Chapter Thirty-Five: The Great War Begins

  Before the King of Loulan could send an envoy to make amends, Xuan Yu had already led his troops to besiege Qianzhang Pass. On the makeshift wall in front of the city gate, flags were neatly arranged, and cannons were mounted, with rows of stone-throwing machines, and piles of rolling logs and thunderstones on the side; some soldiers were looking down from the ramparts, while the rest were training. Xuan Yu stood on the watchtower, gazing at the inner city of the royal court, his eyes filled with resentment, "Absolute beauty, I will definitely take you back!" He clenched his fists secretly.

  On the grand hall of the imperial court, Xing Xiao Chen held an urgent war report from 800 miles away. He raised his head and coldly swept his gaze across the officials in the hall below, looking at Qian Jue Se who had recovered. His eyes flashed with a hint of anger. "Lou Lan has issued a declaration of war." He casually threw out this sentence that made everyone tremble.

  The court immediately divided into three factions. The main faction, with the country and the people in mind, advised Xing Chen not to exhaust the people and waste money, saying that going to war would only make relations between the two countries more strained...

  The war faction said that even a small country like Loulan has already issued a declaration of war, and our dynasty is not taking it seriously? We must teach them a lesson. Moreover, they have returned our princess to us, what can be tolerated and what cannot be tolerated!

  Xing Yu Chen gazed at the several old ministers of the middle faction, just wanting to speak, when he heard a loud "800 miles urgent report!" from outside the hall. The officials inside the hall were all chilled to the bone, not knowing what decision the Emperor would make... Each and every one of them shrank their necks, making themselves as short as possible, hoping not to be seen by the Emperor.

  "Present!" He relaxed his grip on the already crumpled battle plan in his hand, took over the urgent war report that reeked of sweat, opened it, and the more he read, the tighter his brow furrowed. His face turned iron-gray as he handed it to Premier Zhou beside him, "Read!"

  "Zhou Gong cleared his throat and said, 'Today's attack is fierce, the Thousand Foot Pass has been breached, we await reinforcements!'"

  After finishing, the hall was silent. Xing Chen's hands, which had been tightly clenched on the desk, suddenly slammed down, making the dragon case shake violently, causing the teacup to jump and the lid to open. The officials below trembled, looking up at the emperor with a sideways glance, their hands holding the tablet sweating profusely, their foreheads covered in sweat.

  "Let's just talk about it." Still the same flat and unremarkable tone. Those familiar with him knew that this was already Xing Chen's limit of patience. Everyone was afraid of being dragged into the emperor's anger, so no one responded to his words.

  "Wasn't it intense just now? Waiting for me to call the roll? Alright, this time the royal court can only welcome war. Who should be sent?" Scanned the crowd with a glance, picked up the newly replaced tea and blew on it. Paused, as if remembering something, "General Qian, that Prince of Loulan, came for you, can you go out to battle?", took a sip of tea. Raised his head to look at General Qian's expression.

  Qian Jue's pale face scrunched up her pretty eyebrows as she stepped out of the lineup and saluted Xing Chen. "Your Majesty, are you afraid that I'm in cahoots with him?" She stood up straight, looking directly into the emperor's eyes, trying to find a hint of reason for his actions. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be found in those deep, profound eyes.

  "Use a person without suspicion, suspect a person without use. I let you go to battle. How many troops do you need, just speak up." Xing Chen's mouth slightly curved upwards.

  "I received the edict. I don't want a single soldier or guard." The words of Qian Yuese caused a stir on the court, and also piqued Xing Chen's interest. He slightly inclined his body, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards.

  "Does the Emperor not believe me?" Thousand Absolute Color continued with a long, uninterrupted speech. "I will set out immediately and rush to Thousand Feet Pass. I beg for the Emperor's permission!" The words were spoken without allowing any rebuttal. Thousand Absolute Color knelt down and made three bows and nine kowtows towards Xing Chen.

  "Good. I grant your request. Then I'll be waiting for the good news from you." He stood up and didn't wait for Qian Jue Se to get up, then headed towards the back garden.

