Chapter 61

The army still observed a bit of ceremony around the Spring Festival. Li Yan, for example, went to the market and bought some firecrackers. She set them off early that morning, and the crackling woke the sisters who had finally fallen asleep after a night shift.

Fortunately, none of them were upset. It was the New Year, after all. They got up, soaked up a little festive luck, played around with everyone else for a while, then went back to sleep. Ye Rui was lucky; her squad hadn’t been on night duty, so she kept to her normal routine and even got to eat the braised meat the mess hall had prepared for lunch.

Rumor had it that a “kind-hearted merchant” had sent more than ten roast pigs to every camp, enough for everyone to share and still have another meal at night. Of course, they had also set aside a portion for the sisters on night duty.

That “kind-hearted merchant” didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving anytime soon. She had handed all of Yanyu Tower’s affairs over to the courtyard manager and her assistant.

But she wasn’t idle either. She had plenty of businesses in Qingzhou City, and every time Ye Rui was “summoned” to see her, she found Mu Xue buried in ledgers. Mu Xue didn’t even bother avoiding her; she really did treat Ye Rui as one of her own.

Still, Ye Rui couldn’t go see Mu Xue every time. More often than not, she turned down the invitation, since she wasn’t allowed to leave camp without permission. Every time she went, she had to bring back something useful to the Phoenix Army, like a cart of salt or a cart of rice.

Ye Rui still couldn’t quite understand it. Clearly she was paying a price, yet Mu Xue insisted on calling her over for a meal. She really was outrageously rich.

That said, in the army, the Spring Festival was only celebrated in a limited way. They hung a few red decorations in camp to mark the occasion, and this time the sisters on leave bought some red paper and asked Ye Rui to write Spring Festival couplets.

Ye Rui chose a few classic lines, and everyone happily carried the couplets back to hang on their own tents.

Ye Rui stayed busy until the afternoon. Looking at every tent fluttering with red-paper couplets, there was finally a little New Year atmosphere in the air.

Hutu: 【Happy New Year! Wishing you prosperity!】

Ye Rui: 【Wow, you’ve been gone for so long. Why did you suddenly show up?】

Come to think of it, Hutu had been absent for a long time. Every time it appeared, it would assign a task and then go completely silent. Ye Rui had almost forgotten she even had a System.

Hutu: 【New year, new good news. I upgraded the System, so I can help you more from now on!】

Ye Rui: 【What kind of help?】

Ye Rui was putting away the brush and ink as she asked Hutu, and there was a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Hutu: 【Mm... I don’t know yet. When you need me, I’ll show up!】

Ye Rui: 【...You really did upgrade the System?】

Hutu: 【...Don’t doubt me. It’s true. You’ve done so many tasks that my experience points went up too, so I can level up. My calculations and deductions will be faster and more accurate!】

Ye Rui: 【Fine.】

No matter what, it was still good news.

Spring had already arrived, but the weather was still bitterly cold. Because the Crow Tribe lacked weapons, armor, and warmth, their fighting strength was at its weakest, and they rarely invaded at this time. In summer, the Crow Tribe was at its strongest. Once spring passed, things would become troublesome. If they didn’t seize the chance now, they’d miss the best opportunity.

Ye Rui looked at the tents covered in red paper and sighed. If Li Yan was willing to listen to her, everyone would soon be going to war, and it would be a battle that decided the Phoenix Army’s honor.

After putting away the brush and ink, she went to Li Yan’s tent to discuss it.

On the first day of the lunar new year, after Ye Rui left Li Yan’s tent, the Phoenix Army secretly reorganized, tightened training, and increased patrols around the Flaming Phoenix Forest.

On the fourth day of the new year, the Phoenix Army entered the Flaming Phoenix Forest in batches, splitting into four routes of four hundred troops each, quietly closing in on Crow territory.

On the fifth day of the new year, the Phoenix Army ran into the Crow Tribe in the Flaming Phoenix Forest. Both routes of troops engaged the Crow warriors in a fierce battle. The Crow Tribe immediately sent reinforcements, but they still couldn’t match the disciplined Phoenix Army.

While the Crow Tribe was sending reinforcements from the tribe, the Phoenix Army’s other two routes charged into the heart of the tribe and slaughtered the Crow warriors there. However, the Crow Tribe had horses, and the flat terrain gave their cavalry an advantage. Though the Crow Tribe had been caught off guard by the surprise attack and suffered heavy losses, the Phoenix Army still had to retreat to the Flaming Phoenix Forest under the pressure of the cavalry.

