You wouldn't even be willing to end your bloodline for me.

The deputy squad leader sharpened his knife... wait, no—he was putting down his armor and laying aside his spear.

He had even thoughtfully prepared a white flag.

When the moment came, he would simply raise it high, and General Zhang Shi would understand his intentions at once. That way, the general wouldn’t mistake him for one of Zhou Xiong’s lackeys and accidentally injure him.

That was the deputy squad leader’s thinking, and the members of the Shen clan thought almost identically.

“Why wait any longer to surrender to the Lord Duke? Ha! In truth, I already wanted to give up when Fort Fanshan fell. It was all of you who insisted on holding out. Now, we can’t delay any longer!”

“Fellow clansmen, let me state my position now. Whatever the rest of you decide, I am absolutely throwing in the towel. Waiting until today has already made me anxious. If anything else changes, I won’t be able to bear it.”

“I agree: let’s surrender to the Lord Duke. Then, we can finally enjoy the wonderful life free from these love-struck lunatics attacking us—let’s see what that’s really like.”

“Surrender, surrender! What’s there to discuss, damn it? Anyone who dares not surrender, let them see if my blade is sharp enough!”

...

The clansmen were in a fervor, all shouting that they wanted to surrender.

Some even felt there had been no need to waste these three days.

They should have raised the white flag immediately and swarmed out of the naval stockade’s gates the very same instant.

Seeing this scene, the clan head felt deeply gratified.

“Excellent, excellent! There are still plenty of wise people in the Shen family. With this foundation, there will be no more hesitations.”

He then declared, “Very well, since that’s the case, let’s do our duty for... General Zhang Shi one last time.”

“Listen carefully: I will now assign tasks one by one. You must all carry them out with your utmost effort, without the slightest mistake.”

The tasks the clan head assigned were matters concerning the command of the naval forces, as well as the grain supplies, account books, and so on at the Riverside Sandbank Naval Stockade—all things that General Zhang Shi cared about most, or rather, that any general would care about most.

Their surrender at the Riverside Sandbank Naval Stockade had already been delayed. They had to show an excellent attitude—to leave the best impression possible in the eyes of General Zhang Shi and the Lord Duke.

And so, the entire Riverside Sandbank Naval Stockade soon buzzed with bustling activity, a lively scene of intense preparation.

In this atmosphere, Shen Du, the actual person in charge of the stockade, was also swept up in the excitement. Already, he was beginning to think: after his child was brought back, how should he make arrangements?

From what he knew, Ren Tianye was not a stingy man. Usually, anyone who surrendered voluntarily would be allowed to keep their original post, though they might be placed under surveillance.

Therefore, in all likelihood, he would remain the commander of this Riverside Sandbank Naval Stockade.

That would give him time to carefully plan his son’s future.

What kind of house?

What kind of gifts?

What kind of wet nurse?

And many other details!

Just as his head began to spin from all the thinking, the door creaked open, and a waft of fragrance drew near. Shen Du looked up and saw a face of gentle, misty beauty.

“Lan Xiang, why have you come?”

“These past few days, haven’t you been unwell? You ought to rest properly.”

The visitor was Su Lanxiang.

The woman for whom he had sworn to love for a lifetime.

And he had indeed kept that vow.

In front of Lan Xiang, he had always been more devoted in affection than driven by desire. For her sake, he had even given up his wild and reckless youthful ways—he truly loved her to the bone.

Su Lanxiang’s complexion didn’t look good.

And it wasn’t the sickly kind of pallor.

It was a quiet unhappiness... or rather, discontent!

Shen Du noticed it at a glance.

He quickly said, “Lan Xiang, are you unhappy?”

“Has someone upset you?”

“Tell me, and I’ll wipe out their entire family.”

When he said the last sentence, Shen Du’s face was filled with ruthless ferocity, and in an instant, he transformed into the image of a chaotic-world devil.

That image should have made anyone who saw it feel uneasy, frightened, even terrified.

But Su Lanxiang only looked on the verge of tears and asked, “Shen Du, are you going to surrender the water village to Ren Tianye?”

“Yes, I am. Lan Xiang, you… you don’t want this?”

“Do you think I could possibly want this?”

“I… I thought you would want it…”

Shen Du’s voice grew weak as he said, “After all, this way, the Shen family would have an heir by blood, and in the future, my clansmen won’t use that as an excuse to bother us anymore.”

“Then the two of us can live a stable life together.”

“Lan Xiang, don’t you think that’s good?”

Su Lanxiang’s answer was decisive: “No.”

The word “No” struck Shen Du like a thunderbolt.

Under ordinary circumstances, Shen Du would have unhesitatingly stood by Su Lanxiang’s side, advancing and retreating with her as one.

But this time, the entire Shen family had been stirred up, and the matter was essentially already set in stone. If he still sided with Su Lanxiang and opposed the whole family, the pressure would be unimaginably immense.

