keen to watch the spectacle.

However,

upon witnessing this scene,

the citizens recalled the horror and oppression brought upon Li Tian City when Marquise Jingnan suddenly passed away two years ago.

No one dared to intervene; they only watched from afar.

Liao Xian, the Governor of Li Tian City, was not present, nor were the true high-ranking officials and dignitaries of Li Tian City.

Lord Pingye was summoned to the capital, which they knew, but his route should not pass through Li Tian City.

Confident in their status, they found no need to rush to the city gates to welcome him; doing so wouldn’t express sentiments but would be flattery unto death.

Nonetheless, behind the scenes, the manager of the Governor’s Mansion had already booked the best restaurant in Li Tian City for Lord Pingye.

Yet upon learning that Lord Pingye entered the city wearing mourning clothes with his personal guard, that manager went to the restaurant to cancel the reservation for tonight.

Even a fool knows,

tonight,

is not suitable for a banquet.

The procession moved through Li Tian City, finally halting before the former Jingnan Marquis’s mansion.

The mansion’s name plaque still hung there. It had once been replaced with "Prince Jingnan’s Mansion," but after the incident outside Jade Plate City, the emperor stripped Tian Wujing of his princely title.

In the military, such details mattered less; they still called Tian Wujing "Prince," each more fervently than the last;

but in Li Tian City’s official records, the plaque must indeed be replaced.

The two stone lions at the entrance remained untouched.

After all, this was the residence of Lord Jingnan.

Replacing a plaque was conceivable, but touching anything else inside was an entirely different matter.

After all,

the Jingnan army still remained,

and Lord Jingnan himself was still present,

and it was not yet the time for everyone to push against the collapsing wall.

Lord Zheng dismounted, and his riders followed suit. Citizens and officials stood on either side surrounding the Jingnan Marquis’s mansion, while government servants anxiously maintained order.

For the first eight hundred years, Yan defended the nation on horseback, and now they fought for world power on horseback; in the military, individuals had a somewhat transcendent status.

Moreover, with Lord Zheng’s multiple roles, he was transcendent among the transcendent.

Thus, no one stopped him, and no one dared inquire; everyone could only watch silently.

The curtain of the carriage lifted, and Xiong Liqing, dressed in plain white, alighted quietly, joining Lord Zheng.

The gates of the Jingnan Marquis’s mansion were closed, guarded by armored warriors.

Inside was the memorial hall for Marquise Jingnan.

For a long time,

there was no exact Jingnan Marquis’s mansion,

the Tian Family was not considered;

neither was the residence in Nanwang City.

The residence in Li Tian City had been occupied by Lord Jingnan for quite some time, yet it should not be considered either, though inside lay Dujuan’s memorial.

Lord Zheng ascended the steps,

the stone lions on either side seemed to exude a faint smell of blood, an inexplicable scent that made Lord Zheng feel light-headed, even causing his footsteps to falter.

The armored guards at the gate opened it proactively.

Soon,

they divided into two rows, kneeling on one knee towards Zheng Fan:

"Welcome, Lord Pingye!"

"Welcome, Lord Pingye!"

Since Lord Jingnan marched for the eastern expedition, he had not returned to Li Tian City; for the Jingnan soldiers guarding the mansion, Lord Pingye was the first guest to enter since the Lord’s departure.

Lord Zheng and the princess entered the mansion, followed by the personal guard, and as they moved in, the armored guards closed the gate, standing with swords in hand.

Despite it being the season for resurgence and bloom, the mansion appeared cold and desolate.

Lord Jingnan ordered upon departure: the mansion should remain unattended.

In fact,

since the day Dujuan died, the mansion had never been tended to.

Even the memorial hall remained as it was initially.

Behind the memorial hall, there was a small yard,

and in that yard,

lay a tomb.

Yes, Dujuan’s grave was within the mansion.

The world was vast, and nearly all of Jin land was conquered by Lord Jingnan, yet his wife had no place to rest in peace.

The ancestral grave of the Tian Clan in Yanjing still existed, but a return was evidently impossible.

Zheng Fan sat down on the threshold of the memorial hall,

recalling the day he entered Li Tian City on horseback and stepped into the mansion, where Lord Jingnan sat.

It was on that day that Tian Wujing’s hair turned white overnight.

Matters are complex, truth and falsehood, right and wrong, many cannot be rigorously defined; no matter how complicated the laws and codes, they cannot judge all worldly complexities.

Many things cannot be distinguished as right or wrong, nor defined by any reasoning.

Ultimately, people weigh things based on the seat beneath them, thus do not concern yourself with false solemnity; start from the chair under you, and everything becomes clear.

"Husband, I will go burn incense."

Zheng Fan nodded.

The princess entered the memorial hall to offer incense.

Zheng Fan continued sitting there.