The fighting continued from the dark of night until daybreak.
Standing at a high point looking out in the daylight, the devastating scene was heart-wrenching.
The Prince of Zhongshan’s troops, who had originally been breaking camp and retreating, had resumed their attack—no one would abandon resistance when others were wielding swords and killing in a frenzy.
Corpses piled up outside the city walls, both soldiers and civilians.
Stepping over the dead bodies and remains, the capital garrison troops charged toward the city. From the city walls, apart from arrows raining down like a downpour, civilian laborers were also dropping stones and logs. Compared to the soldiers protected by battlements and armor, these laborers were like sitting ducks. Many of them were shot dead by arrows from outside the city as soon as they stood up to throw stones.
But they couldn’t stand up, because if they retreated, they would be shot dead by arrows from inside the city.
Bodies continued to fall at the foot of the city wall.
“Your Majesty,” an officer galloped over, “Scouts report that more reinforcements for the Prince of Zhongshan have arrived.”
After speaking, the officer glanced at the child sitting in front of Xie Yanfang. The young Emperor was holding a sword, but he was oblivious to the outside world, his eyes blank, and he didn’t speak—
“Divide the troops to meet them in battle,” Xie Yanfang said. “This city must be taken, regardless of the cost.”
Xie Yanfang’s words were the Emperor’s words, an imperial edict. The officer acknowledged and was about to order the war drums to divide the troops when the sound of a horn calling for retreat came from the distance.
The ground trembled with the sound of approaching reinforcements, once again blowing the retreat horn.
At the same time, a retreat horn also sounded from within the city.
The officer was stunned. Again? He couldn’t help but look at Xie Yanfang.
Xie Yanfang acted as if he hadn’t heard and merely said: “Attack.”
This time, he not only gave the order but also spurred his horse forward, bringing the Emperor with him.
“Your Majesty, come with me to attack the city personally. Your Majesty will capture Xiao Xun with your own hands.”
The officer hurriedly tried to follow, but the next moment, another mournful horn sounded. This time it wasn’t for retreat, but for disarmament.
Disarmament.
This wasn’t just a retreat, but a surrender.
Could it be… they had surrendered?
With the sound of the horn, the clear sound of soldiers on the city walls dropping their weapons and armor to the ground also reached their ears.
This—they had surrendered, so they couldn’t continue beating the war drums and killing, could they?
The officer was stunned. Xie Yanfang gazed at the city and troops just within reach and tightened his grip on the reins.
Following the horn came rolling shouts.
“Your Majesty—Your Majesty—the Crown Prince of Zhongshan was insolent and caused great trouble—”
“Your Majesty—the Prince of Zhongshan failed in disciplining his son. He has removed his crown and royal robes, and tearfully pleads guilty, begging Your Majesty for redemption—”
……
……
Daylight brightened, and spring was in full bloom in the capital. The streets were bustling, but there wasn’t the joy of spring days in previous years. Many of the people walking were disheveled, with families in tow and worried expressions. Even the number of beggars had increased.
“They’re all refugees.”
“The Crown Prince of Zhongshan and the capital troops have clashed. Cities, towns, and villages have been reduced to ashes. It’s tragic.”
“Heavens, does that mean they’ll fight to the capital?”
These words made people in teahouses and restaurants uneasy, but soon someone spread new information.
“Don’t worry, His Majesty has gone personally. The Prince of Zhongshan’s army has been repelled twice and is hiding in retreat.”
“I heard the situation isn’t good, that the Prince of Zhongshan is retreating as a strategy, luring His Majesty step by step into a trap?”
“You’re underestimating the Third Young Master Xie. Would the Third Young Master Xie be easily deceived?”
“This official isn’t underestimating Lord Xie; it’s just that we don’t know how many troops the Prince of Zhongshan still has hidden—”
Amidst the arguments and disputes, troops galloped through the streets. They were post riders, and the civilians automatically made way. People in teahouses and restaurants all leaned out to look, tense, anxious, yet hopeful—was this good news?
This time, the post riders didn’t leave the civilians to guess. They held up the dispatches in their hands and shouted, “The Empress has achieved a great victory—the Prince of Zhongshan has submitted a letter of guilt and handed over his royal seal—”
The street fell silent for a moment, then erupted. The Prince of Zhongshan had admitted guilt! There would be no more fighting!
Some people clapped, some laughed loudly, and others wept.
“His Majesty is mighty!”
“Lord Xie’s move was indeed powerful. As soon as His Majesty arrived at the front, he was unstoppable.”
“Although His Majesty is young, the imperial authority cannot be ignored. The late Emperor can rest in peace now.”
But amidst the joy and confusion, some people came to their senses and recalled the earlier words—
“Wait, I think it said the Empress achieved a great victory?”
The Empress.
Previously, a group of women in the city had praised the Empress’s bravery every day, until Chu Lan’s family fled, and their voices diminished somewhat.
But in teahouses and restaurants where people condemned Chu Lan’s crimes, when it came to the Empress—there was no way around it, after all, Chu Lan was the Empress’s uncle, and how could a family be separated—there were still a few girls who rushed out declaring, “Just wait and see, things are not as they seem.”
At that time, they had said, “The Empress is leading troops from the border counties to surround Zhongshan County. She will pacify the Prince of Zhongshan’s rebellion.”
No one had taken it seriously. Some had even mocked, “The Empress should focus on guarding the border counties before talking about anything else.”
Then Lord Xie led the Emperor on a personal expedition, and no one mentioned the Empress anymore.
