Lian Xin had previously accompanied Lian Yu and Xiao An to the Guardian Temple during sacrificial ceremonies, but she had no interest in these things at that time, so she wasn’t clear what gods and Buddhas were enshrined here. Seeing that all three prayer mats before the divine statue were occupied with kneeling worshippers, and many more people waiting behind them, she properly and obediently waited to one side.

After people finished their prayers, some would draw lots and donate lamp oil. She discovered a rather strange phenomenon: one merit box was stuffed full of copper coins and silver ingots, even extravagantly containing bank notes, while another box looked extremely old, as if about to decay. It contained no money, only a few miscellaneous items – men’s hair pins and women’s earrings – but very few overall. And no one went to add lamp oil at that spot.

Her curiosity was piqued, and she was about to find someone to ask when, coincidentally, a monk in kasaya robes emerged from the inner hall. The old monk appeared to be in his sixties or seventies, with graying eyebrows and a kind, benevolent face. A richly dressed woman got there first and went up to inquire about something.

Lian Xin heard the two vaguely discussing “donating golden pillars,” “remodeling golden bodies,” “dare not promise,” “could try”… In the end, the woman left looking disappointed.

Lian Xin approached. “Old monk.”

The monk didn’t mind and smiled back. “Benefactress, greetings.”

But Lian Xin realized she had misspoken and stuck out her tongue. “Master, greetings.”

The monk laughed heartily. “I’m just a bald donkey from the mountains – master or not, benefactress may address me however you wish.” He paused slightly in thought. “This poor monk sees from your countenance that you are indescribably noble, surely a person of great fortune. You shouldn’t have any troubles or difficulties.”

Lian Xin thought to herself: This old monk is impressive – can he tell from my fine clothing?

Though she thought this, since she intended to seek good fortune, she spoke very politely. “Master, how dare a worldly person claim to be greatly fortunate? I’ve also come today to petition the Bodhisattva about something.”

The monk smiled and nodded. “What the benefactress says is very true. Before the benefactress makes her petition to the gods, this old monk has something to say – would the benefactress have time to listen?”

Lian Xin was somewhat puzzled, not knowing what this old monk would tell her. “Please speak, Master.”

The monk chanted a Buddhist invocation and said, “The gods and Buddhas are indeed compassionate, but people’s blessings also require self-cultivation. Past causes, present effects; present actions, future retribution. Helping others is helping oneself; pitying others is pitying oneself. If the benefactress, with your noble status, could do this, why need you pray to gods and worship Buddhas? You would naturally receive blessings.”

This means doing more good deeds, right? Lian Xin nodded, then asked, “Master, is that also a merit box over there? Why are the things inside so strange?”

The monk’s gaze deepened slightly. “That’s also a merit box, but people put in their most precious possessions. This is a long story. Long ago, there was a general fighting in battle who became trapped in enemy lines, facing near-certain death. The general’s wife came here to burn incense and make vows. Because this battle concerned her husband’s life and the lives of common people, the request was too great, so she promised her own life and the blessings of ten consecutive lifetimes after death as exchange, suffering through every hardship in each lifetime, sacrificing herself for others in each life, praying for her husband’s blessing and hoping to rescue him from danger.”

Lian Xin was curious. “What was the result?”

The monk said, “The result? The wife indeed got her wish – reinforcements arrived in time, and the general returned safely. But he also brought plague from the battlefield corpses. The general didn’t die, but this wife soon died from the plague. Life for life – that was originally fair.”

Lian Xin cried out, “Could the Bodhisattva really have manifested? What about the wife’s ten lifetimes?”

The monk said, “Those are matters beyond this world. Only when this old monk passes away will I know, and then I can tell the benefactress.”

Seeing him speak so seriously, Lian Xin was thoroughly startled and quickly said, “Master, if you die, just reincarnate quickly. Don’t worry about my small question and come find me to tell me.”

The monk laughed heartily again. Lian Xin pointed at the things in the box. “That wife promised her life, so what are those things in the box?”

“Originally there was nothing in the box. Since those making vows already promised their lives, what worldly possessions could be more important? These are just tokens of faith.” The monk said indifferently, “Just like when that wife finished her vow, she dropped in her own earrings as proof. That was many years ago – they say Great Zhou hadn’t even been established then.”

Lian Xin suddenly understood why there were so few things in this box. How many people would be willing to offer their lives to obtain something else? She thought of something. “What did that woman just now come to pray for?”

