Chapter 99

Chapter 99

The An Family Army retreated quickly, and He Ji, caught off guard, could not catch up.

Fearing that An Shengwu had set an ambush, He Ji did not continue the pursuit and turned back.

He climbed the city wall, fell to his knees with a thud before Chen Yingchou, and said, "I am useless. Please punish me, Your Majesty." His face was full of indignation. "That treacherous and cunning scoundrel—next time I see him, I will take his life!"

Chen Yingchou gazed at the empty space before the city. "He Ji, tonight we will scout the An Family Army camp."

He Ji hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I will go alone. You should not go—if you are discovered..."

"No, I must see for myself," Chen Yingchou had already made up his mind. He had to find out who that woman truly was. "Go prepare."

He Ji refused to rise and wanted to speak further, but Zhu Shiliang said, "General He, go quickly and prepare the An Family Army uniforms, along with more darts and sleeping drugs."

Qiao Yun stepped forward and grabbed He Ji. "Master Zhu is right. I'll accompany you in the preparations."

He Ji glared at Qiao Yun and wanted to say more, but Qiao Yun covered his mouth and forcibly dragged him down the city wall.

Chen Yingchou sighed. "I never saw A Mo's body with my own eyes, Zhiming. Is it possible that the Empress Dowager deceived me?"

Zhu Shiliang did not agree in his heart. Not only Qiao Yun, but many in Kunning Palace had seen Jiang Mo's body. He was certain in his mind that the woman hanging was Wei Yalan, but he did not answer and remained silent.

"That woman just now is definitely not Wei Yalan. I don't believe there could be three people in this world who look the same. If that woman is a fake, disguised, is it possible that the body Qiao Yun saw was also fake?"

"I was too afraid at the time to lift the white cloth. Could the Empress Dowager have been lying to me?"

Zhu Shiliang said, "But the Empress Dowager did not stop you from posthumously conferring the title of Empress on Miss Jiang. There would be no reason for her to know that Miss Jiang is alive and not tell you."

Chen Yingchou shook his head. The moment he saw the woman's face, his long-cold and dead heart began to warm again. He had never wished so much to be deceived.

"Zhiming, you should understand me. Unless I see it with my own eyes, I won't believe anyone!" He placed his hand on the wooden hairpin at his chest, and a calm heart finally stirred once more.

After nightfall, Chen Yingchou and He Ji, dressed in An Family Army uniforms, sneaked into the An Family Army camp.

The location of the main general's tent was very conspicuous. Chen Yingchou said, "The place where that woman is held won't be far from the main tent. I'll go this way, you go that way. Meet back here in one hour."

"Yes."

Chen Yingchou searched several tents but found nothing. Just as he was hesitating, he saw a medical officer come out of a tent. The tent was not large, like a one-man tent. In a marching camp, only a noble general or someone with a special identity would occupy a one-man tent. A medical officer was attending to someone there. At the thought of the woman's frail appearance during the day, Chen Yingchou's heart leaped. Could this be where the woman was held?

He circled to the back of the tent, cut a slit with his dagger, and looked inside.

Disappointment flooded over him. The person in the tent was not the woman, but An Zeyou.

Chen Yingchou's eyes narrowed, and he made a decision.

An Zeyou had just finished changing his dressing, put on his inner garment, and dismissed his servants, intending to rest early, when he saw a soldier walk in. The soldier neither saluted nor spoke, simply lowered his head.

"What is it?"

Chen Yingchou slowly raised his head to look at An Zeyou.

The moment their eyes met, An Zeyou's scalp crawled and his blood went cold. He turned, grabbed his longsword, and pointed it at Chen Yingchou. "Are you here to kill me?"

Chen Yingchou did not answer but directly asked, "Is Jiang Mo still alive?"

An Zeyou's heart pounded, and he dared not meet Chen Yingchou's eyes. "She is your empress. Why ask me? How would I know?"

Chen Yingchou's brows twitched. An Zeyou's reaction was strange—not of ignorance but of guilt. A flame of hope suddenly ignited, making Chen Yingchou's heart race wildly. "Did you take her away?"

An Zeyou gripped his sword tightly, his Adam's apple bobbed. "No!"

He was certain! Based on his understanding of An Zeyou, if he truly knew nothing of Jiang Mo's whereabouts, he would have fired back a question instead of denying it so hastily.

At the thought that the woman hung up during the day was Jiang Mo, Chen Yingchou's heart clenched with pain. He raised his sword and pointed it at An Zeyou. "You say you love her. How could you bear to hang her high in the cold wind?"

Now both held swords pointed at each other.

"What?" An Zeyou was dumbfounded. "What happened to Jiang Mo?"

Chen Yingchou's pent-up emotions exploded in that moment. He staggered, crying tears of joy. His body trembled so much he almost dropped his sword, and only one voice echoed in his heart: his A Mo was alive. A Mo was truly alive.

He took a deep breath and asked urgently and indignantly, "Where is she? Take me to her!"

An Zeyou shook his head gently, looking confused. "I clearly told my sister to take her away." He lifted his gaze to Chen Yingchou. "Where did you see her? Why aren't you hurrying to rescue her?"

"You don't even know?" Chen Yingchou let his sword down. "You don't know that An Shengwu brought A Mo to the battlefield, hung her on a high platform with giant blades underneath, and wanted to exchange her for your elder brother and Zhang City?"

An Zeyou froze. He couldn't believe that his loving father would do such a thing. He shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, that can't be." Saying this, he shoved Chen Yingchou aside and threw down his sword, then dashed out in only his thin inner robe.

