When a group of civilians appeared in their sight, stumbling and crying out, Chu Zhao initially thought it was like before—civilians being used by Xiao Xun as human shields, human barricades, to fill trenches, or trip horses…

But this time, there was no dense military formation following behind the civilians.

Soldiers were galloping, but they spread out to the left and right, protecting these civilians like wings.

These were scouts from the imperial army.

“Your Highness, the Empress—” the scout reported urgently, “These are civilians from Han Commandery. They’ve come to report that the people of Han are engaged in fierce combat with the rebel forces.”

Hearing this news, the first thought of the other officers was: a new rebel strategy?

Previously, rebels had used civilians to force them to retreat and yield formation; now were they using civilians to lure them into the city?

Soon, those civilians were brought forward. Though they didn’t know what the Empress looked like, once they saw the female general in red armor among the military formation, they all knelt and called out to the Empress.

“The traitor Xiao oppresses the people, making life unbearable.”

“Arbitrary killing and humiliation.”

“The people of the commandery city couldn’t endure it anymore.”

“Everyone rose together, rushed into the government office, killed the officials, and opened the city gates.”

“We seek Your Majesty the Empress to save our lives—”

“Over a hundred people broke out, but in the end only these dozen or so of us survived.”

“Empress, Empress, we’ve finally found you—”

“Empress, please save us quickly, save us—”

After listening to the civilians’ account, Chu Zhao looked at the scout again.

“The forward scouts report that Han Commandery city does appear unusual,” the scout said. “Smoke and fire are rising from within the city.”

“Since—” Chu Zhao was about to speak.

The officers beside her hurriedly advised again: “Your Majesty, please be cautious. Let the troops scout further.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” one officer said in a low voice. “The provinces and commanderies in this area have been cultivated by the Prince of Zhongshan for many years and were the first to submit to Xiao Xun. We must be careful.”

Chu Zhao looked at the grieving civilians before the military formation, then gazed into the distance. People rising against soldiers—no matter how many they were, it would be like eggs hitting stones.

“We cannot wait,” Chu Zhao said. “Even if it’s a trap set by the rebels, those civilians are truly suffering oppression. They have nowhere to run or hide. If we even abandon them, how are we any different from the rebels? What right would we have to call them subjects of Da Xia?”

The officers exchanged glances and spoke no more, bowing deeply: “We request Your Majesty to dispatch troops!”

Chu Zhao raised her hand, and behind her, Xiao Man immediately waved the battle flag. War drums began to beat steadily from within the formation, and the troops began to move slowly across the land.

The war drums and galloping horses made the entire ground tremble.

As the military formation advanced, the rear camp became quieter. Xie Yanlai, sitting in a rocking chair enjoying the spring sunshine, yawned.

“Are we breaking camp?” he said, then looked at the time of day. “Just in time for a meal.”

He turned to look at the soldier beside him.

“Let’s eat first.”

The soldier responded, “Yes, General Xie. The old duck soup you requested yesterday is already stewing. I’ll go check if it’s ready.”

The soldier turned to leave but was stopped by A-Le’s shout: “What are you eating? The Empress has gone to battle, and you’re still here waiting to eat and drink.”

Xie Yanlai gently rocked in his chair: “Why not? I don’t need to go to battle. I’m here to recover from my injuries.”

A-Le glared at him scrutinizingly: “I think you’re here to get fat!”

Xie Yanlai reached up to touch his face: “What fat? I was quite haggard before. It’s still too early to fully recover—it will take at least two or three years.”

A-Le grabbed his rocking chair, about to flip it over: “Recover what!”

“You crude maid!” Xie Yanlai shouted. “You’ve been the Empress’s palace maid for so many years and haven’t improved at all!”

The two quarreled noisily. In the end, Xie Yanlai didn’t get to drink his duck soup, but he also didn’t go lead troops to attack the city. Instead, he packed up and followed with the supply wagons at the rear. By the time he caught up the next day, the commandery city had already been taken.

Amid lingering smoke and citywide devastation, the prominent families of the commandery led the surviving civilians in kowtowing to the Empress.

“We are guilty and ashamed to face Your Majesty the Empress,” the elderly leaders said tearfully as they kowtowed. Their hair and beards were disheveled, their clothes in disarray, having escaped death.

Following their prostration, the surviving civilians also knelt and wept loudly, also declaring themselves guilty.

“We were first deceived by the Prince of Zhongshan, believing he was a good prince who cared for the country and the people.”

“Then we were blinded by Deng Yi, thinking Xiao Xun was truly entrusted with the throne by the late Emperor and was the legitimate ruler of Da Xia.”

“We were loyal to His Majesty and honored him.”

