Qiao Chu

When the streets were bustling with noise, the court officials had already filed into the imperial court.

Leading the procession was Deng Yi, with Xie Yanfang following a step behind.

"Imperial Censor Xie, what brings you to court today?" Deng Yi asked deliberately. "Have you finished handling your family affairs so quickly?"

Xie Yanfang replied calmly, "The previous matters are settled, but yesterday's are not."

Yesterday, Xie Yanlai had caused a disturbance at the Ministry of War. Although he wasn't immediately surrounded and beaten by the imperial guards, he was still apprehended by the ministry's martial guards and thrown into prison.

"Originally, the Ministry of War suggested I take him home for discipline, but I thought it better for him to sober up in there," Xie Yanfang said, then glanced at Deng Yi with a smile. "Since he can't come, and our family shouldn't have no one present for the emperor's rewards, I had to come myself."

Deng Yi chuckled. "You jest, Imperial Censor Xie. Even if you hadn't come, no one would blame you, much less revoke Captain Xie's rewards."

Xie Yanfang smiled and corrected Deng Yi, "It should be General Xie now." With that, he stepped past Deng Yi and moved forward.

Deng Yi watched his retreating figure. The young nobleman made even the official robes look elegant and flowing, with numerous gazes following him—most of them admiring.

What were they admiring? The charm of a renowned scholar? Deng Yi sneered inwardly. That was merely the surface. The real Young Master Xie the Third was as arrogant and unruly as the infamous Xie Yanlai, if not more so.

Since his return from Dongyang and entry into the Censorate, he had used various methods to force the Imperial Censor to plead illness in a short time. The Censorate was now largely under the control of this Deputy Censor. True scholarly elegance couldn't achieve such results.

Just as the Xie family of Dongyang, though they didn't enter the capital, receive titles, or flaunt their status, how could they possibly be benevolent, noble, and free of desires?

If the former Crown Prince were still alive, the Xie family, as imperial relatives but not the only ones, might have been kept in check. But now, with a young emperor without support, there was originally that girl who could somewhat block the Xie family's rampant ambitions from devouring the Little Emperor. However, now it seemed that girl—

Deng Yi's brow furrowed slightly.

He entered the hall and took his position. As the court assembly music played, the Empress led the Emperor inside. The Emperor sat on the Dragon Throne, while that girl sat behind it.

Deng Yi bowed his head and knelt with the other officials. When he heard the Emperor's voice above granting them permission to rise, he lifted his head, and his gaze darkened slightly—

The Empress sat behind the Emperor, but there was no lowered screen.

Other officials noticed this too, and low murmurs arose. If yesterday the Empress had lifted the screen during an argument, why wasn't it even lowered today?

As the murmurs grew, the Little Emperor suddenly spoke, "The matter from yesterday has been settled. Grand Tutor, please announce the decree."

Qi Gonggong hurriedly presented the imperial edict to Deng Yi. Although Deng Yi had written it and sent it over, and though most already knew its contents, the formalities had to be observed. Deng Yi took the edict and read it aloud before the assembly. Xiao Yu then said, "I have already met Captain Xie but have yet to see Liang Qiang. For such a brave young general, summon him for an audience."

The eunuchs relayed the summons step by step.

After this, the officials ceased their discussions about the Empress's missing screen and turned to await the entry of the young General Liang.

Perhaps the Empress also wanted to see Liang Qiang in person.

Hearing the successive calls, Liang Qiang, waiting outside the hall, felt slightly nervous. He gazed at the majestic hall ahead. Even when he was still a young master of the Liang family before their fall from grace, he might not have had the chance to enter the court, let alone be summoned for a personal audience and reward by the Emperor.

He never thought that after his family's disgrace, he would instead soar to new heights.But this had nothing to do with him. His meteoric rise was merely the result of others lifting him up.

Whether he soared through the skies or crashed to the ground was not for him to decide.

Liang Qiang’s mind wandered, his expression shifting between bewilderment and stupor. The attending eunuch who came to greet him was not surprised—few could remain calm when summoned to an audience with the Emperor.

“Young General Liang,” the eunuch reminded him with a smile. “Please proceed.”

Liang Qiang collected his scattered thoughts. At this point, there was no turning back. He bowed to the eunuch and stepped into the hall.

“Your humble general, Liang Qiang, pays homage to Your Majesty.”

A clear, childish voice rang out from above: “Rise and stand at ease.”

Liang Qiang stood up and dared to glance upward slightly. He saw a child seated on the Dragon Throne, but in a flash, a figure behind the child caught his eye—

Her.

