The morning birds chirped crisply, and she awoke at once.

Remembering that Liu Dezhong had mentioned last night that the medicine needed to be heated before application to be effective, and genuinely concerned about his wound, she quietly got up to dress and leave the bed.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she rose, he grasped her wrist. “Don’t go.”

She turned back and said softly, “I’m going to heat your medicine, just inside the tent. You led troops into battle yesterday and were wounded. You should rest more.”

Only then did he release her hand with relief.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, she felt aches throughout her body. Yesterday’s two sessions of lovemaking had left her both worried and exhausted—truly not worth it. As she thought this, she glanced back at him and saw his handsome face with relaxed brows and gently closed eyes, causing her cheeks to grow warm again.

After setting the medicine to heat, she left the tent to fetch water. Upon returning, she saw Commander Chai approaching the main command tent.

In the thin morning mist, Chai wore light armor covered with dew. Seeing her outside the tent, he stopped and respectfully said, “Empress.”

She knew this young general had distinguished himself in recent days and had been promoted to Feather-Banner General of the fourth rank, with the right to directly report to the Emperor. She smiled lightly and said, “You must have important matters to report to His Majesty? The Emperor hasn’t risen yet. Wait while I go in and call him for you.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Commander Chai quickly replied. “It’s just that we received several victory dispatches this morning. I thought His Majesty would be delighted to see them, so I rushed to deliver them. Since the Emperor hasn’t risen, perhaps the Empress could accept them.”

She hesitated. Although he had allowed her to handle memorials last night, she did not dare to accept these military reports on his behalf. “That would be improper. General Chai, it would be better for you to present them to the Emperor yourself.”

Chai replied, “The Emperor has instructed that military matters may be decided by the Empress on his behalf.”

She paused in surprise, then reached out to accept the reports. “Even if the Emperor said so, doesn’t the General harbor suspicions about my past actions?”

This doubt had lingered in her mind for days. Logically, the Imperial Guard of the capital had always been intolerant of disloyalty. They had witnessed the Northern Border army of Di Nian suffer a setback because of her, and she had previously been positioned in a key government office while colluding with enemy forces. How could these proud and upright commanders from the capital truly respect and honor her?

General Chai’s eyes showed slight hesitation. “Does the Empress not know? While leading the army north, His Majesty explained everything to us. The Empress was acting on His Majesty’s secret decree, and to avoid public attention, the two government offices were not informed. When my troops entered Linhuai, we witnessed the enemy forces making a major redeployment westward, which allowed us to advance through Linhuai. Every commander in the army admires the Empress’s strategy. Without the Empress’s actions, the Imperial Army probably couldn’t have approached Shuzhou City so quickly.”

After hearing this, she remained silent for a long while, just staring at the military reports in her hand, her gaze distant.

In the far reaches of the camp, a horn sounded, its sharp, clear tone suddenly cutting through the thin mist, making everything before her eyes much clearer.

General Chai, needing to return to his post, smiled at her. “I’ll take my leave now.”

She nodded in approval, glanced at the increasing number of troops on the distant camp road, then turned and entered the tent.

Taking the heated medicine and white cotton, she looked toward the inner tent and saw that he had already risen by himself. Casually wrapped in a robe, he was leaning against the bed, watching her.

His eyes were so intense, this man so passionate and unyielding. She felt as though she had never truly understood him, nor had she known the depth of his feelings for her.

How deeply must he love her to treat her this way?

But what qualities did she possess that made her worthy of such love?

Her fingers trembled slightly as she held the items, yet she walked calmly to his side, sat down, loosened the right side of his robe, and began changing his dressing.

Seeing her gentle and meticulous movements, he smiled and said, “With you here, there’s no need to call for Liu Dezhong anymore.”

She did not engage with his comment and instead said softly, “General Chai just delivered military reports, saying you’ve allowed me to decide on military matters. Is that true?”

He raised his eyebrows and firmly countered, “You’re not pleased?”