So, for the first time, Shen Du went against Su Lanxiang’s wishes and tried to persuade her, “Lan Xiang, honestly, I think this is actually pretty good.

Before, the family kept trying to push concubines and outside women on me to force me to have an heir. For your sake, I turned every single one of them down.”

Before Shen Du could finish, Su Lanxiang coldly snorted and interrupted, “But that didn’t stop you from enjoying yourself.”

“Didn’t I send you a maid from my quarters?”

At those words, Shen Du’s face flushed deep red with embarrassment.

A feeling of collapse surged in his heart, stirring up unbearable memories of the past.

What maid?

Ugly as that—could she even be called a maid?

A man like him—handsome and extraordinary, with considerable wealth—before meeting Su Lanxiang, the women he had associated with, taken at random, were either stunning beauties or charming sweethearts even if not national-level lovelies.

Forced to accept Su Lanxiang’s so-called maids… did she have any idea how much he had suffered?

If it hadn’t been for the need to complete the family’s bloodline mission, and that the person had to be controlled by Su Lanxiang, would he have ever put up with such misery?

But…

Enduring that misery was one thing.

In the end, when a pregnancy finally happened, Su Lanxiang would lose the child from anger or a fit of temper.

Now…

He still had no child!

The Shen family members were still plotting day and night to make him produce an heir!

Was he not already suffering enough?

Thinking about all this, Shen Du mustered his courage and said, “Lan Xiang, I really do think this is a good deal. The clan head told me that the child will have no mother, so it can be taken in and placed right in your room.

You’ll be spared the pain of childbirth, you’ll have a child, and we’ll be free from the Shen family’s nagging—it’s the best of all worlds!”

Yet, no matter how earnestly he pleaded, Su Lanxiang had only one answer.

“No!”

“But…” Shen Du felt himself breaking down, “Lan Xiang, isn’t it true that you can’t bear children because you once fell into the water? And in this life, I will only ever have you. That means we will never have a child of our own.”

“Then the Shen family line will die out!”

"Our Shen family is deeply influenced by patriarchal values, placing the utmost importance on the continuation of the bloodline. If our line were to end like this, I would become a sinner in the eyes of the entire Shen family!"

"Lan Xiang, this... this isn't right!"

Su Lanxiang remained obstinate. "It's still no!"

What's more, Su Lanxiang not only refused, but she also completely cut off Shen Du's hope. Her face, which had been on the verge of tears, suddenly burst into a flood of sorrow, and she wept with heartbreaking intensity.

She pointed at Shen Du and began to curse him.

"Shen Du, Shen Du, I see it all now."

"You don't truly love me."

"You're not even willing to let our line end for my sake!"

"In your heart, the honor and disgrace of your Shen family, the continuation of your bloodline, are most important—while I..."

"I am nothing more than something dispensable to you."

"If I had known this from the start, I would rather have stayed unmarried for life than ever come back with you."

"In the end, I..."

"placed my trust in the wrong man!"

Having said this, Su Lanxiang turned and fled.

Shen Du was drenched in sweat from anxiety and rushed after her.

He chased her from the study all the way to the bedroom.

Pushing open the door, he saw that Su Lanxiang had already hung a three-foot white silk cord from the beam, with a stool placed beneath it.

Shen Du was horrified. He rushed over, pulled Su Lanxiang down, and quickly promised, "Lan Xiang, I love you, I love you."

"In my heart, the honor of my family and the continuation of our bloodline—none of it can compare to your gentle smile."

"I won't surrender to Ren Tianye!"

"As for that child, let whoever wants it take it... I don't want it anymore!"

"From now on, I will be with you, just the two of us, for life after life. Our life together will be far better than having a child."

Only then did Su Lanxiang stop crying. She slipped out of Shen Du's embrace, her eyes still tearful, and asked, "Really?"

"More real than real!"

"Alright, then write it in blood!"

Shen Du bit his finger and immediately started writing with passion.

Not long after, he handed the written pledge to Su Lanxiang, and only then did her expression turn from worry to joy. She said, "Husband, I knew you were only teasing me before. In your heart, you do still have me."

"I... did not place my trust in the wrong man!"

Su Lanxiang whispered sweet words, quickly coaxing Shen Du into a blissful daze. Once she had soothed his mood and sent him off to face the storm alone, she spread out paper and brush to write something of her own.

Write a letter!

A letter to Zhou Xiong!

The content of the letter was not complicated.

On one hand, she told Zhou Xiong that she would hold the Linjiang Shazui water stronghold, and that Ren Tianye's men would never be allowed in!

On the other hand...

it was a warning!

"I don't know exactly where you got my information, but since I've done what you asked, no matter what, you must never speak of why I cannot become pregnant. Do you understand?"