Chapter 99: The two sides are locked in a stalemate, resulting in heavy casualties.

Yuwen Che returned to the palace and went straight to his bedchamber.

"Change into these mourning clothes," he said to the palace servants who were standing by.

The palace servants quickly stepped forward and helped him change into his usual black casual clothes.

After changing his clothes, he walked towards Guanju Palace without stopping for a moment.

Inside Guanju Palace, Su Luoxue leaned against a soft couch by the window, holding a nearly finished little garment in her hands, carefully sewing the last few stitches. Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, softly bathing her in its glow.

Fuling, with her sharp eyes, saw His Majesty enter and was about to speak up to remind him, but Yuwen Che waved his hand, signaling her to be quiet.

He walked quietly to the bedside, leaned down to look at her work, and said gently, "Doing this again? Be careful not to hurt your eyes."

Su Luoxue looked up at the sound of his voice, and when she saw him, a smile immediately spread across her face. She held up the little garment in her hands to show him: "Ache, you're back. Look, this little garment is almost finished, isn't it pretty?"

Yuwen Che took the soft, small garment, his fingertips tracing the fine stitches, his eyes softening: "It's beautiful. Our child will look the most beautiful in it."

He sat down beside her, naturally took her hand, and gently massaged her fingertips: "Just don't overwork yourself. I see that you still look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Su Luoxue leaned towards him. "But you, you've been busy all day, aren't you tired?"

Yuwen Che pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh: "Seeing you makes me feel less tired."

The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of their breathing mingling. All the heaviness and scheming of the day seemed to be dispelled by the warmth emanating from her at this instant.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the Northern Kingdom's royal court was solemn.

Helian Bobo slammed the golden cup to the ground, furious: "Yuwen Che! How dare he send troops! So ruthless! Doesn't he care that the pearl of my Northern Kingdom still belongs to his Great Zhou?!"

The courtiers fell silent, as if trembling with fear.

Just then, a border scout stumbled and crawled into the hall, his voice shrill: "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

Helian Bobo's heart skipped a beat, and he shouted sternly, "What's the panic! Speak!"

The scout fell to the ground, trembling as he reported, "We...our newly dispatched envoy delegation encountered fierce bandits just as we were about to enter the border of the Great Zhou...the entire force was wiped out, not a single survivor, Your Majesty!"

"What?!" Helian Bobo suddenly stood up. "What about the princess? What about Mingzhu?! Are Wuzhu and the others still being held by Yuwen Che?"

The scout lowered his head even further, his voice trembling with despair as he cried out, "The princess... the princess... she... passed away several days ago at the Grand Zhou Courtyard... her life was extinguished!"

Helian Bobo was struck dumb, staggering back a step: "What did you say?!"

The scout continued, "Lord Wuzhu... Lord Wuzhu and his entourage escorted the princess's coffin back, but... but just as they crossed the border of the Great Zhou, near Luoying Gorge... they were ambushed by unidentified experts... the entire delegation... was wiped out!"

Dead silence.

The entire royal court was deathly silent.

Helian Bobo stared intently at the spy, his eyes bloodshot, his voice barely audible as he forced out through clenched teeth: "Yuwen Che...you are ruthless!"

He suddenly drew his precious sword from his waist and cleaved the table in front of him in two, as if he had gone mad.

"Order the three armies! Assemble all forces! I will personally lead the expedition! I swear I will not rest until the Great Zhou is utterly destroyed and Yuwen Che's head is taken!"

The roars from the Northern court had barely subsided when another swift horse burst through the palace gates. The scout nearly fell from his horse, shouting:

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Marquis Pei Zhongyuan of Zhenbei has personally led an army of 300,000 and has already captured three cities on our border. At this moment... at this moment, his army is at the gates of the capital!"

"What?!" Helian Bobo grabbed the scout. "How could it be so fast!"

"They...they seem to have figured out our defenses long ago. Their siege equipment is excellent, and their offensive is too fierce! The defenders simply cannot withstand it, Your Majesty!"

The Prime Minister hurriedly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, the city's garrison is currently less than 50,000 strong. Perhaps we should temporarily avoid a direct confrontation..."

"Escape?" Helian Bobo shoved the prime minister away, his eyes bloodshot. "Where can I escape to! Yuwen Che is trying to destroy my Northern Kingdom!"

He gripped the knife hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Well... well, Yuwen Che! He killed my imperial sister, slaughtered my delegation, and now he wants to exterminate us all!"

Outside the city gates, war drums thundered.

Marquis Pei Zhongyuan of Zhenbei reined in his horse before the battle, his voice booming like a bell:

"Helian Bobo! You have repeatedly offended the Great Zhou Dynasty, and even plotted to murder my Empress and the Crown Prince. Your crimes are unforgivable! Today is the day your Northern Kingdom is destroyed!"

Helian Bobo ascended the city wall, looked down at the dark mass of the Great Zhou army, and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Pei Zhongyuan! Yuwen Che has betrayed his promise and killed my Northern Kingdom's princess..."

Pei Zhongyuan interrupted directly:

"Betrayal? If you hadn't harbored malicious intentions and tried to disturb the Empress's health, His Majesty wouldn't be in this predicament! Helian Bobo, all of this is your own doing!"

He pointed his longsword directly at the city wall:

"Attack the city!"

The battle for the northern capital was exceptionally fierce.

Helian Bobo himself stood atop the city wall, sword in hand, and roared, "Fire arrows! Hold the line! Reinforcements are on their way!"

Logs and stones rained down, and the blood of the Great Zhou soldiers below the city stained the ground red.

Marquis Pei Zhongyuan of Zhenbei frowned on the battlefield: "Helian Bobo is fighting with his life on the line."

The lieutenant rode up on horseback: "My lord, the Northern army is putting up a fierce resistance, and our vanguard battalion has suffered more than half its casualties!"

A month later, corpses littered the ground beneath the city walls, and the casualty figures of the Northern Zhou army continued to rise.

Looking at the city that had been under siege for so long, Pei Zhongyuan said in a deep voice, "We can't keep dragging this out."

He turned to the messenger and said, "An urgent message from Your Majesty: The Northern Capital has been under siege for a long time without success, and our army has suffered more than 30,000 casualties. Helian Bobo is putting up a stubborn resistance, which may lead to a protracted war. Please make a decision, Your Majesty."

Gazing at the still-impregnable city walls in the distance, Pei Zhongyuan gripped his sword hilt tightly: "I hope Your Majesty can find a way to break this deadlock."