Am I Also Blessed with Good Fortune

Gu Qing stumbled back to the Gu residence.

The first thing she saw was a corpse. The gleaming armor was cracked and blackened, stripped of all its former martial elegance as he lay silently on the wooden plank in the hall.

Gu Qing’s body went completely limp. Only with the army doctor’s support could she drag herself step by step to Hu Shaoyou’s side.

He lay there perfectly still, face upturned, eyes tightly shut, his complexion ashen and pallid. His limbs were cold and stiff, motionless, utterly devoid of any sign of life.

Gu Qing’s body trembled again. She fell straight to her knees. At first, her eyes turned bloodshot, silent tears rolling down in large drops as she bit her lip to suppress her sobs.

But moments later, she could no longer hold back.

A wail of grief burst forth. She cried until her whole body shook, barely able to catch her breath.

She reached out, embracing this familiar man, stroking his ice-cold face. She wished this were only a nightmare—that when she woke, nothing would have happened.

Beside her, the army doctor was filled with grief and sorrow.

He gently pulled Gu Qing away, urging her, “Madam, please accept my condolences. The general died resisting the rebel army. He fell on the battlefield—a worthy death.”

“We are all proud of him.”

These words were meant to comfort, but they only shattered Gu Qing further.

A worthy death on the battlefield?

But he was an official of the court who had opposed the court and defied the emperor’s decree. Now, killed by cannon fire, even if history remembered him, it would be as a great traitor!

Her husband, once so honored… how had he

come to such an end?

From now on, between heaven and earth, she would be utterly alone.

Just then, the sound of weapons and armor arose from outside the gate.

Almost as the noise began, a unit of light cavalry surged in. Clearly, these were imperial troops.

Zhang Shi charged in at the lead.

His personal guards were not far behind, swiftly taking control of the entire Gu estate.

“So this is Hu Shaoyou?”

Zhang Shi looked at the corpse and asked.

But no one dared to answer.

“I’m asking you a question!” Zhang Shi wasted no time. He leveled his blade and pressed it directly against Gu Qing’s neck.

A red line instantly appeared on Gu Qing’s delicate skin, but she was already numb to the world, indifferent to life or death. In fact, she almost wished to be killed herself, so she could follow her husband into the underworld.

Still, Gu Qing answered: “Yes. This is my husband, Hu Shaoyou. He… is dead.”

“Looks like he really is dead,” Zhang Shi said. Seeing is believing. He studied the corpse—no breath, clearly deceased.

But to guard against trickery, like a body double, he summoned several surrendered soldiers and had them go in one by one to identify the corpse.

The result was the same every time.

The body lying on the wooden plank was indeed Hu Shaoyou.

So Hu Shaoyou was dead.

Killed by cannon fire!

“Throughout history, generals killed by stray projectiles are rare, but I, Zhang Shi, have witnessed it?”

“Could this be my lucky break?”

“Am I finally blessed by fortune?”

Zhang Shi muttered these thoughts to himself but didn’t forget his mission:

Capture Xu Shang. Kill Xu Shang.

Xu Shang was the acting city lord of Huai’an, the first city Zhang Shi had seized through cunning. That city meant a great deal to him.

Besides, how could he leave a job half done?

So…

Zhang Shi pressed his blade a fraction deeper. The cut on Gu Qing’s neck grew a little more. “Where is Xu Shang?” he demanded fiercely.

With the blade at her neck and Zhang Shi’s murderous aura pressing down like a tangible weight, an ordinary woman would have trembled in fear. But Gu Qing, with tears still streaking her face, wore an expression of despair turned to numbness.

She said calmly, “My husband hid Xu Shang away and never told me where.”

“I asked him several times, but got no answer. So I truly don’t know where Xu Shang is hiding.”

Zhang Shi grabbed Gu Qing and yanked her up.

“I led my army here through hardship and expense, burning men and supplies every step of the way—all for that dog Xu Shang!” he roared.

“You think saying ‘I don’t know’ is enough?”

“Hah!”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll slaughter your entire household and see if you still don’t know!”

Even under such a threat, Gu Qing was unafraid. “My family might have been once large, but my parents died of illness when I was young. In all this world, there were only my husband and I, clinging to each other to spend the rest of our lives,” she said.

“Now that he is dead, my heart is ashes.”

“If the general finds satisfaction in killing me, take my head now. All I ask is that you burn my husband and me together—so that in life we shared a bed, and in death we share a grave.”

“If the general chooses not to kill me, once I have arranged my husband’s funeral, I will go to him on my own. That will relieve you of one troublesome matter.”

Gu Qing’s eagerness for death startled Zhang Shi. He had seen many who were unafraid to die, but few who actually sought it.

Still… this couldn’t end like this.

“My army has marched for days. You think dying is enough?” he sneered.

He tossed Gu Qing aside and turned to his men, ordering them to keep watch while he assembled the surrendered troops. Then he dispatched squads to search every corner of the city, determined to capture Xu Shang.

“Remember—I want Xu Shang alive or dead!”

“Yes!”

The guards launched their search.

All day long, unit after unit reported back.

“General, no sign of Xu Shang.”

“General, we’ve interrogated all the city officials. None know Xu Shang’s whereabouts.”

“General, we picked up a rumor that Xu Shang may have left the city, but it’s unconfirmed.”

…

Zhang Shi grew restless with frustration.

To the Duke, Xu Shang no longer mattered—without Huai’an, Xu Shang was harmless, alive or dead.

But to Zhang Shi, he mattered.

He was determined to find Xu Shang.

Unfortunately, before any news of Xu Shang emerged, the guards brought Zhang Shi another thunderbolt from heaven.

“General, the main granary is completely empty. Not a single grain of rice.”

“General, the city arsenal is nearly bare—only useless scrap remains.”

“General, the treasury is empty. Even a rat couldn’t find a coin to run with.”

…

Zhang Shi’s expression changed.

“What?”

“The main granary of Yuan City has no grain?”

“The arsenal has no weapons?”

“The treasury has no gold or silver?”

“Where have all these supplies gone?”