Emerging from the central military tent, a young officer congratulated Fan Changyu: "The previous battles have already severely dampened the rebels' morale. With the death of Prince Changxin and the fall of Kang City, the rebel heir Sui Yuanqing was captured by the Marquis. There's no one left in Chongzhou capable of putting up a fight. If you breach the city gates tomorrow and claim this first merit, we'll be left even further behind in your dust."
Though seemingly flattering, there was an undercurrent of sourness in his words.
Fan Changyu's standing in the army was still shallow. Having earned her superiors' favor through several remarkable feats, many officers, while not voicing it openly, secretly harbored some envy.
Fan Changyu simply replied, "It's all due to the battle strategies devised day and night by General Tang and Lord Li. We merely charge into battle with courage—how can we speak of first merit? You flatter me too much, General."
By invoking Tang Peiyi and Li Huaian's authority, the young officer dared not say more, offering only an awkward smile of agreement.
Li Huaian emerged from the tent shortly after, having likely overheard part of their conversation. With a smile, he said, "All you generals have fought valiantly. His Majesty and General Tang have seen and taken note of your efforts. The peace of Great Yin still relies on your service."
The phrase "seen and taken note of" visibly altered the young officer's expression, fearing his earlier remarks might have offended Li Huaian. He clasped his fists repeatedly in agreement.
Fan Changyu also saluted with a composed demeanor, neither submissive nor arrogant.
Li Huaan glanced at her but said nothing further, only adding, "With the decisive battle imminent, all generals should rest and conserve their strength. Tomorrow, we must take Chongzhou without fail."
Fan Changyu saluted again with the others and prepared to return to her tent.
After walking some distance, she noticed Li Huaian following her at a measured pace, as if merely strolling coincidentally in the same direction.
During the strategy meeting in the central tent, personal guards were not permitted inside. While other generals had come alone, Fan Changyu had not brought Xiao Wu to wait outside, leaving her unaccompanied now.
Being straightforward by nature, she frowned slightly before stopping abruptly and turning to ask directly, "My lord, do you have orders for this subordinate?"
Li Huaian, caught off guard by her sudden question, paused momentarily before shaking his head with a wry smile. "First 'my lord,' then 'this subordinate'—you grow more distant with each meeting."
Fan Changyu replied, "Propriety must be observed."
Li Huaian's expression sobered, and he suddenly asked, "Do you address the Marquis the same way in his presence?"
Fan Changyu remained silent.
Realizing his lapse, Li Huaian frowned more deeply, perhaps annoyed at himself—usually so composed—for such a remark. "My words were improper. Miss Fan, please do not take offense..."
At this, Fan Changyu lifted her head, her gaze steady and calm. "The Marquis is of noble standing. This subordinate naturally cannot neglect propriety either."
This time, Li Huaian's pause lasted longer.
Fan Changyu said, "If my lord has no further instructions, this subordinate will take her leave."
Li Huaian stopped her. "You resent me over Lord He's matter, don't you?"
Fan Changyu replied, "This subordinate wouldn't dare."
Li Huaian studied her for a long moment. He stood where the shadow of a tent fell, half his robes fluttering gently in the moonlight while his features remained obscured in darkness. Without his usual mask of refined amiability, he seemed more genuine.He said, "The secret guarded by Miss Fan's parents might be the key to overthrowing Wei Yan. Wei Yan has been usurping imperial power for years. Only by eradicating the Wei Faction can we restore clarity to Great Yin's court. While Lord He chose loyalty and kept it hidden, Huaian cannot. If Miss Fan resents this, Huaian has no other choice."
Fan Changyu pressed her lips together and replied, "You overstate the matter, my lord. You act with impartial justice, and this humble general has no right to comment. But you used me to uncover Lord He's faults, causing my benefactor to fall into this predicament, yet still expect me to harbor no resentment? Truly, my lord makes it difficult for me."
Li Huaian seemed surprised by her words. "So you already knew," he said.
Fan Changyu remained silent.
The night wind stirred his wide Confucian robes, outlining his bamboo-like figure. His voice carried a sigh-like softness: "Wei Yan's Martial Assassins all perished in Miss Fan's home. When I was ordered to investigate this in Jizhou, our 'chance encounter' on the mountain path was staged. But today, my desire to sincerely befriend Miss Fan is genuine. No matter how Wei Yan moves against you, the Li family will ensure your safety."
Fan Changyu simply said, "For the Li family's great kindness, this general shall repay in due time."
Though she spoke of repayment, the Li family's protection surely served their own purpose against Wei Yan.
To Li Huaian's ears, her words sounded both shameful and somewhat laughable.
Seeing her so distantly and politely drawing boundaries with the Li family, Li Huaian couldn't quite name the feeling in his chest—only that it sat uncomfortably.
As if struck by a thought, he suddenly added, "Miss Fan should also be wary of that eunuch from the palace."
Fan Changyu asked, "Does His Majesty mean to act against me?"