Unexpectedly—
Could it be that the Empress had conquered Zhongshan County and made the Prince of Zhongshan admit his guilt?
……
……
At the front, officials knelt one after another. They announced their names—all officials from Zhongshan County. Behind them, soldiers also removed their armor and knelt on the ground, holding up the royal crown and robes.
But Xie Yanfang remained silent, with the capital troops standing densely like a forest, blocking them outside.
These officials could only repeatedly plead guilty and beg to see His Majesty.
The atmosphere gradually became tense. The kneeling officers looked at each other, their expressions grave, their hands on the ground moving toward their sides—
Previously, after the ceasefire and retreat, this side had continued pursuing and attacking without stopping. Now they had surrendered and pleaded guilty. If they still wanted to kill, these men would not truly surrender without a fight.
In the tense moment, another officer galloped over from a distance.
“Here is the Prince of Zhongshan’s letter of guilt,” he said loudly, holding up a scroll. “The Empress has already reviewed it and requests His Majesty to examine it.”
The Empress! The commander was stunned, not yet having come to his senses, when a child’s voice shouted from beside him.
“Sister Chu!”
“It’s Sister Chu!”
The commander turned to look and saw that the previously blank-faced young Emperor had instantly come to life.
The Emperor pointed at that officer and shouted: “I know you, you’re Lieutenant Bai!”
There weren’t many people around Sister Chu, but he remembered each one firmly in his heart.
Xiao Yu threw down the long sword in his hand, grabbed the reins, and, without consulting Xie Yanfang, eagerly spurred his horse forward. The horse neighed and charged ahead.
The officer hesitated no more and loudly ordered the troops to make way.
Xie Yanfang said nothing more, putting away the long sword in his hand. All he could hear was Xiao Yu’s voice repeatedly echoing.
“Lieutenant Bai, did Sister Chu defeat the Prince of Zhongshan?”
“Lieutenant Bai, did Sister Chu send you here?”
“Where is Sister Chu now?”
“Is Sister Chu? Is she injured?”
“Is she well?”
……
……
Xiao Xun walked out of the hall. He didn’t want to show weakness, but his vision still faltered for a moment, as if he had been imprisoned in a dark underground place for a lifetime and suddenly saw the outside world, unable to adjust.
He hadn’t been imprisoned for a lifetime, nor was it pitch dark. He had merely suffered a temporary defeat, not a lifelong one!
“Where is Chu Zhao?” Xiao Xun looked up and asked.
Many people stood in the courtyard of the government office, just as he had sensed from inside the hall. Only the atmosphere was different now.
The officers no longer showed anger, and the soldiers had lost their ferocity. Their expressions were all bewildered, as if they had been confined for a long time, unaware of worldly affairs.
Upon hearing the name Chu Zhao, another group of people walked over from the courtyard, led by a girl.
“The Empress’s name, are you worthy to call it directly?” she snorted.
Xiao Xun looked at her. He had never seen this girl before, but she seemed somehow familiar, probably because he could see Chu Zhao’s features in her face.
Someone ran over with a thud-thud sound and pounced toward that girl. “Sister Xiaoman!”
It was the wicked child called Xiaotu who had killed his general and subdued Tieying.
The wicked child couldn’t jump onto the girl. She raised her foot and kicked him away, making him fall to the side, giggling.
All of them were Chu Zhao’s people.
Xiao Xun coldly asked: “What has the Empress done to my father?”
Xiaoman said lazily: “Rest assured, Crown Prince, the Prince of Zhongshan is quite well.”
He had been tied up in the reception hall and was also “quite well”—only with his mouth stuffed with a dirty cloth and slapped by that lowly maid Chu Tang. Xiao Xun coldly looked at these people—apart from petty thieves and miscreants, there were also some people from the Prince of Zhongshan’s residence and officials from Zhongshan County.
Seeing him look over, those people all said, “Crown Prince, rest assured, the Prince is well.”
Xiao Xun didn’t question them further and started to walk away.
“Hey, Crown Prince—” Xiaoman called out, “Where are you going?”
Xiao Xun looked at her: “Since the Empress has gotten what she wanted, I naturally am going home to see my father.”
Xiaoman smiled at him: “That won’t do. You can’t return to Zhongshan County. You need to go to the capital.”
The capital! Xiao Xun was startled and stepped back, but it was still too late.
“Bind him!” Xiaoman said.
With these words, Xiaotu, who had been standing next to her, and the old servant who jumped out from the reception hall, pounced on him in the blink of an eye. Xiao Xun only felt a blur before he was held down, and a rope wrapped around him like a snake.
This rope was also familiar, having been removed from him not long ago.
“You—” Xiao Xun shouted.
The officers and soldiers in the courtyard became restless. They shouted, but their steps hesitated, not rushing forward all at once to cut down these miscreants.
“What are you doing?” Xiaoman shouted, her expression displeased. “This isn’t my idea to bind him. This is your Prince’s order.”
The Prince’s order?
Father?
Xiao Xun looked at Xiaoman, then at the officials and officers standing in the courtyard. No, he didn’t believe it!
Ning Kun stepped forward. He had also just been released, and now he held an open letter in his hand. Through the back of the paper, one could see a bright red seal.
“Crown Prince,” he said with a complex expression, “The Prince has ordered that you go to the capital to await judgment.”
Send him to the capital? Father wanted him to go to the capital. Father had… abandoned him?
Xiao Xun looked at Ning Kun, then at the officials and officers in the courtyard. He stopped struggling and stood straight.
“As it should be,” he said. “I have caused trouble for my father. I should go to His Majesty and plead guilty with a thorn branch on my back.”