This is called a hero rescuing a beauty.

When the Prince of Zhongshan heard this, he burst into laughter.

“Son, you’re truly an expert at this,” he said. “This has happened over and over again.”

The first time they met, Xiao Xun had rescued a girl who had fallen into the water, though the girl had shown no gratitude, let alone thanks.

The second time wasn’t worth mentioning, because of this girl, Xiao Xun had gone into the water, but the girl had stayed on shore watching the commotion.

This third time, the girl had been captured by villains—be they remnants of the Zhao faction, supporters of the Third Prince, Yang family loyalists, Western Liang spies, or whatever sort—and then Xiao Xun would rescue her—

Would it succeed?

The Prince of Zhongshan mockingly asked his son.

Tie Ying naturally wouldn’t ridicule the young master, but he felt it unnecessary.

“That cunning Chu Zhao, how would she believe it?”

As soon as Xiao Xun appeared, Chu Zhao would know that those surrounding her had been arranged by Xiao Xun.

However, before Xiao Xun could speak, Tie Ying reconsidered and said, “I understand now. The heir is performing the rescue for the world to see.”

…

These days, although the imperial court and the Prince of Zhongshan appeared to be on normal terms, the undercurrents could no longer be concealed. Troops were constantly being reinforced outside Zhongshan Commandery, and large armies were also moving in from the border prefectures.

The entire Zhongshan Commandery had been surrounded, with stricter entry and exit inspections than before. At present, the official pretext remained the pursuit of the Third Prince and Zhao faction remnants, but it wouldn’t be long before the Prince of Zhongshan’s name appeared on the list of rebels and traitors.

Of course, for the Prince of Zhongshan’s residence, there was no fear or nervousness, much less anxiety.

From the day the Prince of Zhongshan left the capital for Zhongshan Commandery, he had been waiting for the imperial court to declare him a rebel and traitor.

He was accustomed to it and well-prepared.

News from the capital’s imperial court and palace constantly arrived, from major court decisions to what kind of shoes the Empress wore at her grand ceremony—Xiao Xun knew it all.

When he heard that the Empress and the young Emperor had ascended the throne together and sat together in court to hear governmental affairs, the Prince of Zhongshan clapped his hands in admiration: “Impressive, impressive! Truly, a tiger father produces no common daughter.”

Xiao Xun smiled and corrected him: “Father, it should be ‘the student surpasses the master.’ Chu Yan wouldn’t dare, nor would he want to act this way.”

But Chu Zhao dared, and she wanted to.

That girl wasn’t someone’s someone; she was herself, and had always acted on her initiative.

Hearing Tie Ying’s words, Xiao Xun smiled slightly. Before, it had indeed been that way—the girl had been like everyone else in his eyes. His smiles at her, his anger toward her, whatever he did regarding her had been for others to see. But now—

He gazed into the distant night and smiled faintly: “No, this time, I’m doing it for her to see.”

He wanted to show her that he could save her, and he could also kill her.

He wasn’t afraid of imperial troops or charges of treason.

She wanted to be Empress; he could also let her have her wish.

“Go tell the people over there,” he instructed Tie Ying, “after capturing them, kill everyone else in front of her.”

Tie Ying acknowledged the order, raising his eyebrows: “Then Miss Chu will be terrified, won’t she?”

This was also to let her know that scheming in this world wasn’t just about falling into water or gifting a maid; people could die.

Xiao Xun smiled: “She has great courage, so she won’t be terrified, but she will certainly be heartbroken.”

With a broken heart, she would find it difficult to forget him.

…

Outside the mountains, the night was peaceful; within, flames raged.

The killing intent made the entire forest tremble.

Chu Zhao stood behind a boulder, pressed tightly against the cliff face, watching what seemed like torches covering the land before her.

“They didn’t retreat earlier just to lure us out,” she said. “They went to wait for reinforcements.”

This attack involved many more people than before; they were determined to succeed.

Chu Zhao looked around again. The survivors were all wounded, and most critically, they were short on arrows.

A-Le had already started throwing rocks down.

“Young lady,” she turned to look, “don’t be afraid. As long as we make it through tonight—”

Those people wouldn’t let them survive the night. Chu Zhao nodded to A-Le: “I’m not afraid.”

She truly wasn’t afraid, perhaps because she had few regrets left. Although she still wouldn’t see her father one last time, A-Jiu would certainly convey her feelings to him.

Her father would know how hard she had tried to see him and would understand her feelings—that he had always been and would always be the most important person in her heart.

Unlike in her previous life, when she had become Empress and coldly sent her father a letter, reminding him to remember his place and not cause her trouble.