“Her old father is gravely ill. She wished to remodel the Bodhisattva’s golden body to pray for her father’s longevity. That female benefactress insisted this old monk must agree. This old monk isn’t an immortal – how dare I speak false words? So I told her that if she was sincere, the lamp oil box over there might be worth trying, perhaps it could move heaven through filial piety. The female benefactress hesitated and left. Hehe.”

“Actually, rather than spending money to pray, it would be better to serve practically at her father’s side and do real things. Not everything requires exchanging life and death.” After the monk finished speaking, a young novice came looking for him, and he hurriedly left with the little monk.

Seeing an empty prayer mat before the divine seat, Lian Xin knelt down and bowed devoutly several times. When finished, she intended to add some lamp oil. Looking at the old box beside it, she suddenly thought in her heart: If needed, I would also be willing to exchange my life for his.

After this fleeting thought, she didn’t put her money purse in but turned and walked out of the temple.

Outside the temple was a place for interpreting lots and selling talismans. She “obtained” a talisman to give to Wuqing.

“I heard Mother say that our Great Zhou will eventually go to war. Chao Huang is vicious, and you’ve offended him because of me. I can’t do anything for you, but I hope this can protect your safety.” She said earnestly.

Wuqing thanked her and put it in his chest.

Returning to the Six Fan School, her female guards were already waiting anxiously. Taking the guards with him, he personally escorted her back to the imperial city gates.

Watching her enter, he took out the peace talisman from his chest, smiled coldly, and threw it into the moat.

The talisman drifted away with the water and quickly disappeared from sight.

He spurred his horse back to the Six Fan School, wrote a letter, and instead of giving it to Iron Hand or Life Chaser, had his trusted subordinate A Qing deliver it. Then he began reorganizing the personnel within the school, not wasting a moment.

Half a month later, Wei Chenghui and Si Lanfeng received notification from Li Zhaoting to secretly visit the Li residence.

Wei Chenghui’s eyes sparkled with light. As if blessed with spiritual insight, he slowly said, “Could this be one of our last few meetings here for discussion?”

Li Zhaoting smiled slightly but didn’t answer directly. “Teacher, are our people ready?”

“Naturally.” Wei Chenghui replied with a serious expression.

“Lanfeng, there’s still no news from Huo Chang’an, correct?” he asked again.

Si Lanfeng immediately nodded, his young face also gleaming with the same sharp light as Wei Chenghui. They had been waiting for this day for over twenty years.

Li Zhaoting nodded and opened the blueprints on the table. These actually showed the troop distribution at border defenses and key passes from all over Great Zhou to the capital!

Each location had detailed explanations in the blank spaces beside it.

This included Minister of War Wei Chenghui’s grasp of Great Zhou’s comprehensive military strength, Li Zhaoting’s intelligence on Chao Huang’s troop deployments and tactics, and the hidden sentries that Si Lanfeng had learned about while following Lian Jie and participating in Lian Yu’s military affairs.

Under the lamplight, the three men’s eyes gleamed as they whispered in discussion, constantly exchanging opinions. Finally, Wei and Si stopped talking and listened to Li Zhaoting speak. Li Zhaoting’s expression was meticulous and careful throughout. Holding brush and ink, wherever his brush tip went, the map was covered with dense arrows and circles.

In this war, he would be the last to act, using complex and cunning strategic planning.

“Excellent!” Wei Chenghui laughed heartily, his eyes surging with the colors of wind and clouds. “Young Master, what remains now is how you will counsel Quan Feitong to transfer my troops away from the capital!”

“It’s already here.” Li Zhaoting slightly parted his lips and gently pressed his chest.

The next morning after court, Li Zhaoting neither returned to the Ministry of Personnel to handle affairs nor went home, but accompanied Quan Feitong and Chao Huang to the Guardian Temple. Here, amid swirling tea smoke, another map was spread out.

Qiu Jing, Dowager Consort Ai, Quan Feitong, Li Zhaoting, and Chao Huang all gathered around the map. There was also Lian Yue who, though standing on the periphery with an air of detachment as if it didn’t concern her, showed no less excitement in her eyes than the others. She was naturally thinking of Huo Chang’an. Perhaps Huo Chang’an could make it back in time!

Quan Feitong casually pointed, tapping three places on the map.

“With the capital as center, Fuyang, Luoling, and Xinshui are the three key fortresses of the capital region, where Lian Yu’s, our, and that old fox Wei Chenghui’s armies are respectively stationed, guarding the emperor and the capital’s safety.”

“Lian Yu has eighty thousand troops at Fuyang, commanded by him and Murong Ding. The palace has twenty thousand regular guard troops, led by Seventh Master, Lian Qin, and four of Lian Yu’s trusted subordinates. Chao Huang has eighty thousand troops at Luoling. Wei Chenghui’s forces at Xinshui are the strongest – a full one hundred fifty thousand. Three legs of a tripod, three sides checking and balancing each other.”

