After speaking, she turned and walked into the warm tent.
“Zhuang Qingxia!” A hoarse, furious roar rang out behind her. Everyone simultaneously witnessed the tragic scene of the Southern Chu Emperor being thrown into a snowdrift. Chu Li’s face was flushed red, his hair and clothes covered in white snow as he crawled out of the snowdrift in embarrassment, shouting fiercely at the golden tent, “I won’t let you get away with this!”
Despite having a hundred and a thousand reasons to be unwilling, under the threat of a large group of iron-blooded soldiers, Qing Xia had no choice but to set out with Chu Li the next day, heading toward Huanchayi.
When the horses were about to gallop out of the Western Black Wasteland, she couldn’t help but turn back to look. In the distance, the majestic Dragon Ridge Mountains stood like a ferocious beast, with snow falling from the sky. The world was filled with ethereal white. She once again thought of that man in green robes under the bamboo groves and flowering trees, with his open demeanor and gentle smile. Those memories of life and death together, bright as warm sunshine, scattered and fell with the white snow across the entire wasteland, freezing and melting beneath the withered grass roots, slowly seeping into the soil to be buried by the towering mountains.
Traveling day and night for a full day, they finally reached Huanchayi. Throughout the journey, Chu Li’s expression was gloomy and he spoke little, as if he were sulking with someone. Fortunately, he didn’t come looking for trouble with Qing Xia, and she was happy to have peace, naturally not going to provoke him either. She quietly followed the black-clad guards on the road, appearing obedient and compliant on the surface while secretly desperately searching for an opportunity to escape.
By the time they reached the Southern Chu Northern Camp, it was already evening. Qing Xia saw many familiar faces – Hong Dayuan and others she had met in the central military camp were all there. Unfortunately, she was now dressed as a woman and had no way to approach and recognize them.
It seemed that all the personnel from the central military camp had been moved to Huanchayi.
Qing Xia couldn’t help but ponder silently: the central military camp was the strongest military force guarding the capital region. While there was indeed precedent for them to accompany and protect the emperor on personal campaigns, this would expose the capital’s defenses. With Chu Li now far away in Southern Chu’s northern frontier, if someone staged a rebellion in the capital, the distance would make it impossible to respond effectively, potentially causing great disaster. Chu Li was shrewd and capable – he couldn’t have missed this fatal weakness. So there were only two explanations: either there were other trusted individuals hidden with heavy troops in the capital to stabilize the government, or Chu Li himself was in such great danger that he couldn’t afford to worry about the capital’s stability.
Originally, Qing Xia had been more inclined toward the first explanation, but when she arrived at the Southern Chu Northern Camp, she began to waver. Chu Li’s situation was truly not optimistic.
Although Chu Li was now the Southern Chu Emperor and enjoyed great reputation among the people and military, he had returned to the country for less than two years and was still young. In military camps that traditionally valued seniority, he didn’t have as much authority as one might imagine.
This period among the common people had given Qing Xia a general understanding of the world she was in. Especially Southern Chu’s political system – in her eyes, it had considerable instability. Imperial authority in Southern Chu didn’t have the powerful rights of later dynasties, much like the Southern dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Here, power was mainly held by the great aristocratic families. Southern Chu had seven great families that controlled seven regions like feudal states, plus the Southern Frontier that was currently opposing Chu Li, forming eight directions that surrounded the capital like an iron bucket.
Each great family controlled the financial and economic power of their region and even maintained their own armies. They only needed to pay a portion of taxes to the capital each year to remain completely independent. Even the appointment of officials was beyond the emperor’s interference. Seeing this situation, Qing Xia couldn’t help but shake her head. Chu Li was truly just an empty shell. Current Southern Chu was typically like the Zhou royal house of old – without institutional change, fragmentation and civil war were inevitable. The Southern Frontier rebellion was just a small beginning. If this continued, Chu Li would face even more severe national disintegration.
Fortunately, Chu Li seemed to have keenly realized this point. Even when he was still crown prince, he had extensively cultivated officials from common families, actively seized aristocratic lands, reduced noble officials, and weakened family power. However, a bureaucratic system over a thousand years old couldn’t possibly be completely eliminated in Chu Li’s short year of rule. So when Qing Xia stood inside the Northern Camp’s main tent and saw only the military headquarters’ forces come out to welcome Chu Li, she wasn’t particularly surprised.
Xu Quan stood outside the camp to hold Chu Li’s horse. Chu Li’s expression was as dark as water, and before he could speak, a general in earth-colored military uniform suddenly stepped forward, knelt before Chu Li, and after a simple salute, said in a resounding voice, “Reporting to Your Majesty, Lady Zhu Lan of Liyuan Nanfu requests Your Majesty’s presence at the Nanfu camp for important matters to discuss.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Qing Xia suddenly sensed that all the military headquarters soldiers and black-clad guards turned their heads in anger, glaring coldly at the yellow-armored general. If looks could kill, they would have already pierced thousands of holes in that man. A trace of cold hostility quietly spread among everyone. Qing Xia secretly cheered, thinking it would be best if they started fighting over a disagreement – then she could take the opportunity to escape.
“Has Lady Zhu Lan arrived at the Northern Camp?” Chu Li asked gravely, his expression unchanged.
