Chapter 239

Chapter 239: Chapter 239

“The Chu family is blessed to have produced such an outstanding heir to the family. They are benevolent, well-learned, and respectful. They are virtuous and kind people who are harmonious and cultured. With this, Chu Qiao is given the title of Royal Imperial Concubine. She will supervise the country’s affairs, to ensure its prosperity.”

A loud, stern voice reverberated across the brightly lit landscape. A crown, made of pure gold, was placed in front of the ancestral temple’s altar. Objects like the imperial jade seal, brushes were placed alongside the crown; those were objects that anybody would die to own, for it signified the holder’s wealth and power. Upon taking another step forward, she would hold those items in her hands―no one in the world would be able to hurt her easily anymore.

She stood atop the Phoenix Stand, looking at the numerous shadows kneeling under her. She saw jealousy, resentment, fright, fear, hesitation, and a tinge of expectation amongst those shadows, but nothing made her feel warm inside. The jade steps below her feet were cold, and so was the sunlight.

The scholar from the Department of Rites knelt in front of her, with a letter seal in his hands. The man, who was about 70-years-old, lowered his head as his aging knees trembled.

The wind blew past the eagles circling in the sky. She looked up at the majestic, red city gates of the Tang Capital. The gates, which had experienced countless storms over the past hundreds of years, seemed to stare back at her, in anticipation of this historic moment. As long as she received that item, she would hold absolute power over a quarter of this world.

That instant, she seemingly saw that pair of eyes again, with its trademark cold look on the outside, but with passion on the inside. His face was handsome as he gestured: Remember to wait for me! Remember! Wait for me!

The siren to signal the start of the coronation ceremony suddenly blared out. Outside the Tang Capital, a solitary warhorse stood at the entrance of a bridge. The wilted, yellow autumn grass swayed with the wind as the sunlight projected its golden rays onto the barren wasteland.

He was dressed in purple with his hair neatly combed. He was handsome and had a deep look in his eyes. A gust of wind blew past him, with some air entering into a bell he hung by his neck, causing it to let out some soft words.

“Remember, I’m waiting for you.”

I’m waiting for you… I’m waiting for you…

The majesty of the landscape was once again illustrated as the sun rose above the layers of clouds.

Boom! A sound suddenly echoed out from the southern city gates, causing even the ancestral temple to shake.

A huge cloud of dust started to form on the horizon to the south. More sirens started to blare as many horses started to gallop towards the ancestral temple. The soldiers on the horse shouted, “The king of Jingan is here with his troops! General Xu Su has defected to the enemy! The king of Jingan is here with his troops! General Xu Su has defected to the enemy!”

In that instant, the city fell into chaos. Everyone’s faces started to turn grim. Sun Di stood below the platform as his face started to turn pale. The 70-year-old man fell to the ground as the seal in his hands fell onto the white jade steps, giving off its golden glow.

Chu Qiao walked down the steps slowly and stood in front of Sun Di. He looked up at her with a cold and fearful look in his eyes.

“General Sun,” Chu Qiao took out a letterhead with many officials’ names written on it. “This is the list of officials who have secretly colluded with the king of Jingan to rebel. Please attend to this immediately.”

As Chu Qiao spoke her words, the faces of a few officials present on the scene started to turn pale. Sun Di received the list and looked at her suspiciously. Only now did he understand the woman who was standing in front of him.

“I’ll be leading troops to welcome the king of Jingan. I’ll leave the safety of this city and the emperor in your hands.”

“We have less than 150,000 soldiers in the city. The numbers of the enemy…”

Chu Qiao interrupted him and said, “We still have General Xu.”

“General Xu is not…”

“It’s not the first time he has done this.”

Sun Di was utterly stunned. He looked at Chu Qiao, who took off her flamboyant royal outfit, revealing a silver layer of body armor underneath. She took off the accessories on her head, covered her head with a green cloth, and mounted a horse brought to her by He Xiao. Then, she departed towards the outside of the city with the Xiuli Army.