He knew the Empress was ruling from behind a screen, but even a single screen created a separation. He hadn’t expected there to be no screen today, allowing him to see her.

So astonished that he stared openly, Liang Qiang saw the girl in Empress’s court robes seated upright, smiling faintly.

“Commander Liang, we meet again, and now you are a general,” she said. “Young Master Liang, you are indeed brave and mighty.”

Just as he had secretly imagined, today he truly heard and saw it. Liang Qiang stood dazed for a moment before hurriedly lowering his gaze and bowing again. “Your humble general pays homage to the Empress.” For some reason, perhaps wanting to speak a few more words with her, he couldn’t resist adding, “If not for Your Majesty’s rescue back then, Liang Qiang would now be a cripple.”

Chu Zhao laughed. “General Liang, you are too modest. Please rise quickly.”

Liang Qiang expressed his thanks and straightened up. Before Deng Yi could speak, an official nearby, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, “Liang Qiang, did the Empress save you?”

This was Minister Cao from the Ministry of War. Truth be told, he held some resentment toward the Empress. Just yesterday, she had opposed granting Liang Qiang rewards, and after court adjourned, he had even slammed the table and argued with the Grand Tutor. Though it was due to pressure from the Xie family, it was rumored that the Empress had a poor relationship with the Liang family during her youth—perhaps she was seizing the opportunity for personal revenge. Hmph! And now, meeting Liang Qiang, she praised his bravery as if she had keenly recognized a hero.

However, Liang Qiang seemed genuinely grateful to the Empress and even thanked her for saving his life.

“At that time, due to the late Great General Han’s mistake, my unit was trapped in an enemy encirclement. When I was exhausted and near death, the Empress personally led reinforcements to rescue me,” Liang Qiang explained to him.

Although everyone knew Chu Zhao had commanded troops in the Border Commandery, they assumed she merely sat in the camp as a figurehead. No one expected her to lead troops into battle personally. Since a soldier like Liang Qiang described it as a life-and-death struggle, it showed how perilous the situation had been. Minister Cao glanced again at the girl behind the Emperor’s Dragon Throne, and his resentment faded.

The Empress had commanded troops and saved Liang Qiang—she certainly had the right to discuss military rewards.

More officials in the hall began questioning Liang Qiang. Some were supporting the Grand Tutor, while others were purely interested in Liang Qiang himself. Despite the Liang family’s fallen status, one of their sons had risen again—and not just one son. Liang Qiang’s father was now the Chief Secretary of the Four Directions General’s Office. Until the Left Great General was appointed, he would temporarily command the Left Wing Army, effectively acting as a general.

For such a figure who had fallen from grace and risen again, officials couldn’t help but feel curiosity and admiration, eager to exchange a few words with him.

The hall grew noisy and lively.

Deng Yi listened calmly as the officials spoke with Liang Qiang, asking about various matters concerning the Border Army, occasionally interjecting a question himself.Chu Zhao did not stop the lively exchanges among the court officials, though she felt slightly displeased. When Xie Yanlai had appeared in the hall as the Army Envoy, he hadn’t received such enthusiastic inquiries. Still, she understood it couldn’t be helped—Xie Yanlai’s status was too high, which ironically put him at a disadvantage in court.

At any rate, even though he couldn’t come to the hall to bask in the glory and was instead confined in prison, he had received the rewards he deserved. It hadn’t been in vain, all the life-and-death struggles of these past days.

Chu Zhao couldn’t help but let a slight smile curve her lips.

Liang Qiang, standing in the hall, noticed it.

How could he miss it? That girl was seated in the most prominent spot in the hall.

So, she really was happy to see him receive his honors. Her earlier opposition must have been out of consideration for the Xie family.

As for the rumors that the Empress was suppressing the Liang family out of personal bias—that was utterly baseless.

If she were that kind of petty person, she wouldn’t have saved him back then. She could have just watched him get killed or even taken advantage of the chaos to finish him off.

Liang Qiang clenched his hand at his side. He ought to smile back at her—

But they were no longer who they used to be. She was now the exalted sovereign.

The young general surrounded by officials in the hall wore a somewhat wistful expression, likely stirred by memories of past sorrows during the questioning. Chu Zhao noticed it at a glance.

Seated at the highest point in the hall, with no curtains to obstruct her view now, she could clearly observe the expressions of every official.

She quickly averted her gaze. What did Liang Qiang have to be sorrowful about, reminiscing over the past? Her own past had been far more tragic—and it was closely tied to his Liang family.

