Chapter 198: "You See Us, Yet You Do Not Kneel?

"Don’t you dare retreat! Don’t retreat!"

"Charge for me! Charge!"

Watching his soldiers drop their weapons one by one, King Huainan broke into a sweat. He was so frantic he nearly bit through his own teeth as he spoke.

"She only has ten thousand soldiers! What is there to be afraid of?"

"After we succeed, I will reward you all based on your merits! You’ll be promoted and ennobled! Now pick up your weapons! Pick them up!"

King Huainan ran back and forth in a frenzy, wishing he could personally shove everyone into battle. But they just stood there, frozen. Furious, he drew his saber and cut down the man beside him.

He roared, "Pick up your weapons for me, or you’ll share his fate!"

King Huainan was so frantic he felt like his head was on fire. From the mountaintop, Prince Jing righteously rebuked him. "A just cause finds many allies, while an unjust one finds few! Xiao De, you defy the will of Heaven, plunging the people and soldiers into misery. Your crimes are heinous and unforgivable! Surrender now, and we will grant you the mercy of an intact corpse!"

"Shut your mouth! Shut your mouth!"

King Huainan whipped his head around so fast that his hair crown fell off. He couldn’t care less about his appearance; all he wanted was to curse. "Xiao Xuan, you coward! You incompetent fool! You’re worthless! A supposed man of standing, yet you don’t even dare to fight for the throne! Instead, you kneel before a little slip of a girl, wagging your tail and begging for scraps! You bring shame upon all the men of the Xiao Family! What right do you have to lecture me, you useless piece of trash..."

Prince Jing was furious. ’Hold on,’ he thought. ’We’re discussing a matter of national importance, a rebellion! Why is he making it personal?!’

Prince Jing was so angry he was fuming. The more he thought about it, the more incensed he became, and he let loose a torrent of abuse. "Xiao De, you idiot! So you’re not useless, huh? If you’re not useless, why’d you go looking for a miracle doctor to treat your impotence? You’re not even a damn man! You’re a eunuch!"

"What would you even do with the throne? You’re about to go extinct, and you’re still fighting for it? Just so you can pass it on to some bastard from who-knows-where!"

King Huainan did indeed suffer from certain... masculine afflictions. After a youth of wild indulgence, he found himself lacking vigor in his old age. This was just a minor detail Mu Yunlian had unearthed while investigating the king.

But as everyone knows, gossip about a man’s performance draws far more interest than official news. When Prince Jing had first read about it, his spirits had lifted instantly, and he had even made a few jokes.

Many days had passed, and he’d nearly forgotten about it. But King Huainan just had to provoke him of all people. Well, now he’d done it.

’King Huainan called him useless, so he’d drag King Huainan’s reputation through the mud. Let’s see who’s more humiliated.’

A burst of laughter erupted from somewhere, quickly growing louder and accompanied by a rising murmur of chatter.

King Huainan’s men didn’t quite dare to laugh, but the Empress’s forces had no such fear. Their laughter was uproarious.

King Huainan’s face flushed with blood, his entire being turning red with fury.

"Xiao Xuan, you slander me! You’ve gone too far! Too far!" So infuriated by the humiliation, he lost all reason.

"Kill him for me! Kill him!"

Furious, King Huainan spurred his horse forward, intending to charge. He disregarded everything in his single-minded desire to take Prince Jing’s life. Even his two most trusted aides couldn’t hold him back.

King Huainan charged to the front lines as he wished. But before he could even shout a challenge, a woman’s voice, tinged with amusement, called out, "King Huainan."

On a protruding rock in the middle of the mountain path stood a beautiful, noble woman clad in a fox-fur cloak. She held a longbow at full draw, its arrow pointed directly at him.

Her expression was bold, defiant, and majestic, radiating an endless killing intent. "You lay eyes upon me, and still you do not kneel?"

King Huainan looked down. All he could see was the short fletching of an arrow; the rest was buried in his chest.

His body swayed, and with a THUD, he fell to the ground, never to rise again.

"Prince... Prince..."

With King Huainan dead, his army fell into disarray. Half of them fled, and the other half surrendered.

SPIT—

On a deserted mountain path, Su Wu spat a mouthful of blood, nearly falling from his horse.

"Sir!"

Yan’er’s face was a mask of anxiety. "Sir, please hold on! We’ll find a doctor soon."

Su Wu gripped the reins, forcing himself to stay upright.

However, when he reached their safe house, even more terrible news awaited him.

King Huainan’s fiefdom had been seized. The Huainan Prince Mansion, along with the governors and officials of two provinces, had all been captured. Seeing how the tides had turned, King Guangchuan had taken his men and fled.

And the final, seemingly less shocking piece of news: his explosives workshop had blown up, and a fire had burned everything to the ground.

SPIT—

Su Wu coughed up blood and passed out completely.

"Sir."

Su Wu awoke to a violent rocking. He was lying in a fast-moving carriage, and the constant jolting was making him sick.

"Where are we going?"

Yan’er was still the one looking after him in the carriage.

Yan’er, who had been staring outside, immediately turned her head at the sound of his voice. "Sir! Oh, thank goodness, you’re finally awake."

She was relieved, but her voice was laced with anxiety. "We’re heading to Huayang City. The Empress has people hunting us, so we can’t afford to stop."

No sooner had the words left Yan’er’s mouth than the sound of galloping hooves reached them. The guard driving the carriage immediately pulled the reins.

Yan’er poked her head out to look, and her face went deathly pale. "Sir... we’re surrounded..."

The one leading the soldiers was Xiao Ziling. She had them surround the carriage but not attack. Her gaze was cold and merciless as she looked at it. "Mr. Su, Her Majesty has invited you."

Su Wu took a deep breath. Knowing he had no choice, he answered calmly, "Very well."

With King Huainan dead and his forces in shambles, Xiao Yang’s journey back to the Capital City was exceptionally smooth.

She was an Empress who had annihilated a nation and casually crushed two rebel kings. Who would be foolish enough to stand in her way? Besides, most of the officials along this route had been recently dispatched from the Capital City. They had personally witnessed the Empress’s methods and were now on their best behavior.

Before, they would certainly have grumbled about a woman being the Empress.

But now, even a fool could see that the nation’s heaven-defying fortune was vested in the Empress. A woman on the throne was a reality acknowledged by the heavens. Who would dare speak nonsense now?

Even if they couldn’t stomach it, the most they dared mutter was "The Empress is heartless," or "The Empress is cruel," and nothing more.

「One day’s journey from the Capital City.」

Xiao Yang was settling into a temporary Palace. She had just finished washing up when Xiao Lan came to report, "Your Majesty, Xu Xingchen requests an audience."

Xiao Yang raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "What’s he doing here?"

She raised a hand. "Let him in."

Before the words had even left her mouth, and before Xiao Lan could leave, a figure rushed into the room.

His gaze was scorching as he stared at her. An instant later, he charged toward her like a small cannonball and crashed right into her arms.

Xiao Yang: "..."

She took a deep breath and offered a silent moment of mourning for her chest.

’It took so much effort for them to grow a little. They won’t shrink back now, will they?’

This little pervert, Xu Xingchen, seemed to be having some sort of fit. He held her in a death grip without saying a word, with enough force to strangle her.

"Alright, I can barely breathe."

Xiao Yang patted his back, soothing him gently.

Xu Xingchen was surprisingly obedient and did let her go. But his gaze remained fixed on her, as if he were looking at a long-lost treasure he was afraid might disappear again.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

He was clumsy with words, his heart overflowing with emotions he didn’t know how to express. After stuttering for a moment, he finally found his conclusion. "I missed you."