Inside the carriage.

Young Lord Cao Lie had been sitting in deep contemplation for quite some time. He needed to work out what Li Chi’s intentions truly were.

Was it simply a desire to seize the Cao family’s business holdings in order to acquire a massive amount of gold and silver for expanding his army?

Or was it out of consideration for their friendship — taking the Cao family’s more troublesome holdings off their hands, using that as justification to let the Cao family off the hook?

These two thoughts flickered back and forth through his mind without resolution.

Thinking it over carefully: Tang Pidi’s advance through Yuzhou had been moving at breathtaking speed, with territory expanding so rapidly that troop strength could no longer keep pace.

So Li Chi urgently needed to expand his forces to consolidate the newly gained territory in Yuzhou.

Even with Li Chi personally leading fifty thousand troops south to reinforce Tang Pidi, it remained nowhere near enough.

Though the Dachu court had rotted to this degree, though the Emperor’s own position was precarious, Dachu was still a nation, and the imperial family still a towering colossus.

And so long as the Emperor issued the command, there were still no shortage of people in this realm with loyalty and a will to protect the dynasty.

The Emperor only needed to offer the right terms, and the common people would sooner believe him than any rebel force.

Nothing too generous — the Emperor needed only to declare that all who took up arms in defense of the nation would have their families elevated to military household status, and masses would scramble to enlist.

It might be a hollow promise without real substance, yet for common people, military household status meant exemption from grain taxation.

And beyond that, holding military household status was a matter of considerable face.

The common people had an inexplicable affection for wearing a uniform issued by the imperial court.

So if the Emperor proclaimed such an edict, he could rally hundreds of thousands of people in Jingzhou to fight for him.

Even if they were a rabble, their sheer numbers would be a crucial counterweight against Tang Pidi’s southward advance.

When Tang Pidi moved south, he had only a hundred thousand troops, and once dispersed, the forces he could call upon would certainly be less than half that.

He would also need to garrison Yuzhou, and after detaching another twenty or thirty thousand, what would Tang Pidi have left to keep fighting?

The fifty thousand men Li Chi was bringing were still a drop in the bucket against territory as vast as Yuzhou.

So the possibility that Li Chi wanted to forcibly seize the Cao family’s assets was not just possible — it was quite likely.

And as for the latter possibility…

That seemed to have some merit as well.

If Li Chi was acting to protect Cao Lie — forcing the Cao family to surrender all their military-adjacent holdings — then should anyone push for action against the Cao family, Li Chi would have justification to decline.

Precisely because he could not determine whether Li Chi was motivated by the former reason or the latter, Cao Lie was at a loss for how to respond.

Deng Zhaiyue ventured carefully: “Young Lord, if Li Chi truly only intends to forcibly seize the Cao family’s assets, should we not… begin preparing to act?”

Cao Lie gave a slight shake of his head, offering no reply.

Nie Yuwu said: “If we wait until we’ve reached Yuzhou and let him make the first move, I’m afraid we’ll find ourselves acting too late.”

Cao Lie shook his head again.

Deng Zhaiyue pressed his case: “Li Chi is clearly exploiting his friendship with you, Young Lord, and that’s precisely why he keeps pushing further. Every time he advances, we retreat a step. If this goes on, he’ll nibble away at everything piece by piece, and it will be nearly impossible to protect the Cao family’s interests.”

Cao Lie suddenly smiled: “Then just give it all to him. It’s only the medicine trade and the weapons workshop — hand it over.”

Deng Zhaiyue and Nie Yuwu exchanged a look of incomprehension.

Cao Lie said: “I’d rather believe he’s doing this to protect me.”

Deng Zhaiyue moved to argue further, but Cao Lie waved him off: “This is my decision.”

Neither man dared say more. After all, the master of the household had made it clear when he left Yuzhou — all matters were to be decided by the Young Lord alone.

Cao Lie smiled and said: “I’m going to gamble on something… The truth is, I’ve never had a real friend. You two know that.”

He gazed out the window and said: “In Yuzhou, everyone fears me. Even those of imperial blood bow and scrape when they see me. It looks as though I have a circle of friends, a life of splendor — but they only come around because of what I am…”

He paused, his gaze drifting.

