Outside the city of Zhongshan Commandery, troops and horses gathered in formation. Hooves trampled chaotically as soldiers shouted commands, yet the atmosphere held no tension—instead, it was filled with the clamor of laughter.
These were the Border Army troops who had come as reinforcements, now regrouping to return to the Border Commandery.
Ahead of the main force moved the scouts and messengers, clad in light armor and traveling swiftly, their attire relatively simple.
The outermost squad of scouts dressed even more plainly. Were it not for the Waist Tokens of the Great Xia military hanging at their waists, they could easily be mistaken for ordinary civilians.
This was hardly surprising, as scouts often adopted varied disguises for reconnaissance.
Xie Yanlai looked the man up and down.
The man was dressed identically to them, with a full beard framing his face. Yet, whether due to his calm eyes or some other reason, he seemed distinctly out of place.
"Speak your mind," Deng Yi said mildly. "Stop staring as if you’ve never seen me before."
Xie Yanlai raised an eyebrow. "Even with that beard, Lord Deng, you don’t look like a bandit."
"Resembling a bandit isn’t about appearance," Deng Yi replied, "but about one’s actions." He then cast a scrutinizing glance at Xie Yanlai.
"My actions fit the part," Xie Yanlai stated bluntly.
Deng Yi continued studying him. "Bandits don’t seek to perish together with their targets. They value wealth and survival—what use is riches without life?"
Xie Yanlai met his gaze. "What are you implying?"
"General Xie doesn’t strike me as someone who would sacrifice his life for fame or gain either," Deng Yi pressed. "So I can’t comprehend why you would attempt to perish together with Xiao Xun."
Xie Yanlai scoffed. "It was an assassination! What ‘perishing together’?"
Deng Yi regarded him steadily. "I saved your life. Without me, you’d be dead."
Xie Yanlai muttered under his breath, "You said it was her who saved me." He stepped closer to Deng Yi and added lazily, "It’s simple, really. I did it because I can’t stand the sight of people like you."
Deng Yi watched him, seeming uncomprehending.
"People like you," Xie Yanlai continued, staring back. "Arrogant, lofty, acting as if you’re omnipotent, treating everyone beneath you as less than human. Your existence is a poison to this world."
Deng Yi nodded slowly. "So, for the sake of the world, General Xie offers his life to remove this poison." He smiled faintly. "But acting alone, you can only eliminate one. This world—"
"One less is still one less," Xie Yanlai cut in. "I, Xie Yanlai, don’t ask for much. Doing one thing I truly wish to do is enough."
He let out a cold laugh.
"Such principles are beyond the comprehension of greedy, insatiable people like you."
Deng Yi fell silent for a moment before lifting his eyes. "The noble families of Han Commandery defecting to the court—that was Xie Yanfang’s doing, wasn’t it?"
Xie Yanlai’s gaze sharpened slightly, but he said nothing.
"If I were to claim now that Xiao Xun’s troops and the officials I appointed never massacred the people of Han Commandery, no one would believe it," Deng Yi said calmly. "Because the victor becomes king, the defeated a bandit—the winner’s word is law."
He shifted his gaze into the distance and smiled wryly.
"What kind of man Xie Yanfang truly is, the world cannot see clearly. But you, as a member of the Xie family, see it plainly."
"You don’t dare tell Chu Zhao this truth, because it concerns the greater situation. And in matters of greater situation, right and wrong hold no weight."
"With Xiao Xun dead, this affair concludes. The people need suffer no more, Xie Yanfang need not alternate between evil and good deeds, and Chu Zhao need not bear the burden of anguish.""Actually, this isn't true bravery on your part. You're driven by inner rage, helplessness, and having nowhere left to turn, so you charged over here with desperate courage to kill Xiao Xun."
Having said this, he shifted his gaze back to Xie Yanlai.
"General Xie, can you truly be satisfied with this outcome? Is this all you wanted?"
"Does one person killing another really solve the problem?"
Xie Yanlai stepped forward and grabbed him, speaking word by word: "Stop spouting all this nonsense to me and putting on that all-knowing act. So what if you see through everything? You don't actually do anything about it. And remember - I'm not General Xie right now, and you're not Grand Tutor Deng—"
Just then, hoofbeats sounded as someone approached.
"A Jiu." Mu Mianhong first looked at Xie Yanlai. "Remember to take the vanguard position later."
Then she turned to Deng Yi.
"Zhu Er, make sure the supplies are properly accounted for."
She seemed not to notice the two men confronting each other, smiling slightly as she swung her horsewhip.
"In our stronghold, there are consequences for not doing your job properly."
With that, she spurred her horse and galloped away.
Xie Yanlai glanced at Deng Yi, released his grip, and turned to leave.
"Hey." Deng Yi called after him. "I'm here as a prisoner. What are you here for?"
Xie Yanlai turned his head to look at him: "To be a mountain bandit."
He then turned and strode away, humming with a curved smile.
Or rather, to be a mountain bandit waiting for someone.
......
......
From the commandery city walls, one could see the assembled troops dividing into units, forming columns, then gradually marching into the distance.
Chu Zhao unconsciously rose on her toes, trying to follow them further with her gaze.
Footsteps approached from behind, but stopped several paces away, as if hesitating to come closer. Seeing that Chu Zhao showed no reaction to his presence - completely indifferent to people coming and going behind her - he finally spoke up.
"Liang Qiang pays respects to the Empress."