“Who would have thought that the treacherous Xiao’s officials and soldiers were so heartless, treating us like pigs and dogs, arbitrarily bullying and humiliating us, even taking pleasure in killing—”

“We could endure no more and had to fight to the death, seeking rescue from Your Majesty the Empress—”

At this point, the elders were overcome with tears, covering their faces with their hands and banging their heads on the ground.

“We deserve to die ten thousand deaths. Thank you, Your Majesty, for not abandoning us, thank you for saving our lives.”

After hearing these words and seeing the crowds weeping miserably in their wretched state, Chu Zhao sighed softly, understanding what had happened. It turned out that the city’s prominent families had joined forces to set a trap, arranging a banquet where they poisoned the visiting officials and commanders—and to ensure their deaths, several elders had even willingly drunk the poison themselves.

Then, under the leadership of these families, the people seized the government offices, took weapons, and engaged in combat with the garrison troops.

Although the civilians had all risen to fight, they were no match for the soldiers. Fortunately, Chu Zhao had arrived with troops in time; otherwise, they would have all been slaughtered.

“Please rise,” Chu Zhao stepped forward, personally helping the elders up, then looking at the kneeling civilians. “You bear no guilt. Even if you were deceived, the fault is mine. I came too late.”

“Empress, Your Majesty—”

Hearing these words, the elders and civilians finally set their minds at ease, once again kowtowing and calling out in grief.

“Long live the Empress!”

Having taken the commandery city, there were still many matters to attend to: pursuing the fleeing soldiers, arranging defenses around the city, searching the city. Although these prominent families and many civilians professed their allegiance, personnel still needed to be strictly examined to prevent spies. Chu Zhao remained busy until dusk before finally reaching her resting place.

A-Le had already prepared the quarters, heated water, and prepared hot food.

Chu Zhao sat down, took a sip of hot tea, caught her breath, and suddenly looked around: “Where is Xie Yanlai?”

In the army, Xiao Man was her attendant, while A-Le remained in the rear to take care of Chu Zhao’s daily needs. Besides A-Le, there was also Xie Yanlai in the rear.

He wasn’t there to look after her daily needs, but rather to join her in being cared for.

Whenever it was time to rest, Xie Yanlai was always present, having already enjoyed the best food and drink.

Why wasn’t he here today?

A-Le snorted: “When Your Majesty was fighting, he was hiding in the back enjoying himself. Now that the battle is over, he’s gone wandering around.”

Wandering around the commandery city? Chu Zhao thought for a moment and put her outer robe back on: “I’ll go look for him.” With that, she went out.

A-Le could only curse Xie Yanlai again for causing her mistress to miss her rest.

Although Xie Yanlai was wandering around, Chu Zhao immediately found out where he was—at the place outside the city where corpses were being collected.

Night had fallen, and torches burned at the clearing outside the city, which was densely filled with corpses. This area held only civilian corpses; the soldiers’ bodies were elsewhere.

Some of the deceased civilians had been retrieved by surviving family members, while others had lost their entire families. At this moment, more than half had been covered with straw mats, while the remaining half had not yet been covered—too many had died, and there weren’t enough mats.

A man stood among the densely packed corpses, seemingly patrolling yet lost in thought.

He wore black clothes, and the firelight danced on his face, as if tracing ghostly patterns.

“The common people suffer most in wars,” Chu Zhao said softly, walking to his side. “We came too late to save them from their sea of suffering.”

“Sea of suffering,” Xie Yanlai repeated these words. “Perhaps they didn’t know they were in a sea of suffering, nor whether they’ve escaped it.”

As long as the war continued, people would live in constant fear. Today they recaptured this city, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t be lost again another day. Chu Zhao remained silent for a moment; she indeed had no right to claim she was saving people from a sea of suffering.

She looked around at the victims, both old and young. It had been the same in that other life, hadn’t it? She had thought she could avoid it in this life, but the result was still civil war and military campaigns.

Chu Zhao said softly: “You probably don’t know what happened in the city. Xiao Xun’s troops were brutally violent, harming civilians, frightening even the families who had submitted to him. They realized he wasn’t a wise ruler and persuaded the entire city to rise, catching the commandery troops off guard. That’s why the city was taken so easily.”

“Frightened?” Xie Yanlai sneered. “Would these prominent families be frightened by civilians being harmed? If they were so easily frightened, how could they have joined Xiao Xun in rebellion in the first place?”

Chu Zhao frowned slightly: “Are you saying these prominent families can’t be trusted? I know that too. After all, they initially submitted to Xiao Xun. To say they are innocent isn’t entirely true, but at this point, it’s not appropriate to pursue their crime of rebellion…”

Xie Yanlai interrupted her: “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?” Chu Zhao asked.

Xie Yanlai turned his gaze away: “I don’t mean anything.”

What’s with him? Chu Zhao said: “Xie Yanlai, what is it that you can’t tell me?”

