The sounds of killing echoed through the valley, gradually receding into the distance.

He threw aside the spear in his hand and embraced her with his arm. The sharp angles of his handsome, aloof face softened as he lowered his head to kiss the top of her hair, saying: “Don’t cry.”

Her hands clung tightly around his neck as she buried her head against his shoulder, biting her lip while tears silently flowed. After sobbing for quite some time, she finally noticed a line of soldiers and officers standing not far behind him, all awkwardly lowering their heads and averting their eyes, not knowing what to do.

Her crying stopped instantly, and her face suddenly turned red.

Lu Duo quickly ran over from behind, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head, saying: “Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty, causing Lady Meng to be frightened and endangered. Please punish me.”

His arms continued to hold her firmly as the corner of his mouth curved slightly. Looking down, he said: “This is my Empress. Do not call her Lady Meng anymore!” After speaking, he suddenly turned around, like someone proudly displaying hard-won spoils of war, arrogantly and domineeringly letting the officers and soldiers behind him see her clearly from head to toe.

The assembled troops immediately knelt with their armor clanking, lowering their heads and shouting in unison: “Greetings to the Empress!”

She was stunned. These imperial guards from the capital could not possibly have not heard of her notorious reputation, nor could they be unaware that she had caused the northern border troops to lose Golden Gorge Pass without a fight. How could they so readily and decisively honor her as Empress?

The wind blew through the valley where corpses lay everywhere and the sounds of killing had not yet ceased, stirring a thin layer of moisture in his deep eyes, as clear and transparent as colored glass, reflecting her startled and blushing face.

“Tell them to rise,” he said, his lips curving upward again as he whispered in her ear.

She finally came to her senses, but being held by him in such a manner, even with the most legitimate status, she couldn’t hide her embarrassment. She could only maintain her dignity and say softly: “…Rise.”

The sheer cliffs and mountains were stained with blood, yet here and now, he was announcing her status to everyone, which was truly tyrannical and dismissive of everything else.

But it also moved her heart deeply.

Only now did she have time to notice that most of the corpses scattered outside the valley entrance were rebel soldiers. Looking at his expression and that of the officers and soldiers, she realized that the distant sounds of killing still faintly coming from the deep valley were likely due to mopping-up operations against the rebels, not because his troops had fallen into the rebels’ trap.

Remembering the panic and fear she felt earlier when she thought something had happened to him, her heart clenched again, and she held him even tighter, unwilling to let go.

But a commander stepped forward, his face concerned and his tone hesitant: “Your Majesty’s previous wound…”

As soon as she heard the word “wound,” she immediately held her breath and looked at him, anxiously examining him up and down. Yet he calmly told the man: “It’s nothing.”

She struggled slightly, wanting to get down, but as she withdrew her hand, she found it covered in blood. Greatly alarmed, she looked closely and discovered that his armored arm that held her was bleeding outward.

Noticing the blood on her palm, he smiled at her and said: “Don’t worry.” He continued walking forward, ignoring her struggle, while instructing the commander: “To be safe, take some more men to check the battle situation at the back of the valley, but don’t linger too long here, it’s unnecessary to stay long.”

Although the imperial troops here had been victorious, the sight of death all around made her heart heavy. The rebel ambush in the valley had been completely eliminated by him, but each of those was still a human life. Before the Zhongwan loyalists had raised their army, these rebel soldiers were just simple, honest farmers. This death was too cruel and pointless, making her unable to look closely for a moment.

Lu Duo had already swiftly gone to fetch the horses.

She was about to mount Qing Yun, but he somewhat roughly threw her onto his black stallion instead. Then he leaped up, without explanation, held her tightly, and whipped the horse’s flank hard. “Hya!”

She was somewhat helpless, not daring to struggle violently for fear of hurting his arm.

Qing Yun, however, was extremely indignant, kicking its hooves and chasing after them, following the light flutter of her skirt in the wind, leaping alongside them.

The golden sun was setting, the green grass fragrant, and the smell of blood in the air gradually faded. His warm breath twined around her from behind, making her body feel weak.

The slightly cool autumn wind blew against her face as her mind cleared and her red lips gently curved upward.

