AEOGA CH101

Ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Langcheng.

“…Reporting, Your Majesty! The Changli army is at our very walls, encamped just outside the city gates, holding them fast…” The chief eunuch trembled like a sieve. “Emperor Jinchao declared that if the Empress of Changli is not handed over by noon tomorrow, he will… will flatten the imperial palace…”

He paused, whispering timidly: “Your Majesty, please listen to a word of advice from your servant. No matter how peerless that Empress of Changli looks, he is ultimately a man, and his status is far too troublesome… You should just hand him over.”

Chaos had already engulfed the palace. Eunuchs and palace maids were packing up valuables to flee, while nobles and high-ranking officials of Langcheng were quietly slipping away one after another.

No one believed Yelang could win this war.

At the start of the conflict, no one in Yelang thought they could lose. Yet over the past two months, even a blind man could see that they had zero chance of defeating Changli.

Two months—a mere two months. The Changli army had fought all the way from the Wolong border to the capital of Langcheng, advancing like a hot knife through butter, unstoppable at every turn.

Faced with such absolute firepower, Yelang’s usual underhanded tricks were utterly useless. The weapon known as gunpowder was enough to strike terror into the heart of anyone who witnessed its power; they possessed no chance of turning the tide.

Yelang was renowned for its military prowess and had always believed no foreign enemy would dare invade its territory. Langcheng itself was considered an impenetrable fortress, yet who could have expected it to fall so rapidly? Had Changli not consistently granted time for civilians and surrendering soldiers to evacuate, that pace would have been even faster.

In truth, even without Changli’s swift advance, Yelang could no longer hold out. Short on rations, with morale shattered, the soldiers had long since lost their will to fight.

Failing in battle was secondary; Emperor Chongxing had completely lost the people’s support. Uprisings were breaking out across the land, with voices defying the tyrant growing louder by the day. Troubled by internal strife and foreign aggression, the nation’s foundation was already crumbling.

Now the entire world knew that Emperor Jinchao had suddenly gone mad, abandoning his initially calm and methodical style to launch an all-out offensive solely because Emperor Chongxing had abducted his Empress.

Emperor Jinchao was searching for his Empress everywhere. With every city he conquered, he posted portraits of the Empress throughout the streets, asking the populace if anyone had seen him, promising immense rewards for any leads.

Thanks to Xie Chongjin, the whole world now knew how breathtakingly beautiful Lu Xuechao was, making it little wonder that Emperor Jinchao had gone mad for him.

A beauty capable of driving a monarch to madness was usually bound to bear the reputation of bringing ruin upon a nation. Yet upon seeing that portrait, no one could bring themselves to think so.

It was a beauty capable of stirring the hearts of both men and women across Yelang—a divine image elevated beyond gender.

Rumors spread like wildfire among the populace, claiming that the Empress of Changli possessed such celestial grace that Emperor Chongxing had broken past the bounds of gender to fall for a man, keeping him hidden away in a golden house and refusing to let go, thereby igniting Emperor Jinchao’s wrath. The war between the two nations had shifted from a simple territorial dispute to a scandalous affair where two rulers fought over a peerless beauty…

Even within Yelang, numerous voices rose up to denounce Emperor Chongxing, condemning him for detaining the Empress of Changli for his own selfish desires, indulging in beauty without regard for the nation, and fiercely demanding that he return the Empress of Changli.

Emperor Chongxing felt as though he were taking the blame for a crime he never committed.

He had done plenty of wicked deeds, but he truly had nothing to do with this one! Before seeing that portrait, he hadn’t even known what Lu Xuechao looked like. How could he have coveted him, let alone detained him?!

With Emperor Jinchao posting portraits with such fanfare, Emperor Chongxing had naturally seen Lu Xuechao’s likeness as well. He admitted that even at his advanced age—having passed sixty while touching only women—he had briefly harbored a fleeting desire to claim him upon seeing the painting. After all, an emperor ought to possess all the finest things in the world, should he not?

However, this beauty’s identity was far too troublesome: he was the Empress of a foreign nation. If he could defeat Changli, taking him for his imperial harem after conquering them would be one thing, but he couldn’t win. The enemy was already at his nation’s gates.

