An Jiu’s body was soft and reddish, her skin wrinkled like a newborn mouse. Even at her age, she looked unsightly, but as Chu Dingjiang carried the unconscious An Jiu back to the room, he handled her as carefully and preciously as his child.

After the ordeal, Chu Dingjiang held the sleeping An Jiu and fell into a deep slumber himself.

Mo Siguir, who had also endured the long wait, had bloodshot eyes but still couldn’t sleep. He smoked one bag of cigarettes after another, the hazy smoke drifting throughout the courtyard where no living being seemed awake, yet he still couldn’t find a wink of sleep even with his eyes closed.

The scent of medicine was spreading across the city.

The sky on the horizon was turning pale.

In the imperial palace of the Liao capital, the fighting was raging.

Yelu Quan’s pale face was as sickly as ever, but he seemed unperturbed by the commotion outside, calmly reviewing memorials. Dozens of men in black garments stood silently in the hall, their breathing barely audible.

Outside, the sounds of battle were deafening, yet here it was eerily calm.

Half an hour later, a general rushed to the palace gates. “Your Majesty!”

“How is the battle going?” Yelu Quan’s composed voice came from within.

The general reported, “The rebels have already breached the Chonghuan Palace and are closing in on the study. If Princess’s reinforcements don’t arrive soon, we won’t be able to hold them off. Your Majesty should consider retreating to another location.”

Yelu Quan put down his brush. “You surrender to the rebels.”

The general was shocked. “Your Majesty, I…”

Yelu Quan interrupted him. “This is an imperial edict.”

“I’d rather die than surrender,” the general declared firmly.

“I’ll say this one last time, this is an imperial edict. But you may only announce that it was your own decision to the outside.”

Yelu Quan’s tone was calm, without a hint of anger, yet it sent a chill down the general’s spine. After a moment of silence, he understood this was not a real surrender, so he bowed and left as commanded.

As soon as he departed, chaos erupted in the hall.

Assassins suddenly stormed in, engaging the black-garbed guards.

Yelu Quan sat on the throne, idly playing with a bamboo flute. As the guards fell one by one, he brought the flute to his lips and played a melancholic tune.

In the Chonghuan Palace, the battle had ceased due to the guards’ surrender.

Ye Luangwu, in full battle attire, stepped over the piles of corpses towards the imperial study.

A group of ghostly figures arrived first, lining up outside the door.

Ye Luangwu stood at the base of the steps. “Elder brother, sister has come to your rescue, but alas, we are too late!”

There was no response from within.

“Go in,” Ye Luangwu commanded softly.

The ghostly figures broke down the door.

The study was in complete disarray, the once spacious hall filled with hundreds of bodies, making it difficult to navigate. As they stepped inside, several of the figures found their feet soaked in the warm liquid.

Seated above, the handsome man in elaborate robes had been struck by multiple swords, his body drenched in blood, but his face was pale and clean. He hung his head, a flute lying at his feet, and the blood flowed down the steps like the tail of a phoenix.

Ye Luangwu looked up and saw him, her expression a strange mix of sorrow and amusement.

She stared at him for a long, long time before slowly stepping closer. It felt like an eternity, yet also just a moment, until she reached Yelu Quan’s side.

“Elder brother.” Ye Luangwu touched the tip of his nose and found he was still breathing. Her expression faltered slightly as she called out, “Bring all the survivors out.”

The ghostly figures searched among the bodies and found a few who were still clinging to life.

“Your Highness, we’ve confirmed five survivors,” one of them reported, bowing.

“Take them all out. I wish to bid farewell to my brother alone,” Ye Luangwu said, bending down to pick up the fallen flute.

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The ghostly figures removed the five survivors and closed the door, leaving Ye Luangwu and the barely alive Yelu Quan alone in the vast study littered with corpses.

“Brother.” Ye Luangwu gently caressed his cool cheek. “I didn’t want to do this, but you forced my hand. If you had been a good brother, I would have been a dutiful sister. But you are so heartless. Since you never treated me as a sister, then your living has no meaning to me.”

