Chu Yu woke up the next day feeling energetic. She immediately counted her people, then took Wei Qingping’s prescription and prepared to leave.

Now that she was with child, she didn’t dare to be reckless. She had a carriage prepared and rode in it as she departed.

When she left, Gu Chusheng and Wei Qingping came to see her off. Wei Qingping gave her many letters and medicines, finally saying, “These are all for Shiyue. Don’t keep them for yourself.”

Chu Yu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She raised her hand and poked Wei Qingping’s forehead, saying, “Do you still consider me your sister?”

“Of course,” Wei Qingping took two bottles from a pile of jars and containers. “One for saving your life, one for detoxification. This is the extent of my affection for you.”

“You’re really…” Chu Yu shook her head and looked up at Gu Chusheng. He was holding the child in his arms, looking at her with some concern. They didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, Chu Yu sighed and said, “Take care, Brother Gu.”

This address of “Brother Gu” made Gu Chusheng pause. He suppressed the bitterness in his heart, lowered his eyes, and said hoarsely, “Take care.”

Chu Yu lowered the carriage curtain. As the carriage swayed and headed into the distance, Gu Chusheng and Wei Qingping exchanged a glance before turning back to their battlefield.

The last news Chu Yu had received from Wei Yun was that he had gone to Bai Ling. With the current turmoil, Wei Yun could go elsewhere at any time. Chu Yu wanted to find him but couldn’t travel around. After some thought, she decided the most reliable way was to go to Bai Ling and wait for him. So without asking Wei Yun where he was going, she headed straight for Bai Ling.

Wan Yue couldn’t help but worry. While serving Chu Yu her medicinal soup, she carefully asked, “The old Madam Wei is unlikely to accept you now. Is it appropriate for you to go to Bai Ling like this?”

“What does it have to do with her if I go to Bai Ling?” Chu Yu found it strange. Wan Yue couldn’t help but say, “Aren’t you going to the Wei family when you go to Bai Ling?”

“Why would I go to the Wei family?”

Chu Yu found it even stranger and hurriedly said, “Don’t think I’m going to the Wei family. I’m just going to Bai Ling, renting a place to stay, and when Wei Yun comes, I’ll discuss with him about meeting the old madam.”

Chu Yu shuddered and waved her hand, saying, “Don’t scare me and don’t scare yourself. I’m not going to put myself through that trouble.”

“But when you get to Bai Ling,” Wan Yue was still worried, “Even if you don’t go to see the old madam, won’t she probably come to see you?”

“If she wants to see me, let her come. If she sees me, I’m the benefactor of the Wei family, the Northern Phoenix General of the Wei family army. What can she do to me?”

Chu Yu spread her hands, “Anyway, I’m not telling her I’m pregnant. I have no connection to the Wei family. What else can she do? Is her authority that wide-reaching?”

“That’s right!” Chang Yue said happily, “Our young miss can see whoever she wants. What can she do about it?”

“You’re just being silly!”

Wan Yue pushed Chang Yue, then turned to Chu Yu and said, “Although what you say is not wrong, you still need to think more. Why don’t we go directly to find the Prince…”

“Do you know where he is?”

Chu Yu looked up at Wan Yue, who paused, unable to answer.

With Wei Yun’s whereabouts so uncertain now, if his location were so easy to find out, that would be truly dangerous.

Chu Yu patted Wan Yue’s hand, comforting her, “Don’t worry, I won’t let the old madam bully me.”

As Chu Yu’s carriage swayed towards Bai Ling, Wei Yun was already leading his troops towards Yu River.

He had sent a letter to Chu Yu to Yuan City, but halfway there, he received a reply from Yuan City that Chu Yu had already gone to Quanyong in Qing Province. He was a bit worried, but Quanyong in Qing Province was Yao Yong’s territory, and it wasn’t easy to send a message there. So he could only say, “Send messages along the way. If you meet Miss Chu, tell her I’m looking for her.”

