Ending 1: No Marriage for the Empire
With the introduction of artillery, the elite troops charging at the forefront were no longer heavily armored cavalry, but rather swift and agile female soldiers wielding cannons. They cleared the way with firepower, resulting in a significant reduction in casualties.
This was supposed to be a good thing, boosting combat effectiveness and preserving manpower, but it touched a nerve with the men's pride. Soon, rumors quietly spread among the male soldiers: a woman menstruating was an unclean and ominous sign that would disrupt the blood and energy of the army, leading to setbacks in battle.
This unhealthy trend dampened the morale of the female soldiers and greatly angered Lu Yunchu. At this moment, Qian Yuan proposed a brilliant solution.
She advised Lu Yunchu and the generals: "The women's army is outstanding in combat, which is beneficial to both the country and the army. There is no reason to disband it. However, the saying that 'menstrual blood is auspicious' is vague and difficult to refute. Since that's the case, we might as well go with the flow: let the women who are menstruating gather in a designated area to rest, let their menstrual blood stain the sandy ground, and let the male soldiers walk around nearby to see if it will cause any trouble."
Upon hearing this suggestion, Xuanji volunteered to lead a squad of male soldiers under his command to test it out. The next day, they returned with a great victory and a very rich haul.
Soon, the tide turned in the army. Menstrual blood was transformed from an ominous sign into a symbol of good fortune, and rumors even began to circulate that "if any sister is menstruating in this battle, victory is assured."
Just then, Ah Xiao brought exciting news: Su Xike had left the capital in the name of the Holy Maiden and was about to arrive at the Yangcheng camp.
On the day the saintess arrived, the entire camp seemed to be celebrating a grand festival. Banners fluttered, crowds thronged, and all the soldiers craned their necks in anticipation. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, an elegant carriage slowly drove into the camp gate.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and a woman dressed in a long white dress and wearing a light veil walked slowly in. Her figure was graceful and her temperament ethereal, like a banished immortal.
Even more astonishingly, as she moved with graceful steps, flowers seemed to bloom out of thin air wherever she went, drawing countless gasps of amazement. Only the members of the Women's Alliance knew that this was nothing more than a carefully designed miracle: the route had been scouted in advance, shallow trenches had been dug underground, and the female soldiers had hidden bouquets of seasonal flowers in bud within them. As Su Xike passed by, they would quickly raise the bouquets, creating the illusion of lotus blossoms with every step.
Amidst deafening cheers, Su Xike opened her arms wide, and birds swooped down from the sky, landing on her shoulders and arms. This was actually an effect achieved by Azhi using special spices and bird-taming techniques. She raised her eyes, and her clear voice resounded throughout the arena: "The northwest direction, the auspicious energy has been activated, a breakthrough is possible, may Heaven bless Great Chu!"
A strange light shone in her eyes, reflecting the azure sky. Having finished her prophecy, she turned to face Emperor Chu Cheng'an and gracefully bowed, saying, "Heaven bless my Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
A complex and unfathomable light flashed in Chu Cheng'an's eyes as he personally stepped forward to help Chu Cheng'an to his feet.
Then, Su Xike walked slowly through the crowd, finally stopping on Xuanji. She pointed southeast, her voice ethereal yet resolute: "The arrow points southeast."
Qingyun understood immediately, drew his bow and aimed without hesitation at the southeast. The crowd gasped and parted to make way, the arrow flew, and a man fell to the ground. A search confirmed he was indeed a spy from the marshland.
This time, there was no doubt. All the soldiers present, including many male soldiers who had initially been skeptical, were convinced and knelt down.
Chu Cheng'an was deeply wary of this influential Holy Maiden. On the surface, he showed her the utmost respect, but in reality, he strictly restricted her freedom, allowing her only to contemplate military strategies within a designated area. Whenever she went out, she was always surrounded by numerous spies. Xuanji was assigned to accompany the Holy Maiden. In addition to Xuanji, there were nine carefully selected maids and an unexpected guard: Su Lang.