Anyone with a brain would know better than to take on such trouble. Emperor Chongxing was a tyrant, but he was no fool; otherwise, he wouldn’t have built Yelang into such a formidable power. He would never touch such trouble, yet everyone now insisted he was the one hiding Lu Xuechao—even the old eunuch who had served him for decades was advising him to give him up!

Furious, Emperor Chongxing slammed his hand onto the dragon throne: “Bastard! You have served Us for decades; when have you ever seen Us favor a man? Only those disgusting fools in Changli indulge in such tastes! How could you believe such nonsense from the outside?”

The chief eunuch dropped to his knees in terror: “Your Majesty, spare my life!” Yet in his heart, he remained half-doubting.

His Majesty was naturally lustful, keeping three thousand beauties in his imperial harem. Having seen the Empress of Changli’s portrait himself, even he—a eunuch—felt his heart flutter. How could His Majesty remain unmoved…

Though each of the four nations had its own customs, when beauty reached such an absolute extreme, gender ceased to matter…

Dizzy with rage, Emperor Chongxing slumped back into the dragon throne, his face pale and defeated as he held his head.

It wasn’t that he felt no fear. Emperor Jinchao had issued an ultimatum; whether he would still be alive at this time tomorrow was entirely uncertain.

How had things turned out like this? It shouldn’t have been this way. It should have been him unifying the realm, his Yelang army surrounding the capital of Yujing, slaughtering the people of Changli, and forcing that green young emperor of Changli to take his own life for his fallen country…

That was the scene he had dreamt of countless times.

How had it been turned completely upside down?

Where on earth had things gone wrong?

…

Langcheng, City Gates.

The Changli army had set up camp outside the city, leaving the citizens inside in a state of panic.

The city gates were now guarded by the Changli army. They did not stop civilians from entering or leaving, though everyone passing through was subjected to strict inspection to prevent Emperor Chongxing from slipping out in disguise.

This was the enemy who, in his past life, had repeatedly destroyed his nation, slain his generals, and slaughtered his people.

Yet Xie Chongjin did not repay eye for eye. He did not want Yelang’s territory, nor did he execute surrendering soldiers or harm innocent civilians.

He only wanted to personally slay the mastermind behind it all.

Outside the city, a temporary camp stretched across the field.

Inside his tent sat Xie Chongjin, dark circles under his eyes and red veins filling his phoenix eyes—a clear sign that he had gone without sleep for a long time.

Qin Yulong lifted the curtain and entered, carrying a food container, his face full of concern: “Your Majesty… you should eat something and get some sleep. You haven’t touched a bite of food or a drop of water for days.”

Xie Chongjin closed his eyes, his voice raspy: “Have you still not found him?”

Qin Yulong lowered his head: “People have been dispatched to search with all their might. His Highness… will be alright.”

Xie Chongjin pulled at the corner of his lips: “I should never have let him go out alone.”

Qin Yulong tried to persuade him: “Your Majesty, His Highness repeatedly urged you to take good care of your health before. Please, eat at least a little.”

Xie Chongjin continued to mutter to himself: “How could I leave his side for even half a step?”

Qin Yulong started to speak, but hesitated. In the end, he simply set down the food container, let out a sigh, and walked out.

Outside the tent, Helian Xi saw Qin Yulong emerge and hurried over to ask: “How is he?”

“Still the same.” Qin Yulong shook his head. “Ever since His Highness went missing, His Majesty has been completely despondent, constantly blaming himself for failing to protect His Highness.”

Unlike the madness imagined by the outside world, His Majesty had not fallen into hysterical grief. He was even calm to the point of cold precision when discussing battle strategies and making offensive decisions with the generals.

Yet whenever he was alone in his tent, he would stare blankly for long stretches, refusing food and drink, muttering to himself as if he had lost his soul—a quiet, silent collapse.

Watching him like this filled them with deep anxiety.

They were equally worried about Lu Xuechao’s disappearance. But seeing Xie Chongjin’s reaction made them truly realize just how important Lu Xuechao was to him—a weight no one else could ever match.

