Deng Yi, with one arm wrapped in bandages, ascended the city wall and looked down at the front, where a figure in red stood before the army that blotted out the sky.
"Grand Tutor, Grand Tutor, you must emphasize that the Second Young Master absolutely cannot go to the capital as a hostage," Ning Kun followed behind Deng Yi, reiterating his plea. "We can accept the reduction of our titles, we can surrender our troops, but the Second Young Master must not leave Zhongshan Commandery. Otherwise—"
After Xiao Xun's death, although the Second Young Master continued to lead the troops, morale had plummeted. By now, the people of Zhongshan Prince's Mansion had lost the will to fight and had sent a letter of confession in advance as the Empress's army approached.
Deng Yi asked, "Otherwise what?"
Ning Kun's expression turned fierce. "We will perish with the commandery city!"
Deng Yi glanced at him but said nothing.
Ning Kun's face then darkened, and he smiled bitterly. "This is also for your sake, my lord. The Prince and the Heir Apparent are gone. The Princess Consort and the young masters, no matter what, are still imperial relatives. Their crimes may not warrant death, but the court will certainly not spare you, my lord."
Deng Yi said, "I am not afraid of death."
"Of course I know you are not afraid, my lord," Ning Kun said sincerely. "I am not afraid either. But we can still fight. If we can avoid death, why not live?"
He grabbed Deng Yi's arm.
"After all we have done, to end up with nothing—how can we accept that?"
Deng Yi remained silent and looked ahead. By now, the figure in red had arrived at the city gate.
Two rows of shield-bearing soldiers stood guard in front, closely protected, followed by five full rows of crossbowmen.
Compared to the time when the imperial prince recklessly stormed the Imperial City, these soldiers were truly elite—calm, orderly, and imposing.
"Deng Yi!" Chu Zhao shouted from below the city gate.
It was daytime, and although the commandery city gate was tall, the face of the woman below was clearly visible. It had been almost a year since they last met, and she seemed somewhat unfamiliar.
Compared to four years ago, she was even more different.
She was no longer just Chu Ling's daughter but the Empress of Daxia.
Deng Yi said calmly, "Empress, it has been a long time."
"Deng Yi," Chu Zhao showed no intention of reminiscing and shouted, "Open the city gate at once!"
Ning Kun, standing nearby, couldn't help but tug at Deng Yi's sleeve to remind him.
Ignoring him, Deng Yi looked down at the city gate and said, "Miss Chu, do I still owe you a meal?"
A meal? Ning Kun was stunned. What was he talking about? Was he trying to reminisce to negotiate terms?
Chu Zhao looked up at Deng Yi on the city wall and said, "So? Will you not open the gate?"
Deng Yi lowered his gaze. "No."
Would directly refusing to open the gate be too provocative? Should he soften the tone a bit? Ning Kun wondered. Was this to force the Empress to negotiate terms first?
"Grand Tutor, perhaps—" he couldn't help but whisper beside him.
As he spoke, he heard Chu Zhao's shout from below the gate: "Xiao Man!"
With her command, a female guard standing beside her raised her crossbow. Ning Kun's words were still slowly forming, and in the corner of his eye, he saw an arrow slowly flying toward them—
"—or perhaps directly—" Ning Kun heard his own voice slow down.
A soft thud sounded beside his ear.
Deng Yi beside him fell backward. Ning Kun's gaze fixed on the quivering arrow embedded in Deng Yi's chest.
Ning Kun's remaining words turned into a scream.
At the same time, a louder shout came from below the gate.
"Refusal to open the city gate will be met with execution without mercy!" Chu Zhao shouted, raising her hand and waving it. "Attack the city—"
With her command, the shield-bearing soldiers instantly formed a circular formation, protecting Chu Zhao and the archers. The archers released their arrows in unison, and a rain of arrows flew toward the city wall.On the city wall, soldiers caught off guard by arrows panicked in defense and counterattacks, plunging into chaos.
The waiting military formations in the distance sounded war drums, their battle cries shaking the heavens as they surged toward the commandery city.
"Open the gates and you won't be killed—"
"Lay down your weapons and you won't be killed—"
……
……
In the seventh month of the fourth year of Xingping, the Princess Consort of Zhongshan, along with her children, knelt to respectfully welcome the Empress.
The Empress publicly rebuked Prince Zhongshan and the Heir Apparent Xiao Xun, demoting all members of the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion to commoners and exiling them to garrison the frontiers.
The nearly year-long rebellion of Prince Zhongshan had ended.
Messengers raced in all directions to deliver the news.
The imperial troops could not rest either, continuing to pursue fleeing remnants, taking over surrendered cities and those still putting up stubborn resistance.
Officials stationed in the commandery city were overwhelmed with tasks—determining rewards and punishments, comforting the populace, and repairing the damaged city walls.
Yet the Empress, who had been charging at the forefront, was nowhere to be seen.
……
……
An autumn rain brought a deep quiet to the commandery city.
A Le held the umbrella higher, shielding Chu Zhao as they entered the mansion. Just from its gate, one could imagine its former splendor.
But now, the main residence lay in ruins, nearly burned to the ground, with no trace of its original appearance left.
A squad of soldiers was diligently digging through the debris, not satisfied with just clearing the ruins—they were digging three feet into the ground.
"At the time, we decided to set the house on fire so we could send a signal to those on guard outside," a soldier standing beside Chu Zhao said, his voice thick with emotion. "And Young Master said it would also help with the escape."