“The border also has three defense lines. Lian Yu and the Murong family’s troops number two hundred thousand, Chao Huang’s subordinate generals command two hundred thousand, while that fox Wei’s position is weakest with only one hundred thousand.”

Dowager Consort Ai and Qiu Jing exchanged glances. She already had the numbers in mind and slowly said, “According to these figures, Lian Yu has the strongest total of three hundred thousand troops, Wei Chenghui the weakest with two hundred fifty thousand, and our forces are in the middle with two hundred eighty thousand.”

“Correct,” Quan Feitong smiled slightly. “But just like Tian Ji’s horse racing, the inferior can defeat the superior. Moreover, the troop differences between our three forces aren’t too great. Who will die depends on the quality of officers and soldiers, grain supply, and battle line deployment.”

Chao Huang, well-versed in military tactics, almost immediately said, “Lian Yu controls the national treasury, which is very advantageous for grain supply and extending battle lines. Even in terms of officers and soldiers, though the Murong family has lost Huo Chang’an and Marquis Murong Jing, Murong Ding is still valiant, and several Murong family generals trained by Huo Chang’an in the past cannot be ignored. Overall, Lian Yu has the advantage.”

But Quan Feitong’s expression remained unchanged. “However, there are three major variables in Lian Yu’s forces. First, among his border troops, seventy thousand are former forces of Liu Shouping. Two of Liu’s deputy generals have been won over by me and have sworn to avenge Liu Shouping’s tragic death. They command about forty thousand troops, plus the soldiers who were dissatisfied when Liu Shouping was executed and were discharged – no fewer than fifty thousand. These soldiers will coordinate from within and without, suddenly striking when the time comes. Lian’s forces, caught unprepared, will surely be thrown into chaos. Second, without Huo Chang’an, they cannot hold out for long. When the time comes, we’ll fight our way back and form a pincer movement with our capital forces.”

“As for the third point…” He paused here and glanced toward the door. “Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Li Zhaoting felt a slight chill in his heart. At this moment, everyone’s attention focused on Quan Feitong, but Quan Feitong’s gaze fell on him. Because at this moment, an urgent problem still needed solving.

How to transfer Wei Chenghui’s capital forces far away? This old fox had always kept his mouth shut – no one knew which side he truly supported. Even his son-in-law Chao Huang couldn’t be certain what medicine Wei Chenghui kept in his gourd. And even if Wei Chenghui agreed to help, Quan Feitong would never want an ally he couldn’t completely trust.

Quan Feitong rubbed his nose, the corner of his mouth curving up. “Zhaoting has brought a strategy.”

Both Qiu and Ai were greatly delighted. Dowager Consort Ai said repeatedly, “Please speak, Minister Li.”

Li Zhaoting pointed to Xinshui on the map. “To get Wei’s Xinshui forces completely away from the capital region, there’s only one method – trouble at the border requiring urgent reinforcements.”

“Border trouble?” Qiu and Ai were moved. Qiu Jing’s eyes immediately brightened. “Correct. With the current stalemate, if there’s border trouble, to protect the capital’s safety, Lian Yu certainly cannot deploy his own Fuyang forces for support. That leaves only our troops and Wei Chenghui’s available for deployment.”

“But what if he wants to deploy our forces instead?” Lian Yue, who had been silent, heard the crucial point and interjected.

“No,” Li Zhaoting smiled faintly. “Princess, don’t worry. Lian Yu won’t. We have two hundred thousand border troops. If our Luoling forces also go over, it would be nearly three hundred thousand people, forming a massive force at the border. Just as we don’t know what Wei Chenghui is thinking, Lian Yu isn’t certain either. He only has two hundred thousand border garrison troops. If Wei Chenghui stands by coldly while our three hundred thousand suddenly strike at the border and first crush his forces, he would be in serious trouble.”

“So if he deploys anyone, he can only deploy Wei Chenghui’s people.” Lian Yue nodded, accepting his reasoning.

“However,” Chao Huang suddenly frowned, “Minister Li, this strategy is good, but it’s fundamentally unworkable. You should know that border garrisons originally total five hundred thousand troops combined. Currently Great Zhou has no major conflicts with neighboring countries – only some nomadic tribes fighting over our fertile lands and water sources, raiding our border people’s agricultural products in several organized disturbances. But these people total only about one hundred thousand. Even if we secretly promise benefits to incite them, and despite their fierce folk customs, they absolutely cannot contend with five hundred thousand troops. Why would this require reinforcements?”