The yellow-armored general seemed completely unperturbed by everyone’s murderous glares, smiling as he replied, “Yes. Hearing that Your Majesty personally led troops to the front lines, the Lady brought fifty thousand Nanfu troops and traveled through the night to reach the Northern Camp. She only arrived last night. Unfortunately, Your Majesty went to supervise troops at Baileng Mountain and missed the opportunity to meet, so this humble one comes to invite Your Majesty at this time.”
A flash of anger immediately crossed Chu Li’s eyes. He slowly raised his head, staring at the general’s respectfully smiling expression, finding it utterly grating. At that moment, a gaze as clear and cold as ice and snow suddenly shot over with a hint of curiosity. He slightly turned his head and saw Qing Xia staring at him with wide eyes. A warmth quietly rose in his heart. Chu Li took a deep breath, then said, “It’s already too late now. I won’t disturb the Lady’s rest. Tomorrow all the lords will meet at the main camp – we can discuss whatever matters then.”
Upon hearing this, the yellow-armored general’s expression instantly turned stern. After hesitating slightly, he slowly said, “The Lady traveled non-stop for over ten days from Liyuan to see Your Majesty. If she cannot meet Your Majesty at the first opportunity, she will surely be very disappointed.”
This was an extremely strange thing to say. No matter how great the power of Liyuan Nanfu, there was no reason for an emperor to condescend to see her, much less in a military stronghold – how could a woman be allowed to command? Qing Xia looked sideways at Chu Li and the others with furrowed brows, thinking there must be something more to this.
Noticing Qing Xia’s inquiring gaze, Chu Li’s anger suddenly flared. He frowned tightly and said gravely, “Can’t you understand my words? I said it’s too late, so it’s too late. Do I need to repeat myself?”
With a swoosh, the black-clad guards’ gleaming blades were simultaneously unsheathed. If that man said one more word, they would use their sharp weapons to defend the Southern Chu Emperor’s dignity.
When Chu Li became angry, a oppressive atmosphere immediately spread. The general was also a clever man – seeing this situation, he quickly bowed and smiled, “This humble general was rash. I was only conveying the Lady’s message. In the past, seeing Your Majesty never involved so much trouble. I suppose this humble one was negligent. Your Majesty is, after all, now the Emperor, and Liyuan serves as subjects, so we should follow the proper rules of being ministers. This humble one will go report to the Lady now. I take my leave.”
These words were utterly impolite, clearly pointing out that Chu Li was putting on airs after becoming emperor and no longer respected Nanfu. For a mere captain to dare say such treasonous words was simply unthinkable. Yet seeing Chu Li’s expressionless face and the black-clad guards suppressing their anger, Qing Xia couldn’t help but deeply question the true power of this so-called Liyuan Nanfu.
Seeing that the man was about to leave, Qing Xia couldn’t help but feel urgent. Finally someone had come to stir things up – if she let him go, wouldn’t it fail to achieve the desired chaos? Her grand plan of finding an opportunity to escape would become nothing but empty dreams.
Just as she was thinking this, the man didn’t even kneel but simply gave a brief salute and turned to leave.
“Stop!” A clear, sharp angry shout suddenly rang out.
Everyone, including Chu Li, was greatly startled and turned to look, only to see Qing Xia, who had been standing behind the crowd, slowly walk forward. She glared coldly at the yellow-armored general and said gravely, “You’re just going to leave like that?”
The general had obviously grown accustomed to being arrogant and domineering under Lady Zhu Lan. Seeing a woman emerge from behind Chu Li, he paid no attention and merely smiled faintly, saying, “I wonder which distinguished personage this young lady might be? Why would a mere woman be in a military camp? What instruction do you have for stopping this humble one?”
Qing Xia laughed coldly, “So you do understand that women shouldn’t stay overnight in military camps. The people of Nanfu are indeed knowledgeable and clear-minded. I just wonder whether your Lady is male or female – why is she allowed to stay in the military camp?”
“Qing Xia, don’t make trouble!” Chu Li snorted coldly and was about to step forward to restrain Qing Xia.
“The Lady has a noble status and naturally cannot be compared to ordinary women. This point, Your Majesty also understands clearly.”
“How dare you!” A crisp slapping sound immediately rang out. Qing Xia struck like lightning, slapping the man hard across the face as she exclaimed delicately, “You keep saying ‘Your Majesty this, Your Majesty that’ – don’t you know there should be distinction between ruler and minister? A mere captain of Nanfu, showing no respect for hierarchical order, not understanding proper etiquette – have all the sage’s teachings gone to the dogs?”
“You!” The general’s eyebrows shot up as he shouted angrily, “Who are you? How dare you lay hands on me?”
“Today I’m going to teach you, this arrogant, rude, and presumptuous fool!” Qing Xia snorted coldly, suddenly kicking viciously toward his knee. A cracking sound of bone immediately rang out. The man screamed and fell to his knees with a thud. Qing Xia coldly grabbed his collar and said icily, “Didn’t your parents teach you that you should bow and kneel when meeting the Emperor? Looking at your oily, powdered face, I never expected you’d be such an empty vessel who can’t even remember such simple principles. Well then, today I’ll take the place of your parents and teach you properly.”