As she spoke, her fingers paused, and she noticed a faint mark on Yelu Quan’s temple. Her expression suddenly changed.

“Is that so,” a deep voice suddenly rumbled.

Before Ye Luangwu could react, a whistling sound reached her ears, and a moment later, a bloody hole appeared in her chest. Blood spurted out like an arrow, splattering across the imperial desk, like a vibrant scarlet plum blossom.

Ye Luangwu’s eyes bulged. So it was a fake! This Yelu Quan was indeed a fake! Pity she had discovered it too late…

She clutched her chest and turned around.

Three zhang away, Yelu Quan in white robes stood amidst the sea of blood and corpses, untouched.

“If you hadn’t lost your memory, you should remember what I’m best at,” he said.

Yelu Quan had many identities in the Great Song, true and false, real and illusory, beyond anyone’s ability to discern.

“Hmph, I was careless.” Ye Luangwu tried to use her inner energy to protect her vital meridians, but found she couldn’t summon even a hint of it!

“Do you think I like being the emperor? It’s a responsibility I must bear. If you had told me you wanted this position and could hold the Yelu territory, I wouldn’t have come back, and retreating to the mountains with Mei Ruoyan would have been fine too.” Yelu Quan looked at her impassively. “You misjudged yourself, thinking that as long as I was a good brother, you wouldn’t covet the throne.”

Ye Luangwu had spent years carefully helping him return to Liao, never once suspecting him.

He wasn’t a man of deep emotions, taciturn, and reluctant to express affection. Expecting him to dote on her tenderly was beyond his capabilities, but at least in the big picture, he wouldn’t treat her poorly.

Ye Luangwu sneered, “Hah, you don’t like it?”

If he didn’t like it, why kill her to protect the throne? If he could save himself, shouldn’t he have just stepped aside?

“This time, I let you scheme, and if you had the means to kill me, it would prove you were more capable, and I wouldn’t mind you taking the throne.” Yelu Quan said, “But you’ve disappointed me.”

Ye Luangwu’s smile slowly faded, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. “I admit defeat.”

At this moment, she finally understood everything. Yelu Quan had seen through her plot long ago, setting this trap to lure her in, and even anticipated that once she discovered he was still alive, she wouldn’t dare to eliminate him in front of witnesses.

She had sealed her fate.

But if she could do it again, she still couldn’t ruthlessly murder her brother, because those ghostly figures came to rescue him, not knowing she was the traitor!

She could only hate that she didn’t see through the deception sooner.

“I’m not satisfied.” Ye Luangwu collapsed to the ground, her vision gradually fading, but she kept her eyes wide open.

Her schemes had been flawless, so where did it go wrong? Yelu Jielie led the usurpation, and it was also Yelu Jielie who sent assassins. She was simply capitalizing on the situation, but the rescuers exposed her.

“You should be unsatisfied because you never truly understand yourself. You’re an ambitious person, yet you stubbornly clung to a shred of affection. You craved that affection, yet committed a ruthless act. If you had known yourself from the start, if you had severed that tiny sentiment from the beginning, you would have sat on the throne long ago. That’s why I saw through you – when Uncle Yelu usurped the throne, I already guessed you wouldn’t miss this opportunity.”

Seizing imperial power is the most perilous path in the world. One cannot be half-hearted.

To know the enemy and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles. The most terrifying thing is not knowing the enemy but not knowing yourself, but rather the enemy understanding you better than you understand yourself.

Although she was unsatisfied, she was not a sore loser.

“You… enlightened me, and I’ll give you one in return.” Ye Luangwu’s voice was very weak, but she knew he could hear her. “Yelu Jielie is also a drug user.”

This was something Yelu Quan didn’t know, but he wasn’t too surprised, nor did he ask further about it. He simply said, “If Ning Yanli were still alive, you might not have died.”

The poisoned weapon had injured her vital meridians, but with timely treatment, she wouldn’t have died. The key was the drug coating on the weapon that prevented her from using her inner energy to protect her heart, robbing her of the chance to be saved. If Ning Yanli had still been by her side as before, always there for important moments, Ye Luangwu might not only have survived but even had a chance to escape.

