All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

And so, Bai Jiaxuan appeared and wiped out dozens of Zhen Song soldiers from Guojia Village. Just as he was about to leave, Tian Xiao'e clung to his leg and begged him to take her away.

Hiding in the inner room, Tian Xiao'e witnessed the mysterious man display his power. With a single slap, the man's head was shattered. Although it was violent and bloody, his undeniable heroic bearing deeply attracted Tian Xiao'e.

This woman with bound feet, whose fate was sealed from birth, saw the light of freedom at that moment. In this era, as a weak woman, she could only rely on men to live a free life.

The powerful man before her was her only chance in her life, and she knew very well that if she didn't seize it, her life would be completely over!

Bai Jiaxuan was also seeing Tian Xiao'e for the first time, and he was slightly amazed. This woman was more than ten times more beautiful than described in the book.

Her petite, curvaceous body seemed to possess an innate allure; her beauty was breathtaking, even her tears were captivating; her fair, snow-white cheeks were flawless, with every inch of skin perfectly proportioned.

Bai Jiaxuan swallowed hard, secretly cursing, "Damn it, it would be strange if a woman like this didn't have a tragic fate in this chaotic world!"

Bai Jiaxuan was not a saint. Although he was over forty-five according to the age in his world, men love that kind of thing until they die. So, he barely thought for half a second before grabbing the other person's arm, lifting her up gently, and wrapping his arms around her slender waist. He looked into Tian Xiao'e's eyes calmly and said in a tone devoid of any emotion.

"From now on, you'll be working for me!"

Tian Xiao'e answered her determination with her actions, her entire body seemingly weightless as she softly nestled into Bai Jiaxuan's embrace!

Chapter 57: Raising a daughter is just too difficult!

After rescuing Tian Xiao'e, Bai Jiaxuan's original plan was temporarily disrupted.

With a beauty in his arms, Bai Jiaxuan felt physically comfortable, but afterwards, he was also somewhat melancholy, wondering what to do with Tian Xiao'e.

Tian Xiao'e is only eighteen years old this year, younger than her son. In fact, in this era, taking a concubine is not a crime.

However, Bai Jiaxuan and Xiangcao had lived together for over twenty years, and the sudden return of a concubine left Bai Jiaxuan with a somewhat uneasy feeling.

In the end, Bai Jiaxuan decided to give Tian Xiao'e the choice herself, giving her two options.

Her first choice was to go back to Bailuyuan with him and live a peaceful life there. In short, with him around, no one would dare to bully her!

The second option is to arrange a place for her to live alone in Zishui County, keeping her as a mistress, so that she can live a good life there, and Bai Jiaxuan will have another home.

Although the two only spent one day together, Tian Xiao'e was completely devoted to the man in front of her, because she saw something in Bai Jiaxuan that other men in this era did not have.

Although she didn't know him well enough, Bai Jiaxuan's attitude towards women was one of complete equality, which made Tian Xiao'e realize for the first time in her life that there were men like this in the world.

She was almost completely obedient to Bai Jiaxuan and served him wholeheartedly, hoping only to gain a place by his side.

Perhaps sensing the difficulty in Bai Jiaxuan's eyes, Tian Xiao'e very understandingly suggested that she could stay in Zishui County first, and then Bai Jiaxuan would take her back after he and his wife had discussed it.

Upon hearing Tian Xiao'e's soft and weak reply, Bai Jiaxuan felt a surge of pity.

Tian Xiao'e's choice did indeed temporarily solve a problem in Bai Jiaxuan's mind.

So the two returned to Zishui County. Bai Jiaxuan arranged a large courtyard for them. As the outer base of Wuzhishan, Zishui County naturally had a large number of Wuzhishan spies and a lot of assets. This courtyard was one of them.

At the same time, he also arranged for several old women to serve him, and several neighbors around the house were spies from Wuzhishan to protect the mistress of the house.

After spending a week together in Zishui County, Bai Jiaxuan finally left again and headed to Xi'an.

A gentle embrace, a scalpel of flesh—it's truly intoxicating.

Tian Xiao'e's weakness and submissiveness were something Bai Jiaxuan had never experienced with Xiangcao.

Being with Xiangcao feels like an old married couple living together. Holding each other's hands feels like holding your own hands; the bond between you two is unbreakable.

Tian Xiao'e's feeling is like the side that men lack in their hearts, a kind of evil thought that men want to do but dare not do. She can satisfy all of a man's fantasies, and even do them better!

