“Isn’t the Empress terrifying?”

Ding Dachui stood to the side, thinking to himself. But he was no longer the mountain bandit who only knew how to hunt. At this moment, saying the Empress was terrifying wasn’t the right thing to say.

When someone could say it.

A-Le came over with tea and heard this sentence, confused and displeased: “Why would Your Majesty belittle yourself? The Empress is very terrifying! If anyone doesn’t believe it, let them ask the Prince of Zhongshan and his son, let them ask the Western Liang Prince’s troops!”

Chu Zhao laughed heartily, drawing her gaze back from the window. “A-Le is right.” She reached out to pick up a letter from the table. “You came at the right time. Here’s a letter to deliver to A-Jiu.”

Another letter for A-Jiu? The last one hasn’t even been answered yet, A-Le thought with a pout. “It seems I was wrong. It’s waiting for A-Jiu’s word that matters.”

Though she said this, she immediately took the letter and walked out. A-Jiu’s matters were confidential, so she pulled aside Little Man, who was standing at the door, and quietly gave instructions.

“Your Majesty,” Ding Dachui, seeing the Empress’s mood had lightened slightly, spoke up, “Minister Zhu’s meaning is, perhaps we should wait a bit longer?”

When Zhu Yong delivered the message, he had his trusted aide explain privately. The explanation was straightforward: Lady Wei did indeed kill people, but the purpose was to incite the common people to fight against the rebels, causing Hanjun to fall from within. Its influence extended beyond Hanjun, with surrounding commanderies subsequently rebelling as well. The Empress’s army thus advanced like an unstoppable force, defeating Xiao Xun’s rebel army at the fastest speed with minimal cost.

Now that the situation had just stabilized, if the Empress were to accuse Lady Wei of crimes, it might cause turmoil among the great clans.

After hearing all this, Ding Dachui felt a chill run through his head. As the Commander of the Imperial Guard these days, he thought he had seen all kinds of private schemes among officials and believed that randomly executing any official in public wouldn’t be unjust.

But this matter—

He knew it wasn’t right, but he didn’t know whether he should say it wasn’t right. He had no idea what to do.

No matter what was done, something would be wrong.

Even Zhu Yong had tactfully suggested waiting, showing how difficult the situation was.

Being Empress isn’t easy, Ding Dachui sighed inwardly.

But Chu Zhao showed no difficulty and simply shook her head: “No need to wait. We can wait if the case cannot be investigated clearly, but since there are already victims filing complaints, what are we waiting for?”

Ding Dachui looked at her: “But Minister Zhu said—”

“Don’t mind what Minister Zhu said,” Chu Zhao interrupted him. “Didn’t Lady Wei say to ask what I say first? Of course, I know Minister Zhu is thinking of my best interests, but he’s thinking from an official’s perspective, while I must think from the Empress’s perspective.”

Ding Dachui acknowledged with a “yes” and waited for Chu Zhao to continue.

“What Lady Wei did seems right, and from the court’s overall situation, it also seems right,” Chu Zhao said. “But actually, this is sophistry.”

She looked at Ding Dachui.

“She’s now asking me, but why didn’t she ask me before she did it?”

At this point, she smiled again.

“I know, perhaps she would say that she didn’t ask me then to avoid implicating me in wrongdoing, so she would do the evil deed herself.”

“But aren’t they threatening me by asking me now?”

Ding Dachui nodded, suddenly enlightened: “That’s right.”

“They claim it’s for me, for the Great Xia,” Chu Zhao sneered. “But actually, it’s for themselves. Instead, they want me and Great Xia to be their scapegoat.”

Ding Dachui exclaimed loudly: “Exactly! That’s what the Wei family is planning!”

“Therefore,” Chu Zhao sat up straight and called out, “bring the imperial seal.”

Court attendants entered, spread out a scroll, watched as Chu Zhao wrote, and then pressed the imperial seal onto it.

“Commander Ding, receive the imperial decree,” she said.

Ding Dachui bowed and responded, waiting for the court attendant to place the imperial decree in his hands. He saw that the opened scroll contained only one character:

Investigate.

“I have fought from the chaos in the imperial city to the chaos in Western Liang, then against the Prince of Zhongshan and his son. I’ve fought all the way through,” Chu Zhao said. “Am I afraid of mere questioning? What if it hurts their feelings? Should we disregard the heartbreak of the common people just to avoid hurting their feelings?”

The Great Xia and its people are not toys in your palms.

She looked at Ding Dachui.

“Dachui, handle this matter personally.”

This was why she had explained so much to Ding Dachui – she wanted him to understand. With understanding, he could stand tall when he went there.

Zhu Yong was very good, but after all, he came from a traditional official background. For this matter, the mountain bandit Ding Dachui, who hadn’t read many books or knew much about principles, was more suitable – I don’t care about your reasoning or interests; a life for a life is heaven’s justice.

Ding Dachui responded in a clear voice: “Your subject obeys the decree.” With that, he took the imperial decree and strode away.