The battle went back and forth for four days. The Phoenix Army lost two hundred women; the Crow Tribe lost more than a thousand. It counted as a victory.

In the Flaming Phoenix Forest, the temporary camp occasionally echoed with cries of pain and miserable groans. The air was thick with the smell of medicinal herbs. Li Yan and the various squad leaders were directing everyone methodically as they treated the wounded and gathered the bodies.

Covered in blood and grime, Ye Rui leaned against a tree trunk while Pang Niu applied medicine to the cut on her arm. Her gaze fell on the open tents, where sisters lay inside one by one. Her wound was only skin-deep; compared to the dead and the badly injured, it was nothing.

“My goodness, why do you have so many scars on your arm?”

Only after Pang Niu pushed up her sleeve did she notice the crisscrossing scars on Ye Rui’s arm, as if they had been left by some sharp weapon.

“Old fight wounds. It’s nothing.”

Ye Rui wiped the blood from her face with her other hand, only then realizing that she had been trembling slightly.

Just now, she had led her squad in a flank attack on the Crow Tribe’s settlement, sword in hand, killing Crow warriors in close combat. She had thought she’d already gotten used to this kind of slaughter, but when a woman came rushing out of the settlement holding a child and stood in front of the warrior Ye Rui was about to kill, Ye Rui hesitated.

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t strike at unarmed women and children.

It was in that instant of distraction that the warrior’s blade slashed across her arm, and then she watched him flee with his wife and child. If she had given chase, Ye Rui could have caught them, of course. But she hadn’t.

The meaning of fighting on the front line was to protect the land and protect home. Her principle was not to harm noncombatants. If she hadn’t pulled that sword back in time and the woman had died, then what meaning would that warrior have had in continuing to fight? And would she herself be tormented by that scene until she couldn’t sleep at night?

Ye Rui’s thoughts were in chaos. This was her plan, and it should have felt satisfying to see it work so well. But seeing those women and children fleeing everywhere, hearing their heart-rending curses, she only felt her heart shake uneasily.

She knew that mercy toward an enemy was cruelty toward oneself; yet for now, she still couldn’t calmly accept that truth.

After the medicine was applied, Pang Niu finally asked, “What are you spacing out about?”

From the moment she came back, Ye Rui had looked wrong. When Lu Yihua heard the two of them talking, she immediately came over to see what was going on.

“If we break the Crow settlement, what happens to the old, weak, women, and children?” Ye Rui asked.

Pang Niu heard that and immediately patted Ye Rui’s shoulder, smiling. “Oh, we won’t kill them. According to military law, we’ll let them go and have them settle in other tribes.”

“Wouldn’t that be letting the tiger go back to the mountain, giving other tribes a chance to attack the Crow settlement we just captured?”

At that, Pang Niu raised her index finger and wagged it. “Every tribe has to deal with the Qingzhou Army. That’s our containment tactic; they won’t be able to come here for the time being.”

Ye Rui understood at once. “So if we win here, the Qingzhou Army will know too. If any of the other tribes make a move, that’ll be their chance to exploit the opening.”

“Exactly! That’s right! Your head’s quicker than mine. If you say so, then it must be so!”

Pang Niu knew about the Qingzhou Army’s containment tactics, but explaining the cause and effect as clearly as Ye Rui had was beyond her. If you wanted her to explain such a roundabout strategy, it’d be easier to make her run around the camp a few more laps.

“Don’t worry. We don’t harm old people, the weak, women, or children; they won’t use these people as human shields either. Crow warriors and we all have our own principles.”

“Mm.”

Ye Rui still remembered the woman’s desperate, death-defying eyes when she rushed out, and the venomous look she had given Ye Rui. She thought this was probably the mark war had left on her: it had given her glory, but it had also left a deep scar.

“It’s okay, Ye Rui. We’ll all stay with you. Don’t overthink it,” Lu Yihua said.

Lu Yihua knew Ye Rui was good at heart. She had been willing to risk her own life just so the people in her stockade could escape. That alone told her Ye Rui would never want to harm the innocent.

“Got it!”

Ye Rui’s mood brightened again. Just as she stood up, Li Yan called her over to discuss the next wave of attacks.

Ye Rui’s suggestion was to press the advantage. When night fell, they would attack again and take the settlement in one blow, leaving the enemy no chance to catch their breath.

Li Yan accepted Ye Rui’s proposal.

That night, Li Yan organized the army and, following Ye Rui’s plan, sent out three routes of troops. The most elite soldiers advanced from the front to draw out as many elite Crow warriors as possible. Once the timing was right, the other two routes would strike from the left and right sides of the settlement, distracting the enemy from two directions.