Li Zhaoting still smiled slightly. “General, what if this enemy force isn’t just one hundred thousand, and our forces aren’t actually five hundred thousand?”

With this statement, except for Quan Feitong who remained calm, everyone else was puzzled. Dowager Consort Ai’s eyes brightened as she immediately spoke up, “Minister Li, please continue quickly.”

“Borrow troops, jointly attack Great Zhou’s border defenses with the nomadic tribes, forcing Lian Yu to deploy troops from the capital for suppression.” The words slowly emerged from Li Zhaoting’s mouth, word by word.

“Borrow troops?” Everyone was surprised. Qiu Jing immediately followed with rapid questions, “How to borrow? From whom?”

“Yesterday Zhaoting already discussed this matter with my senior brother through the night.” Li Zhaoting didn’t answer immediately but looked at Quan Feitong.

Everyone then turned to look at this Prime Minister.

“From Great Wei, the Prince of Zhennan.” He replied unhurriedly, each word carrying weight.

“But Lian Yu signed trade agreements with Great Wei. The Wei King has always trusted Prime Minister Miao, and with Prince Zhennan’s son Feng Ji having lost face for Wei, even though elder brother has deep friendship with Prince Zhennan, even if Prince Zhennan wants to avenge his son’s shameful death, he ultimately has more than one son and wouldn’t need to offend the Wei King. Besides, without the Wei King’s approval for military campaigns, how could Prince Zhennan send troops?” Chao Huang almost immediately voiced everyone’s doubts.

Quan Feitong sipped his tea, his eyes sparkling like snow.

“It’s still that saying: there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends in this world, only eternal interests! The Wei-Chu struggle for supremacy is inevitable. Lian Yu used cost-free benefits, promising not to help Chu against Wei, and exploited Prime Minister Miao’s unwillingness to marry his beloved only daughter to the wastrel Feng Ji, to obtain the chance to deal with Feng Ji.”

“Though the Wei King doesn’t like his nephew Feng Ji, he still trusts his brother Prince Zhennan greatly. During the imperial succession struggle, he fought fiercely with many half-brothers. The throne was won through life-and-death struggles with his brother’s help. If I promise to help Wei destroy Chu after success, plus give trade concessions between Zhou and Wei, couldn’t Prince Zhennan persuade the Wei King?”

“Excellent!” Dowager Consort Ai and Qiu Jing looked at each other and smiled, their eyes growing ever brighter. Only Chao Huang pondered briefly, his eyes still showing concern. “Elder brother, from my years of experience dealing with Wei forces at the border, the Wei King is cautious and values face. He won’t fight battles without complete assurance of victory, and will surely be wary of neighboring countries saying he unilaterally broke his alliance with Lian Yu, being faithless. I worry he won’t lend many troops, much less deploy forces openly.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Quan Feitong laughed heartily and slapped his shoulder forcefully. “Good, Chao Huang! Usually you handle matters roughly, but when it comes to military campaigns, you’re incredibly meticulous and far-sighted. No wonder you could compete with Huo Chang’an.”

“But Huo Chang’an’s whereabouts are now unknown. Otherwise, I’d really like to have a proper contest with him.” Chao Huang’s eyes flashed with bloodthirsty light.

Whether on the battlefield of love or war, what true warrior doesn’t long to meet an evenly matched opponent!

Lian Yue suddenly said coldly, “If Huo Chang’an returns, you absolutely cannot kill him. Hand him over to me, along with that bitch Wei Wuyan.”

“Yes, once I defeat him, I’ll capture them alive for the princess.” Chao Huang bowed his head in response.

Dowager Consort Ai glared at Lian Yue angrily. “Before such great matters, your heart only contains romantic feelings. Where have all your past ambitions about women being no less than men gone?”

Lian Yue lowered her head and smiled self-mockingly. Qiu Jing patted his sister’s shoulder consolingly. “Enough, you know Yue’er’s temperament. Important matters come first.”

He continued asking Quan Feitong, “Feitong, if Chao Huang’s words are accurate and Wei’s assistance isn’t great, do you have some follow-up plan?”

Quan Feitong looked at his sworn brother, his gaze bright. “Elder brother, your brother has no follow-up plan. Chao Huang is right – the Wei King will indeed only lend me seventy thousand elite troops, and won’t deploy them under Wei’s name, but will have them blend into the nomadic tribes to launch this war.”

“Seventy thousand – how is this meager force sufficient?”

When he said this, both Qiu Jing and Dowager Consort Ai were shocked, yet they saw his smile lines unchanged as he slowly said, “Because it’s unnecessary – seventy thousand is sufficient.”