Li Huaian explained, "The matter of Lord He sheltering your parents for seventeen years hasn't yet reached His Majesty. But an imperial decree has been issued for the Marquis's marriage to the princess. Given rumors that the Marquis once shared hardship as your husband, the princess might take offense..."
He left the rest unsaid, but the implication was clear.
Fan Changyu abruptly asked, "If I weren't a serving military officer but just a common woman—would I already be dead?"
Li Huaian's silence seemed confirmation.
In a voice thick with disbelief, she murmured, "Does royal birth grant license to treat common lives as ants?"
At this news, beyond the ache of Xie Zheng's betrothal, came a sudden fog obscuring her path forward.
To common folk, the emperor was the very sky above.
Fan Changyu had once pinned hopes on vindicating her grandfather—that through military merit, she might plead his case before the golden halls as in operas, where wrongs were righted and justice served.
Yet reality diverged sharply from those tales. Where operas portrayed impartial judges and emperors, real rulers had private designs. That distant throne's occupant, ignorant of her grievances, would see her dead merely for potentially troubling a royal wedding.
Noting her pallor, Li Huaian wished to offer comfort. But words that risked heads couldn't yet be spoken. He pledged instead: "For seventeen years Old General Meng has borne infamy. If Wei Yan wrought this, the Li family will see justice done for him."He didn’t elaborate much about her father, seemingly also tacitly acknowledging that her father was Wei Yan’s man, who had once helped Wei Yan frame her maternal grandfather.
Fan Changyu only numbly expressed her thanks before saying she was tired and needed to return to camp to rest.
Li Huaian watched her retreating figure for a long time, lost in thought, then murmured to himself as if speaking to no one, “What a fool I was—why did I have to tell her about the emperor’s marriage decree at this moment?”
Perhaps… it was simply because he couldn’t stand her polite yet distant attitude toward him.
But after telling her, seeing the sudden surge of sorrow in her eyes, he didn’t feel any better either.
In the end, Li Huaian laughed at himself mockingly—
After returning, Fan Changyu had never felt so exhausted before. Her entire body felt heavy, as if all the fatigue of the past month had accumulated at this very moment.
Lying down on the military cot in her clothes, even breathing felt laborious. A suffocating sensation enveloped her, making her feel as though she had sunk into a swamp, dragging her limbs down with an inescapable weight.
She turned her head and glanced at the deerskin bracers tied to her sleeve. After untying them, she hesitated to throw them away, ultimately placing them on the low stool by the bed where clothes were kept. Suppressing the dull ache in her chest from the effort of breathing, she exhaled deeply before covering her eyes with one hand and falling asleep.
There was a tough battle to fight tomorrow—she needed proper rest.
But the shaky breaths in the darkness betrayed her emotions. The moisture that slipped from the corners of her eyes into her hairline gathered until it soaked the pillow.
When he had left that day, his words had been so clear and so final. The emperor’s marriage decree meant he could gain more power to deal with Wei Yan by marrying the princess. For him, it was a good thing—he likely wouldn’t refuse.
She had already seen everything so clearly, yet she couldn’t control the sorrow in her heart at this moment.
Fan Changyu kept her hand over her eyes, silently telling herself that she was only allowed to grieve for this one night. After tonight, that man’s affairs would have nothing to do with her anymore.
The emperor was no good ruler in her eyes, but the common people shouldn’t have to endure more war because of it. She would fight tomorrow’s battle well.
Besides, it was precisely because she had become a military official in the court that the emperor dared not openly move against her. She needed to be wary of the eunuch the emperor had placed in the army and climb higher.
The advisors she had hired had explained the current power balance in the court. The emperor wanted so badly to eliminate Wei Yan, yet all state affairs still had to go through him—because Wei Yan held too much power.
Those who could be easily erased were simply those who didn’t hold enough power.
Even now, Fan Changyu still didn’t like fighting for so-called power. But if it meant protecting her own life and those around her, she would fight tooth and nail for it—
The next day, when Fan Changyu woke up, her eyes were predictably swollen.
Xie Wu was taken aback at the sight of her. “Commander, you…”
Without blinking, Fan Changyu lied smoothly, “There were too many mosquitoes last night. Got bitten near the eye.”
Xie Wu opened his mouth, then closed it again, only nodding in agreement. “Yeah, the mosquitoes are terrible.”Fan Changyu no longer wore the deerskin bracers Xie Zheng had given her before. With one hand, she fastened the iron vambrace that matched her armor and said, "Select a few from the dozens of men I personally trained and assign them to Changning's side under Xiao Qi's command. Have them escort Changning and Aunt Zhao back to Jizhou."
Xie Wu keenly sensed something amiss: "Commander, are you worried Miss Changning might be in danger?"
Fan Changyu didn't hide it from Xie Wu but didn't elaborate either, simply stating, "Better safe than sorry."
Both Wei Yan and the emperor viewed her as a thorn in their side.
