In the outer room of the wing chamber, Jiang Zhiyi and Pei Zisong looked down at the black-clad men captured on the floor, their minds already concluding.
They had found it strange that if a prefectural governor had defected to the enemy, he should have had the ability to control the entire prefecture, even surrender the city, rather than needing to secretly sabotage their defenses to give the rebels an opportunity.
Even if Prefect Zhu couldn’t act freely because of the Princess’s presence and had to rely on indirect means, why would he agree to let the Xuan Ce Army supervise the battle, causing the rebels to lose their first engagement?
Prefect Zhu was the type who fawned over superiors but surely ruled subordinates with an iron fist. Therefore, it was more likely that the insider was constrained by the prefect and couldn’t act openly. After failing in the first battle, they could only resort to secretly burning the provisions.
If the roaring fire in the west had disturbed their judgment, making them believe Prefect Zhu had defected, and in their physical and mental exhaustion, they only worried about future supplies without guarding against threats nearby, the real traitor would have succeeded.
Seeing Jing Zhe hurrying over from the west wing room, Jiang Zhiyi quickly asked: “Was Elder Sister Xueqing alarmed?”
Jiang Zhiyi had San Qi with her and had arranged for Jing Zhe to go to the west wing room earlier to lie on the bed pretending to be Pei Xueqing.
Jing Zhe replied: “Rest assured, Princess. Miss Pei is sleeping soundly. I’ve settled her back in bed.”
Jiang Zhiyi nodded and turned her gaze to the shivering men kneeling on the ground with their hands and feet bound. She put on a stern face: “Who sent you?”
San Qi crouched down and lifted the chin of one of them, putting his jaw back in place.
“Spare our lives, Princess! We were only following Marshal Cao’s orders…”
“Oh,” Jiang Zhiyi tilted her head and said to Pei Zisong, “he says it was Secretary Wei.”
The man in black: “…”
Jiang Zhiyi had previously heard Pei Zisong tell of their encounter with the rioters and being rescued by Wei Ji. Like Pei Zisong, she had thought highly of Wei Ji, believing his wariness of the Xuan Ce Army was in line with his cautious character. As a senior official of the prefecture, he was responsible for the military and civilians under his jurisdiction.
But now she realized that the rioters who had surrounded the Pei siblings that day might have been instigated by Wei Ji himself to detain them in Xingyang City.
As for herself, an unexpected factor—although Wei Ji was wary of her Xuan Ce soldiers, they were only a hundred strong. Considering the merit of capturing her alive, he naturally thought it worth the risk.
So when she proposed returning to the capital, Wei Ji happened to come and report the refugee unrest in eastern Xingzhou, delaying her departure.
This unrest probably didn’t exist at all. The fake disturbance not only kept her in the city but also dispatched a batch of garrison troops right before the battle. Wei Ji had calculated well!
Pei Zisong also recalled these events. Thinking of his sister, who now lay unconscious, indirectly harmed by Wei Ji, his expression grew cold. He pointed his sword forward: “How many more of you are there? Where are you stationed throughout the city? How do you communicate with each other after completing your mission?”
Half an hour later, at the military camp in the western part of the city.
Amid clusters of bonfires, military doctors bustled about, bandaging and treating the wounded.
Soldiers who had returned from the fire site sat slumped on the ground, faces blackened with soot and bodies drenched in sweat. One by one, they gulped down cold water from their flasks into their smoke-parched throats.
Having just fought in battle, then rushing to fight the fire without rest, running back and forth in the scorching summer heat of the blaze, everyone was utterly exhausted.
The fire in the granary had not yet been completely extinguished. Secretary Wei had ordered the Xuan Ce soldiers who still had energy to continue putting out the fire there, while commanding the others to return to camp to conserve their strength.
Large groups of soldiers collapsed backward onto the muddy ground, too exhausted to focus their gaze, their eyes vacant.
Yet there seemed to be some who still had energy left, as one raised his voice to ask the others: “…Hey, do you think Prefect Zhu really defected to the enemy? If so, what are we fighting for?”
Someone immediately responded: “Exactly! The provisions have all burned up. Even if we hold the city, we’ll just starve to death inside!”
“We’re on the front lines, not knowing when we might be stabbed in the back by the spies Prefect Zhu left behind! Besides, seeing the state we’re in here, Chang’an must have already fallen. We might as well surrender!”
“That’s right! Who cares who becomes Emperor? It’s not like foreign invaders have come to massacre the city. If we surrender voluntarily, maybe nothing will happen to us!”
The two men exchanged glances, taking turns speaking. The soldiers around them began to stir restlessly: “Then why don’t we—”
Just then, a long whistling sound came from the southern part of the city, and a flare shot into the sky. The soldiers jumped in fright and immediately rolled over to grab their swords.
Wei Ji, who had been counting the troops nearby, had a flash in his eyes. He raised his hand to stop everyone: “No need to panic. The Princess has sent for me on a private matter. I’ll take a few men with me. The rest of you just rest here.”
