"General! General, are you there? General—"
"General, where are you? General, please say something!"
Xi pushed aside the corpses covering her and slowly crawled out of the pile of dead bodies.
This winter in the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Chaotian of the Great Kang Dynasty was exceptionally cold. With only half a month left until the New Year, there was not a trace of celebration among the people in Chiyang City, which was frequently ravaged by war.
Thirty miles outside the city, in a canyon, a fierce battle had just taken place. Countless corpses lay scattered about, with broken halberds and shattered swords stuck in their places, a gruesome sight.
The cold wind howled, freezing the blood and snow into a stiff mass. The soldiers who came to search carried torches and took difficult steps, desperately looking for the shadow of the person they were looking for among the corpses scattered on the ground.
Suddenly, upon seeing the sun ahead, the soldiers were overjoyed and hurriedly dragged the medic along, exclaiming, "General! Thank goodness, you're still alive!"
Without saying a word, they treated his wounds while hurriedly calling for people to lift him onto a stretcher, "Quick, let's get back to the city!"
Xi frowned, dodged their outstretched hands, and stood up by pushing herself up: "I'm fine, let's go."
His body was covered in flowing blood and countless knife and arrow wounds. If it were any ordinary person, they would have died from infection by now.
But now, what resides in this body is his soul.
Ignoring the surprised and worried soldiers behind her, Xi casually brushed the bloodstains and dust off her armor, strode forward, and mounted her horse.
Despite the numerous physical injuries, his brain function remained sharp, and he quickly read through the body's memories.
This is a general who has just died on the battlefield, named Xi Chenzhou.
This world is a dynasty of mortals. A-Tong's remnant soul was reincarnated as a young empress who has been on the throne for seven years and is only fifteen years old this year.
The late emperor passed away early, leaving behind only this legitimate princess. The princes of the imperial clan did not take the empress seriously and fought amongst themselves for the throne, but they all died.
By the time the court officials came to their senses, only one princess remained in the royal family! Not to mention the princes and grandsons, even the empress dowager and imperial concubines had all perished in the power struggle.
Although there was no precedent for a woman to ascend the throne, the court officials had no other choice but to send the young princess to the throne due to mutual restraint.
This is a precarious location, like walking on a knife's edge, with predators lurking everywhere.
The empress ascended the throne at a young age and had no parents to care for her. Now she is struggling to survive amidst the power struggle between the eunuchs and the court officials. As a puppet empress, she has no right to freedom at all.
According to the custom of the Great Kang Dynasty, the young emperor should personally lead an expedition at the age of eighteen, but how could the eunuchs and court officials truly allow her to be involved in politics? Now, both sides have reached a consensus:
The empress should marry soon, give birth to an heir, abdicate in favor of the infant prince, and then go to the cold palace or a temporary palace to fend for herself.
After all, a teenage empress is far less controllable than an infant!
Eunuchs were closest to the palace and were the easiest group to target.
To achieve their goal, they would put something unsavory in the Queen's wine at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet next autumn, and while she was drunk, they would then push several prepared male servants and lovers into the Queen's bedchamber.
—As for the Empress's own wishes?
Who cares about those useless things!
Xi crushed the sheath of the horsewhip in her hand with a snap.
"What audacity!"
The soldier looked up in terror: "General? What did you say...?"
“I said,” his eyes flashed with a cold, sinister light, “they dared to lay a hand on my people, they’re asking for it!”
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