……

……

On the street, the Imperial Guard rushed by. The common people were accustomed to making way, no longer panicking, just pointing and discussing who would be in trouble next.

Xie Yanfang leaned by the window, watching these people go into the distance.

“Commander Ding has personally taken action,” he said.

Cai Bo stood at his side, glancing at the letter on the table: “Will you reply to Lady Wei’s letter?”

Xie Yanfang placed both hands on the window, leisurely overlooking the street scene, and said: “No need. Since the Empress wants a thorough investigation, then naturally the guilty must be punished for their crimes.”

Cai Bo chuckled twice: “Then the Wei family has suffered a great loss this time. Old Master Wei will have to bury his son; he must hate you to death.”

Xie Yanfang said: “How could that be? Old Master Wei isn’t so shortsighted. Having lived so long, he certainly knows that one cannot gain without loss. As long as I’m still here, their Wei family will have another chance.”

“Say whatever you like, as long as you’re happy,” Cai Bo said, but then shook his head. “No, I should say, as long as the Empress is happy.”

He now enjoyed teasing his young master, though he wasn’t sure why.

Xie Yanfang’s laughter rang out.

His laughter fell like clear springs, causing people in the street to look up, fortunate to catch a glimpse.

Cai Bo thought it must be because of his young master’s laughter. Although he had watched his young master grow up, and his young master had always been carefree and happy, such clear, hearty laughter was rare.

“Right,” Xie Yanfang turned from the window, his eyes full of mirth. “When the Empress is happy, I’m happy.”

Cai Bo pursed his lips: “What about when she becomes unhappy because of you?”

Xie Yanfang smiled: “I don’t know. When that time comes, I’ll think about what to do.”

……

……

The early summer grassland looked like a green carpet from a distance.

Although lying on it wasn’t very soft, it could swallow a person, merging them with the grassland.

Birds chirped several times with no response, until human shouting was heard.

“A-Jiu—your letter—”

Hearing this, Xie Yanlai sprang up from the grass.

The man standing not far away looked at the approaching young man and said irritably: “Didn’t you hear the secret signal just now?”

Xie Yanlai replied lazily: “I’m not on duty today; I don’t understand bird calls.”

What nonsense, the man glared, as Xie Yanlai stretched out his hand, “Where’s the letter?”

The man snorted: “At your home. The leader is waiting for you.”

Xie Yanlai rushed back home and saw Mu Mianhong sitting in the “courtyard” from a distance, scattering grain to entice the chickens and ducks around her feet.

Seeing him rush in, the chickens and ducks fluttered and squawked, fleeing back to the yard opposite.

“Ma…dam,” Xie Yanlai gritted his teeth and whispered, “if you have any instructions, just send someone to call me, and I’ll come see you. Please don’t always condescend to visit my place.”

Mu Mianhong smiled: “How is coming here condescending? This is A-Jiu’s home.”

It’s A-Jiu’s home, not her daughter’s home, so stop acting like a mother-in-law visiting her daughter, Xie Yanlai shouted in his heart, unconsciously glancing next door. Every time Mu Mianhong came, Deng Yi would look at him with a half-smiling, half-mocking, strange expression.

Fortunately, today Deng Yi was teaching, and only the clear sound of reading came from next door.

“Is this the letter from A-Zhao to me?” Xie Yanlai no longer dwelled on this issue and asked in a low voice.

Mu Mianhong also lowered her voice and pushed a letter over: “Here.”

Xie Yanlai reached out to take it and was about to open it, but seeing that Mu Mianhong remained seated without moving, he stopped. He wanted to say he wouldn’t read it now, but seeing Mu Mianhong’s expectant eyes fixed on the letter—

She looked quite pitiful.

Chu Zhao rarely wrote to Mu Mianhong.

But she had written nearly two letters to him in a month, which was too much. She should at least give one letter to Mu Mianhong; otherwise, he would feel too guilty.

Xie Yanlai grumbled inwardly and finally didn’t ask her to leave. He opened the letter—if her gaze was too eager, he would read out some parts.

But at this moment, Mu Mianhong stood up and walked away with a smile.

She’s teasing him! Xie Yanlai felt annoyed.

As Mu Mianhong walked out, she seemed to sense the young man’s irritated and embarrassed gaze behind her. Her smile grew increasingly deep. Although she hadn’t received a letter from A-Zhao, seeing her write to someone else made her happier than receiving one herself.

Especially that silly boy behind her—he must be grinning non-stop while reading the letter.

Mu Mianhong resisted looking back to avoid embarrassing the thin-skinned, silly boy.

But suddenly, footsteps came from behind, along with a shout: “I need to go to the capital.”

Mu Mianhong was startled and turned around to see Xie Yanlai rushing over, still clutching the letter in his hand. But there was not a hint of a smile on his face, only anxiety and gloom.

At this moment, Deng Yi also walked out of his room and looked over upon hearing these words.