Wei Rao returned to the camp with a heart as dead as ash, staying alone in Lu Zhuo’s former main tent.

When she hadn’t found Fei Mo, she could tell herself that Lu Zhuo was still alive. But Lu Ya had returned riding Fei Mo, and Fei Mo had found Lu Zhuo’s abandoned bloodstained handkerchief. All of this told Wei Rao not to harbor any more delusions – that Lu Zhuo, who appeared gentle as jade on the surface but had angered her time and again, was truly dead.

He had told her to wait for his return, yet he had given his chance at life to his blood-related cousin.

But he still had a mother, still had her, still had a daughter who was only a year and a half old. So the suffering of their mother and daughters trio didn’t matter – saving his cousin was the most important thing, wasn’t it?

The pain reached its extreme, as did her hatred. Wei Rao wished she could chase him to the gates of hell and smash Lu Zhuo with a tea bowl once more! She wished she could make Lu Zhuo jump into the River of Forgetfulness beneath the Bridge of Helplessness, and this time, even if he dug up all the medicinal herbs in the River of Forgetfulness, Wei Rao would not forgive him, nor would she ever give him another smile!

That person had emerged from the water, dripping wet in his undergarments, sunlight falling on his handsome face. He held a handful of medicinal herbs in one hand, his clear, profound gaze falling directly upon her…

Though she hated him so much, memories became clearer with each recollection. Wei Rao hung her head, letting tears soak her clothes.

Wei Rao didn’t know how long she had been sitting when Zhao Bai’s voice suddenly came from outside the main tent: “Princess, regarding the Wuda soldiers who pursued Second Young Master, our Shenwu Army captured over two hundred alive in total. The Longxiang Army and Yucheng Army each captured batches as well. Just now, the Marquis and General Qin proposed dragging all three hundred prisoners outside the tent to behead them, as a sacrifice to the Young Master’s and all fallen soldiers’ spirits in heaven. Second Young Master hasn’t awakened yet – what does the Princess think?”

The man was already dead – what use was killing a few hundred prisoners?

Wei Rao didn’t want to speak.

Zhao Bai waited for a moment, then requested instructions: “Our Shenwu Army soldiers wish they could flay those Wuda people alive. If the Princess has no objections, I’ll take those prisoners down now and personally wield the blade.”

Wei Rao remained motionless.

Zhao Bai waited a bit longer, said “This subordinate takes his leave,” and was about to depart.

“Zhao Bai.” Wei Rao’s voice suddenly came from inside.

Zhao Bai immediately turned back.

Wei Rao told him to come in.

Zhao Bai accepted the order and entered with his head lowered, his gaze falling no higher than the Princess’s calves, not daring to look up further.

Wei Rao had already dried her tears. After composing herself for a moment, she asked in a low voice: “On this trip to Iron Scorpion Ridge, how many men did the Longxiang Army and Yucheng Army bring in total?”

Zhao Bai: “Twenty thousand from the Longxiang Army, ten thousand from the Yucheng Army.”

Wei Rao looked at his face: “Their total numbers exceeded ours, so why did they capture fewer prisoners than the Shenwu Army?”

Zhao Bai answered: “With the Young Master’s sacrifice and over thirty thousand casualties among our Shenwu Army brothers, when we discovered the Wuda army, our Shenwu Army soldiers charged fastest. Our trained five hundred mansion soldiers were equally indignant, rushing ahead to block the retreat route of the ten thousand Wuda troops. Combined with the encirclement by the Longxiang and Yucheng armies, they had to surrender whether they wanted to or not.”

Wei Rao: “How many surrendered in total?”

Zhao Bai: “Nearly a thousand. Han Liao had bloodshot eyes and refused to accept surrender. This subordinate originally wanted to kill them all cleanly, too, but seeing his hypocritical attitude was disgusting, so I protected a batch of prisoners and brought them back for the Princess and Second Young Master to decide how to handle.”