Ye Luangwu’s pupils dilated, not knowing if she had heard that last sentence.

Nor did she know if she regretted it.

“I merely guessed, and Ning Yanli’s death confirmed your scheme to me,” Yelu Quan murmured.

Ning Yanli was so devoted to Ye Luangwu that without her orders, she would never have sacrificed herself for Yelu Jielie. This loyalty was something only Ye Luangwu herself had failed to fully believe in.

Yelu Quan removed the mask of the impersonator, took off his outer robe to reveal the black battle attire underneath, and mixed him into the other corpses.

Donning the robe, he exerted a slight force and swept out of the hall.

Seeing him still alive, the ghostly figures immediately knelt. “We humbly greet Your Majesty!”

“The Princess died saving me. After dealing with the rebels, she is to be posthumously enfeoffed and buried with great honor!”

When they had first entered, it was Yelu Quan who was dead, and Ye Luangwu who was fine. But the ghostly figures knew Ning Yanli’s medical skills were bizarre, so even if a person died, leaving behind some method of trading life for life was not unheard of.

“The Princess’s loyalty and righteousness!” they exclaimed in unison.

Only those who had followed Ye Luangwu knew her death was suspicious, but since she was already dead, how could they openly question the Emperor?

Yelu Quan’s phoenix eyes were stern and cold as he surveyed them. “Capture the rebel Yelu Jielie!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

With Ye Luangwu’s death, the military power naturally returned to the Emperor’s hands.

The battle was not over yet, but everyone could already see the outcome.

News of the Liao internal strife reached the Great Song, and the entire court seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Some officials could hardly wait to celebrate.

The Emperor personally drafted an edict, appointing Ling Ziyue as the Grand General commanding the border defense forces in the three routes. He felt this was the perfect opportunity to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

But the Emperor hadn’t gotten carried away with joy. He had been closely monitoring Liao in recent years, knowing that the Liao ruler, though seemingly sickly and reclusive, was a formidable figure. Trying to seize the chance to annihilate Liao was impossible. Moreover, in the Song’s current state, even if Liao was destroyed, they could not control it.

Of all the turmoil in the Liao state, the least pleased one was General Wu Lingyuan.

Previously, the situation in Liao had been tense, with three factions vying for power and none daring to disperse the majority of their forces, which minimized the impact on Hexi County. If the internal unrest were to be resolved and power consolidated, coupled with the heavy financial toll of the war, the Liao’s future autumn hunts would be a hundredfold more ferocious.

“It’s a good thing we have General Ling.” Wu Lingyuan tried to console himself.

Wei Yuyi guessed his thoughts and replied, “But General Ling may not be able to play a significant role.”

Wu Linguan mulled it over and couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. The generals of the Great Song did not hold command of any one army for long, so the strength of the troops was not necessarily tied to the ability of the commander. No matter who was in charge, they would need time to get acclimated, let alone lead them into battle. Bringing so many people under one’s thumb was no easy task.

“Is Yelu Huangwu dead?” Mo Sihui suddenly interjected.

“He is dead.” Wei Yuyi confirmed.

Wu Linguan asked, “You’ve asked that question repeatedly over the past few days. Why?”

Luo Mingyue had fought tooth and nail but failed to kill this man, and yet he had died just like that. Mo Sihui found it hard to believe, but deep down he was relieved. With this woman gone, Luo Mingyue was now free.

“Such is the twists and turns of life,” he sighed, then got up, saying, “I’ll get ready to leave!”

Humming a little tune, he happily bustled around the room, quickly packing a bundle, and even paused to affectionately pat Little Yue’s head amid his busyness.

Wu Linguan was not fully aware of the situation between them. Seeing this, he was quite perplexed. In Wu Linguan’s impression, Mo Sihui had always been eccentric but still maintained his composure, but now he seemed to have lost control.