Now the Crow Tribe had fewer than two thousand soldiers left. Victory or defeat would be decided tonight.

That night, clouds blotted out the moon and the stars shone without light. The Phoenix Army charged in from the center with torches in hand. In the flickering firelight, blades and swords flashed everywhere. The sounds of slaughter rose to the heavens; hoofbeats thundered; blood splashed like hell itself.

Then, from both flanks, the other two routes broke into the settlement. War songs erupted from all sides, and the clashing of weapons never ceased. That night, the killing went on until dawn, and only after the Crow Tribe’s high, piercing howls could no longer be heard did the fighting finally die down.

Ye Rui stood among the corpses. Even her boots were soaked through by the blood that had pooled on the ground. The stench of blood nearly made her vomit, and she was almost too weak to stand, leaning on her longsword for support. Around her were cheers from the Phoenix Army, along with ecstatic cries and tears from the sisters.

Ye Rui looked up at them and smiled. But when she lowered her head to look at the Crow warriors whose eyes were still open in death, all she could do was sigh inwardly at the cruelty of war.

The snow-covered grassland was strewn with broken spears and shattered blades. The pole of the Crow Tribe’s banner, painted with a five-pointed gemstone totem, had been cut down and lay on the ground, stained filthy with blood. The warhorses had been left where they were, snorting and blowing out clouds of hot breath.

The banner still remained; the brave souls were hard to bring home.

Ye Rui looked at the man at her feet and hadn’t expected that the one she would end up fighting in the end was Tasin, the man the Crow Tribe called their fiercest warrior. She was no match for him in raw strength, but she had the advantage of agility, and her internal energy was overpowering enough.

After several exchanges, Ye Rui was badly wounded, but Tasin fell at her feet and died on the battlefield as a warrior.

Ye Rui tore off a strip of white cloth from her own clothes and covered Tasin’s face. She remembered that the Crow people did this; it was a sign of respect for the dead.

She respected this opponent only because, before he died, he had done his utmost to ask, in halting Great Yan language, that Ye Rui spare their women and children.

The victor sings; the vanquished die. That was war.

**

The Helian family suffered a major upheaval. The eldest son, Helian Ying, had embezzled public funds and then tried to take the Empress hostage; in the end, he was killed by the guards. After that, the second son, Helian Yong, tried to fight Helian Chi for the position of family head, but was mistakenly killed by Helian Chi. From then on, Helian Chi collapsed and never got back up.

Of course, the truth never spread outside. Outsiders only knew that Helian Yong had died of a sudden illness, while Helian Chi had fallen gravely ill from the shock and never recovered. With no one in the huge Helian family to take charge, and the collateral branches beginning to stir, the eldest daughter, Helian Duanhua, whom everyone had long regarded as a simple-minded fool, stepped forward.

Not only was she not stupid; she even briskly arranged Helian Yong’s funeral and took over the Helian family’s business territory in Nan Yue Alley. The collateral branches naturally refused to accept this. People came to make trouble, wanting to see whether Helian Duanhua was really a fool and, more importantly, saying that as a woman she could not possibly manage an entire clan.

A family that clung to old conventions naturally produced many voices of opposition. Some even sent assassins to kill Helian Duanhua. But Helian Duanhua’s methods were extraordinary; those assassins could not kill her, and with a single order she drove many collateral branch members out of the family. She even bought up their businesses at high prices, stripping them completely of any ability to resist.

Only then did the people of the Helian family realize that, without anyone noticing, Helian Duanhua’s influence had already permeated everything. The stage was set; all that remained was the east wind. And that east wind was the death or collapse of the men of the main Helian branch.

When the east wind came, a new order arose.

This was the first time Xie Tinglan formally met Helian Duanhua. Long ago, Xie Tinglan had caught a glimpse of her in the Helian residence. At that time, the servants in the residence had been chasing after her as she ran through the arched gate of a remote courtyard again and again, a kite in her hand, her hair unbound and her clothes disheveled, laughing like a child.

Helian Duanhua was stunningly beautiful, with six parts resemblance to Helian Shaohua. But unlike Helian Shaohua’s cool elegance and noble dignity, Helian Duanhua’s features carried a little more seduction, while beneath her eyes hid a hard, unvarnished cruelty.

That cruelty was like a blade that had been honed for years and finally drawn from its sheath after lying hidden for so long.

Though she was nearly forty, time seemed unable to leave even a trace on her. Only the wind and frost in her eyes told people how much she had endured.