Again, it was Han Liao, the Han family, putting on false airs.

Wei Rao didn’t trust Han Liao. Marquis Xiting’s “timely” mouthful of blood made Wei Rao suspicious of the entire Longxiang Army.

“The Young Master sacrificed his life, along with over thirty thousand Shenwu Army soldiers. I want to take these three hundred prisoners back to the capital, to have them all beheaded at the Meridian Gate. I want the families of those thirty thousand soldiers to see us execute their enemies.” Wei Rao said coldly to Zhao Bai, “Go bring the prisoners from the Yucheng and Longxiang armies to the Shenwu Army’s main camp as well. Guard them strictly – there must not be any mishaps.”

Zhao Bai: “Yes!”

After leaving the tent, Zhao Bai went with Lieutenant General Wu to Marquis Xiting’s command tent.

Marquis Xiting, Han Liao, Qin Min, Lieutenant General Zheng, and other Yucheng Army generals were all present.

Zhao Bai conveyed the Princess’s intentions.

Marquis Xiting glanced at his son.

Han Liao then said: “The Battle of Iron Scorpion Ridge cost our three armies dearly – we need to boost morale. These prisoners should be beheaded right here on the battlefield. What use is transporting them thousands of miles back to the capital? As long as we kill them and the news spreads throughout Great Qi, it will naturally comfort the families and friends of all the martyrs.”

Zhao Bai replied expressionlessly: “This subordinate came here to convey the Princess’s intentions. If General Han wishes to behead the Longxiang Army’s prisoners here, the Shenwu Army will not interfere.” Having said this, Zhao Bai looked toward Qin Min, “I wonder if General Qin is willing to hand over the prisoners to the Princess to be taken to the capital for execution?”

Qin Min only had sixty or seventy prisoners – such a small number wouldn’t boost morale much. With the Princess grieving her husband’s death, if she made this small request, he was willing to comply.

Qin Min ordered his men to deliver the prisoners captured by the Yucheng Army to the Shenwu Army camp.

Seeing this, Marquis Xiting had the Longxiang Army send their prisoners over as well – they had even fewer prisoners.

When everyone dispersed, Han Liao frowned deeply and said quietly to Marquis Xiting: “Father, this Wuda force should be the one Xiu Ji sent to pursue and kill Lu Ya. The Princess seems to have suspicions about us. If she severely tortures the prisoners, might she discover some clues?”

Xiu Ji was a great general of Wuda, and also, the Wuda general Han Liao had secretly sent messages to him before. He had coordinated with Marquis Xiting to lure Lu Ya into Xiu Ji’s ambush, but Lu Ya was merely bait – their real target in cooperation with Xiu Ji was Lu Zhuo. Lu Zhuo was good in every way except for being sentimental and righteous. Even knowing it was a death trap, he would go to rescue his brother.

This was what Han Liao despised most about Lu Zhuo.

Years ago, when he sent assassins to murder Lu Zhuo, he had also exploited Lu Zhuo’s kindness. However, the assassin leader directing that assassination was too far from the small grove to see what happened inside. When night fell and not a single assassin returned, the leader realized the assassination had failed. He went into the forest to investigate and discovered all the assassins were dead. Based on the wounds, he determined that both Lu Zhuo and his wife had fought.

It was from that time that Han Liao wanted Wei Rao even more – a beauty who could fight alongside Lu Zhuo in battle was someone he wanted too.

Marquis Xiting pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice: “No. Your spy personally watched Xiu Ji burn that letter before returning. Those Wuda foot soldiers mostly completely followed their general’s orders. Even if they initially discovered Lu Ya, they would only think it was a coincidence, never imagining it was Xiu Ji’s deliberate ambush. No matter how much the Princess suspects, she has no evidence.”

Han Liao nodded.

