At the anti-bandit army’s main camp, dawn broke with the morning mist still clinging to the ground.
Shen Yi paced back and forth in front of the command tent, nearly wearing a path through the grass beneath his feet.
He had not slept all night. Bloodshot eyes betrayed his exhaustion, while anxiety gnawed at him relentlessly.
“No! We can’t wait any longer!”
He came to an abrupt stop and ordered the deputy general beside him,
“Gather an elite squad. You’re coming into the mountains with me to look fo—”
His words cut off mid-sentence.
Everyone’s attention shifted toward the urgent sound of galloping hooves coming from outside the camp.
“Stay alert!”
The guards immediately raised the alarm, lowering their spears toward the approaching rider.
But as the horse burst through the thinning mist and drew closer, Shen Yi—and everyone else—froze.
That horse…
It was the very mount the Crown Prince had ridden away the previous night.
The rider’s hair was slightly disheveled. Dust and dew stained the embroidered robes, and one sleeve had been torn open, leaving the figure looking rather bedraggled.
Yet those features… that bearing… that innate nobility and commanding presence…
It was His Highness, the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness! His Highness has returned!”
The soldiers cried out in relief, hurriedly clearing a path.
Overjoyed, Shen Yi rushed forward.
“Your Highness! You’re finally back! You nearly worried me to death! Are you alright? Did you find Ali?”
“Xiao Yu” yanked sharply on the reins, and the steed let out a piercing neigh.
“He” swung gracefully off the horse without answering Shen Yi’s questions. Instead, his sharp gaze swept across the camp before barking in a hoarse yet terrifyingly authoritative voice,
“Where is Shouyang?”
Caught off guard by the unusual fury radiating from the “Crown Prince,” Shen Yi instinctively replied,
“Shouyang is still in the mountains leading the search for you and Ali…”
“Useless!”
“Xiao Yu” snapped.
His voice was not loud, but every soldier within earshot instinctively stiffened and lowered their heads.
Even Shen Yi was stunned.
The Crown Prince rarely lost his composure enough to berate his subordinates so directly—especially someone as trusted as Shouyang.
Taking a deep breath as though suppressing overwhelming rage, “Xiao Yu” turned to Shen Yi.
“We walked straight into an ambush.”
Pain laced his voice.
“The Shadow Guards who accompanied me… died protecting me. Every last one of them… wiped out… captured by those bandits.”
“What?!”
Shen Yi inhaled sharply, his face instantly draining of color.
The entire unit?
Those were the finest elite Shadow Guards, each one carefully selected from hundreds.
“What about Ali?” Shen Yi demanded urgently.
“Xiao Yu’s” expression darkened further. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
“Ali… was captured too. I saw two bandits knock her unconscious and drag her away with my own eyes.”
“Those bastards!”
He slammed his fist into the stone hitching post beside him.
The back of his hand split open immediately, swelling red.
Shen Yi stood frozen in disbelief.
The Shadow Guards annihilated.
Ali kidnapped.
It was an unimaginable humiliation—and a devastating loss.
“Your Highness, you’re injured?”
Only then did Shen Yi notice the wound on the “Crown Prince’s” arm and his disheveled appearance.
“It’s nothing. Just a flesh wound.”
“Xiao Yu” waved dismissively before his eyes sharpened once more.
“Shen Yi!”
“This subordinate is here!”
“Assemble the entire army immediately!”
Every word struck like iron.
“Today, regardless of the cost, we launch a full-scale assault on Qinglong Stronghold! I will raze that nest of vermin to the ground and tear every last one of those audacious bandits to pieces!”
Swept up by the overwhelming force of the command, Shen Yi’s blood boiled.
“This subordinate obeys! I’ll see to it immediately!”
He had just accepted the order and turned to relay the command when a clear, steady voice suddenly rang across the camp.
“Wait.”
Just as “Xiao Yu” prepared to continue issuing commands in anger, alarm bells rang in her mind.
She looked toward the entrance.
A formation of elite cavalry had arrived.
Though covered in dust from a long journey, they remained perfectly disciplined, silently awaiting orders.
At their head sat a handsome young man of sixteen or seventeen, clad in gleaming silver armor.
Mounted upright upon his horse, he stood as straight as a pine tree, his sharp gaze fixed squarely upon “Xiao Yu.”
The moment Shen Yi recognized him, delight spread across his face.
“General Xie?! What are you doing here?”
The young general swung effortlessly off his horse.
