The day after their wedding, Shen Yuance set off for Chang’an. Following his instructions, Jiang Zhiyi left the Shen residence after his departure and moved into a new home registered in her name within Jiangzang City, which she named “Yaoguang Garden.”

Considering Shen Yuance’s promise before leaving to spend every New Year’s Eve with her from now on, Jiang Zhiyi busied herself arranging their new home while waiting for his return. She bustled about every day, managing household affairs from before the year’s end into the new one.

Shen Yuance arrived in Chang’an during the first month of the new year.

The night before entering Chang’an, at a lakeside pavilion outside the city, Shen Yuance sat face to face with Qi Yan in a small room, a chessboard between them.

That day, Qi Yan had expressed his willingness to cooperate in a confidential letter, explaining that since the Second Prince had colluded with Hedong in rebellion, the court’s balance had been disrupted. The Emperor’s suspicions remained unassuaged, which was why he had dismissed the former Crown Prince but delayed appointing a new heir apparent until now. Since neither of them could afford to wait any longer, they might as well work together to change the situation.

Shen Yuance’s journey to Chang’an was precisely to plan cooperation with Qi Yan. Their unexpected alignment spared him much explanation.

Qi Yan studied Shen Yuance across from him. “General Shen comes alone to this meeting—such courage.”

“Your Highness misspoke,” Shen Yuance said, sitting with his hands on his knees. “Weapons that cannot enter the palace gates are merely useless metal. I didn’t even bring a sword on this journey.”

Qi Yan smiled. “It’s a pity I didn’t know General Shen before. Otherwise, I would have considered you a kindred spirit.” His expression grew serious. “General Shen enters the palace unarmed. How do you plan to escape?”

Shen Yuance’s lips curled slightly. “I may be unarmed, but those who wish to kill me must have blades.”

In their exchanged glances, they recognized their mutual understanding.

The Emperor had long suffered from nightmares that remained uncured. His mind grew increasingly confused, and he kept loyal guards around him day and night. No one could approach the Emperor with weapons—unless—

The person the Emperor wanted to kill came before him.

Since the Xingwu Emperor couldn’t find any overt fault with Shen Yuance, he summoned him to the palace to discuss western strategy. Even if he wanted to kill Shen Yuance, he couldn’t do so openly outside the palace without risking instability to the people’s hearts and the imperial throne. The Emperor would likely meet Shen Yuance in the inner palace.

Qi Yan said, “Neither General Shen nor I wish to follow my second brother’s and Hedong’s old path, causing bloodshed and sacrifice among soldiers and innocent civilians. In this arrangement, one must act openly while the other works in the shadows. Now that General Shen charges forth in the open, I shall do my utmost to pave the way and handle the aftermath from the shadows.”

Shen Yuance raised his eyes to Qi Yan. “How can I trust Your Highness?”

Qi Yan lowered his eyes with a smile. “I owe Princess Yongying for the arranged marriage. I couldn’t secure her freedom, but General Shen did. I sincerely hope she lives the rest of her life in freedom and peace.”

“Officially, I don’t wish to see loyal ministers and capable generals die unjustly. General Shen’s military capabilities are rare even in a hundred years—that makes you a fine general. By abandoning plans involving Princess Yongying to end the arranged marriage and choosing to risk yourself instead, you show loyalty to love. By maximizing efforts to prevent large-scale warfare between two states, you show loyalty to benevolence. By coming alone without bringing a single soldier, you show loyalty to righteousness. In my eyes, such loyalty carries more weight than mere verbal declarations of loyalty to a particular surname. Even if the Hexi region loses the Shen surname, it cannot lose a person like General Shen.”

“Of course, though these are truths, they remain mere words, so—” Qi Yan pushed a small box toward Shen Yuance. “This is my seal. General Shen can verify its authenticity and confirm whether it matches the one on the confidential letter. I presume General Shen has already entrusted that letter to someone trustworthy. If I break my word, your person can make the letter public, and I will ruin my future. When my Qi imperial family falls into chaos, the Xuance Army can then march on Chang’an.”

Shen Yuance opened the box and raised his eyes after a moment. “Deal.”

The next day, at the Imperial Palace.

Majestic and towering eaves adorned the palatial halls. Golden dragons coiled around the flying eaves, while glazed azure tiles gleamed brilliantly.

At the bottom of the white jade imperial stairs, Shen Yuance stood wearing a black robe with folded lapels, bathed in the morning light, with his arms spread as palace servants searched him.

Standing once again before the palace he had once wanted to destroy alongside himself, Shen Yuance found his mind wandering—

He wondered how Jiang Zhiyi had arranged their new home. She’d said she wanted to create a martial arts field for him, build a lakeside pavilion for viewing snow, and plant a grove of apricot blossoms. She had many plans—could she manage them all? Perhaps when he returned home, she wouldn’t have completed any of them.

That would be fine too, it would mean he hadn’t kept her waiting too long.

The palace servant gently patted down Shen Yuance’s body, confirming he carried no weapons, and smiled as he gestured forward. “General Shen, thank you for your patience. Please proceed.”

Shen Yuance regained his focus, lifted his robe, and climbed the imperial stairs step by step. With each step upward, the murderous aura he sensed grew stronger.

Closing his eyes and tilting his ear—

Over a hundred Imperial Guards, among them thirty heavy crossbowmen.

One heavy crossbow, one arrow, were enough to pierce through an unarmored man. Thirty such weapons were more than needed for a siege battle. The old Emperor had certainly granted him full honors.

Shen Yuance stepped onto the final imperial stair, crossed the threshold, and caught glimpses of the screens on both sides with his peripheral vision before meeting the imposing eyes upon the dragon throne.

“This humble servant greets Your Majesty,” Shen Yuance calmly approached, lowered his gaze, and clasped his hands in salute.