Fan Changyu wasn't afraid of them coming after her, but she feared they might resort to underhanded tactics against Changning.
Once she was on the battlefield, she would be stretched too thin. For now, Jizhou was still He Jingyuan's territory, so sending Changning and Aunt Zhao back there would be relatively safer for them.
Taking her words to heart, Xie Wu didn't hesitate and immediately went to make arrangements.
Returning to the battlefield, this time as the vanguard commander, Fan Changyu felt little fear but a heavy weight on her shoulders.
So many lives were entrusted to her. She wanted not only to win this battle but also to ensure that even the nameless foot soldiers could return home alive.
Tens of thousands of troops had Chongzhou City surrounded on all sides.
Fan Changyu was responsible for attacking the eastern gate. The cavalry and infantry under her command had trained and fought in minor skirmishes during this time, their coordination now seamless.
But as she led the vanguard toward the eastern gate, entering the rebels' archery range, the Chongzhou soldiers on the battlements appeared panicked. Only a few attempted to shoot arrows, and even they struggled to draw their bows.
Behind these soldiers, several taller men brandished whips, lashing at them. Some soldiers even knelt, seemingly begging for mercy.
From her galloping warhorse, Fan Changyu gazed at the battlements, a trace of confusion flickering in her eyes.
The archers behind her, now within range, heard their officer shout, "Loose arrows!"
A hail of arrows rained down on the rebel soldiers atop the walls, eliciting cries of agony. A chaotic scramble ensued among the Chongzhou-clad soldiers along the narrow parapet walkway, with none even thinking to use the battlements for cover.
Someone on the wall wailed desperately, "Don't shoot! We're just civilians from the city—"
The next moment, the pleading man was beheaded by a vicious Chongzhou soldier behind him.
But the Chongzhou soldiers overseeing these civilians seemed few in number. More and more people on the walls, despite the pressure from the soldiers, cried out that they weren't Chongzhou troops but merely civilians forcibly conscripted.
Fan Changyu sharply pulled the reins, her horse rearing up with a whinny. She raised a hand to halt the archers and shouted, "Aim for the Chongzhou soldiers at the back!"
Xie Wu, riding beside her as both bodyguard and signal officer, immediately relayed the order through flag signals.
Amid the deafening clamor of battle, verbal commands were hard to hear, but flag signals were unmistakable.
The archers ceased their volleys and instead took careful aim at the sturdier soldiers on the walls.
With most of the battlements manned by untrained civilians, Fan Changyu and her elite troops crossed the perilous archery range with little difficulty.Upon reaching the base of the city wall, as the siege ladders were set against the battlements, the true Chongzhou soldiers seemed to panic, frantically whipping the civilians to force them to lift stones and hurl them downward.
Fan Changyu pressed close to the wall, dodging falling rocks and logs as she shouted upward, "People of Chongzhou on the walls, listen! You were forced into this. The court will not punish you once the city falls. The rebels are doomed. If you aid the imperial army in battle, you will be rewarded based on your merits after the city is taken!"
The civilians forced onto the walls had been driven there at swordpoint. They dared not resist the Chongzhou soldiers, partly out of ingrained fear of authority and partly because, with the imperial army at their gates, they feared being executed as rebels alongside them.
After Fan Changyu's words, though most remained timid, a few brave souls roared and seized weapons from the rebel soldiers, turning them against their oppressors.
As chaos erupted atop the walls, the Jizhou troops below found it easier to scale the ladders and attack.
Once Fan Changyu climbed up, she cut down several Chongzhou soldiers like vegetables. Seeing how few defenders remained at the rear of the wall, she realized something was terribly wrong. Scanning the area, she spotted a fully armored officer attempting to flee. Fan Changyu hacked through the soldiers blocking her path and, before she could reach him, hurled her eight-foot black iron blade at him.
The officer was struck in the leg, howling in pain. When he tried to push the heavy blade off his wounded limb, the movement only worsened his agony.
By then, Fan Changyu had caught up. She planted a foot on his injured leg and picked up the Horse-Cutting Sword with one hand, demanding, "Where is the eldest son of the Prince of Changxin?"
The officer wailed, "My leg... my leg..."
Fan Changyu eased the pressure slightly and barked, "Speak!"
With Chongzhou's fall imminent, the officer abandoned all pretense and confessed, "The young master left through the city gates last night."
Fan Changyu's expression darkened. Pressing the sword's tip to his throat, she snapped, "You're lying!"
The officer begged, "Madam, whether I'm lying or not, you can see how few soldiers remain in the city. That can't be faked!"
It was true. The eastern gate, Chongzhou's main entrance, was barely manned by a mix of soldiers and civilians in uniform—clearly something was amiss.
Fan Changyu's face twisted in frustration. "All four gates were heavily guarded. How could the rebels have escaped the city?"
The officer pleaded, "The main rebel force withdrew through the western gate last night. Where the western gate guards went, I truly don't know!"
