Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Ma Chao flipped the table, and the bronze wine jar clattered against the blue bricks with a sharp, ear-piercing clang. His dark brocade robe fluttered like a crow's wing, and the sword at his waist trembled slightly with his rapid breathing. "Lord, I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would lose face!" Before he finished speaking, his knuckles were turning blue from gripping the edge of the table. "The emperor has made such a detailed and secret plan, clearly intending to kill me. Are all the civil and military officials in the court really so deaf to the rumors?"

A northerly wind blew crushed snow against his face. Ma Chao suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed, his laughter shrouded in the desolation of the northwest desert. "When I, Ma Mengqi, was accused of treason, did you all try to dissuade the emperor and get so angry? The emperor slandered the queen so much, and you just let him do it?" He suddenly took a half step forward, his boots crushing the wine stains on the ground. "Where were you waiting when all the ministers in the court stood by and watched?"

A scarlet cloak swept across the jade floor tiles, emitting a chilling gleam. This once-dominant general now had a burning desire for revenge in his eyes: "My men of Xiliang are trapped on Lonely Mountain, wrapped in sheepskin coats, drinking rainwater and eating horse meat while fighting to the death on the battlefield!" He suddenly snatched up the tiger talisman from the table and hurled it fiercely at the beam. "Every crack in this shattered landscape was paid for with the blood of my men of Xiliang? And in the end..." He clenched his teeth tightly as a rusty sensation rose in his throat. "And in the end, they have to use such a despicable method to reward their heroes!"

The north wind whipped up gravel, slicing through his face like a sharp blade. Xun Yu wrapped himself tightly around his faded plain robe, his fingers, like withered branches, clutching the yellowed imperial edict, his knuckles turning purple from the biting cold. "Your Excellency's resentment stems from the Emperor's suspicion, but now the Emperor is dead..." Before he could finish his words, a howling north wind suddenly blew the silk scarf from his head, carrying bits of snow between them.

Ma Chao lunged forward, the hem of his dark brocade robe sweeping across the frosted wormwood. The scarlet strips of cloth wrapped around the tassel of his sword fluttered in the wind like blood. Veins bulged in his neck, and his hoarse roar shook the withered trees in the distance, causing snow to rustle. "Say that again!" His hoarse question startled a flock of jackdaws from the reeds, their dark shadows blotting out half the sky.

Xun Yu gazed at the man's suddenly pale face and handed him the snow-soaked edict. Under the dim sky, the melting snow stained the ink into an eerie crimson: "Last night, the Weiyang Palace urgently summoned the imperial physician. This morning..." His words were ripped to shreds by the howling north wind. Ma Chao snatched the edict away, his rough fingertips scraping against the parchment, leaving streaks of blood on the surface from his frozen fingertips.

The frozen ground beneath his feet cracked like ice, and Ma Chao stumbled back, his lower back slamming hard against a dead tree stump covered in icicles. The chill of the stump was no match for the chill brought by the words "The Late Emperor" on the imperial edict.

"Impossible..." A broken whisper escaped Ma Chao's throat. He stared at the blurred seal on the imperial edict, remembering the emperor who had attempted to kill him at the celebration banquet that day. His cloak fell to the ground, revealing the hideous arrow wound in his inner armor. He felt a chill even colder than his heart. He suddenly laughed, his voice choked with sobs. "I, Ma Mengqi, have waited so long for this day to finally hear the news of his death!"

Xun Yu took the opportunity to take a half step forward, the hem of his robe brushing against the dry grass covered in a thin layer of ice. His bony fingers unfolded the imperial edict, his frozen lips trembling slightly. "Your Majesty, please read this—before the late Emperor died, he had already written this in his will..." Before he could finish his words, Ma Chao suddenly grabbed his wrist, the spikes of the armored gauntlet nearly digging into his flesh.

"A will?" Ma Chao's bloodshot eyes stared at the blurred imperial seal, a sneer escaping his throat. "Could it be that my Xiliang army be disarmed and returned home so the new emperor can secure his throne?" A strong wind blew the edge of the edict, instantly revealing and then obscuring the fragments of the words "pardon the Ma family." Xun Yu struggled to stand, letting his sleeves rip askew. His old voice, shrouded in the wind and snow, said, "Your Majesty has repented before his death and pardoned the Xiliang case. I hope..."

