Wei County lay a hundred li south of Cangzhou, a small city on the southern route from Cangzhou. When Cangzhou fell, Wei County was the first to know. Thus, when the Rong people arrived at Wei County, most of the civilians had already fled, leaving only the elderly without relatives in the city. While the Rong barbarians invaded and showed no mercy, Wei County still fared better than Cangzhou.

Yue Qiong, leading the Jinzhou army, was the first to reach Wei County. Unlike cities such as Wuzhou, this city had no surrounding walls—it was merely an open settlement. Yue Qiong took the initiative to occupy it. Half a day later, the Shuoxi army arrived west of Wei County, ultimately settling in a mountain valley to the west. Another half day passed before Zhao Shuhua and Yan Che arrived with their Jinzhou forces east of Wei County. Though Yue Qiong sent people to invite Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua to rest in the city, both declined.

Learning that Zhao Shuhua had agreed to join in containing the Rong barbarians, Yan Chi felt somewhat surprised. After making various arrangements, Yue Qiong planned to establish a grand camp outside Wei County in two days, inviting both Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua to come and discuss strategy together.

Since the three forces had decided to join hands, they naturally needed to meet face-to-face to formulate battle plans. However, with the Jinzhou army stationed within the city, inviting either party inside would appear suspicious. Therefore, Yue Qiong proactively set up the grand camp outside the city, thus dispelling Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua’s doubts.

The night before the alliance meeting, Qin Wan discussed with Yan Chi, “I wonder if we’ll see Qin Chaoyu this time.”

Yan Chi replied, “If you wish to see her, you can come with me tomorrow. If there’s an opportunity, you can meet.”

Qin Wan said, “Tomorrow is for the alliance meeting. It would be inconvenient for me to go…”

Yan Chi smiled, “What’s inconvenient about it? Without my presence, there would be no meeting. You’re my wife—what’s wrong with coming along?”

Put this way, Qin Wan felt tempted and finally decided to accompany Yan Chi.

Early the next day, Yan Chi selected five thousand troops and brought Qin Wan to the meeting site.

The meeting location was ten li south of Wei County, not particularly close to the city. Yan Chi had already sent scouts ahead—if Yue Qiong attempted any deception, they would know immediately.

At the same time, Zhao Shuhua also left their camp with the Yan Che couple and Zhao Jing, similarly bringing five thousand troops.

Since Zhao You was unwell and remained in camp, Zhao Shuhua felt complex emotions at the thought of meeting old acquaintances soon.

When both forces approached the meeting site, they saw it was an open plain where temporary grand tents had already been erected, with only about a thousand troops guarding the surroundings. Seeing this, Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua felt reassured and approached.

Yan Chi arrived with half a cup of tea’s time before Zhao Shuhua. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Shuhua soon arrived as well.

Yan Chi and the others stood before the main tent, watching as Zhao Shuhua led her officers riding closer.

The former Empress, who once presided over the realm, wore a moon-white cloak while riding. Though it had been less than a year since they last met, Zhao Shuhua’s face showed much more weathering, appearing to have aged five years. Her former dignified and noble bearing had somewhat diminished, but even in plain clothes, she had gained a decisive, martial presence of a ruler. Yue Qiong narrowed his eyes, looking at Yan Che and Qin Chaoyu behind her—

Though Qin Chaoyu never used her identity as Crown Princess while traveling, word of her identity had spread in the North. Yue Qiong had already guessed something, and seeing her following closely behind Yan Che now confirmed his suspicions. He stepped forward to greet them, “Your Majesty the Empress.”

As Zhao Shuhua dismounted, she raised an eyebrow at these words, “The Lord is quite bold. If the Emperor knew, he might label you a traitor.”

Yue Qiong smiled fearlessly at this, “It matters not. Everyone who has come to this camp is trusted. If I don’t address you as Empress, I wouldn’t know what to call you. Please… Your Highness the Crown Prince…”

Yue Qiong clasped his hands in greeting, and Yan Che hurriedly returned the courtesy, but his gaze caught sight of Qin Wan beside Yan Chi.

Zhao Shuhua also saw Yan Chi and his companion, as did Qin Chaoyu. Yan Chi didn’t share Yue Qiong’s warm nature—when their eyes met, he merely nodded in acknowledgment.

He then took Qin Wan’s hand and turned to enter the tent first.

Meanwhile, Yan Che momentarily lost himself in thought.

In the tumultuous past half year, they had all weathered much hardship. Zhao Shuhua had aged, and he no longer maintained his former grace, carrying instead a heavy bearing. Yet Yan Chi and Qin Wan seemed unchanged… Yan Che furrowed his brow and shook his head internally. No, they had changed.

