Just a few days after her birth, Tuan had transformed from a little red, wrinkled baby into a plump and fair-skinned infant. She was a very quiet baby, sleeping as soon as she was full. Now, hearing Gu Mingliu murmur the name "Tuan," the little one seemed to sense it and smiled in her sleep, the corners of her mouth curling upwards.
"Mingzhu, she likes the name Tuan."
Gu Mingzhu struggled to suppress her tight lips, forcing a difficult smile onto her face. "Little Tuan, may you have a happy and complete family."
In the end, Gu Mingzhu couldn't hold back and ran outside.
She had made up her mind: if her brother-in-law truly abandoned her elder sister like this...
She would find a new husband for her elder sister and then let Tuan take another man's surname!
After all, it wasn't uncommon in Great Qi for widowed women to remarry.
Wiping away her tears, Gu Mingzhu thought fiercely to herself.
If her brother-in-law truly cared for his wife and child, even if he had to fight the King of Hell at the gates of the underworld, he should beat him up and come back alive.
...
Elsewhere, outside the palace of Great Yue.
Gu Zheng had found skilled craftsmen among the military ranks and had Prince Rui hoisted up. The height was just right for him to face the people on the palace wall.
When the soldier guarding the wall came face-to-face with the captured Prince Rui,
his legs trembled with fear.
Good heavens, why was Prince Rui dangling right in front of him?
"Listen up, you on the wall! If you don't want your Prince Rui to lose his head, tell Emperor Mingde to open the palace gates and welcome our Great Qi's mighty army inside."
Gu Zheng followed the example set just last month when Prince Rui had grabbed Song Yanzheng to shout threats. The imitation made Prince Rui's face flush red with anger.
"Prince Rui, care to share some last words?"
Song Yu's voice rang out, but only his voice was heard, not the man himself.
Hidden archers had been aiming for a while, but seeing Song Yu completely shielded by six protective shields, they could only twitch their lips in frustration.
What was there to aim at?
Behind the shields, Song Yu grinned widely. A'huan had instructed that as long as three people moved together, each holding one shield high and one low, guarding the front, left, and right, those archers would be rendered useless.
"If you don't speak now, you'll never get another chance."
"I'll speak!" Prince Rui's voice cracked with desperation. "Go quickly and tell my father to save me! I am a prince of Great Yue, you cannot just watch me die!"
As soon as he finished, the Great Qi soldiers burst into loud laughter.
Their laughter was full of mockery, making the Great Yue soldiers blush with shame.
Although the Great Qi Crown Prince's eldest son also had a notorious record, compared to this spineless Prince Rui, he was practically a general among dwarfs.
A few moments later, an arrow shot towards Prince Rui, killing him instantly.
The archer was none other than Great Yue's Second Prince, King Duan, who declared, "By the Emperor's order, defend the palace to the death."
Song Shihuan narrowed her eyes, watching King Duan on the city wall.
Gu Zheng spoke slowly, "This man is shallow and cannot bear provocation."
Remembering Gu Zheng's earlier assessment of Prince Rui, Song Shihuan and Song Yu exchanged a glance, feeling assured. This battle was as good as won.
"You have seized so many of Great Yue's cities in such a short time. Aren't you afraid of a backlash from the people?" King Duan, who had somehow acquired a torch, continued, "When civil unrest erupts, all of you will be trapped here in Great Yue, giving the surrounding nations a chance to attack you."
"If you are willing to negotiate peace with Great Yue, I will not light this signal beacon."
Once the beacon was lit, it would be an urgent summons from the sovereign, calling all military forces, including militia, to come to the emperor's aid.
"King Duan, is it?"
"Go ahead and light it. If you don't light it today, you're my grandson."
Song Yu extended a single finger from behind the shields, gave an extremely sarcastic waggle, and retracted it at lightning speed.
He almost had an intimate encounter with an arrow shot from Great Yue.
Song Yu's heart was pounding with fear, but he mustered all his courage. "Scared now? Call me Grandpa."
"Open the gates for your Grandpa, good grandson."
The signal beacon was lit, the sudden surge of heat into the sky momentarily stunning King Duan.
Why had he lit it?
His father had specifically instructed him to use this as leverage to negotiate carefully with Great Qi.
Down below the wall, Song Yu swaggered back to safety:
"A'huan, I performed quite well today, didn't I?"
He, the illustrious Crown Prince of Great Qi, had finally found his moment to shine!
...
"It's time for us to take the stage."
Due to the war, the people of Great Yue were hiding in villages. A group of strong laborers specifically sought out villages with the most refugees. Dressed in tattered clothes, their eyes were already seven-tenths red before they even began to speak.
"We were captured to dig tunnels as forced laborers."
"We dug day and night, beaten if we worked even slightly slower."
"It was Young Master Yu Fan who risked his life to save us..."
Mentioning Yu Fan, who was still bedridden and hanging onto life, a group of grown men had reddened eyes. "Fellow villagers, the Great Yue royal family does not care about us at all. The people of Great Qi live in peace and prosperity under a wise ruler. We should also abandon the darkness for the light..."
The laborers spoke with such heartfelt tears that the effect was astonishingly good.
Inside the command tent.
"Commander, the news about the laborers is spreading faster than anticipated. Not a single relief force has been sighted yet."
As soon as Gu Zheng's voice fell, Li Laoba burst into laughter. "The villagers convinced by the laborers are spontaneously spreading out. Whenever they encounter troops, they start telling the story. According to scouts, seven waves of troops have already been persuaded to turn back."
"Those retreating troops then carried the message to other places. The effect is superb."
At this point, Li Laoba couldn't help but glance at Song Shihuan.
So that was why the Commander had the Crown Prince provoke King Duan into lighting the beacon.
Turns out she was using King Duan as their unpaid laborer.
"Now Great Yue has lost the hearts of its people and is at the end of its strength," Song Shihuan said slowly. "At dawn tomorrow, we storm the palace."
Seeing the excited expressions on the soldiers' faces, Song Shihuan paused:
"Let me be perfectly clear. After taking the palace, there will be no acts of defilement, especially towards the consorts and princesses."
Military texts also record that in ancient times, after King Cheng conquered Zhao, he defiled the wives and daughters of the King of Zhao, completely losing the people's support.
Sometimes, in the heat of battle, after victory, impulsive actions are hard to avoid.
"Commander, rest assured. Great Qi's military discipline is strict."
At dawn the next day, war drums once again shook the heavens.
Great Qi's final battle was fought just as brilliantly. Emperor Mingde, sitting withered on his dragon throne, still hadn't figured out why not a single relief force had come for Great Yue, even as he was surrounded.
All the princes and princesses were herded into an open square. The imperial consorts wept softly, unsure whether they were crying for their own uncertain futures or for the impending fall of Great Yue.
The Prime Minister, Cheng Guang, held a vial filled with poison in his hand. Looking at Gu Zheng before him, Cheng Guang laughed foolishly.
So, in the end, he still hadn't been able to best the Gu family.
"A'huan."
Song Yu suddenly spoke. Song Shihuan turned to look at him.
She saw his eyes shining like stars:
"We've won. A complete victory."
