Xiao Xun departed, and a crowd of officials and soldiers followed in a bustling procession.
Xiao Man looked around the courtyard, now occupied only by their own people, and shed the court lady demeanor she had learned in the Imperial Palace. With hands on her hips, she laughed: "Xiao Tu, A Po, you did well this time! Auntie said there will be rewards!"
Laughter erupted among their people in the courtyard.
Only then did Chu Tang peer out from the hall: "Xiao Tu, is it safe now?"
Xiao Tu turned back with a hearty laugh: "Sister A Tang, come out quickly. It's been safe for a while."
Safe? Just moments ago, the courtyard had been filled with Prince Zhongshan's men. Had she stepped out and been captured in a fit of rage—her fragile life couldn't withstand such risks.
After confirming that Prince Zhongshan's men were gone, Chu Tang emerged with her parents, but Chu Lan refused to come out, lying on the ground feigning illness.
"Master Chu, you'd better get up quickly. There's still important business for you to handle," Xiao Man said.
Hearing this, Chu Lan wished he could just faint dead away. More important business? How many lives did he have to withstand this—
"—The Empress said you are to personally escort the Crown Prince of Zhongshan back to the capital. This way, the whole world will know that you, disregarding your own reputation, risked your life to capture the Crown Prince of Zhongshan," Xiao Man continued from outside.
Before she could finish, Chu Lan, lying on the ground, opened his eyes, his mind suddenly clear.
He knew what this meant—
"—How can you enter the capital in glory, admired by all, and receive imperial rewards if you're lying here like this?"
Chu Lan stood up, so quickly that Jiang Shi beside him didn't have time to support him.
He straightened his robes.
"Master, are you really going?" Jiang Shi asked. With all these ups and downs, was this real or not?
"Real, of course it's real," Chu Lan said. "This is what we earned with our lives, absolutely genuine."
Chu Tang smiled sweetly as she supported Jiang Shi: "Father, remember to ask for more rewards."
After all, she had sacrificed a position as Empress.
...
...
When Xiao Xun came to see the Emperor, Xiao Yu was still on the battlefield.
Prince Zhongshan's troops had been disarmed and taken under guard. The surviving citizens in the city were released, and upon seeing the tragic state of the deceased, they felt both relief and sorrow—had the fighting continued, they would have been the next slaughtered livestock.
The grieving citizens saw a child in yellow robes moving among the wounded and dead, helping bandage injuries and holding orphaned children—he was only slightly older than those orphans himself.
"Your Majesty, fortunately you are here—" the people knelt and wept loudly.
Then troops approached from the distance, shouting, "The Crown Prince of Zhongshan has been bound and brought here!"
Countless eyes turned to look.
A young nobleman, tightly bound, was being escorted forward. Before he drew near, he knelt and proclaimed loudly: "Xiao Xun, acting on impulse, clashed with court officials, was arrogant and unruly, committed grave errors, and deserves ten thousand deaths."
After speaking, he kowtowed.
Prince Zhongshan had admitted his guilt, but only the crime of Xiao Xun "conflicting" with the decree-bearing official—thus, acting on impulse and arrogance covered up the intent behind the attempted palace coup.
"Heir Apparent, remember this well," was the advice from Prince Zhongshan's trusted envoy moments earlier. "We have stopped, but the court must not harm or accuse the Heir Apparent."
Ning Kun gritted his teeth nearby: "Empress Chu threatened the Prince with the Heir Apparent's life, so the Prince had no choice but—"
Xiao Xun asked no further questions, merely nodding in agreement, and upon seeing the Little Emperor, promptly knelt.
Xiao Yu looked at the man kneeling not far away. He didn't really know this cousin-uncle; perhaps they had met once or twice in childhood, but he had no memory of it.But he knew that this was the person who had come to kill him that night at the Chu residence.
Facing this enemy so close at hand and hearing the frivolous charge of acting on impulse, Xiao Yu felt neither grief nor indignation, nor did he question it. His expression remained calm.
Earlier, Lao Bai had relayed Sister Chu's words: to avoid greater casualties, the court would now take a step back, downplaying the matter and temporarily refraining from pursuing the crime of treason against Prince Zhongshan and his son.
Whatever Sister Chu said was to be followed. She had also told him one more thing—
Xiao Yu set down the orphan he was holding and said, "Xiao Xun, you need not kneel to me, nor confess your crimes to me. You should kneel before these deceased commoners and confess your sins to them."
Upon hearing these words, the crowd erupted in overwhelming cries.
"That's right, it's all his fault—"
"My son, you died so tragically! Hearing that the Crown Prince of Zhongshan was defending the capital, you rushed to enlist, only to die beneath their horses' hooves."
"Damn the Crown Prince of Zhongshan!"
Amid the curses and weeping, one grief-stricken person, having lost a loved one, grabbed dirt and stones from the ground and hurled them. Soon, more followed suit.
Xiao Xun knelt motionless on the ground, enduring the dirt, stones, and shoes striking his body and face.
...
...
Late at night, the city was brightly lit, and the troops stationed outside resembled a river of stars.