The soldiers sighed in relief and collapsed again: “At a time like this, still sending up flares for trivial matters! This Princess Yongying is indeed as the rumors say…”
Wei Ji pacified them: “The Princess is experiencing such warfare for the first time. She must be frightened. Please be understanding.”
Someone snorted coldly: “I heard that the Princess’s father once stood on the city walls defending the city despite being a civil official. Like father, unlike daughter…”
Wei Ji selected several soldiers, gave them a meaningful look, and left the camp with his hand on his sword.
As the group was about to mount their horses, they suddenly heard the thunderous sound of approaching hoofbeats, shaking the ground like rolling thunder.
In the darkness, a line of black-armored cavalry, almost merging with the night, surged toward them like a tide, surrounding them in an instant.
Wei Ji sensed danger, his scalp tightening as he drew his sword: “What are you doing? Hedong has rebelled, and you from Hexi are rebelling too?”
The soldiers behind Wei Ji nervously drew their swords as well.
Hearing the commotion, the troops in the camp poured out, hastily grabbing their weapons and rushing forward.
During this standoff, a grand and magnificent carriage emerged from the darkness behind the black-armored cavalry, rolling to a stop outside the encirclement. A slender young woman alighted from the carriage, gracefully stepping down with the support of her maid’s hand. She faced Wei Ji: “Isn’t it Secretary Wei who is rebelling alongside Hedong?”
Wei Ji tightened his grip on his sword, struggling to maintain composure: “How can the Princess say such a thing? Prefect Zhu has defected to the enemy. I am performing the prefect’s duties in his place. Everything I’ve done is for Xingzhou. How is that rebellion?”
San Qi, sitting on horseback, let out a cold laugh and beckoned behind him: “Burning the granary, breaking into the prefect’s compound at night, attempting to capture the Princess and the Prime Minister’s son to present to the enemy—if this isn’t rebellion, what is!”
Several black-clad men were pushed forward, tightly bound: “Sir, it was the Princess who ordered us to give you the flare signal to let you know we had succeeded…”
The surrounding soldiers burst into murmurs, looking at each other uncertainly, their swords wavering lower.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Wei Ji’s eyes narrowed. Looking confused, he said: “Wasn’t the flare signal from the Princess calling me? That’s why I selected men to leave the camp at her command. How is the Princess turning this against me?”
“It seems Secretary Wei’s last remaining men are all here—just these few. No wonder you can only resort to blatant lies.” Jiang Zhiyi cast a glance at the shaken men behind him.
Capturing her and the Pei siblings alive must have been Wei Ji’s final plan. He would have needed to gather all his men to transport them out of the city to rendezvous with the rebel forces. The black-clad men ordered to capture them had only revealed who their contact was at the city gate, but didn’t know which other men Wei Ji had at his disposal.
Identifying Wei Ji was simple, but to clear out all the spies, she and Pei Zisong had discussed this earlier and decided to use the flare to lure the snake from its hole.
Wei Ji smiled sympathetically: “Perhaps the Princess sees traitors everywhere because Prefect Zhu defected. The Princess is noble and precious, having never witnessed warfare. You must be in shock, imagining things. I truly don’t understand what you’re saying…”
The soldiers in the camp seemed to find his words reasonable. Their hesitant swords raised again, pointing at the Xuan Ce Army.
The sound of approaching hoofbeats came from a distance. Jing Zhe looked back and whispered to Jiang Zhiyi: “Young Master Pei has arrived.”
Jiang Zhiyi nodded and extended her hand backward: “If Secretary Wei’s ears don’t understand, perhaps his eyes will?”
Pei Zisong reined in his horse, coldly looking at Wei Ji, then gestured to the Xuan Ce soldiers behind him.
Several Xuan Ce soldiers brought forward three stretchers covered with white cloth: “Reporting to the Princess, we found the bodies of Prefect Zhu and his wife and daughter in the northern woods!”
The stretchers were set down, and the white cloths removed, exposing three fresh corpses. Prefect Zhu’s neck was still wet with blood. Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, as if unable to believe who had struck the fatal blow.
The soldiers stared in shock and anger, their swords trembling in their hands.
Jiang Zhiyi lowered her head to see Prefect Zhu’s state of death, her face paling as she held her breath.
Noticing her subtle trembling, Jing Zhe raised her hand to support her, but was refused with a shake of Jiang Zhiyi’s head.
Without flinching or avoiding, Jiang Zhiyi looked at the three corpses as if nothing were amiss.
Wei Ji clenched his teeth, scanning the Xuan Ce soldiers surrounding him. A fierce light flashed in his eyes as he suddenly charged forward.
Before Wei Ji and his men’s blades could come within an inch of Jiang Zhiyi, several Xuan Ce soldiers moved with lightning speed, each subduing one man.
With a thud, Wei Ji was pressed to the ground.