  Returning to the harem, Emperor Xing summoned Ying Wei immediately. "Bring fifty people and follow Qian Jue Se."

  "Your Majesty, deploying so many Shadow Guards just to protect one General?" The leader of the Shadow Guards couldn't believe his ears. He stared with wide eyes and said "But Your Majesty, you only have six... Why..."

  "You've said enough for today." With a wave of his hand, Xing Chen signaled Shadow Guard Long to leave, and then headed towards Mo Mo's bedroom.

  "Mo Er" Xing Yi Chen Jin's palace gate waved her hand to let her not need to pay respects. Walking to Su Man Ran's side, who was next to Mo Mo, she adjusted her collar and said "It's windy outside, don't come out to greet us again." Holding her hand, she said to Mo Mo "Mo Er, I have something to tell you, come here."

  "Yes." Mo Mo, who was jilted, didn't have much emotional fluctuation, but Su Man's anger was not light. Before Xing Chen could speak, she started muttering to herself, "Chen, you can't let Lou Lan off so easily! How can a princess of the royal family suffer such humiliation? In the beginning, they begged us to marry their prince, and now they want to cancel the engagement?! Hmph!" She angrily pulled at her handkerchief.

  "Don't be angry, I'll get justice for Mo Er. Originally, her body wasn't good, so I had the imperial kitchen make some nourishing soup for her to eat." Xing Chen pulled Su Man's hand into his own and warmed it in his palm. Not at all like the person who held great power over life and death on the court, with a cold gaze watching from the sidelines. The people in the palace were already used to this, but Mo Er was embarrassed, turning her face to the side.

  Su Manran pulled out her hand and stared at Xing Yuchen, saying in a low voice "The child is still here..." with a face full of little girl's shyness.

  "Cough... Mo Er, what are you thinking?" Xing Chen again resumed that imperial demeanor. His majesty was fully revealed.

  Mo Mo thought that there was indeed no deep meaning behind it, and she didn't have any feelings for him either. Her engagement to Lin Lan was only for her mother's sake, and to find the Soul Calming Bell. So when Xing Yun Chen asked, she replied with ambiguous words, "Hm? Whatever Father decides is fine."

  "Mèr, niáng zhīdào nǐ kǔ, wěikuì zhe le. Méi shì, zán bù huí lóu lán le, wǒ gěi nǐ zhǎo ge hǎo fūxu, bǐ nàge shénme wángzǐ de hǎoduō le. Qiān juésè zěnme yàng?" Sū Màn rán yòu zhù mò mò, jiù xiàng tā zìjǐ wěikuì mò mò yīyàng wěikuì sìde.

  "Mother, Qianyuan loves Xuan Ye, not me." Mo Mo didn't want to jump from the dragon's den into the tiger's lair.

  "What?!?" Su Man's beautiful eyes widened, "Lou Lan is really open-minded, the king is male and the prince likes males too! Is Lou Lan going to perish because of this?!" She sat down on the red wooden chair, unbelievably wanting to find a hint of denial on Xing Chen's face, but what he gave her was indeed his nod.

  "This time I've sent out Qian Jue Se to fight." Xing Xiao Chen also carefully observed Mo Mo's reflection, because he was uncertain about the usability of this chess piece.

  "Chen, aren't you afraid of his rebellion? He took the troops to surrender to Loulan?" Su Manran stood up nervously and grasped Xing Chen's dragon robe.

  "He won't, he didn't bring a single soldier this time, I secretly dispatched fifty Shadow Guards for him." Xing Shuangchen patted the tense empress on the back. Beside him, Su Man felt inexplicably at ease.

  "Does the Emperor not have a single soldier to give to Qian Jue Xing?!" Mo Mo was somewhat shocked. A clever woman can't cook without rice, and a powerful general is no different from ordinary people if he doesn't have anyone useful at his disposal.

  "It was his own request, those fifty Shadow Guards were either sent by him or secretly dispatched by me." Seeing Mo Mo's slightly furrowed brow, Xing Chen made a mental note. He stood up and said to Mo Mo, "I still have matters to attend to, you and your mother must have things to discuss, the Empress will make it up to Mo Er tonight."