The 150,000 troops stationed both outside and inside the city were already waiting for her. The young lady no longer had a cold, indifferent expression on her face. She gave off an uplifting vibe, like a phoenix that had been reborn from the ashes. She held her sword in the air as she made her way to the foot of the city gates, before she hollered, “Open the gates!” At that instant, she was like the beautiful sunrise that evoked tears in people’s eyes.

Sun Di watched on as the city gates opened up slowly. The thousands of troops galloped towards the battlefield five kilometers out at frightening speed, leaving behind a massive trail of dust.

Heroes were born amidst the most chaotic times. She was the sword that everybody coveted.

As the winds blew past her ears, she recalled Li Ce’s last words. “After I die, the court will be thrown into chaos. The Zhan siblings are but paper tigers. The real wolves are the ones in the royal family. Sun Di is a radical person. If he does anything suspicious, act according to plan and take the thing I gave you to Hanshui. After Xu Su sees that, he will follow your orders. Tie You’s Wolf Army will also listen to you. If you can take the chance to exterminate the spies that the feudal lords have planted in the court, it will be killing two birds with one stone. As for that Zhuge fellow, don’t think that he’s so smart all the time. Once you are involved, he will become an idiot. You don’t need to remind him then. Let him lead his troops to rescue you. Tang’s casualties will be minimized, and I can make him angry. Qiaoqiao, you have led a rugged life. If you are held back once again because of my death, I will never rest in peace even if I die.”

“Don’t let me down.”

…

Chu Qiao’s eyes started to tear. She stiffened her lips and whipped the horse once again. The two armies had started to brawl on the battlefield. Xu Su led the frontline as the valiant warrior held a giant sword in his hand. A flag was hung behind him, saying the words: Kill the rebels, exterminate the corrupt officials.

“Kill!” The Wolf Army let out a deafening shout. Under the golden-colored landscape, the first full-scale conflict since the coronation of the Yongjun Emperor broke out.

On the eighth day of the tenth month of the Yongjun Calendar, the fake coronation ceremony caused the kings of Jingan, Duanqing, Huayang and Dagong to rebel. They dispatched 180,000 troops towards Hanshui Pass, where their allies joined them. Some of them included Fang Huaihai who was the vice-general of Shennan’s Jinji Camp, Tian Rujia, the admiral of Dianxi’s Western Army, Liu Mubai, the deputy commander of Xizhao, Zhu Jiong, a general of the city of Huai, and Xu Su, the general of Hanshui. Together, their forces totalled above 400,000 as they rampaged their way towards the capital. As the capital’s ruler learnt of the news, she opened up the southern gates and welcomed the enemy.

When Fang Huaihai, Tian Rujia, Liu Mubai, Zhu Jiong and Xu Su saw the symbol she carried, they rushed towards her side. Together, along with Chu Qiao, they killed 30,000 enemies and captured the rest alive. The king of Jingan, Zhou Yun, died under the sword of General Xu, aged 57.

Two days later, Chu Qiao hung the royal seal by the gates of the palace and knelt under the ancestral temple, begging for the late emperor to retract his orders on the grounds that she was a woman and could not hold absolute power. The next day, the emperor of Yongjun approved the order and stripped Chu Qiao’s title of Imperial Royal Concubine. He made her an honorary feudal lord of Tang, giving her the alias of Xiuli, and bestowed many valuable gifts upon her.

Chu Qiao wore a white cloak as she stood in front of the palace gates. As the sun set, it projected its rays onto her, giving her a peaceful and calm aura that was largely different from her aura earlier on the battlefield.

Sun Di’s carriage had just left the palace. When he saw Chu Qiao, his carriage stopped. He made his way towards her slowly, not knowing how to speak. After a long while, seeing that she maintained her cheerful demeanor, he lowered his head and said, “General Chu.”

“The Xiuli Army has settled down in Tang. They are no longer my personal army. By entrusting them to you, I am no longer the commander of the Xiuli Army. Don’t call me ‘general’ anymore,” Chu Qiao said in a gentle voice.

