"Xiao Man is very capable, Xiao Man is so capable."
The gentle female voice repeated in her ear, like a lullaby hummed in childhood.
Xiao Man lay nestled in the warm embrace, crying until her nose tingled with sourness.
Before her aunt departed, she had said she would arrange people along the route for Xiao Man's unexpected needs.
Just moments ago, whether it was Chu Zhao or that officer Lao Bai, though neither said it aloud, Xiao Man could tell they were prepared to die.
If Chu Zhao died here—
She rushed out recklessly, calling the village's secret signals incessantly like a headless fly.
She hadn't actually expected any response.
Their departure from the capital had been hasty, constantly changing routes through remote areas. After leaving the Border Commandery, she had realized how vast Great Xia truly was—
When she actually heard a response, she could hardly believe it, let alone now seeing her aunt.
Aunt had come personally, Aunt was here, Aunt was with her.
She had always thought herself formidable—able to ride horses and kill at a young age, daring to lead a group away from familiar territory to the capital, even storming the Imperial Palace in the capital.
Xiao Man feared nothing in heaven or earth.
But at this moment, throwing herself into her aunt's arms, she realized how helpless and terrified she was. She had always been that child protected by her aunt.
"I didn't expect to encounter you either," her aunt's voice gently explained as she patted the girl's back. "After receiving your letter, though I've never been an official, I knew that high position and power inevitably bring danger. So I came out personally, gathering more villages along the way to broaden our awareness—"
"Don't be afraid, Manman. Even if you hadn't met me, you'd certainly encounter others. All our village people have come out, covering every road from the capital to home."
Since they couldn't reach the capital, they would travel further along the roads, getting closer to the girl and feeling more at ease.
Xiao Man abruptly straightened in her embrace—now wasn't the time to indulge in family comfort.
Other family members faced life-and-death crisis.
"Aunt," she grasped the woman's arm, "Quick, Chu Zhao is being surrounded."
The woman nodded at her: "I know," reaching to wipe the blood from Xiao Man's face.
Xiao Man didn't need to look down to know how terrifying she must appear, covered in blood. Seeing her like this, her aunt must have guessed something was wrong, yet she still held and comforted her—
Chu Zhao never had this chance.
She couldn't let Chu Zhao never have this opportunity!
"They're not numerous, but very skilled. Chu Zhao and Lao Bai said they're government troops, carefully selected fierce warriors, here to assassinate."
"We've retreated to this position.Xiao Man drew the direction on the ground with her hand. Though tear stains still marked her face, her voice had regained clarity. The woman remained silent, seriously studying the terrain map she drew.
Three or four other men swiftly approached from the distance, standing by with grave expressions, listening to Xiao Man's account.
......
......
When Ding Dachui saw the girl throw herself into the new leader's arms weeping, he led his brothers away.
These were their own people arriving, so they wouldn't interfere unnecessarily.
Ding Dachui took his men to retrieve the wild boar they'd abandoned earlier, wanting the new guests to taste their mountain delicacy—
The thought flickered through his mind with some amusement.Is this for show? To let these people know how worthy their stronghold is of being raided?
But before Ding Dachui and his men had gone far, a series of rapid bird calls echoed from the stronghold, accompanied by the clattering of wooden clappers—
This was the assembly signal.
The bird calls were the newcomers' customary method, but since they had only arrived recently and the passwords were numerous, Ding Dachui and the others couldn't remember them all, so they used wooden clappers instead.
Ding Dachui and his men hurried back to the stronghold and saw the new leader emerging with the girl.
Up close, they could see the girl looked disheveled, her clothes stained with blood.
"Brothers," the new leader's voice was soft but clear, reaching everyone's ears, "a big opportunity has come. Let's all go get rich."
...
...
Night fell, and the mountains seemed instantly swallowed by darkness.
It was as quiet as if no one existed.
Only those nearby could hear each other's breathing.
A Le stood up slightly, peering into the distance. There were no more arrow showers, flames, or shouts from earlier. After the fierce battle to cover Xiao Man's escape, the enemies seemed to have retreated.
This seemed like a good opportunity to leave, but neither Lao Bai nor Chu Zhao said anything about it.
A scout whispered to Lao Bai, "The young lady is really composed."
Although Chu Zhao was the Empress, ever since they discovered she was General Chu's daughter that night, they had grown accustomed to calling her "young lady." The Dragon Guard Army was not part of the Great Xia's military forces—they were the private troops of the late emperor and General Chu.
The Empress belonged to the world, but the young lady was their young lady—it was different.
"Of course," Lao Bai whispered back, "Haven't you seen how brave the young lady is?"
Though the situation that night hadn't been as perilous as this.
The scout murmured, "I know she's brave. I mean, she's brave but doesn't act recklessly."
Since encountering the bandits, Chu Zhao had followed their lead in advancing and retreating, never saying much or giving orders. Even though it seemed the enemies had retreated, she didn't even ask if they should break through—
While the two were whispering, Chu Zhao reached out and pressed A Le down. "Don't stand up. Be careful of hidden arrows."
A Le crouched back down with Chu Zhao behind the rocks.
"I wonder how Xiao Man is doing," A Le couldn't help but whisper.
Chu Zhao replied, "Don't worry. She may be young, but she's very composed and knows her limits."
A Le nodded. She didn't speculate whether Xiao Man was dead or had run away. Instead, she firmly believed Xiao Man was their hope.
Lao Bai shifted closer and whispered, "From here to the nearest government office, even on a fast horse, it would take half a day—plus the return trip. Your Highness, if we can endure tonight, we'll be fine."
But enduring this night wouldn't be easy. Chu Zhao nodded, then realizing Lao Bai couldn't see her in the dark, added softly, "Tonight will surely be a fierce battle."
They were waiting for reinforcements, and the enemies naturally had to guard against them. They would surely try to eliminate them before help arrived.
Just then, a flaming arrow suddenly shot across the sky.
Like a streak of light tearing through the night.
Lao Bai roared, "Enemy attack!"
The flames devoured the mountain's darkness, but the continuous ranges acted like barriers, isolating everything within the deep mountains.
On the plains far from the mountains, even standing on the highest tower, one couldn't see what was happening inside.
"I wonder how it's going," Xiao Xun muttered to himself.
Tie Ying frowned. "It's been so long, and they still haven't captured them. Their numbers are clearly small."Xiao Xun turned to look at him: "Tie Ying, you're underestimating her again. Have you forgotten why we're here?"
Lights flickered in the high tower, revealing Tie Ying's face flushing red in an instant, filled more with shame than indignation.
Xiao Xun stopped looking at him and gazed out at the night: "At this moment, I should be in the Imperial Palace. There's a Linglong Mountain in the Imperial Garden, and on it stands a Linglong Pavilion. When I was a child living in the palace, I particularly loved playing there. Standing atop Linglong Pavilion, you could see the entire Imperial City—"
His gaze grew distant.
"The Imperial City, so vast."
As a child, he had feared this enormous Imperial City, thinking how difficult it would be to escape from here.
Back then, the fear came from being young and ignorant.
Now, of course, he no longer feared it. Instead, he thought, if he could tower over this vast Imperial City and become its master, the feeling would surely be wonderful.
It was just a pity—he had fallen one step short.
Tie Ying clenched his fist: "It's all that Chu woman's doing! I'll go capture her right now!" With that, he made to leap down from the high tower.
Xiao Xun held him back: "What's the rush? Wouldn't it be better if we wait until she's captured, then go rescue her?"
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