“If I’m right about this gamble, I gain a true friend. That’s not nothing.”

Deng Zhaiyue said: “But Young Lord, sooner or later…”

Cao Lie shook his head: “Do you think I care about those assets? Do you think I care about the silver? Even if it only lasts a short while, I like this feeling.”

He slowly exhaled.

Because he truly did care about that feeling.

—

Meanwhile, outside Yuzhou City, at Fifteen-Li Station.

Inside the home of the village headman.

Changsun Wuyou stood in the courtyard with her hands clasped behind her back, watching a flock of birds pass overhead, her gaze drifting away with their flight.

“Young Mistress.”

Someone hurried into the courtyard and bowed: “I’ve learned some news. King Ning, Li Chi, is personally leading tens of thousands of troops south to reinforce Tang Pidi. They have already crossed the Nanping River. By our reckoning, they should reach Yuzhou in no more than a month.”

Changsun Wuyou gave a small nod: “I’ve been here waiting for him. It hasn’t been in vain after all.”

She swept her gaze across the people in the courtyard and said: “We have been preparing for nearly half a year, waiting for Li Chi’s arrival. I’ll be honest — my patience is nearly exhausted. My calculation was that once Tang Pidi took Yuzhou, Li Chi would inevitably follow. Yet somehow he couldn’t be bothered to personally oversee even a matter this significant…”

This was what Changsun Wuyou had genuinely failed to understand. By any measure, how could Jizhou compare to Yuzhou?

This was the heart of the Central Plains. This land was rich in grain. This land bordered Jingzhou. This land offered geographic advantages that Jizhou could not begin to rival.

Yuzhou was the pivot of the Central Plains — which was precisely why Prince Wu had placed such importance on it.

Any reasonable person would have come to Yuzhou long ago.

Yet Li Chi simply would not come, as though he had no concern at all for how much territory he gained.

Recently she had learned that Yan Qingzhi — someone Li Chi cared deeply about — had arrived. She had considered striking then.

But if Yan Qingzhi died, it would amount to startling the grass and alerting the snake, making it far more difficult to target Li Chi afterward.

“Young Mistress, he moves among tens of thousands of troops, and the Ning Army fights exceptionally well. It will be hard to find an opportunity. Should we perhaps strike from within Yuzhou City itself?”

A powerfully built man standing nearby spoke up — a man who stood half a head taller than any normal man around him.

This man’s arms were thicker than Changsun Wuyou’s thighs.

Standing before anyone, he was like a wall, completely blocking one’s view.

His hand, spread open, seemed larger than a normal person’s head.

A slap from that palm would likely set a man’s skull spinning on his shoulders.

This man’s name was Pei Lang, from Juye in Qingzhou by ancestral origin.

Though he had never returned to Qingzhou — having been born in Jingzhou — and in truth, neither his father nor his grandfather had ever gone back either.

His family had served the Changsun clan for generations: from the earliest times when they were only hired farmhands, to his father’s current position as head steward of the Changsun main residence, and now himself as Changsun Wuyou’s personal bodyguard.

His father had told him stories of their ancestral home — beautiful mountains, beautiful lakes, a land that bred heroes.

Of course, it had been his grandfather who told his father, and his grandfather had never seen it with his own eyes either.

His father had also told him that a towering figure had once emerged from Juye — a man who, across Dachu’s centuries of history, could stand alongside Xu Qulu as a great figure and a great hero.

A man who had expanded Dachu’s frontiers, hailed as the Divine Martial God of Dachu.

And so from the moment he first heard that story as a child, he had sworn an oath to himself: he too would become a towering hero.

But his father had told him: what you must remember above all else is loyalty.

And so the young Pei Lang had taken that to heart — to be a loyal hero.

Changsun Wuyou standing beside him looked like a small child; the top of her head barely reached below his chest.

A loyal hero. Her hero.

But he also knew she did not care for him. The one she cared for was some young man with the surname Yuwen. Pei Lang had no interest in remembering that man’s name — he felt only revulsion toward him.

