All four of them looked at the little creature standing on the table with its head held high, and of the four, only Feng Jiu’er’s reaction came instantly.

Feng Jiu’er reached out both hands with a look of delight and gathered the bird up, then untied a small slip of paper from its leg.

“Who sent the letter?”

Qiaomu immediately leaned in close.

“Zhao Yusheng — he says he and his brothers have already set out.”

Feng Jiu’er replied softly.

“By the count of it, they should arrive at the junction between Phoenix City and Yamu City by tomorrow. Three thousand men on the first wave — it seems I still underestimated the numbers of Zhao Family Stronghold.”

The paper slip between her fingers, Feng Jiu’er’s eyes shimmered with a strange, bright gleam.

She curved the corner of her lips slightly and closed her fingers around the slip.

With a gentle press of her palm — when her hand opened again, what had just a moment ago been a perfectly intact slip of paper had already turned to ash.

“I’ll send him a reply. This battle is about to begin.”

Her words barely finished, Feng Jiu’er turned and walked into the bedroom.

Before long, she came back out carrying a small slip of paper, rolled it up, and tied it to the bird’s leg.

She cradled the bird in both hands and gave it a gentle toss.

“Go — carry the message back to him.”

The bird, as though it truly understood Feng Jiu’er’s words, gave two bright chirps before flapping its wings and vanishing from everyone’s sight.

“Qiaomu, go and ask Ke Yan to come in. I have tasks to assign.”

“Alright.”

Qiaomu gave a nod and disappeared from view.

What had been four people became five.

Feng Jiu’er produced a larger map, took down the hanging scroll on the wall, and replaced it with the map in its place.

The other four sat down facing her.

“We will split into three paths to take the city.”

Feng Jiu’er pointed her bamboo rod at the map.

“Ke Yan and Qiaomu will go to the north gate and link up with Xing Zizhou’s forces. The defenses at the north gate are not particularly heavy for now — but you still cannot afford to let your guard down.”

“Bear in mind that if the Crown Prince’s men intend to take the city, that is almost certainly where they will strike — without exception.”

“Of Yamu City’s two other gates, both border Ninth Imperial Uncle’s territories. Only the north gate does not.”

Feng Jiu’er let out a quiet sigh and looked around at everyone before returning her gaze to the map.

“Of course, that is not the only possibility. The stretch between Yamu City’s north gate and west gate is mostly flat open ground.”

“It would also be feasible for the Crown Prince’s men to attack from the west gate.”

“However, I have already posted people at the key passage where Desert City, Ding City, and Yamu City converge.”

“Barring anything unexpected, if anyone suspicious passes through, I will receive word.”

“To guard against the possibility that the Crown Prince’s men have already infiltrated Desert City and might coordinate from within with those he has positioned at the west gate — Xue Gu and Jian Yi will set out for the west gate immediately—”

“No — I will go with you.”

Jian Yi cut in, his voice firm.

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at the one who had spoken, a slight frown crossing her brow.

“I’m going to the south gate. You don’t need to—”

“Where you go, I go.”

Jian Yi met Feng Jiu’er’s gaze and said plainly.

“Jian Yi, we are going to war. Will you not even listen to me now?”

Feng Jiu’er’s voice dropped lower than his.

At the south gate, she would have her people from the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, plus Ninth Imperial Uncle’s three thousand soldiers, and Zhao Yusheng’s men. So long as she was careful enough, there would be no problem.

“On everything else — yes. On this one point — no.”

Jian Yi’s voice came again.

Meeting his unwavering gaze, Feng Jiu’er felt a faint throb at her temples.

She had originally thought that among the three exceptionally capable men around her, Jian Yi was the most obedient — but now she saw the truth of the matter clearly. When Master Jian Yi had made up his mind about something, had she ever once managed to change it?

“Let Jian Yi go with you, and I’ll go to the west gate alone.”

Xue Gu said quietly. “My Snow Lotus Beast has arrived as well — it can be of help.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Jian Yi, then at Xue Gu, and in the end could only nod.

“Then it’s settled.”

And besides — if she refused to yield, what good would it do? Jian Yi wouldn’t agree, and no matter what she said, he would follow her anyway.

“Now, we need to work out the specifics of our battle plan. If anyone has good suggestions, speak up and we’ll discuss it together.”

For nearly the whole of that night, candles burned steadily on the second floor of the inn’s rear suite.

……

The next day, Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi continued heading south and left Yamu City behind them.

From Yamu City, the journey to Phoenix City was still several dozen li away.

Before nightfall on the second day, Feng Jiu’er and Jian Yi finally met up with Zhao Yusheng’s forces in the mountain gorge between the two cities.

Looking at the regiment ahead — uniformly attired, full of vigor — Feng Jiu’er felt a swell of admiration.

She could say with certainty: these brothers were without a doubt elite soldiers, nothing like ordinary mountain bandits. One could tell just by the energy that radiated from them.

“Jiu’er.”

Zhao Yusheng bit back the word “my dear” before it could escape his lips. He spurred his horse toward Feng Jiu’er.

He was dressed in full battle gear, sharp and alert, as though he had long been ready for the fight ahead.

“Not bad.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Zhao Yusheng, then at the brothers behind him, and couldn’t help but let a smile rise to her lips.

“Jiu’er, what’s the situation inside the city? When do we move in?”

“Tomorrow at the third quarter of the Hour of Yin. Attacking by night gives us better odds and will very likely reduce harm to the civilians.”

Feng Jiu’er replied softly.

“So have the brothers eat early and get some rest.”

“Alright.”

Zhao Yusheng gave a nod and gazed at the young woman before him without looking away. “Jiu’er, you haven’t been eating well these past few days, have you? You’ve lost weight.”

After all, she was his intended — showing some concern felt perfectly natural to Zhao Yusheng.

“Lost weight — isn’t that better?”

Feng Jiu’er replied casually.

Men all preferred slender women, didn’t they? Back in the modern world, eight out of ten women were always talking about losing weight.

But with Jian Yi around, even in rougher conditions, food was never something she went without.

“A bit more weight would suit you better.”

Zhao Yusheng said with a smile.

“Alright, enough joking around.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “Come link up with my people first — we have enough food on our side for now.”

“Good.”

Zhao Yusheng nodded with evident pleasure.

Feng Jiu’er said nothing more and turned her horse around, heading back the way they had come with Jian Yi.

Zhao Yusheng led his brothers, following close behind the man and woman ahead.

Two quarters of an hour later, they entered a woodland and arrived at the camp where her brothers had been stationed.

To avoid anyone detecting the presence of people in the woodland, the mountain gorge just outside it had men from the Ninth Prince’s Manor standing guard, turning away anyone who came too close.

And so, through these past days, the brothers hidden in the woodland had managed to avoid being discovered.

The two forces merged, and the woodland immediately came alive with activity.

Feng Jiu’er, Jian Yi, and Zhao Yusheng sat in the midst of the assembled troops, gnawing on steamed buns and dried meat, with a small pot of congee set beside them.

“Jiu’er, roughly how many soldiers are inside the city waiting for us?”

Zhao Yusheng looked at Feng Jiu’er and asked quietly.

He sat on the ground, gnawing away at his dried meat, and yet he seemed thoroughly at ease.

This battle held tremendous significance for him.

In Zhao Yusheng’s mind, setting foot on the battlefield was the equivalent of opening a new chapter of his life. From this point forward, he and his brothers would no longer drift through their days as before — they would be free to do what they had truly set their hearts on doing.