Xie Chongjin was a fair, upright, and compassionate ruler who loved his people and cared for his nation. Yet if there were a scale in his heart, with the immense weight of the entire realm and its people on one side, and merely the name ‘Lu Xuechao’ on the other, the balance would likely tip toward Lu Xuechao.

He was the person Xie Chongjin owed the most, and the one he could never afford to lose again.

In truth, Xie Chongjin knew Lu Xuechao was not in Emperor Chongxing’s hands.

The soldiers sent to protect Lu Xuechao that day had been knocked unconscious by Wu Feng. Because Wu Feng had struck too quickly, they couldn’t explain what had happened. Upon waking and searching for Lu Xuechao in vain, they happened upon troops sent by the Yelang court passing nearby. They frantically rushed back to report, stating that the Empress might have been captured by Emperor Chongxing’s men.

While everyone else panicked, Xie Chongjin was surprisingly calm at that moment, merely stating coldly: “Failing to protect the Empress is your dereliction of duty. Go receive twenty strokes of the military cane each.”

The soldiers were consumed with guilt. Failing to protect the Empress was practically a capital offense; His Majesty was being far too merciful.

Some even wondered if His Majesty didn’t care all that much about His Highness, considering his reaction seemed a bit too serene.

That was until the offending soldiers were receiving their strokes. Xie Chongjin was observing the punishment when he suddenly called a halt halfway through: “Forget it, what fault is it of theirs? Protecting him was My duty. Failing to protect him means the one who deserves to die ten thousand times over is Me.”

That statement terrified everyone to their core. His Majesty wasn’t calm at all—he had gone completely mad!

Xie Chongjin did not think himself mad. That very night, he convened a meeting and devised a series of siege plans utilizing gunpowder.

Yet Emperor Chongxing offered no response whatsoever.

To be precise, because he was stunned by Changli’s secret weapon and completely baffled by having a crime he hadn’t committed pinned on him, he was left entirely speechless.

Once Xie Chongjin’s anger cooled, he thought it through carefully: Emperor Chongxing was hardly a man of spine; there was no reason for him to remain composed after Xie Chongjin had unleashed his ultimate trump card.

This could only mean Qingshu was not in his hands.

If Qingshu wasn’t in Emperor Chongxing’s hands, where was he?

Xie Chongjin dispatched men back to search again, but many days had already passed, yielding not a single shred of news.

He did not yet possess total power in Yelang, so searching for a single person was like looking for a needle in an ocean.

He could only capture city after city, posting portrait after portrait, enlisting the people of the world to help search.

Still, there was no word.

He didn’t know where Qingshu was at this moment, whether he was safe and sound, or if he was eating and sleeping well. Qingshu was alone in a foreign land; without him by his side, how could he possibly rest his heart?

Scenes from his past life surfaced before him—whenever he failed to guard Qingshu properly, Qingshu would wither away again and again… The nightmare tortured Xie Chongjin so intensely that he couldn’t sleep at night, left utterly exhausted in body and mind.

The string called reason was on the verge of snapping; he could not endure another breakdown.

Unless Lu Xuechao appeared immediately, no one could untie the knot in Xie Chongjin’s heart. Though Qin Yulong worried deeply for His Majesty’s mental state, he was powerless to help.

“I’ll go check near the city gates,” Qin Yulong said as he walked out of the camp. “His Majesty only permits common civilians to leave the city, yet plenty of cowardly nobles are disguising themselves as commoners to slip through.”

…

The city gates of Langcheng were built tall and grand, yet they could not withstand merciless artillery fire.

Before Changli even fired a shot, Yelang’s gate guards surrendered without a fight. Wise men adapted to the times; the man in the palace was hardly worth protecting with their lives, so why throw them away for him?

The soldiers now guarding the city gates wore Changli armor, inspecting passersby entering and leaving. Anyone suspicious was stopped and questioned.

A carriage ambled forward, coming to a halt as the driver looked at the long queue forming at the city gates. Turning back, he said: “Young master, we’ve arrived at Langcheng. The Changli army is conducting inspections up ahead, so I don’t dare go any closer. You may step down here.”

After a moment, a young man in white wearing a veiled bamboo hat lifted the curtain and paid the fare: “Thank you.”

