"No!" An arrow shot straight toward Yun Qing's back. Li Huaiyin, who was to his right rear, saw it, his pupils contracted, and he instinctively flew to block it.

"Cousin!" Yun Qing turned around in time, drew her dagger and swung it, instantly slicing the arrow in two.

However, losing their support, both of them fell off their horses and tumbled backward several times.

Upon seeing this, the Qi Kingdom's pursuers immediately began to surround them.

Yun Qing pinned Li Huaiyin down, trying to block his view.

"drive!"

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind, raising clouds of dust.

"Great! It's General Qin! We're saved!"

Finally, it's here. Hearing the sound, Yun Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Although the current scene was within her expectations, this self-inflicted injury was something no one could endure. The arrow that had just knocked her down had made her arm numb, and her knees and arms were chafed painfully on the ground. Fortunately, she hadn't broken any skin, otherwise, the damage would have been severe.

Upon seeing the arrival of Sheng Kingdom's reinforcements, Qi Kingdom's pursuers glanced at Yun Qing unwillingly and then withdrew en masse.

Hearing the noise, Li Huaiyin lifted his head from Yun Qing's embrace, and only then did he realize that her face was frighteningly pale.

"Qingqing, are you alright?"

Yun Qing smiled and shook her head: "I'm fine, how about you? Were you scared?"

"I, of course I'm fine, thanks to you."

Smelling the sweet fragrance, Li Huaiyin realized just how intimate their posture was, and his face instantly turned bright red.

Watching the two of them so affectionately, Qin Zhiyao felt a pang of sadness. After seeing Yun Qing's attitude towards Li Huaiyin, she knew that Zhao Shuyu's feelings were completely one-sided.

At the same time, noticing that Yun Qing's body was stiff on one side, she silently stepped forward and helped her up.

"Your Highness, I see you are seriously injured. You should go back as soon as possible."

"Are you injured?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Qing had not yet reacted, but Li Huaiyin was extremely distressed.

Thinking of how she had shielded him from an arrow just now, he felt both sweet and bittersweet.

He was now certain that in Yun Qing's heart, he was the most important man.

At the same time, he felt a little sad. As her cousin who had watched her grow up, Li Huaiyin knew that she was very delicate and could not endure any hardship. Yet now she was doing this for him. What did he have to worry about?

Thinking about this, his eyes deepened, and he silently made a decision.

Upon returning to Pingyang County, Yun Qing was naturally greeted with concern and care from everyone. Knowing that she had gone to persuade the enemy to surrender, everyone was filled with lingering fear, secretly thinking: The front lines had already gained the upper hand in this battle, why should the future crown prince take such a risk? It almost resulted in a greater loss than gain. We should be more careful in the future; this was too frightening.

Yun Qing discerned their thoughts from their expressions and revealed a hidden smile, though inwardly she was wryly smiling: she was doing all this to win the heart of her beloved.

This immediately resolved Li Huaiyin's inner conflict and also won back Qi Xiao's favor, killing two birds with one stone, which was truly a win-win situation.

Besides, she had made thorough preparations in advance, with a large group of people already in place to meet her. However, she didn't let them appear on stage for the sake of authenticity. Otherwise, with the limited manpower of Qi Kingdom, how could they create a thrilling atmosphere?

The following day, Chen Yuebai, the magistrate of Tongji County, sent a letter expressing his willingness to lead all the people of the county to submit to Dasheng.

Upon hearing this news, the morale of the Sheng Kingdom's soldiers soared, while the Qi Kingdom's army suffered heavy losses.

Their food supplies and other rear-area materials were all stored in Tongji County. As a result, they were trapped in the middle. What chance of victory did they have?

So the generals of Qi Kingdom gathered together and finally made a reluctant decision.

"Report! The Qi Kingdom's army has delivered a ceasefire agreement and has withdrawn."

Upon hearing the announcement, Qin Zhiyao and Zhao Shuyu's eyes widened: "They just left like that?"

"What else? In the end, we are going to war for the country. Without the support of Tongji County, the food in the military camp probably wouldn't last even three days. If we don't leave now, we won't have another chance to leave."

Seeing their shocked expressions, Yun Qing smiled slightly, keeping her achievements hidden.

In fact, Magistrate Chen did not touch the supplies at the front line, but she had already sent people to burn them beforehand.

Three days later, after incorporating the people of Tongji County, the group returned to Shengjing in a grand procession.

This time, Li Huaiyin and Yun Qing sat in a carriage. Looking at the person sleeping soundly with their head on his lap, he couldn't help but smile contentedly, feeling that his empty soul had finally been filled.

A year later, at Yunqing's coming-of-age ceremony, she was made Crown Princess.

Two years later, Li Weiyi felt powerless to continue the reign and passed the throne to the Crown Princess, then traveled the world with Empress Zhao.

After ascending the throne, Yun Qing formally married Li Huaiyin as the Empress of the Eastern Palace. At the same time, she conferred the title of Empress of the Western Palace upon her husband Liu Chengxi. The power of the harem was divided in two and was jointly governed by the two of them.