Realizing she'd get no more useful information from the rebel officer, Fan Changyu had him bound and immediately sent scouts to report to Tang Peiyi.
The rebels' silent escape through the western gate last night was no small matter.
Beyond each of the four gates, well out of range of the wall's arrows and catapults, five thousand imperial troops were stationed.
For the Prince of Changxin's eldest son to slip away with his army, he'd have needed wings or the ability to tunnel underground.
Fan Changyu's mind raced like tangled threads. She left Xie Wu in charge at the gate, strictly ordering the Jizhou troops entering the city not to harass civilians. Seizing a Chongzhou soldier to act as a guide, she led a contingent to storm the Changxin Prince Manor.
Upon arrival, they found only servants remaining in the manor. After interrogating several, all claimed Sui Yuanhuai had fled the previous night.Fan Changyu couldn't find Yu Qianqian and Yu Bao'er. After interrogating some servants, she learned that several months ago, Sui Yuanhuai had indeed brought back a mother and child. The woman's surname was Yu, but they didn't know her full name. They only knew she was Sui Yuanhuai's concubine, and the child was born after she had fled.
Hearing this result, Fan Changyu remained silent for a long while.
After collecting herself, she ordered her soldiers to detain the people from Changxin Prince Manor and sat alone in the room, lost in thought.
She had been slow to realize. Ever since Changning mentioned encountering Yu Bao'er at Changxin Prince Manor, she should have guessed that Yu Qianqian's identity wasn't simple.
Though she hadn't known Yu Qianqian for long, it was clear she was a woman of strong will. If she had fled before, she likely hadn't willingly become Sui Yuanhuai's concubine.
The current problem was that both she and Yu Bao'er had been captured by Sui Yuanhuai, and the servants in the manor all knew he had a son.
Fan Changyu worried that if Sui Yuanhuai were eventually captured, Yu Bao'er would also be implicated.
Rebellion was a crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Commandant, General Tang has led the army into the city and urgently summons you for a meeting," came Xie Wu's voice.
Fan Changyu replied, "Understood. I'll go immediately."
When Fan Changyu arrived at the meeting hall, the atmosphere was predictably tense.
Tang Peiyi sat at the head with a grim expression, while the officers below kept their heads bowed. Fan Changyu also lowered her head and took her place at the back of the line.
However, her late arrival had caught Tang Peiyi's attention. He addressed her directly, "Commandant Fan, I heard you went to search Changxin Prince Manor after the city fell. Did you find anything?"
Fan Changyu stepped forward and saluted. "Reporting to the General, only about a hundred servants remained in the manor. They all claimed that the eldest son of Changxin Wang had left the city last night. I have ordered the manor sealed and all the servants temporarily detained."
This news did little to improve Tang Peiyi's mood. He waved his hand dismissively, signaling for her to step back.
As soon as Fan Changyu returned to her place, Tang Peiyi overturned the table before him. The teacups and the low table crashed to the ground, shattering porcelain flying everywhere. Everyone in the room was startled, holding their breath even more.
Everyone knew how absurd this was.
The rebel army, numbering tens of thousands, had openly abandoned the city after being besieged. The battle report to be sent to the capital would be difficult to write.
If the Emperor were angered, it was uncertain whether Tang Peiyi, the newly appointed commander of the Jizhou army, could keep his head.
Li Huaian entered the hall and, seeing the scene, calmly said, "General Tang, there's no need for anger. We've already uncovered the full story of how the rebels escaped through the west gate last night."
Tang Peiyi finally looked up. "What happened?"
Li Huaian replied, "Commandant Lu Dayi, who was stationed at the west gate, was an old acquaintance of one of Changxin Wang's advisors. They had been secretly in contact all along. The military achievements Lu Dayi claimed in previous battles were all due to the advisor leaking the rebels' troop deployments. Last night, after you finalized the plan to attack the city today, the advisor wrote a letter of surrender and, along with a map of Chongzhou's defenses, tied it to an arrow and shot it outside Lu Dayi's camp. This was his pledge of allegiance, promising to open the city gate at midnight to help Lu Dayi take Chongzhou without a fight and claim the first merit."Tang Peiyi was so furious his eyes nearly turned red, shouting sharply, "That fool actually believed it?"
Li Huaian nodded slowly with a heavy expression. "Lu Dayi, eager to claim the first merit, feared the movement of troops would alert the scouts, so he withdrew the scouts near the west gate. At night, he led the guards outside the west gate to secretly enter the city with that advisor, only to be ambushed by rebel arrows in the dark alleys. The rebels then seized the opportunity to escape the city."
"Lu Dayi had an advisor by his side who, upon seeing that letter last night, urged him not to take such a risk. Lu Dayi thought the advisor was cowardly and feared he might ruin his plans, so he had the man tied up and left in his tent. It was only when I led men to investigate the west gate that we discovered him."
