The capital, Zichen Hall.
Emperor Yuanyou was in a rare good mood and felt like chatting with Master Qingshan.
But when he saw Master Qingshan, Emperor Yuanyou's heart gave a frightened jolt. "It's only been a few days. How has your complexion worsened so much?"
Master Qingshan merely waved a hand. "For this old body of mine, having the chance to see Ahuan again is already a great fortune. As for anything else... I seek nothing more."
Emperor Yuanyou fell silent. Of those who had been to the Tianshan Mountains and returned alive, only this old man before him remained.
"Later, I'll have Mei Zhilin come to examine your pulse," Emperor Yuanyou said, still somewhat uneasy.
"The Mystic Physician from the Qingyun Sect has already seen me. There's no need to trouble him."
The Mystic Physician of the Qingyun Sect was not only highly skilled in medicine but also proficient in fortune-telling.
Seeing this, Emperor Yuanyou did not insist further and changed the subject. "My worthless, rebellious son has finally done one decent thing. Otherwise, I was considering not letting him keep the surname Song."
He handed a memorial over to Master Qingshan. After reading it, Master Qingshan smiled. "Good. Leaving behind a brother to rule a fiefdom will prevent the Crown Prince and the Princess from being labeled cold-blooded and ruthless in the future."
"You!"
Emperor Yuanyou rolled his eyes. Couldn't this man speak a little less directly?
Master Qingshan carefully read the strategy for attacking the Northern Di written in the memorial and nodded after finishing. "The Northern Di are finished."
"I'll take that as your auspicious words."
"The young lady I personally taught knows best what kind of tactics are most effective."
A flicker of interest passed through Emperor Yuanyou's eyes. "What was Ahuan like... when she was little?"
He very much wanted to know.
"Obedient to the point of being heartbreaking, and intelligent to the point of being startling."
A trace of reminiscence also appeared in Master Qingshan's eyes.
"She recognized characters at three, could discern the crux of problems at four, and had a nearly photographic memory for books she read. Emperor of Great Qi, if such a child were in your arms, you too would pour all your efforts into nurturing her."
That's why Master Qingshan had imparted everything he knew to her without reservation.
"Ahuan was far more intelligent than her peers, yet she never grew arrogant because of it. Instead, she helped others within her power and was filial to her elders. She could remember every one of my habits and preferences, so no matter how much I gave her, it was never too much."
Emperor Yuanyou opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed his words.
Then, Master Qingshan spoke again, "Yet it was precisely this child who, at her own birthday banquet, was despised and called a jinx by her own birth parents."
Afterward, Master Qingshan murmured softly, as if talking to himself:
"You know, I've always felt I shouldn't be this calm about it."
Master Qingshan staggered to his feet and walked towards the hall's exit. After waking up, he had clung stubbornly to life just to see Ahuan. Now that he was sure Ahuan was safe and sound, he could feel the flow of his life ebbing away even more clearly.
That's why he had shamelessly stayed on in Great Qi.
Outside the hall, Master Qingshan saw Shen Qingping, who was waiting for an audience with Emperor Yuanyou.
"Master Qingshan."
"This old man was just thinking of looking for you."
Master Qingshan looked at Shen Qingping, then pulled out a small booklet from his sleeve.
"Your constitution once suffered a depletion, affecting your lifespan. Recently, I specially wrote a set of fist techniques for you. Practice them once every day, and I guarantee you'll live to a hundred."
Shen Qingping rarely showed an expression of being overwhelmed by favor.
A fist technique personally written by Master Qingshan would be fiercely sought after anywhere in the world.
"This..." He was somewhat at a loss for how to thank Master Qingshan.
"If you were willing to go to the Qingyun Sect, the Mystic Physician could cure your ailment with a single dose of medicine. But you refuse to go, so this old man can only do this," Master Qingshan said, looking at Shen Qingping with the expression of one regarding an unreliable junior.
"Remember to practice. If there are any movements you don't understand, go ask your little disciple."
Watching Master Qingshan's retreating back, Shen Qingping smiled wordlessly. So it was thanks to the Princess that he had obtained this fist technique manual.
Shen Qingping carefully tucked the booklet into his chest and proceeded into Zichen Hall.
......
The Northern Frontier.
"Princess, the Northern Di are cunning and skilled in horseback archery. Wiping them out completely won't be easy."
Gu Zheng gazed at the endless desert to the north, somewhat troubled.
"We need to force them into a corner, force them out to engage our army in a frontal battle."
Song Shihuan spoke slowly. The reason for Great Qi's great victory in the first battle was precisely because of the frontal engagement, which curbed the Northern Di's advantages and amplified Great Qi's.
"It seems the Princess already has a brilliant plan."
Yu Fan spoke with a smile, the edges of his features seeming even sharper. Fighting a victorious battle in his homeland brought Yu Fan an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
"Use regular troops to drive them, and surprise troops to block their retreat."
"Deploy all our soldiers, spreading them out to search inch by inch. Once Northern Di traces are found, have the cavalry, traveling light, block their escape routes."
Gu Zheng couldn't help but stand up. "Does the Princess intend to eliminate the Northern Di piece by piece?"
"Aren't the Northern Di currently fleeing in scattered pieces?"
Song Shihuan answered his question with one of her own, making Gu Zheng's eyes suddenly brighten.
Even though what the Princess described was a familiar tactic from military texts, the way she applied it always managed to pleasantly surprise them.
"This kind of warfare is usually a protracted one, but I want the Northern Di completely annihilated within a month."
"We guarantee completion of the mission!"
As he was leaving, Gu Mingning couldn't help but take another look at Song Shihuan.
Now he understood why his father and Yu Fan held the Princess in such high esteem, having witnessed it firsthand.
The Princess truly was like the bright moon in the sky, radiant and dazzling.
......
The soldiers, having been pent up in the Northern Frontier for years, already harbored pent-up frustration.
Now, fully deployed across the former Northern Di territory, everyone fought like madmen. Whenever they spotted traces of the Northern Di, they would find a way to eliminate them no matter what.
They weren't willing to let a single Northern Di person escape.
And so, with three days still left before the month's deadline, Gu Mingning dragged Lang Qing before Song Shihuan.
Gu Mingning had jogged the whole way and was still slightly out of breath as he came to a stop.
The young man in his early twenties had bloodstains all over his armor, and several smudges of grime on his face. He looked utterly disheveled, yet he still smiled, revealing a row of white teeth.
His raised eyebrows seemed to be seeking credit on behalf of their owner.
"We have not failed the Princess's expectations. Lang Qing has been captured alive."
Lang Qing was in an even more wretched state, his thigh bandaged, clearly wounded by a weapon.
Song Shihuan stared at Lang Qing for a while.
Before she could speak, an urgent voice rang out from behind. Prince Qi was carried over on a stretcher.
"Lang Qing, you dog! You've finally fallen into this prince's hands!"
This prince...
Something seemed to shatter in Lang Qing's eyes.
"Lark, weren't you just an ordinary Great Qi soldier?"
A cowardly, ordinary soldier.
"Bah!"
Prince Qi was furious, forgetting all decorum as he spat several times in Lang Qing's direction.
"This prince is no Lark!"
"This prince is the Prince Qi of Great Qi!"
