Not far ahead, several great armies were advancing in a mighty procession, and leading the charge at the very front were none other than several generals Wanyan Lie knew intimately well — including the one general he trusted above all others!

And the army marching behind them wasn’t Xijing’s forces, nor Da Zhou’s troops, but the very force he knew best of all… Xiliang’s own soldiers!

What irony!

Was there any war, any defeat in this world, more ironic than this?

Wanyan Lie let out a hollow laugh, his chest full of indignation, resentment, and bitter self-mockery.

He found he had nothing left to say. Faced with everything before him, he was so utterly powerless that all he could do was laugh!

He could only throw his head back and roar with laughter, “Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!”

Behind Xiliang’s army came Xijing’s forces, led by none other than Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan.

The couple rode side by side; though positioned behind Xiliang’s troops, they clearly bore the air of masters.

Soon, they arrived beneath the walls of the capital.

Their arrival threw the already anxious, restless capital into complete chaos!

Aside from the soldiers standing closest to Wanyan Lie, who dared not speak or show any sign of shock or fear, the entire gate — even the soldiers on the wall — descended into unrest!

After all, once the fighting began, the first enemy they’d face wasn’t Xijing’s army, nor Da Zhou’s troops, but their own soldiers of Great Xiliang!

How could this be?

No wonder, no wonder Jun Beiyue and Han Ziqing had stayed here so long without issuing a single provocation, simply garrisoning their troops instead.

They had come purely to watch the battle unfold — they’d never intended to make a move at all!

The moment Yelu Qianqian and Situ Haonan arrived, Ziqing and Jun Beiyue came out to greet them.

Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan exchanged the same three-fist greeting as before; Jun Beiyue, rare for him, let a faint, captivating smile show.

Situ Haonan actually managed a smile in return, and a flicker of relief crossed Jun Beiyue’s eyes, though he said nothing.

As for Ziqing, looking at Yelu Qianqian, she had a heart full of words yet didn’t know how to voice them. She gently brushed aside Yelu Qianqian’s long hair and said softly, “Silly girl, finally you’ve arrived. Was the journey alright?”

Yelu Qianqian nodded, gripping Ziqing’s hand tightly before quickly letting go.

She could hold up!

She’d spotted Wanyan Lie from far away already — the man she hated down to her very bones, the one who had personally pushed her into a bottomless abyss, ruining her entire life!

But she was no longer afraid!

Releasing Ziqing, Yelu Qianqian glanced once at Situ Haonan, then immediately swung herself up onto her horse!

Xiliang’s capital, the place she loathed most — so what?

Wanyan Lie, the man she hated most — so what?

She no longer trembled!

Today, she had come to erase the last trace of her fear, to erase the shame with her own hands.

At this moment, Yelu Qianqian was no longer Xijing’s little princess, no longer the carefree, foolish girl — she was a goddess, a goddess standing before the gates with an entire army ready to strike!

Clad in full battle armor, her expression stern, her whip pointed forward, her voice rang out like a bell, “Everyone within the walls of Xiliang’s capital, listen to this princess! Aside from Wanyan Lie, this princess will accept anyone’s surrender! But if a single person dares to shield Wanyan Lie, this princess will slaughter the entire city — I mean every word!”

At these words, Wanyan Lie suddenly snapped back to himself, practically leaping forward, glaring down at Yelu Qianqian, his short hair standing on end with fury!

“Yelu Qianqian, who gave you the audacity to speak like that! You wouldn’t dare!”

“Care to test whether I dare?”

Yelu Qianqian replied coldly, then immediately added, “I’ll count to three!”

At these words, even Wanyan Lie’s own soldiers exchanged glances, their composure shattering!

Given the situation, with Xiliang’s main forces all gathered here in this city, no amount of additional troops in the capital could withstand this assault!

Even holding out was unlikely to last a single day!

There were only two paths left — either die alongside Wanyan Lie, or… surrender!

Undoubtedly, the cost of dying alongside Wanyan Lie was far too great — it wouldn’t just be the soldiers of one city who died, but the common people of an entire city as well!

For the sake of both duty and self-interest, everyone began weighing their options.

Wanyan Lie had no time to spare for those behind him now, leaning forward so far he nearly toppled off the wall.

Veins bulging with fury across his face, he screamed madly down at Xiliang’s army below the gates, “Traitors, you’re all traitors! This crown prince has treated you well — is this how you repay this crown prince, how you repay Xiliang? Answer me! Answer me!”

What could be more despairing than being besieged by the very soldiers he himself had personally promoted, personally raised?

This was a hundred times more painful than a single blade through his heart.

It was like his heart being sliced apart bit by bit, yet never allowed the mercy of death, forced to watch it all unfold with his own eyes!

At first, no one answered his furious shouting.

But as Wanyan Lie’s roaring continued unabated, someone finally couldn’t hold back any longer, shouting back angrily, “Wanyan Lie, arrogant and haughty as you are, when have you ever truly regarded your soldiers as anything? Everything that’s befallen you today, you brought entirely upon yourself.”

At these words, a general within the ranks couldn’t help but speak up as well. “Wanyan Lie, this old man advises you to end your own life — at least do something good for the soldiers and people of this capital!”

“You… you all!”

Wanyan Lie’s fury boiled over so violently he began coughing up blood, unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing!

Failure!

True, utter failure!

He had truly failed so completely!

At last, all his rage turned toward Yelu Qianqian — it was all because of this woman, all because of her!

It wasn’t he who had ruined this woman — it was this woman who had ruined him!

“Yelu Qianqian, you wronged me first! It was Xijing who schemed against me first — what right do you have to settle this score with me!”

“Have I ever once said, with my own mouth, that I wished to marry you? Wanyan Lie, what right do you have to take revenge on me for your own foolishness! What right, what authority do you have!”

She was a woman — even as a princess, she’d once known nothing of state affairs, nothing even of palace politics!

Why should the power struggles between men drag her into their midst? Why should she be the one to pay the price?

That she had managed to reach this point today, bringing an army to Wanyan Lie’s very gates, driving him to be abandoned by all — wasn’t all of this something Wanyan Lie himself had forced into being?

Yelu Qianqian watched Wanyan Lie’s desperate, deranged state with cold eyes and began her countdown coldly.

“Three!”

…

“Two!”

At “two,” Wanyan Lie suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly, “Yelu Qianqian, this crown prince orders you to withdraw your troops immediately and leave my rebel Xiliang soldiers behind — otherwise… this crown prince will make sure the entire world knows the true reason Xijing’s princess marched her army west!”

At these words, two or three generals atop the wall who knew the truth suddenly wore complicated expressions, exchanging glances, unable to imagine the consequences.

Below the gates, Situ Haonan’s clenched fists suddenly began seeping blood from between his fingers. His fury was beyond words, but even harder to bear than his fury was his fear!

His gaze never left Qianqian for even a moment, unable to imagine what her reaction might be, at a complete loss for what to do!

Ziqing and Jun Beiyue tensed as well — if the truth were revealed to everyone, how could Qianqian, such a fragile woman, possibly bear the weight of the entire world’s gaze, the entire world’s gossip?

What should they do?