The Prefect of Shuntian asked this question, though he already had an answer in his heart. The commoners listening outside, after a brief moment of stunned silence, suddenly reacted. After a moment of quiet, a man pushed his way out of the crowd and anxiously said, “Marquis Wei, wasn’t it because the Crown Prince mistakenly trusted a spy and issued the wrong orders, leading to that devastating defeat?”
Back then, to protect Yao Yong and clear the Wei family’s unjust accusation, Zhao Yue had let the Crown Prince bear all the responsibility alone.
Chu Yu looked up at him, frowning. “Who are you?”
“This humble one is named He Zaishan.” The man knelt, his eyes reddening as he spoke, “In the Battle of White Emperor Valley years ago, my elder brother was among those who fought…”
As he spoke, a wave of sighs rippled through the crowd. Chu Yu sighed, stepped forward, and personally helped the man up. “Brother, please stand first.”
The man remained kneeling on the ground, shaking his head. “Please, Marquis, tell this humble one the truth of that year!”
Chu Yu said nothing, looking towards Wei Yun instead.
Wei Yun, beating the drum, spoke in a calm yet powerful voice: “Five years ago, when the new ruler of the Northern Di ascended the throne, their land was suffering from natural disasters. The new ruler intended to invade the south to divert pressure. At that time, my father was the commander-in-chief and knew of the Northern Di’s intentions, so he only defended and did not attack. The Great Chu had elite troops and generals, with ample forces. The Northern Di struggled for two months but couldn’t take a single city. At this time, a person from Great Chu offered a plan to the Northern Di, suggesting they use the spies Great Chu had planted in the Northern Di to send a message to Great Chu, saying that the Northern Di had seventy thousand troops hidden in White Emperor Valley, ready to feign defeat and ambush.”
At this point, curses erupted from the crowd. How could a person from Great Chu betray their country like this? All the troubles of these years stemmed from this person—who wouldn’t curse them?
Wei Yun continued beating the drum, one strike after another: “This spy was under Yao Yong’s command. Yao Yong, in his pursuit of merit and profit, first gave the information to my father, the commander. When my father refused to deploy troops, Yao Yong had the former Crown Prince pressure my father, forcing him to march out. Later, when the Northern Di retreated as rumored, my father led my six elder brothers in pursuit. Two of them split off to flank from the rear, another route waited outside as a precaution, and finally, three routes followed my father and brothers into the valley. At that time, including Yao Yong’s soldiers hidden in the forest, there were a total of 160,000 troops!”
“However, upon reaching White Emperor Valley, Yao Yong discovered that the information he had received was false. The Northern Di forces in the White Emperor Valley numbered 200,000. Yao Yong, valuing his own life, dared not engage in battle and fled in panic. But before escaping, fearing that his desertion would become known, he informed my three brothers waiting outside, telling them to go rescue our father.”
As he spoke, Wei Yun’s hand holding the drumstick began to tremble. His voice turned hoarse, and he closed his eyes, afraid that the killing intent and tears in his eyes would spill out in front of so many people.
“Seventy thousand sons of Great Chu were buried there. But why did they die?!” Wei Yun suddenly raised his voice. “It was because that person from Great Chu offered that strategy, because of the treacherous hearts within Great Chu. They didn’t die protecting their country, but perished upon the altar of imperial power, caught between human ambitions! And do you know who that person was who offered the strategy? And why they would do such an inhuman thing?”
“Who was it?!”
Someone shouted out in agitation, their voice choked with tears, seemingly a relative of someone who had died that year.
Inside the great doors, the officials of Shuntian Prefecture listened silently to that angry shout, feeling somewhat dazed.
Among the crowd, someone in red robes, hands tucked into their sleeves, also listened quietly.
Wei Yun, eyes closed, could no longer hold back his tears, which rolled down his cheeks.
“That person was originally the son of Prince Qin,” he said in a low, hoarse voice. Some people unfamiliar with court affairs were still confused, but more were shocked.
They began to understand why Wei Yun was standing here instead of going to the palace hall to seek justice.
Because now, this justice couldn’t be given by the Emperor. Only he, only the common people of this land could give it to him.
“During the Prince Qin incident years ago, he was protected by the Gu family and the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess merely pitied him for his youth, hoping he would have another chance at life. But he had the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a jackal, intent on regaining his position. At that time, my father and Yao Yong were the left and right arms of the previous Emperor. So he cultivated a spy and sent him to Yao Yong’s household. Years later, it was that spy who delivered this letter—into Yao Yong’s hands.”
Hearing these words, in the crowd, Shen You quietly closed his eyes.
It was he who, filled with patriotic fervor, thought it was for the country, for avenging his mother, risked his life to deliver that message to Yao Yong.
Who knew… it was false.
“He calculated that Yao Jue was incompetent yet cruel. He caused my father, brothers, and those seventy thousand men to die in the White Emperor Valley and also sent Yao Yong down a path of no return. From then on, the previous Emperor lost his left and right arms. To protect himself, Yao Yong could only continue to suppress capable generals and eliminate dissent. Since then, Great Chu has had no sharp sword to defend against external enemies!”
“Afterwards, he transformed himself, appearing as a new ruler, promising us to jointly resist the Northern Di. But this man was originally wolf-hearted and dog-lunged. Even if he wore human skin, a wolf is still a wolf! In these years, he appeared as a gentleman on the surface, but in reality was extravagant and licentious. To build the Lanyue Tower to please his consort, he imposed heavy taxes in the name of military expenditures—”
In the imperial palace, the Grand Princess sat in front of a mirror, taking an eyebrow pencil to draw her eyeliner.
