Chapter 280: "That's Right, We Never Joke...

“Your Majesty.”

Xiao Li hadn’t been down the mountain for long before she met the people sent to receive her.

Duan Ji knelt, his face filled with excitement. “This humble general, Duan Ji, greets Your Majesty.”

Xiao Li raised an eyebrow. “General Duan, you may rise.”

“Why are you here? Where is Rong Qing?”

Duan Ji’s expression tightened slightly. “General Rong has already taken his men to Changzhou. Could it be that he missed Your Majesty?”

Xiao Li glanced back. “I disrupted the plan and left early. It wouldn’t be surprising if he’s trapped inside.”

“Ziyue, you go back and provide support.”

Duan Ji immediately said, “Your Majesty, this humble general will send men to retrieve General Rong.”

Ziyue didn’t want to leave Xiao Li. Just as he was about to say something, Xiao Li beckoned to him, and he hurried over.

Xiao Li leaned down from her horse and said something to him, finally reaching out to pat his head.

In the end, Ziyue slowly turned and galloped away on his horse without a backward glance.

Having been rebuffed, Duan Ji didn’t say anything more. Once Ziyue had left, he quickly said, “Your Majesty must be tired. Please, come back with this humble general and rest.”

Xiao Li shook her head. “Since you’ve brought men, you should dispatch them directly to take Changzhou in one fell swoop.”

Duan Ji replied, “Your Majesty, Rong Qing has already gone with his men. General Rong is valiant enough to take Changzhou. This humble general is responsible for escorting Your Majesty to a safe place.”

Xiao Li ‘considered’ this for a moment, then agreed.

Xiao Li rode in the very center, with Duan Ji riding abreast of her. He inquired about her well-being as they went.

Xiao Li answered listlessly, casting a casual glance behind her. Duan Ji’s men were constantly trying to separate her guards from her, but Xiao Li’s guards stuck close, effectively surrounding both Xiao Li and Duan Ji.

Xiao Li looked at the mountain range ahead. “Duan Ji, you’ve been stationed here for the past two years. It must have been hard on you.”

Duan Ji was silent for a breath before speaking. “For a man to build a career and seek enfeoffment as a marquis or appointment as a minister, how can he not endure hardship? Besides, as long as Your Majesty sees this humble general’s contributions, it is no hardship at all.”

‘His words are certainly loaded.’

Xiao Li didn’t respond, so Duan Ji began to recount interesting anecdotes from his years stationed there. “Although this place is remote, as long as there’s no fighting, the scenery is pleasant, with beautiful mountains and clear waters.”

On this point, Xiao Li agreed. “Our great lands are indeed magnificent and beautiful.”

According to his transfer orders, Duan Ji was supposed to be stationed in Taiping City. Yet he had taken a detour, leading Xiao Li in the direction of Yanping State.

Without a map, Xiao Li didn’t know the way. It wasn’t until they arrived in Yanping State that she recognized where they were.

“Why have we come to Yanping State?”

Duan Ji: “There’s no decent place over in Taiping City. We military generals are coarse men, accustomed to hardship, but we cannot allow Your Majesty to be inconvenienced.”

The reason was plausible enough, but it didn’t change the fact that he was making decisions for the Emperor.

He led Xiao Li into the city, heading with familiarity to a mansion. The plaque above the entrance read—Prince Yanping Mansion.

Xiao Li’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Duan Ji dismounted first and extended a hand toward Xiao Li. “Your Majesty, allow this humble general to help you down.”

Xiao Li glanced at his hand, then dismounted by herself.

“I’m not that delicate.”

Seeing his hand left hanging, Duan Ji’s expression turned grim, but he quickly forced a smile.

“Your Majesty, this Prince Yanping Mansion has been kept in excellent condition. This humble general had it tidied up. Please, see if there is anything else you require. I will have it procured at once.”

At the entrance, a group of maids bowed. “Welcome, General.”

