After coming down from the city wall, Qi Zhong's legs were weak.

He returned to his residence and paced back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, pondering how to find a reason to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

The Northern Rong were launching a fierce attack, while Xue Shen only defended and did not attack. He had just visited the garrison in Xizhou a few days ago, and the old, weak, sick, and disabled were of little use. The Northern Rong might break into the city any day.

He needs to leave quickly.

Qi Zhong immediately summoned his trusted confidants, who then packed their belongings before heading to Xue Shen's location.

Upon hearing the news, Xue Shen looked surprised: "Why is Supervisor Qi in such a hurry to return to the capital? Xizhou is currently leaderless and the army's morale is low. Since Supervisor Qi is here on behalf of the Emperor to inspect the border, he can stay here to boost morale."

Qi Zhong couldn't bear to hear this, so he quickly put on a helpless look and said, "It's not that I don't want to stay, but the time to return to the capital has come, and it's really inconvenient for me to stay any longer. Moreover, the situation in Xizhou is urgent, and I need to return to the capital as soon as possible to inform the Emperor about the situation so that the court can send troops to our aid as soon as possible."

Xue Shen looked doubtful, and Qi Zhong quickly pressed his advantage, saying, "When His Majesty sent me to Xizhou, he allowed me to make decisions without consulting the court in case of an emergency. Now that the situation is urgent, I request that Prince Qin temporarily assume the position of governor and lead the troops to resist the Northern Rong."

Xue Shen shook his head: "This matter is of great importance. Supervisor Qi cannot bear it, and I certainly cannot."

Qi Zhong said anxiously, "The war is urgent now, and someone has to step forward and make a decision."

Xue Shen said calmly, "If Supervisor Qi insists on appointing someone to take on the duties of the governor of Xizhou, it would be better to let Pang Lai be the governor."

Pang Lai was originally a general under Xue Shen. Qi Zhong didn't understand why Xue Shen wouldn't take the governorship himself, but instead pushed Pang Lai forward.

After thinking for a long time, he felt that Pang Lai might be a scapegoat for Xue Shen's defeat, so he readily agreed: "In urgent situations, we should act expediently. We will listen to Your Highness on this matter."

"Words are no proof; we request that Supervisor Qi leave a written record. Since the Emperor has promised you that you can act without reporting in case of emergency, there should at least be some evidence, right? Otherwise, how can the people be convinced?"

Qi Zhong hadn't expected him to be so perceptive, even guessing this much, so he could only reluctantly take out an imperial edict with the seal affixed.

The imperial edict already had a general wording drafted; all Qi Zhong needed to do was add a few more lines, and it would become a letter of appointment.

This was something the emperor gave him when he came to Xizhou to restrain Xue Shen. At that time, Emperor Cheng'an thought that if Xue Shen lingered in Xizhou and did not return, or even if his cavalry rebelled, he would use this imperial edict to find the governor and the garrison commander of Xizhou, appoint the two as generals to quell the rebellion, and kill Xue Shen, this traitor, on the spot.

Unfortunately, after he arrived in Xizhou, every step he took was different from what Emperor Cheng'an had anticipated, and the imperial edict that had been drafted in advance naturally could not be used.

In order to get out of trouble as soon as possible, he had no choice but to agree to Xue Shen's request.

Once he returns to the capital, he can find another excuse to get out of it.

Qi Zhong quickly wrote the letter of appointment and handed it to Xue Shen. Xue Shen read it and smiled with satisfaction, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Supervisor Qi. Do you need me to send troops to escort you back to the capital?"

Qi Zhong shook his head and said, "No need. I'll travel light and quickly so I can return to the capital sooner and report this matter to His Majesty."

Seeing this, Xue Shen did not try to persuade him further, and instead saw him out of the governor's mansion.

As a result, Qi Zhong bumped into Shen Youying, who was getting off the carriage, as soon as he arrived at the gate of the governor's mansion.

Qi Zhong was taken aback and looked at Shen Youying in surprise: "Your Highness?"

He hesitated and said, "When I was in the capital, I heard that the princess was kidnapped by bandits while praying at a temple. The news even reached the palace. In order to find the princess, the emperor sent troops to quell all the banditry around the capital... How come now..."

Xue Shen calmly replied, "The princess was lucky. The bandit was acting on Yelü Nanxian's orders to kidnap my princess. However, I happened to run into the bandit before I and the army had gone far and managed to rescue her."

Qi Zhong, of course, didn't believe this. What kind of coincidence could there be in this world?

Moreover, the thought that Princess Qin was still in Xizhou made him feel like he had been tricked. Given the Qin King's personality, if he truly only had a fifty-fifty chance of winning, he would never have left Princess Qin, who was six months pregnant, in Xizhou.

Realizing that he had probably fallen into the other party's trap, Qi Zhong's expression changed slightly.

But then he realized that he had already given the letter of appointment and was about to leave, so it was too late to worry about it now.

He could only manage a forced smile and a few perfunctory words before hurriedly leading his men out of the city and back to the capital.

Shen Youying watched the other person's hurried departure, then turned to Xue Shen: "Are you just going to let him go like that?"

Xue Shen said, "Staying here would be a hindrance."

Then he asked, "Why is Zhaozhao here?"

Shen Youying said, "The Fire Cave Immortal returned today, bringing back a message from Father and Elder Brother, saying that Elder Brother has regained his memory and will be coming to Xizhou soon."

Xue Shen raised an eyebrow: "You recovered so quickly?"

Shen Youying nodded: "Master Huodong said it was good luck that the blood stasis dispersed and stopped pressing on the brain, so he recovered."

Xue Shen was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this and asked, "Why are my father-in-law and elder brother suddenly coming to Xizhou? Have they said what it's for?"

"Master Huodong said the matter was complicated and he didn't ask for details. Father and elder brother said they would explain in detail after arriving in Xizhou."

Xue Shen said, "Then it should arrive in the next two days."

Shen Youying nodded and then asked about the war: "How is the battle with the Northern Rong? I heard that the Northern Rong king has 150,000 troops stationed outside the city?"

Xue Shen laughed and said, "You've heard about it too? That was just a rumor deliberately spread to scare Qi Zhong. It's only 30,000 men. It's true that the Northern Rong King sent them. But he must have heard about the Tatar Mountain gold mine from somewhere and wanted to take it. However, after the battle in the capital, he was severely weakened, so he only sent out this small force to test the waters."

Upon hearing this, Shen Youying was immediately surprised: "How did the Northern Rong people know?"

Xue Shen said, "According to our spies, the Fourth Prince has been found and brought back by the Qingmu tribe. His maternal grandfather supported him to ascend the throne, intending to gather all the tribes of Tibet together. However, some tribes are not loyal to the Qingmu tribe and have recently become closer to the Beirong people. Qi Zhong was originally loyal to the Third Prince, so it is not surprising that the Beirong people would find out about it."

"They came at the right time. They not only scared Qi Zhong away for me, but also got Pang Lai a position as governor."

With this letter of appointment stamped with the imperial seal, whatever they did next would be perfectly logical.

Shen Youying laughed upon hearing this, glancing at him and saying, "I was worried when I came, but it turns out it was just false information you spread."

Xue Shen pinched her earlobe and said, "Even if the Northern Rong people really bring 150,000 troops to the city of Xizhou, Xizhou will not suffer any losses. Zhaozhao can just focus on her pregnancy."