Chapter 218
Lin Wan gently rubbed her stomach in slow, soothing circles through the thick fabric of her velvet robe. "Are you three trying to help Aunt Yun tease me again?"
Another tiny, distinct kick tapped against her hand in clear response. Sister Yun covered her mouth with her sleeve, her face beaming with delight. "They are remarkably clever little ones, my lady. They understand far more than you think."
Before Lin Wan could reply, a firm, familiar knock echoed against the chamber doors. The quiet, lighthearted moment instantly dissolved into thin air.
Captain Ronan stepped inside the room, his long cloak dusted with faint flecks of fresh snow. He bowed his head respectfully toward Lin Wan. "My Lady, His Majesty has requested your presence."
Lin Wan looked up, her heart taking a small leap into her throat. "Right now?"
"Yes, My Lady," Ronan answered plainly. "He is waiting for you on the high eastern viewing balcony."
Lin Wan slowly stood up from her chair with Sister Yun’s gentle assistance, smoothing down the front of her heavy dress. She took a deep, steadying breath. "I’ll come right away."
A few minutes later, Lin Wan followed Captain Ronan through the grand, winding corridors of the upper palace.
Unlike previous mornings, the fortress felt strangely, eerily quiet. The usual lively chatter of servants and guards was completely gone.
Domestic staff hurried from one hallway to another in tense silence, carrying heavy stacks of clean bandages, crates of iron arrows, and extra supplies.
Royal physicians walked with quick, urgent strides through the grand halls, holding armfuls of herbal jars and healing ointments. Messengers constantly hurried in and out of the central command rooms, their faces pale and serious.
Everyone looked intensely busy, and beneath that professional discipline, everyone looked deeply nervous. The entire Citadel was bracing itself for an impending storm.
Lin Wan walked beside Captain Ronan, her boots making soft sounds against the cold stone floor. She looked at his rigid side profile and finally spoke up softly. "Has the army officially arrived?"
Captain Ronan did not try to hide the truth from her. He answered honestly and directly. "Their forward march has stopped at the entrance of the outer valley, My Lady."
Her footsteps slowed for a brief second as the cold reality settled into her mind. "They are... so close now."
Ronan gave a quiet nod. "Yes. Just a short ride through the mountain pass."
Neither of them spoke another word for the remainder of the walk. The weight of the coming conflict pressed down heavily on their shoulders.
Soon, they reached the broad, open stone balcony situated at the highest point of the grand palace. The biting mountain wind rushed across the open space, brushing against Lin Wan’s pale cheeks and fluttered the edges of her warm cloak.
Cassian was already standing there near the outer carved railing. His broad hands were resting casually behind his back while his golden eyes remained fixed on the distant, snow-covered mountains. He wore his thick, dark fur cloak, looking like a statue carved directly out of the mountain itself.
Without turning his head toward her, he spoke as soon as her footsteps crossed the threshold. "You came."
Lin Wan walked up beside him, stopping a few feet away to look out at the same vast view. "You sent for me."
"I did," Cassian murmured softly.
For several quiet moments, neither of them said anything. The only sound was the sharp howling of the cold winter wind slicing through the stone arches.
Then, Cassian slowly raised one long, pale arm and pointed toward the wide valley below the northern peaks. "Look over there."
Lin Wan followed the direction of his extended hand. She squinted slightly against the bright glare of the snow.
Far away, beyond the immediate snowy ridges and icy frozen rivers, thousands of tiny black and silver figures stretched across the vast white land.
Rows upon rows of organized military columns stood in proud formation. Brilliant silver banners danced fiercely in the wind, catching the morning sunlight.
Even from this great distance, her sharp eyes immediately recognized the proud silver leopard emblem emblazoned on the central battle flags.
Her breath hitched in her throat, catching in her chest. "They’re really here..."
Cassian quietly nodded his head, his golden eyes cold and steady. "Their forward vanguard arrived just before sunrise. They marched straight through the night without stopping."
