Inside the command tent, Ma Ying's eyes were filled with anger, and a strong sense of resentment welled up in his heart.

"Marshal Song! It was our dereliction of duty that we failed to protect your safety. It's not worth it to submit to us who risk our lives!"

Upon hearing this, Song Yunyang suddenly sighed and smiled. "Ma Ying, if Chen Zhennan were here, he would definitely scold you. Human life has no high or low status."

As she spoke, Song Yunyang reached into her waistband and took out Chen Zhennan's dagger.

"Protect the Emperor!"

Upon seeing this, the guards stepped forward, but Jiang Wenyu gestured for them to step back.

Song Yunyang gave a bitter smile and walked up to Ma Ying.

"Take it back to the territory of Wu Kingdom. Don't go to your superiors or Chen Zhennan, lest you be followed and monitored. Return it to Chen Zhennan when he overthrows Wu Yunyin and ascends the throne."

Ma Ying took the dagger. "Marshal Song, this..."

"Remember my words, before Chen Zhennan ascends to the throne, you must not have any contact with Chen Zhennan, understand?"

Ma Ying didn't say anything more, and then Jiang Wenyu ordered his men to release him and drive him out of the military camp.

Inside the command tent, only Song Yunyang and Jiang Wenyu remained.

Jiang Wenyu was overjoyed, like a commoner who had won the lottery, his face beaming with a smug smile.

Song Yunyang, on the other hand, had a blank expression, like a cold statue.

Jiang Wenyu waved his hand arrogantly and ordered his men, "Men, carry all these corpses out of the general's tent, give them a proper burial, and clean up the filthy bloodstains on the ground."

After saying that, he turned his cunning gaze to Song Yunyang and then issued an imperial decree: "The wedding shall be held tomorrow."

Although Song Yunyang had anticipated that Jiang Wenyu would be eager to arrange the wedding, she never expected him to be so impatient and restless.

The next day, the sun shone brightly on the military camp, and Jiang Wenyu indeed held a grand wedding ceremony there.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Great Yan stood in neat rows, like a forest forged of steel.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the empress's investiture ceremony and wedding ceremony commenced.

After going through the complicated procedures, it was almost dark, and Song Yunyang was exhausted.

When it came time to perform the ancestral worship ceremony, due to the rudimentary conditions in the military camp, Jiang Wenyu could only order people to hastily make some wooden memorial tablets.

He pulled Song Yunyang to kneel before the memorial tablet, and the lengthy eulogy, like an endless river, poured into everyone's ears.

Song Yunyang quietly gripped the scissors hidden in her sleeve, as if they were her last hope. A resolute glint flashed in her eyes, and she prepared to strike like a cornered beast.

However, her little actions could not escape Jiang Wenyu's sharp eyes, which were as keen as those of a hawk.

Before Song Yunyang could make a move, Jiang Wenyu reached out like a ghost and firmly pressed down on her arm.

Jiang Wenyu lowered his voice and threatened fiercely, "Song Yunyang, don't go looking for trouble. This ancestral worship ceremony is of utmost importance and must not be stopped. If you don't give me face today, don't blame me for being ruthless and killing your loyal generals. I'm capable of anything, no matter how heinous."

After saying that, a chilling glint appeared in his sinister eyes, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Song Yunyang snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "I have already disregarded life and death. I can barely protect myself, so how can I have the leisure to care about the lives of others?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wenyu slowly released his hand, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his mouth, a smile full of calculation.

Song Yunyang seemed to have lost her courage. She held the scissors tightly in her hand, but instead of pointing them at Jiang Wenyu, she slowly aimed them at her own snow-white neck.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Wenyu's expression changed, and he quickly tried to stop him again.

As he reached for the scissors, he said anxiously, "Don't be impulsive. The ceremony is about to end, and we'll soon be husband and wife in name only."

Song Yunyang snorted coldly, her eyes filled with disgust and determination, and said loudly, "Don't dream, I'd rather die than grant your wish!"

Jiang Wenyu sighed helplessly, but there was no trace of guilt or pity in his sigh.

Suddenly, he reached out and, with lightning speed, delivered a chop to Song Yunyang's slender neck.

Song Yunyang felt a sudden darkness before her eyes and fainted, collapsing helplessly to the ground like a withered flower.

...

As the moon rose high in the sky, its silvery light bathed the earth. On the mass grave of Cuiming Mountain, a solitary grave stood silently.

Chen Zhennan lay on his back, his gaze piercing through the sparse clouds, staring at the round, bright moon, his thoughts swirling.

All around, the wild grass rustled, as if telling of a long-standing sorrow and loneliness. Although his appearance was as calm as still water, the lake in his heart was being disturbed by ripples, and anxiety surged like a tide.

"Life is like a dream, let us offer a cup to the moon over the river."

Chen Zhennan softly recited verses, but there was no wine to intoxicate him; all he had was a heart full of courage and endless worries.

He closed his eyes, trying to dispel the gloom in his heart, but Song Yunyang's smile kept appearing in his mind.

At midnight, the sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the tranquility of the mountains and forests; the caravan had finally found him.

"General, something's happened! Marshal Song..."

Two minutes later, Chen Zhennan suddenly stood up, his fists clenched, his chest heaving violently.

"Song Yunyang has been arrested?"

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