“How dare you!”
After coming to his senses, Su Can shouted in rage. As he was about to rush forward, Wei Xia kicked Su Can’s legs. Wei Yun, sitting on the golden throne, calmly looked at him and said, “Your Majesty, you’d better not make any rash moves. You understand the blood feud between Bei Di and my family.”
Almost all Bei Di princes had been to the battlefield. Su Can had met Wei Yun before he ascended to the throne.
However, at that time, Wei Yun was just a young boy cheering behind his father and elder brother. Now, he was sitting on the golden throne, coldly staring at Su Can.
Su Can instantly realize who Wei Yun was. After calming down a bit, he slowly said, “Don’t you know what kind of person your Da Chu emperor is? Even if you’ve come here and I summon Su Cha back, you certainly won’t survive. Don’t you think it’s a waste to risk your life for such an incompetent ruler?”
Wei Yun curled his lips, “Your Majesty is indeed silver-tongued, trying to sow discord even at this moment. Unfortunately, I’m not protecting that dog emperor. If it were for him, I might indeed be tempted.”
Su Can’s face darkened. Wei Qiu walked in and coldly said, “Marquis, the outside has been cleared. There are a few eunuchs in the back palace protecting some consorts who refuse to come to the main hall.”
“Oh,” Wei Yun nodded, “Perfect, I was short of a few people to make an example of.”
As he said this, he stood up and walked out, “Have everyone gather in the square. Those who resist, light them up as human candles.”
Hearing this, Su Can suddenly raised his head. Wei Yun turned to look at Su Can and smiled, “I forgot to tell Your Majesty, Wei Seven didn’t learn the righteousness of the Wei family, but I’m quite interested in Bei Di’s methods. Your Majesty currently has twelve offspring and thirty-one consorts in the palace. How about I light one person every half hour?”
Su Can’s body trembled, his eyes full of anger. Wei Yun suddenly remembered, “Your country’s Empress Dowager is nearly seventy now, isn’t she?”
“Wei Yun!”
Su Can could no longer contain himself. He suddenly stood up, but Wei Xia pressed his shoulder and pinned him to the ground. Blood flowed everywhere. Wei Yun calmly looked at him.
Su Can was bellicose. After he ascended the throne, Bei Di launched a full-scale war. Wei Yun stared at his blood and slowly said, “Su Can, when you started the war, you should have understood that all wars are built on mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Even if you’re an emperor, you might not be exempt.”
As he spoke, Wei Yun raised his hand and said, “Take him out, wake him up, and make him watch the human candles. One person every hour until he writes a letter summoning Su Cha back.”
Wei Xia and Wei Qiu responded and dragged Su Can out. Soon, women’s cries, men’s curses, soldiers’ shouts, and screams could be heard from outside.
All the sounds intertwined. Wei Yun sat on the golden throne, his expression lifeless.
The great hall of the Bei Di royal court was cold and dark. He felt as if he was in hell, with the laughter of demons outside, and he was the greatest demon of all.
His hands were dripping with blood, his heart was filthy. If there was an afterlife, he feared he would be eternally damned to the eighteenth level of hell, never to be reincarnated.
But he had no choice.
He only had just over two thousand men. To subdue the entire Bei Di royal court, if he didn’t carry out a bloodbath if he didn’t make them completely collapse and terrified in one go, he would soon be counterattacked.
This royal court had long since become a giant trap. Inside it, it was either you die or I live.
But it was too cold and dark here. As he heard the screams of women outside, he couldn’t help but close his eyes. His whole body trembled, with only one person supporting him.
The image of Chu Yu in her white clothes, standing on the city wall and seeing him off, was etched in his mind.
She was waiting for him.
He must save her.
After an unknown amount of time, Wei Qiu came in from outside, holding the jade seal of the Bei Di royal court and an imperial edict, saying, “Marquis, Su Can have written it.”
Wei Yun looked up, nodded, and said numbly, “Send it out.”
