On the fourth day of March, at the hour of Chou, a drizzle was falling from the sky, and the whole world was shrouded in a hazy night.

On the Youzhou official road, a carriage sped past like the wind, hurtling towards the city. Inside the carriage, Xiahou Jing, her hands and feet tightly bound, was filled with despair and collapse.

She never expected that someone had carefully planned such a rigorous trap, setting up a dragnet at docks, ports and any place where ships could be moored across Youzhou, just waiting for her and her daughter to take the bait.

Xiahou Jing glared angrily at the burly man seated in the center of the carriage, respectfully called "Heavenly General" by his men. With a look of suspicion on his face, he demanded, "Who are you exactly? You don't look like a soldier from Youzhou City, nor do you look like someone from the imperial court. I know I have nothing to do with you, so how could there be any grudge? Why are you going to such great lengths to capture us, mother and daughter?"

Her voice was filled with uncontrollable anger and confusion, and her eyes were as sharp as a sword, trying to penetrate the heart of the mysterious man in front of her and find the answer. However, in the face of her questioning, the burly man remained silent, like an indestructible mountain, making her elusive.

After a moment, Tianji glanced at Xiahou Jing with a scornful smile on his face. "When the lips and teeth are gone, they are interdependent. The rise and fall of a country is not just a woman's responsibility, but also a man's. Xiahou Jing, you betrayed the emperor and the court, and secretly colluded with the Lengyue and Zhaoyang countries. You committed the serious crime of treason and collaborating with the enemy. You attempted to usurp the throne and had no regard for the lives of the people. Naturally, you deserve to be killed by everyone."

"Ha!" Xiahou Jing snorted disdainfully, "Stop pretending to be so hypocritical in front of me! Are you all lackeys of Nalan Yunzhi or Nalan Qiudi? Nalan Yunzhi is obsessed with men, foolish and incompetent. He's been on the throne for nineteen years, and the territory of our Dalaifeng Kingdom hasn't changed at all. If I were on the throne, I'm afraid I would have swept across the land and established a powerful empire that would terrify the surrounding smaller nations!"

However, Tianji was unfazed by Xiahou Jing's words. He spoke righteously, "The people are the foundation of a nation. Only when the people live and work in peace and contentment can a country flourish. A prosperous nation naturally strengthens its military, and so does its national strength. Xiahou Jing, you only care about your own ambitions, disregarding the lives of the people. You blindly pursue war. Even if you conquer the world, how long can you hold on to it?"

"Hmph, the victor is the king and the loser is the bandit, kill if you want. But, this king is really curious and wants to know at whose hands I lost..." Thinking of the superb martial arts and wisdom of the man in front of him, Xiahou Jing's deep eyes revealed a deep reluctance.

"Mother Queen, look at him... Does he look like the father of that Xiangjun from Tianyi?" At this time, Xiahou Yu, who had been silent all the time, suddenly spoke.

"Tianzheyi?" Xiahou Jing seemed to be thinking about something.

The princess had indeed rescued a little girl named Tianzheyi from the Xiangyang Taoist Temple. The reason why Xiahou Jing remembered this was because this little girl had a special identity. She was from Zhaoyang Country.

Emperor Nalan Yunzhi was very pleased to see that she was smart and lovely, and made an exception to confer upon her the title of sixth-rank Xiangjun. You should know that this is a title only given to a country with male dominance, which is enough to show the emperor's importance and preference for this little girl.

Xiahou Jing recalled the scene when she fought with this heavenly general. The opponent's sword skills were as fast as lightning and as sharp as thunder. It seemed to evoke forgotten memories. Xiahou Jing couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly.

"You, you, you...could you be Tianlang's illegitimate child?!"

More than ten years ago, there was a fierce general named Tianlang in Zhaoyang Kingdom. Although Xiahou Jing had never fought with him, she was very familiar with Tianlang's swordsmanship. Unfortunately, the Tianlang family was eventually executed and the Tianlang swordsmanship was lost to the world.

Tianji's heart trembled slightly upon hearing this, but he quickly suppressed his surprise. He hadn't expected Xiahou Jing to be so clever, but now wasn't the time to reveal his true identity. Otherwise, someone might exaggerate and accuse him of being a spy for the Zhaoyang Kingdom. That would be disastrous...

"This general doesn't know what you mean, but no matter how you argue, you can't escape the punishment you deserve." After saying that, Tianji closed his eyes and rested without saying anything more.

At the end of the hour of Chou, the carriage arrived at the city of Youzhou.

However, Tianji did not send Xiahou Jing and her daughter to the prison in Youzhou City, but went straight to Prince You's Mansion.

Firstly, Xiahou Jing and her daughter were serious criminals, and ordinary yamen runners might not be able to keep an eye on them; secondly, his identity as the commander of 60,000 private soldiers was not yet clear, so it was not appropriate for him to directly contact court officials.

When Tianji brought Xiahou Jing and her daughter to Prince You's Mansion, Nalan Qiudi, who had gone out to the eastern outskirts of the city to capture spies from the Lengyue Kingdom, also returned. The two sides met directly at the gate.

"Greetings to Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess!"

Seeing Hua Qingcheng coming, Tianji hurried forward to salute her.

"Thank you for your hard work, General Tian. No need to be so polite!"

Hua Qingcheng nodded to Tianji, then looked at Xiahou Jing and her daughter as they were dragged from the carriage by the soldiers with a half-smile: "Xiahou Jing, Xiahou Yu, all your schemes were in vain, but in the end, it's all in vain. I'm afraid you won't escape the fate of having your property confiscated and your clan exterminated. It's really... really sad and lamentable!"

Xiahou Jing stared directly at Hua Qingcheng and said sinisterly, "Haha, Nalan Qingcheng, ah Nalan Qingcheng, don't be so complacent! It's fine that you gathered troops privately, but you even appointed a Zhaoyang native as commander. Have you forgotten Nalan Junxue's tragic end? Hahaha, I'm really looking forward to it. When your almighty mother learns of this, will she be as ruthless and impartial as she was with Nalan Junxue and imprison you in the clan residence?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!