Qingzhou

“Brother Huai Cong, why don’t you explain it to her?” Zhao Youyi waved his hand, signaling Chu Chanyin to step forward and explain.

"This is a plan that Awan and I discussed last night," Chu Chanyin explained. "The main army will first set up camp in front of the city gate to avoid attracting attention. The female soldiers of the Women's Army are light and petite, making them less conspicuous. We will send a team to flank the rear and set up a pontoon bridge to cross the river."

"Send another team of Chu troops and one team of Zhao family troops to flank the city's guards from the left and right. Once the women's army team has successfully crossed the river, send one team on each side to attack the city's army and draw the main force away from them, while the majority of the troops will flank the rear and cross the river," Zhao Youyi added.

After hearing the plan, Zhou Yaqing felt that she really should go to school. How come she couldn't come up with this idea when she was also a human being! She had to ask the lord and the prince to explain it to her. She was truly ashamed!

"Alright," Zhao Youyi patted her head, "We just need to learn more about military strategy."

Zhou Yaqing nodded hurriedly, wishing he could raise four fingers on the spot to swear that he would definitely study military strategy diligently from now on.

That night, the imperial army in the city watched as the army outside the city gates lit fires and cooked, looking quite content. They were puzzled. Meanwhile, under the cover of darkness, a group of female soldiers hid in the woods and bushes and outflanked Qingzhou City from the rear. The female soldiers who could swim jumped into the river and pushed the boats to the other side. Then, one by one, the female soldiers who could swim jumped into the river and lined up the boats, securing them with ropes to prevent them from shifting.

Once the three pontoon bridges were laid, the female soldier who had already crossed the river made a gesture to the female soldier on the opposite bank, so she went to notify the troops on both sides.

Once the entire women's army squad had crossed the river, the armies on both sides began their attack on Qingzhou City. Under the cover of night, soldiers hidden in the grass shot arrows at the guards on the city walls, quickly attracting the attention of the main force in the city, who then rushed to the left and right sides.

Seeing that the time was right, Zhao Youyi organized the army in batches to encircle the rear. Chu Chan remained in place, calmly fanning himself. Because of the darkness, the guards on the city wall assumed that the army was still stationed in place, seeing the obvious Prince Chu.

It wasn't until a signal cannon fired and an arrow flying from behind struck them that the guards on the city wall realized why the King of Chu was standing so conspicuously—he was planning to outflank them from the rear!

Li Lian was momentarily flustered when he saw the army suddenly pouring into the city, but he quickly calmed down, picked up his sword, and charged out.

At that moment, a woman in black ascended to the sky, carrying a bow and arrows on her back and a sword in her hand. She thrust directly at him, moving so fast that he couldn't even react. It wasn't until the woman was right in front of him that he realized who she was.

Zhao Youyi!

Li Lian stared intently at her, only realizing he had underestimated this little girl when his blood splattered onto her face.

Zhao Youyi joined the battle without hesitation. The enemy's blood splattered onto her black dress, making the already deep color even more intense.

The surging army slaughtered the imperial troops in the city, leaving none alive. The people opened a crack in their doors to look out, and only when they saw the banners bearing the characters Zhao and Chu did they feel relieved. After all, the Zhao family army and the Chu army were fighting against foreign invaders and protecting their homeland, so naturally they would not attack the common people.

The people came out one after another, offering eggs and sweet potatoes, and were even more surprised to see that there were female soldiers among them.

"Wow! A young lady has joined the army! That's really something."

"Yes! We are the Women's Army! We are female soldiers under the command of the Zhao Family Army!"

"Great job, little lady! You're amazing!"

Zhao Youyi gestured to everyone not to take the people's grain, and the people looked embarrassed as they all declined.

Zhao Youyi proclaimed loudly, "Fellow villagers, I am Zhao Youyi, a daughter of the Zhao family. Today, I and His Highness the Prince of Chu have stormed into Qingzhou City. We are acting on behalf of Heaven to save the people from suffering. Our army will never take a single needle or thread from the people, but our army will fight for the people!"

Upon hearing this, the people exclaimed that General Zhao and His Highness the King of Chu were wise!

Zhao Youyi smiled as she watched Chu Chan approach from a distance. His clothes were clean and he was elegantly fanning himself, looking like a beautiful jade-like man. Zhao Youyi quickened her pace and ran towards him, pulling him into her arms.

“Brother Huai Cong,” Zhao Youyi hugged him before realizing that she was covered in blood and might soil him.

Zhao Youyi quickly let go of him and looked at him, afraid of getting him dirty.

Chu Chanyin realized what she was looking at, smiled helplessly, took out a clean handkerchief, and wiped the bloodstains from her face. "Our wise and mighty general is going to turn into a little kitten."

Zhao Youyi was amused by him and let him wipe her: "There's no other way, the beauty in my family is delicate and frail, so I, the general, have to do it for her."

Chu Chanyin refrained from taking action because he didn't want to overshadow Zhao Youyi. Zhao Youyi was about to ascend the throne, and naturally, the wider his reputation, the better. He was already famous for his military achievements, so it wouldn't be good if he made a big show of it. After all, he just wanted to be Zhao Youyi's queen quietly.