“But seventy thousand elite troops plus several nomadic tribes is only one hundred seventy thousand. How would Lian Yu be willing to deploy the capital’s Wei forces?” Dowager Consort Ai bit her silver teeth. “Prime Minister, tell us… how is this sufficient?”

“Didn’t Zhaoting just say we don’t actually have five hundred thousand troops?” Quan Feitong’s eyes crinkled with amusement.

Qiu Jing suddenly realized something. “You mean secretly order our two hundred thousand border garrison troops not to resist?”

“But we oppose the Martial Emperor to restore order – we’re fighting under the banner of righteousness. If we disobey imperial orders and don’t fight the enemy at the border’s initial chaos, we’ll inevitably lose popular support—” His eyes showed fierce light. “Though we needn’t care what these foolish people think, once the great war ends and everything needs rebuilding, if they show any resistance, our rule will be difficult.”

“Naturally not inaction.” Li Zhaoting smiled gently. “Minister Qiu, soldiers eating poisoned food and contracting dysentery, causing widespread contagion in the army, isn’t impossible.”

“You mean,” Qiu Jing immediately understood his meaning and chuckled, “soldiers fall ill and cannot fight.”

“But… even if we use this tactic, the enemy only has one hundred seventy thousand, while Wei’s border forces plus ours total three hundred thousand. Dealing with these one hundred seventy thousand would be more than sufficient. Lian Yu still wouldn’t necessarily send reinforcements.” Chao Huang tapped the map.

“General Chao, this calculation shouldn’t be done that way – it should be like this.” Li Zhaoting again tapped a position on the map. “Our two hundred thousand troops won’t just lie dormant.”

He picked up a wolf-hair brush and drew an arrow from where Chao Huang’s forces were stationed at the border, extending to the position he had just tapped. “One hundred thousand of them can secretly take a route through enemy camps and disguise themselves as enemy forces.”

“Thus, enemy troops increase from the original one hundred seventy thousand to two hundred seventy thousand.”

“Correct!” Chao Huang slapped his forehead, his voice excited. “That’s a full two hundred seventy thousand! Even though Great Zhou’s borders still have three hundred thousand troops, with Great Zhou’s internal political instability, to prevent being unable to manage both ends and having the nation fall into chaos, Lian Yu will definitely send reinforcements to settle this war first. Wei Chenghui’s one hundred fifty thousand must be deployed no matter what!”

“Excellent!” He was laughing triumphantly but soon showed difficulty. “But if we really fight, many would be our own people – we’d inevitably be exposed.”

“Exposed? Our people won’t serve as the vanguard at all, only providing rear support.” Li Zhaoting remained completely calm, wielding the brush to quickly mark several positions on the map. “Besides, the Wei King can’t bear to have his troops truly fight and suffer casualties. The soldiers gathering at the border is just to attract Great Zhou court’s attention.”

“In the later stages, if scouts discover abnormalities in our forces, our succession struggle in the capital will have already begun. Lian Yu will be too busy to attend to border defense matters. We only need to quickly capture the capital, then great things can be accomplished.”

“Additionally, don’t we still have one hundred thousand ‘sick’ troops at the border? Forty thousand can pretend to be ill for Lian Yu’s officers to see, while the remaining sixty thousand can make another secret crossing, secretly returning to the capital before the fighting begins in the capital. Thus, while we appear to have only eighty thousand troops in the capital, we actually have one hundred forty thousand. Lian Yu’s soldiers plus palace guards total only one hundred twenty thousand. Even adding the three thousand Six Fan School constables taken from General Chao, it’s still less than one hundred thirty thousand. Moreover—”

He paused here, and everyone’s eyes were already bright. They saw Quan Feitong put down his teacup and gaze toward the door. “Moreover, this minister still has assistance.”

“Assistance?” Everyone was both surprised and delighted. Dowager Consort Ai was especially joyful. “How so?”

“There’s such a person who, to prevent changes, cannot be told any of today’s defensive arrangements. But at the crucial moment, this person might be able to help us and catch Lian Yu completely off guard.”

“Calculating the time, this person should be arriving.”

As Quan Feitong spoke, he suddenly walked to another small table and lit the oil lamp there. Then he held the lamp horizontally – the military map on the table quickly caught fire and burned. In moments, only a pile of ashes remained on the table.

After doing this, he stepped outside. Except for Li and Chao, Dowager Consort Ai and the others couldn’t help but be surprised as they watched him walk to the empty ground outside the temple and stand there.