As Su Can’s imperial edict was sent towards the front lines, Su Cha finally launched his last attack.
Most of the hilltops of Feng Ling City had already been captured, with only one city left guarding the mountain. Su Cha’s men were densely stationed on Feng Ling Mountain, eyeing Feng Ling City covetously.
Chu Yu watched them move siege equipment up the mountain. Gu Chusheng stood beside her, frowning, “They’re probably preparing for the final strike.”
“Tian Shou Pass has held, hasn’t it?”
Chu Yu calmly said, “He’s getting desperate.”
Gu Chusheng responded. Chu Yu looked at the dense mass of soldiers below and had a premonition.
“Gu Chusheng,” she calmly spoke, “Do you like me?”
Gu Chusheng was slightly stunned, then he answered without hesitation, “Yes.”
“You know,” Chu Chu Yuckled lightly, “I always feel like you owed me in your past life.”
Gu Chusheng didn’t speak. He lowered his eyes, understanding Chu Yu’s meaning.
Seeing him, Chu Yu probably recalled the absurd and painful times of her past life. He spoke with difficulty, “Perhaps.”
“If you promise me one thing, I won’t hold your past life against you.”
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng looked up at her. Chu Yu quietly gazed at the mountain below and calmly said, “If I die, promise me you’ll rescue Little Seven, work well with him, and protect Da Chu.”
In the past life, it was Wen, Gu, Wu, and Wei. This life should be the same.
However, hearing this, anger flashed in Gu Chusheng’s eyes. He looked at her, his lips curling into a slight smile.
“If you die,” he looked at her seriously, “I will never forgive him in this life.”
Chu Yu looked up and saw Gu Chusheng clenching his fists, his eyes filled with anger and fear.
In the past life, Chu Yu died in front of him, and he suffered for twenty years.
Now he came here, no longer wanting to live such a life. If she died, what was the point of him living?
“I’m telling you,” even a child could hear the fear in his voice, “If you die, I won’t spare the Wei family, I won’t spare the Chu family, I won’t spare anyone you love!”
Chu Yu quietly looked at him. After a moment, she chuckled lightly, “You’re always so self-assured.”
Even in his youth, Gu Chusheng thought he could conquer mountains and rivers.
Now he probably still thought the same.
Chu Yu wasn’t surprised by Gu Chusheng’s confidence. She turned her head, looking into the distance, and said lightly, “If you don’t want me to die, just say it nicely. Why all this?”
Gu Chusheng was slightly stunned. After a moment, he slowly lowered his shoulders and unclenched his fists.
Chu Yu took a sip of wine and turned to leave. Gu Chusheng suddenly spoke, “I don’t want you to die.”
Chu Yu, holding her wine pouch, turned back in surprise. Gu Chusheng raised his head, looking at her seriously, and repeated, “I don’t want you to die.”
Chu Yu didn’t speak. After a long while, she smiled lightly, raised her wine pouch in a toast, then turned and left.
By midnight, the sounds of the siege began. Chu Yu had made preparations early. She rushed to the city wall and drew her sword amidst the sound of war drums.
The sounds of war drums, explosions, and shouts intertwined. After several battles, Bei Di had gained experience with gunpowder. They arranged their formations very far apart, making the already low hit rate of gunpowder even lower.
By dawn the next day, Bei Di’s forces had reached the foot of the city wall and began trying to scale it. Chu Yu had already had the main gate of the city wall blocked with huge rocks. No one could get in, and no one could get out.
People climbed up densely, no one fearing death, no one able to retreat.
Chu Yu’s sword broke, her spear broke, and all the weapons in her hand broke, so she directly pulled weapons from the corpses.
She didn’t know how long it had been. Chu Yu only remembered constantly raising her hand, swinging the weapon in her hand, hurriedly eating something during breaks, napping while hugging her sword, and then standing on the city wall again.
Day and night, dawn and dusk blurred together.