Walking inside, past the spirit screen and the fish pond, the main hall was bright. It truly had been preserved remarkably well, as if it had been meticulously cared for.

Duan Ji pointed out the layout of the Prince Yanping Mansion along the way—which parts were luxurious, which were exquisite, where the design was ingenious, and where it was unique.

He spoke as if recounting his own family treasures.

‘This wasn’t tidied up for the Empress to live in. It’s obvious he’s been living here himself.’

Xiao Li glanced at Duan Ji, who was now walking ahead of her. She hadn’t met him many times.

The first time, he was a horse trainer at the stables. Even a spirited horse like Chi Yan had submitted to his hand.

Xiao Li appreciated fine horses, and she appreciated him as a person, so she arranged for him to stay.

She had met with him once in secret. Duan Ji had been overjoyed by Xiao Li’s appreciation, swearing his allegiance. Later came the palace coup.

With her throne unstable, Xiao Li couldn’t let Rong Qing and Yang Jun leave her side, so she assigned Duan Ji to the army.

When the army returned triumphantly after attacking Yue Country, Duan Ji was still a high-spirited general, loyal to the Empress, his eyes filled with devotion.

‘It’s been two years. The General… has changed.’

‘From a lowly horse trainer to a Great General capable of conquering a country—it all came too easily, and so he grew arrogant.’

Duan Ji had arranged a room for Xiao Li—Xiuhua Pavilion.

The former residence of the Princess Consort Yanping.

The folding screens, the embroidered bed, the draperies—all were either pink or purple. It was clearly a woman’s room. Moreover, it didn’t smell of cleaning supplies, but was instead filled with the scent of incense and the lingering presence of someone living there.

‘This wasn’t prepared for her. It was obvious someone had been living here until very recently, and they had just been kicked out to tidy it up.’

Duan Ji said, “Time was short, so the preparations are incomplete. If Your Majesty needs anything, you have only to give the order.”

Xiao Li replied, “I’m not picky about my surroundings. But since you went to the trouble of tidying up the Prince Yanping Mansion, why not the main residence?”

Duan Ji seemed to have anticipated her question and already had an excuse ready.

“Your Majesty, it’s like this. This humble general occasionally comes over, and being a coarse man, I’ve made a complete mess of the main residence. It’s in no state to be tidied up. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

Xiao Li slowly untied the pouch at her waist, taking something out as she spoke. “The Prince Yanping Mansion is just sitting empty anyway, so there’s no problem with you living here. However, it’s not proper for the plaque of Prince Yanping to still be hanging outside. Why don’t I grant you the title of prince? What do you think?”

Perhaps driven mad by the desire to be a prince, Duan Ji completely missed the underlying meaning of her words. His eyes lit up with surprise. “Your Majesty truly intends to make this humble general a prince?”

“Yes. I never joke…”

Xiao Li smiled as she turned back, and then, without hesitation—BANG! BANG!—she fired twice.

“If you have the life to enjoy it.”

‘Beyond ten paces, a gun is fast. Within ten paces, a gun is both fast and accurate.’

Two shots hit Duan Ji in the abdomen. She immediately followed up with four more, hitting him in both shoulders and both legs.

THUD!

His large frame crashed heavily to the ground. The immense pain stole his voice, and it was a long moment before he could let out a howl of agony.

Outside, the sound of continuous gunshots—BANG! BANG!—erupted.

This was the dimensional superiority of firearms against cold weapons. No matter how great your martial arts, when faced with a firearm for the first time, there was only one outcome: death.

“Aaaargh…”

Duan Ji writhed in agony, finally able to let out a bloodcurdling scream.

His powerful constitution allowed him to slowly struggle up from the ground despite being shot six times. He stared at Xiao Li, his face a mask of shock, fury, and disbelief. “Your Majesty, why? Why are you trying to kill me?”

Xiao Li calmly reloaded her gun. “You know full well what you’ve done.”

She aimed the muzzle at his forehead. “In less than two years, you’ve already forgotten how to be a subject.”