This time, the one who accompanied Xie Tinglan to Ruyi Tower was Ri Xi and Yin Yue; the only person beside Helian Duanhua was a silent male guard.

“This time, has Miss Helian asked me here because she needs my help with something?”

Xie Tinglan knew Helian Duanhua would not seek her out for no reason. Even if she was on the same side as Helian Shaohua, there was no reason for her to come make small talk and build rapport. Xie Tinglan’s instinct told her that Helian Duanhua was not the type to waste time on meaningless things.

“Yes.”

Helian Duanhua nodded and said, “I’d like Prime Minister Xie to help me remove one person from the court.”

“Who?”

Xie Tinglan had no appetite for the dishes spread before her. What interested her more was what Helian Duanhua wanted to do.

“Assistant Minister of Revenue Feng Zailei.”

Feng Zailei was mainly responsible for the finances of Nan Yue Alley, and he was also Helian Chi’s sworn brother. If Helian Duanhua wanted Xie Tinglan to do this, then Feng Zailei had clearly caused her plenty of trouble.

“If possible, I hope Prime Minister Xie can remove him within a month.”

Helian Duanhua held a teacup in her hand; hot steam curled upward, casting a faint mist over the white jade ring on her slender index finger.

“Alright. Then what can Miss Helian give me in return?”

Xie Tinglan was not a merchant, but she would never do things for others for free. She had no personal ties with Helian Duanhua, so she could not wholeheartedly work for her. There had to be compensation.

“If Prime Minister Xie can accomplish this for me, I may have a way to find Ye Rui’s whereabouts.”

As soon as those words were spoken, Xie Tinglan did not feel joy; instead, a kind of fear rose around her. She knew Helian Duanhua bore her no ill will, but for someone who had feigned madness for more than thirty years to know all her movements, and even possess the ability to do things she herself could not do, how could she not be afraid?

At once, Xie Tinglan thought of the Wangshu Sect. The Wangshu Sect was not directly under her control; the authority lay in Helian Shaohua’s hands. Yet Helian Shaohua had never said who was arranging things for her outside the sect. Looking at it now, it must have been this woman before her.

Helian Duanhua was not often in the Capital City. If the Helian family had guests, or if some major matter needed handling, Helian Chi would send this disgrace of the family to Jiangnan to recuperate, so that no one would see her mad appearance.

So that was it. So that was it...

Xie Tinglan made up her mind and smiled. “Alright. It’s a deal. Then I’ll ask Miss Helian to wait for good news.”

Helian Duanhua’s eyes lit up. She lifted her teacup and smiled. “Then let us use tea instead of wine to toast Prime Minister Xie.”

Xie Tinglan also raised her cup and returned the toast. Afterward, Helian Duanhua had someone send over some excellent tea and liquor, all famous teas and wines from Jiangnan, which Xie Tinglan recognized.

Seeing these Jiangnan goods only further confirmed Xie Tinglan’s suspicions.

Now she had truly stepped deeper into Helian Shaohua’s game. These two sisters were certainly interesting.

**

The roof tiles of Golden Phoenix Palace were covered in fine snow. A gust of cold wind passed through and shook some of it loose, scattering it across the blue-stone slabs below and blurring the carved patterns on the stone.

Golden Phoenix Palace had been cold and quiet for more than a month, but today it was full of people. Guards stood in two rows, and muffled sobbing came from inside the hall. Aside from that, the entire palace was silent.

For more than a month, Li Fei had temporarily managed the harem. All the consorts had been eager to curry favor with her, and the Emperor doted on her as well. Mingyu Palace had been bustling beyond compare, and Li Fei’s limelight had been unmatched.

And yet now she was kneeling at the Emperor’s feet, weeping like a pear blossom in the rain, her eyes red, the jeweled hairpin on her head swaying with her sobs. The Emperor held a sheet of letter paper in his hand, trembling all over with anger, his gaze filled with fury as he looked at the woman kneeling in the hall.

“Your Majesty, I am wronged. How can you sentence me based on a single letter!”

Li Fei clutched a handkerchief and wiped her tears, looking pitiable and lovely. That only loosened the Emperor’s clenched fist a little more.

“One piece of paper really can’t prove much.”

Helian Shaohua stood beside Li Fei with a straight back, her gaze burning as she looked at the Emperor and said calmly, “But this concubine knows that Cui Zhu left her own waist token in your sleeping chambers. That is proof that she once plotted this matter there with you.”

Helian Shaohua took a second letter from her sleeve. “This is the second letter she left for this concubine.”

