The next day, before dawn had even broken, a shadowy figure flickered past in the surrounding darkness — Long Yi immediately gave chase.
When he returned, he carried an extra letter in his hand.
Inside the wooden cabin, Feng Jiu’er and Zhan Qingcheng sat together, while Feng Li occupied the other side. Not far away, Qiaomu and Xue Gu had also woken up.
Just as Long Yi stepped into the cabin, Mu Mu, Jian Yi, and Long Eleven entered together as well.
“Your Highness, Lord Yu has sent a letter.”
Long Yi stood a short distance away and held out an envelope.
“Open it.”
Zhan Qingcheng said in a low voice.
“Yes.”
Long Yi cupped his fist in salute, then tore the envelope open. After reading it carefully for a moment, Long Yi’s voice rang out again: “Your Highness, Lord Yu says that the Eighth Prince’s troops have already closed in on Phoenix City.”
“The Emperor has also dispatched two separate forces to attack Desert City and Ming City respectively. The main army is already on its way.”
Feng Jiu’er took Zhan Qingcheng’s hand, and the two of them rose to their feet together.
Long Eleven placed the map he had been holding onto the wooden table in the center of the cabin and spread it open. Everyone instinctively gathered around.
Once the map was laid flat, Long Eleven yielded his spot to Long Yi, letting him stand in front of it.
“Lord Yu says that Phoenix City is in the most dire situation right now. The Eighth Prince has brought considerable troops, and Your Highness must return there personally.” “What about the other two cities — which ones are they? Do you know who the Emperor has sent to lay siege to them?”
Feng Jiu’er stepped away from Zhan Qingcheng’s side and moved to stand beside Long Yi, studying the map on the table.
Truth be told, her knowledge of affairs within the Bei Mu kingdom was still rather limited.
“The other one would be here — Desert City.”
Long Yi pointed to a spot on the map. “We passed through Desert City on our way to Phoenix City back then.”
“It was after the great battle with the Yuhe Kingdom, when we found Miss Jiu’er — Desert City was a newly recaptured territory under General Mu’s command. The one leading the assault on Desert City is the current Crown Prince.”
Thinking back to those six months when she had gone missing, Feng Jiu’er still felt a dull ache in her heart — particularly for the man standing across from her. But this was not the moment for such feelings, and she quietly pushed those wayward emotions back down where they belonged.
“The last one is also a city that General Mu brought under control at the time — Ming City, separated from Phoenix City by one Ye City. As for who is leading that army, Lord Yu did not say.”
Feng Jiu’er studied the map carefully for a moment, then her gaze settled and stilled on a particular spot.
She extended a slender finger and pointed to a location. “Long Yi, is this Yamu City?”
“Yes.”
Long Yi gave a nod. “Miss Jiu’er may or may not recall — Yamu City was once a place of great benefit to Nanmeng Rong.”
“When we passed through here last time, we met with all manner of obstruction.”
Feng Jiu’er certainly had not forgotten. But as she looked at the map, her expression grew increasingly grave.
“Two-thirds of Desert City is encircled by Yamu City. What is the Crown Prince’s relationship with the City Lord of Yamu?”
She furrowed her brow and glanced up at Long Yi.
Noticing the shadow that crossed his face, she quickly clarified: “What I mean is — have a look.”
She lowered her head again and pointed to the spot on the map where Yamu City and Desert City bordered each other.
“Yamu City half-surrounds Desert City. If the Crown Prince were to join forces with the City Lord of Yamu to attack our Desert City, it would make holding the city far more difficult.”
Long Yi nodded again, appearing to agree with Feng Jiu’er’s assessment.
“From what I’ve heard, the City Lord of Yamu only ever showed deference to Nanmeng Rong. Now that Nanmeng Rong has died at the Emperor’s hands, they shouldn’t be inclined to ally with the Emperor.”
Long Yi’s words eased Feng Jiu’er’s mind somewhat, yet her expression remained a few shades solemn.
“If I were the Crown Prince, I think my first move would be to take Yamu City.”
