Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Feng Yiluo arrived in Jincheng with Su Yu. She had expected Su Yu to continue keeping her under house arrest, but to her surprise, Su Yu left her completely unchecked once they reached Jincheng.

When she walked out of the Military Commissioner of Xichuan's residence, no one barred her way. At the gate, she encountered the palace maids she used to play mahjong with. Hesitantly, she asked, "Why are the three of you here?"

One of them replied, "We came with Her Majesty."

Another added, "Congratulations, Princess. Nanzhao is just ahead. Her Majesty said you’re free to return anytime."

Feng Yiluo stared at the black-armored soldiers patrolling in the distance but didn’t dare move. After being confined by Su Yu for two years, and now with Great Qi and Nanzhao at war, returning to Nanzhao carelessly would only brand her as a traitor—unless she could bring back useful intelligence.

She hesitated, then turned to glance at the inner courtyard. She knew which compound Su Yu was in, but did she truly have the ability to steal useful intelligence from him?

Feng Yiluo lacked confidence.

When she first reincarnated, she had thought herself capable of controlling fate and manipulating others effortlessly. But what had awaited her?

She didn’t want to recall her failures.

The third maid, who had remained silent until now, spoke up, "The border is too dangerous right now. Returning to Nanzhao now would mean certain death."

Feng Yiluo looked at her. The maid asked, "Since we’ve met, would Your Highness like to play mahjong with us?"

Feng Yiluo glanced once more at the black-armored soldiers marching in perfect sync, their armor clanking ominously. She silently averted her gaze and, facing the three maids, found herself inexplicably blurting out, "Do you have the tiles with you?"

These three were originally selected by Su Yu for the Security Bureau, trained and then assigned to Feng Yiluo. Since they had asked her to play, they had naturally come prepared.

By the time Feng Yiluo sat down and played several rounds, a full day had slipped by.

The autumn night in Jincheng was chilly, and her flimsy silk dress did little to shield her from the wind. Outside the walls, the footsteps of the black-armored soldiers seemed endless, each step weighing heavily on her heart, crushing what little remained of her former pride and courage.

"Will Your Highness continue playing?"

"Yes, three more rounds. Then we’ll stop for today."

Feng Yiluo answered, thinking to herself—it couldn’t be blamed on her. She had been a prisoner for so long, yet no one from Nanzhao had come to rescue her. Now, were it not for her father’s obstinate resolve to attack Great Qi, Su Yu wouldn’t have taken command personally. So why should she be expected to do anything?

She also recalled what Su Yu had once told her, her fists tightening. The past life was long gone. In this life, she wanted to see how things would unfold between her, the King of Luosuo, Su Yu, and Nanzhao.

Though she had said three rounds, Feng Yiluo ended up playing round after round well into the night, finally collapsing into bed at dawn’s first light.

Meanwhile, the three disguised maids reported back on Feng Yiluo’s movements to Su Yu after she awoke.

Su Yu nodded, unsurprised by Feng Yiluo’s behavior. In her past life, this princess had pinned her kingdom’s downfall entirely on Su Chengying, then comfortably became the King of Luosuo’s Favored Consort. After reincarnating, she had immediately sought out the King of Luosuo again, only to live guilt-free in the palace once Su Yu confined her. This choice now was hardly surprising.

It was precisely Feng Yiluo’s lack of cleverness, her fear of death, and her knack for self-justification that led Su Yu to choose supporting her.

After the three left, Yuan Ran entered to comb Su Yu’s hair.

Unlike the capital, where highly polished mirrors were already in fashion, Jincheng still used tarnished bronze mirrors that distorted reflections.

Yuan Ran glanced inadvertently at Su Yu’s features, softened by the mirror’s haze, and suddenly froze.

Su Yu, noticing his stillness, turned to ask, "What’s wrong?"

With her hair loose, Su Yu looked neither distinctly male nor female. In the past, Yuan Ran wouldn’t have questioned it. But now, he thought of the *Great Cloud Sutra* disseminated by the Security Bureau, the statue of the female Guanyin brought by Cui Xuan, and the weaving maidens’ tales spread across Jiangnan.

He had never pondered their meaning before. But in this moment, the truth dawned on him.

Yuan Ran held his breath, stepped forward to tie up Su Yu's hair, then gazed at her reflection in the mirror again, lost in thought. With such beauty, whether male or female, Her Majesty could enchant anyone—yet he could only be the humblest among them.

"Your Majesty is truly beautiful," Yuan Ran praised, then lowered his eyes and whispered, "I wish to remain Your Majesty's blade forever, no matter how stained or worn."

Su Yu stood up, tilting her head slightly to reveal her dimples. "If you are my blade, you will never be stained. How could the things I do be called dirty?"

