Qin Chang Ge pressed her lips together and answered softly: “Thank you.”

“You… thank me for him, you for him… thank me…” Xiao Jue finished channeling his energy and withdrew his hand. Hearing this, he first looked dejected, then suddenly grew angry as he spoke: “Qin Chang Ge, can you please not be so polite and courteous? Do you know that your politeness only makes me feel like a failure? Why can’t you understand my feelings? I am your husband! I was once the person closest to you, yet now I must watch helplessly as my own wife treats me with such distance! What did I do wrong? Why must I endure this separation, loneliness, and estrangement—perhaps even endure it forever?!”

Qin Chang Ge looked at him in amazement. Xiao Jue realized his words were problematic by the end and immediately became dejected, murmuring: “I’m sorry… I’m in a bad mood… Chang Ge, often I feel like I’ve just gotten a little closer to you, but then you’re distant again. This feeling makes me very uneasy… Chang Ge, tell me—did I break your heart so thoroughly before that you’re unwilling to be with me again?”

Qin Chang Ge looked at him silently. Her gaze was close yet far away, intertwined with mist and melancholy, and something else Xiao Jue couldn’t understand—like looking through mist and clouds at the Penglai realm at the end of the mortal world, where in the vast smoky light lay a deep dream beyond the dusty world.

After a long while, Qin Chang Ge said slowly: “Xiao Jue, it’s not like that… it’s just, I’m a little… afraid…” Her voice was somewhat dazed, like drifting rain, elusive. Xiao Jue looked at her in surprise. Her? Qin Chang Ge? Saying? Afraid?

Afraid of what?

Qin Chang Ge slowly crouched down, leaning against his shoulder with exhaustion, saying quietly: “Wait… just wait a little longer… Xiao Jue, this is for everyone’s good… once revenge is complete, everything will no longer be a problem…”

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Jue reached out to embrace her, forcing himself to smile: “Alright, I’ll wait.”

He smiled with heroic spirit yet a touch of bitterness, saying softly but firmly: “I’ve waited all these years anyway. I’ve already experienced the worst feelings—what could be worse than this?”

He was referring to the earth-shattering pain when he first learned of Ruiyi’s confirmed death. Yes, having endured such pain, what could be worse?

Even if Chang Ge ultimately decided to leave him, at least she was still alive—that would be good enough.

Xiao Jue smiled brightly. Qin Chang Ge stared into his eyes and slowly bloomed into a distant, leisurely smile.

Behind them came the sound of light coughing. Both turned to see Chu Feihuan’s eyelashes flutter as he slowly opened his eyes.

Almost the moment he opened them, his gaze fell on Qin Chang Ge, who had rushed over. He stared at her intently for a while, his lips curving into a slight arc.

He was too weak to speak, but in his eyes was an emotion as robust as vigorous green shoots.

Qin Chang Ge said gently: “Feihuan, I’m back…”

With just this one sentence, she could say no more, only smiling as she grasped his cool hand.

The relief and joy of recovery washed over her heart like a hidden tide.

Xiao Jue had already turned away, standing with hands behind his back looking at the distant crowd. Chu Feihuan lifted his eyelashes, his gaze sweeping over his figure. A trace of gloom flashed in his eyes, but Qin Chang Ge only smiled at him with serene indifference: “It’s all over now.”

Chu Feihuan remained silent. Qin Chang Ge ordered guards to find a sedan chair. Several people returned to the magistrate’s residence. Qin Chang Ge personally wrote prescriptions and had people fetch medicine for Chu Feihuan’s recovery. She originally planned to stay by his side, but couldn’t withstand the urging from both Xiao Jue and Feihuan—one almost roaring for her to return, the other’s eyes full of rejection. She had to return to her own room, holding her son who had been enchanted by Chu Feihuan and sleeping soundly, and fell into a deep sleep herself.

This sleep lasted through an entire day and night. The next morning when Qin Chang Ge opened her eyes, she saw the morning sun shining as fresh and bright on the window paper as yesterday, momentarily creating the illusion that she hadn’t slept at all.

However, a pair of extra-large beautiful eyes staring at her immediately lifted her spirits. She reached out to pinch someone’s chubby cheeks, smiling wickedly: “Looking at me so innocently and cutely—did you do something bad again?”

