He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his arm around her shoulder. "Did you hear everything?"

Nan Qianyue gritted her teeth and pried his hands open. "It was all your doing, wasn't it?"

She stared into Xiao Chen's eyes. "Lord Xie was captured, instigated Grand Commandant Song to rebel, sent Qin Yi to Longmen City alone, and Prince Yu of Nanjing was waiting in Yudan Kingdom with 100,000 troops. You were the one who pushed for all of this, weren't you?"

Xiao Chen smiled slightly, "You can't hide anything from me."

Suppressing her emotions, Nanqian Yue turned her head away and asked again, "How could your father allow Prince Yu to lead 100,000 troops to Yudan Kingdom?"

Xiao Chen never shied away from her questions. He patiently replied, "Yudan Kingdom submitted to our country many years ago, so naturally our country will protect it to some extent."

"Prince Yu submitted a memorial stating that Yudan Kingdom had offended Dongling and feared that Dongling would send troops to attack. Considering Yudan Kingdom's long-standing loyalty, the Emperor granted Prince Yu's request, allowing him to lead 100,000 troops to guard Yudan Kingdom."

"Father's intention is to defend, not to attack, and even to have Yudan Kingdom apologize to Dongling."

"Now it is because Prince Anzheng was too impatient and took the initiative to send troops first. Yudan Kingdom and Prince Yu are just retaliating."

Nanqianyue naturally wouldn't believe him entirely. "Your father doesn't know that all of this was your doing, does he?"

Xiao Chen lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "Nan Nan, do you want to tell Father Emperor?"

“But you have no chance. Father doesn’t know you’re here, and I won’t let him see you.”

Nan Qianyue felt a chill in her heart. She slowly turned her head to meet his eyes. "What will it take for you to let me go?"

Xiao Chen felt a dull pain in his chest. "I've done so much for you, Nan Nan. Your question is unnecessary."

The southward migration was filled with resentment; "What if I die?"

Xiao Chen's eyes were filled with sorrow and determination. "Then I will kill everyone connected to you and send them down to join you."

Nanqianyue looked somewhat fearful. "You're a madman."

Xiao Chen played along with a mad laugh, cupped her face in one hand, and leaned down to kiss her.

Nan Qianyue looked flustered and quickly covered his mouth, "What are you doing? You're humiliating me!"

Xiao Chen gripped her hand tightly, his voice suppressed, "Am I humiliating you by kissing you? Am I really that worthless in your eyes?!"

His voice was so loud that it made Nanqianyue weep.

Nan Qianyue shrank back and lowered her head. She knew she couldn't provoke Xiao Chen any further, or he would do something crazy.

"Please..." she pleaded, lowering her voice, "Please don't do this..."

Her helpless appearance successfully calmed Xiao Chen's agitated emotions.

He quickly pulled Nan Qianyue into his arms, gently patting her back and coaxing her softly, "I'm sorry, Nan Nan, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry, Nan Nan, don't be afraid, I'll never scare you again."

...

The blood-red night ended, and the sun rose from the mountaintop, its golden light spreading across the yellow earth outside Longmen City.

A large number of warhorses galloped towards the city gate from afar, the fine sand they kicked up shimmering golden in the sunlight, and the guards on the city wall shouted loudly:

"They're back! The prince and the others are back!"

As the victory horn sounded, Lord Xie, dragging his wounds, climbed up the city wall. When he saw the black-armored warrior, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

They only learned late at night that the prince was facing 250,000 troops. Such a disparate force caused widespread panic.

On their armored warhorses, the soldiers were covered in blood, and even though they were wrapped in blood-stained bandages, their features remained distinct.

The city gates opened wide, and Lord Xie led his generals to welcome them, while the people inside the city cheered continuously.

"God of War! God of War!..."

"Dongling is mighty!!"

Amidst the cheers of the people, the soldiers returned to their camp. Of the 100,000 soldiers, 80,000 returned, including 20,000 wounded.

Inside the large tent, Qin Yi stood at the head of the map, his brows and eyes filled with a murderous aura that made people afraid to look directly at him, but his lips were too pale.

The generals standing on both sides were completely convinced of their superiority.

"Marshal, after this battle, Yudan Kingdom will find it difficult to maintain its foothold in the northern border. Why don't we take this opportunity to reclaim it?"

Now, the generals address Qin Yi as Marshal instead of Prince.

Qin Yi gripped his baton and pushed a flag on the map aside three inches, saying in a deep voice, "The attack on Yudan Kingdom is a punitive expedition, not a war."

Upon hearing this, the generals nodded repeatedly, "The Marshal is right!"

An old general pondered, "Although we released Prince Yu, we still killed at least 50,000 of their soldiers. I wonder if the Emperor of Nan Jing will make a big deal out of this?"

Another general chimed in, "Our Dongling is attacking the Yudan Kingdom. They came here seeking their own death. If Nanjing starts a war, Dongling will fight to the bitter end!"

A long-bearded general looked at Qin Yi and said, "Marshal, with our current troop strength, I'm afraid we can't withstand the flames of war anytime soon."

Qin Yi fixed his baton on Nan Jing, a murderous glint in his eyes.

...The meeting lasted for an hour.

The generals left their tents and went to reward their soldiers.

Only Qin Yi and Qingyi remained inside the tent.

"Your Highness, what about the Princess Consort..." The woman in green looked grave.

Suddenly, Qin Yi, supporting himself on the corner of the table, spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Your Highness!"

The woman in green rushed forward to support him, and when her hand touched Qin Yi's body, she realized that the wetness on his body was not water, but blood.

Perhaps this is why Qin Yi always wears black.

"Your Highness! How did you get so badly injured? This subordinate will go find the army doctor right away!"

"Halt!" Qin Yi raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, his eyes filled with horror. "The fact that I am injured must not be spread."

The woman in green was extremely anxious, yet dared not disobey. "...Yes."

Qin Yi straightened up, relying on his strong willpower to stay awake. "Once Bai Shu arrives, take him directly to the Marshal's Mansion."

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