Marquis Xiting added: “However, we should still closely watch the Princess’s and Lu Ya’s movements. It’s better to be safe than sorry. If they truly find evidence…”

Marquis Xiting looked coldly at Han Liao.

Han Liao understood – if that time truly came, he would not show Wei Rao any tender mercy.

Lu Ya had awakened.

Wei Rao came to see him.

Lu Ya had lived rough during those days of fleeing. Some wounds on his body hadn’t been treated promptly and had festered. Fortunately, none were fatal wounds, but the military doctor scraping away infected flesh caused him considerable suffering.

Wei Rao watched all this with near indifference.

Lu Ya didn’t dare look directly at her.

He knew how deep his brother and sister-in-law’s feelings were. Big Brother could tolerate all of Sister-in-law’s unconventional behavior, even her military training. Sister-in-law could also risk her life to bring five hundred mansion soldiers rushing to the crisis-ridden grasslands upon hearing of Big Brother’s tragic news.

If not for him, Big Brother wouldn’t have died. If not for him, Sister-in-law wouldn’t have coughed up blood and wept.

After the military doctor withdrew, Lu Ya knelt before Wei Rao: “Sister-in-law, I failed Big Brother.”

Wei Rao raised her chin slightly, looking elsewhere: “Get up. Your big brother was proud – he wouldn’t be happy to see you kneel to me.”

Lu Ya felt even more ashamed and stood up with his head lowered.

Wei Rao still didn’t look at him: “Tell me why you feel you failed him.”

Lu Ya had nothing to hide. Starting from how Big Brother had warned him to be wary of the Han father and son and told him to remain at the main camp, he recounted how Big Brother had given him Fei Mo at Iron Scorpion Ridge, how after the army scattered and Wuda soldiers surrounded them brothers, Big Brother had drawn away most of the Wuda forces, how he had heard Wuda soldiers find Big Brother’s corpse at the bottom of the cliff, how he had spotted government troops while fleeing, and finally how he was rescued by the Shenwu Army led by Wei Rao.

Wei Rao listened silently. After this, she no longer doubted Lu Zhuo’s death.

But now she had more important matters to attend to. She couldn’t let Lu Zhuo and those Shenwu Army soldiers, along with other Central Plains soldiers, die in vain.

Wei Rao only needed to obtain clues from Lu Ya. She told him nothing else about the matter – the more people who knew, the easier it would be to alert the Han father and son. Let Lu Ya continue treating the Han father and son as ordinary competitors among the Four Upper Armies.

After Lu Ya rested, Wei Rao had lunch and went to the tent holding the prisoners.

The tent here was crude, with over three hundred prisoners crammed into one large tent like three hundred beasts, all bound hand and foot.

Wei Rao didn’t enter. She brought Zhao Bai and walked around the perimeter of the large tent.

Inside, the Wuda people chattered in their Wuda language.

In Great Qi’s armies, ordinary soldiers had no leisure to learn Wuda, and the generals, whether busy or disdainful, wouldn’t learn it either. Usually, they would capture two Wuda civilians fluent in Central Plains speech or bring along two Central Plains merchants fluent in Wuda, deploying them for communication when needed.

But Lu Zhuo knew Wuda.

When Wei Rao asked him why he learned it, Lu Zhuo smiled and said, “know yourself and know your enemy,” smiling as he said learning foreign languages was very simple for him. Wei Rao still remembered his expression then – his smile gentle and warm, with confidence and playfulness hidden in his eyes.

Wei Rao stopped walking, faced the tent, and quickly wiped the corner of her eye.

Zhao Bai silently looked to one side, his eyes also reddening.

Just then, a worried voice in Wuda came from inside: “Prince, are you all right?”

“Shut up, don’t call me Prince.”

“Yes, but your wounds?”

The tent fell silent.

Wei Rao’s heart pounded like drums – among these prisoners was a Wuda prince?