Corpses piled up at the foot of the city wall, and the people behind began to climb up on top of the corpses.
More and more people were sent down from the city wall. The medicines in the city had long since been in short supply. Towards the end, there was almost no usable medicine left, and they could only use the most basic acupuncture techniques to save people.
Chu Jin moved back and forth on the city wall, carrying people down with Han Min.
Gu Chusheng stayed behind Chu Yu the whole time, occasionally blocking assassination attempts from behind.
After an unknown amount of time, Chu Yu was almost completely covered in blood. Bei Di finally withdrew their troops, seemingly to regroup.
As they regrouped, Chu Yu saw that they would soon launch a second wave of attacks. She sat on the city wall, staring into the distance.
Gu Chusheng brought some food over. By now, all the food in the city had been eaten, and they had started slaughtering war horses for food.
Chu Yu ate horse meat and took a sip of wine. Gu Chusheng said calmly, “There are now countless severely wounded soldiers in the city. Only five hundred are still able to fight. Medical supplies are insufficient. If we endure a bit longer, more people will likely die.”
Chu Yu paused her drinking. Gu Chusheng continued, “But you needn’t worry too much. By my calculations, if Wei Yun succeeds, Su Cha will soon withdraw his troops. If you can hold out until then… we’ll win.”
Gu Chusheng spoke these words casually, but he understood their weight. When was “then”? The city had only five hundred troops left, while the Northern Di still had tens of thousands. How could they fight?
Chu Yu pursed her lips, saying nothing more. She gripped the wineskin tightly. After a long while, she took a drink, feeling the fiery liquid burn down to her stomach, which made her feel somewhat better.
In no time, the horns sounded again. Northern Di soldiers gathered while all available soldiers in Fengling City were urged to their positions on the city walls.
Under the bright moon, Chu Yu knelt on the city wall. Her plain clothes were dyed dark red with blood as if she had been pulled from a pool of blood.
She watched the soldiers slowly approach the city wall. After taking a sip of wine, she poured some on her sword.
The wine ran down the blade, softening the congealed blood. Chu Yu gently wiped it, revealing the gleaming sword beneath.
Chu Yu looked at her reflection in the blade and smiled, her eyebrows curved.
She braced herself to stand, pointing her sword at the charging Northern Di soldiers, and laughed aloud.
“Even if my body shatters like jade, I’ll defend peace across the land. If I can return home next year…”
Chu Yu’s eyes, for some reason, conjured the image of a young man in plain clothes and a jade crown, standing with his back to her in a long corridor.
When she left, green leaves were peeking out from branches, with flower buds hidden among the leaves. As the wind blew, the flower branches trembled slightly.
Chu Yu heard the sounds of battle and spoke hoarsely, “I wonder, how many springs has Hua Capital seen?”
As she spoke, Northern Di soldiers, using the height advantage gained from the piled corpses, sent their best climbers directly up the city walls!
Chu Yu reached out, grabbed one by the collar, and threw him back down!
This time, the Northern Di, having regrouped, came more fiercely, determined to make this their final, successful assault.
More and more people fell. Gu Chusheng, Liu Rong, and others began to fill the gaps.
Finally, there was no one left to carry away the fallen. Everyone just stood their ground.
The drum-beating soldier had been shot dead by arrows, lying beside his drum. Amid the surrounding silence, Chu Jin, trembling, approached the drum, grasped the drumstick, and gritted his teeth as he struck it!
The drum echoed across the city wall as the sky gradually brightened. Chu Yu’s sword flicked away a soldier who had just climbed up. In the distance, she saw someone in Northern Di royal attire riding into the Northern Di commander’s tent.
“They’re going to withdraw,” Gu Chusheng said, panting.
Chu Yu responded but said nothing more.
The Northern Di royal envoy stayed in Su Cha’s main tent for a long time. Half an hour later, Su Cha finally emerged. The Northern Di sounded the gong for retreat. The soldiers were stunned, then heard someone shouting in the Northern Di language, “The royal city has fallen! Go home!”