Yan Chi’s presence as a ruler had grown more intense, his sharp edge subtly intimidating, while Qin Wan had become even more beautiful than before, the former coldness in her demeanor somewhat softened. However, when she looked at him, her gaze remained distant.

“Your Highness… we should go in…”

Qin Chaoyu’s soft voice brought Yan Che back to his senses, and he realized Zhao Shuhua had already reached the tent entrance.

Yan Che hurriedly stepped forward and entered the tent.

Inside, numerous seats had been arranged. Yue Qiong sat in the main position, with Yan Chi and Qin Wan to the left, while Zhao Shuhua had already taken her place on the right. Both sides had several other seats where military officers from the three forces sat.

Thinking about how everyone present had once been his subjects, Yan Che walked in with a straight back.

A simple banquet had been set up in the tent. Yue Qiong raised his cup, “With the Rong barbarians’ invasion, we face a national crisis. Fortunately, we have the aid of the Wise Prince and the Empress. I drink to you both.”

Neither Yan Chi nor Zhao Shuhua moved at these words. Yue Qiong smiled, “The wine isn’t poisoned. You two are the last people who can afford to have anything happen to them right now. Otherwise, with the Rong barbarians at our gates, I’d have another hundred thousand enemies to face, and our Jinzhou army couldn’t withstand that.”

At this, Yan Chi moved first, followed by Zhao Shuhua raising her cup. Seeing this, the others also raised their wine cups.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Yue Qiong continued, “I’ve invited you both here today—the banquet is secondary. We must formulate our battle strategy. The Rong barbarians still have one hundred fifty thousand troops. Though their lack of provisions has shaken their morale, the Rong never knows retreat. If we cannot drive them from Canglong Mountain, the northern border faces another catastrophe.”

Since Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua had come, they naturally intended to cooperate. Yue Qiong understood their concerns and thus positioned the Jinzhou army as the vanguard in everything, with the Northern Command and Shuoxi armies mainly responsible for the flanks. This meant the Jinzhou army would suffer the heaviest casualties.

Zhao Shuhua had harbored many misgivings, but seeing Yue Qiong’s sincerity, she found no reason for displeasure. Thus, the alliance meeting proceeded rather smoothly.

Though Zhao Shuhua had read many military texts, she wasn’t skilled in warfare. Watching Yue Qiong and Yan Chi discuss strategy with such ease, she couldn’t help but sigh. With Zhao You’s poor health preventing him from personally leading troops, the Northern Command army now desperately lacked capable commanders.

While military strategy was being discussed in the main tent, Qin Wan, not understanding these matters, had no intention of joining in and simply watched Qin Chaoyu.

Qin Chaoyu kept looking at her as well. Before long, Qin Wan raised her chin slightly, gesturing to go outside. Qin Chaoyu nodded, and they went out to talk.

It wasn’t yet noon, and an endless green plain stretched outside the tent. The wind still carried some chill. They walked a few steps south along the grassy meadow before stopping to talk. Qin Wan spoke first, “You look somewhat haggard. Are you doing well with the Crown Prince?”

Qin Chaoyu smiled, “Better than in the capital.”

Hearing this, Qin Wan immediately understood and smiled slightly, “As long as you’ve achieved what you wished for.”

Qin Chaoyu didn’t want to say more, “What about you? I see the Wise Prince is very attentive to you—he poured tea for you three times just now.”

Sitting at the same table as Yan Chi, Qin Wan didn’t drink wine, naturally only having tea. There was no need for servants to attend to her as he personally poured her tea. Unexpectedly, Qin Chaoyu had noticed all this. Qin Wan smiled tenderly, “Yes, he’s very good to me.”

Qin Chaoyu’s gaze was clear as she said, “That’s good then.”

After saying this, their eyes met, and for a moment, neither knew what else to say.

They had never been close friends, not like with Yue Ning, and so much had happened in the past half year that their meeting now carried a sense of how times had changed. Even if they wanted to say something, they didn’t know where to begin.

After a moment of silence, they suddenly smiled simultaneously. Qin Chaoyu noticed the grass beneath their feet was quite thick and sat down right there. Qin Wan raised her eyebrows at this—such behavior would have been unthinkable for the former noble lady of the Marquis’s household who had aspired to be Crown Princess.

Seeming to read Qin Wan’s expression, Qin Chaoyu patted the spot beside her, “Sit down. The sun’s rising now, so the ground isn’t damp anymore.”

Qin Wan often sat on the ground while treating wounded soldiers in the medical camp, and she had never been one for strict rules anyway, so she sat down as well.

The northern grassland wasn’t lush, with the wormwood only reaching their ankles. Sitting on the ground, they could see the azure dome of sky above. Qin Chaoyu spoke in a relaxed tone, “I’m really happy to see you. In the past half year, I haven’t had this feeling of meeting an old friend.”

