In the darkness, her heart ached in waves.

It all felt like a dream, but dreams shouldn’t hurt this much.

Leaning against a tent pole, she pondered for a long while, unable to understand how all this had happened.

For the Great Peace capital imperial guards to penetrate this deep into enemy territory was nothing short of miraculous, and for him to intercept her on one of the many roads across several prefectures and countless mountains and waters was even more inconceivable.

She was a traitor, a rebel, a treasonous minister.

His gaze toward her was undeniably cold, his words making her shudder, yet upon seeing her, he didn’t execute her immediately. He didn’t treat her like a criminal, but instead brought her all the way here—what was this for?

After a long while, she finally closed her eyes and sighed.

What use was there in thinking about these things now?

In any case, her reputation was already in such a state, and between them lay the deep blood feud of homeland and empire. How could it be possible for them to be together and love each other as before?

When Yue Linxi was escorted into the camp, the night had turned completely dark.

He was bound tightly and dragged directly from horseback into the central command tent, then thrown to the ground.

The light in the tent was dim yet piercing, and the air carried a heavy smell of ink mixed with blood. A man’s calm voice came from the front—

“Release him.”

Someone immediately untied the hemp ropes from his body, then yanked him to his feet, forcing him to face forward.

The man at the commander’s table had removed his armor, but his features were somber, his expression resolute. Even just sitting there, he emanated the imperial aura that no one dared to confront directly.

The object in Yue Linxi’s mouth was removed, and he immediately coughed several times, taking a heavy breath. Someone placed a small stool near him with paper, brush, and ink, then everyone withdrew from the tent.

Ying Gua’s voice remained calm: “Yue Linxi?”

Yue Linxi was slightly startled, not expecting him to know his name.

He pointed to the writing materials nearby and continued: “I’ve summoned you tonight to write a letter to Shuzhou, saying that you and she have had a smooth journey and will arrive at Shuzhou city in five days.”

Yue Linxi stared coldly, not moving a muscle.

“You do have some backbone.” Ying Gua showed no sign of irritation, his gaze gradually cooling. “I know that people like you don’t fear death, so I won’t threaten you with it. But if you insist on not writing, I will kill her.”

Yue Linxi’s entire body tensed.

He didn’t say much more, just sat quietly waiting.

The flickering light in the tent entered his eyes clearly, as fleeting and uncertain as human lives in this world.

Yue Linxi gritted his teeth slightly and said: “Today she caused nearly a thousand of my troops to perish; why would I care whether she lives or dies?”

“You shouldn’t care about her life or death,” Ying Gua raised an eyebrow slightly, his gaze turning sharp. “But you should care about whether the Zhongwan imperial descendant lives or dies.”

Yue Linxi’s expression changed dramatically. “You…”

He hadn’t expected him to understand everything so clearly and hit every vital point.

His expression suddenly darkened, his voice turning cold: “Write!”

Yue Linxi still refused, his eyes full of resentment and anger. “Though she is a Zhongwan imperial descendant, today on the mountaintop, she deceived and concealed from me. I’ve respected and assisted her for days, following her exclusively, yet I fell into her trap! If her heart is not in restoring the nation, what use is there in preserving her life?!”

A hint of ruthlessness flowed from Ying Gua’s eyes. “If that’s the case, then I’ll fulfill your wish and kill her. But if she dies, who will know how she died? And with nearly a thousand of your troops eliminated, only you escaping alive from the Great Peace imperial guards—do you think everyone in Shuzhou city is a fool?! Though I may not kill you, someone will surely come for your life.”

Yue Linxi shuddered upon hearing this, his breathing becoming slightly rapid. “What exactly do you want?”

His stern brow relaxed slightly. “I want her to continue being the Zhongwan imperial descendant, I want you, Yue Linxi, to taste the consequences of your actions, and I want Shuzhou city to remain unsuspicious. Since you were ordered to escort her to Shuzhou, only if she lives can you live.”

Yue Linxi’s face turned pale. After standing rigidly for a moment, he slowly bowed down.

