Mi’er couldn’t see through him. She knew her young master had never been a man who overreached beyond his own abilities, yet she’d never realized he could be this stubborn.

The overall balance of power across the realm had already been more or less decided, yet the young master, of all things, kept fighting against that current.

What conviction, what purpose, what reason could possibly sustain his master’s obsession like this!

What on earth was it all for?

Even if his heart was set on claiming the entire realm, with the young master’s intelligence, he surely understood the importance of reading the situation correctly.

At this point, the wisest move would clearly be to abandon Xichu’s capital, retreat to defend the cities already captured, and support Minhan Mudeer instead.

Even she, a girl who understood nothing of warfare, could grasp this much — so why couldn’t the young master see it?

Seeing her master stand motionless for so long, Mi’er didn’t dare disturb him, silently offering a cup of hot tea before withdrawing without a sound.

These days, she wasn’t only responsible for serving her young master, but also for tending to one other person.

A woman who wasn’t particularly easy to serve.

Mi’er had no idea who this woman was, no idea what her relationship to her young master might be. The woman seemed to be held captive by him, and yet, in some strange way, she also seemed free.

Three times a day, Mi’er delivered meals and medicine to her, right on schedule.

That woman was sharp — she’d figured out at a glance that Mi’er wasn’t naturally mute, that she could actually speak.

Yet no matter what the woman asked, Mi’er never opened her mouth.

Her young master had forbidden her to speak, and she would never, ever betray that.

After Mi’er left, a sealed military dispatch arrived, but it wasn’t until the guard knelt at his feet that Xuanyuan Lige finally came back to his senses.

That pale face, cold as ice, turned a chilling gaze on the guard, and whatever the guard had been about to say died instantly in his throat — his master seemed like an entirely different person.

Xuanyuan Lige took the dispatch, and only after reading it did he finally seem to fully return to himself.

“They’ve reached the northern desert region?”

Jun Beiyue’s forces had reached the northern desert, and in their very first engagement, Minhan Mudeer had already suffered defeat, urgently requesting reinforcements!

It wasn’t that Jun Beiyue’s speed had exceeded Xuanyuan Lige’s expectations — it was that Baili Weisheng’s endless obstructions along the way had consumed far too much of his time!

Even having reached Xichu’s capital, this city remained the hardest of all to conquer — sieging it would take at least a full month, if not longer, in the best case scenario!

“Damn it!”

Xuanyuan Lige’s face twisted with fury, wishing he could tear Baili Weisheng apart with his own hands!

But he had no time to dwell on it further, immediately issuing the order, “Pass the word — we attack the city tonight!”

No sooner had the order been relayed than Nanny Qin entered, personally carrying a tray of tea and pastries. “Your Highness, where’s the benefactor? I sat with him back in the day when he was at his most…”

Before she could finish, she saw Xuanyuan Lige’s blank, expressionless face, and her heart gave a small jolt of alarm. She quietly withdrew, not daring to say another word!

Had this been before, Nanny Qin would certainly have dared to ask anything at all. But even she couldn’t say exactly when it had started — the point at which she, too, like everyone else, had come to fear, deep down, this young master she had personally raised.

The order to attack the city was given, the sound-killing army deployed, and the entire capital of Xichu descended into turmoil.

Meanwhile, the northern desert region west of Xichu’s capital had already erupted into full-scale chaos.

Minhan Mudeer had originally been holding up reasonably well against the pincer ambush from both the northern desert and Xijing territory, but now, with Jun Beiyue and Ziqing marching in with their forces, Minhan Mudeer wanted nothing more than to turn tail and flee!

It wasn’t cowardice — the gap in strength between them was simply too vast; staying behind meant certain death!

Unfortunately, with Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing ahead, and the northern desert’s elite forces behind, Minhan Mudeer had nowhere left to retreat, forced to grit his teeth and fight the battle through to the end!