“Have you been in contact with Uncle and the others in the capital?”

Qin Chaoyu nodded, “News that I’m alive always gets back to them. I sent a letter more than a month ago, asking them to find a place in the South to stay, to avoid the Emperor’s retaliation if things go wrong. I don’t know if they’ve gone south yet.”

Qin Wan frowned slightly, “Do you… think the Empress can return to Lin’an?”

They hadn’t brought any servants today, and the nearest guards were more than ten zhang away—no one could hear what they were saying.

Hearing Qin Wan’s question, Qin Chaoyu frowned sensitively.

Qin Wan sighed, “You truly love the Crown Prince, and after all this hardship, you’ve finally achieved your wish. However… the ambitions of the Empress and Crown Prince were never what you sought. If you’re content with this, I’ll say no more, but if you have even the slightest doubt, you should consider whether this can succeed. The Empress… the Empress harbors a deep hatred for the Emperor, and the Emperor won’t stand by watching the Empress’s rebellion grow day by day. His wariness of the Empress likely runs deeper than his suspicion of us, as shown by his initial northern campaign. If you had stayed in Cangzhou, that would have been different—you could have held the city and maintained stable supplies. But now, wanting to march south is a desperate gamble. You should understand this.”

Qin Chaoyu’s heart was thrown into chaos by Qin Wan’s words, and she countered, “What about you?”

Qin Wan smiled at this, “Naturally, I follow Yan Chi. But we’re different. Yan Chi has Shuoxi, and Shuoxi is a natural fortress. He’s left thirty thousand troops to guard Shuoxi, and this northern campaign has brought many victories. After the fighting is done, we’ll return to Shuoxi. We don’t plan to seize the throne—we’ll simply remain rebels until the end.”

Even though Qin Wan and Yan Chi wished for the Emperor’s downfall, it was only because they knew his true nature, not out of personal ambition. Moreover, they weren’t the type to disregard the common people’s welfare for their ambitions.

Qin Chaoyu’s expression grew troubled.

Qin Wan’s face turned serious, “I say this not to sow discord, but so that you’ll be prepared to choose if a life-or-death moment comes.”

Looking toward where the distant plain met the horizon, she continued, “After this battle, who knows when we’ll meet again? But I think, first and foremost, we must stay alive to have any chance of meeting again. Don’t you agree?”

Qin Chaoyu’s lips were pressed tight, “Yes… I know staying alive is most important.”

Throughout their northern journey, Qin Chaoyu never inquired about military or political affairs, but this didn’t mean she understood or knew nothing. She immediately grasped Qin Wan’s meaning, because such thoughts had already formed in her mind, but she also knew now wasn’t the time to stop things.

Seeing her composed expression, Qin Wan gave a bitter smile, “After seeing so much death, you realize staying alive is what matters most.”

Qin Chaoyu also smiled bitterly, “I’ve probably seen more than you have.”

Her words carried an extraordinary weight of experience, and Qin Wan fell silent upon hearing them.

The two sat with their backs to the main camp for who knows how long until footsteps sounded behind them.

Qin Wan turned to see Yan Chi approaching. She stood up to meet him, “Is it finished?”

Yan Chi nodded, then acknowledged Qin Chaoyu, who had also risen, before telling Qin Wan, “Yes, we need to return to camp.”

Hearing this, Qin Wan turned and walked to Qin Chaoyu. Before Qin Chaoyu could wonder what else she might say, Qin Wan leaned in and embraced her lightly. Qin Chaoyu’s body stiffened, and before she could react, Qin Wan had already released her and walked to Yan Chi. She saw Yan Chi half-embrace her shoulders as they walked toward several Shuoxi soldiers holding horses. Qin Chaoyu held her breath for a long moment, only exhaling when she felt suffocated. By then, Yan Chi had already lifted Qin Wan onto his horse, and with a flick of the reins, they galloped away.

Watching their horses swiftly depart until they disappeared, Qin Chaoyu suddenly felt a heavy pressure in her heart, and her eyes grew slightly red.

Turning her gaze, she saw Yan Che walking out of the tent. He first looked around searchingly, then walked toward Qin Chaoyu. Seeing her unusual expression, he quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”

Qin Chaoyu forced a smile, “Is the discussion finished?”

Yan Che nodded, “Yes, we can leave now.” After a pause, he asked again, “What’s wrong with you?”

Qin Chaoyu lowered her eyes and shook her head. When she looked up again, her expression had returned to normal, “Nothing, let’s go.”

Yan Che looked at her suspiciously for a moment before following her to find Zhao Shuhua.