Chapter 322 - 103: Relative

Chapter 322: Chapter 103: Relative

Quiet returned to the outside of the Prince Zhongshan Mansion.

Inside the hall, it was even quieter.

The King of Zhongshan remained seated, his gaze sweeping across the hall.

"With the Empress gone, it feels strange, like something’s missing," he said with a cold-eyed smile. "The next time the Empress wants to walk out of here, it won’t be so easy."

The generals in the hall stepped forward and bowed. "Prince, please calm your anger."

Although they asked the Prince to calm his anger, none of them could hide their grief and indignation.

It was all because of that Empress. Their efforts had been for naught.

The King of Zhongshan laughed loudly. "This Prince is not angry." He looked at everyone and asked, "Is Xun alright?"

A general quickly replied, "After the Princely Heir entered the Capital City, he has been staying at the post house. With you here, Prince, the court wouldn’t dare mistreat the Princely Heir." He added, "Rest assured, Prince. We will quickly rebuild our network of people to look after the Princely Heir."

The King of Zhongshan nodded and sighed softly. "He must be furious this time."

The generals said, "For the sake of the Princely Heir, you had no other choice, Prince. The Princely Heir will surely understand your difficult decision."

Leaning on his cane, the King of Zhongshan nodded. "Xun is an obedient child."

A son is born because of his father, and so he must live for his father.

...

...

Outside Zhongshan County, the troops stood in dense formation. Upon seeing Chu Zhao, the soldiers erupted in a unified roar.

"Empress!"

"Empress!"

The shouts pierced the clouds, shaking the heavens and the earth.

Chu Zhao looked at the tightly packed soldiers. ’How wonderful. They’re all still alive, none of them died.’ She laughed heartily, released the reins, and galloped forward.

Riding into the camp, she met with the main generals of the two armies. She listened as they recounted the various developments since her departure and also learned about the situation in the Capital City.

"The King of Zhongshan’s forces were utterly despicable. They used civilians as human shields, resulting in casualties across half the city."

Chu Zhao said nothing upon hearing this, only nodding.

"My Lady, please don’t be sad," one of the main generals said quickly. "Thankfully, we stopped in time and avoided even greater casualties. What you did was more than enough."

Chu Zhao shook her head. "I’m fine. I’m okay. I understand. To have achieved this much is already very good."

In her past life, sitting in the depths of the palace, she often heard about the court’s wars with the Xie family, how a city was lost, or a county fallen. Back then, she had no real concept of what that meant. Now, having personally experienced the chaos in the Capital City at night, the fighting in the Border County, and the siege of Zhongshan County, she knew that a so-called "city" or "county" represented countless human lives.

Chu Zhao instructed them to await Mr. Huang’s orders and then walked out.

"Xiao Man! Xiao Man!" Chu Zhao called out.

Ah Le stepped over from the side. "Miss, have you forgotten? Xiao Man went with Captain Bai to see Xiao Xun."

Chu Zhao smiled. "I completely forgot."

’I’ve gotten used to having Xiao Man around without even realizing it.’

"Miss, what did you need her for?" Ah Le asked. "Before Xiao Man left, she made all the arrangements. Someone else is here to take her place—"

She stopped mid-sentence, her gaze shifting. Not far away, a woman stood watching them.

Ah Le quickly said, "Oh, it’s Aunt Ding."

Ah Le still didn’t know Mu Mianhong’s true identity. Although she could tell the woman didn’t seem like Ding Dachui’s wife, she didn’t press the matter. ’They’re all just bandits, anyway,’ she thought.

Mu Mianhong walked over. "I heard someone call for Xiao Man. She spoke to me before she left, so I came to see if you—" Her eyes fixed on Chu Zhao. "—had any orders?"

Chu Zhao uttered a soft "oh" and shook her head. "No orders." She quickly added, "I just wanted to ask about what’s been happening recently. I only got a general idea while I was inside, I don’t know the specifics. Is everyone alright? What you all did was very dangerous, after all."

Mu Mianhong replied with a smile, "Everyone is fine. It all went smoothly. Mr. Chu Lan was frightened, but he’s not seriously harmed. Miss Chu Tang was also very clever. Xiao Man will personally escort them back to the Capital City."

Chu Zhao nodded.

Mu Mianhong added, "The situation in the Border County is also stable. The fighting was fierce, but we didn’t lose our position."

Chu Zhao nodded again. "That’s good. I knew there wouldn’t be any problems."