Jiang Zhiyi, who had been about to step back, forcefully kept her feet planted in place, as if the unrestful corpses were nothing, as if the blades coming for her were nothing. Taking a deep breath, she remained steadfast, staring down at the top of Wei Ji’s head: “Wei Ji, Secretary of Xingzhou, has privately communicated with rebels, burned military provisions, and plotted against the prefect. For these combined crimes, execute him on the spot!”
“Yes!”
“I am the Secretary of a prefecture!” Wei Ji raised his face from the mud, eyes bulging as he looked at Jiang Zhiyi and Pei Zisong. “You—a princess who doesn’t participate in politics, and you—a commoner who hasn’t entered official service! How dare you sentence me?”
“You’re just a fifth-rank secretary. Having the Princess send you on your way is a blessing you should appreciate—San Qi!”
San Qi stepped forward, drawing his sword, then suddenly paused as if remembering something. He looked at the large blade in his hand, turned to look at Pei Zisong’s scholarly sword, and reached for it instead.
Jiang Zhiyi was taken aback and asked in a low voice: “Why change swords?”
San Qi answered in a whisper: “The Young Commander said to be more elegant when killing in front of you. Can’t frighten you.”
“…”
As if her resolve had been shaken, Jiang Zhiyi felt a wave of emotion rise in her nose, her eyes growing hot. Forcefully holding back tears, she said coldly: “…I now order you to frighten me. If you can’t frighten me, you’ll face military punishment!”
San Qi’s expression grew solemn. He nodded in acknowledgment and signaled for several Xuan Ce soldiers to join him.
“Princess, spare my life—Princess, spa—”
More than a dozen gleaming curved swords were raised high and brought down heavily. More than a dozen bloody heads rolled in all directions.
Jiang Zhiyi’s whole body trembled. She looked at those gaping, blood-gushing wounds and lowered her eyes to stare at the head that had rolled to her feet. She felt dizzy, her stomach churning violently, nearly bringing vomit to her throat.
Jing Zhe quietly raised her hand to support Jiang Zhiyi’s lower back.
Pei Zisong’s breath caught. He too felt suffocated in this scene of slaughter. After a moment, he gripped his sword tightly, steadied himself, and turned to look at Jiang Zhiyi, saying softly: “You should go to the carriage. Leave the rest to me.”
Their display of force was naturally not simply for executing Wei Ji.
Wei Ji had earlier kept many Xuan Ce soldiers occupied at the granary, firstly to reduce their guard around them, and secondly to spread morale-weakening rumors in the military camp.
Clarifying right from wrong in front of the entire camp, sentence by sentence, was meant to rally the scattered morale.
The smell of blood permeated the hot summer air. Jiang Zhiyi held her breath until the stars stopped dancing before her eyes. She shook her head slightly at Pei Zisong.
If it was best for her to speak, then she would.
Jiang Zhiyi’s fingertips dug into her palm as she gathered her strength. Slowly raising her toe, she stepped forward: “This is the fate of traitors. Have you all seen clearly?”
The young woman’s voice was cool as a spring, and her misty skirt floated past the head at her feet. It was as if a heavenly maiden had raised a butcher’s knife. The soldiers throughout the camp watched this scene with shocked eyes.
“Secretary Wei was right about one thing—Princess Yongying has never witnessed warfare. But the future wife of the Xuan Ce Army’s commander has.” Jiang Zhiyi crossed her hands in front of her body, her gaze slowly sweeping across each disheveled face.
“Even though Prefect Zhu has been murdered, Secretary Wei has defected, and the next wave of enemy troops might arrive soon, I am not afraid. You achieved victory in the first battle. Marshal Cao still leads in the city, and the remaining provisions in the camp can sustain us for several days. How can you consider retreating before I do?
“You may think the rebels want to win popular support and won’t massacre the city. You may think surrender is a path to survival. For other prefectures, that might be true, but for Xingyang, since Hedong wants to use it as a fortress to resist Hexi reinforcements, how can two different colored flags coexist in one fortress? Even if you hand over this city, the first thing the rebels will do upon entering is slaughter all local garrison troops to eliminate future troubles! My father, the Duke of Ningguo, and the Hedong Military Governor are old acquaintances. I once called Fan Denian ‘Uncle Fan’ and know he is the type of man who would rather kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty person escape. So like me, you have no way to retreat!”
The soldiers tightly clenched their fists.
“Our only way out is to defend Xingyang with all our might and wait for reinforcements from Hexi to arrive. Tonight, you fought alongside my Hexi Xuan Ce Army and witnessed their capabilities firsthand. These are merely one hundred soldiers from my army. Marching day and night toward Xingyang right now are tens of thousands of Xuan Ce soldiers, led by Young Commander Shen, who once traveled a thousand li alone deep into Northern Court territory.
“If Young Commander Shen could race a thousand li against the wind in enemy territory, how much more so along the road from Hexi to the interior, where all checkpoints and cities will clear the way for the Xuan Ce Army? Warriors—” Jiang Zhiyi pulled out the sword from Pei Zisong’s hand. “Are you willing to believe in Young Commander Shen with me? Are you willing to stand with me against the enemy?”