“Xuanyuan Lige! Xuanyuan Lige! This king never should have lent him troops! Untrustworthy bastard!”

Within the camp, Minhan Mudeer raved like a madman, yet even so, deep down, he still clung to the hope of holding out until Xuanyuan Lige sent reinforcements.

It wasn’t that he still had faith in Xuanyuan Lige — it was simply his very last, final hope.

“My lord, the war drums are sounding again in the east!”

The guard had barely rushed in when Minhan Mudeer heard the thunderous rumble of war drums, shattering the already restless night!

“Damn it!” Minhan Mudeer couldn’t help cursing aloud. In the dead of night, Jun Beiyue was launching a night raid — was there no letting anyone live in peace!

Jun Beiyue had only just pressed into the northern desert region a few days ago, yet not a moment’s peace had come to him since, not even a chance to close his eyes for a brief rest. If this continued, Minhan Mudeer felt certain he would eventually go mad!

But just as Minhan Mudeer’s fury peaked, war drums suddenly began sounding from the west as well.

The guard nearby was struck dumb with shock — this was clearly a coordinated pincer attack under cover of night!

Minhan Mudeer gasped for breath, fists clenched tight, roaring furiously, “This is too much — this king has had enough! Someone, bring me…”

Before he could finish, a servant came rushing in madly. “My lord, terrible news! Something terrible has happened!”

Minhan Mudeer had already endured more than enough blows, and hearing the words “something terrible” again, his handsome face twisted into something resembling a demon straight from hell. He seized the approaching guard by the collar and, without asking a single question, began squeezing with all his strength.

“My lord, the Great Gu Master… the Great Gu Master, she…”

The guard struggled, desperately trying to deliver the news — this really was serious.

The moment Minhan Mudeer heard it concerned his aunt, he immediately released his grip, dread flooding his heart. Before he even knew what had happened, the fear had already taken hold!

“You… you, you, quick… quick, tell me!”

The guard, barely catching his breath, hurried to explain, “My lord! The Great Gu Master… she… she’s been poisoned, she’s dying!”

“What!” Minhan Mudeer’s mind went completely blank with panic in that instant!

What had happened to his aunt?!

“My lord, you must go see her right away — the physician says there’s no saving her. He says it’s poison unique to the Dongqin royal house!”

“The Dongqin royal house…” Minhan Mudeer repeated each word without even realizing how he’d managed to say it, then immediately spun around and dashed off, not even sparing a thought for… for the war drums pounding away on both sides.

But at that very moment, though war drums thundered on both east and west, no actual troops had moved at all!

This was nothing more than a scheme of Jun Beiyue’s, designed purely to throw the enemy’s morale into chaos!

Back in the military camp, Ziqing stared at her husband in disbelief, having to admit there was still far, far too much about him she couldn’t see through, couldn’t guess.

No matter how well she knew him, he always managed to surprise her!

“You even managed to get your hands on the bone-eroding fragrance unique to the Dongqin royal house.” Ziqing still could hardly believe it!

This man hadn’t just poisoned Gu Nanny to sow discord with Minhan Mudeer — he’d timed everything down to the exact moment!

Right about now, Gu Nanny’s poison must be taking full effect!

“Unfortunately Dongqin’s royal house isn’t exactly a den of poisons, so there wasn’t much good to find — that bone-eroding fragrance was a real bargain for that old hag,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold laugh.

Thinking of Gu Nanny’s cruelty toward Ziqing and Baili Weisheng, even being cut to pieces a thousand times over wouldn’t be excessive punishment!

Ziqing nodded — Gu Nanny’s death would certainly be no loss.

But Jun Beiyue’s scheme to sow discord wasn’t actually all that clever, because Xuanyuan Lige had no real motive to poison Gu Nanny at all!

“Are you sure he’ll believe Xuanyuan Lige is behind the poisoning?” Ziqing asked seriously.

Jun Beiyue smiled. “If he doesn’t believe it, we’ll just sit back and wait for word.”