“This is what you call innocent and cute? What kind of look is that?” Baozi blinked frantically, trying to widen his eyes to display his “dragon’s majesty,” saying resentfully: “I’m condemning you.”

Qin Chang Ge gave him a disdainful expression.

Baozi deflated. He had worked hard to maintain this pose for a long time, waiting to give his mother the most vivid impression, but she thought he was seeking favor.

Why do fierce people have such fierce misconceptions too?

“What exactly are you condemning me for?” Qin Chang Ge got up, completely ignoring the condemnation as she ordered her son: “Go get my outer robe.”

After speaking, she suddenly froze, looking down at her light clothing, remembering that she had slept in her clothes yesterday, hadn’t she? Why was she now only in undergarments?

Who had helped her change clothes?

She looked suspiciously at Baozi. Impossible—this child wouldn’t be so meddlesome.

Qin Chang Ge asked her son: “Did anyone come last night?”

Baozi shook his head.

“Did your father come?”

Baozi shook his head again, pursing his lips and remaining silent, his expression saying “you can beat me to death but I won’t tell.”

Rolling her eyes, Qin Chang Ge grabbed her outer robe and searched frantically, suddenly exclaiming: “Where’s the secret report from my robe’s hidden layer? Where did it go!”

“What secret report?” The door curtain lifted, and a spirited, handsome face immediately peeked in, looking somewhat uneasy: “I looked but didn’t see any…”

Halfway through his words, seeing the half-smiling expression on Qin Chang Ge’s face, he immediately knew this devious woman was setting a trap again. He quickly dropped the curtain and disappeared outside the door.

Behind him, that woman said sinisterly: “Close the door! Release Xiao Rong!”

============================================

After sleeping her fill, Qin Chang Ge hooked her finger at Baozi and walked out refreshed, immediately seeing Xiao Jue sitting properly in the outer room reading military reports.

Seeing Qin Chang Ge emerge, he looked up and smiled. The originally bright daylight immediately dimmed.

That small spark of anger in Qin Chang Ge was extinguished by his brilliantly dazzling smile, instantly dissipating. She sighed helplessly, no longer wanting to pursue the matter of her virtue being taken advantage of. She sat at the table as Xiao Jue had already pushed over the dishes on the table with exceptional tenderness and attentiveness: “You slept for a day and night—you must be hungry. Eat more.”

Qin Chang Ge stared at the table full of food and couldn’t help saying: “I’m not Rong’er.”

Xiao Baozi immediately rolled his eyes: “You’re insulting me. This isn’t even my standard. I just ate much more than this.”

Qin Chang Ge patted his frog-like bulging belly. Baozi immediately acted like his stomach was about to explode.

Giving him a white-eyed look, she casually picked up a steamed bun and sipped some ginkgo porridge, asking: “Has Feihuan eaten?”

Baozi said: “He ate a little, then slept again. This is what I want to condemn you for—what did you do to my godfather that night? Why did he come back half-dead?”

With a “puff,” Qin Chang Ge sprayed all the porridge in her mouth onto Xiao Jue’s sleeve. Xiao Jue didn’t bother wiping his sleeve, quickly handing Qin Chang Ge a handkerchief with his quick reflexes, then glaring angrily at Baozi.

Baozi shrank under the glare. Seeing the emperor father’s murderous aura, he quickly covered his face and pretended to cry as he ran out. In the corridor he bumped into the twin maids. His eyes rolled as an idea came to him. He turned back and poked his head in, grinning at Xiao Jue:

“Father, these two—the maids you praised as beautiful and wanted to serve you—I’m giving them to you now. One is called Wan’er, one is called Miao’er. I’ve even thought of their titles: Concubine Wan and Concubine Miao.”

“Clang!”

His Majesty’s gold-embroidered purse studded with bright pearls viciously smashed into the door frame.

=============================

Having driven away his scheming son, Xiao Jue quickly sent the two maids away, afraid Qin Chang Ge might develop any misunderstanding. The two maids were once again tearfully dismissed, standing in the middle of the corridor looking at each other in confusion, not knowing which room to serve—wuwu, the young master doesn’t want us, the master doesn’t want us either. Wuwu, wasn’t it said that with our looks, any family’s young master or master would treasure us and fight over us? Wuwu, why does this whole family seem to want to push us out?