Su Lang was overjoyed at this arrangement; he could finally approach the Holy Maiden he admired with a legitimate reason. He began to meticulously dress up every day, adorning himself with jewels and makeup, trying to appear before the Holy Maiden in his most beautiful form. However, his dark complexion and robust physique made this attire appear rather incongruous. Even Lu Yunchu couldn't help but sigh and subtly remind him to be mindful of his appearance. Su Lang himself realized his mistake, and the more he looked in the bronze mirror, the more heartbroken he became, eventually bursting into tears of grievance.
At a banquet to welcome the Holy Maiden, Chu Cheng'an, who was half-drunk with wine, perhaps to test her or just on a whim, said to Su Lang with a smile, "General Su is brave and loyal, and is a perfect match for the Holy Maiden. How about I bestow a marriage upon you two, and make you the Holy Maiden's husband?"
Upon hearing this, Su Lang froze on the spot, and Su Xike's expression changed drastically. She stood up abruptly and said resolutely, "This subject's heart is only loyal to Your Majesty. I wish to spend my life by the lamp, praying for Your Majesty and for the Great Chu. I will never marry in this life!" Before she finished speaking, she suddenly rammed her head against a nearby pillar.
The incident happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned. Su Lang, who was closest, instinctively lunged forward and shielded Su Xike with his body against the pillar. Su Xike couldn't stop in time and crashed into his chest. Su Lang was still reeling from the impact, but he held Su Xike tightly, refusing to let go, as if afraid she might try to kill herself again.
"Let her go!" Lu Yunchu shouted sharply, stepping forward and kicking Su Lang away without any politeness. She bent down and carefully helped Su Xike up from Su Lang's arms, her voice returning to calm: "Take the Holy Maiden away to rest properly and calm her nerves."
The banquet ended unhappily. After this incident, Chu Cheng'an seemed somewhat satisfied with Su Xike's "loyalty," but he also tightened his surveillance. Su Lang, on the other hand, became increasingly depressed.
Fearing that his harassment would affect Su Xike's plans, Lu Yunchu found the increasingly depressed Su Lang and solemnly warned him: "The Holy Maiden's cultivation requires the protection of a pure Yin body. Men belong to Yang and must be kept away. Do not disturb the Holy Maiden's pure cultivation."
Su Lang's eyes dimmed, and he murmured, "I...I won't harass her..."
Yet he still spent his days gazing at his reflection in the mirror, applying makeup and adornments, his hairpins and pendants jingling, lost in self-pity, his expression dazed, and he became increasingly negligent in his military duties.
Just as Lu Yunchu was racking his brains for a way to return to the capital, Chu Ling's secret letter arrived. The letter explained that Chu Qin's dedication to developing new cannons had aroused the emperor's suspicion, forcing her to lead troops to quell the rebellion on the northeastern border to demonstrate her loyalty, leaving the capital vulnerable. Meanwhile, the internal strife in the Southern Dynasty had been temporarily quelled, and the Empress Dowager, along with her young daughter, had formally ascended the throne. Although internal factional battles kept her from attending to the north, she had set an example of a woman becoming emperor. The Ze Kingdom was also in turmoil, and the south was in chaos. With the emperor facing battles on all sides and exhausted, this was a golden opportunity.
Chu Ling sent Lu Yunchu back to the capital under the pretext of suppressing a rebellion, but in reality, he wanted to join them and prepare for her coronation as empress. In her letter, Chu Ling emphasized that she was exploiting the people's resentment towards the old aristocracy and leveraging the power of emerging commoners and merchants to crack down on the deeply entrenched old forces and pave the way for the new policies.
Lu Yunchu immediately began to make meticulous plans to find a way to return to the capital.
However, a miracle occurred: the emperor unexpectedly died in battle, falling not far from Lu Yunchu. Overjoyed, she quickly began to devise a plan.
When the news spread, Chu Ling reacted swiftly, immediately taking the young prince Chu Cheng'an to the capital to announce his accession to the throne, and urgently summoning Lu Yunchu and Xuanji and other generals back to the capital to stabilize the situation.
Xuanji came to say goodbye; she needed to lead an elite force back to the capital to control the situation. The night before her departure, Lu Yunchu found her.
"Xuanji, when is your birthday?" Lu Yunchu asked softly.