Eunuch Zhao immediately took the letter from Helian Shaohua’s hand and presented it to the Emperor. After the Emperor glanced at the page, his brows furrowed; it actually reminded him that when the guards executed Cui Zhu, they indeed had not found her waist token.

That was a maidservant’s identification token. It should never leave her person.

“Go search.”

The letter specified where the waist token was hidden. Helian Shaohua did not say it, and Emperor Yuan did not say it either. It was as if neither of them wanted to give Li Fei any chance to react. From Emperor Yuan’s attitude, Helian Shaohua knew the balance of trust had already tipped toward her side.

Li Fei’s face had clearly gone panicked. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but when she saw the Emperor’s cold eyes, she was so frightened that not a word came out.

For a moment, the great hall fell silent again, so still that you could hear a pin drop. The Emperor glanced at Helian Shaohua, but she did not look at him at all. She simply stared straight ahead with lowered eyes, as if he were a stranger.

In the hall, it was as though someone were counting Li Fei’s breaths, one by one... until the sound of footsteps from the guards rang out, and Li Fei’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

Did they find it, or not? She didn’t even know about the waist token.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, this general found Cui Zhu’s waist token under Li Fei’s bed!”

The guard held up a thin wooden token in both hands, and the name “Cui Zhu” was clearly engraved on it.

The Emperor rubbed the carved pattern on the token with his thumb, lowered his eyes, and asked coldly, “How else do you plead?”

Li Fei’s face was whiter than a ghost’s. She shook her head repeatedly and stammered, “Your Majesty, it’s not like that; this consort never did such a thing. This waist token must have been planted by someone to frame me!”

“Planted? Do you mean to say that this consort knew in advance about your plan with Cui Zhu and framed you first? If that were the case, this consort would have long since taken precautions.”

Helian Shaohua paused, then let her gaze settle on Li Fei before continuing, “Or do you think this is all a play staged by this consort and Cui Zhu, one in which I was willing to risk my own reputation to get this far? Li Fei, I know very well which matters are more and less important than my own reputation.”

Every word said nothing explicit, yet every word said Li Fei was unworthy. Standing with her head lowered behind Helian Shaohua, Shen Zhuiying listened and couldn’t help but let the corner of her mouth lift slightly, feeling that Helian Shaohua was entirely right.

Li Fei was not worthy of Her Ladyship’s trouble.

“If Your Majesty still doesn’t believe it, then just summon the imperial kitchen chefs and question them.”

Only then did Helian Shaohua look at the Emperor. Her eyes were as cold as a stagnant pool of water, and the Emperor’s heart gave an involuntary jolt.

He raised a hand and said in a low voice, “No need. Zhen believes you.”

Zhen believes you.

Those words nearly made Helian Shaohua laugh out loud. She did not know what the Emperor’s trust was worth, but she did know that an emperor’s trust could send your head rolling at any moment.

“Your Majesty—! This concubine! This concubine was merely confused for a moment! Please spare me, Your Majesty. I am carrying your child!”

The Emperor slammed the tea table angrily and shouted over her, “How insolent! Zhen orders you confined to Mingyu Palace. After you give birth to the imperial heir, your title will be stripped and you will be sent to Yeyou Court to reflect on your actions! Take her away!”

“Your Majesty—! This concubine knows her mistake! I don’t want to go to Yeyou Court, please show mercy, Your Majesty—!”

Two palace maids dragged the screaming Li Fei away. In the struggle, her hairpin came loose and fell to the ground, leaving her in utter disgrace.

“Empress—! Empress, please show mercy!”

Helian Shaohua remained unmoved by the heart-rending cries. Her head was held high, and that was not the bearing of a victor; it was the arrogance of someone who stood above others.

Someone like Li Fei was not even worthy of competing with her.

“Everyone out!”

At the Emperor’s command, all the others withdrew from the hall except Helian Shaohua. Shen Zhuiying was the last to leave. Before closing the door, she couldn’t help but look deeply at Helian Shaohua, worry flashing in her eyes.

Once the doors were shut, the two people in the hall stood and sat facing each other. Helian Shaohua kept her gaze lowered and did not look at Emperor Yuan. Her hands remained folded before her abdomen, her posture neither humble nor overbearing, neither pleased nor angry.

Emperor Yuan looked at Helian Shaohua with guilt and was the first to break the silence. “Shaohua, Zhen misunderstood you.”

“Your Majesty was only deceived by Li Fei. This concubine does not blame Your Majesty.”