Originally, she had so many things she wanted to tell him, but at this moment, she suddenly realized that no words were necessary between them, and there was no need for explanations. He had always understood her, just as she had always understood him.

He loved her deeply, just as she loved him deeply.

When they returned to the camp and entered the tent, she could see in the distance that the battle at Shuzhou city was intensifying. After thinking for a moment, she still said to him: “Since the loyalists are willing to compromise, perhaps General Chai should stop the fighting. Shuzhou is a large city with at least tens of thousands of households…”

As he listened to her soft murmuring, he instructed those around him to tell Chai Shao to accept surrender. If the loyalists were willing to come out from the city themselves, the fighting would end.

Those who received the order withdrew, and he then sent someone to find the imperial physician to come to the tent to examine his wound.

She was extremely worried, and as soon as the tent flap fell, she turned and began to remove the armor from his body.

He raised an eyebrow, gently grasping her wrist, and chuckled: “So impatient?”

She was embarrassed and annoyed, about to scold him for being improper, but upon seeing the blood on his arm, she tightly pressed her lips together and said softly: “Let me look at it first before the imperial physician arrives.” As she spoke, her small hands searched across the cold, foul-smelling iron armor, removing it for him.

He watched her with lowered eyes, standing motionless as she attended to him.

When the heavy layers of armor were removed, revealing a shocking knife wound, she gasped upon seeing it, holding his arm helplessly.

“I already said it’s nothing,” he said, using a bit of strength to try to pull his arm from her hands. “When I was young and practicing martial arts, I’ve been hurt worse than this.”

She wouldn’t let go, looking up at him and asking softly: “You knew there would be troops lying in ambush over there, waiting for you to lead soldiers over. Why did you still go personally?”

He spoke slowly: “I was afraid they would use you as bait and force you to leave Shuzhou city.” After a slight pause, he continued calmly: “If not for this, when would you ever believe my sincerity?”

She didn’t respond, taking white cotton cloth to gently wipe the blood around his wound. The more she wiped, the more her fingers trembled, until finally her eye sockets and the tip of her nose were all red.

He suddenly lowered his head to kiss her lips, gentle and slow, but lingering endlessly.

How long had he waited for this moment?

He could no longer keep track.

Her lips and tongue were so sweet and soft, her body fit so perfectly in his embrace. From that year in the Hall of Preserved Harmony to this military camp amidst warfare, nothing had changed.

He had just come from a great battle without washing, his body covered in blood and dust, and his lips and tongue that kissed her carried the taste of sweat, but she didn’t seem to notice at all as she desperately kissed his thin lips and hot tongue.

She had missed him so much.

Love and hate, life and death had tormented her completely. Now she felt as if she had been reborn, wishing only to cast everything aside and be able to stay with him purely and simply, never to part or leave for a lifetime.

The tent flap was hurriedly lifted, and the imperial physician Liu Dezhong rushed in following the announcement. Upon seeing the scene inside, he froze immediately, cold sweat breaking out as he repeatedly said: “I didn’t know… didn’t know the Empress was here.”

Rumors always spread quickly in the military camp. After the battle, the news of her being appointed Empress had already spread throughout the camp. His position among the imperial guards was unparalleled, and hearing this news, no officer or soldier dared to question its veracity, all respectfully acknowledging her as Empress.

She naturally didn’t understand this, only feeling that she had indeed wronged the imperial guards in the past. For a moment, she couldn’t comfortably accept this honorific title and hurriedly said: “Please, Doctor Liu, quickly attend to His Majesty’s wound.” After speaking, she went to the side with a red face.

Liu Dezhong had accompanied the Emperor for many years and had a calm demeanor and excellent skills. After examining the wound and checking his pulse, he said it hadn’t injured any tendons or bones and was not serious. He applied medicine and bandaged the wound, gave a few instructions, and then left the tent to brew medicine.

She thought his injured arm would be inconvenient, so she prepared hot water to wash his body, which was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. Unexpectedly, as he was bathing, he pulled her in as well. She could not resist his teasing and probing, nor could she suppress her desires, so she let him have his way once.

Afterward, the wound on his arm had reopened, but he refused to let her go despite the consequences.

He looked like someone who wanted to crush her into his own body.

Only then did he stop.