Don't judge this era by the moral standards of later generations. In fact, in any era, the law is just a line drawn. For the truly wealthy, that line is never a problem.

However, since this era allows it, Bai Jiaxuan didn't think too much about it. Let alone Tian Xiao'e, he could change the beauties of this world every day if he wanted, which was perfectly acceptable, because he was powerful enough.

A strong man will never lack women, no matter the era.

Xi'an has been besieged for nearly four months. Now, Liu the Blind is surrounding the city without attacking, intending to starve the people inside and force them to open the gates and surrender.

However, the two generals inside the city were determined not to surrender and instead launched an offensive. They defeated the Zhen Song Army several times through surprise attacks and charges. Although both sides suffered casualties, the Zhen Song Army was undisciplined and its fighting strength was not as good as the defending side inside the city.

The city is now in dire need of almost everything, from ammunition to food, and most importantly, medicine.

Feeding hundreds of thousands of people every day was an extremely difficult task. People reduced their clothing and food and endured four months of hardship.

Most of the food in the city has now been supplied to the garrison. As for the civilians, they have long been starving and are surviving on simple rice porridge. Fortunately, it is still summer and not too cold. But when winter comes, they will be cold and hungry, and in this state of hunger and cold, it is estimated that large numbers of people will die.

Bai Xiaowen's injuries had almost fully recovered two months ago, which naturally depended on Bai Jiaxuan's special arrangements for care.

Bai Xiaowen was lucky; after recovering from his injuries, he immediately rejoined the guards. He suffered minor injuries repeatedly, but ultimately his life was not in danger.

According to Bai Jiaxuan's intelligence, Bai Xiaowen's outstanding performance has earned him the attention of both the Bai Party and the Red Faces, giving him a dual identity. His official identity is that of a member of the Bai Party.

The domestic guards are considered to be on the White Party's side. Bai Xiaowen is now a deputy company commander. He is educated and dares to fight and kill. Such a talent is highly valued by all sides.

Although Bai Ling did not participate in direct confrontation, she actively organized women's rescue and publicity efforts, and joined the Red Face organization through her teacher's introduction.

However, her beloved Lu Zhaohai chose a different path and joined the White Party. Because of his positive performance in this defense battle, if he survives until the end of the battle, he may also be given an important position.

These three children all found new life goals in this battle to defend their homeland, but perhaps they didn't know that war was cruel.

Now, with any decision they make, they themselves have no idea where the future will lead.

Bai Jiaxuan had people secretly watching all of this, without any intention or action to change their choices.

No matter how impressive their elders are, they will ultimately have to walk their own path in life.

Because of Bai Jiaxuan's presence, these three kids often had better luck than others in this special battle of defense.

Although Bai Jiaxuan wouldn't interfere in their lives, he still couldn't bear to see his child suffer from extreme hunger in this cramped and impoverished environment.

Then, the three of them miraculously discovered that their luck seemed to be improving.

Countless people searched for food in the city, and they often found it easily. Although most of the food they found was shared with their comrades and the children, the three of them survived thanks to this special luck, which made them much better off than other starving people in the city.

In fact, Zhang Xiaopeng's shadow organization could easily find a secret route leading out of the city. Although the route was very hidden and remote, it was actually safer that way.

Using this passage, members of the Shadow Organization transported a considerable amount of supplies between the city and the surrounding areas.

Transporting medicines and food from outside the city to inside, and transporting valuable goods out of the city.

Nowadays, a steamed bun in the city costs two silver dollars, and medicine is even more expensive. Under such circumstances, Shadow is making a fortune.

Although most of the members of Shadow were raised from childhood as beggars, this organization was definitely not a charity. In modern terms, it was a violent organization!

In such chaotic times, they had come from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. In this siege, money could not save lives. It was understandable that the Shadows made profits by selling expensive food and medicine.

Bai Jiaxuan eventually went to Xi'an. He watched from afar as Bai Xiaowen charged into battle and quietly saw Bai Ling weeping while holding a child who had lost his life. He did not intend to participate in the children's joys and sorrows, but simply silently protected them.

The siege lasted another month, with both sides enduring immense suffering. Autumn was approaching, and the air was getting colder. Under these conditions of hunger and cold, the situation inside the city became increasingly dire.

By the seventh month of the siege, winter had arrived, and more and more people were freezing to death at night. Every day, cartloads of corpses were thrown off the city walls. The cruel scene was a nightmare for many people for the rest of their lives.

Bai Jiaxuan originally did not intend to get involved in such matters; he did not want to arbitrarily change the course of history.

