On the northern frontier, no one knew whether Jun Beiyue had received Ziqing’s victory report yet—but on the Xijing side, Situ Haonan had received his news long ago!
Arriving right around the same time as Ziqing’s victory report was a sealed letter from Nangong Ye!
For three full days and three nights, every time the dead of night came, Situ Haonan would spread the two letters out on his desk and stare at them in silence!
He read through Ziqing’s letter once, then read Nangong Ye’s letter once more. In the dim lamplight, his face showed no expression at all—only the glimmer in his eyes betrayed that they had been brimming with tears the whole time.
Han Ziqing’s victory report told of a triumph worth celebrating, worth taking pride in—not only had she seized the Mobei region that all three nations had failed to control for years, she had also driven back the Xiongnu army, and even pushed into Xiliang territory, which was equivalent to stabbing Wanyan Lie savagely in the back!
This battle had, without question, played a decisive role in breaking the stalemate on his own front!
If he defeated Wanyan Lie, there was no question the credit would belong in no small part to Han Ziqing!
Nangong Ye’s sealed letter, however, carried news of the Lord of Nangong City’s death. Inside were two separate letters.
One was written in Nangong Ye’s own name—ten pages, sprawling, filled entirely with interrogation, condemnation, and outright abuse directed at him!
The other was written in his grandmother’s own hand, demanding he return to Nangong City to mourn and bury his grandfather.
Staring at the two letters, Situ Haonan’s fists never once loosened—if anything, they clenched tighter and tighter, as though he might explode at any moment.
But just then, a guard’s voice suddenly called out from beyond the door!
“General, General Dugu requests an audience!”
Only then did Situ Haonan’s fists suddenly unclench. He was in no hurry at all—instead, he was calm in a way that was almost frightening. Methodically, he put away the two letters, straightened his robes, sat up, and only then said flatly, “Come in.”
General Dugu strode in, practically glowing with good spirits, in an excellent mood. He set a sealed letter down on the desk and said with a grin, “Haonan, guess what this is.”
Situ Haonan, who had been expressionless a moment ago, now looked entirely himself again—smiling smugly, with a touch of his usual devil-may-care air. “Heh, do I even need to guess? Princess Consort Yao has arrived, hasn’t she?”
“Almost. Going by the date on the letter, she’ll move within two days—striking from both sides at once. How could that not bring Wanyan Lie to his knees, begging for mercy? Let’s see how arrogant he acts after this!” General Dugu couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.
This campaign had, from the very start, been an all-or-nothing, do-or-die gamble.
No one had expected Situ Haonan to bring about a turning point—and even less had anyone expected Han Ziqing to bring about a genuine victory.
“Truly worthy of being Princess Consort Yao! Capable of anything, utterly formidable!” Situ Haonan kept exclaiming his admiration. In this state, even someone who knew him extremely well would have been hard-pressed to notice anything unusual about him.
“Indeed. If not for her, who knows how long we’d have been stuck in this stalemate—we might’ve had to wait for Prince Yao himself to return in triumph from the northern frontier and come reinforce us!” General Dugu said earnestly.
Though Xijing and Da Zhou were not the same nation—were, in fact, bitter enemies with national grudges running deep between them—and it might seem like undermining his own side to say so, there was no denying that without Da Zhou, Xijing might well have fallen even before Eastern Qin did.
That they’d managed to fight their way to a stalemate already exceeded anything General Dugu had hoped for, and now, that Han Ziqing had actually managed to push deep into Xiliang and stab Wanyan Lie in the back—that left him full of admiration.
“Heh, General Dugu, if you said that in front of your own emperor, aren’t you afraid he’d strip you of your title of Great General?” Situ Haonan teased.
At those words, General Dugu lowered his head, his expression turning complicated.
There was no denying it—the war wasn’t even over yet, and already everyone was being forced to think about how the spoils would be divided afterward.
Seeing General Dugu lower his head, Situ Haonan kept his tone light, teasing further, “But don’t worry—our Prince Yao would never shortchange you.”
“No!” General Dugu suddenly looked up, his sword-like brows knitting tightly together.
“How much military strength does Xijing have left now? How much wealth? After the war, there’ll be so much to rebuild—without Da Zhou’s help, given Xijing’s current state, it’ll probably take ten years just to recover. And besides, this battle was won by me… and by Princess Consort Yao. Do you think Wanyan Lie would rather negotiate peace with the Emperor of Xijing, or with our Prince Yao?”
Situ Haonan’s meaning was plain enough: put simply, if the Emperor of Xijing and Wanyan Lie didn’t behave themselves at the peace conference, Da Zhou could immediately raise arms, seize Xijing, and press on to attack Xiliang as well.
Da Zhou had more than enough military and financial power to do exactly that, while Xijing and Xiliang would struggle even to scrape together another round of provisions.
That was the cruelty of the world where the victor writes the rules—the defeated, the conquered, had no room left to bargain, not even the right to write their own history.
And Xijing, although not technically a defeated nation, had paid a price just as steep as one.
Hearing Situ Haonan’s words, General Dugu couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “So then—Prince Yao is the real winner. Da Zhou is the real winner.”
“Naturally,” Situ Haonan nodded, quite proudly.
But then, unexpectedly, General Dugu suddenly leaned in closer, his dark eyes staring straight into Situ Haonan’s, and said in a low voice, “The crown prince is dead. You married into the royal family as prince consort—don’t you want to fight for a world of your own, for your future children?”
Situ Haonan stepped back. “General Dugu, isn’t it a bit despicable to try to drive a wedge between me and my sworn brother Jun Beiyue?”
“Brotherhood, so what? Princess Qianqian is the apple of the Emperor’s eye, the only child left to him by the Empress. No matter how many other royal children there are, after the crown prince’s death, there’s only one princess in the Emperor’s heart—and the moment that princess gives birth to a son… your chances, Situ Haonan, only grow greater!” General Dugu’s words trailed off there, unfinished, because he saw that Situ Haonan, instead of growing angry, was actually smiling!
That kind of smile—it was a smile General Dugu had never once seen on Situ Haonan’s face before. A smile that carried despair hidden within it, and also the fury of vengeance!
Once the war ended, Xijing would inevitably fall under Da Zhou’s control, becoming a subjugated vassal state.
And the only hope, the only variable, lay in Situ Haonan’s hands!
If they could win Situ Haonan’s loyalty, turn the tide in this final decisive battle, and tie down Jun Beiyue—then Xijing would still have hope!
General Dugu had been racking his brains the entire time, trying to figure out how to persuade Situ Haonan. He had fully prepared himself for Situ Haonan to explode in rage and throw him out—but instead, nothing of the sort happened!
He had actually smiled!
What did that mean?
Could it be that he’d already been harboring thoughts of betraying Jun Beiyue all along?
But Situ Haonan didn’t really seem like that kind of person…
Watching Situ Haonan’s increasingly eerie smile, General Dugu felt a chill of unease, sensing that something was deeply wrong with this man.
“How,” Situ Haonan suddenly spoke, his voice flat, “can Da Zhou be kept from ever having Xijing?”
“You! You—” General Dugu gasped, startled. Had he heard correctly?
“I don’t want to do anything. What else could I possibly do? I just want Da Zhou to never have Xijing… by whatever means necessary!” Situ Haonan murmured, sounding less like he was answering General Dugu and more like he was talking to himself…