A maid knelt on the ground, smiling as she said, “Princess, it’s been a long time since you’ve had such interest.”
“I heard that drums are sounding in front of the Shuntian Prefecture.”
The Grand Princess spoke calmly. The maid was stunned, not knowing where the Grand Princess had gotten this information. The Grand Princess continued drawing her eyebrows and said softly, “I should dress up properly. Xiang’er, tell me, how did those infamous imperial concubines in history die?”
“My Lady…”
The maid was somewhat frightened. The Grand Princess smiled lightly, “I hope I can drink poison and die quickly, so I can die beautifully.”
“How can you speak of such things, My Lady?” The maid forced a smile. “How could you possibly die?”
The Grand Princess said nothing. She put down the eyebrow pencil and took a floral hairpin, gently attaching it to her forehead.
“Xiang’er,” she spoke softly, “Look, is it beautiful?”
“In the palace, he killed indiscriminately. Just a month ago, he killed over 120 palace maids and imperial physicians in the palace, framing Wang He, Minister Wang, thus forcing the Wang family to rebel!”
“Over these years, I have thoroughly investigated all his actions, all recorded in this book! If there are any omissions, I invite those who have been wronged to come forward and seek justice with me!”
As his words fell, a woman from the crowd rushed out crying, shouting, “Seek justice! Seek justice!”
As she spoke, more and more people came out, kneeling and prostrating themselves on the ground.
Some were relatives of those who had fought in the war years ago, some were family members of those who had died unjustly in the palace…
And even more people stood but did not leave.
With the country in such turmoil, who wasn’t a victim?
The Prefect of Shuntian stood inside the door, staring blankly at the great door, his gaze unfocused.
He listened to the sound of drums, to the cries outside, to Wei Yun’s hoarse voice: “I know that today, the Prefect dares not take on this case.”
“But someone must handle the injustices in this world, someone must rectify the wrongs. Under the sun and moon of our Great Chu, in this bright and open world, at least the person in that golden hall should come out and say—”
As he spoke, the sound of horse hooves came from afar. At that very moment, from within the crowd, over a dozen arrows flew swiftly toward Wei Yun!
Chu Yu, her eyes wide with alarm, shouted, “Xiao Qi!”
She rushed forward, raising her sleeve to block, catching several arrows. Wei Yun, holding the drumsticks, dodged and avoided over a dozen arrows, but ultimately, in a moment of carelessness, an arrow pierced his shoulder, pinning him to the drum.
As his blood flowed, over a dozen assassins pounced forward. The crowd panicked and scattered in all directions. Zhao Yue’s horse, which had just arrived at the Shuntian Prefecture, was startled by the surging crowd, trampling left and right, making the situation even more chaotic.
Chu Yu stood protectively in front of Wei Yun, saying nothing.
The surrounding guards had already reacted, moving to protect Jiang Chun and Liu Xueyang. Wei Yun pulled out the arrow, drew his sword from the side, and gasped, “Protect Second Sister-in-law and Mother… Go!”
With that, Chu Yu and Wei Yun rushed towards Liu Xueyang and Jiang Chun, protecting them as they charged towards the horses.
“You take Mother-in-law up first!” Chu Yu instructed Jiang Chun, then said, “Xiao Qi and I will cover the rear!”
Jiang Chun didn’t say much, just nodded and led Liu Xueyang out, surrounded by guards, heading towards the city gate. Zhao Yue finally reacted, knowing that the situation was now irreversible, and simply said, “Stop them for me!”
This was exactly what Wei Yun and Chu Yu had been waiting for. Hearing these words, the two of them, along with the remaining guards, blocked the way. Chu Yu called out, “Your Majesty, our Wei family just wants justice. Is this also wrong? Must you drive our Wei family to extinction before you’re satisfied?!”
“Nonsense!”
Zhao Yue shouted angrily, but at that very moment, a sword thrust towards him fiercely!
Zhao Yue had to retreat repeatedly. Fortunately, two hidden guards came out in time to block Wei Yun’s long sword. Only then did Zhao Yue realize that Wei Yun was a fierce general capable of talking heads amid ten thousand troops!
He no longer lingered to fight, mounting his horse and leaving, while saying, “Seal the city! Stop all the Wei family members for me!”
But by now it was too late. The sound of attacking and killing came from outside the city. At this moment, apart from Wei Yun, perhaps no one knew exactly what had happened, what was about to happen.
Wei Yun knew that now was just a show of force. Taking advantage of Zhao Yue’s cowardice, he grabbed Chu Yu’s hand and fought their way towards the city gate.
His blood flowed from his hand into Chu Yu’s palm. Chu Yu looked back at him.
The young man’s features were sharp and handsome, his expression resolute and calm. Blood was a baptism for him; in this panicked world, he remained composed and at ease.
She had never experienced anything like this before, hand in hand with someone at the front, blood, and warmth intertwined. He turned back to look at her in the crowd: “What are you looking at?”
It was just a light question, but for some reason, Chu Yu felt something surging in her heart. She finally felt that by his side, she was becoming more and more like she used to be. She couldn’t help but smile, blurting out the words in her heart: “Wei Yun,” she called out loudly, as if back to her unrestrained youthful self, “When the world is at peace later, will you marry me?”
The surrounding voices were clamorous. Wei Yun abruptly blocked a sword, raising his eyelids, his expression calm but with a hint of pride.
“Alright.”
As he spoke, he kicked away an opponent in front of them, leading her out of the city gate: “For you, I’ll conquer this world, and bring it peace.”