Helian Shaohua’s lips curved slightly, forming a perfect arc. She knew the Emperor would be satisfied to see it. As expected, Emperor Yuan instantly brightened. He stood up and was just about to take Helian Shaohua’s hand when she said, “Your Majesty, Prime Minister Xie is still waiting.”

Only then did Emperor Yuan remember that he was supposed to be discussing matters with Xie Tinglan in the Hall of Heavenly Tranquility, but this incident had delayed him. He had already wasted quite some time and should go over now.

“In that case, Zhen will go first. Later, Zhen will come back and apologize to Shaohua.”

With that, the Emperor hurried off. Only then did Helian Shaohua turn back to look at the man in the bright yellow dragon robe.

Yan Mu, what I want you to pay back is only your life.

**

The fact that the Phoenix Army had captured the Crow Tribe spread through all of Qingzhou City that very day. The city’s commoners could hear the triumphant drums ringing for a full quarter of an hour from noon onward.

Those drums heartened the Qingzhou Army, and naturally they also struck fear into the barbarians. Losing the Crow settlement meant losing a source of crystal ore, which dealt a severe blow to morale. A settlement this important should have had heavy defenses, but because of disputes over the distribution of crystal resources, the Crow Tribe and the other tribes had long been at odds, and repeated attempts to station troops there had failed. That was how today’s defeat came about.

Ye Rui listened as Li Yan pointed at the sand table on the table, explaining where they were now camped within Crow territory, which nearby tribes lurked around them, and who on their side could provide the fastest reinforcements.

As she listened to Li Yan analyze the key to their success, Ye Rui suddenly had a vague but bold idea. It looked as though the barbarian tribes were not united after all. If they were picked off one by one, it might not be impossible. Or perhaps they wouldn’t even need force. If they offered enough benefits, maybe they could turn them.

Of course, that only seemed possible for the tribes around the Phoenix Army. It would not work on the Qingzhou Army’s main force, the Four Divine Beasts camp, because they still had the support of the Liang Kingdom. Their momentum was much stronger; naturally, they would not give up such an advantage.

In truth, Ye Rui felt that Great Yan’s greatest enemy was not the fragmented barbarians, but Liang Kingdom, which had its threads woven through everything and stirred the war between the two sides. Liang Kingdom’s land was as fertile as Great Yan’s, and its resources were abundant, so why did the barbarians not attack them and instead keep invading Great Yan?

“This question was raised long ago by the Eldest Princess as well. Everyone guessed that Liang Kingdom probably used some means to maintain its relationship with the barbarians, which is why the barbarians obey them so readily.”

Li Yan sighed and looked toward Qingzhou City. “It’s a pity. If the Eldest Princess were still here, maybe she’d know.”

What a coincidence; the very “Eldest Princess” in question happened to be someone Ye Rui knew.

“By the way, Li Xiaowei, if the Crow Tribe’s bodies aren’t redeemed by anyone, are they also burned after three days?”

Ye Rui had just finished dealing with this matter and would be on leave soon, so she could go see Mu Xue.

“Yes.”

Li Yan was still focused on the tribes surrounding Crow territory, while Ye Rui’s thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. The bodies had all been taken care of. Fortunately, it was still spring and the weather remained cold, so even piles of corpses left together would not rot so quickly.

The bodies of the Phoenix Army sisters had also already been collected and were now on the way back to Qingzhou City.

Honor upon the body, banners fluttering in the wind, souls returning to their homeland.

Two days later, the barbarian tribes came, though not many people arrived; most were widows and family members of the warriors who came to redeem the bodies. Li Yan had said they couldn’t make a huge profit this time, because the other tribes were unlikely to pay to redeem the Crow Tribe’s dead.

Just as Li Yan predicted, only the warriors’ families came, bringing all the possessions they had. Li Yan did not humiliate them. She charged only a single copper coin for each body and let them take their people home. Out of about three thousand corpses, only just over four hundred were claimed.

Another day later, just before the bodies were to be cremated, more than a hundred people came, each carrying a single copper coin. It was probably because the people from yesterday had told them what to do. Li Yan let them take the bodies away as well.

Li Yan explained to Ye Rui that their war was not about slaughter; there was no need to leave these warriors’ families unable to retrieve their dead even after death. Li Yan had been in the army for fifteen years. Though the Crow Tribe and the Phoenix Army had fought for many years and accumulated much hatred, they were in agreement on the matter of handling the dead.

They respected each other, respected wartime bravery, and respected sacrifice after battle.

The Crow settlement no longer existed, and Li Yan did not wish to force things.