The battlefield had been cleared, the bodies removed, and the wounded settled within the city. Yet, walking through it, the scent of blood still lingered in the air.
Xie Yanfang paused, looking down at the ground where, despite trampling and burial, a blade of grass had stubbornly sprouted.
"The harsh winter has finally passed," he murmured softly.
Beside him, Cai Bo's face was colder than the deepest winter. "Deng Yi must have a death wish!"
In his hand, he held a scroll—bright yellow, adorned with dragon patterns. But the next moment, he threw it to the ground, and the crooked blade of grass was instantly crushed out of sight.
"Prince Zhongshan failed in disciplining his son. The heir apparent, Xiao Xun, is arrogant, defiant, disobedient to orders, and has thrown our state into chaos."
He recited the edict's contents word by word: "These lines at least sound human, but then—"
"In recognition of Prince Zhongshan providing a hundred thousand troops for the court's campaigns and sending his heir to the capital for discipline, acknowledging his errors and correcting them is a great virtue. We hereby bestow upon Prince Zhongshan the title of Protector King, praying for the eternal stability of our Great Xia and the well-being of all its people."
"Deng Yi, how dare he draft such an edict!"
Xie Yanfang looked down at the edict and suddenly asked, "Did the Empress write to him?"
Cai Bo was taken aback—they were discussing Deng Yi's edict—
Of course, the timing of Deng Yi's edict was too coincidental, clearly arranged in collusion with Prince Zhongshan. And Prince Zhongshan was under siege by the Empress—or rather, the Empress had single-handedly confronted him in the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion.
Ultimately, this matter traced back to the Empress.
"There are no letters from the Empress in the courier reports," Cai Bo said coldly. "But the Empress has agents beyond our control."
Thus, though the Empress was in the Border Commandery, she was well-informed of the court and capital's movements, which explained how the Chu Lan family managed to escape and even capture the Crown Prince of Zhongshan.
Prince Zhongshan and his son suddenly confessing their crimes, Deng Yi abruptly sending such an edict—this had to be—
"The Empress colluded and conspired with Deng Yi," Cai Bo continued.
Xie Yanfang cut him off with a soft sigh. "The Empress actually didn't write to me, didn't collude or conspire with me."Cai Bo was stunned once more, then said angrily, "Young master, what are you thinking? How would she dare to write to the third young master! She only dares to hide and avoid him, secretly making deals with Deng Yi, ruining your plans."
The more he spoke, the more furious he became. Deng Yi and Chu Zhao—these two vile individuals! Despicable! Shameless!
"They've turned the court into a laughingstock!"
Xie Yanfang smiled, soothing Cai Bo, "This is no laughingstock. It's merely a transaction."
He reached out to pick up the imperial edict, gently straightening the trampled grass as he did so, then took a step forward.
When Xiao Xun knelt before the battle lines—no, to be precise, from the moment Prince Zhongshan's troops began to retreat—he had known.
That girl had succeeded.
Her deals with Prince Zhongshan and Deng Yi had both been fulfilled.
Cai Bo's furious voice echoed in his ears:
"Using the court, using Great Xia, to bargain with Prince Zhongshan—by what right do they do this?"
"Deng Yi has many followers and, relying on the imperial seal, forcibly issued the edict."
"Young master, even if he wrote it and managed to send it, we can make it vanish from this world!"
Though the edict had left the court, it never reached the battlefront to be read aloud. It was intercepted midway by the Xie family's men.
Not only intercepted, but it could be utterly erased, as if it had never existed.
Did Deng Yi truly believe that just because the Xie family wasn't in court, he could do as he pleased?
Hearing this, Xie Yanfang, who had seemed distracted all along, halted and looked at the edict in his hand.
Cai Bo reached out: "Let me burn it!"
Xie Yanfang raised his hand, evading Cai Bo's grasp, a faint smile appearing on his face in the night.
Cai Bo sighed helplessly, "Young master, don't jest."
Xie Yanfang chuckled, "Cai Bo, don't jest. We can intercept the edict, burn the edict, but we cannot stop this matter."
Cai Bo's expression darkened.
"The root of this matter isn't the edict," Xie Yanfang said, waving the edict in his hand. "It's authority."
As Grand Tutor, entrusted by the late emperor, holding the imperial seal and overseeing the state, Deng Yi—no matter how vile or shameless—possessed the authority to do this.
No matter how absurd it seemed.
Chu Zhao was the same.
Young, having lost her father, from a humble family—she was the Empress appointed by the late emperor, the mother of Great Xia. Thus, she had the power to use Great Xia in her dealings.
Authority grows with use.
Xie Yanfang gazed toward the northwest. "Look how well Miss Azhao has used it this time."
Authority flourishes with use.
In this battle, he, Xie Yanfang, had gained immense renown.
In this non-battle, Empress Chu had gained immense renown.
Xie Yanfang lowered his gaze to the edict and called out, "Du Qi," then tossed it.
Du Qi, hidden in the darkness, caught it.
"Announce it to the world," Xie Yanfang said.
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