“Yuyi, I’ve prepared dozens of jars of medicine and left them on the shelf. You two chat, I’m off.” Mo Sihui left in a whirlwind, taking Little Yue with him.

“Dozens of jars.” Wei Yuyi smiled faintly.

It seemed he was planning to wander around after finding Luo Mingyue.

“She was defeated so easily by Yelu Quancang’s hands.” Wei Yuyi felt somewhat regretful when he thought of Yelu Huangwu, who had seemed capable of contending for a decade or two.

He couldn’t help but wonder how it would be if he were to clash with Yelu Quancang.

“Yelu Huangwu was defeated like this.”

In the city garrison, An Jiu also could not believe this news.

“Since ancient times, whenever there are plots to seize power, someone has to die. What’s so strange about that?” Chu Dingjiang was not interested in this. Right now, his mind was more focused on Yelu Quancang’s powerful methods – he absolutely could not be taken lightly.

An Jiu’s body was still recovering, and Chu Dingjiang had ordered her to lie in bed and not wander around. At the moment, she was sitting cross-legged, accepting his spoon-feeding. “But she looked so formidable.”

“Those who show their sharpness often don’t last till the end.”

“Mm-hmm, makes sense. As the saying goes, the dog that bites doesn’t bark.” An Jiu had learned this phrase from someone in the camp recently and applied it immediately.

Although the usage wasn’t quite right, it wasn’t entirely wrong either. But she just had to give a specific example, “Like you and Wei Yuyi.”

An Jiu quickly said, “The Blood Demon is here,” when she sensed his aura shift.

Chu Dingjiang was somewhat indulgent of her in front of her subordinates and didn’t scold her.

After a while, the Blood Demon indeed came to the door and reported, “My lord, I saw the physician leaving the city with two tigers.”

An Jiu wasn’t surprised at all. “Noted.”

“If the master has no other orders, I shall take my leave.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“He has quite the air of a person in power,” Chu Dingjiang remarked with a smile.

An Jiu couldn’t help but pout, “Ever since he saw you again, the Blood Demon has been obsessed with following you. I don’t know how you’ve bewitched him so.”

“Nonsense.” How could one grown man bewitch another grown man like that? She had a way with words.

An Jiu’s thoughts returned to the previous topic, sighing, “This time, Mo Sihui and Luo Mingyue can finally be together properly. I’ve had my troubles in the past, but for some reason, seeing them makes me feel so weary.”

Chu Dingjiang peeled a large piece of apple and stuffed it into her mouth, “You have too much time on your hands. Focus on yourself instead.”

“Myself? I think I’m doing great now.” An Jiu took the apple, leaving her mouth free to speak, “I get to be the good guy and fulfill my wish, and I’ve let a flock of sheep go.”

She was referring to the self-defense army.

Chu Dingjiang laughed heartily, “They can’t be called sheep, they need to be honed into sharp divine weapons, lest the Liao cavalry come to hunt them down.”

“Hmph, my sheep, who dares to catch them?” An Jiu snorted.

Seeing her little air of self-importance, Chu Dingjiang found it amusing and simply stuffed the whole peeled apple into her mouth.

An Jiu tried to swat at him.

Her skin was now as tender as a baby’s, and the slightest force could leave marks. Chu Dingjiang didn’t dare to retaliate, only saying, “Don’t use too much force, or else you’ll hurt your hand. How about I hit myself a few times instead?”

An Jiu laughed heartily at that.

They played around for a while, and An Jiu soon felt tired, dozing off.

Chu Dingjiang looked at her increasingly delicate and beautiful face, still bearing a trace of laughter, and his heart too became unusually soft.

As night fell, Chu Dingjiang got up and walked to the window, his gaze heavy as he looked at the stars in the sky. Nearly an hour later, he instructed a few trusted men to guard the courtyard, then silently slipped into the city.

In less than two moments, he returned, carrying two unconscious people and throwing them into an empty house.

He took a bath and changed clothes, then slowly went to see the two people he had brought.

