Chapter 176

Feng Zhi read the letter as well and broke into a smile. “Your Highness, Master Xuan’s handwriting is a mess. It seemed like he was drunk.”

Yan Xun shook his head. He really had been appreciative of this sworn brother. After all, it was an exceptional ten years of friendship. Happily, he mused, “Such high spirits!” Saying that, a tinge of childishness emerged from within his heart. He wondered if this sworn brother would be maddened with rage upon seeing such a reply? Deftly, he wrote a response:

This brother had not known that you were infatuated with me, and that was oblivious of this brother. Upon the day of Xia retreat, this brother will personally head to Song to request your hand in marriage. Would you dare to answer?

Feng Zhi laughed out loud, “Your Highness, when Master Xuan sees this, he will be completely enraged.”

“Then I will watch him rage.” Yan Xun placed the letter into an envelope and placed it on the table neatly. With a hearty laugh, he brought Feng Zhi and AhJing out.

Chu Qiao was still feeling unwell, so she was still lying on the bed to rest. Feeling better today, she put on her clothes. With the chestnuts that she had just peeled, she headed to Yan Xun’s study room. Lü Liu was taking an afternoon nap and had not heard her wake up.

Pushing open Yan Xun’s door, an empty room greeted her. Putting the chestnuts onto the desk, she could see that the candle by his table was only a stump. He must have stayed up late again. She could not help but feel a tinge of worry. Just as she was about to head to the kitchen to ensure that they prepare some good food, her sleeves brushed onto a letter on the desk. The letter was particularly beautiful, and a faint aroma diffused from within. The letter fell from the table. The letter opened up, and Chu Qiao caught a glimpse of the first two rows of the letter. Upon seeing it, Chu Qiao froze up, and could not help but to stoop down and take the letter out.

Upon suddenly seeing the line “The mountain nurtured trees, yet the trees nourished their branches; My heart sought your happiness, yet you had not known” her heart ached. It was not Chu Qiao’s handwriting, and in the first place, she was not good at making such poems. Her fingertips felt cold, as she quickly flipped around and saw that it was from the Xuan King’s Residence of Song Empire. In that instance, something had suddenly become clear to her in her head. Taking a deep breath before slowing exhaling, it was as though she wanted to expel all the raging emotions out of her body. Yet, she felt as though her emotions had become heavier.

Continuing to read, she saw Yan Xun’s personal response. Her head suddenly felt something snap. Almost falling, her brows were deeply furrowed together. Hundreds of possibilities emerged in her head, and with an equally numerous number of excuses, she dismissed those thoughts. Yet, all that scenarios she conjured in her heart could not dismiss the black and white words that were written before her eyes.

A tinge of coldness seeped into her skin, as though countless frigid tentacles had started to crawl out from her heart, completely wrapping her entire body. Her heart sank, as though into a bottomless abyss, as her iris turned hollow, without life. A certain thought rose from the bottom of her heart, and gradually strung itself into a full sentence. I see, so ultimately to him, eternal companionship is merely as such.

“No!” Chu Qiao suddenly stood and light returned to her eyes. She would not believe such a matter would unless he told her that himself. She would not be deceived otherwise! With her newfound determination, the pain and discomfort from her sickness suddenly vanished, as she ran back to the room. Quickly donning her overcoat, she walked out. Lü Liu chased behind her anxiously, and frantically shouted, “Lady! You are still not feeling well! Where are you heading to?”

Ignoring her, Chu Qiao flipped onto a horse and rushed toward the camp of the First Army. Yet, upon reaching the camp, she was not allowed to enter. The soldiers of the First Army did not recognize her and did not believe her words. They firmly stood in her way blocking her access. At this very moment, someone called her name. Chu Qiao turned around and saw a familiar face. Upon closer inspection, she found that he was actually Du Pingan.

Upon seeing her, Pingan was ecstatic. Rushing up, he shouted, “Master! I finally found you. I had loitered around your residence for days, but they did not allow me to enter. You are finally back!”

