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“Sit properly, I wish to talk with you tonight…”
A heavy silence hung over the two of them.
Fortunately, Li Yunli quickly caught sight of Zilan leading a horse back. She was always meticulous, and had already noticed that the prince was missing a horse, so she had gone to request one from the logistics team.
Zilan’s approaching figure felt like a savior. Li Yunli glanced in her direction and said to Yun Chu, “Your horse.”
Then, without hesitation, she urged her own horse forward and swiftly left the scene.
Yun Chu watched as she rode away without a backward glance, exhaling softly before taking the reins from Zilan.
“Did His Highness instruct you to bring this horse for me?”
“Oh, no.” Zilan wasn’t sure what had just transpired between the two, but she sensed the odd tension in the air. She forced a small smile. “As servants, we must always be mindful of what His Highness lacks and fill the gaps accordingly.”
Yun Chu’s face remained unreadable. He simply nodded.
Inside Yongzhou City, Yang Xu had lost count of how many times he had sent messages to the outside world.
All the relay horses had been slaughtered, every messenger sent out had disappeared without a trace, and the Flying Leopard Gang’s spies still lurked within the city. Ever since Zhou Foxiao’s death, even the carrier pigeons within the city had been captured.
The gang raided the city daily, looting and kidnapping civilians. Some had even begun persuading their friends and family to willingly join the bandits. At this rate, Leopard Head Mountain was becoming more populated than Yongzhou City itself.
Yang Xu was at a loss, watching the city fall into decay, feeling the weight of his own inadequacy.
When Li Yunli and her troops finally appeared outside the city with a large army, Yang Xu nearly mistook them for an invading force led by the Flying Leopard Gang.
Panicking, he rushed to the city walls, only to see the banner bearing the Xiao family’s insignia below. He thought he must be seeing things.
It was only when Feng Mu stepped out of the carriage and revealed himself that Yang Xu finally understood. Clapping his hands, he exclaimed in disbelief, “Reinforcements! Like soldiers descending from the heavens!”
Without hesitation, he ordered the gates to be opened.
The city was in a dire state. Yang Xu welcomed Li Yunli and her forces into the provincial government headquarters, arranged accommodations for the soldiers, and immediately prepared a banquet to entertain them.
Xiao Linjia and Yang Xu were acquaintances. Upon seeing Xiao Linjia again, Yang Xu was so overcome with emotion that he nearly wept.
“Brother Xiao! Brother Xiao!” He grasped Xiao Linjia’s shoulder, at a loss for words.
Although Yongzhou had not been completely besieged, the damned Flying Leopard Gang had entirely cut off the city’s communication with the outside world. Yang Xu had assumed that his repeated pleas for help had finally reached the imperial court, prompting this rescue mission.
Yet, after just a few exchanges over wine, he learned that their mission was actually for disaster relief—and that they only had five thousand soldiers. His heart sank.
Clearly, the messages he had sent had not reached the court. The imperial court’s decision to send troops here had been made without knowledge of the true situation. He was still ensnared within the enemy leader’s scheme.
At the banquet, Yang Xu kept pouring drinks for Xiao Linjia, drinking himself into a drunken stupor, his despair evident.
“He doesn’t seem all that capable,” Li Yunli observed, taking a sip of her drink before murmuring, “No wonder Feng Mu said the local authorities are useless.”
Seated beside her in his role as the royal consort, Yun Chu responded softly, “The circumstances forced him into this situation. Even an average man has done his utmost under these conditions.”
“He has worked hard, indeed,” Li Yunli acknowledged before finishing her drink.
She appeared completely at ease.
Yun Chu sat beside her, his gaze complex.
He had never visited Yongzhou in his previous life, and he hadn’t known the city had fallen into such a state. Two years after the war, the local garrison had yet to recover, allowing banditry to flourish. And among the bandits, a cunning leader had risen, expanding Leopard Head Mountain’s influence to its current scale.
Now that he had entered the city and witnessed its desolation, he realized just how dire the situation was.
Last time—how had Li Yunli managed to break this stalemate?
Yun Chu studied her discreetly, just as she happened to turn her head toward him.
Tonight’s banquet was small; there were no dancers to entertain them, only a single woman plucking the strings of a konghou, playing The Peacock Flies Southeast.
Yun Chu averted his gaze.
“Consort.”
Li Yunli had underestimated the strength of the wine, and it made her eyes sting. She blinked, rubbing them before saying, “There’s nothing more to discuss here. Yang Xu is already drunk. Let’s go back.”
Yun Chu had been waiting for her to say this, so he rose and left with her.
The two walked together under the moonlight.
“Now that we’re in the city, we’re part of the game,” Li Yunli said as they walked. Yun Chu hummed in acknowledgment as she continued, “Our messages are also cut off. You and I are in this together now.”
He turned to look at her, wondering if she was drunk.
Li Yunli continued, “You can’t run away now. Since fate favors you, and I’ve brought you into this, you have no choice but to help me.”
Her words were blunt. Yun Chu lowered his gaze, watching the road ahead.
He dared not respond to her remark about fate. It felt like a judgment passed upon him—one he could not bear.
“Was that why Your Highness chose to enter the city?” he asked softly.
Outside the city, he had still had the option to leave. But now that they were inside, he was bound to Li Yunli, forced to share her fate.
Even if he could contact Ah Si, even if he wished to act against her behind her back, on the surface, he could not escape the identity of the princess’s consort. To their enemies, he and Li Yunli were one. That meant eliminating their common foes together.
“Yes,” Li Yunli admitted without hesitation. Her smile flickered briefly. “Although you’re unarmed now, I believe you have both the intellect and the means. If I didn’t make you stand by my side and contribute, wouldn’t that be a waste?”
“Your Highness could resolve this on your own,” Yun Chu said.
“I could. But wouldn’t it be better with you?”
She turned to him with a knowing look.
Yun Chu smiled faintly. By now, they had reached the entrance to their quarters, where a maid awaited to guide them inside. A breeze passed through the corridor, cooling the flush of alcohol.
“If Your Highness trusts me completely, I will give you my all,” he said.
“And if I don’t trust you enough?”
Her voice was languid, as if she were drunk, but her words were clear.
“If I don’t fully trust you, will you still help me?”
Yun Chu’s heartbeat quickened. He felt as if he were the one who had been drinking.
“Even a little trust is enough,” he finally said, his tone firm.
He was a fish that had slipped through the net, gambling that Li Yunli had not realized he, too, was reborn.
As long as she remained unaware of the past’s filth, he could still be greedy for this present.
Yet, the closer he got to her, the more anxious he became.
What if, one day, she found out?
If that day ever came, he would not be able to meet her gaze.
Li Yunli smiled. Under the moonlight, her expression was calm and sincere.
“Alright. Then I’ll trust you.”