At this moment, Da Zhou’s military camp, aside from the kitchen staff and the elite soldiers guarding the provisions, was almost entirely empty.
No matter how loudly the horns of the charge blared, the elite soldiers guarding the provisions remained fully focused on their duty, neither body nor mind daring to stray from their post.
Jun Beiyue had given special instructions on this point—during the campaign, the provisions absolutely had to be guarded closely.
This particular instruction, of course, existed because of Bai Mengmeng.
The kitchen staff, however, were under no such restriction, and at this moment were gazing out at the distant battlefield, watching with great excitement.
Bai Mengmeng’s tent wasn’t far from the kitchen staff’s quarters, and from inside her tent she could hear the young men’s chatter, along with their occasional cheers and shouts of excitement.
Not knowing how the battle was actually going, Bai Mengmeng grew all the more restless hearing those cheers!
She thought—it was time for her to make a trip back to Dong Qin’s Yandang City.
Unfortunately, Hongyi stood blocking the entrance to her tent, refusing to let her leave.
“Girl, are you going to let me through or not?” Bai Mengmeng asked, forcing herself to remain patient, for the third time.
“My mistress and master have given instructions—until the great battle is over, you are not permitted to step even half a foot outside this tent!” Hongyi replied coldly, guarding against Bai Mengmeng down to her very bones.
Before she’d started serving the princess consort, she had, after all, served in Prince Yao’s household, and she had seen more than enough women harboring designs on the prince.
How could Bai Mengmeng possibly slip past her watchful eyes?
Trying to take advantage while the princess consort was away from camp—not a chance!
Bai Mengmeng took a deep breath and said coldly, “And who exactly is your mistress and master?”
“Both of them—Prince Yao and Princess Consort Yao!” Hongyi replied, sharp-tongued as ever, deliberately dragging Ziqing into it.
Bai Mengmeng immediately caught on that Hongyi was mentioning Han Ziqing on purpose right in front of her, and she nearly couldn’t hold back her anger—but she had important matters to attend to.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Mengmeng said coldly, “I need to see Prince Yao.”
“Plenty of people want to see Prince Yao. Not everyone who wants to see him gets to—especially not women,” Hongyi said, her tone rather biting.
“You!” Bai Mengmeng seethed and abruptly raised her hand to strike—not because she lacked patience, but because she couldn’t tolerate such insolence from a servant.
Ever since Hongyi had come to “serve” her—nicely put, though bluntly it was surveillance—the girl barely spoke a sentence to her without some barb attached!
Seeing Bai Mengmeng move to strike, Hongyi was secretly delighted, tilting her face up provocatively, practically begging Bai Mengmeng to go through with it!
If Bai Mengmeng dared hit her, this matter would never be settled quietly!
Even with the princess consort away, Hongyi was determined to give her mistress every possible excuse to settle accounts with Bai Mengmeng later, wasn’t she?
Bai Mengmeng, of course, knew perfectly well this was Han Ziqing’s personal maid—not someone she could afford to strike.
If she did, she’d only be inviting trouble for herself.
She forced herself to endure it, wrenching her hand back forcefully instead, and snapped, “I have an important matter to discuss with Prince Yao. If it’s delayed, you won’t be the one held responsible!”
She needed to take advantage of the chaos to rush back to Yandang City and save her family!
The Dong Qin Empress had taken her family hostage, using them to control her!
Now that her betrayal had been exposed, her family was in grave danger!
Hearing it was an important matter, Hongyi hesitated slightly. But Prince Yao was already out on the battlefield—there was absolutely no way to fetch him back now.
With that in mind, Hongyi said flatly, “The prince is on the battlefield. Once the battle is over, he’ll naturally come see you.”
“What!” Bai Mengmeng was shocked.
Hongyi paid this no mind, pulling up a chair and lounging lazily by the entrance. She had no idea what urgent matter Bai Mengmeng claimed to have—whether it was real or fabricated.
All she knew was that Prince Yao’s instructions had been perfectly clear: Bai Mengmeng was to be watched closely throughout the battle, no exceptions.