Inside the room, Qin Chang Ge smiled faintly as she leisurely drank porridge. Xiao Jue continuously served her dishes personally, using a silver spoon to scoop up emerald sesame soup, smiling: “This is good for beauty—come, let me feed you.”

Qin Chang Ge lifted her eyelids to look, smiling sweetly: “So His Majesty finds me ugly.”

Xiao Jue’s hand paused as he smiled bitterly and put the sesame soup in his own mouth.

With a swoosh, a beautiful big head appeared out of nowhere, snatching the silver spoon and saying happily: “She’s ugly, you’re ugly too. Even if you both improved your looks, you’d still be like this. Better to nurture my graceful bearing like jade trees in the wind and pear blossoms overwhelming begonias.”

The two “ugly man and woman” looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Qin Chang Ge said: “This shameless nature isn’t mine.”

Xiao Jue immediately declared: “It’s not mine either.”

Suddenly remembering something, Xiao Jue said thoughtfully: “Like that Yu Zixi fellow…”

Qin Chang Ge remained completely calm, smiling: “Rong’er, then you should change your surname to Yu—Yu Rong, Yu Rong (jade appearance)—how well it suits your transcendent temperament of pear blossoms overwhelming begonias.”

Baozi wailed and immediately dropped the emerald soup to flee again. No, don’t associate him with that transvestite…

After joking around, Xiao Jue’s expression became serious. He took out a paper scroll, unrolled it to reveal a map of the six nations, pointing with his chopsticks toward Dezhou: “Yu Zixi has already led four hundred thousand border troops here.”

Qin Chang Ge raised an eyebrow, smiling: “So it’s finally beginning? Good. The battle for hegemony is inevitable anyway. Ending the world’s chaotic situation in our hands as quickly as possible may not be bad for the people.”

Xiao Jue’s silver chopsticks moved across the map like a long sword, especially surging like wind and thunder over Northern Wei territory: “Chang Ge, look—every autumn and winter, Northern Wei conducts border troop rotations. Then their capital Sujing’s defenses are weak, perfect for striking while they’re vulnerable. Now Northern Wei’s political situation is chaotic with regional commanders rising up everywhere—it’s the perfect time to deal with them…”

Qin Chang Ge leaned over the map, carefully examining the army markers and movement arrows marked in different colors, saying lightly: “This year Northern Wei’s political situation is different from usual. What if those three are mutually restraining each other and don’t dare rotate troops?”

“Even better,” Xiao Jue smiled proudly, his expression confident of controlling wind and clouds: “If they’re twisted together like rope, with all their thoughts on that throne in the capital, unable even to manage troop rotations, that means their forces are scattered and none of the three have strength left to deal with external enemies… Haha, then all of Northern Wei’s vast territory is mine to gallop through!”

“What if the three unite against a common external enemy, temporarily abandoning their power struggle to face foreign threats together?”

“United they have their way of fighting. Honestly, I’d rather Northern Wei use their full national strength—let’s have a fair fight with real weapons. That would be satisfying,” Xiao Jue became animated discussing warfare, his eyes lighting up as he grabbed the map. The sesame on his chopstick tip landed precisely on Sujing’s location: “Look at their capital—supposedly with abundant granaries that could withstand a three-year siege. Actually…”

Qin Chang Ge picked up that sesame and ate it methodically, grinning: “Eaten!”

Xiao Jue laughed heartily. Turning to look at the woman before him, though still dressed as a man, her eyes were bright and clear, her glances enchanting. Her pink tongue tip emerged like an apricot blossom, quietly touching her red cherry lips in an unconsciously seductive licking gesture.

That lick seemed to touch his long-parched heart, creating tingling sensations and small flames that tormented the lonely feelings of a long-abstinent, vigorous man. Xiao Jue felt even his palms growing warm, unable to resist wanting to take her hand and embrace her for tender caresses.

Suddenly he heard Wen Zhengting kneeling outside the corridor: “Your Majesty, we have captured those who incited the riots…”

Xiao Jue and Qin Chang Ge both looked up, exchanging glances. Qin Chang Ge immediately moved to sit aside. Xiao Jue’s anger flashed and disappeared as he cursed his bad luck—always interrupted at crucial moments. Continuing like this would truly harm his body and spirit.

Raising an eyebrow, he couldn’t help saying coldly: “There’s no one behind you. Where are they? Dead?”

