The Empress was the Empress of all under heaven. Miss was their Miss. It was different.
“Goes without saying.” Old Bai said in a low voice. “It’s not like you haven’t seen Miss’s valor.”
Though that night’s situation hadn’t been as perilous as this.
The scout said quietly: “Of course I know Miss is valorous. I mean Miss is valorous but doesn’t act recklessly.”
Since encountering the bandits, Chu Zhao had been advancing and retreating with them, avoiding without saying an extra word, never giving orders. Even though ahead it clearly looked like the enemy had retreated, she didn’t ask even once whether they should break through—
While these two conversed in low voices, on the other side Chu Zhao reached out to press A’Le down: “Don’t stand. Be careful of hidden arrows.”
A’Le once again hid behind the mountain rocks with Chu Zhao.
“I wonder how Xiao Man is.” A’Le couldn’t help saying quietly.
Chu Zhao said: “Don’t worry. Though she’s young, she’s very composed and does things with good judgment.”
A’Le nodded. She hadn’t speculated that Xiao Man was dead or had run away. Instead, she firmly believed that Xiao Man was their hope.
Old Bai crawled over from the side, saying quietly: “From here to the nearest government office, even with a fast horse takes half a day, plus the return trip—Your Highness, if we endure through tonight, we’ll be fine.”
This night would not be easy to endure. Chu Zhao nodded, then realizing Old Bai couldn’t see, she hummed in acknowledgment: “Tonight will certainly be a fierce battle.”
They were waiting for reinforcements. The enemy would naturally guard against reinforcements and would certainly try to eliminate them before reinforcements arrived.
A flaming arrow suddenly flashed at that moment.
Like a ray of light tearing through the night.
Old Bai roared: “Engage the enemy.”
Firelight consumed the mountain night, but the continuous mountains were like a barrier, isolating all of this deep in the mountains.
Far from the plains outside the mountains, even standing on the tallest tower, one couldn’t see what was happening in the mountains.
“I wonder how things are going.” Xiao Xun said to himself.
Tie Ying frowned: “It’s been so long and they still haven’t taken them down, when their numbers aren’t even that many.”
Xiao Xun turned to look at him: “Tie Ying, you’re underestimating her again. Have you forgotten why we’re here?”
In the tower with its scattered lamplight, Tie Ying’s face could be seen flushing red in an instant—shame, but even more so grief and indignation.
Xiao Xun no longer looked at him, gazing out at the night: “At this moment, I should have been in the imperial palace. In the Imperial Garden there’s a Linglong Mountain, and on the mountain is Linglong Pavilion. When I was in the palace as a child, I particularly loved going there to play. Standing on Linglong Pavilion, one could see the entire Imperial City—”
His gaze was distant.
“The Imperial City, so vast.”
As a child, he had feared this massive Imperial City, thinking how difficult it would be to leave from here.
Back then his fear was because he was still young, afraid due to ignorance.
Now of course he wouldn’t be afraid. Instead he would think—if the Imperial City is so vast, if one could stand above it and be its master, that feeling must be very good.
It was just a pity he fell one step short.
Tie Ying clenched his fist: “All the good work of that Chu woman! I’ll go capture her right now!” Having said this, he was about to jump down from the tower.
Xiao Xun held him back: “What’s the rush? Wait until she’s captured, then we’ll go rescue her. Wouldn’t that be better?”