One copper coin for one soul; let it count as the road toll to the underworld.

Later, most of the Crow Tribe’s bodies were burned, and their ashes scattered with the wind across the vast plain, landing on the land that had given them birth and raised them.

After the military matters were settled, Ye Rui was granted leave. After lunch with her squad, she went to find Mu Xue.

Mu Xue had been staying in the prefectural governor’s residence during this time. This was the first time Ye Rui had taken the initiative to come find her in nearly two months since Mu Xue had remained in Qingzhou City.

Today Mu Xue was not looking at account books; she was studying the market map, apparently considering where to open another shop. Ye Rui felt Mu Xue really was formidable. In martial affairs she was a commander, in business a prodigy; she was just a little sharp-tongued.

“Well, that’s a rare visitor. What wind blew the little hero of the Phoenix Army here today?”

They were meeting in the inner courtyard study today. The room had clearly been set up for Mu Xue, filled with her scent and many similar furnishings to the ones Ye Rui had seen in Yanyu Tower.

“Fine. If your mouth weren’t so annoying, we could still have a proper conversation.”

Ye Rui rolled her eyes at Mu Xue and pulled over a stool to sit. Before she could even begin, Mu Xue asked, “How is that little poor thing who came into camp with you?”

Little poor thing? What kind of nickname was this woman inventing now?

Ye Rui asked in confusion, “You mean Xiaohua?”

When Mu Xue heard that nickname, she first froze, then burst out laughing. “Don’t say I’m bad at naming things. Yours isn’t much better. Anyone who doesn’t know better would think you were calling a cat or a dog!”

Ye Rui: “...”

Hutu: 【...She’s not wrong!】

Ye Rui: 【Don’t side with outsiders!】

Hutu: 【...I’m just being fair!】

“Alright, I won’t laugh at you anymore. You’ve done a great job this time. What did Li Yan say?”

Once Mu Xue got to the point, she gradually reined in her smile and her expression turned serious.

“She said she’s applying to the higher-ups for me to be made a squad leader, and for Xiaohua to be my squad’s platoon leader.”

When Ye Rui mentioned this, she still remembered how excited Li Yan had looked at the time, as though she wanted to rush the paperwork through on horseback right away.

Li Yan valued talent, and that was why the Phoenix Army could be so strong. Even though it was all women soldiers, they still held an important place within the Qingzhou Army. Now that they had broken the Crow settlement, their reputation had risen again, and Li Yan was busy applying for manpower to mine the crystal ore.

“Not bad. You’ve been enlisted for less than three months and you’re already almost a squad leader. But this kind of paperwork usually takes time. It won’t be settled for another month or so, unlike the platoon leader position, which Li Yan can decide herself.”

Mu Xue’s meaning was clear: don’t get carried away. Wait if you have to wait.

“I’m not in a hurry. Then I’ll wait.”

Anyway, it would definitely be completed within the three-month main quest deadline. By then, her swordsmanship would rise to advanced level. She could hardly imagine what kind of power that would bring.

“Oh right, I came this time because I have something to ask.”

Only then did Ye Rui remember the real purpose of her visit. Mu Xue heard this and snorted. “I knew you had business with me before you came. Go on.”

Mu Xue lowered her head again and looked at the map spread across the table, her eyes sweeping over several empty positions.

“The barbarian tribes also border Liang Kingdom. Why don’t the barbarians give Liang Kingdom trouble? And what kind of agreement is there between Liang Kingdom and the barbarians that they would actually join forces to attack Yan?”

Mu Xue raised her brows, and a faint smile appeared in her narrow phoenix eyes. She looked up at Ye Rui. “I’ve been investigating that question for years too.”

“Do you have an answer now?”

Ye Rui didn’t know what Liang Kingdom was plotting, and that sense of missing information made her feel very uneasy.

“Yes.”

Mu Xue rolled up the map on the table and set it aside. Then she folded her hands over her chest, leaned forward a little, and smiled. “After years of investigation, and even a trip to Liang Kingdom myself, guess what I found?”

“Oh, stop dragging it out and tell me already. I’m about to die of impatience!”

Ye Rui felt like she couldn’t sit still anymore. She wanted to crawl into Mu Xue’s head and see exactly what she was thinking.

Why did all these women love dragging things out?

Wait... why did I think of Xie Tinglan again?

“What’s the rush?”

Mu Xue shot her a look and smiled. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were the Qingzhou Army’s commander. So nervous.”

Ye Rui didn’t dare imagine that. At least not yet.