Sun Di, who had witnessed her prowess, did not dare to underestimate her anymore. He nodded and replied, “You are right, General.”

Chu Qiao smiled as she continued, “You can release those people that objected to my coronation that day. The emperor is still young. It’s a good time to buy people’s hearts now. I will not issue this decree on his behalf. After I leave, don’t forget those loyal officials in prison.”

Sun Di answered, “I will remember General’s wise words.”

“General Sun, those words were spoken to you by Tang’s king of Xiuli. Now, I, Chu Qiao, have a few words to tell you too.”

Sun Di froze as he looked up at the woman’s beautiful face. He nodded and replied, “Please speak.”

“You know that a woman can never ascend the throne. No matter what, even if I am the Imperial Concubine or the ruler of Tang, it will not have any impact on the political scenes of Yan Bei and Xia. Once the time is ripe, the war will not be avoided. No private, underhand dealings will influence this outcome. Presently, the resistance forces of Tang have been eliminated, but you cannot be complacent. No one can predict how this game will play out. We can only do our best to turn the tides in our favor, to protect Li Ce’s lineage and the Tang Empire.”

Sun Di looked at Chu Qiao as he frowned. With a heavy tone, he said, “General Chu, why are you handing such important matters to me, even though I plotted against you?”

Chu Qiao smiled and replied nonchalantly. “There are three reasons. Firstly, Tie You is in charge of the Wolf and Jingji Armies, while General Xu Su in charge of the armies outside the capital. They are all loyal officials. You are a scholarly official. Even if you have the political power, you are not authorized to mobilize armies. You are not affiliated with the royal family too. Even if you want to rebel, you do not have the necessary power to.”

As the setting sun shone on Chu Qiao’s face, she continued, “Secondly, the capital of Tang has just gone through countless battles. The civilians need time to rest and rebuild. With the downfalls of the kings of Luo and Jingan, the royal family’s reputation has gone up several notches. You are not revered by the civilians, hence they will not listen to you.”

“Thirdly,” Chu Qiao smiled as a sly expression flashed across her face, “I trust you.”

Sun Di’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at Chu Qiao in disbelief of what he had just heard.

“I trust you. Li Ce trusts you too. Although you are extreme in your actions, you are the most loyal official in Tang. Before Li Ce died, he said that you were the man most suitable for this job. I agree wholeheartedly with him.”

She took out two letters and handed them to Sun Di. “These are letters written personally by Xia’s seventh prince, Zhao Che, and the king of Qinghai, Zhuge Yue. They are willing to form an alliance with Tang. Your position will be reinforced by these two external forces. You don’t need to worry about any internal resistance. I will do my utmost to support you. I trust that you will raise the emperor into someone capable.”

Sun Di’s fingers started to tremble as he received those two letters, along with the heavy responsibilities that came with them. He knelt in front of Chu Qiao and declared, “General, rest assured. I, Sun Di, swear to be loyal to Tang. If anything bad happens to Tang, I will die to atone for my sins.”

“General Sun, stop with the formalities.” Chu Qiao helped him up and looked at him sincerely. “Since you’re Li Ce’s friend, you’re my friend too. If he trusts you, I trust you too.”

As the sun set, Sun Di stood atop the majestic city walls as Chu Qiao was escorted out of the city by He Xiao, Pingan, and the rest. A long shadow formed on the golden wastelands as the young lady galloped forward on her horse, like an eagle which had been freed of its imprisonment. Her white cloak spread out behind her as she rode on her horse.

That was an eagle. No one could break her wings. Other than herself, no one else could force her to stay.

At this instant, Sun Di understood why his friend had been so devoted to her all these years. It was indeed eye-opening that such a character existed in this world. He looked up and took a deep breath, seemingly seeing his friend’s jovial expression while he muttered to him with a chuckle, “Guess if there’s any makeup on the face of General Hu’s third daughter?”

The autumn winds continued to blow. This was a chilly month, but also a season of plentiful harvest.