"Report! The provisions are ready."
"Report! The city gate is repaired."
"Report! The scouts have returned."
Messenger after messenger lined up outside the main hall of the Murong residence. Inside, Murong Jin stood before a massive map, seemingly deaf to the noise.
"General?" A lieutenant stepped forward, trying to get her attention.
"Shh." Yi waved him back.
"Follow Xue Liulan's previous orders. Everyone to their posts," Murong Jin said without turning. "Yi, what news from the scouts?"
Yi took the report from the soldier, scanned it, and let out a breath he had been holding for days.
"Zhen sent word. General Murong and Zuo Xunxiao are not in Turkic hands."
"Oh?" Murong Jin spun around, her eyes bright and clear, fully recovered from the poison. "Any word on their location?"
"Not yet. Zhen has split the Vermilion Bird Camp into squads to track them."
She nodded. "Everyone back to your posts. No mistakes. Violators will be executed."
"Yes, General!" The officers bowed and left.
As the room emptied, the tension drained from her shoulders. She sank into a chair, looking at Yi.
"It's been a month. If we don't find them soon, the Turks might get to them first."
"From the looks of it, the General and Zuo are constantly moving. If we can't find them, the Turks probably can't either," Yi said with a reassuring smile. "But you… ever since Xue Liulan went back to Jindu, you've been distracted."
She smiled faintly, her gaze drifting out the window.
Five days after their arrival in Wuchuan, just as her sight returned, Yi and the Vermilion Bird Camp had arrived with the troops from Chengguan. And a message from Li Yan.
"Guo Shangzhong is planning a coup?" She had stared at Yi in disbelief.
"That's what the messenger said." Yi had handed a letter to Xue Liulan. "From Li Yan, personally."
Xue Liulan had read it, frowned, and said nothing.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
He had turned to Zhen. "Are the troops settled?"
"Yes. Wuchuan is empty. Housing thirty thousand men is easy." Zhen patted her shoulder, then bowed to Xue Liulan. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xue Liulan smiled. "She is my wife. It is my duty."
Murong Jin had beamed at him. Zhen and Yi exchanged a look. For a prince to risk his life for her… it was enough.
"We'll leave you then. We need to restore the city's defenses."
Xue Liulan had taken a map from the wall and handed it to Zhen. "This is the plan Murong Jin and I discussed. Follow it. Jindu will know the Chengguan troops have moved. Supplies should arrive in a few days."
"Yes." Zhen realized then that Xue Liulan had planned everything before they even left the capital.
Left alone, Xue Liulan had fallen into a deep silence.
"You have to go back," she said softly.
"Hm?" He snapped out of it. "Siyou is still in Jindu. Guo Shangzhong won't dare act recklessly."
She sighed, crouching before him and taking his hands. "If Fourth Brother alone was enough, Li Yan wouldn't have written to you. Go back."
"War is coming. I can't leave you here alone." He shook his head. "I told you. Before we married, your life was your own. But now, I won't let you face danger alone."
"I know." She squeezed his hands. "But if you don't go back, I can't rest easy about Jindu."
He stared at their joined hands.
"Go. I've fought countless battles here. I'll be fine."
He shook his head slowly.
"Xue Liulan! If Jindu falls, even if we win here and you rush back, it will be too late!" She was frantic. She couldn't let him sacrifice his life's work for her.
He stood, pulling her up with him.
"Even with thousands of soldiers outside, I can't leave you." He sighed, the worry etching deep lines on his face. "I'll find another way."
That evening, she went to find Yi.
"Sister Jin?"
"Yi, do you know who brought the message from Chengguan?"
"If I recall correctly, it was one of Li Yan's personal aides. Why? Do you think it's fake?"
"No." She shook her head. Li Yan was cautious. He wouldn't send a trusted aide unless it was critical.
She turned and left, leaving Yi confused.
Back in her room, she searched Xue Liulan's robes and found the letter.
The Emperor has been absent from court for a month. Rumors from the south say he is dead. Most officials are petitioning to crown the little prince. The Fourth Prince is holding them back, but rumors are spreading that he intends to seize the throne himself. I beg Your Majesty to return quickly.
She read it word for word, her heart growing cold. Xue Zhuoran couldn't interfere directly, especially with Qi'er in his care. If someone accused him of usurpation, the mob would follow.
So, Guo Shangzhong had provoked the war to lure her out. Xue Liulan had followed. She was the bait to remove the Emperor from the capital. The target had always been him.
A warmth settled on her shoulders. A cloak.
She turned. Xue Liulan stood there, looking at the letter in her hand.
"It's cold. Come inside." He took the letter and led her in.
He stood by the window, watching the moon.
"Jindu is in crisis. If you don't go back, Guo Shangzhong wins." She walked to him. "I told you, I don't want to be a burden."
"You aren't." He looked at her pale face. "Sleep. It's late."
"Go back tomorrow." She grabbed his arm. "You can't think of another way, can you? That's why you can't sleep."
His silence was an admission. He had no other way. But he couldn't leave. The thirty thousand troops might not hold. He couldn't leave her to die.
"Xue Liulan, I am the General of Wuchuan. I earned my title in blood. I have faced worse odds than this. Trust me. I will return to Jindu safely."
He looked at her. Her eyes shone like moonlight. In that moment, he saw his mother. The women of the Murong family were all the same. Regardless of danger, they would walk through fire for the ones they loved.
"If I don't return… take Qi'er and leave Jindu," he said finally, his voice heavy.
"What?" She grabbed his arm. "What do you mean?"
Then she understood. If Guo Shangzhong's target was him, the road back would be even more dangerous than the road here.
"I'll send the Vermilion Bird Camp with you."
"Murong Jin." He pulled her into his arms. "If you send them away, I will worry even more."
"But the road back is a trap."
"You asked me to trust that you would return safely. Why can't you trust that I will be waiting for you in Jindu?" He smiled gently, kissing her forehead.
That night, he left.
The next morning, she stood alone in the hall, issuing orders.
"Xue Liulan has taken a squad of the Vermilion Bird Camp as scouts. The rest of you, repair the defenses. Prepare for the enemy."
"Sister Jin? Sister Jin?" Yi's voice pulled her back.
She blinked. "What is it?"
"A new report from the front." He handed her the letter, concern in his eyes.
She read it, then crumpled the paper in her fist. "Summon the lieutenants. Council of war in half an hour."
"What happened?"
"The Turks know the situation in Wuchuan. They are gathering their main army. In three days, they will attack."