Outside Zhongshan Commandery city, troops gathered in formation. Hooves clattered and soldiers called out to each other, but the atmosphere wasn’t tense—instead, laughter filled the air.

These were the border troops who had come to provide support, now preparing to return to their border commanderies.

Ahead of the main army rode the scouts and messengers, lightly armored and simply dressed.

The outermost group of scouts dressed even more plainly; if not for the Great Xia military waist tokens hanging at their sides, they might have been mistaken for ordinary people.

This wasn’t unusual, though. Scouts often disguised themselves in various ways to gather intelligence.

Xie Yanlai looked the man beside him up and down.

The man was dressed like them, with a full beard, but whether due to his calm eyes or some other reason, his overall appearance seemed incongruous.

“If you have something to say, say it,” Deng Yi said flatly. “Don’t act like you’ve never seen me before.”

Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow: “Lord Deng, even with a beard, you don’t look like a bandit.”

Deng Yi replied: “Looking like a bandit isn’t about appearance, but about how one acts.” He then examined Xie Yanlai.

“I act like one too,” Xie Yanlai said directly.

Deng Yi continued to scrutinize him: “Bandits don’t seek mutual destruction with their targets. Bandits seek profit and survival—what use is wealth without life?”

Xie Yanlai looked at him: “What do you mean?”

“General Xie doesn’t seem like someone who would sacrifice his life for fame or fortune,” Deng Yi said. “So I can’t understand why you would come to die alongside Xiao Xun?”

Xie Yanlai snorted: “It was an assassination! What do you mean ‘die alongside’?”

Deng Yi looked at him: “I saved your life. Without me, you would already be dead.”

Xie Yanlai muttered: “You said it was she who saved me.” He stood before Deng Yi and said lazily, “It’s simple. The reason I did what I did was because I can’t stand people like you.”

Deng Yi looked at him, seemingly not understanding.

“People like you,” Xie Yanlai looked at him, “self-righteous, condescending, thinking you’re omnipotent, treating everyone else as less than human. People like you are a cancer on this world.”

Deng Yi nodded and said: “So for the sake of all people, General Xie sacrificed himself to remove this cancer.” Then he smiled, “But you alone can only remove one. In this world—”

“Removing one is still one,” Xie Yanlai interrupted. “I, Xie Yanlai, don’t ask for much. Being able to do one thing I want to do is enough.”

He gave a cold laugh.

“These principles are something that people like you—people whose greed knows no bounds—will never understand.”

Deng Yi was silent for a moment, then looked up at him and said: “The noble families of Han Commandery pledging allegiance to the court—that was Xie Yanfang’s doing, wasn’t it?”

Xie Yanlai’s gaze sharpened slightly, but he said nothing.

“If I were to say now that Xiao Xun’s troops and the officials I selected never massacred the people of Han Commandery, no one would believe me,” Deng Yi said calmly. “Because the victor becomes the king and the defeated become the bandits. Whatever the victor says becomes the truth.”

He looked away toward the distance and smiled.

“What kind of person Xie Yanfang is, the world may not see clearly, but as a member of the Xie family, you see it very clearly.”

“You don’t dare tell Chu Zhao this truth because it concerns the bigger picture, and in the bigger picture, good and evil, right and wrong don’t matter.”

“Xiao Xun is dead, and this matter is over. The people no longer need to suffer, Xie Yanfang no longer needs to commit evil in the name of good, and Chu Zhao doesn’t need to bear the pain.”

“What you did wasn’t heroism. It was anger in your heart, helplessness, having no way out, so with a lone courage you rushed forward to kill Xiao Xun.”

At this point, he turned his gaze back to Xie Yanlai.

“General Xie, are you truly satisfied with this outcome? Is this all you wanted?”

“You, one person, killed one person—has that truly solved the problem?”

Xie Yanlai stepped forward and grabbed him, enunciating each word: “Stop saying so much nonsense to me, acting like you see through everything. So what if you do see through it all, when you do nothing? And right now, I’m not General Xie, and you’re not Tutor Deng—”

Just then, hoofbeats sounded as someone galloped toward them.

“A-Jiu,” Mu Mianhong looked first at Xie Yanlai. “Remember to lead the vanguard later.”

Then she looked at Deng Yi.

“Zhu Er, make sure you’ve counted all the supplies properly.”

She seemed not to notice the confrontation between the two men, and smiled slightly, waving the horsewhip in her hand.

“In our gang, there are punishments for those who don’t do their jobs well.”

With that, she spurred her horse away.

Xie Yanlai gave Deng Yi a look, released his grip, and turned to leave.

“Hey,” Deng Yi called after him. “I came here as a prisoner. What did you come as?”

Xie Yanlai turned his head to look at him: “As a bandit.”

With that, he turned and strode away, the corner of his mouth curving into a smile as he hummed.

Or rather, as a bandit waiting for a certain person.

……

……

Standing on the city wall, one could see the assembled troops dividing, forming into units, and gradually moving away.

Chu Zhao couldn’t help but rise slightly on her toes, trying to follow them with her gaze for as long as possible.

Footsteps sounded behind her, but they stopped a few paces away, seemingly hesitant to approach. Seeing that Chu Zhao never turned around and paid no attention to people coming and going behind her, he finally spoke up.

“Liang Qiang pays respects to the Empress.”