Tang Peiyi took the letter of surrender written by the advisor to Lu Dayi, handed over by Li Huaian, and cursed loudly: "Lu Dayi deserved to die! That incompetent fool who ruins everything! Who could possibly shoulder such a colossal disaster for him?"
Li Huaian lifted his amber-colored eyes and said ambiguously, "Lu Dayi was recommended by the Prime Minister."
Hearing this, Tang Peiyi slammed the armrest of the Grand Tutor chair with even greater force. The sturdy chair instantly shattered into splinters. "That Wei Yan harbors treacherous ambitions! Lord He entrusted the military power of Jizhou to me, yet Lu Dayi was so eager to claim merit—was he trying to seize back Jizhou's military power for Wei Yan?"
Furious, he turned back to the table, grinding his teeth. "Even if I have to risk my life, Wei Yan won’t escape unscathed!"
Li Huaian lowered his eyes and said, "The immediate priority is to locate the rebels' next hideout."
Tang Peiyi blurted out almost without thinking: "Lucheng! If the rebels head further north, they’ll run straight into the Xie Family Army under Wu'an Marquis—that would be suicide. Changxin Wang’s consort’s hometown, Kangcheng, has already been taken by Wu'an Marquis. The rebels can only move south now. Between Taizhou and Jizhou, Taizhou’s troops haven’t mobilized, but Jizhou’s forces have all been dispatched to Chongzhou. If they breach Lucheng, the gateway to Jizhou, the rebels can march south unimpeded!"
His teeth chattered uncontrollably: "Dispatch troops to Lucheng immediately."
Li Huaian shook his head. "The rebels set out at midnight last night. Even at full speed, our main forces likely won’t catch up. We must first send scouts to deliver the message, then dispatch cavalry for support."
Tang Peiyi, frantic with urgency, quickly agreed: "Yes, yes, we’ll follow your suggestion, Nephew."
Zheng Wenchang, a native of Jizhou and personally trained by He Jingyuan, immediately stepped forward: "General, I request permission to lead the cavalry back to Lucheng for reinforcements!"
Fan Changyu knew He Jingyuan’s injuries likely rendered him unfit for battle. Moreover, since she had sent Xie Qi to escort Changning and the others back to Jizhou earlier that morning, she feared they might encounter the rebel army on the road. She also stepped forward: "I too am willing to reinforce Jizhou."
Tang Peiyi glanced at the two of them, aware of their exceptional martial skills and their deep respect for He Jingyuan, and immediately ordered: "You two will lead three thousand cavalry to Lucheng!"
At that moment, a shrill voice came from outside: "Wait—"
The eunuch who had earlier delivered the imperial edict, supported by a younger eunuch, slowly crossed the threshold and entered.
Li Huaian’s brow twitched at the sight of him.
Tang Peiyi, already overwhelmed, couldn’t muster a pleasant expression. "What instructions does the Eunuch have for us?"
The edict-bearing eunuch’s heavily powdered face creased into a stiff smile. "When His Majesty sent me to console the troops of Jizhou, he also bestowed upon me the title of Army Supervisor. Surely, General Tang can heed my words here?"
This was a blatant assertion of authority—the Army Supervisor held oversight power in the military. Tang Peiyi had no choice but to grit his teeth: "Of course, Eunuch. But the military situation is urgent, and I truly...""It's precisely because of the urgent military situation that I've made this special trip," the eunuch interrupted Tang Peiyi.
When his gaze swept over Fan Changyu, she felt as if she'd been brushed by a serpent's tail—that cold, slimy sensation was both nauseating and terrifying.
Recalling Li Huaian's words to her the night before, Fan Changyu wondered if this damned eunuch was setting some kind of trap for her now.
Sure enough, the eunuch drawled in the next moment: "General Tang, your tens of thousands of troops have besieged Chongzhou City for days. Capturing the rebels should have been as easy as catching turtles in a jar, yet it's come to this. Sending three thousand cavalry to Lucheng—who knows if they'll even catch up with the rebels? And even if they do, can three thousand men really defeat nearly twenty thousand rebel troops?"
His wrinkled eyelids drooped lazily as he spoke with detached leisure: "This frontline situation must be reported to His Majesty immediately, so the Ministry of War can deploy troops to prepare defenses south of Jizhou."
Hearing the eunuch's implication that Jizhou couldn't be held, Tang Peiyi could barely contain his anger. He replied coldly: "If the Eunuch wishes to return to the capital and report to His Majesty, by all means do so. This general will lead my subordinate generals to reinforce Lucheng at all costs."
The eunuch smiled as if hearing a joke: "General Tang's loyalty to the throne is commendable. I'll put in a good word for you before His Majesty. But if I travel back alone and encounter rebels, I'm afraid this message won't reach the Emperor."
Then he revealed his true purpose: "General Tang, assign two thousand of your cavalry to escort me back to the capital to deliver my report."
Tang Peiyi's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets: "Two thousand? If I give you two thousand men, what will I have left to reinforce Lucheng?"