Xie Yanlai laughed: “Why wouldn’t I have things I can’t tell you? I—”

Before he could finish, an officer came searching for them, calling out loudly, “Empress, there’s an urgent message from the capital.”

Xie Yanlai stopped speaking, and Chu Zhao turned her head: “Is it a letter from His Majesty?”

The officer nodded: “There is one from His Majesty, and also letters from Lord Xie and others.”

While campaigning away from the capital, letters from the capital arrived continuously. Xiao Yu wrote to her about daily matters, while Xie Yanfang detailed court affairs, and even had officials from various departments write to her. Of course, they wouldn’t expect her to handle court matters; Xie Yanfang had resolved many issues himself. They involved her as if she were still presiding over the court.

A smile appeared in Chu Zhao’s eyes. Before she could speak, Xie Yanlai, beside her, walked away.

“Hey,” she called out, “we haven’t finished talking.”

Xie Yanlai didn’t look back, just waved his hand and strode off in another direction.

“Your Majesty, this is His Majesty’s letter,” the officer approached Chu Zhao, respectfully presenting a letter.

Chu Zhao glanced again at the departing Xie Yanlai. Oh well, if he didn’t want to talk, she wouldn’t press. This wasn’t the place for conversation anyway. She took the letter and walked back toward the city.

“His Majesty has written so much again,” Chu Zhao said, examining the thick envelope in her hand, then looking at what the officer was holding. “Which one is from Lord Xie?”

The officer quickly pulled it out and smiled: “This one.”

Chu Zhao shook it in her hand—just a thin sheet.

“Why has Lord Xie become so brief this time?” she said, immediately opening it. Inside the envelope was only a charm.

Chu Zhao was momentarily puzzled, holding it up to examine it by the light of the city gate. What was this?

The officer beside her looked at it for a moment and smiled: “That’s a safety and good fortune charm from the Great Buddha Temple in the capital. When I set out on the campaign, my family also got one for me.”

Chu Zhao laughed: “I didn’t expect him to believe in such things.”

The officer smiled: “With Your Majesty campaigning abroad, Lord Xie is concerned. Believing in more things is always safer. My wife has prayed to every deity and Buddha she could.”

Chu Zhao laughed heartily.

Standing in the darkness outside the city, Xie Yanlai turned his head to watch as Chu Zhao passed through the brightly lit city gate.

What did he mean? War had its meaning.

War always involved death. Victory was always better than defeat. Should he have persisted with his suspicions, suggesting that the Han Commandery civilians might not have been brutalized by Xiao Xun’s troops, but rather were intimidated, incited, deceived, and provoked into internal rebellion?

What would be the point in saying that? Would he insist that the civilian corpses strewn across the ground were not victims of Xiao Xun but died at the Empress’s hands?

Someone was indeed committing evil, indeed being ruthless, but at this moment, what they did was protect her, make her invincible, surround her with glory.

Should he force her down into the mud, making her not only physically exhausted but mentally tormented as well?

Pointless.

Xie Yanlai’s gaze returned to the corpses laid out across the ground.

Pointless. Life and death, tears and laughter—just games in others’ hands.

He withdrew his gaze, turned around, and disappeared into the night with large strides.

……

……

Having barely slept all night, Chu Zhao finally finished dealing with the many affairs of Han Commandery and reading the letters sent from the capital.

Xiao Yu’s letter was the last she read, to accompany her meal and soothe her mind.

“Reading His Majesty’s letter while the young mistress eats, bathes, changes clothes, and gets a good sleep,” A-Le stood beside her, holding a bowl of hot soup and feeding Chu Zhao spoonful by spoonful so her hands would be free.

Chu Zhao reclined in her chair, enjoying A-Le’s service, lazily opening the letter when suddenly she sat up.

A-Le quickly moved the spoon away, nearly poking her face.

“There’s something else,” Chu Zhao said, putting down Xiao Yu’s letter, spreading out paper, and picking up brush and ink. “I need to give some instructions.”

A-Le sighed helplessly but didn’t try to persuade her mistress to rest. War was like this—not a moment could be delayed. If a commander took a brief rest or closed her eyes, she might miss a strategic opportunity, resulting in heavy casualties.

She put down the soup bowl and went to the outer room to supervise the hot water and food.

Chu Zhao quickly finished writing and called for Xiao Man.

Xiao Man, who had just lain down in the adjoining room, rushed out angrily: “What is it!”

Chu Zhao smiled and handed her the letter, saying: “Give this to Ding Dahui. Have him send someone to Han Commandery to investigate this internal rebellion.”

Xiao Man grumbled something about what’s the hurry, took the letter, and was about to walk out when A-Le rushed in from outside, almost colliding with her.

“Young mistress,” she said urgently, “Xie Yanlai is gone!”