Xuanji paused, a look of confusion crossing her face: "My family... never cares about me... I... I don't know my own birthday..."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yunchu felt a pang of pain in her heart, and then asked softly, "What is your favorite day of the year?"
Xuanji thought for a moment and casually replied, "New Year's, I guess. When I was little... I always felt like I could have a good meal that day..."
Lu Yun Chu kept it in mind. She remembered that Xuan Ji had mentioned that there were seven younger sisters in the family, all of whom had been sold by their parents. She immediately found a craftsman and secretly made a gift: a majestic tigress doll surrounded by eight adorable little tigers of various shapes and sizes. She attached a note with only one sentence: "This is the tigress's world; no tiger cubs will be sold."
She instructed her trusted confidant to deliver the item to Xuanji during the New Year, while she herself remained in the southwest, both to stabilize morale and to anxiously await the good news of her coronation from the capital.
She waited a long time, but what she received was not the good news she had hoped for, but a decree of punishment that came as a bolt from the blue.
The imperial edict vehemently denounced Princesses Chuling and Chuqin for conspiring with border generals to rebel, but thankfully the Holy Maiden foresaw their plot and loyally reported it, thus thwarting their scheme. Now, the two princesses and the Empress Dowager have been executed, Princess Chule, their accomplice, is imprisoned, and all their associates will be severely punished. As for the Emperor, he claimed to have faked his death.
She had no idea that the one who deserved the greatest credit for suppressing the rebellion was none other than Xuanji. It was she who took the initiative, leading her subordinates to break through Chu Ling and Chu Qin's guards, stepping on the blood of her former sisters, and was thus granted the title of Duke of Loyalty and Bravery, and appointed as a first-rank general.
Upon hearing the news, Lu Yun Chu was at a loss for words. She couldn't understand why this had happened. Why had Su Xi Ke betrayed her? Xuan Ji… how could Xuan Ji…
Before she could sort things out, Qian Yuan arrived at her command tent, his face calm and expressionless, holding a pot of wine in his hand.
“General,” Qian Yuan’s voice was flat, “His Majesty, remembering your past merits, has granted you a complete corpse.”
Lu Yunchu looked at her, at this strategist who had once envisioned a female-led kingdom with her, and felt no strength left to hate her. She only felt an unprecedented weariness; her life had been too absurd and too laughable. She had considered many ways to end her life, but never in this way.
She gave a bitter smile, her voice hoarse: "I admit it. I only ask... to spare Zai Yu and Jiang Liu, they are innocent."
Before Qian Yuan could answer, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the tent. Jiang Liu staggered in, hissing, "The women's army...the women's army has all rebelled! They...they support the Holy Maiden! They say...they say you and the princess are going to establish a new hierarchy of power, they don't want the emperor, they want the Holy Maiden's promise...a world of universal harmony for women, without distinction of rank! You...you shouldn't insist anymore, we'll follow the Holy Maiden, she will protect us!"
So that's how it is... Lu Yunchu suddenly realized that he had lost from the very beginning. He was just a useless piece on the Mountain and River Chess set, struggling all his life but to no avail.
She gazed at the glass of wine, and before her eyes flashed an image of Chu Qin, dressed in red, standing on a beacon tower, her sword pointing to the sky, her gaze burning as if it could set the entire old world ablaze—the future they had once dreamed of together.
There was nothing left in this world that she cherished.
That wonderful new world will surely be built, and it will be something she could never have imagined.
Lu Yunchu took the wine glass, smiled, and drank it all in one gulp.
Her consciousness rapidly dissipated, and in the last scene before she completely succumbed to eternal darkness, there was still Chu Qin's figure in red, like a raging fire, brilliant but fleeting.
It is better to have no betrothal gifts than to offer the entire country as a dowry.
It's such a pity that I didn't get to share a final drink with my old friends and make promises about the future together...
Qin'er, in the next life I don't want to be a little general anymore. Let's go together. There are places in this world higher than the beacon tower. We'll go far away. This time, I will definitely remember my original intention.
Go feel the northwest wind, with the most important people in my life: my mother, my aunt, my sister, you, and Aling…
In the final moments of her life, she finally understood her original intention, but she never had the chance to say it aloud.
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