The eunuch raised his eyelids lazily: "General Tang, you're deceiving yourself by pretending Jizhou hasn't fallen yet. Tell me—if Jizhou is lost, what can your three thousand cavalry accomplish in Lucheng? Give me two thousand, and I'll take the Taizhou detour back to the capital. At least the message will get through first."
Tang Peiyi roared: "Go back and report if you wish—no one's stopping you! But you won't get two thousand of my cavalry!"
The eunuch snorted, his smile vanishing: "Tang Peiyi, are you defying an imperial decree?"
Blinded by rage, Tang Peiyi couldn't even bother with diplomatic language for this powdered fop: "Today I defy it! You rootless coward—keep your palace intrigues in the capital! Bring that nonsense here, and I'll kill you today, then report you died at rebel hands! What can you do about it?"
His bandit-like ferocity actually cowed the eunuch.
Li Huaian chose this moment to intervene: "General Tang, don't act rashly."
Tang Peiyi shoved Li Huaian aside and barked at Fan Changyu and Zheng Wenchang: "You two—march your troops to Lucheng immediately!"
Knowing the current crisis was beyond their capabilities, Fan Changyu realized holding Lucheng would absolve Tang Peiyi of blame and spare Jizhou's civilians from war. She and Zheng Wenchang immediately clasped fists and departed.
Behind them, the eunuch still shouted: "Tang Peiyi! How dare you treat an imperial envoy this way—"Tang Peiyi glanced back at the eunuch and ordered his men, "Tie him up! Throw him into the corpse pile—let him see how many have died in this battle!"
His eyes burned with fury as he glared at the eunuch, jaw clenched. "The letter will be sent back to the capital, but you, sir, shall remain here with my fallen soldiers!"
With that, he roared, "Army, march out!"
After Tang Peiyi left the hall, Li Huaian watched the trussed-up eunuch being dragged away, his expression unreadable. Catching up to Tang Peiyi, he said, "General Tang, why must you go this far?"
The towering man's eyes reddened once more from the day's events. "Nephew, look at us—risking our lives for peace, while those around His Majesty play with words."
He grinned bitterly. "Don’t mistake me for despising scholars. Since ancient times, pretty words have always come from their mouths. Whether they have integrity or not, I wouldn’t know. But the bones on the battlefield, drenched in blood—will posterity even remember their names?"
"That castrated fool thinks Jizhou is surely lost. But I know Lord He—he’ll hold out until reinforcements arrive, even with his last breath."
"And those two lads leading the cavalry vanguard—they’re fearless. Every moment they buy us increases our chances."
Li Huaian thought of the grand scheme his grandfather and the imperial heir had devised to topple Wei Yan, and a wave of guilt surged within him. "Even if Jizhou falls, it may not be so dire. We can always retake it."
Tang Peiyi fixed him with a stern gaze. "How can war be treated so lightly? Remember how many years and how much Great Yin blood it took to reclaim Jinzhou after it fell to foreign invaders?"
Just then, a personal guard hurried over and saluted. "General, the army has set out. Your warhorse is ready!"
Tang Peiyi turned to Li Huaian. "I entrust Chongzhou to you, nephew."
As Li Huaian watched his broad-backed figure stride away, his emotions churned violently.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Sui Yuanhuai had already taken Jizhou by now.
He wasn’t worried about the civilians there—he knew Sui Yuanhuai was the imperial heir and wouldn’t slaughter innocents.
This was all a performance. A battle they should have won effortlessly had gone awry because Wei Yan’s men bungled things, allowing the rebels to escape grain-starved Chongzhou and seize Jizhou.
Not only would the court rage, but the entire realm would be incensed. Wei Yan would become the target of universal condemnation.
Soon, Jizhou would be retaken, the "rebels" brought to justice, and a full confession extracted—revealing that their escape from Chongzhou wasn’t due to Wei Yan’s men overreaching for merit, but a covert deal: Wei Yan helped them break through Chongzhou’s blockade, and in return, they prolonged the conflict to delay the recall of his military authority.
As for Lu Dayi’s death? Naturally, Wei Yan had silenced him.
To make this play convincing enough, they had to keep pawns like Tang Peiyi in the dark. Only with enough deaths could the scandal reach the necessary magnitude.
Perhaps influenced by Tang Peiyi’s words, Li Huaian suddenly felt profoundly unsettled.
A question gnawed at him: Was orchestrating this scheme to overthrow Wei Yan right—or wrong?Once he had believed that as long as Wei Yan controlled the court politics of Great Yin, the dynasty would have no future until he was removed.
To eliminate this treacherous minister, what did political maneuvers in court matter? Over the years, their Li family had risen in power, sacrificing countless lives to oppose Wei Yan. So why did he now feel guilt over the deaths of those soldiers?
Their deaths would topple Wei Yan and bring a better life to the people.
Sacrificing the few for the greater good—was that truly wrong?
Li Huaian closed his eyes, unwilling to dwell on it further.