A Le stared at the ruins and cried out, "It's burned like this—how could anyone escape?"
Before the soldier could respond, Chu Zhao, who had been silent, spoke up: "They probably intended to use the chaos during the firefighting to escape."
"That was one plan, but it would have been hard to execute," the soldier said quietly. "Because this was inside the mansion, the guards would have surrounded it tightly."
Some would be busy fighting the fire, but many would surely remain on watch.
Chu Zhao fell silent.
"The best way was to hide right in the heart of the fire," the soldier continued. "We infiltrated the mansion several times. First, we set up kindling in the main hall and concealed a fireproof cloth behind a screen. Then we pried up the floorboards by the window and dug a tunnel leading outside, hiding a corpse in it beforehand—"
A Le's face lit up with excitement. "I see! So Xie Yanlai could drape the fireproof screen over himself during the fire, pull out the hidden corpse to pass off as himself, and then slip out through the tunnel. No one would notice!"
She stamped her feet gleefully, staring eagerly at the soldier.
"He escaped, didn't he? He escaped, didn't he?"
The soldier wished he knew the answer too. His face pale, he said, "The Grand Tutor's residence was full of guards. Young Master said he would wait in the tunnel... because Xiao Xun was inside, the fire would likely be put out quickly. Once they found the body, they'd disperse. Then he could..."
The smile faded from A Le's face.
"Would," "once," "then"—these words didn't spell hope, but illusion.
"Do you know how hot the ground gets during a fire?" she murmured. "How could you think this was the best plan?"
The soldier trembled and fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands as he sobbed. "Because Young Master never planned to survive."
So any attempt, no matter how desperate, was considered a good plan.
A Le felt a sharp sting in her throat.
"Your Highness, we found something," a soldier suddenly called from the ruins.Before A Le could react, Chu Zhao had already rushed forward. A Le hurriedly raised the umbrella and chased after her. Chu Zhao ran swiftly, neither the rain nor the debris-strewn ground slowing her pace.
Ahead, a clearly man-made pit appeared, winding from beneath the ruins all the way to a large tree.
Though some distance from the house, half of the tree had been scorched to death.
Inside the pit lay scattered wooden supports and even tree roots, but no body.
Chu Zhao’s legs gave way, and A Le quickly steadied her.
“Did he crawl out?” A Le asked tremulously. “Did he really crawl out?”
No one could answer her.
It had already been a month since Xie Yanlai had hidden here.
“...Perhaps he was dug out back then.”
“If he crawled out, where could he hide? The city must have been swarming with soldiers hunting the assassin.”
“There’s another issue—was General Xie injured? Ten people went in, and all died. It must have been perilous...”
“Go ask the officials and generals of the commandery and the prince’s residence how many assassins they captured, dead or alive.”
“Maybe they don’t even remember themselves...”
The soldiers’ voices continued to echo around them. Chu Zhao knelt on the ground, unmoving and silent, letting mud soak through her robes as she stared fixedly at the pit.
The pit wasn’t large—just enough for one person to lie down and shift slightly.
Back then, when he was inside... was it hot?
Was it hard to breathe?
How long had he lain there?
“Miss.” A Le held the umbrella with one hand and embraced her with the other, tears in her eyes. “If there’s no body, he’s still alive. Let’s hurry and search the entire city. A Jiu must be waiting for you to rescue him.”
Chu Zhao nodded. “Yes.” She looked around again. “Search here. Search the entire city. Everywhere. Search everywhere.”
The soldiers acknowledged the order and quickly dispersed.
A Le helped Chu Zhao up. “Miss, let’s go back first.”
But Chu Zhao shook her head. “My legs are a bit numb. Let me sit here for a while to recover.”
Numb legs? Even with numb legs, one shouldn’t sit on muddy ground in the rain to recover! A Le held back her tears. Her mistress simply didn’t want to leave—she wanted to stay guarding this pit.
“Then, Miss, shall we go rest under the eaves over there?” she coaxed gently.
Chu Zhao remained silent and still. Just then, another soldier hurried over.
“Your Majesty,” he said, “Deng Yi has woken up. He says he has questions for you.”
Deng Yi.
Chu Zhao’s vacant gaze sharpened. Leaning on A Le, she stood up.
……
……
In the commandery prison, the soldiers and physicians withdrew. Lying on a wooden plank, Deng Yi saw a shadow move—a woman’s figure appeared in his line of sight.
The gloom of the prison cell blurred her features.
Deng Yi weakly raised a hand and touched the thick bandage wrapped above his heart.
“Your Majesty,” he said hoarsely, “you deliberately made the arrow miss by an inch. Are you sparing my life?”
Chu Zhao ignored his question. “Where is the Imperial Seal?”
Deng Yi’s body had already been searched—no seal was found. Neither the commandery nor Prince Zhongshan had it.
Deng Yi said, “You knew that if I died, no one would ever retrieve the Imperial Seal. Your Majesty truly understands my character well.”
“I have no interest in guessing your thoughts. What kind of person you are doesn’t concern me.” Chu Zhao’s tone was indifferent. “Do I need the Imperial Seal now? Even without it, I can still take your lives.”
Deng Yi didn’t press the topic further. Suddenly, he asked, “My mother... is she still alive?”Chu Zhao said, "She has had an ill-fated life. Having a son like you is already misfortune enough—she cannot sacrifice her life for you as well."
Deng Yi replied, "One life for another."
What did he mean? Chu Zhao remained silent.
Deng Yi looked at her and said, "My mother's life, in exchange for Xie Yanlai's."
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