Outside Chang'an, a north wind whipped up gravel like sharp arrows. Xun Yu's fingertips trembled slightly as he clutched the plain white edict. He gazed at the raging fury in Ma Chao's eyes, unaware that this edict, which placed all the blame on the late Emperor Liu Bian, was the culmination of a vicious plot devised by Wang Yun and Liu Xie under the lanterns of the Luoyang Palace—a dead man couldn't argue, and this would further stymie Ma Chao's desire for revenge.

When he was hastily summoned to the Weiyang Palace, the news of the emperor's death still resonated in his ears. Wang Yun pressed an imperial edict into his hands: "Wen Ruo and Meng Qi have a history; this trip will surely appease them." He made no mention of the lack of troops in Chang'an, nor did he explain that the delay was intended to await reinforcements from Cao Cao. As the cold wind brushed against Xun Yu's graying temples, he was oblivious to the fact that he was merely crossing a river on the chessboard.

Ma Chao suddenly drew his sword, the cold light splitting the snow and wind, the blade pointing directly at Xun Yu's nose: "What crime have I, Xiliang, committed?!" As the sword trembled, the edge of the blade reflected his red eyes, "Back then, I led the cavalry to fight for the court. On the day of my triumphant return, the gates of Chang'an were wide open and the emperor gave a banquet. But at the banquet, everything had already been arranged to kill me! "The corner of his robe brushed the wormwood covered with ice spikes, and he suddenly laughed up to the sky, "If there is to be a pardon, it should be me who pardons Chang'an! What right do these rats hiding behind the palace walls have to judge the soldiers who fought bloody battles on the battlefield?"

Xun Yu stumbled back half a step, his wide sleeves brushing off the jade pendant at his waist. He struggled to steady himself, a bitter taste rising in his throat. "Mengqi!" his voice, shrouded in the wind and snow, said, "Mengqi!" "Have you forgotten the 'moral principles of ruler and minister' that Duke Lu pursued his entire life?" His fingers, like withered branches, trembled as he pointed north. "Even if the emperor was wrong, you led a hundred thousand cavalrymen to Chang'an, your swords pointed at the nine-tiered palace, and fought against those traitors..." Before he could finish his words, Ma Chao had already plunged his sword into the frozen ground, sending icy shards flying past Xun Yu's ears.

"The moral code between the ruler and his subjects?" Ma Chao gripped the hilt of his sword, his armor colliding with the frozen ground with a dull sound. "Master taught me to be loyal to the emperor, but who will teach the emperor to be benevolent?!" He raised his head suddenly, veins popping out on his forehead. "If it weren't for Master's order, how could he have asked to marry Wan'er as his queen? If it weren't for everything Master did for him, he could sit comfortably in the nine-story palace, but he has forgotten everything about how he treated Wan'er." The sword suddenly rose from the ground, drawing a sharp arc of light in the air. "Tell me! I just stood up to speak for Wan'er. At the banquet, all the soldiers were out and the generals were everywhere. How could I surrender and become a fish on the chopping board?!"

Xun Yu looked at Ma Chao's red eyes, his Adam's apple rolling as he lowered his voice: "Mengqi, after all, Lu Wan is the queen, and you...have a private relationship with her." Before he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew up the remaining snow on the ground and hit the faces of the two men.

Ma Chao took a sudden half step forward, his black cloak rustling. "She and I were childhood sweethearts!" The scabbard at his waist jingled with his movements. "But from the moment she donned the Phoenix Crown, our personal relationship was completely severed. I just wanted to protect her. Is that wrong?" He suddenly clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force. "The emperor set up a poison trap at the celebration banquet, and when I fought my way out..." His voice suddenly choked, "I don't know if Wan'er has died at the hands of that tyrant's sword."

"Mengqi! Mengqi!" Xun Yu hurriedly grabbed his arm. "The Queen is not in danger!" The wax seal glowed dark red in the dim light. "Lord Xuande has secured her. Although she was deposed, she now lives safely in the Lu Mansion." Seeing Ma Chao shudder, he emphasized, "If you agree to withdraw your troops and negotiate, you will be able to see her tomorrow."

