“Her ambitions are immense!”
Cai Bo said in a grave voice.
Xie Yanfang wore a faint smile as he examined the victory dispatch. He even picked up the silk banner that had been brought over, placing it on the desk to look at, and said: “Actually, all of this is factual, without the slightest exaggeration. She truly did lead troops to eliminate the scattered Western Liang soldiers and rescue the local city and its people. Such great merit should indeed be proclaimed through victory announcements flying far and wide. This would also comfort the people’s hearts and stabilize the dynasty.”
Cai Bo said: “If this were a man, doing so would naturally be proper. If this were a military officer, even if it were Chu Ling, doing so would be fine. But she, Chu Zhao—”
She, Chu Zhao, was a woman.
She, Chu Zhao, had already become the Empress.
Wasn’t it enough to sit peacefully in the imperial capital, being a virtuous and benevolent empress with the bearing to mother the realm?
She still had to personally lead an expedition and achieve great merit in battle.
What did she want?
“She ascended the throne alongside the Emperor, she sits in the court alongside the Emperor, constantly appearing before the court officials, and now she wants to stand before all the people of the realm. She fundamentally refuses to remain content in the inner palace—she’s trying to usurp the host’s position while being merely a guest.” Cai Bo said indignantly, “Third Young Master, by acting this way, she’s taking advantage of our A’Yu’s young age. If he were an adult, no—even if he were merely as old as she is, how could he allow her to act so brazenly?”
Xie Yanfang listened quietly, then sighed softly: “Cai Bo, in this world, there are no ‘ifs.'”
He raised his eyes to look at Cai Bo.
“The present reality is what it is, so there’s no point in being indignant.”
Cai Bo looked at him and sighed deeply: “Young Master, you never seem anxious or angry about anything.”
Xie Yanfang smiled: “Of course I’m also anxious and angry, but since things have already turned out this way, being anxious and angry serves no purpose. I might as well save my energy to do other things.”
“But Chu Zhao isn’t done with just this one matter. Earlier we tried to stop the victory announcements from spreading, saying we should only report the great victory and wait until after court deliberation to announce the Empress’s involvement. But what was the result? The relay stations actually failed to block it. How did Chu Zhao manage to—” Cai Bo couldn’t let it go.
Xie Yanfang interrupted him: “However she managed it, she certainly has her own methods. Besides, in this matter, we haven’t suffered any loss.”
That was true. Cai Bo stopped speaking, but—this woman acted so boldly with such grand ambitions. What she was doing now had nothing to do with them, but what if in the future it did?
Xie Yanfang smiled: “We’ll deal with it when it becomes relevant.”
Cai Bo studied Xie Yanfang: “Young Master, you seem to be in quite good spirits?”
Was it because of this matter?
Xie Yanfang raised his head, his eyes full of mirth: “Today, A’Yu looked at me once.”
Cai Bo was momentarily stunned. A’Yu, the little Emperor? Looked once? Didn’t the Third Young Master and the little Emperor meet every day? What was so joyful about one glance?
“Previously, his eyes held no place for me.” Xie Yanfang said softly. “He wouldn’t even deign to look at me properly. The moment he saw me, he would immediately turn his gaze away.”
Because this child hated him, resented him, felt estranged from him.
“But I’m not worried. I continue to love him, protect him. I will let him see my devotion, my intentions solely for him.”
“Today, I showed him something, and sure enough, he was willing to look at me once.”
Having received this one glance today, there would be many more glances in the future, until he entered that child’s eyes and heart.
At that time, everything would return to its proper course.
As for Miss Chu’s actions, there was absolutely no need to pay them any mind.
Miss Chu’s actions could only be called the clamor of a guest. No matter how noisy a guest might be, they were still just a guest. The true master of this Great Xia was Xiao Yu.
What he, Xie Yanfang, wanted was to seize the position of master.
The current situation was excellent—the guest was making noise outside, and moreover, this guest could serve as a bridge between him and Xiao Yu to grow closer.
Xie Yanfang looked at Cai Bo with a smile.
“This is the happiest moment I’ve had since the Crown Prince and Crown Princess met with misfortune.”
……
……
When news of the Empress’s great victory spread through the capital, places closer to Yunzhong Commandery than the capital had long since known about it.
The tense atmosphere caused by the sudden appearance of Western Liang troops had completely dissipated. There were no longer crowds of people surging at the city gates. The teahouses and wine shops in the city were filled with patrons listening to storytellers narrate tales of Empress Chu.
“What’s there to tell about a battle involving fewer than a hundred people?” Tie Ying said coldly, standing on the second floor overlooking the main hall, watching as the storyteller gestured animatedly while the idle crowd listened with rapt attention.
Xiao Xun leaned against the railing, watching the scene with a smile, and said: “What they’re talking about isn’t the battle itself—it’s Empress Chu. Women killing enemies isn’t rare, but an empress who can still lead troops to the border to kill enemies and save the people is extremely uncommon. Of course it’s worth extensive discussion.”
“She didn’t even lead the troops.” Tie Ying said. “It was the Xie clan. She could go to the border only because the Xie clan let her out.”
At this point, he knitted his brows and stared at the storyteller.
“In such a short time, so many people have appeared in our commandery city to perform tales of Empress Chu’s great victory—this must all be Xie Yanfang’s scheming.”
“Regardless of whose scheming it is,” Xiao Xun slapped the railing and straightened up. “If Miss Chu were unwilling and didn’t dare, even Xie Yanfang couldn’t control her.”
Moreover, though this retainer refused to believe it, he himself believed that this was something the young lady had orchestrated herself.
Of course, these current rumors might be due to Xie Yanfang’s influence, but this wasn’t Xie Yanfang manipulating her—it was Xie Yanfang trying to ingratiate himself with her.
So what if he was Third Young Master Xie? Even if he wanted to play the hero saving the beauty, he couldn’t—
Thinking of this, Xiao Xun couldn’t help but laugh.
“—With such an empress, it is Great Xia’s fortune—” The storyteller in the main hall slapped his paper fan with a decisive conclusion.