Also, Xiao Yu had been rescued; Deng Yi and Xie Yanfang were jointly ruling the court. In this life, if Xiao Xun wanted to be Emperor, he would have to become a rebel.

Furthermore, she had entrusted the Dragon Might Army to A-Jiu. She didn’t need to worry about Uncle Zhong and the others’ future. A-Jiu wouldn’t disregard and waste their lives like Xiao Xun had.

As for her uncle’s family, Chu Tang was intelligent and knew that Chu Zhao was his support. After her death, Chu Tang would follow her previous instructions and immediately retreat with the entire family into the wilderness.

She could face death calmly now.

After death, she would first reunite with her mother, then wait for her father to arrive. The three of them would finally be together.

However, she had never seen her mother and didn’t know what she looked like. Would she recognize her when they met?

She also didn’t know how to interact with her mother.

Chu Zhao felt somewhat nervous and pushed a boulder down with all her strength.

…

It seemed as if all the fierce beasts of Fallen Eagle Mountain had gathered here—tigers, wolves, wild boars, even pheasants and wild rabbits. The entire forest shook, and the ground erupted with flying earth and stones.

Even Ding Dachui couldn’t help but swallow, gripping his repaired hunting bow with sweaty palms.

This was no small business, and the fighting was too intense.

The new boss had even told them directly that they were short on manpower and had them drive out all the wild animals from the mountains.

“Boss,” the brothers following behind trembled as they spoke, “if we charge in, aren’t we seeking death?”

What was this new boss thinking? Even when robbing, one had to weigh and consider carefully. Sometimes, no matter how fat the sheep, not everyone could be seized.

The commotion before them—this wasn’t a fat sheep, this was a monster.

Sharp bird calls rang in their ears, making Ding Dachui shudder.

One bird call after another, urging them on.

In Ding Dachui’s ears also echoed what the new boss had said when gathering everyone earlier.

“Your portraits as mountain bandits hang at the entrance of Chen County’s magistrate office.”

“Your survival until now isn’t because the officials can’t deal with you, but because they’re too lazy to bother.”

“Once the officials need achievements, they’ll resolve your cases immediately.”

“Do you people think you can hunt in these mountains for the rest of your lives?”

“You are not hunters; you are the prey.”

“Join me in this big venture today, and afterward, you’ll have people, money, and goods. Then, you’ll truly be hunters.”

What hunters? They’ve always said they were mountain bandits!

Ding Dachui’s feet trembled. He lifted his foot and stomped it firmly on the ground, raising his hunting bow and nocking three arrows. He shouted.

“This mountain is ours—”

…

Despite the thrown spears, rolling stones, and the barrier of their dead, over a dozen attackers broke through the defenses.

These men were as light as swallows and as agile as monkeys, getting closer and closer, until Chu Zhao could see their ferocious grins.

Old Bai moved faster than them, grasping his long sword and flying forward. With a flurry of sword flashes, the first five bandits who rushed over tumbled to the ground, their bodies separated from their heads.

More people charged out following Old Bai—Dragon Might soldiers and people left behind by Xiao Man—fighting with weapons and their bodies. This was the last line of defense.

A-Le gripped her sword, blocking Chu Zhao: “It’s not time yet.”

Chu Zhao had been about to rush forward as well.

“Young lady, if you charge over and die, everyone will die faster,” A-Le said seriously. “The longer you live, the longer everyone can survive.”

All the fighting was to protect Chu Zhao. If she died, everyone’s spirit would be broken.

Of course, Chu Zhao understood this, but watching people die for her one by one, she truly felt that living was worse than dying—

A bandit pounced from behind, slicing off a Dragon Might soldier’s hands with one stroke. The soldier let out an agonizing wail but didn’t fall. Instead, he tightly embraced the bandit with his handless arms, crashing into another bandit who was holding a sword. The long blade pierced through both of them—

Chu Zhao wanted to close her eyes but forced them to stay wide open, making herself see clearly, see clearly how these people were dying for her.

She couldn’t be like in that life, where so many people had died for her, and she hadn’t even known.

“Young lady,” A-Le called out, raising her sword and standing in front of her, “even if they all die, you still have me.”

Just as Chu Zhao was about to speak, she suddenly heard the fighting in the distance intensify, mingled with shouts of “Enemy attack!” “Fall back quickly!” “We’re under attack!”

Enemy attack—these were the bandits shouting. The enemies of the bandits would naturally be their reinforcements!

Reinforcements had arrived!

“Xiao Man brought reinforcements!” Chu Zhao shouted. “Xiao Man brought reinforcements!”

There was hope!

She shouted repeatedly, “Reinforcements are here! Reinforcements are here!” sending hope to everyone.