Watching the billowing tent flap, Chen Yingchou laughed and then wept, choking with sobs. He drove his sword into the ground, grabbed the hilt, and sank slowly to one knee.

Like a man about to drown suddenly rescued, gasping for air. Like a wrongfully condemned prisoner, rejoicing wildly at the moment of exoneration.

Chen Yingchou lowered his head, letting tears fall to the ground. His hand gradually tightened around the sword hilt. Now that he was certain A Mo was alive, he could not sit idly by. He must rescue her.

He stood up, looked through the tent curtain, and saw a few more tents by the stream that remained to be searched. But he could no longer stay here. Now that An Zeyou knew the situation, he would soon launch a massive search of the camp. To avoid exposure, Chen Yingchou had to leave quickly and plan anew.

Fortunately, An Zeyou now knew what An Shengwu had done, so A Mo should suffer no more.

When Chen Yingchou left An Zeyou's tent and reached the meeting point, He Ji had not yet arrived. Just as he was about to go look for him, He Ji ran over. "Your Majesty, I didn't find her, but just now I saw Master An, not wearing an outer coat, rush into An Shengwu's tent. Did something happen?"

"This place will be turned upside down soon. We need to leave quickly." As Chen Yingchou said this, he was completely unaware of the smile spreading across his face.

Even a rough man like He Ji noticed the difference. On the way back, seeing that his master had not stopped smiling, he asked, "Your Majesty, did you find the Empress?"

Chen Yingchou looked at He Ji. "No, but I am certain A Mo is alive. That is enough. I will find her."

He Ji was startled, then said happily, "Really? Congratulations, Your Majesty. But how will we find the Empress?"

Chen Yingchou said, "Soon."

Since An Shengwu's goal had not been achieved, he would try again. Chen Yingchou looked forward to the moment An Shengwu would bring A Mo before him once more.

*

In the main general's tent, An Zeyou confronted An Shengwu. "Father, why did you not let me go to the siege today?"

An Shengwu realized that his son knew, but still insisted, "Isn't it because your wound hasn't healed yet?"

An Zeyou's eyes were cold. "Father, you know how I feel about Jiang Mo. How could you still harm her behind my back? If anything happens to her, how can your son go on living?"

An Shengwu looked at his son—disheveled, blood seeping from the wound on his waist, clearly having rushed over the moment he heard the news.

"Pathetic! Ruining yourself over a woman. Since you brought the little emperor's empress back, I naturally have to make good use of her. Trading a woman for your elder brother and a city is a good deal."

"Father, do you have no heart?" An Zeyou looked at him as if he didn't recognize the man he had missed for ten years. "Father, I support your rebellion because I know it is what the Chen imperial clan owes our family. I don't care what methods you use to seize the throne—this war is one of life and death. But Jiang Mo is the love of my life. How could you use her? Is there no other way to win without using her? Has our An Family Army fallen to needing a woman to win cities for us?"

"Slap!" An Shengwu struck An Zeyou across the face. "Unfilial son! How dare you lecture your father! Get out of here!"

An Zeyou's heart felt as if it was about to crack open, the pain so intense that he couldn't help pressing his chest as he slowly knelt. Lifting his gaze, he pleaded, "Father, tell me, where is Jiang Mo? I want to see her."

An Shengwu looked at his son, torn between anger and reluctance. Did he think he was any better off? It had taken him nearly a decade—pressuring garrison commanders with his authority, luring them with benefits, even threatening their families, forcing them to sign allegiance pacts. Those who refused to defect were simply killed. When the court sent new garrison troops, he would repeat the process. He had finally managed to turn all the garrison commanders along the route from the Northern Territories to the capital. Originally, he thought he could easily march on the capital, but who would have expected Chen Yingchou to personally lead the campaign?

They say a wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. The late emperor had never set foot on the battlefield after his ascension. How could Chen Yingchou dare? Even if he had no fear of death, had he considered who would succeed the throne? Could it be that lowborn, mediocre Tenth Prince? Or the infant who could not even speak? He had indeed met a madman of an opponent.

An Shengwu shouted, "Guards! Take him away."

Two soldiers inside the tent stepped forward, but An Zeyou barked, "Who dares to approach!" The soldiers froze. He rose slowly and said, "Father, I must see Jiang Mo today, or I will have no choice but to defy you." With that, he grabbed An Shengwu's sword from the rack and strode out.

Outside the tent, he raised the sword and shouted, "By order of the commander-in-chief, all centurions and above, assemble!"

A squad of soldiers outside immediately ran to spread the order. Soon, the entire camp was in motion.

An Shengwu followed him out, snatched the sword from An Zeyou's hand, and raised his hand to slap his son again, but then lowered it.

He too had once been young and deeply in love. Even now, if someone dared to use his wife as leverage, he would likely be the same. He knew that what he had done, though the most effective way to minimize troop losses, was not honorable, and he felt a pang of guilt.

"Zeyou, rest assured. I have not harmed Miss Jiang. Those were all for show for that brat Chen Yingchou. Miss Jiang only has some minor injuries on her wrists. You are truly devoted to her—how could I actually hand her over to Chen Yingchou? Just stay put and wait for my good news."

An Zeyou knew Chen Yingchou too well. Since Chen Yingchou knew Jiang Mo was alive, how could he not try to take her back? Jiang Mo could no longer stay in the camp. He had to find a way to send her somewhere Chen Yingchou could not find.

He looked at An Shengwu firmly and said, "I want to see her!"