Mu Mianhong looked at her and said, "With you being so brave and formidable, everyone was inspired to give their all."

"I wouldn’t say I’m brave and formidable," Chu Zhao said, shaking her head quickly. "That we were able to turn peril into safety and achieve our goal this time was all thanks to... you all."

Mu Mianhong quickly replied, "Without you, none of us would have—or rather, would have dared—to do this."

Although their words were normal, the exchange was completely abnormal. Standing to the side, Ah Le felt inexplicably nervous and couldn’t help but interrupt. "Why don’t you... Miss... why don’t we all sit down and talk about it in detail?"

’Sit down and talk?’ Chu Zhao was silent. Mu Mianhong didn’t speak either. Ah Le wrung her hands, feeling as though she had only made the atmosphere more tense—

"AHEM!"

Just then, a loud cough echoed from a distance.

Hearing the sound, Chu Zhao instantly turned her head. She saw a young officer standing in front of a tent behind them, though she wasn’t sure when he had appeared.

Seeing Chu Zhao look over, he bowed to salute. "Your subject pays his respects to—"

He was cut off by Chu Zhao’s sharp laugh before he could finish. Ah Le also cried out excitedly, "Ah Jiu!"

As Ah Le shouted, Chu Zhao started running toward him, but she stopped after a few steps and looked back at Mu Mianhong.

"Aunt Mu," she said. "Captain Xie is here. I’m going to ask him for details about the Border County."

Mu Mianhong nodded with a smile. "Go on."

Chu Zhao said no more, turning and striding quickly toward Xie Yanlai. She stopped in front of him and asked urgently, "What are you doing here? When did you arrive?"

Xie Yanlai, who had stopped his salute halfway, raised an eyebrow. "Seeing me, did you just breathe a huge sigh of relief?"

Chu Zhao looked at him, smiled, and pressed a hand to her chest as she let out a long breath.

"Yes, seeing you, Ah Jiu," she said. "My heart can finally be at ease."

’Why does that sound so strange?’ Xie Yanlai frowned. "Don’t say weird things."

Chu Zhao raised an eyebrow at him. "You’re the one who said it first. You were implying how much I trust you, that once I see you, all my worries disappear."

"Nonsense," Xie Yanlai said. "What I clearly meant was that standing there with Mu... the Village Chief, you were so awkward you looked like you wanted the earth to swallow you whole. My appearance meant you didn’t have to stumble over your words with her anymore, hence the huge sigh of relief."

Chu Zhao laughed. "You’re the one talking nonsense. You clearly only said one sentence; it didn’t have that many words."

Xie Yanlai scoffed, not bothering to expose her faulty logic.

Chu Zhao glanced again in Mu Mianhong’s direction. Mu Mianhong had already turned and walked away. Chu Zhao let out another soft breath, her gaze falling slightly.

"I don’t actually resent her," she said in a low voice. "I grew up without a mother. I’m used to not having one. I wouldn’t... I don’t know how to act around a mother."

Xie Yanlai gazed into the distance. "You’re asking the wrong person about that. I may have had a mother for longer than you did, but I’ve forgotten how to be around one. We men have our ambitions set on distant horizons; we don’t care for such sentimental trifles—"

He made Chu Zhao laugh again. She looked up at Xie Yanlai. ’That’s right,’ she thought. ’There are plenty of people in this world who don’t have mothers, or don’t know how to be around them.’

"What are you doing here?" she asked again. "When did you arrive?"

’So sentimental,’ Xie Yanlai thought, looking up at the sky. "The Empress has won a great victory, and the Border County has benefited greatly from it. The pressure has been much reduced. Vice General Zhong was worried about you, nagging me three times a day to come and check on you. I just arrived not long ago and told them not to announce it. I was waiting for you outside the tent, and then I saw you discussing important matters with Chief Mu, so I dared not interrupt."

He drew out his last two sentences.

Chu Zhao adopted a solemn expression. "Captain Xie, you are an important official of the court. In the future, please do not stand on ceremony. You must interrupt me anytime, anywhere."

Xie Yanlai couldn’t help but throw his head back and laugh out loud.

The sound of laughter came from behind her. Mu Mianhong turned to look, and seeing the young man standing tall and straight like sturdy bamboo, and the girl by his side, she too smiled faintly.

’Although my daughter is incredibly uncomfortable around me, the fact that there is someone in this world who can make her laugh proves she isn’t alone.’

’Even without a father or a mother, as long as she still has love in her heart, and the courage to love, she can live a happy and free life.’