“Look — Yamu City not only encircles the greater part of Desert City, it also shares a border with Phoenix City.”
“Once Yamu City is secured, the Crown Prince could also join forces with the Eighth Prince who is attacking Phoenix City — that would give them considerably greater odds of victory.”
“Then what Miss Jiu’er means is…” Long Eleven asked softly.
“I will hold Desert City.”
Feng Jiu’er glanced at Zhan Qingcheng. Seeing that he said nothing, she immediately lowered her head and looked back at the map.
“Given the circumstances, our only option is to split into three paths.”
“Ninth Imperial Uncle must set off for Phoenix City at once. Mu Mu will lead troops toward Ming City. I, together with Jian Yi, Qiaomu, and Xue Gu, will first make a trip to Yamu City.”
“Jiu’er wants to take Yamu City?”
Qiaomu immediately grew excited.
“Yes.”
Feng Jiu’er gave a nod. “Since the Crown Prince’s men haven’t arrived yet, there may still be time.”
“Time for what?”
Qiaomu furrowed her brow slightly and asked in a hushed voice, “Who else is coming?”
“When the Feng Clan was fleeing, I sent word to Xing Zizhou, asking him to bring along his brothers from the Heavenly Mechanism Hall and your people to make their way to Phoenix City.”
Feng Jiu’er’s voice came through.
“My people have already arrived at the Heavenly Mechanism Hall?”
Qiaomu could hardly believe it. “I haven’t received word of this — how do you already know? How many of them came? Did they all come? Why didn’t anyone inform me?”
Feng Jiu’er shot her a sideways glance and curved her lips slightly.
“The fact that you don’t know can only mean that your intelligence network is truly dreadful.”
“Your people are definitely trying to find a way to get word to you — don’t worry. You’ll know the specifics very soon.”
“But for Jiu’er to go to Yamu City like this — it’s still too reckless.”
Xue Gu’s voice drifted over from a corner of the room.
“It will be fine. Ninth Imperial Uncle still has troops to lend me, does he not?”
Feng Jiu’er looked at Zhan Qingcheng, her expression still composed.
So long as Ninth Imperial Uncle did not object, half the battle was already won.
In this war, she had to give her all. Only by establishing a firm foothold in the Bei Mu kingdom could she gradually expand her own power and lay the groundwork for one day reclaiming the Feng Clan.
Zhan Qingcheng said nothing — but at the very least, he did not object either.
“There is one more person.”
Feng Jiu’er swept her gaze around the room and smiled faintly. “Zhao Yusheng.”
“I believe it won’t be long before he brings his brothers here to provide support.”
Of this, Feng Jiu’er was quite certain. That day in the ship’s cabin, she had already read the affirmative answer in Zhao Yusheng’s eyes.
Still, convincing all of Zhao Yu’s descendants to submit would certainly not happen overnight — she had long since prepared herself for that.
“I do not agree with Jiu’er’s proposal.”
Mu Mu’s indifferent voice rang out. He looked toward Zhan Qingcheng. “What do you think?”
Feng Jiu’er shot Mu Mu a glare. Not waiting for Zhan Qingcheng to speak, she cleared her throat loudly.
“Does… General Mu have a better plan, then?”
“There is no need for any of you to worry about my safety. With Jian Yi, Qiaomu, Xue Gu, and Tuoba Keyan all helping, there is nothing to be concerned about on my end.”
“What you ought to worry about is yourself, Mu Mu. The situation in Ming City is something that not even Lord Yu has been able to get specific intelligence on — be careful going there alone.”
Feng Jiu’er turned and returned to Zhan Qingcheng’s side, tilting her head up to look at him.
“Ninth Imperial Uncle, my father will have to be in your care for the time being — what do you say?”
Phoenix City lay at the heart of Ninth Imperial Uncle’s cluster of cities. The troops the Emperor had dispatched there were certainly his most formidable — Lord Yu had mentioned as much in the letter. Even so, with Ninth Imperial Uncle presiding over the city, Feng Jiu’er was not the least bit worried.