Only then did Chu Zhao withdraw her gaze, looking at Liang Qiang standing behind her. "Has Young Master Liang come to ask why I won't let you return to the Border Commandery?"
Liang Qiang had come as the main general leading Border Army reinforcements. Now that the battle was over, the Border Army had assembled and departed, but only Liang Qiang remained behind.
Liang Qiang looked at Chu Zhao, then lowered his eyes. "This guilty official knows why."
Chu Zhao changed the subject, gesturing to him. "Young Master Liang, walk with me." She began strolling along the city wall.
Xiao Man followed at a discreet distance.
Liang Qiang hesitated briefly before following, watching the figure several steps ahead. His hanging hands unconsciously clenched. Regardless of everything else, he had this chance to walk with her like this—
Chu Zhao said: "I never imagined I would one day be inspecting the walls of Zhongshan Commandery's city. Young Master Liang must have never imagined it either."
Liang Qiang replied: "To be honest, I never even imagined wearing military uniform. Sometimes I wake from dreams still thinking I'm in the capital, the carefree young master of the Liang family."
Mentioning the past, the young woman glanced back at him.
"Young Master Liang, although I previously had disputes with your Liang family," she said, "I didn't have the power to have your family convicted."
Liang Qiang nodded: "I know. The Liang family's conviction resulted from court politics."
Chu Zhao asked: "Then who exactly instructed you to harm Zhong Changrong?"
She asked so directly. Indeed, as the Empress now, she didn't need to stand on ceremony with officials and had the right to ask directly. Liang Qiang remained silent for a moment: "The person who helped my father and I join the military was an old friend named Cai."
He began recounting the events of that time to Chu Zhao."But shortly after we joined the army, Minister Cai was transferred away from Yunzhong Commandery."
"No one ever directly contacted me or instructed me to do things, but I could feel that every step I took was arranged by someone."
"I often received orders only at the last moment, and those who delivered messages to me were ordinary soldiers around me, like with General Zhong this time."
"I was ordered to repeatedly request audiences with the general, to follow him, then witness him falling into an ambush, and finally instructed to stand by and wait—"
As he reached this point, Chu Zhao looked at him, and he didn't avoid her gaze.
"They told me to wait until General Zhong died, then go eliminate the Xiliang soldiers, and then—gain military honors, and then—"
Chu Zhao finished his sentence: "Then you and your father could rely on that reputation to take over the Border Army and replace General Zhong."
Liang Qiang said: "Your Majesty guessed correctly."
It wasn't really a guess—after all, she had witnessed it herself in her previous life. Chu Zhao withdrew her gaze and continued walking forward.
"Many of the soldiers who delivered orders to me either died in battle or were transferred away and disappeared. Each time it was a new face." Liang Qiang caught up with her and added.
Chu Zhao made an acknowledging sound: "Very meticulous work." Then she asked, "Does Stone Slope City have anything to do with you?"
Liang Qiang remained silent for a moment before nodding: "It was me. I let the Xiliang soldiers in."
As he finished speaking, the girl ahead suddenly turned around, stirring up a swift gust of wind.
Liang Qiang immediately dropped to his knees with a thud: "Your Majesty, I was wrong."
Chu Zhao looked down at him: "Wrong? Do you know how many people paid with their lives because of your mistake?"
"I know." Liang Qiang straightened his kneeling posture, his voice hoarse. "I know, that's why I regret it, why I'm filled with remorse. That's why I knew I couldn't continue like this. So when they told me to stand by and wait for General Zhong to die, I disobeyed orders and sent the distress signal early—I wanted to escape, I wanted to survive, I wanted to break free from all this—"
He looked at Chu Zhao, his eyes pleading and sorrowful.
"Miss Azhao, please save me."
"I don't want to become like this. I still want to be that Liang Qiang whom you once praised for his bravery."
Had she praised his bravery? A self-mocking smile flickered in Chu Zhao's eyes. Actually, that had been a misunderstanding—she had been praising Liang Qiang from her previous life. But now she knew that Liang Qiang's bravery in that life had just been part of a conspiracy.
"I will take you back to the capital under the pretext of rewarding you for campaigning against Xiao Xun." Chu Zhao looked at him and said, "I hope that when that person contacts you again, you can return to being that brave Young Master Liang."
Liang Qiang bowed deeply: "Thank you, Your Majesty! I—"
He wanted to say more, but a soldier reported from nearby: "Your Majesty, Minister Xie has arrived."
Chu Zhao smiled slightly: "He arrived quite quickly." With that, she stepped past Liang Qiang and left.
Liang Qiang bowed again behind her, knocking his head on the ground: "This humble general respectfully sees Her Majesty off." Then he slowly rose to his feet, standing by the city wall as he watched the girl descend the ramparts. Her steps were light and cheerful. Outside the city gate, a troop of horsemen came galloping, the wind lifting the cloak of the leading young man like flowing moonlight.
He felt no jealousy in his heart, nor did he harbor any hope that one day Chu Zhao would welcome him like that. All he wanted was to remain by her side.
He knew Chu Zhao didn't trust him—keeping him was just to lure out the mastermind behind everything.
But it didn't matter.
As long as he was useful, that was enough.This was not only beneficial to the Empress, but also to the mastermind behind the scenes, allowing him to retain everything he already possessed and even gain more.
Everything that needed to be said had been said earlier, but one thing remained unspoken—all his military achievements were actually obtained under the protection of other soldiers.
The valiant Young Master Liang had never truly existed, and thus could never return.
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