The Blood Demon, holding a lamp, looked in and spotted the two middle-aged women. Upon closer inspection, one of them was none other than the old Madam Mei!

The Blood Demon set down the lamp, unable to resist asking, “My lord, you’ve captured Madam Mei. Does the mistress know about this?”

He knew An Jiu and Madam Mei didn’t have a good relationship. But even if it wasn’t good, she was a strange person, like how she would scold Mo Sihui enthusiastically, but wouldn’t allow anyone else to say a bad word about him.

“Which of your eyes saw me capturing her?” Chu Dingjiang asked slowly.

Indeed, Madam Mei wasn’t bound. But this isn’t the same as not capturing her at all! However, Chu Dingjiang’s tone reminded him that this lord was not to be trifled with.

The Blood Demon simply buried his head, pretending he didn’t exist and hadn’t seen anything.

“Go brew some tea.”

The Blood Demon obediently left to do so. After a moment, he returned with the tea, placed it down, and was about to quietly exit, but heard Chu Dingjiang say, “Take her to the west room and keep watch over her.”

“Yes.” The Blood Demon resignedly picked up the lantern and left with Madam Mei.

This cluster of houses was something Chu Dingjiang had ordered built in a few months. Due to the rushed timeline, only the main house was well-decorated, while these side rooms, though empty, were still neat.

This room was quite large, with only a few round-backed chairs and two tall stools inside.

Madam Mei let out a soft groan, regaining consciousness.

The dull pain at the back of her neck made her suddenly recall the events before losing consciousness, so she continued to pretend to be asleep, using her spiritual awareness to sense if anyone was around.

“Open your eyes if you’re awake,” Chu Dingjiang exposed her.

Madam Mei didn’t expect there to be someone else, and was slightly surprised, but opened her eyes as instructed and looked up towards the source of the voice.

The room was unlit, but the moonlight outside was bright, allowing her to roughly make out the situation inside. Across from her, on a round-backed chair, sat a tall man, dressed in a black robe with a white collar peeking out. He had a well-groomed beard and hair partially loose as if he had just bathed.

He reached out and poured two cups of tea, personally placing one on the tall stool near her.

Standing so close, Madam Mei realized he was even taller than she had imagined.

“Chu Dingjiang.” Madam Mei had been closely monitoring his whereabouts recently, so she recognized him. “Why have you brought me here?”

Chu Dingjiang picked up the tea and took a light sip. “Madam, don’t speak so harshly. I’ve invited you here because I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”

Even if he had resorted to knocking her unconscious and bringing her here, Chu Dingjiang still wanted to approach this politely first.

“If this is an invitation, why resort to such underhanded methods.” Madam Mei smiled wryly.

Her appearance looked gentle, but her gaze was aloof, not an easy person to get close to.

“Considering what you’ve done, my actions were still quite polite.” Chu Dingjiang said.

Madam Mei then realized that her sending messages had been exposed.

“Your master is currently quite busy, and it may be a few days before he can attend to you. So Madam must carefully consider your situation before answering my questions.” Chu Dingjiang said, “What purpose did he have in sending you to keep an eye on me and Ajiu?”

“You know I’m acting on His Majesty’s orders. You’re quite remarkable.” Madam Mei had to re-evaluate this Chu Dingjiang.

“You flatter me.” Chu Dingjiang was in no hurry to rush her.

“I can tell you truthfully that I don’t know.” Madam Mei composed herself, sitting upright as usual, without any sign of unease. “I was just following orders, how would I have the chance to hear His Majesty’s reasons?”

Chu Dingjiang nodded, not doubting her explanation. “Then please tell me about Yelu Quancang and Xiao Ce.”

“Why should I tell you these things?” Madam Mei asked with a slight smile.

“I don’t want to say anything too forceful right now, but if I didn’t care about anything, you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Although he said he didn’t want to be forceful, his words were already extremely forceful.

Madam Mei’s tongue went bitter, and she took a sip of the tea. She wasn’t afraid of Chu Dingjiang’s threats but felt that the bitterness of her life had inadvertently slipped out.