Wei Yun had people send messages while he headed straight for the outskirts of Yu River City. At this time, Shen You was attacking from the north of Qing Province southward, Qin Shiyue was attacking from the south of Qing Province northward, and Wei Yun was passing through Yuan City, heading straight for Yu River.

Yao Yong himself knew that Yu River was the only natural defense of Qing Province, so he deployed all his forces to Yu River. The two armies faced each other across the river. Wei Yun arrived on the first day and rested his troops, waiting for Qin Shiyue and Shen You.

However, as soon as Wei Yun left Bai Ling, Zhao Yue’s army split into two. One went through Yan Province, bypassing Jiu City to attack Bai Ling directly. The other, a large force, headed towards Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai was closer to Wei Yun’s position. The news of Jiang Bai’s fall reached Wei Yun the next day. Wei Yun received the news and didn’t quite understand why Zhao Yue would take a small city like Jiang Bai at the crucial moment of the battle for Yu River.

But regardless of what Zhao Yue was thinking, he didn’t have time to dispatch troops to support Jiang Bai. He could only take Yu River first and then deal with Jiang Bai later.

As Wei Yun was deploying his troops on the banks of the Yu River, Zhao Yue’s army also arrived at Bai Ling.

At this time, Chu Yu was half a day away from Bai Ling. She was resting in a small town not far from Bai Ling. Before she could take a sip of tea, she heard passing guests say, “It’s good we left quickly, otherwise we might have become ghosts under Zhao’s army’s blades by now.”

“That’s not right,” another person said, “For Zhao’s army to enter Bai Province, they would have to take Jiu City first. Jiu City is heavily guarded, how could it fall so easily?”

“They didn’t come from Jiu City,” the old man who spoke first waved his hand, panting, “They bypassed Jiu City and came straight for us. Jiu City probably just got the news now.”

“No way,” other guests said, “If they haven’t taken Jiu City, even if they take Bai Ling, they won’t be able to hold it for long. When Jiu City and the Prince return to attack from both sides, what will they do?”

Hearing this conversation, Chu Yu frowned. She picked up her tea bowl, walked to the old man, and respectfully asked, “Old uncle, where did you come from?”

“Jiuxian Town.”

The old man didn’t hide anything. He looked Chu Yu up and down and waved his hand, saying, “Young lady, with your looks, you’d better leave quickly. Zhao’s army is heading for Bai Ling. You must not go near there.”

Hearing this, Chu Yu’s face immediately turned cold.

She thought of Gu Chusheng’s previous warning and realized that Zhao Yue wasn’t trying to take Bai Ling this time. What he wanted was the people of the Wei family!

Chu Yu suddenly turned around and ordered Chang Yue and Wan Yue, “Follow me to Bai Ling!”

The guests inside were all stunned. The old man quickly stood up, “Young lady, you can’t go! You can’t go!”

Chu Yu had already gotten into the carriage. She waved her hand and said, “Don’t worry, old uncle. I’m a general of the Wei family. I must go to defend the city!”

The carriage ran very fast, and her voice scattered in the wind. Everyone was stunned for a moment. After a while, someone realized, “The only female general of the Wei family, isn’t that the Wei family’s First Madam, Northern Phoenix General Chu Yu?”

“No, no, she’s not the Wei family’s First Madam anymore,” someone else said, “She has left the Wei family and is free now.”

“Really?” A young scholar stood up, exclaiming happily, “Was that Miss Chu who left the Wei family?”

“It’s true, I’ve seen her before!”

The teahouse suddenly became noisy. The young scholar who spoke first said excitedly, “This is how a woman should be! If I pass the imperial exams and gain an official position in the future, I must seek to marry her!”

“Young man,” the people in the room laughed, “A good woman like that, I’m afraid you won’t have to wait to seek her hand.”

“It doesn’t matter,” the scholar waved his hand, “For such a woman, even seeing her once would make this life worthwhile.”