Yuwen Shangyun had repulsed him. Everyone surnamed Yuwen repulsed him.

But now, well — that man was dead.

Though it seemed that, even so, nothing had really changed for him.

At the very least, this time, he would not be left behind because of his ill feeling toward that man.

Changsun Wuyou considered for a moment and then said: “Give him a lesson first… draw Li Chi’s attention toward the Cao family.”

She looked toward Pei Lang: “I’m counting on you.”

Pei Lang immediately replied in his deep, resonant voice: “Young Mistress, rest assured — I’ll make sure that Li Whatever-his-name-is learns his lesson.”

Though just a moment ago he had said it would be difficult to find an opening, one word from Changsun Wuyou and he agreed without hesitation.

Changsun Wuyou gave a quiet sigh: “You always do this — your mind wanders, and you forget what I’ve said to you.”

“I didn’t!”

Pei Lang hastened to explain: “I was listening carefully, Young Mistress. I know everything you’ve told me. Young Mistress doesn’t like cilantro. Young Mistress doesn’t like the dark. Young Mistress…”

Changsun Wuyou looked at him with faint astonishment.

Pei Lang suddenly realized he should not have said any of that. A flush of red crept over the face of this mountain of a man.

He became flustered at once, and his words grew clumsy.

“That’s enough.”

Changsun Wuyou said: “You are not to speak of such irrelevant things in the future.”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Pei Lang nodded rapidly.

But in his heart he was thinking: how is any of that irrelevant? These are exactly the things I should be paying attention to.

Yet since the Young Mistress disliked it, he truly did not dare say so.

Whoever upset the Young Mistress, he wanted to tear in two. And so he certainly did not want to upset her himself.

Changsun Wuyou said: “Proceed according to the plan.”

She looked toward the elderly man standing beside Pei Lang: “Master Qiu, keep an eye on Pei Lang. Don’t let him ruin this.”

The nearly sixty-year-old Master Qiu hurriedly bowed: “Young Mistress, do not worry. Pei Lang won’t ruin anything — he’s just clumsy with words.”

Pei Lang shot a grateful look at Master Qiu — this old man who had always looked after him, who was like a second father to him.

“Pack your things and set out. Remember to leave traces linking this to the Cao family — do not cut corners. Li Chi is too sharp. If you are sloppy, he’ll immediately see through it as a frame-up.”

Changsun Wuyou said gravely: “Sowing discord between the Cao family and Li Chi — that is our objective. The Cao family is deeply rooted in Yuzhou, possessed of limitless wealth, and commanding untold numbers of private soldiers in secret. This is a matter of great consequence. Anyone who spoils it will answer to me.”

She finished these words and deliberately glanced at Pei Lang.

Pei Lang felt a flicker of displeasure — he could sense the Young Mistress believed he was someone incapable of handling matters of consequence.

He thought to himself: then I’ll do something consequential for her to see. I’m not just someone who’s good at fighting.

Changsun Wuyou said: “I’ll be waiting for you inside Yuzhou City. Once the matter is done, meet me at the agreed location.”

“Yes!”

Everyone in the courtyard bowed in unison.

Changsun Wuyou turned and walked away.

She entered the building, sat down by the window, and looked down at the jade pendant hanging at her waist.

It was Yuwen Shangyun’s jade pendant.

“I won’t let you die for nothing…”

Changsun Wuyou murmured to herself.

—

Inside Yuzhou City.

Tang Pidi was reviewing a military report delivered by one of his subordinates when Gao Zhen came in from outside and said with a smile: “General, the King of Ning is coming.”

Tang Pidi’s head snapped up. He had not expected Li Chi to come in person.

“How far along is he?”

Tang Pidi asked.

Gao Zhen said: “An urgent dispatch just came in. It says the King of Ning has already crossed the Nanping River and should reach Yuzhou in a month.”

Tang Pidi immediately turned to look at the map.

His finger traced the route, then came to rest on a particular location.

“Gao Zhen.”

“At your service.”

“Take a cavalry unit north to meet the King of Ning. Wait for him here.”

He tapped that spot on the map.

—

*…*

—