Completely unaware that he had interrupted His Majesty’s romantic thoughts, Wen Zhengting broke into a cold sweat—His Majesty hadn’t left the room, so how did he know there was no one behind him? He prostrated himself lower, saying shamefully: “Several people were caught at the west gate trying to leave the city mixed among disaster victims. They were recognized and captured. After the soldiers seized them, one moment of carelessness and they all took poison and died. This subject failed in his duties—please punish me, Your Majesty.”

Qin Chang Ge got up, went out to ask Wen Zhengting about how those people died, then returned to smile at Xiao Jue: “I didn’t expect that all three of that day’s guesses would prove correct.”

Northern Wei spies had bribed that chief clerk with heavy gold to transport all the relief grain from the warehouse to Northern Wei. Li Han needed to borrow Min Ran’s power, so naturally turned a blind eye to this matter. The chief clerk calculated that when Li Han entered the capital, the court would be too busy to care about Youzhou having no grain for relief. He didn’t expect Qin Chang Ge to act decisively, quelling the civil war with surprising speed and immediately beginning relief efforts. The chief clerk, panicked at finding the warehouse completely empty with no grain for relief, was taught by scheming Northern Wei spies and remaining Cao family followers to burn the warehouse. The Northern Wei people went further, deciding to incite disaster victims to riot, preventing ambitious Xiliang from temporarily turning north to Wei, leading to that heart-stopping violent uprising that nearly cost Feihuan his life.

Having clarified the whole sequence of events, Xiao Jue’s face darkened as he stared grimly toward Wei territory. After a long while, he gave a cold laugh.

“Wei family, count your remaining days as kings—my jade horse is waiting to use your royal stables!”

In the ninth month of the fourth year of Qianyuan, after experiencing famine, civil war, popular uprising, and violent rebellion, Youzhou city once again welcomed its inescapable destiny as a border fortress battleground—on the seventeenth of the ninth month, Xiliang Emperor Xiao Jue led eight hundred thousand troops in personal campaign, with Prince Jing’an Yu Zixi as commanding general and vanguard, appointing Minister of Justice Zhao Moyan as General Jianling, advancing to Northern Wei’s border at Queshang Mountain to pledge the northern expedition.

On this day, the plains were clear after autumn rain, emerald as if washed clean. In the hunting frontier winds, eight hundred thousand men stood in silent formation like an iron dragon, winding endlessly across the plains. Sunlight reflected off steel weapons’ cold gleam, creating an ocean-like deep, heavy dark gold color.

Eight hundred thousand men silent in the fields, eight hundred thousand pairs of eyes personally witnessing their empire’s emperor galloping alone through the deep autumn golden wind in black robes and gold armor across the vast plains. Brilliant sunlight scattered like broken gold as that heroic man rode forth, cloaked in magnificent sunset clouds and crowned with blazing sun, his heroic bearing brilliant and dazzling. Like a black divine sword, he thundered through the army’s front. Everyone held their breath watching their empire’s young emperor ride straight to the border between the two nations, rein in his horse, look up, and shake his gold-threaded black whip in the wind. Under the dazzling sunlight it traced a flowing arc before cracking sharply, cleanly breaking the hard stone boundary marker that had divided Xiliang and Northern Wei for many years!

In Xiliang’s emperor’s hearty laughter that filled the world, wind and thunder rose sharp and fierce from the earth.

Wind and thunder carried that whip crack and long laugh across the vast inner plains, stirring up iron-blooded storms that pressed heavily upon the nine provinces’ sky. Under that sky, all nations trembled and looked back with frightened gazes.

Where the snow blade pointed, driving north in long formation, eight hundred thousand Xiliang troops carved into Northern Wei’s long-quiet but now turbulently undercurrented territory like blazing fire and sharp swords. Under their blades, the empire’s hegemonic struggle ignited layer upon layer of brilliant blood-red flames.

Ninth month of the fourth year of Qianyuan, autumn, frost and snow condensed on northern grass tips. Ten thousand li of frontier garrison fought for unification. Who would be the heavenly pride with long tassels striking victory? Hearts filled with urgent purpose, breaking through dusty constraints, the golden-crowned man on the high hill waved his hand with abandon, composing the magnificent dreams and clouds in his heart.

Xiliang’s quest to dominate the world and conquer the six nations—the curtain rose from this moment, beginning now.