Soon, a white figure suddenly appeared on the mountainside, climbing step by step. When the newcomer finally appeared clearly before everyone, Dowager Consort Ai’s voice trembled, “Jie’er, have you finally thought it through?”

On the final step, Lian Jie didn’t answer but stared at Quan Feitong. After a long while, he said coldly, “Where is the evidence you mentioned of Lian Yu killing Father Emperor to usurp the throne?”

“Seventh Master will know when the time comes – the evidence can only be produced on that day.” Quan Feitong smiled slowly in response.

Lian Jie commanded nearly five thousand palace guards. If he also struck simultaneously, the effect would be imaginable.

Everyone immediately understood – Quan Feitong’s third variable was Lian Jie.

Another half month after this secret meeting, the court successively received two urgent eight-hundred-li reports from the front lines. The first was that border nomadic tribes had infiltrated Chao’s army’s mess camp, mixing poisonous plants into the food, causing nearly ten thousand soldiers to contract dysentery. This dysentery came fiercely and subsequently infected nearly two hundred thousand soldiers. The second was that multiple border tribes had gathered and emerged in full force, actually forming an army of over two hundred thousand to loot and massacre Great Zhou’s border towns.

With the late emperor’s birth anniversary approaching and spring already established, the court was busy preparing for the grand ceremony of ancestral worship and heaven worship at the imperial mausoleum. Upon hearing the news, Lian Yu was furious and appointed Minister of War Wei Chenghui as General of Distant Campaigns, deploying the capital region’s Xinshui forces of 150,000 troops to the border defense. Wei Chenghui immediately accepted the command, and three days later, he brought along his two sons Wuya and Wujun, who also held military positions, to accompany the expedition. Vice Minister of War Si Lanfeng was appointed by Lian Yu as military supervisor and also accompanied them.

Lian Yu’s expression had been grim for days, and the court consequently fell into a solemn, tense atmosphere.

This day, after finishing his duties at the Ministry of Personnel, Li Zhaoting secretly went to A Luo’s residence.

The two nestled together in the courtyard, A Luo frowning as she asked quietly, “I heard there’s going to be war at the border. Could something terrible happen?”

Li Zhaoting smiled slightly. “After years of reorganization, our Great Zhou’s military strength is powerful and our grain supplies abundant. How could mere barbarians break through?”

“Mm,” A Luo nodded. “I also know Great Zhou’s military isn’t weak. It’s just that hearing about war still makes me somewhat frightened.”

“However,” Li Zhaoting suddenly bent to her ear, “you should leave for a few days. I’ve prepared a residence for you in a county town several hundred li from the capital. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone escort you there.”

A Luo’s heart trembled slightly. “Is Brother Quan about to make his move?”

“I won’t say more about other matters. Wait for me there, and when the turmoil here settles, I’ll personally come fetch you.” He spoke gently above her head.

“I’ll only ask one thing.”

“Mm?”

“What are Quan Feitong’s chances of victory?”

“His chances… are extremely high.”

“Zhaoting, would you be willing to achieve great deeds for me?” she suddenly asked.

“Without question. If this matter succeeds, I’ll give you my finest things.” He replied softly, actually answering a different promise. He knew she didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter if she didn’t.

Hearing this, A Luo stared and tears flowed down. Her heart was complex – sometimes worried for Lian Yu, sometimes feeling gleeful about the possible dire straits he and Feng Suzhen might face, and sometimes moved by the man before her.

Only he truly loved her, always caring about her joys, sorrows, and safety.

Moreover, these past days, she knew he had probably long seen through that Lian Yu’s feelings toward him were no longer as before. Otherwise, with her recuperating outside for so long, why hadn’t he brought her back to the palace?

But he didn’t ask her, sometimes even deliberately showing jealousy and displeasure to spare her feelings. Though she couldn’t let go of Lian Yu, her feelings for him had gradually deepened through these days and nights.

A scene suddenly rose in her heart: amid war fires and iron horses, city gates filled with gunpowder smoke, where corpses and blood flowed like rivers, Xiao An, Murong Qi, Lian Xin, Zhu Que and others with dirt-stained faces were roughly pressed down by soldiers, kneeling before him and Quan Feitong.

Oh, and Lian Yu and Feng Suzhen too.

Kill those two? No – have someone put shackles on Feng Suzhen, making her the lowest slave in this palace from then on. She really wanted to see Lian Yu’s expression then, his expression like a homeless dog, to see how he could still save her!

And Xiao An and the others – she wouldn’t spare any of them!

“You’re truly willing to go this far for me, to give me your finest things?” She smiled slightly, pretending to half-joke, “If that childhood sweetheart of yours hadn’t died, and I wanted her to become my maid, would you be willing to give her too?”

