Zhong Changrong and Xie Yanlai learned about Chu Zhao’s movements immediately.

But they didn’t know beforehand that Chu Zhao would be going alone to the Prince of Zhongshan’s residence.

When Zhong Changrong first heard the news, his immediate thought was that the young lady was going to die. He almost dropped everything to rush to Zhongshan County, intending to surround it with thousands of troops to threaten the Prince of Zhongshan not to harm her.

“You don’t need to go and threaten him,” Xie Yanlai pushed him back into his chair. “If she dies in the Prince of Zhongshan’s residence, that would be the greatest threat to him.”

Zhong Changrong didn’t quite understand. Wasn’t the young lady like a lamb entering a tiger’s den?

“How is she a lamb?” Xie Yanlai snorted. “The daughter of Chu Li, the Empress of Great Xia, commander of the Dragon Might Army, personally leading over a hundred thousand border troops against the Prince of Western Liang—she’s a wolf.”

Zhong Changrong felt like laughing. The young lady, a wolf? He hadn’t thought so, but Xie Yanlai’s words did reassure him somewhat.

“The Prince of Zhongshan wants to become Emperor, not start a rebellion. His troops are approaching the capital under the pretext of protecting it, quarreling with the imperial edict ministers, using his son’s arrogance as an excuse. He cares about face, about dignity, about venting the grievances of being harmed in the past. He wants to become Emperor in a dignified and honorable manner. If the Empress dies in his residence, his reputation as a rebel would be set in stone,” Xie Yanlai raised his eyebrows and said, “So rest assured, those who want the Empress dead most right now aren’t the Prince of Zhongshan, but Xie Yanfang and Deng Yi.”

That didn’t sound reassuring either! Zhong Changrong felt both angry and amused. Doesn’t that mean they shouldn’t expect the imperial court to rescue the Empress?

“Is the Prince of Zhongshan truly afraid to kill the young lady?” he asked uncertainly.

Now, with his mind in turmoil, this young man had become his emotional anchor.

It seemed that whatever this young man said must be true.

Only what this young man said was never quite satisfactory—

“That depends on whether the Prince of Zhongshan is afraid of death,” Xie Yanlai smiled and said, “If he’s not afraid of death, then Chu Zhao will die.”

After speaking, he patted Zhong Changrong’s shoulder again.

“Don’t worry, if that happens, everyone will die.”

Will everyone die? Zhong Changrong looked at this kid.

The kid’s phoenix eyes swept sideways: “The imperial court and the Prince of Zhongshan will fight to the death, the Prince of Western Liang and Great Xia will continue their conflict without cease, and the world will fall into chaos—”

Seeing his expression, he seemed to be looking forward to it. Zhong Changrong spat and said, “Madman.”

However, since the Prince of Zhongshan made his move, the Prince of Western Liang’s attacks had indeed become more fierce. The border army was under great pressure, but would they abandon the young lady?

Zhong Changrong looked into the distance—

“Guard the border counties well,” Xie Yanlai said. “This is the only thing that benefits her. If something happens to the border counties, the world will—”

“Fall into chaos,” Zhong Changrong finished irritably. “You have that phrase on your lips all day long. I think you’re just eager for the world to fall into chaos.”

Xie Yanlai smiled: “The world falling into chaos means nothing to me or the Xie family. If the world falls into chaos, we’ll just pacify it again. Don’t you know what pacifying the world means?”

Zhong Changrong fell silent. As a military general, he certainly knew that achievements came from times of chaos.

“Preventing the world from falling into chaos would be Lady Chu’s great achievement,” Xie Yanlai said lightly. “To seize achievements, to compete for merit, one must take risks. You can’t just sit safely and wait.”

The young man finished speaking and mounted his horse.

Zhong Changrong looked at him and sighed: “Everyone understands the reasoning you speak of, but that’s A-Zhao we’re talking about—”

Night had already fallen, enveloping the land. He looked into the distance.

A-Zhao was fighting for her life.

If she lost, she would die.

If she died, she would be gone forever.

The sound of urgent hoofbeats reached his ears. Zhong Changrong turned to look and saw Xie Yanlai already shooting like an arrow into the northwestern darkness, with soldiers following closely behind, their torches gathering like scattered stars.

“Remember to bandage your wounds!” he shouted. “Don’t you die, you Xie! If you die, you won’t get to see the excitement of the world falling into chaos!”

Galloping through the night, Xie Yanlai took the lead, with no one able to overtake him. He had always enjoyed riding horses, liked to run at the very front, so he could leave everyone behind. In the world, there would be only him, free and unfettered, without constraints or attachments—

He had always been without attachments. What in this world was worth his concern?

But that was A-Zhao.

Xie Yanlai tightened his grip on the reins.

What did he mean by having no attachments?

The one truly without attachments was Chu Zhao!

Without attachments, without fear, daring to die when she decided to. She didn’t care what would happen after her death, didn’t care who would worry, who would miss her, who would grieve. She would only laugh heartily to the heavens and depart in high spirits.

“But you’d better not die,” Xie Yanlai gritted his teeth. “If you die, with the world in chaos and the people suffering, even as a ghost, you won’t have peace!”

……

……

Night enveloped the land. After the fighting ceased, it did not resume. The gentle night breeze was filled with the stench of blood. The dead had not yet been collected, the survivors were weeping, and the wounded were wailing. The world seemed like a realm of ghosts.