Approaching the city gates, he saw a portrait posted on the wall—it was none other than himself.

Lu Xuechao let out a soft sigh: “He really has gone driven mad with anxiety…”

Along his journey to Langcheng, he had heard that Huaiyun was posting portraits everywhere to find him. However, in order to reach Langcheng as quickly as possible, he had taken a completely different route from the Changli army, missing them entirely. Furthermore, because traveling alone during turbulent times was dangerous and his face was far too eye-catching, he had kept his face covered with a veiled hat; thus, even if people passed him, they wouldn’t know he was the person Emperor Jinchao was searching for.

Lu Xuechao stood before the portrait for a long time, naturally drawing the attention of the gate guards.

Most refugees fleeing the war wore coarse cloth and carried grime on their faces. Though this person bore the weariness of a long journey, his white robe was spotless, making him stand out like a crane among a flock of chickens.

To wear a bamboo hat to hide his face made him especially suspicious.

A soldier stepped forward two paces and asked: “Have you seen the person on the portrait?”

Lu Xuechao nodded.

I’ve seen him; he’s me.

The soldier’s eyes lit up, though a trace of doubt remained. It wasn’t as if people hadn’t made up fake clues over the past days just to claim the reward money, and they didn’t dare bring just anyone before His Majesty.

Just as he was about to press for details, a voice called out: “What’s going on?”

The soldier looked up and hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting: “General Qin.”

From afar, Qin Yulong had seen Lu Xuechao bypass the line and walk straight to the front. Without thinking, he said: “Go queue up at the back.”

Before his words fully settled, Lu Xuechao reached up and lifted his veil.

Qin Yulong: “…”

–

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Look who’s here!” Qin Yulong rushed back into the military camp at top speed, his voice so loud the entire camp could hear it.

Xie Chongjin looked up, meeting the familiar vision in white, unable to tear his eyes away.

Qin Yulong tactfully retreated, even instructing everyone not to disturb them.

Xie Chongjin stared at Lu Xuechao for a long time, as if gazing at an illusion.

It was only when Lu Xuechao spoke: “What? We have been together for twenty years, yet after being apart for barely a month, you no longer recognize me?”

“If Huaiyun acts like this, it will break my heart.”

Only then did Xie Chongjin snap out of his daze. Rising to his feet, he took large strides forward, carefully examining Lu Xuechao up and down before suddenly wrapping his arms tightly around him, remaining silent.

Feeling Xie Chongjin’s trembling breath, Lu Xuechao gently patted his back: “I am back, safe and sound.”

Only after a long moment did Xie Chongjin open his mouth: “Qingshu, where did you go?”

“If I couldn’t find you any longer, I would have lost my mind.”

This was Xie Chongjin’s deepest terror.

Xie Chongjin could not accept that the person who had been by his side since childhood, inseparable from him, might one day suddenly leave him, lost forever in the high heavens or deep underworld, nowhere to be found.

Once Xie Chongjin had calmed down slightly, Lu Xuechao kept his explanation brief.

He spoke lightheartedly, merely saying that after encountering Wu Feng, he managed to turn the tables and kill him, and figuring that Xie Chongjin would eventually head for Langcheng, he rushed here all the way.

Listening to him, Xie Chongjin felt his heart leap into his throat, unable to imagine how many perils were involved. Setting aside the fact that Qingshu possessed no martial arts skills, making his turnabout against Wu Feng a narrow escape from the jaws of death, Jiangming City was thousands of miles away from here; how had Qingshu managed to reach Langcheng all by himself in the midst of war?

Qingshu had never traveled far on his own. In his past life, he had been trapped in the deep palace, and even when he traveled, he had always accompanied him.

“Never again,” Xie Chongjin said rasply. “This is the last time. I truly… would be scared out of my mind.”

“But am I not perfectly fine?” Lu Xuechao looked at him. “Huaiyun, don’t be afraid.”

“You don’t need to worry about losing me. I know you’ve lost me many times before, which is why you’re so terrified. But this time is different.”

“I will cross mountains and rivers, traveling thousands of miles to find you. You won’t be able to lose me.”