She shook her head and looked up. “Aren’t you afraid I might harbor ill intentions and do something beyond your control?”

Allowing her to participate in state affairs was one thing, but entrusting her with military matters was truly shocking.

He reached out and gripped her chin. “If you harbored ill intentions, how could you have fallen into my hands? If you were truly engaged in treasonous activities, you wouldn’t have sent me secret reports. Instead, you would have let the Imperial Army believe you were kidnapped by the Northern Jian forces—wouldn’t that have been better? You let the whole world know you were a traitor simply to make me abandon any hope for you, so that even if you died, I wouldn’t grieve for you.”

She pulled away from his hand and continued to dress his wound and bandage it, but her ten fingers trembled even more.

He continued, “Moreover, those hundred thousand rebel troops would only listen to you. If I ordered these troops to follow my commands, which of those remaining officials from Zhongwan would comply? How could I not allow you to participate in military affairs?”

At the mention of this matter, she frowned and asked, “You’ve detained those dozen or so leading former officials here. How do you intend to deal with them? If you allow them to resume military command, I fear there might be renewed rebellion.”

He lowered his eyes to look at her and smiled slightly. “Once we announce your identity as the imperial descendant of the previous dynasty and our agreement to the court and the world, those rebel troops who wish to leave can do so without punishment. Those who wish to stay can serve as personal guards for your enfeoffed territory. You will decide on the selection of commanders. If any of these former officials dared to rebel, they would be defying the imperial descendant of the previous dynasty. What cause would they then have to incite troops to rebel?”

She pondered this and found his reasoning sound. Previously, the rebel forces had grown daily stronger primarily because they rallied around the banner of restoring the imperial descendant to power. Most of their soldiers were simple-minded locals easily incited. Once her identity was revealed to the world, no one could use the name of the imperial descendant to deceive the people and cause trouble. By then, with further encouragement and the promise that those who contributed to attacking Northern Jian would receive official ranks, these troops would join forces with the Imperial Army to march north. Even if a few stubborn individuals remained, they could hardly oppose the prevailing trend.

Looking at it this way, the day of peace throughout the realm did not seem far off.

She nodded, pursed her lips in a slight smile, and quickly finished bandaging his arm. Then she went to retrieve the victory reports General Chai had delivered. “It’s impressive how you’ve controlled yourself and not asked which areas have been victorious.”

He remained composed. “It must be that Di Nian has won again in the northern border, and the Imperial Army from the capital has broken through the rebel military stronghold on the northern route of Chao’an.”

She opened and read through them one by one. Finding that everything matched exactly what he had said, she was slightly amazed. Looking up to see his smiling face, she suppressed her surprise and simply said, “If these former officials learn that the rebel forces in Chao’an have been defeated again, they surely won’t have any more conditions to demand. Everything can proceed according to your plan.”

He gathered his robe with his left hand, stood up, and asked, “Did Di Nian include any petitions for rewards and merits with the report?”

She looked through the papers and indeed found one—a long list densely filled with names. She was greatly shocked. “How can Di Nian be so demanding?”

“Grant him everything,” he said without hesitation. “The Imperial Army at the northern border faces great difficulties in capturing cities and territories. The soldiers need to see that the court is willing to reward and ennoble them before they will risk their lives in bitter battles. Later, draft an imperial decree on my behalf to be sent directly to the northern front, and promote Di Nian in rank.”

She acknowledged this and then asked, “Regarding the announcement of our matter, when will the edict be sent to the two government offices in the capital? Should I draft it?”

“No need,” he said, putting on his clothes and walking toward the outer tent. “I have already drafted the edict concerning your installation as Empress and the enfeoffments. After meeting with those former officials, I will have someone send it to the capital.”

She looked at him, initially wanting to see the edict, but then remembered his comment about “no need to worry.” She simply pressed her lips together, stepped forward to fasten the sash around his waist, and said nothing more.