Once a seed of doubt was planted, it quickly took root and sprouted.

King Ruhe had nothing to say in response. Tuoba Keyan suddenly felt he had even less reason to stay. He didn’t even understand why he had bothered coming back two days ago.

The army was already at the border—what did it matter if his father favored his second son?

A general in the field need not always obey the ruler’s commands. As long as he didn’t go back, didn’t accept the decree, then even if his father’s imperial edict ordered him to lead his troops back to the city, he simply wouldn’t return.

It was only because he still hoped to win his father’s approval, hoped that father and son could unite their hearts to conquer the Beimu Kingdom together, that he had come back.

He had come back, by whatever means necessary, only wanting to win back his father’s trust.

The bond between father and son that he had wanted now seemed like a joke. So it turned out that being born into an imperial family made such a bond between father and son utterly impossible!

He took a step forward. The guards retreated two steps, but at King Ruhe’s command, their spears were leveled at him.

“Father, so it turns out that one day, when you feel your son’s actions are against your interests, you too would have people level spears at your son’s heart.”

Tuoba Keyan smiled faintly—a smile that seemed unusually cold and bleak in the evening wind.

His heart, too, had gone completely cold.

King Ruhe still had nothing to say. In an imperial family, how could one even speak of such feelings?

Trust only existed as long as everyone’s interests aligned, as long as everyone worked for the sake of the kingdom—naturally, they would trust one another.

But if, partway through, someone did something to harm the kingdom—

“No need to keep struggling with this, Eldest Prince. We’re back.” Suddenly, from outside came the sound of an announcement, followed by Feng Jiu’er’s calm voice.

They were back.

Tuoba Keyan’s large hand clenched, then slowly relaxed. Watching the group walking over from behind the guards, his face was expressionless, not a trace of fear in his eyes.

Prince Sang, seeing the eldest prince, felt a pang of distress. A moment later, wiping cold sweat from his brow, he hurried over to King Ruhe.

Prince Sang whispered a few words into King Ruhe’s ear. King Ruhe’s expression changed drastically. He glared at Tuoba Keyan, not a trace of warmth left in his eyes.

“Traitorous son! You actually dared… you actually dared!”

Tuoba Keyan’s gaze, however, fell on Feng Jiu’er. Facing the king’s fury, he showed no fear—rather, he seemed somewhat amused. “How did a little girl like you manage to discover it?”

Back then, that place had been discovered by his own master. Only someone as formidable as his master could have found such a remarkable place.

If his master hadn’t led the way, even he himself wouldn’t have been able to find it. Yet Feng Jiu’er, such a young little girl, had actually managed it!

“It was merely a coincidence. Perhaps it was heaven’s arrangement,” Feng Jiu’er said, neither pleased with herself nor dismissive, as if that was simply how things had genuinely happened.

She did not look at Tuoba Keyan, only stared at King Ruhe. “Your Majesty, by now you must understand in your heart which of your two sons—the eldest or the second prince—is truly loyal to you. As for the war between Ruhe and Beimu…”

“My Ruhe soldiers are brave and skilled in battle. We are not afraid of your Beimu Kingdom!” Tuoba Keyan said angrily.

He would not allow the war between the two nations to end just like this. Absolutely not!

He wanted to trample every inch of Beimu’s land beneath his feet! He wanted every ruler and minister of Beimu crushed under his heel. He wanted to avenge his mother. He wanted every single person of Beimu to receive their just deserts!

Feng Jiu’er still refused to look at him. At this moment, it was not Tuoba Keyan’s place to make any decisions.

“Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince has personally taken up the fight, and is likely already preparing for battle as we speak. If Your Majesty insists on acting rashly and provoking war between our two nations, then my Beimu soldiers will certainly not fear the Ruhe army either!”

“You—”

“Father, in truth, when war breaks out between two sides, it is the common people who suffer most in the end. Father, you are merciful—why not sign a truce with the Ninth Prince, and let the two sides coexist in peace?”

Tuoba Ermeng stepped forward and earnestly urged, “Father, General Feng actually comes representing the Ninth Prince, hoping to sign a peace agreement with us. It’s only that Father has misunderstood things up until now, which is why General Feng never had the chance to explain her purpose.”

“You… you are willing to sign a truce with my Ruhe?” King Ruhe looked at Feng Jiu’er.

Things had come to this point—his brave and capable eldest son had been secretly plotting behind his back, even privately forging weapons. This was clearly an act of treason.

His second son had always advocated for peace. At a time like this, when the one capable of fighting could not be used, did he have to go to the battlefield himself?

Given all this, whether this war could even still be fought was something he himself found genuinely difficult to judge.

If they could avoid fighting, it would be best not to fight, because right now he had no confidence at all of winning.

The enemy was Beimu’s War God, the Ninth Prince. Even sending the eldest prince to face him, most people felt the odds of victory wouldn’t exceed fifty percent—not to mention that the eldest prince was now essentially finished.

“We came here precisely to sign a peace agreement with you. However, after arriving, we discovered that your kingdom had no intention of signing any agreement at all.”

Feng Jiu’er’s words were not meant as a provocation. The events of these past few days had genuinely given reason to doubt whether they had any real intention to negotiate peace.

Anyone in this situation would think the same; King Ruhe and Prince Sang naturally understood this as well.

But Tuoba Keyan said, “Heh, negotiating peace just means ceding land and paying reparations, retreating again and again, even handing over our entire territory to Beimu, becoming subjects of Beimu from now on?”

These words made King Ruhe’s expression change at once.

Such a humiliating arrangement could not be accepted under any circumstances!

If such an agreement were signed, their Ruhe kingdom might well vanish from existence thereafter.

“Everyone here understands the Ninth Prince’s situation quite well. In truth, the Ninth Prince merely wants to secure peace on the outside, so he can focus on dealing with matters within.”

As for what exactly Feng Jiu’er meant by “matters within,” who could say clearly?

The Ninth Prince had become a wanted criminal within Beimu itself, yet he held great power and commanded a massive army—who would dare provoke him?

It was simply that the Ninth Prince truly did not wish to waste effort on external enemies right now. Feng Jiu’er’s words had already made that quite clear.

A peace settlement was a peace settlement—there was no need to fear any unequal treaty, because right now, the Ninth Prince had no interest in thinking about such things.

Once the two sides went to war, it wouldn’t be good for the Ninth Prince either. This truly was an excellent opportunity to negotiate peace. If such a chance were missed, it might never come again.

Seeing that King Ruhe still hesitated, Feng Jiu’er kept her expression neutral and added a bit more pressure: “Your Majesty, the matter of peace negotiations was the Ninth Prince’s own intention before we set out. However, we have already delayed too long in your kingdom.”

“Delayed too long?” This… what did that mean?

A jolt of alarm struck King Ruhe’s heart, and unease rose in Prince Sang as well. The two exchanged glances, seeming to arrive at the same thought.