Within half an hour, the Northern Di army had organized and retreated.
Seeing them withdraw, Liu Rong suddenly sat down on the ground. Despite being nearly fifty years old, he sat there, tugging on Han Xiu’s sleeve, and began to wail loudly.
Chu Yu sheathed her sword and rushed down the city wall. Gu Chusheng was startled, then chased after her, asking, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to Tianshou Pass,” Chu Yu said calmly. She went downstairs, chose a horse, and rode out immediately.
Gu Chusheng was extremely anxious but had no choice but to follow Chu Yu.
The two rode without rest, hurrying to Tianshou Pass. By now, Tianshou Pass had long been pacified. Chu Lingyang and Song Shilan had commanded troops to capture over a dozen cities. Tianshou Pass was now far behind the front lines and quite stable.
As soon as Chu Yu dismounted and revealed her identity, she went to find Chu Lingyang, who was guarding Tianshou Pass.
Gu Chusheng, being physically weaker than Chu Yu, vomited violently after dismounting and was carried away.
When Chu Yu reached Chu Lingyang, her first words were, “Where’s Wei Yun?!”
Chu Lingyang had known Chu Yu was coming. He looked up, saw Chu Yu covered in blood, frowned, and said, “Go take a bath, change your clothes, and get some good sleep.”
“Where is Wei Yun?” Chu Yu asked through gritted teeth.
Chu Lingyang pursed his lips and slowly said, “In the Northern Di palace.”
“I’m going to find him.”
Chu Yu turned to leave, but Chu Lingyang stopped her, “Wait!”
Chu Yu closed her eyes. She knew what Chu Lingyang was going to say. She clenched her fists and said hoarsely, “Brother, he went for me. I can’t abandon him. You don’t need to try to persuade me…”
“Change your clothes, take a bath, get some good sleep,” Chu Lingyang repeated. “I’ll give you some men, then you can go.”
Chu Yu was stunned. She turned back to look at Chu Lingyang, her eyes full of disbelief.
Seeing Chu Yu’s gaze, Chu Lingyang pursed his lips. He wanted to say something but in the end, just sighed and said, “Wei Yun is a good man.”
“Yes,” Chu Yu nodded with a proud smile. “Our Xiao Qi has always been the best.”
Chu Lingyang wanted to say more, but seeing Chu Yu’s proud expression, he finally just nodded and said nothing.
Chu Yu went back, took a bath, had a doctor treat her wounds, changed into fresh clothes, and fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up the next day, Chu Yu asked Chu Lingyang about the current situation.
Zhao Yue had taken Hua Capital and killed Emperor Chunde. He immediately sent a message to Chu Lingyang and Song Shilan, saying he would keep Yao Yong in check and unite everyone against the common enemy.
Zhao Yue showed sincerity by sending money, men, and food supplies. He even placed Yao Yong under house arrest. Although everyone knew it was just for show, they had no choice at the moment. They couldn’t turn around and start a civil war within Da Chu.
After hearing Chu Lingyang’s explanation, Chu Yu finally asked, “What about the Princess Royal?”
Chu Lingyang was slightly taken aback. Chu Yu looked up at him, “Emperor Chunde was the Princess Royal’s brother. She’s not the type to help Zhao Yue kill her brother. Is she alright now?”
Chu Lingyang thought for a moment, then shook his head, “There’s been no news of the Princess.”
No news meant that the faction represented by the Princess Royal had been inactive during this time.
Chu Yu nodded in understanding. After setting a departure time with Chu Lingyang, she stood up and walked out.
In the courtyard, she saw Gu Chusheng waiting for her at the door. He had already packed his luggage. She frowned at him, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going with you,” Gu Chusheng said decisively, listing many reasons. “You need a reason to go there. I can pretend to be your husband, and we can pose as merchants. You don’t have experience as a merchant, I…”
“Gu Chusheng,” Chu Yu said calmly, “You stay here. I can act as a merchant.”