Chu Yu’s words seemed to bring an invisible force, driving away the initial unease in the teahouse.

The Northern Phoenix General had never been defeated. This had already become an unwritten understanding in everyone’s hearts. Now that Chu Yu had gone to Bai Ling, Bai Ling would be fine.

Chu Yu didn’t know about these people’s expectations of her. Sitting in the carriage, she just said to Chang Yue, “Go faster!”

Jiuxian Town was not far from Bai Ling. If Zhao Yue’s army was going to take Bai Ling, they would probably arrive soon.

Chu Yu’s carriage rushed towards Bai Ling. From afar, they saw an army coming from the distance. Chu Yu, sitting in the carriage, saw that things were not good. She got out of the carriage and shouted, “Abandon the carriage and go on foot!”

As soon as she said this, Wan Yue and Chang Yue immediately shouldered the important items. Chu Yu drew her sword, cut the reins, and mounted a horse, galloping towards the city gate.

At this time, Bai Ling had already fallen into chaos. No one had expected Zhao Yue to bypass Jiu City and suddenly attack Bai Ling, so Bai Ling had only left a vanguard, Qian Yong, as the defending general. Qian Yong was not a general skilled in deploying troops. At the first moment of the enemy attack, he went to notify the Wei mansion. Liu Xueyang was panicking at home, while Jiang Chun led a group of old family retainers to the city wall. Seeing the tens of thousands of troops coming from afar, Jiang Chun pretended to be calm and ordered, “Close the city gates first.”

Qian Yong had the same idea and was waiting for someone to give the order with him. He hurriedly said, “Close the city gates!”

However, just as the city gates were slowly closing, everyone saw a carriage rushing towards Bai Ling on the vast plain.

“Rushing towards Bai Ling at this time, are they seeking death?”

Qian Yong frowned, but as soon as he finished speaking, everyone saw a woman in red burst out of the carriage, swiftly cut the horse’s reins, and led her maids charging towards Bai Ling.

The red clothes fluttered prominently on the plain. She held a long spear in one hand behind her back and the reins in the other. Behind her were tens of thousands of troops, as if chasing her, but she paid no attention. She raised her head towards Jiang Chun on the city wall, revealing a bright smile.

Jiang Chun was stunned for a moment. A moment later, she cried out joyfully, “Don’t close it! Don’t close the city gates! The First Madam has returned!”

Qian Yong also reacted and shouted, “General Chu has come! General Chu has come to defend the city! Leave the city gates open for her! Leave them open!”

Not only Jiang Chun and Qian Yong, but all who recognized Chu Yu began to shout excitedly. Chu Yu, leading Chang Yue and Wan Yue, swept into the city like the wind, and the gates immediately slammed shut with a “boom” behind them.

Chu Yu didn’t stop for a moment. She dismounted and led Chang Yue and Wan Yue straight to the city wall. The soldiers’ eyes lit up, and they all called out loudly, “General!”

“Welcome back, General!”

“The General has returned!”

Seeing these smiles, Chu Yu couldn’t help but smile too. She took two steps at a time up the stairs. As soon as she reached the top of the city wall, she patted the soldiers and said, “Archers ready, fire oil and catapults ready. Don’t slack off, get ready quickly.”

As she spoke, she came to Jiang Chun and glanced at Qian Yong beside her, saying a bit embarrassedly, “I came in a hurry. This battle…”

“We’ll follow your command, General!” Qian Yong said excitedly, “You’ve come at just the right time. I was worried about how to fight this battle, and you’ve arrived.”

“Old Qian, thank you.”

Chu Yu patted him, then took her flag from Chang Yue behind her, strode to the top of the city wall, and forcefully planted her flag on the wall.

The golden “Yu” character flag fluttered proudly in the wind. Chu Yu, holding her long spear, her red clothes fluttering, shouted.

“Chu Yu of the Wei Family Army is here to defend the city and meet the enemy!”