The two were quite in sync in this regard; one was responsible for being beautiful, and the other for fighting on the battlefield.

After a few days of rest as usual, the army camped outside the city, leaving a detachment to wait for the Zhao family army to join them.

Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin discussed their next steps in the military tent.

“We should leave more people in Qingzhou this time,” Chu Chanyin said, his slender but strong fingers hovering over the word “Qingzhou” on the map. “The emperor will likely send reinforcements after learning that we have conquered two prefectures in succession. If we don’t leave more people, we may not be able to hold them off.”

Zhao Youyi nodded: "Okay, the Chu army will also leave a detachment down there. You can make the arrangements."

After discussing their next move, the two hastily washed up and went to bed to rest. Zhao Youyi leaned against Chu Chanyin's chest, her fingers wandering restlessly across his chest.

Chu Chanyin grabbed her hand: "Don't you want to sleep yet?"

"No, it's just that I'm worried the emperor might dig up the Zhao family's ancestral graves in a fit of anger." Zhao Youyi thought of the emperor's volatile temper and felt that it wasn't impossible.

Chu Chanyin clearly shared the same idea, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Why don't we send a detachment to Shenjing to guard it first?"

Zhao Youyi quickly shook his head: "This would be too alarming. Let it go. It's just a handful of dirt. I'm sure our ancestors won't care."

“By the way, the Empress Dowager passed away a few days ago, and I’m worried she might send someone to find Princess Fu’an,” Zhao Youyi said, frowning.

Chu Chanyin was somewhat puzzled: "Princess Fu'an?"

“She’s currently being held captive by my men in the border region,” Zhao Youyi explained.

"If you appease Princess Fu'an well after you ascend the throne, it might benefit your reputation." Chu Chanyin thought further ahead and naturally considered this as well.

"I had the same idea when I first decided to keep her, but my strategist seems to have feelings for her that aren't quite right." Zhao Youyi poked his chest with her finger, looking somewhat dejected.

Chu Chanyin pulled her into his arms and asked gently, "What's so special about her? What are you worried about?"

"I'm not worried that my strategist will do anything irrational. After all, anyone would know what to choose between the merit of serving the emperor and personal feelings," Zhao Youyi sighed, looking at the dark military tent.

"You've been influenced by her too, and your heart has softened?" Chu Chan asked with a hint of a smile.

Zhao Youyi, whose thoughts had been exposed, glared at him. "Chu Huaicong, are you a tapeworm? How do you know what I'm thinking?"

“It’s probably because I know A-Wan well enough,” Chu Chanyin’s eyes curved into a smile. “Our A-Wan is such a kind-hearted girl. Princess Fu’an is still young, and you can’t bear to let her spend the rest of her life in a cage. I understand.”

Zhao Youyi buried her head in his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat: "Brother Huai Cong, how do you understand me so well?"

“However,” Zhao Youyi tilted her head back and bit his chin in the dark, “I’m not a little girl anymore, so don’t always treat me like your little sister.”

"I won't sleep with my sister," Chu Chan replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Hey!" Zhao Youyi understood the meaning behind his words and pinched his chest in embarrassment. "You vixen, stop trying to seduce this general. I can't take advantage of you in the middle of nowhere right now."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chanyin buried his head in her neck and chuckled softly, tickling her.

"Hey! Chu Huaicong! Just go to sleep and stop seducing me, okay!" Zhao Youyi shouted loudly on purpose.

The innocent-looking Prince Chu lifted his head from her neck, blinked innocently at her, and pointed at himself incredulously: "I didn't sleep well? I seduced you? Zhao Nianwan! You started it first, okay? Don't be unreasonable."

Zhao Youyi, though not in the right, was still defiant. He snorted twice and threatened in a low voice, "If you keep talking, I'll shout louder. Tomorrow, everyone in the army will know how lustful you are and how impatient you are in the wilderness."

Chu Chanyin knew he couldn't win a verbal battle against her, so he resigned himself to burying his head in her neck and shutting himself off.

Overjoyed at his victory, Zhao Youyi closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Princess Fu'an, far away on the frontier, did not receive the Liu Zhiming she longed to see. Instead, she was greeted by a complete stranger in black.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" Princess Fu'an asked, somewhat flustered.

Seeing that she was about to call for help, the man in black quickly covered her mouth and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, I am from the Song family. I am here on my master's orders to escort you away."

"What? The Song family? Did Grandpa send you?" Princess Fu'an looked at him with some doubt, unable to believe that her grandfather, who was usually indifferent to her, would actually send someone across thousands of miles to rescue her.

The man in black paused for a moment before explaining, "My master is the eldest daughter of the Song family, who is also the Empress Dowager."

Princess Fu'an burst into tears upon hearing this. She knew her mother would not abandon her. "You were sent by the Empress Dowager. Is there anything the Empress Dowager wants to say to me?"

The man in black avoided answering and helped her untie the strips of cloth binding her hands: "Your Highness, the Zhao family's army is heavily guarded. I only managed to sneak in by knocking out a soldier. Let's not worry about these things now, we can talk about them after we escape."

"Wait." Princess Fu'an grabbed the hem of his robe.