Of course. She remembered Lu Zhuo mentioning that Great Qi’s princes were more precious than the next, rarely going to battle, but the grassland tribes’ princes were all brave warriors who took pride in military achievements. Those cowardly princes who only knew pleasure-seeking, even their tribesmen looked down on them, much less could they gain their Khan father’s favor.

When Lu Ya had only a dozen men left, this prince had led ten thousand cavalry in pursuit, confident he could capture them easily without encountering danger. He never expected to run into Wei Rao bringing people to Iron Scorpion Ridge to search for Lu Zhuo. When the two sides met, the Shenwu Army was inflamed with righteous anger, and Wei Rao’s five hundred mansion soldiers were eager to achieve merit. With many surrounding few, they captured those ten thousand men.

Her thoughts racing, Wei Rao continued forward and soon returned to the tent.

Apart from secretly instructing Zhao Bai to guard those three hundred prisoners strictly without allowing any accidents, and sending a team of Shenwu Army soldiers to wander the grasslands under the pretext of searching for Lu Zhuo’s body – actually to watch for whether Wuda would send people to rescue the prince – Wei Rao didn’t interrogate the prisoners. She appeared just as she had said, wanting only to take these prisoners back to the capital to kill them for revenge.

Wei Rao could keep her composure, but General Xiu Ji on the Wuda side was nearly driven mad with rage.

The one captured was the eighth son of Khan Hulun. The Eighth Prince wasn’t the most capable prince on the grasslands, but he was the only son of Khan Hulun’s most beloved consort. Khan Hulun, loving the house and its crow, also doted on and indulged the Eighth Prince greatly. This time, when the Eighth Prince accompanied him on campaign for training, Khan Hulun had especially instructed him to protect the Eighth Prince well.

Unexpectedly, after he had carefully ambushed and eliminated the major threat, Lu Zhuo, the Eighth Prince, had merely gone to pursue a dozen defeated Shenwu Army soldiers, yet had also encountered Great Qi forces and been captured, his fate unknown.

Now, Wuda was already at a disadvantage. The Battle of Iron Scorpion Ridge had cost him nearly double the troops just against Lu Zhuo’s thirty thousand Shenwu Army soldiers. For him to attack Marquis Xiting’s camp would be like throwing eggs against rocks. That old fox Marquis Xiting – he could cooperate with him to frame Lu Zhuo, but would never show him mercy.

Direct assault wouldn’t work, so he would have the Han father and son secretly return the prince. Releasing just one prisoner would be as easy as turning over their hands for the father and son.

General Xiu Ji wrote a secret letter to Han Liao and sent a team of Wuda envoys to the Great Qi military camp, ostensibly to discuss a ceasefire, but hoping to secretly convey the message to Han Liao.

The two army camps were far apart across the vast grasslands where neither could see the other, but in war, one doesn’t execute envoys. General Xiu Ji believed his envoys, even if captured by Great Qi forces, would safely reach the Han father and son.

Unfortunately, his envoys encountered the Shenwu Army.

The Shenwu Army, following Wei Rao’s instructions, captured the group of Wuda envoys first.

The Wuda envoys remained calm, declaring they had been ordered to discuss a ceasefire with Marquis Xiting.

Under normal circumstances, Great Qi forces would at most roughly bind them and escort them back to camp. But this Shenwu Army unit didn’t – they carefully searched the Wuda envoys and their companions, checking every place that could hide something, and finally found a secret letter.

The leader of this Shenwu Army unit was one of Wei Rao’s mansion soldiers.

The mansion soldiers were loyal to Wei Rao first, then to the Shenwu Army.

After reading the secret letter, the mansion soldier hid it in his clothing, ordered the killing of the others, leaving only one envoy. They gagged him, dressed him in Wuda soldier armor, disguised him as a Wuda scout, and brought him back bound to the Shenwu Army camp.

When Marquis Xiting and Han Liao heard that the Shenwu Army had captured a Wuda scout and thrown him into the prisoner tent, they paid no attention.