Kneeling beside the stool, his hand trembled slightly as he picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began writing the letter to Shuzhou.

The autumn night was quite cold, yet his sweat soaked through the thin paper. As he wrote each character, Ying Gua’s cool voice entered his ears: “In five days, order the commanders in Shuzhou city to open the gates wide and welcome the imperial descendant’s entourage. To prevent any mishap, soldiers must surrender their weapons when greeting the imperial carriage, without fail.”

Yue Linxi’s brush tip snapped as he raised his head, his expression extremely unpleasant: “You’re asking me to become a traitor who sells out his country. In the future, I will surely be subjected to death by a thousand cuts.”

“Hmm.” His expression showed complete indifference as he raised an eyebrow and said: “If you don’t write, your future crime will be plotting against the imperial descendant and betraying your country; if you write, your future crime will be fearing death and colluding with the enemy. Either way means death, so choose as you wish. I’ll be pleased to see the outcome.”

Yue Linxi’s lips turned purple, trembling continuously.

How could he have imagined that the new Emperor of Great Peace would be such a young and ruthless man, so different from what he had envisioned?

“However,” Ying Gua raised his eyebrows a bit higher, his gaze sharp as he fixed on him, “if you write it, perhaps I’ll be pleased and spare your life. If in the future you can please me even more, perhaps I’ll be so delighted that I can even remove your reputation as a traitor. It depends on whether you’re willing to trust me and take this gamble.”

Yue Linxi’s heart sank as he frowned and completed the letter in one go, then presented the paper with a dejected expression.

He took it, scanned it lightly, and said softly without raising his eyes: “I know that people like you are best at enduring humiliation. Today’s hardship is nothing to you, and if there’s a chance for revenge in the future, you’ll surely repay me a hundred or thousand times over, isn’t that right?”

Yue Linxi kept his head low and said through gritted teeth: “I wouldn’t dare.”

“Indeed, you wouldn’t.” Ying Gua looked up, his eyes colder than frost, and loudly called for the guards outside the tent, ordering: “Take him away.”

As Yue Linxi was led away with his arms twisted behind him, he struggled to turn his head and urgently asked: “How did you know about all these things?!”

Ying Gua stared at him, his thin lips tightly closed, and made a signal to someone.

A soldier kicked Yue Linxi’s leg hard, dragging him forcibly out of the central command tent.

Outside, there was a burst of cursing and shouting, which soon returned to silence.

He sat in his position for a while before extinguishing the candles and walking out.

Most of the troops in the great camp had already retired for the night. The autumn night was heavy with dew, with points of crystal on the grass and leaves on the ground. The northern night sky was clear, stars twinkling brightly, and one could faintly see the unextinguished black smoke above Mingzhou city, five li away.

He walked to the south side of the camp. As he approached the tent, the two soldiers outside were about to speak a greeting, but he quickly raised his hand to stop them, asking softly: “How is she?”

A soldier replied: “Food was sent in at nightfall. Lady Meng received it calmly and then went to sleep.”

He nodded slightly. “All of you go and rest. There’s no need to guard here all night; she won’t come to any harm.” The two soldiers dared not disobey and withdrew, heads bowed.

After standing alone outside the tent for a long while, he slowly parted the curtain and walked in softly.

Inside was completely dark.

But he immediately saw that she was indeed curled up on a narrow couch nearest the interior, her face turned outward, sleeping peacefully without moving.

Her crimson long skirt was as mysterious and alluring as a night jasmine, deep red like blood, suddenly igniting the night within the tent.

He stood there silently gazing at her—her face, her body, everything about her from head to toe.

This serene face had appeared in his dreams countless times. Smiling, crying, pleased, angry… even bloodstained.

Every time he woke from these dreams, his entire body ached and trembled.

During these days of leading troops northward, he hadn’t had a single night of peaceful sleep.

Under the starry night sky, with autumn winds sweeping through, Heaven knew how much fear was in his heart.

Fear that she might kill herself.

Fear that he wouldn’t find her in time.

Fear that they truly might never see each other again in this lifetime.

Fortunately, she was safe and sound.

Fortunately, he had found her.