He first nodded politely to Shen Yi before striding toward “Xiao Yu,” cupping his fists in salute.
“This subordinate, Xie Yan, has come under His Majesty’s orders, leading five hundred elite cavalrymen to assist Your Highness in suppressing the bandits.”
The alarm in “Xiao Yu’s” heart intensified.
Xie Yan.
She had heard of him.
A military prodigy who had distinguished himself from a young age, earning countless victories and enjoying the Emperor’s deep favor.
Xiao Che truly doted on his precious Crown Prince.
He had actually dispatched reinforcements, completely disrupting her carefully laid plans.
She dared not speak unnecessarily, afraid that one careless word would expose her disguise.
She merely gave a slight nod, doing her best to maintain the Crown Prince’s composed dignity.
Shen Yi quickly explained,
“Your Highness, General Xie must have been sent after His Majesty learned of everything that happened in Suzhou.”
Xie Yan straightened and withdrew a sealed official document from within his robes, presenting it respectfully with both hands.
“Your Highness, this contains His Majesty’s imperial directive and the Ministry of War’s orders.”
“Xiao Yu” accepted it and skimmed through the contents.
The message was straightforward.
The Emperor was enraged over the crimes of the Suzhou Prefect and approved entirely of the Crown Prince’s handling of the matter.
Concerned that the anti-bandit campaign lacked sufficient manpower, he had dispatched Xie Yan and his elite cavalry to reinforce the expedition, placing them under the Crown Prince’s command.
However, one final instruction had been added at the end:
By His Majesty’s verbal decree, if the bandits sincerely surrendered, they were to be pardoned and the worthy among them incorporated into the army, so as to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
After reading the decree, “Xiao Yu’s” heart sank.
Not only had Xiao Che sent Xie Yan…
He had also brought an imperial order advocating amnesty.
Inside, she sneered coldly, though none of it showed on her face.
Xie Yan caught the fleeting stiffness that crossed the “Crown Prince’s” expression.
Assuming the prince was dissatisfied with the surrender policy, he took the initiative.
“Your Highness, I overheard that you intended to launch an immediate assault on Qinglong Stronghold. Did something happen?”
Shen Yi immediately answered, still burning with indignation, recounting how the “Crown Prince” had been ambushed the previous night, how the Shadow Guards had been wiped out, and how Ali had been abducted.
Xie Yan frowned, his expression growing solemn.
Looking once more toward Xiao Yu, he asked steadily,
“So such a thing truly occurred? Are you unharmed, Your Highness?”
“I’m fine.”
“Xiao Yu’s” reply remained curt, while her mind raced to anticipate Xie Yan’s next move.
As expected, Xie Yan calmly analyzed the disadvantages of a direct assault.
He proposed surrounding the stronghold, persuading them to surrender, and first gathering better intelligence.
His reasoning was logical and well supported.
It fulfilled the Emperor’s orders, suited the current battlefield conditions, and would greatly reduce unnecessary casualties.
Even Shen Yi, whose judgment had been clouded by anger, gradually calmed.
The more he listened, the more reasonable it sounded.
He couldn’t help glancing toward the “Crown Prince.”
“Your Highness… General Xie is right. We should think this through carefully.”
Inside, “Xiao Yu” cursed.
Xie Yan could not have arrived at a worse time.
With only a few well-reasoned arguments, he had nearly erased all the momentum she had worked so hard to build.
But she was playing the role of the Crown Prince.
If she stubbornly insisted on attacking now, it would only arouse suspicion.
Left with no better choice, she forcibly suppressed her growing frustration.
A complicated expression crossed her face, as though she had finally been persuaded.
After a long sigh, she said,
“General Xie speaks wisely. My anger clouded my judgment just now.”
She looked toward Shen Yi and Xie Yan.
“In that case, we shall follow General Xie’s proposal. Postpone the offensive for now. Begin reconnaissance and preparations for negotiations.”
“Shen Yi, arrange quarters for General Xie’s men so they may rest.”
“General Xie. Shen Yi. Come with me to the command tent. We will discuss the details.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Shen Yi immediately accepted the order.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Xie Yan saluted once more.
As he lowered his hands, his gaze lingered briefly on the “Crown Prince.”
Something about His Highness felt… different today.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Perhaps the shock of last night’s ambush had simply left him unsettled.
Without another word, “Xiao Yu” turned and walked into the command tent.
Her back remained as straight and dignified as ever.
But unseen by anyone else…
She silently clenched her teeth.