Back then, she had been startled by Deng Yi’s statement about appointing Liang Qiang as Garrison General. But upon calm reflection, it made sense: Liang Qiang and his father had fought desperately in the army, and rising to prominence as they had in her previous life was only natural—it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Could she really eliminate both father and son because of what had happened in her past life? Although their motive for killing enemies was to fight their way to survival, they were indeed defending the nation.

This life was different from the last. There was no internal strife dividing the battles, and she wouldn’t allow Uncle Zhong to regard them as his right-hand men.

Moreover, in her previous life, the Liang father and son had become a threat to her only because of Xiao Xun’s support and directives.

In this life, Xiao Xun was not the Emperor and could no longer command the Liang family.

So she could compromise, granting Liang Qiang his due rewards—as long as he didn’t touch the Luo City Guards and had no hope of gaining Zhong Changrong’s support again.

This matter wasn’t too significant. What truly weighed on her heart was fate.

Liang Qiang’s emergence, following the trajectory of his previous life, sounded a loud alarm for her. She had thought the nightmare was over and a new life had begun.

Had fate truly changed?

…

…

Xie Yanlai walked in and saw the girl leaning on her desk, lost in thought.

He clenched his hand, feeling the object dig into his palm, then took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Chu Zhao remained motionless, as if unaware of anyone’s arrival.

Xie Yanlai glanced around. Though he had been away from the Imperial City for a long time—and even before, when he’d led the imperial guards, he wasn’t familiar with the inner palace—he knew that Chu Zhao rarely kept palace maids or eunuchs in close attendance. Especially regarding meals, she only allowed A Le to handle them. It seemed she disliked pomp, yet she was also exceedingly particular.

When reading or writing, she needed no attendants. A Le stood outside the hall, chatting and laughing with Xiao Man. When they saw him arrive, one grinned cheekily while the other snorted, watching him—

Neither announced him nor followed him in, as if to say, Suit yourself.

The Little Emperor was having his lessons in the adjacent hall, his recitations faintly audible.

Only the two of them were in the hall.

Xie Yanlai withdrew his gaze and tossed the object in his hand.Chu Zhao first heard a whistling sound, then felt a sharp pain on her forehead. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, reaching up to grab the object. It turned out to be a small tiger-head pendant.

"Strictly speaking, this could be considered regicide," she glared at Xie Yanlai.

Xie Yanlai frowned, "Shouldn't it be counted as currying favor with the ruler instead?"

Chu Zhao adopted a solemn expression, "Presenting gifts to the Empress can't be called currying favor. It's called filial devotion."

Xie Yanlai chuckled dryly twice, "Filial devotion? By seniority, what should the Empress call me?"

Chu Zhao laughed heartily and directly wrapped the pendant around her wrist. Then she asked, "Released so soon? I thought they'd keep you locked up for ten days to half a month."

Xie Yanlai glanced at her wrist, which had been bare before but now only bore this red-corded pendant. His hand hanging at his side unconsciously clenched, as if ants were crawling over it—

He averted his gaze, "After all the commotion, I still got appointed as Brigadier General. The Ministry of War had no legitimate reason to detain me, so they laid out a celebratory feast and respectfully saw me off." He paused before adding, "I'm planning to go back."

Chu Zhao knew he wasn't referring to the Xie family, but to the Border Commandery.

She showed no surprise, "I knew you'd leave as soon as you had the chance." She picked up a letter from the desk and waved it, "See? I've already written the letter for you to deliver to Uncle Zhong."

Xie Yanlai turned to glance at it and uttered an "Oh."

"But yours isn't finished yet," Chu Zhao said with a laugh, pointing at the paper in front of her before looking at him. "Why don't you sit down and watch me write it?"

Xie Yanlai rolled his eyes at her, not even bothering to respond to her nonsense.

"Actually, becoming Brigadier General isn't what I truly wanted," Chu Zhao sighed softly.

So her earlier concern was about not achieving her desired outcome? He should have known—this girl was stubborn by nature, determined to do whatever she set her mind to. Xie Yanlai hesitated for a moment before sitting down opposite her at the desk. "Not everything in this world goes according to plan. Don't forget, you're the Empress. Making the Grand Tutor retreat even one step is quite an accomplishment. How many Empresses could achieve that?"

Chu Zhao tilted her head in thought, then raised an eyebrow, "You're right. An Empress like me, who fought for her position and personally led troops into battle—I may not dare claim there'll be none after me, but I'm certainly the first of my kind in history."

Xie Yanlai laughed heartily, his expression softening.