Gu Chusheng was slightly stunned. Hearing this, he suddenly remembered.
In their previous life, he and Chu Yu had also disguised themselves as merchants, gathering intelligence many times during the six years of war between the Northern Di and Da Chu.
She didn’t need him.
Gu Chusheng realized this, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. Flustered, he could only lower his head and say, “Um… then I’ll accompany you…”
“I don’t need your company,” Chu Yu said flatly. Looking at the man’s downcast appearance, many thoughts flashed through her mind.
She finally spoke, asking, “Do you know how the Princess Royal is now?”
Hearing this, Gu Chusheng was stunned for a moment, then understood Chu Yu’s meaning. He quickly said, “Don’t worry, Zhao Yue won’t harm her, no matter who else he might hurt.”
In their previous life, Zhao Yue had died at the hands of the Princess Royal. If Zhao Yue were to die in this life, it would probably be the same way.
Chu Yu nodded. Gu Chusheng held his bundle, waiting for her to speak. After a long silence, she finally said, “Stay here and help Qin Shiyue organize the Wei family’s troops.”
“I…”
“While Wei Yun and I are away, take care of the Wei family. After you’ve done this,” Chu Yu looked up at him, her expression complex, “consider your debt to be paid in full.”
What he owed her from their previous life, she didn’t want to think about or pursue anymore.
This person wasn’t the one from her previous life. She shouldn’t hold a grudge against him.
Gu Chusheng was slightly stunned. He understood what Chu Yu meant by “debt,” but he could only pretend not to know, his voice hoarse, “Then, one day, can I marry you?”
Chu Yu didn’t speak. After a long while, she finally said, “We’ll see.”
She wasn’t sure what the future held.
She only knew that at this moment, across thousands of mountains and rivers, she had to go save Wei Yun.
Without delay, she bid farewell to Gu Chusheng, gathered her people, and set off directly for the Northern Di royal court.
Meanwhile, Wei Yun, in the Northern Di palace, received news of Su Cha’s return. He secretly gathered his men and said to Shen You, “Take them and send them out in small groups without being noticed. When Su Cha is about two days away, we’ll leave. Remember to bring the horses.”
“Where are we going?” Shen You asked, puzzled.
Wei Yun calmly replied, “There’s a village nearby. We’ll raid it and leave.”
Hearing Wei Yun’s words, Shen You was completely stunned. After a long while, he finally reacted, “Young Marquis, you now have less than two thousand troops, and you’re still inside Northern Di territory. It’s bad enough that you’re not fleeing, but you want to attack another place? Are you out of your mind?!”
“The Northern Di territory is vast with sparse population. Villages are far apart. If we attack that place, by the time Su Cha hears about it and comes after us, we’ll have moved on to attack the next place. We’ll hit and run, never engaging in prolonged battles. Under such harassment, their civilians will naturally panic.”
Wei Yun spoke calmly. Shen You looked at Wei Yun as if he were looking at a madman.
After a long while, he slowly came to his senses.
“I see now. You don’t plan on going back, do you?”
“Can I even go back?” Wei Yun looked up, his expression calm. “The Northern Di and Da Chu people look so different that we’d be recognized immediately if encountered. Escaping from the royal court and crossing Northern Di territory back to Da Chu wouldn’t be a journey home, it would be fighting our way back.”
“Can I win that fight?” Wei Yun looked at Shen You, his expression cold and calm. Shen You was stunned by his question. Wei Yun smiled slightly.
“So, I’ll stay here, clinging to life, struggling a bit. If I cause trouble here, Su Cha won’t have the heart to attack Da Chu. Chu Lingyang and Song Shilan can proceed with their plan, advancing all the way here. I’ll coordinate with them from the inside.”
“Who knows,” Wei Yun’s expression softened, “Maybe I can even wait for Sister-in-law to bring people to rescue me?”