Yuan Ran hurriedly said, "I didn’t mean—"

Su Yu flicked his forehead lightly. "You, if you wish to stay by my side for a long time, cut the melancholy."

The spot where she flicked him didn’t hurt, but it burned—so much that his whole face burned red.

By the time he regained his senses, Su Yu was already at the door. She turned back, her hair fluttering in the autumn light. "Aren’t you coming?"

Wei Chi Yi and Yuan Ling were already waiting for Su Yu in the study. When she had discussed matters with Xiao Cheng and Gu Zhongzhao the day before, they hadn’t been present, so Su Yu decided not to mention yesterday’s decisions at all, instead listening to their unbiased opinions.

Wei Chi Yi’s thoughts aligned closely with Su Yu’s. The moment he heard that the King of Luosuo had vanished, his finger instinctively landed on the jungle area Su Yu had mentioned the day before. "This servant believes the King of Luosuo must be hiding in this area."

Su Yu: "..." Who needed mystical strategies? They could just use Wei Chi Yi as a radar.

The Nanzhao and Luosuo armies had split into three forces, while Great Qi’s army remained united, spearheading an assault on Nanzhao’s main force. With the support of two cannons, before Nanzhao could even arrange its troops, they were already scattered and defeated.

In just a few days, Great Qi’s army didn’t even need to engage directly—just the cannons’ roar was enough to send Nanzhao’s soldiers routing in panic, abandoning their armor and weapons, whether the shots hit or not.

The commander on Nanzhao’s side was Feng Yi Jing, Feng Yi Luo’s third elder brother.

As the Queen’s trueborn son, nearly everyone believed he was the inevitable heir—only he himself knew that the older the King of Nanzhao grew, the more wary he became of him.

Feng Yi Jing had opposed the joint attack on Great Qi with Luosuo, but the King of Nanzhao had insisted, even publicly rebuking him: "The current King of Nanzhao is still me! You don’t get a say! If you refuse to lead the campaign, then hand over your command."

Feng Yi Jing had suspected that the King of Nanzhao was forcing this war just to strip him of his military power.

But military authority was the foundation of the Queen and his own position—Feng Yi Jing would never relinquish it. So he bit down and obeyed.

He had believed that Nanzhao’s 150,000 troops, combined with Luosuo’s 60,000, would at least match Great Qi’s strength. Yet once the war truly began, he was overwhelmed by despair.

Not just the soldiers—even he felt his blood run cold at the mere sound of the cannons.

Standing on high ground, Feng Yi Jing could only watch helplessly as the cannons shattered Nanzhao’s lines, followed by Great Qi’s shield soldiers advancing step by step, while crossbowmen hidden among them rained arrows down.

Nanzhao’s soldiers fell one after another under the hail of arrows—their shields and armor proving uselessly thin against the sharp projectiles.

Feng Yi Jing went pale as he gripped his strategist tightly. "What kind of weapons are the Great Qi people using?!"

Not only were the two cannons something he had never seen before, but even Great Qi’s crossbows had far greater range and accuracy than Nanzhao’s. In these few days of battle, Great Qi had barely suffered any casualties, while the battlefield was drenched in Nanzhao’s blood!

The strategist’s lips trembled. "I’ve heard rumors their emperor possesses heaven-sent weapons. These must be the legendary weapons. We... we cannot win..."

Under normal circumstances, Feng Yi Jing would have drawn his blade and killed the strategist on the spot to prevent crushing morale. But now, whether he killed him or not, morale was already shattered...

Grasping for one last hope, Feng Yi Jing asked, "Has there been any movement from Luosuo’s army?"

The strategist shook his head. At the first cannon blast, Feng Yi Jing had ordered Luosuo’s forces to flank Great Qi’s army and relieve Nanzhao’s plight.

Yet despite their supposed alliance, Luosuo’s army had just watched from afar all these days.

Feng Yi Jing shut his eyes, defeated. "Retreat."

But the strategist protested, "No! If Your Highness withdraws now, the King will have your head!"

"All my father wants is for me to surrender my military authority—I’ll give it to him!" Feng Yijing opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. Though the skies of Nanzhao were clear and the sunlight dazzling, all he saw was a gray haze.

"Your Highness, perhaps leading the troops westward..."

Feng Yijing immediately drew his sword and pressed it against the advisor’s neck. The advisor went silent, only letting out a long sigh after Feng Yijing sheathed his blade. Softly, he asked, "With such a crushing defeat, the King will surely not let Your Highness off lightly."

Feng Yijing replied calmly, "I am still Father’s son. After taking away my military authority, he won’t be too hard on me."

Nanzhao’s retreat was swift. Since they had been constantly on the defensive, Feng Yijing failed to notice that the opposing commander had been Xiao Cheng all along—Su Yu and Yu Chiyi were nowhere to be seen.