Until this day, he saw from afar that Bai Ling picked up a bag of steamed buns from the ground like a walking corpse. She didn't eat the buns herself, but stumbled into a church. There were more than a dozen children inside, whom she had taken in one by one during the war over the past few months.

Three days ago, a shell flew into the church, killing more than 20 of the 30 children on the spot, leaving only 11 alive.

From that day on, she stopped eating and drinking, and her face no longer had the bright smile it used to have. Her chapped lips had turned white, and her eyes were lifeless. The long siege had brought her to the brink of mental collapse, and that cannonball was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Having witnessed too many joys and sorrows, and human tragedies in the world, this child, who had just turned sixteen, had long lost the liveliness and passion that should be present at his age.

For the past three days, Bai Ling has been lucky enough to find a bag of steamed buns every day, but she has never eaten a single bite. She has even stopped thinking about how she could still find so many steamed buns after seven months of being besieged.

Her mind was filled with grief, and she was swaying unsteadily. Bai Jiaxuan, who saw this scene from afar, slowly melted his heart, which was as hard as iron.

Bai Jiaxuan did not go forward to comfort her. He did not know how to explain all this to his daughter. If Bai Ling knew that her father could easily save those children, how sad would she be?

Bai Ling went hungry for three days, and Bai Jiaxuan suffered for three days as well. Seeing his daughter, who had fallen into despair, his heart felt as if it were cracking inch by inch, and finally turned into a sigh. He slowly raised his head, looked at the dim sky, and murmured to himself.

"It's time to end this war!"

That night, Bai Jiaxuan sneaked into Liu the Blind's tent alone and stood by his bedside for a long time until Liu the Blind felt a cold wind blowing in from outside the tent, at which point he slowly woke up.

In his dazed state, Liu the Blind Man saw a dark figure standing in front of his bed. He sat up as if he had been electrocuted. His long military service made him almost instinctively reach for the holster under his pillow.

Having easily obtained the pistol, Liu the Blind raised it, aimed it at the dark figure, and roared angrily.

"Who sent you?"

The dark figure stood silently in front of him, and after a long while, sighed softly.

"I'll give you two choices. The first is to die now, and the second is to withdraw your troops tonight!"

The voice on the other end was calm and unhurried, like a ghost, sometimes near and sometimes far, making one shiver involuntarily.

Liu the Blind's right hand, gripping the gun, trembled slightly. Feeling the coldness of the gun handle, it was as if some force gave Liu the courage. He placed his finger on the trigger and spoke in a threatening tone.

"I don't care who sent you. I'll find out who it is after I kill you. Die!"

Before he could finish speaking, he pulled the trigger!

Liu the Blind's thirty years of military service left him with no room for hesitation. The man opposite him gave him a feeling of danger that made him tremble all over. Only dead people could make him feel safe.

He barely considered the threat. As a warlord with an army of 100,000, there were very few people in the world who could threaten him. So no matter who the other party was, he would kill them first!

The Mauser pistol in Liu's hand was an imported one, the kind with twenty bullets. He had even set it to automatic fire, so the twenty bullets were almost instantly unleashed, firing wildly at the chest of the dark figure.

At such close range, Liu the Blind was almost certain that those twenty bullets would rip the enemy's chest to smithereens!

Gunshots rang out, and the dark figure opposite seemed to sway a few times, yet remained motionless until all the bullets were used up. The figure stood there without changing at all!

Blind Liu kept pulling the trigger until he heard a crisp click, which brought him back to his senses. Looking at the dark figure opposite him, he muttered to himself.

"He should be dead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized that no one could stand still after being hit by twenty bullets at close range!

Thinking of this, fear instantly appeared in Liu the Blind's eyes. The gunshots inside the tent finally alerted those outside, and some people had already pulled the bolts and were running towards them.

The shadowy figure suddenly chuckled twice, its tone turning icy cold.

"Since you've chosen to die, then so be it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadowy figure moved!

Almost simultaneously, Liu the Blind Man knelt down on the ground with a thud, shouting loudly.

"I'll retreat immediately! I'll retreat immediately! Spare my life!"

The act of kneeling down and the words he uttered were almost simultaneous. Liu the Blind wasn't stupid; at this moment, he understood that he had encountered a true master.

He had arranged a patrol team of nearly forty people inside and outside his large tent. The noise coming from outside was not from nearby. What does that mean?

This means the other side has already taken care of all forty-odd guards, who were personally handpicked by him!