Without the fighting and the glint of blades, Xiao Yu, sitting in the main tent, was pale.

At this moment, he could no longer hear the people’s reverent shouts of “Long live the Emperor.” All that filled his ears were cries of sorrow.

The people’s reverence was exciting, but their cries were terrifying.

“Your Majesty,” Eunuch Qi couldn’t help but put an arm around him. “There’s some calming soup. Would you like some?”

Xiao Yu shook his head, his mind wandering.

Eunuch Qi looked around and took out a bamboo tube to give to Xiao Yu: “Your Majesty, this old servant has been keeping it for you.”

When Xie Yanfang had hurriedly taken Xiao Yu away from the imperial city, Eunuch Qi had brought nothing except for this bamboo tube. After leaving the palace, with Xie Yanfang resting by Xiao Yu’s side, Xiao Yu had slept soundly, so he hadn’t taken it out.

Now, seeing the child anxious and disoriented, with words unable to comfort him, Eunuch Qi brought out the bamboo tube. Sure enough, when Xiao Yu saw it, his lifeless eyes brightened, and he hurriedly held it tightly to his chest.

Eunuch Qi also breathed a sigh of relief. Although he still seemed somewhat uneasy, at least his spirit had returned. But what to do next? He looked up and could see Xie Yanfang’s silhouette outside through the tent.

“Aren’t those reinforcements?” Xie Yanfang asked the officer.

“They are indeed reinforcements, but they have no intention to attack,” the officer said in a low voice. “They’ve even recalled the troops from before and have formed a defensive formation outside the city. We’ve sent scouts and vanguards to provoke them several times, but they’ve remained hidden and unresponsive.”

“They’ve even started to withdraw and retreat,” another officer said quietly.

Retreat?

Retreat—

Xie Yanfang’s eyes sharpened: “Continue the attack.”

The commander was startled. Now?

“Of course now,” Xie Yanfang said. “The battle has already begun. How can they just retreat and have it end there?”

This matter cannot be left unresolved.

This battle must be fought!

……

……

“This battle cannot be fought.”

In the depths of the night, the imperial city was brightly lit, and the Hall of the Grand Tutor was filled with people. They watched as Deng Yi opened a letter and read out a sentence.

The Emperor had personally led troops into battle, but the court continued to function.

Although many officials had called for accompanying the Emperor on the military expedition, not many had ultimately gone.

Deng Yi’s people naturally wouldn’t go to bolster Xie Yanfang’s forces, and Xie Yanfang’s people wouldn’t leave the court to Deng Yi. With the imperial seal and the regency decree in Deng Yi’s hands, to speak disrespectfully, it didn’t matter whether the Emperor was present or not—Deng Yi firmly controlled the court.

These days, the court was bustling and busy day and night, keeping an eye on the news from His Majesty’s side while not forgetting the border army. Since Empress Chu had led troops to surround Zhongshan County, the Prince of Zhongshan had been too busy to attend to other matters, and the postal stations that had been cut off were restored to normal operation.

Letters arrived like snowflakes.

The Grand Tutor didn’t need to handle everything personally. Different people took care of different matters, except for the Empress’s letters.

Deng Yi didn’t continue reading the letter. He asked those beside him: “The Empress’s letter wasn’t sent through the postal report?”

A young official beside him nodded: “Garrison Commander Li of the postal troops said it was placed directly on his desk. After confirming that the Empress’s seal was genuine, he immediately sent it to you, but they didn’t see who delivered the letter.”

An older official speculated: “Could it be that the Prince of Zhongshan sent you a letter in the Empress’s name?” Then he sighed, “The Prince of Zhongshan’s people truly are everywhere.”

The Empress had been captured by the Prince of Zhongshan—according to the news reports, the Empress had walked into the Prince of Zhongshan’s residence of her own accord, intending to persuade him to surrender.

This act appeared brave to the world, but it was ridiculous, absurd, and childish—a lamb entering a tiger’s den, causing trouble for the imperial court.

So, was the Prince of Zhongshan writing to Deng Yi to use the Empress as leverage?

“Grand Tutor,” an official said solemnly, “Even if Chu Li were still alive, faced with this situation, he should prioritize the greater good over family ties.”

Not to mention that Chu Li was no longer alive.

“If the Prince of Zhongshan dares to harm the Empress, the world will know his rebellious intentions,” others also nodded in agreement.

Deng Yi paid no mind to these words. He knew that the girl wouldn’t care either. When she entered the Prince of Zhongshan’s residence, she wasn’t relying on the court’s protection or concern.

And if the Prince of Zhongshan wanted to write to him, he could send it through the palace eunuchs—the Prince of Zhongshan’s people were indeed everywhere—He glanced around the hall, bright with lamps, with clerks and guards standing by, and eunuchs moving among them, bringing tea and late-night snacks from the imperial kitchen.

Empress Chu’s people were also everywhere. Deng Yi looked down at the letter. To prevent it from falling into anyone else’s hands, it had been placed directly on Commander Li’s desk—she even knew that this commander was one of Deng Yi’s men.

The decisive opening words were also characteristic of that girl’s habit.

Seeing just this one line, Deng Yi seemed to see again the girl who had stood at the palace gate asking him to open it.

Even at this point, she still said this battle must not be fought.