A carriage traveled along the winding mountain road, while a snow-white Gyrfalcon circled high in the sky.
When the carriage passed by the river at the mountain’s base, it came to a stop. A young man went to fetch water but misstepped, tumbling onto his back.
The other young men guarding the carriage burst into laughter.
Grimacing, the youth scrambled to his feet and noticed traces of smoke hidden beneath the weeds. He muttered, "Why would there be a cooking pit here by the riverbank?"
Spotting more areas where weeds had been deliberately arranged to conceal something, he kicked them aside one by one, revealing numerous cooking pits. Scratching his head, he said, "Strange. So many pits—how many people must have cooked here?"
A small head peeked out from the carriage. Changning, cradling a fluffy yellow duckling, asked excitedly, "Are we cooking now?"
The young man was one of the personal guards Fan Changyu had sent to protect Changning and Aunt Zhao—the same one who had entrusted his money to her before his first battle. His name was Qin Yong.
Glancing at the sun, he chuckled. "At least we won’t have to dig pits here."
Xie Qi, seated on the carriage shaft some distance from the riverbank, hadn’t seen the pits yet. But when Qin Yong mentioned their abundance, his instincts sharpened. He jumped down and asked, "How many are there?"
Qin Yong counted them. "Just here, there are seven or eight, all covered with weeds."
Having served as a scout in the army, Xie Qi was more attuned to environmental clues. He walked along the river valley and, after finding cooking pits extending for over a mile on both sides, declared with certainty, "An army of at least ten thousand passed through here."
The other guards tensed. Hesitantly, one asked, "The rebels are trapped in Chongzhou, and General Tang is leading the Jizhou army to crush them. Where would another large force come from now?"
Xie Qi didn’t answer. Instead, he tested the warmth of the ashes in one pit and murmured, "The embers are cold. It’s nearly noon now—armies don’t cook at night, so it must have been this morning."
Qin Yong, the guard who had fetched water, asked, "Could it be the Marquis, leading troops from Kangcheng to Chongzhou?"
Xie Qi stood up. "Taking this route from Kangcheng to Chongzhou would be a detour."
His expression darkened. Returning to the carriage, he swiftly wrote something on paper, rolled it into a small scroll, and whistled sharply at the Gyrfalcon soaring above. The bird swooped down.
After slipping the note into the metal tube fastened to its leg, Xie Qi stroked its feathers and said, "Go find our master."
With a powerful flap of its wings, the Gyrfalcon ascended back into the sky.Qin Yong watched the scene with immense envy. The white Gyrfalcon that had been following them in the sky was exceptionally fierce, and none of them dared approach it except for this brother called Xie Qi.
He asked, "Did you send the Gyrfalcon to find the Commandant?"
Before Xie Qi could respond, Changning pouted and asked, "Uncle Xie Qi, where did you send the falcon?"
Xie Qi reassured Changning, "The Gyrfalcon will return after delivering a message."
Qin Yong grew even more excited, his admiration for Fan Changyu soaring to new heights: "It really went to find the Commandant? I never imagined the Commandant would raise such a formidable bird of prey."
Xie Qi, recalling how Xie Wu had mentioned Fan Changyu's special attention to this young soldier on the battlefield—even giving him a breastplate—couldn't help but coolly reply, "The Gyrfalcon went to deliver a message to our Commandant's husband."
The young men all perked up their ears.
Qin Yong stammered, "The... the Commandant is married?"
Xie Qi lifted his eyelids and said, "Of course."
A nearby soldier curiously asked, "What kind of person is the Commandant's husband? Is he also in our army?"
Another soldier eagerly interjected, "He is! I heard from the brothers who went to reinforce First Line Gorge that the Commandant joined the army to search for her husband after he was conscripted."
The others clamored, "Really? Is that true?"
Xie Qi nodded coolly yet proudly, as if basking in reflected glory. "How could it be false?"
The other soldiers then pressed the one who seemed to know more details about Fan Changyu's husband.
That soldier said, "I heard the Commandant's husband was badly injured in the battle at First Line Gorge and is now half-paralyzed."
The soldiers sighed in sympathy, privately lamenting Fan Changyu's tragic fate.
Xie Qi, who had just taken a sip of water from his canteen, nearly choked to death.
Even Aunt Zhao inside the carriage couldn't help but scold, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
Qin Yong and the others didn't know who this elderly woman was to Fan Changyu, but seeing how respectfully Xie Qi treated her, they all ducked their heads and accepted the reprimand.
Though young, Changning understood that the "husband" they were talking about was her brother-in-law. She clung to the carriage window and looked up at Aunt Zhao, asking, "Auntie, what does 'half-paralyzed' mean?"
Aunt Zhao spat twice before explaining, "It means he's a cripple."
Changning immediately defended Xie Zheng: "My brother-in-law is not a cripple!"
The soldier who had spoken earlier scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I... I just heard it from others in the army."
