Outside the gates of Prince Zhongshan’s residence, quiet was restored.
Inside the hall it was even quieter.
Prince Zhongshan still sat in his chair, surveying the hall with a glance.
“With the Empress gone, I’m still not used to it. I feel like something is missing,” he said, smiling, his eyes carrying a cold glint. “Next time, it won’t be so easy for the Empress to walk out of here.”
The military officers in the hall stepped forward and bowed: “May the Prince calm his anger.”
Although they urged the Prince to calm his anger, every one of them could barely conceal their grief and indignation.
It was all because of this Empress that their efforts had failed at the last moment.
Prince Zhongshan laughed heartily: “This Prince is not angry.” He looked at everyone and asked, “Is A’Xun well?”
A military officer quickly said: “After the Heir entered the capital, he resides at the courier station. With the Prince present, the court dare not mistreat the Heir.” He added, “Rest assured, Prince, we will quickly rebuild our personnel to look after the Heir.”
Prince Zhongshan nodded, then sighed softly: “This time he must be terribly upset.”
The military officers said: “For the Heir’s sake, the Prince could only do this. The Heir certainly understands the Prince’s painstaking care.”
Prince Zhongshan supported himself with his walking stick and nodded: “A’Xun is an obedient child.”
A son was born because of his father, and a son must also live for his father.
……
……
Outside Zhongshan Commandery, soldiers and horses stood in dense formation. Seeing Chu Zhao, the officers and soldiers erupted in unified shouts.
“Empress!”
“Empress!”
Their voices soared to the clouds, shaking heaven and earth.
Chu Zhao looked at the densely standing soldiers. How wonderful—they were all still alive, none had died. She laughed heartily, released the reins, and galloped swiftly.
Riding into the camp, she met with the commanders of the two army divisions and heard them describe the various developments since their parting. She also learned about the situation in the capital.
“Prince Zhongshan’s forces were extremely despicable, using civilians as shields. Half the city suffered casualties.”
Hearing this, Chu Zhao said nothing and simply nodded.
“Your Majesty, don’t be sad,” a commander quickly said. “Fortunately we stopped in time and avoided greater casualties. You’ve already done well enough.”
Chu Zhao shook her head: “I’m fine, I’m well. I understand everything. Being able to accomplish this much is already very good.”
In that previous life sitting deep in the palace, she often heard about the court and the Xie clan’s campaigns—a city lost, a commandery fallen. At that time she had no real concept of it. Now having personally experienced the night chaos in the capital, the slaughter at the border regions, and the siege of Zhongshan Commandery, she understood that those so-called cities and commanderies represented countless human lives.
Chu Zhao instructed them to await Lord Huang’s deployment and then walked out.
“Xiao Man, Xiao Man,” Chu Zhao called.
A’Le stepped over from the side: “Miss, you forgot—Xiao Man and Captain Bai went to Xiao Xun’s side.”
Chu Zhao smiled: “I completely forgot.”
Without realizing it, she had already grown accustomed to having Xiao Man by her side.
“Miss, what did you need her for?” A’Le asked. “Before Xiao Man left, she made arrangements. There’s someone to replace—”
Her words stopped mid-sentence as she looked in one direction. Not far away, a woman stood watching them.
A’Le quickly said: “Oh, it’s Auntie Ding.”
A’Le still didn’t know Mu Mianhong’s true identity. Although she could tell she wasn’t really Ding Dachui’s wife, she hadn’t investigated further. They were all bandits anyway.
Mu Mianhong walked over and said: “I heard you calling for Xiao Man. Before Xiao Man left, she instructed me, so I came to see if you—” Her gaze settled on Chu Zhao. “Have any orders?”
Chu Zhao made a sound of acknowledgment and shook her head: “No orders.” Then she quickly added, “I wanted to ask about recent events. Inside I only knew the general situation, not the specifics. Is everyone alright? After all, what you were doing was very dangerous.”
Mu Mianhong smiled: “Everyone is fine, everything went smoothly. Master Chu Lan was frightened, but suffered no serious harm. Miss Chu Tang was also very quick-witted. Xiao Man will personally lead people to escort them back to the capital.”
Chu Zhao nodded.
Mu Mianhong continued: “The battle situation at the border regions is also good. The fighting is intense, but there have been no losses.”
Chu Zhao nodded again: “That’s good. I knew it—there were no problems.”
Mu Mianhong looked at her and said: “With you being so brave, everyone also summoned their full spirit.”
“I’m not particularly brave,” Chu Zhao quickly shook her head and said, “That we could turn danger into safety this time and achieve our wishes was all thanks to all of you.”
Mu Mianhong quickly said: “Without you, everyone wouldn’t have been able to, wouldn’t have dared to do such things.”
Although the words both spoke were perfectly normal, they were also completely abnormal. Standing to the side, A’Le inexplicably felt somewhat tense and couldn’t help interrupting: “How about, Miss, you two, shall we sit down and discuss this in detail?”
Sit down and talk about it? Chu Zhao fell silent. Mu Mianhong also said nothing. A’Le twisted her fingers—it seemed she’d made the atmosphere even more tense—
“Ahem!”
Just then, a heavy coughing sound came from the distance.
Hearing this sound, Chu Zhao instantly turned her head and saw that at some point a young military officer was standing before a tent in the rear.
Seeing Chu Zhao look over, he bowed in salute: “This subject pays respects—”