On the surface, it looked like she alone was standing guard, but in truth, the area around this tent was thick with Shadow Guards.
This war had come about because of Bai Mengmeng’s defection—if she harbored any second thoughts now, the consequences would be unthinkable.
“Hongyi, let me out. When Jun Beiyue comes back, I’ll explain everything to him myself,” Bai Mengmeng said, forcing down her impulse, keeping her tone reasonably even.
“No! Not happening!” Hongyi stated, word for word, leaving no room for negotiation.
“Hongyi, my entire family is at Yandang Mountain. I have to take advantage of the chaos to go save them!” Bai Mengmeng finally told the truth!
Hongyi was slightly taken aback, hesitating for a moment, but still shook her head. “Miss Bai, I truly don’t have the authority to decide this. You’ll have to wait for Prince Yao to return.”
At this, Bai Mengmeng erupted in fury. “By the time he’s back, it’ll be too late!”
“Too late or not, there’s nothing I can do about it.” Hongyi had no way of knowing whether this was true or false, and she certainly wasn’t going to be intimidated by Bai Mengmeng’s fierceness—she snapped right back just as fiercely.
She thought to herself: whose fault is it that you’re so full of schemes you never earned Prince Yao’s trust in the first place?
Suddenly, Bai Mengmeng’s voice turned low and cold. “Are you going to let me through or not?”
Hongyi shot her a disdainful look and scoffed coldly, “Without my master’s orders, I won’t let you through even if it kills me!”
“Then die!” Bai Mengmeng snapped, and at once drew her sword, thrusting it suddenly toward Hongyi. Caught completely off guard, Hongyi tried to dodge, but the sword had already pierced her right side.
“You…” Hongyi couldn’t process what had just happened. Bai Mengmeng savagely yanked the sword free, about to strike again, when the Shadow Guards arrived just in time and wrenched the sword from her grip.
Hongyi’s eyes widened, staring fixedly at Bai Mengmeng, until she finally collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
“Bai Mengmeng, how dare you!”
The Shadow Guards were both furious and alarmed. Several of them restrained Bai Mengmeng, while the one in charge scooped up Hongyi, hands trembling as he checked for breath.
They knew all too well—if anything happened to this girl, it wouldn’t just be Bai Mengmeng in trouble; every one of them would suffer for it too.
Fortunately—she was still breathing! Overjoyed, the Shadow Guard carried Hongyi urgently toward the army physician, while Bai Mengmeng, needless to say, now had even less chance of leaving.
She regretted her own recklessness now, knowing she shouldn’t have used force against Hongyi—she should have only pleaded with her instead!
But regret was useless now!
“Brother Shadow Guard, I beg you, please tell Prince Yao—my entire family is in Yandang City, I have to go save them!”
“Please, I beg all of you, I will never harbor any second thoughts, I swear it! Or—you could all come with me!”
…
Bai Mengmeng pleaded desperately. She had originally thought Jun Beiyue wouldn’t personally ride into battle, thought he would still come to her tent, that he would at least ask about the situation in Yandang City!
She had it all planned out—she was going to ask Jun Beiyue to go save her family together with her!
She never imagined he simply wouldn’t come at all—that he would personally lead the charge into battle!
Faced with Bai Mengmeng’s pleading, the Shadow Guards’ hearts were colder even than Hongyi’s. They had always followed orders alone; no one was ever granted an exception with them.
They didn’t even bother to answer her!
Several of them stood guard inside the tent, others outside, letting Bai Mengmeng plead and weep all she liked, entirely unmoved.
Meanwhile, outside the camp, the horns grew louder and more urgent by the moment, clearly signaling wave after wave of charges. The two armies clashed in fierce combat, war and smoke staining the sky crimson.
The Dong Qin Empress fought with everything she had, drenched in blood, seething with hatred—hatred for Bai Mengmeng’s betrayal that ran to her very core.
She thrust her blade savagely into an oncoming Da Zhou soldier, then turned and snarled furiously at a guard beside her, “You! Go back and tell Dong Lin—execute the entire Bai family at once! Leave not a single one alive!”