Chu Qiao was slightly taken aback and asked, “You were looking for me?”

Pingan was taken aback by the lack of information on Chu Qiao’s part, and he asked, “Master, did you not know?”

“Know what?”

In that instance, Du Pingan’s expression turned forlorn, as he exclaimed, “Master, it was a disaster!”

Under the cloudy sky, the wind raged on, carrying with it some snowflakes that it picked up on the ground. In the middle of the encampment of the Second Army, two forces faced off each other. The soft leather armor encapsulated the bodies of the men who had been through countless battles, while they clenched their fist tightly. Yan Xun was wearing a black battle suit, as he sat on a chair made from the skin of a white tiger in the main tent. With a cold gaze, he calmly questioned, “So, you lot are planning to revolt again?”

The merciless aura crashed towards the listeners. Hearing his acrimonious words, the men of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison were pale with anger, and looked like they were trying their best to control their emotions. He Xiao stood before everyone. Although he could not be described as handsome, his well-defined features and his aura as a soldier had exuded a piercing aura. At this moment, he stretched out his hand to block his excited soldiers. Frowning, he stated, “Your Highness, you had once promised us that you would not pursue us for what had happened in the past.”

“I kept that promise.” Yan Xun lightly smiled with a flick of his eyebrow, with his eyes sparkling with disdain as he continued, “Those kneeling outside were not traitors—they were deserters!”

“We are not deserters!” An enraged roar came. In the middle of the parade square, over 30 soldiers were kneeling in a row. Behind them were the blades of the first army. One young soldier bellowed in rage, “No matter who, they are not allowed to burn our flag!” A tattered flag with a white background and red clouds was thrown onto the ground, with a corner burnt, it was in a complete mess.

Yan Xun glanced at him without much thought, and snorted with disdain, “The Southwest Emissary’s Garrison disappeared from the world three days, what need is there to keep the flag? You had ambushed allied forces and left the city right before such a huge battle. That is a betrayal, and if I let you off without punishment, what military law is there left of Yan Bei?” Yan Xun’s tone suddenly became serious, as his gaze swept past those eyes. He swung his hand and coldly declared, “Betrayal is the greatest crime! I could forgive you once, but I will not forgive you a second time. Come! Punish these men in accordance to military law! Anyone who is not convinced by this judgment will be accorded the same punishment!”

“Your Highness!” Xiao He’s face turned into a grimace as he stepped up. Yet, with a loud whoosh and a flash of a blade, two of the guards already placed their blade by Xiao He’s neck. With that, no one made any sound. The soldiers of the first army all took a step forward, with the archer readying their arrows. With the entire formation armed, the situation seemed volatile and ready to explode into action with any trigger.

The soldiers of the Second Army were too shocked. In the past few days, they had been fighting with the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison. On the city walls of Beishuo, they had been comrades in arms. As such, they appeared today to support the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison. Yet, the firm attitude from Yan Xun and the First Army was something they had never expected.

The Southwest Emissary’s Garrison was merely left with barely 1,500 men. Standing in the middle of the armies of tens of thousands of men, they were completely unarmed. Every single one of them was clenching their fists, with their face completely flushed red in anger. Facing the armed enemies, their rage seemed to be flaming from their eyes. He Xiao looked around, and took a deep breath, he asked, “Your Highness, are you planning to kill all of us?”

Yan Xun mysteriously chuckled as his gaze turned emotionless, and like the deepest ocean, he claimed, “Commander He Xiao is a man of great achievements. I could definitely treat you the same way as those traitors.”