“The barbarian tribes bordering Liang Kingdom are very powerful. Aside from Qingzhou City here, there’s also Nan Zhenchuan in Yuzhou City.”

Mu Xue paused, then continued, “Liang Kingdom exchanges supplies and women for benefits, and the tribes bordering them get a lot out of it. The other tribes don’t know this. They all think Liang Kingdom sends women to the barbarians for marriage alliances and friendship, while they know nothing about the supplies.”

Ye Rui’s eyes lit up, and she leaned forward too. “If the other tribes found out, wouldn’t that cause internal strife among the barbarians?”

“Exactly. But the other tribes trust the leader of the Gold-Eyed Tribe very much; he is the king of all the barbarians, the Western Barbarian King. It won’t be easy to turn them.”

After speaking, Mu Xue tapped lightly on her arm, her brows faintly knit as if troubled by something. “Besides that, I found something else.”

“What?”

Ye Rui had a bad feeling whenever Mu Xue wore that expression. Her heart suddenly tightened.

Mu Xue narrowed her eyes slightly, her voice turning colder. “Do you know Great Yan still has a Free and Easy Prince?”

“No.”

Ye Rui really didn’t know that. Normally, Ri Xi and Xie Tinglan told her many things, but neither of them had ever mentioned any Free and Easy Prince.

“That’s the Emperor’s fifth younger brother, and also my fifth brother; Yan Feiyan.”

Mu Xue paused, then continued, “Fifth Brother seems to have some very close ties with Liang Kingdom. I’ve only found that he wants Liang Kingdom and the barbarians to break through Nan Zhenchuan’s defenses, so that the one in the Capital City can’t eat or sleep in peace.”

“He wants to be Emperor?”

Ye Rui frowned. This was both internal trouble and external invasion. If this Free and Easy Prince leaked Yuzhou City’s defenses, wouldn’t Nan Zhenchuan be in grave danger?

Mu Xue shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know. From what I know of him, he has absolutely no interest in the throne. His freedom isn’t fake.”

Now Ye Rui was even more confused. If he wanted to keep being his carefree prince, then he should be hoping for Great Yan to keep flourishing. How could he possibly want his own country destroyed?

“For now, that’s all I know. Liang Kingdom is not our territory. Every time I go in there, I feel deeply uneasy, and I can’t uncover much. The hidden agents I sent out also can’t find that much. Their reach just isn’t long enough.”

This was the first time Ye Rui had seen Mu Xue look so powerless. She didn’t know what the Free and Easy Prince was thinking. Or perhaps he had changed and grown interested in power. Otherwise, none of it made sense.

“Forget that for now. That Western Barbarian King—do you have any way to make him split from the other tribes?”

After Ye Rui asked, Mu Xue clicked her tongue and laughed. “Child, do you take me for a strategist? If I could think of something, the barbarians would’ve been torn apart long ago. That’s for you to figure out. Don’t ask me.”

Ye Rui was jolted awake by Mu Xue’s words. She seemed to have become too dependent on Mu Xue’s intelligence gathering and was acting a little stupid.

Mu Xue was right. If she’d already thought of a solution, the barbarians would have thrown down their weapons and armor by now.

“Oh, right. I’ll give you one more piece of information for free.”

Mu Xue lazily picked up a ledger from the side and used her fingertip to flip open the pages, releasing a pleasant scent of ink.

“What is it?”

Since Mu Xue was showing rare mercy, Ye Rui naturally listened attentively.

“Xie Tinglan’s cold poison has been cured. Her body is slowly recovering.”

When she said that, Ye Rui’s expression became complicated. Even Mu Xue couldn’t tell whether it was joy or grief.

Mu Xue muttered a little unwillingly, “Meeting you was her good luck.”

“That’s good.”

That was good. As long as you can get better and be healthy, everything is fine. She just hadn’t expected that she and Xie Tinglan were already separated by two different worlds. Hearing news of her now came with a strange sense of unreality, as if they were worlds apart.

Her heart... still ached a little.

She no longer needed Ye Rui to stay with her at night. That’s good.

I hope I can watch from far away as you fulfill your vision, Xie Tinglan.

TL Note:

Zhen (朕) = the emperor’s exclusive first-person pronoun, like saying “I” with imperial authority. Kind of like in medieval English, only the kings could say "you," and the commoners said "thy."

letting the tiger go back to the mountain (放虎归山) = releasing a dangerous enemy and inviting future trouble.

east wind (东风) = the crucial favorable moment or turning point that makes the plan succeed.

road toll to the underworld (幽冥的引路钱) = a burial coin/offering for guiding the dead on their journey.