Li Zhaoting hadn’t expected her to suddenly mention this person. After days of military preparations, a face appeared in his mind, and his whole body turned cold as he smiled coldly, “Naturally.”

Leaving A Luo’s residence as night deepened, Li Zhaoting went to the Quan residence.

With only one day remaining before the late emperor’s birth anniversary, he and Quan Feitong needed to make final preparations at this time.

Following the butler inside, he saw Chao Huang had already arrived, and the two were drinking in the courtyard.

He was about to approach when he saw a black shadow leap past. His heart tensed, and he was about to shout for his senior brother to be careful, then realized the Quan residence had strict security – how could assassins easily enter? Moreover, Chao Huang was present!

Just then, he saw the black-clothed person land on a nearby artificial hill, throwing a letter toward Quan Feitong. Chao Huang’s lips curved as he leaped up to catch it, handing the letter to Quan Feitong. Quan Feitong took the letter and put it in his sleeve, then smiled slightly, taking out a porcelain bottle from his chest and throwing it toward the black-clothed person.

“Your medicine,” he said.

The black-clothed person spun to catch it, and with several leaps, disappeared behind the artificial hill.

Li Zhaoting knew this must be one of Quan Feitong’s people. Those eyes were truly sharp – where had he seen them before? He slowly emerged, and Quan Feitong smiled, “Zhaoting has arrived? Please sit.”

Li Zhaoting had just sat down when the butler hurriedly approached, reporting, “Master, several great scholars wish to go out.”

Upon hearing this, Quan Feitong gave a cold laugh, then said, “Zhaoting, you haven’t seen your teacher for a long time. Let’s go see the old gentleman together.”

“Good.” Li Zhaoting nodded.

Soon, several people arrived at Ting Yu’s residence, where they saw Ting Yu and two others surrounded by guards. Seeing Quan Feitong, Ming Jing and Shi Yu both showed anger on their faces. “Beast! You even dare imprison your teacher?”

Only Ting Yu’s face showed neither anger nor fury, but blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and between his brows was a deep, condensed expression.

Quan Feitong smiled. “Teacher, where are you going in the dead of night? To the palace to report?”

“You don’t even want your own life anymore?” He spoke slowly, his smile gradually freezing at his lips. “Seeing the border warfare, you privately cast a great divination to divine the fate of Great Zhou’s empire. This divination is too great. You once told me that divining for people to resolve difficulties damages one’s own blessings. This divination concerns the entire realm – do you want to invite heaven’s punishment?”

“I also remember you saying that heavenly fate can almost never be changed. Even if you divine good or ill fortune in advance, you cannot alter it. Therefore, you never taught students numerology. Or were you just deceiving me because you didn’t want to teach me? Afraid I would forcibly twist heaven and earth!”

His face was like frost, yet he looked over with a half-smile, his eyes flashing with cruel killing intent.

Ming Jing and Shi Yu trembled with rage at this sight, but Ting Yu laughed loudly, completely unafraid. “I indeed discovered later that your heart was corrupt and refused to teach you further. What, do you want to kill your teacher today?”

“Zhaoting, you and Feitong are the cleverest students I’ve taught. You too… very well. Today, will you join him in this deed?” After laughing, Ting Yu looked indifferently at Li Zhaoting.

“A teacher for one day is a father for life. Zhaoting dare not forget. But if one doesn’t act for oneself, heaven will destroy them. To accomplish great things, one must be ruthless enough. This too is a principle we learned from the ancient teachings you instructed.”

“Teacher, if you’re willing to sit quietly in the residence, Zhaoting guarantees that no one will harm you, not even Senior Brother.” Li Zhaoting bowed respectfully, his face no longer visible, but his voice clearly emerged from his mouth.

…

The black shadow held the porcelain bottle, leaped from the Quan residence, mounted his horse, and was about to leave when his extremely keen ears caught a subtle sound behind him. Was someone following, or was it just mishearing? His heart tensed, but as a killer, he didn’t turn to look, acting as if unaware and spurring his horse down another road completely opposite to his arrival route.

It was already the second watch, yet Lian Yu had not returned to his sleeping quarters.

Suzhen also had no desire for sleep. For trouble to arise at the border at this time was not a good omen! The Lian brothers, Yan Da, Gao Chaoyi, and other confidants almost made the palace their home, along with Murong Ding. Apart from state affairs, they spent almost all other time in secret discussions in the imperial study.

His brows grew ever deeper, his form ever more gaunt. When she occasionally inquired, he would say, “I cannot let Great Zhou fall into endless warfare. The common people shouldn’t pay for this power game.”