Aunt Zhao, unaware of the subsequent events between Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng, worried that with Fan Changyu's rising rank, people around her might start having ulterior motives. She liked Xie Qi precisely because he was honest, capable, and free of such scheming.
To prevent Xie Zheng from being cast aside as a discarded spouse, she deliberately spoke up in front of everyone: "Changyu's husband is a fine-looking man, well-educated, and skilled in martial arts."
Qin Yong, being simple-minded, figured that if the Commandant was so capable, her husband must be impressive too, as Aunt Zhao described. He blurted out, "Then the Commandant's husband must be a captain or general too?"
Aunt Zhao didn't know Xie Zheng's military rank, but recalling that when he last visited, he hadn't even held a position as high as Fan Changyu's squad leader, she didn't dare exaggerate. Lowering her eyes, she focused on amusing Changning and didn't answer.Qin Yong was still unaware that he had misspoken. Seeing that Aunt Zhao ignored him, he exchanged puzzled glances with his companions.
It was Xie Qi who finally spoke up, "When you meet the Commandant's husband in the future, you'll know who he is."
With that, the topic was temporarily set aside.
They took a brief rest where they were, lighting a fire to cook. Xie Qi gazed at the horizon where the gyrfalcon had flown away, his expression still tense.
He had written down everything he had witnessed on the road and sent the gyrfalcon to find Xie Zheng.
The gyrfalcon recognized the Xie Family Army flag. If Xie Zheng's troops were passing through this area, they could only have traveled a few dozen miles in half a day. The gyrfalcon would quickly return with a reply from Xie Zheng.
If it wasn’t Xie Zheng, sending the gyrfalcon to deliver the message would still ensure the military intelligence reached him promptly.
The black-armored troops flowed like molten iron through the endless green mountains, the "Xie" banner with its gray wolf emblem stretched taut by the mountain winds, flapping fiercely.
A clear, piercing cry echoed from the sky. The personal guard riding close to the carriage in the middle of the formation looked up and respectfully reported to the person inside, "Marquis, it's the gyrfalcon."
The man inside, who had been resting with his eyes closed, lifted his cold, sharp phoenix eyes.
He had left the gyrfalcon by her side. She wouldn’t use it to send him messages—only Xie Qi or Xie Wu would.
Had something happened to her?
A tickle rose in his throat. He pressed his lips together, suppressing a cough, then lifted the thick brocade curtain of the carriage.
The gyrfalcon spotted him, circling low before swooping down, its iron-like talons gripping the edge of the carriage firmly as it raised the leg carrying the message tube.
Xie Zheng retrieved the letter inside. After reading it, his eyes turned icy as he issued a cold command, "Change course. Full speed to Lu City."
The guard outside the carriage glanced at the sky and hesitated, "Marquis, if we head to Lu City now, we likely won’t arrive before nightfall."
From inside the carriage came only an unyielding, frigid voice, "Bring me my warhorse. The cavalry will ride ahead with me."
The sun sank in the west, the dying light as red as blood.
The fields outside Lu City’s gates were bathed in a brilliant golden-red hue.
At some point, Fan Changyu had grown to dislike sunsets. The color was too vivid, always reminding her of blood on the battlefield.
Like now.
Riding back to Lu City with three thousand cavalry without pause, the sight of blood staining the earth that same dazzling shade made her heart sink.
Lu City hadn’t been breached, but the corpses piled beneath the gates were so thick they nearly reached the height of the walls.
Earlier that day, while attacking Chongzhou City, she had seen ordinary civilians forced onto the walls at swordpoint by the rebels. Yet here at Lu City, she saw civilians willingly climbing the walls to defend it.
He Jingyuan stood at the center of Lu City’s battlements in full armor, like an unshakable mountain, pressing down on the besiegers and keeping them at bay.
Just seeing his figure from afar made Fan Changyu’s eyes grow hot with tears.
Against all odds, with Lu City’s forces stretched thin, he had actually led its civilians in holding the gates until now.
Zheng Wenchang let out a hoarse battle cry, leading the cavalry to pierce through the rebel ranks from behind. Fan Changyu followed closely.
Whether it was because the rebels were exhausted from their prolonged siege or because their cavalry truly had divine aid, they fought their way to the front of the enemy formation. The rebels, lacking capable commanders beyond sheer numbers, ultimately chose not to engage and retreated for the time being.
They made it into the city.The defenders on the city wall cheered with tears of joy. Fan Changyu followed Zheng Wenchang to the city wall to find He Jingyuan.
The deputy general looked at the elderly man whose stern eyes were fixed ahead and said excitedly, "Sir, we've defended Lu City!"
The old man did not respond, his expression unchanged.
Startled, the deputy reached out to touch him, only to find the elder's body already stiff—yet he still stood unyielding, leaning on his sword.
The deputy general let out a grief-stricken cry, "My lord!"
Fan Changyu and the others who had just ascended the city tower felt their hearts suddenly turn cold upon hearing this wail.
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