Lin Wan’s dark eyes remained completely fixed on the distant, massive army.
Somewhere down there, among those countless thousands of armored warriors, Wang was standing. Somewhere among those lines, Wei Xiang was waiting for her.
Unconsciously, she took one small step closer to the edge of the stone railing. Her eyes searched desperately through the endless sea of silver banners, wishing with all her heart that she could pierce the vast distance between them.
Although it was far too far away to recognize individual faces or hear a single voice, her heart somehow knew with absolute certainty that they were there.
They came for her. They really risked everything to come all this way.
A faint, tearful smile appeared on her pale face before she even realized it was happening.
Cassian caught the subtle change in her expression out of the corner of his eye, but he said nothing to mock or scold her. He simply watched her quiet relief with an unreadable look in his golden gaze.
Lin Wan whispered softly into the rushing wind, her voice filled with a mixture of immense awe and deep sorrow. "They came... They actually came all this way for me."
Cassian’s deep voice remained completely calm and steady beside her. "They never had any intention of leaving these lands without you, Lin Wan. You should have known that from the very beginning."
A prick of tears made her eyes slightly red, though she blinked them back bravely. "I explicitly told them not to risk their lives for me like this... I told them it was far too dangerous."
"Men like them do not listen to such warnings when it comes to the person they love," Cassian said flatly. "No. They were never going to listen to you."
Another long, heavy silence stretched out between them on the high balcony.
Lin Wan suddenly looked up at the vast distance, a soft question surfacing in her mind. "Can they see this palace clearly from down there in the valley?"
Cassian gave a subtle nod. "Yes. The Citadel’s high towers are visible from almost anywhere in the northern pass."
"Then..." She hesitated for a second, her fingers lightly gripping the stone railing. "Do you think... Wang is looking up at this balcony right now?"
Cassian answered her with complete, unvarnished honesty. "If I were in his position right now... looking up at the high walls holding my wife... I would be staring directly at this spot."
Lin Wan offered a small, sad smile, her heart aching with a mixture of love and deep regret. "I suppose I would be doing the exact same thing."
The cold mountain wind continued to blow relentlessly between them, tossing her dark hair around her shoulders.
Directly below the high balcony, a deep, heavy grinding sound echoed through the courtyard as the massive outer oak gates of the inner fortress slowly began to open.
Hundreds of elite Shadow Guards, fully clad in dark iron armor and carrying long steel spears, marched out in absolute, perfect military formation, taking up defensive positions along the lower courtyard steps.
Lin Wan frowned slightly, her heart tightening with fresh anxiety. "What’s happening down there? Are you sending soldiers out to fight them?"
Cassian looked down at the moving dark lines below. "The first defensive vanguard is simply taking their designated positions along the outer courtyard stairs."
"Will they initiate an attack on the valley?" she asked nervously.
"No," Cassian said firmly. "They will strictly maintain their defensive line and wait."
"Wait for what?"
Cassian shifted his gaze back toward the distant silver banners fluttering against the snowy peaks. "They are waiting for Wang."
Lin Wan turned her head sharply toward him, her eyebrows drawing together in surprise. "You mean... you think he is coming here himself?"
"He will not hide behind his army like a coward while his soldiers bleed for him," Cassian said smoothly. "He will come forward to face these gates directly. He always does."
His deep tone held something strange and unexpected—something that surprised Lin Wan to her very core. There was no hatred in his voice. There was no bitter anger or petty jealousy either. It almost sounded like... genuine, profound respect.
Lin Wan noticed it immediately and voiced her thought softly. "You respect him, don’t you?"
Cassian did not attempt to deny her observation. He kept his head held high. "He has earned that respect over many hard years of leadership and combat. It would be foolish to pretend otherwise."
She looked thoroughly surprised by his admission. "I honestly thought you hated him with everything you had."
"I have never hated Patriarch Wang," Cassian stated plainly, his golden eyes steady. "I simply stand on the opposite side of a very long, very complicated war. Hatred is a weak emotion that blinds a ruler to reality."