The Xingwu Emperor’s heavy gaze fell upon him, and his hoarse voice spoke: “Do you know why I summoned you here?”

“To discuss Western strategy.”

“But policy toward the western frontier was already settled. There was no need for further discussion. Yet now we must deliberate again. Tell me, whose fault is this?”

“It is this humble servant’s fault.”

“What fault is there?”

Shen Yuance raised his eyes: “This humble servant executed the western envoy, took the head of the western second prince, defied Your sacred will, and deceived his sovereign.”

The Xingwu Emperor stared intently at Shen Yuance, his chest heaving as he raised his palm and brought it down heavily.

The palace doors slowly closed, and the screens suddenly collapsed. Amidst the clanging of armor, dozens of Imperial Guards surged out from behind the screens and surrounded him.

The front row of crossbowmen knelt, and thirty crossbows aimed at Shen Yuance in the center of the encirclement.

“Shen Yuance, I thought… even if you harbored rebellious intentions, you wouldn’t be foolish enough to do this for a woman,” the Xingwu Emperor stood up from his dragon throne, supported by servants as he slowly descended the platform. “For a woman, you stand here without armor or weapons, allowing yourself to be slaughtered. With a son like this, I wonder what Commissioner Shen would think if his spirit is watching from heaven?”

Shen Yuance clasped his hands behind his back and nodded. “So that’s what Your Majesty is curious about.”

The Xingwu Emperor stood outside the circle of guards, observing Shen Yuance’s calm demeanor before narrowing his eyes and giving a signal.

All thirty crossbowmen released their arrows simultaneously, but in the next instant, all bowstrings failed.

The crossbowmen were shocked, and the Emperor jerked his head up.

In that moment of collective stupor, the black-robed youth moved with lightning speed, drawing a sword from an Imperial Guard’s waist. “Since Your Majesty is so curious, this humble servant shall send you to ask him yourself.”

The armed Imperial Guards hurriedly drew their swords and surrounded him. The Emperor was protected as he hastily retreated.

In an instant, Shen Yuance struck with his sword, killing three men, then seized another sword which he gripped with his left hand.

A servant anxiously called out: “Someone—quickly—protect the Emperor!”

“Your Majesty needn’t call. For the next quarter hour, no one will approach the cage you’ve woven for me,” Shen Yuance smiled. “However, now it has become your cage.”

The Emperor’s pupils contracted, and his hands trembled and convulsed beneath the sleeves of his imperial yellow robe. “You… you and my son…”

Shen Yuance wielded his dual swords, slashing across, creating layers of gleaming blades, and blood sprayed three feet high.

His ears suddenly echoed with last night’s conversation with Qi Yan—

“Father trusts me limitedly, and I cannot fully control the palace. What I can do is—First, ensure Lady Shen’s safety when she is ‘invited’ to the palace tomorrow, relieving General Shen of his worries. Second, disable the guards outside the inner palace for a quarter hour. If General Shen can fight his way out of the inner palace within that time, I can help him escape, and afterward I will also guarantee the safety of the Shen family in both Chang’an and Hexi.”

“Besides what Your Highness mentioned, there is one more thing I need Your Highness to do.”

“Please speak, General Shen.”

“I obtained heavy crossbows from the Imperial Guards during the diplomatic marriage mission. I know how to damage their internal mechanisms so that the crossbowmen won’t notice defects until they fire. I’ll give you the blueprints and ask Your Highness to handle these crossbows for me. As for the rest, a quarter hour will be sufficient.”

…

Blood poured like rain, and amid the slaughter, the four partitions of the inner hall were splattered with streams of hot blood.

Wave after wave of attacking Imperial Guards fell into pools of blood. The corpses piled higher and higher on the ground, leaving less and less space to step. The once majestic hall had become a messy slaughterhouse.

Shen Yuance’s simple robe was soaked with blood—others’ blood and his own. Despite suffering multiple wounds during the fierce battle, he still stood tall in the great hall.

The bloody scent permeated everywhere like the most exhilarating fragrance in the world. Shen Yuance slowly raised his blood-drenched face, his eyes reflecting the crimson scene as he stared intently at the yellow-robed figure before him.

The Xingwu Emperor slowly gripped the handle of his sword and raised the blade beside him.

A quarter hour later, smoke and flames rose throughout the palace. The imperial guards mobilized and converged on the inner palace.

Qi Yan stood atop the imperial stairs, his gaze fixed firmly on the doors of the inner palace.

The heavy doors opened to reveal corpses strewn throughout the hall and blood flowing like streams.

A black-robed youth stood with his back to the door, one hand gripping a sword, the other holding the Emperor’s head raised high.

The people outside were too shocked to move or speak.

The crossbowmen on standby outside the hall aimed their arrows uniformly at the youth’s back.

Qi Yan watched as the youth who appeared identical to Shen Yuance made a gesture, then gently closed his eyes, raised his palm, and pressed downward.

Thousands of arrows flew, piercing through the youth’s body as he fell straight down.

In the thirteenth year of Xingwu, the Emperor was assassinated in the inner palace. The Fourth Prince ascended the throne as the eldest surviving son. That year became the first year of Yongning.

History records: Shen Yuance, courtesy name Rangzhi, son of the Hexi Military Commissioner during the Xingwu era of the Great Ye Dynasty. At fifteen, he joined the Xuance Army of Hexi. At eighteen, he led troops to defeat the Northern Jie, advancing in consecutive victories to the Northern Jie royal court and burning their royal tombs, thus first earning the name “War God.” At nineteen, he quelled the Hedong rebellion, recovered the interior territories, executed the chief rebel, and was enfeoffed as Marquis Zhechong. At twenty, he assassinated the reigning Emperor and died at the age of majority with thousands of arrows piercing his heart.