Ma Chao's body swayed, and the biting north wind blew the fine snow into his collar, but it could not blow away the panic and ecstasy that was surging in his eyes - it turned out that Wan'er was still alive, it turned out that she was still alive.

But this relief was short-lived. He turned abruptly, the sound of armor clashing mixed with the muffled sound of gnashing teeth. "That being said!" He slammed his bloody fist to the ground. "My personal guards, Pan Feng, Wu Anguo, and those Xiliang men who rose up in revenge, their bodies lying in the wilderness are still not cold!" He suddenly ripped open his clothes, revealing the hideous arrow marks in his inner armor. "And Dian Wei, Li Tong..." His voice suddenly got stuck in his throat and turned into a suppressed sob. "Should I just treat these lives as a dream and let it go?!"

Cold sweat broke out on Xun Yu's forehead, condensing into ice beads in the cold wind: "Mengqi! Dian Wei and Li Tong are really not dead! Lord Xuande sent medical officers to rescue them overnight, and now they are both recuperating in his house!" Before he finished speaking, Ma Chao had grabbed him by the front of his collar, and the iron armor gauntlet almost crushed his ribs.

"Hahaha!" Ma Chao laughed so hard his whole body trembled, startling the crows in the distant reeds. "So, I should really thank my senior brother?" He suddenly let go, and Xun Yu stumbled back and bumped into a dead tree. Ma Chao wiped away the water stains from the corners of his eyes, which he could not tell whether they were tears or snow. He suddenly stepped closer and lowered his voice: "Sir, since my senior brother is so 'concerned about me' -" his fingertips flashed the cold light of his sword, "why didn't he come here in person today, instead of making you run all the way?"

Xun Yu was choked by the sandy north wind and coughed violently. His trembling hands tightly grasped the edge of his cloak, and even his knuckles turned blue and white: "Lord Xuande had a dispute with Lu Bu after Your Majesty passed away. Because he was outnumbered, he has now fled Chang'an with the remaining troops." His voice was intermittent in the whistling wind, as if it would be torn to pieces at any time.

Ma Chao's grip on the hilt of his sword suddenly froze, and the color drained from his face. Then, a long, sarcastic laugh broke through the sky, startling the crows in the reeds. "What a diligent and responsible Uncle Liu!" He kicked away the snow at his feet, and the ice chips flew onto Xun Yu's shoes. "He deceived me into trusting me and letting me enter the city with him. He then dispatched soldiers to stop my Xiliang cavalry, claiming to protect the Han court! To protect that tyrant, he ignored right and wrong!"

Before he could finish his words, Ma Chao suddenly yanked his sword from the frozen ground. A flash of cold light flashed, and the withered tree beside him, as thick as a bowl, snapped. Splinters of wood mixed with ice shards flew everywhere. He stared at the dead branch twisting at the broken edge, a cold sneer escaping his throat: "I should have known—no one in Chang'an will meet a good end!" The biting north wind swept across the sword blade, making a mournful whine, as if echoing the hatred boiling in his eyes.

Xun Yu wrapped himself tightly in his cloak, which rustled in the cold wind. His voice was tinged with a hoarse cough. "That's enough, Mengqi! The current emperor is dead. Even if you harbor a grudge, he has paid the price!" He suddenly reached out and tugged at the hem of Ma Chao's clothes, his skinny fingers trembling slightly in the wind. "Do you really want to watch the world erupt in war again and the people suffer?"

Ma Chao suddenly shook off his hand, and the hem of his black brocade robe swept across the wormwood covered with ice spikes: "Your Majesty, do you think this is what I want?" His scarlet eyes stared at the low-hanging leaden clouds in the distance, and a sneer escaped from his throat, "If not forced into a desperate situation, who would be willing to bear the stigma of a traitor!" The tassel of his sword whipped back and forth in the wind, leaving tiny white marks on the frozen soil.

Xun Yu suppressed the turmoil in his chest and tremblingly unfolded the plain white edict: "Mengqi, please carefully examine this edict." The wax seal glowed dark red in the dim skylight. "As long as you are willing to cease fire and negotiate peace, the Chang'an court will..."