“Your Highness!” With bloodshot eyes, He Xiao stepped up. 20 guards stepped up, and all placed their blades on his neck in unison. Yet, He Xiao was not in the least bit scared. Without skipping any words, he stated, “In the Battle of Zhen Huang, the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison suffered 6,000 losses. In the Battle of Chidu, Southwest Emissary’s Garrison suffered 4,000 losses. General Feng Ting had been hit with over ten arrows, yet he continued to fight. General Mu Rong had led men to ambush the enemy at Bai Zhang Cliff. When their arrows and boulders were exhausted, he lit up the entire forest to stop the enemy’s advance, and sacrificed himself in the process. General Wu Danyu led merely 500 men and had delayed the enemy’s advance by an entire three days with guerilla warfare. In the end, he was vastly outnumbered and died in the combat. In the Defense of Beishuo, we headed to aid despite our lacking numbers and refused to retreat even a single step. The loyalty of Southwest Emissary’s Garrison was something that was witnessed by even heaven and earth. The hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Beishuo had all witness our loyalty. Yet, seeing the way Your Highness is treating such loyal men as such, I, He Xiao, am not convinced!”

“How dare you!” General Qiu Yi of the First Army, Third Guard Squad walked up and bellowed. Now he was one of the vice commanders of the bodyguards of Yan Xun. He was someone who was recently promoted by Yan Xun recently. He firmly declared, “You are merely a commander. How dare you be so rude to his highness? You had not disciplined your men, and His Highness had not made things difficult for you. Yet you are talking back to His . Have you heard of what is called military law?”

“Your Highness!” He Xiao kneeled down. With a firm gaze, he loudly proclaimed, “The 2,000 soldiers of Southwest Emissary’s Garrison all sincerely pledged allegiance to Yan Bei. By doing this, Your Highness, are you not afraid that you will stir up the resentment of the citizens?”

“You are getting even more out of line!” The vice commander of the First Army, Feng Lu bellowed, “Get him out!”

The bodyguards immediately swarmed around He Xiao and twisted his arms. The Southwest Emissary’s Garrison soldiers who were behind He Xiao noticed, and immediately rushed up to help their commander. The situation had turned into a mess. He Xiao loudly shouted, “Your Highness! Even those who surrendered from the Batuha family were given a chance to survive, why do you wish for us Southwest Emissary’s Garrison to be completely annihilated? Xiao He is not convinced! Xiao He is not!”

“Stop!” Yan Xun’s voice was not loud, but it was full of authority. Coldly looking at Xiao He, he coldly declared, “Commander Xiao, the ones that I am punishing are merely the traitors who tried to escape from Beishuo last night, and were completely irrelevant to the rest of you. I hope you can stay away from this mess. Else, I will judge you to be stirring unrest within the troops.”

“Your Highness, they are not traitors. They were merely attempting to protect the flag! Only because they were chased down did they escape beyond the city…”

“An order is an order! I do not want to listen to your explanation, I only wish to see the result! If everyone has excuses, how can I rule the military?” Yan Xun questioned fiercely.

He Xiao’s eyes were bloodshot as he shrieked yet again, “Your Highness!”

“Begin the execution!”

“Your Highness!” He Xiao charged. The 2,000 soldiers of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison charged up behind him. Upon seeing that, the bodyguards drew their blades and started to attack them. Outnumbering the Southwest Emissary’s Garrisons, they began a slaughter, as fresh blood rained down. The First Army stood outside to cut off external interventions. Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Second Army stood outside, completely dumbfounded by the turn of events.

Qiu Yi shouted at the executioner, “What are you doing? Execute them!”

“To cook the hounds when all the hares were caught, and to cast aside the bow when all the birds were killed. Yan Xun, you are so ungrateful and untrustworthy. We had indeed been wrong about you all along!” The administrative officer of the Southwest Emissary’s Garrison, Wen Yang, was kneeling on the ground. Last night, he was the first to notice that the First Army had taken away over 20 of their flags and had been burning them within the First Army encampment. As the situation was sudden, he did not have time to inform He Xiao. Wen Yang led his 30 over administrative soldiers under his command to charge into the camp of the First Army, and escaped to beyond the city. At this moment, his head was being pressed onto the cold snow as he shouted at the top of his voice.