At that moment, Su Yu was crouching in the brush with Yu Chiyi.

Even in autumn, the mosquitoes in the brush were relentless.

Fortunately, Su Yu had come prepared.

Before setting out for the jungle, she had sized up her companions. Xiao Cheng and Yu Chiyi, with their thick skin, seemed unappealing to mosquitoes. The Yuan siblings, fair and delicate, were too precious to use as mosquito bait. So, her gaze settled on Gu Changan.

Gu Changan said frankly, "I’ve always attracted mosquitoes. Wherever I am, they ignore others and only bite me. Luckily, as a native of Shu, even if bitten badly, the swelling subsides quickly."

Those words convinced Su Yu to keep Gu Changan by her side.

Sure enough, from the moment they entered the jungle, as long as Gu Changan was near, the mosquitoes rarely bothered her.

Su Yu looked at Gu Changan’s splotchy red face and felt a twinge of guilt. She decided to wrap things up quickly. Fortunately, she hadn’t just brought Gu Changan—she also had Yu Chiyi and his nephew, both remarkably sharp.

Soon, they found traces of the Luosuo army in the jungle.

King Kunlang Songzheng of Luosuo had chosen this spot for an ambush from the start. If they advanced, his forces could coordinate with the other two armies to encircle Xichuan; retreating, they could strike directly at southwestern Nanzhao, forming a pincer attack with Luosuo’s homeland.

Kunlang Songzheng had long planned it: if they could take Jiannan, all the better; if not, he’d let Great Qi’s forces wear Nanzhao down, then retreat into Nanzhao’s territory, eliminate its remnants, seize the kingdom, and use it as a base to rebuild his power.

Thus, he ignored Feng Yijing’s pleas for help over the past few days. Upon hearing Feng Yijing had retreated, he narrowed his eyes—Nanzhao’s withdrawal was too early, and their losses weren’t severe enough. If so, he would have to stir chaos in Nanzhao.

Fortunately, the King of Nanzhao was growing increasingly senile and suspicious of Feng Yijing. All Kunlang Songzheng needed was for the spies he had planted years ago near the King to whisper a few provocations—

The King’s current most favored consort was one such spy sent by the King of Luosuo.

Of course, the Favored Consort had her own reasons for scheming. She had her own son, though he was only three—no match against the grown princes. So, why not eliminate them all?

The day before Feng Yijing led his troops back to the capital, the Favored Consort received word from the King of Luosuo. Weeping, she rushed to the elderly King of Nanzhao, clinging to him as she cried, "Your Majesty! Thank goodness you’re here. I had a terrible nightmare."

"What dream frightened you so?" The King wiped her tears tenderly.

The Favored Consort hesitated, refusing to speak until after their intimate moment, when the King was drowsy and pliant. Then she whispered, "I dreamed... the Third Prince... disobeyed you, leading his army back to the capital. In the dream, he looked murderous, gripping a bloodstained sword. It terrified me..."

The King, previously drowsy, snapped awake. He seized her and demanded harshly, "Whose blood was on his sword?"

Biting her lip, the Favored Consort paled and said, "It was only a dream—it didn’t mean anything."

The King stared at her pallid face, his expression darkening.

The next day, to his shock, eunuchs rushed in to report: the Third Prince’s army was at the city gates.

Instantly, the King recalled the Favored Consort’s words, his mind racing with visions of conspiracy. He believed her dream was no mere nightmare—it was a divine warning.

He had Feng Yijing lured into the palace, then shut the gates and had eunuchs cut him down with their blades.

After Feng Yijing’s death, the King also killed his mother, the Queen of Nanzhao. But he failed to reclaim all military power. The Queen’s clan rose in rebellion to avenge her, while his fourth and fifth sons fled west with part of the army, seizing cities and crowning themselves kings.

The capital of Nanzhao was thrown into chaos, just as the King of Luosuo had wished.

The King of Luosuo felt it was time to spring the trap—given the current situation, he could lead his troops to attack the Nanzhao capital.

However, before he could even emerge from the jungle, he was ambushed by the Great Qi army lying in ambush.

His twenty thousand men were clearly no match for the Great Qi forces.

Once again, the King of Luosuo decided to flee.

But Su Yu was already waiting on his one escape route. She opened the black case she had been carrying on her back, took out the rifle inside, and turned to Yu Chiyi, saying, "Hold your ground behind me."

No way around it—the rifle's recoil was too strong.

Though Yu Chiyi didn’t understand what she intended to do, he positioned himself behind her, using his body to shield her.

Su Yu gripped the rifle with both hands and fired at the fleeing King of Luosuo. As the king fell, the recoil knocked her backward into Yu Chiyi’s arms.

Yu Chiyi caught her around the waist, steadying her.