She rose and dressed, going out to have the eunuchs waiting outside the hall fetch hot soup and pastries from the imperial kitchen so he could eat when he returned. Qing Long and Xuan Wu were responsible for palace security work, staying inseparably by his side these days with Ming Yanchu, ready to receive defensive orders at any time. Bai Hu and Zhu Que took turns on duty at her side.

Tonight it was Xiao Zhou and Hei Shi on duty. Like Bai Hu, the tall, thin attendant who was more familiar with her didn’t seem to be on duty tonight. Ming Yanchu’s twin attendants had been trained and now shared much of his workload.

She greeted the two and went inside.

Soon, Xiao Zhou personally brought things in, smiled at her, then went out and closed the door.

Though Xiao Zhou was smiling, there was no trace of smile in her eyes. She knew it wasn’t just Wuqing’s matter – the border situation disturbed everyone’s heart.

She frowned slightly. If war broke out, the border people would suffer. As she was thinking, a wave of nausea suddenly surged from her stomach. She covered her mouth, ran several steps to the jade basin, and as soon as she opened her mouth, sour water poured out.

She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and returned to sit at the table, but the greasy smell of food made her uncomfortable again, and she ran back to vomit. After some time, she had vomited until her stomach was empty. After rinsing her mouth and eating a few bites of sour jujube cake from the table, she finally felt somewhat better.

Except for the sour jujube cake, all other food on the table seemed like enemies to her. She could only retreat far away and sat on the long couch by the window.

Yesterday was the same. She had thought she’d eaten something bad, but two consecutive days – could there be some problem? She felt her own pulse. Well, pulse-taking really wasn’t her forte, but for other ailments, through observation, listening, and questioning, she could still detect something.

Just as she was about to go out and have Xiao Zhou come examine her, she reconsidered and stopped. Tomorrow was the late emperor’s birth anniversary grand ceremony. Lian Yu would lead the royal family and court ministers to the imperial mausoleum for ancestral and heaven worship – he would be busy. If she discovered something and Xiao Zhou, being his person, certainly wouldn’t hide it from him and would definitely tell him, wouldn’t that worry him terribly?

She’d wait until after tomorrow’s ceremony for examination – delaying one more day wouldn’t matter.

She thought slowly and gradually closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, she found herself back at the old Feng family residence. There were many people in the courtyard – her parents, elder brother, and Hong Xiao… She was delighted and about to approach when she saw everyone except her brother disappear.

Her brother looked at her with a gloomy expression. She wanted to explain everything to him when she suddenly saw another figure under the osmanthus tree, white-robed and fluttering, digging something beneath the tree.

She immediately remembered someone’s promise to return for the daughter’s wine when the country was peaceful and people secure. She smiled and called out, but when the person slowly turned around, those cruel eyes weren’t his! But that face was also extremely familiar – it seemed like Quan Feitong, then instantly appeared to change into Li Zhaoting, shifting back and forth, staring at her coldly.

“Lian Yu is behind you.”

She was startled and turned around, only to see someone pinned to the wall by countless arrows. Those slightly open eyes, the blood covering his face – her heart ached terribly. How could it be him?

Beside him, a middle-aged man’s eyes flashed with serpent-like light, and another woman smiled as she silently mouthed to her word by word: Look, Feng Suzhen, this is your fate.

She stood there stunned. Beyond the courtyard’s high walls, wind and clouds surged, the sky turned completely black, and a huge vortex with lightning tore the clouds apart. With a tremendous “bang” that was deafeningly loud, she was covered in sweat and suddenly sat up.

Looking around in confusion, she found herself still in his sleeping quarters in the palace. But outside the window, a flash of lightning split the night sky, followed by a clap of thunder.

Her heart shook greatly as she got down from the couch and opened the door.

Outside the hall, the tall, thin attendant was just coming to relieve Hei Shi’s watch. Seeing her alarmed expression, before Zhu Que could speak, he asked with considerable concern, “Prosecutor Li, it’s just wind and thunder. You weren’t frightened, were you?”

She shook her head, then suddenly heard a voice that was stern yet full of deeply hidden emotion suddenly ring out from the side corridor: “Why did you run out? Don’t you know to add another layer of clothing in this cold spring weather?”

She turned to look and saw him leading Xuan Wu and several others, walking quickly toward her from the other side of the corridor.

The sky’s brightness made his appearance so clear.

Black eyes and elegant brows, graceful as wind beneath pines, bright as sun and moon entering one’s embrace.

Her emperor, her teacher, her enemy, and also her beloved.