Only then did Chu Zhao withdraw her gaze and look at Liang Qiang standing behind her, asking: “Is Young Master Liang here to ask why I didn’t let you return to the border commandery?”

Liang Qiang had come as the commander of the border troop reinforcements. Now that the fighting was over, the border troops were assembling to leave, but only Liang Qiang had been kept behind.

Liang Qiang looked at Chu Zhao and lowered his eyes: “This convicted minister knows why.”

Chu Zhao changed the subject, gesturing to him: “Young Master Liang, walk with me.” She began to walk along the city wall.

Little Man followed at a distance, neither too close nor too far.

Liang Qiang hesitated for a moment, then followed, watching the figure a few steps ahead. His lowered hand couldn’t help but clench—regardless, he had a chance to walk with her like this—

Chu Zhao said: “I never imagined that one day I would be inspecting the city walls of Zhongshan Commandery. Young Master Liang wouldn’t have imagined it either, right?”

Liang Qiang said: “To be honest, I never even imagined putting on a military uniform. Sometimes when I wake from dreams, I still think I’m in the capital, a carefree young master of the Liang family.”

At the mention of the past, the girl turned her head to look at him.

“Young Master Liang, although I previously had disagreements with your family,” she said, “I did not have the power to cause your downfall.”

Liang Qiang nodded: “I know. The Liang family’s disgrace was due to court politics.”

Chu Zhao asked: “Then who exactly instructed you to harm Zhong Changrong?”

She asked so directly. Indeed, now as Empress, she didn’t need to be diplomatic with her subjects and had the authority to ask directly. Liang Qiang was silent for a moment: “The one who helped my father and me join the military was an old friend named Cai.”

He explained the situation to Chu Zhao.

“But shortly after we joined the military, Official Cai was transferred away from Yunzhong Commandery.”

“No one has directly contacted me to give orders, but I could feel that each step I took was arranged by someone.”

“I often received instructions just before I needed to act. Those who delivered messages to me were all ordinary soldiers around me. Like with General Zhong this time.”

“I was instructed to repeatedly seek audiences with the General, to follow the General, and then when I saw that the General had fallen into an ambush, I was told to stand aside and wait—”

At this point, Chu Zhao looked at him, and he didn’t avoid her gaze.

“They wanted me to wait until General Zhong died, then go kill the Western Liang soldiers, thereby gaining military merit, and then—”

Chu Zhao finished his sentence: “And then you and your father, with your reputation, could take over the border army, replacing General Zhong.”

Liang Qiang said: “The Empress guesses correctly.”

It wasn’t a guess, since she had personally witnessed it in her previous life. Chu Zhao looked away and continued walking.

“Many of those soldiers who passed on orders to me have died in battle, or been transferred and disappeared. Each time, it was a new face,” Liang Qiang added, catching up to her.

Chu Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment: “Very meticulous planning.” Then she asked, “Was Shipo City connected to you?”

Liang Qiang was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Yes, I… let the Western Liang troops in.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the girl ahead suddenly turned around, creating a gust of wind.

Liang Qiang immediately fell to his knees: “Empress, I was wrong.”

Chu Zhao looked at him: “Wrong? You were wrong? Do you know how many people lost their lives?”

“I know,” Liang Qiang knelt upright, his voice hoarse. “I know, that’s why I regretted it, that’s why I was filled with remorse, that’s why I knew I couldn’t continue like this. That’s why when they told me to stand by and wait for General Zhong to die, I disobeyed orders and sent out a distress signal early—I wanted to escape, I wanted to survive, I wanted to break free from all this—”

He looked at Chu Zhao, his eyes pleading and sorrowful.

“Miss A-Zhao, please save me.”

“I don’t want to become like this. I still want to be the Liang Qiang whose bravery you once praised.”

Did she once praise his bravery? A self-mocking smile flashed in Chu Zhao’s eyes. It was just a misunderstanding. She had been praising the Liang Qiang of her previous life, but now she knew that Liang Qiang’s bravery in that life had been part of a conspiracy.

“I will use the pretext of rewarding you for your campaigns against Xiao Xun to bring you back to the capital,” Chu Zhao looked at him and said. “I hope that when that person contacts you again, you can return to being that brave Young Master Liang.”

Liang Qiang bowed deeply: “Thank you, Empress! I—”

He wanted to say more, but a soldier reported from a distance, “Your Imperial Highness, Minister Xie has arrived.”

Chu Zhao smiled slightly: “He’s come very quickly.” She walked past Liang Qiang.

Liang Qiang kowtowed again: “This humble official sees the Empress off.” Then he slowly rose and stood at the city wall, watching the girl walk down. Her steps were light and joyful. Outside the city gate, a group of riders galloped toward her, the wind lifting the cloak of the leading gentleman, flowing like moonlight.

There was no jealousy in his heart, nor did he presume to hope that one day Chu Zhao would welcome him in such a manner. He was content just to stay by her side.

He knew Chu Zhao didn’t trust him, and that keeping him close was also meant to draw out the person behind everything.

But it didn’t matter.

As long as he was useful, it was fine.

Not just useful to the Empress, but also useful to that person behind the scenes. This way, he could continue to possess what he already had, and perhaps gain even more.

He had said what needed to be said earlier, but there was one thing he hadn’t mentioned: all his military achievements had been gained under the protection of other soldiers.

That brave Young Master Liang had never actually existed, so there was no going back to him.