In front of the entire court, Duan Yunfeng couldn’t avoid it and had to force himself to let Xiao Heng dress him.

As Xiao Heng got closer, Duan Yunfeng seemed to smell the faint, cold, woody fragrance that lingered on the Emperor’s clothes.

The scent made him inexplicably irritated.

From the angle where no one could see, Duan Yunfeng’s nostrils slightly flared.

What kind of scent is he using?

Does he burn this on his clothes every night?

A man using perfume… so pretentious…

After Xiao Heng draped the dragon robes over him, he personally took the jade belt from the tray and fastened it around Duan Yunfeng’s waist. Duan Yunfeng lowered his eyes, letting the Emperor adjust him, his mind wondering why it was taking so long. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and he blurted out, “Your Majesty, do you personally dress everyone when you reward them?”

Xiao Heng paused for a moment while fastening the jade belt. He raised his gaze and looked at Duan Yunfeng with a cryptic expression, “When I reward others, they don’t ask such unnecessary questions.”

Duan Yunfeng was momentarily speechless and awkwardly turned his head away.

At that moment, Li Jinxi, who was standing nearby, spoke up softly to explain, “Your Majesty has only bestowed this reward to His Highness, the Heir of the King of the North.”

Duan Yunfeng kept his mouth tight and thought to himself: The Emperor only tricked me into marriage by pretending to be a princess; does that mean I should be grateful and thank him for his great favor?

After receiving the dragon robe, Duan Yunfeng returned to the ranks under the envious gaze of the entire court, especially Liu Jun beside him, whose scorching gaze seemed to burn through his clothes.

Duan Yunfeng resisted the urge to roll his eyes and thought, if only you knew what I’ve been through, you wouldn’t be able to laugh at all.

Annoyed, he avoided the stares, lifted his head to look ahead, and met the Emperor’s encouraging gaze. Xiao Heng slightly pressed his lips together, as if smiling at him.

Duan Yunfeng lowered his head, feeling even more irritated.

He’s really good at pretending.

He thought.

---

At present, the food shortage in Chang’an could only be solved by drawing supplies from Jinzhou, so Xiao Heng summoned Zhang Zhicheng to Chang’an for a conversation.

The moment Zhang Zhicheng met the Emperor, he felt as if his heart were being tossed around by stormy waves. Various guesses flooded his mind, and he became even more terrified. No wonder the Princess always gave off an air of mystery—turns out she was the Emperor.

He was even more grateful that he had decisively chosen the right side.

Xiao Heng immediately ordered Zhang Zhicheng to be promoted to the Governor of Jinzhou, and Kang Chengye to be promoted to the Military Officer of Jinzhou, commanding the troops stationed there to protect the region.

Zhang Zhicheng bowed repeatedly to thank the Emperor, expressing his gratitude and swearing his loyalty to Xiao Heng, vowing to serve him with all his heart and soul.

The day after returning to Jinzhou, Zhang Zhicheng sent fifty boats loaded with grain by water route to Chang’an.

With the food shortage temporarily resolved, Xiao Heng focused on reorganizing the defense of Chang’an and its surrounding counties.

The Guanzhong Plain, where Chang’an is located, is a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides, providing a natural barrier against outside invaders. There are two flat areas that serve as entrances. One is the Pujin Ferry from the Shanxi Plain, currently guarded by Prince Jin, Duan Yu, so there was no concern about an invasion from that direction.

The other entrance is from Luoyang to the west, passing through Tongguan.

After stabilizing the situation in Chang’an and the nearby regions, Xiao Heng immediately ordered the General of Chang’an, Luo Tong, to lead ten thousand troops to guard Tongguan. Tongguan is a natural fortress and has always been considered the first line of defense for the Guanzhong region. It is described as “a place where a man can see from afar, narrow enough to only fit a single cart,” so securing Tongguan would prevent any potential surprise attacks from Li Jichang from Luoyang.

However, there was one difficult issue that Xiao Heng was facing.

After the Reward Ceremony, He Was Out of Money

After the rewards were given, Xiao Heng found himself without money again. Meanwhile, the troops stationed at the passes were consuming a huge amount of silver each day.

Whether it was from the taxes of the common people or the profits from the salt lands in Hedong, it would take time to start generating funds. Right now, he needed a large sum of money to fill the treasury.

---

Fengxiang, The Prince’s Residence

Prince Ning, Xiao Tan, was painting in his study. His room housed several black phoenix parrots and a white cat. As he was painting, he suddenly heard the distinct clanking of armor outside.

Surprised, Prince Ning put down his brush. A servant soon came in to report that the Privy Secretary, An Youliang, and the General of the Imperial Guards, Chen Chong, had arrived.

Before long, An Youliang entered the residence with a group of small eunuchs and several officials following behind him. Chen Chong, clad in armor with a Tang sword at his waist, was accompanied by dozens of Imperial Guards.

Ever since Chen Chong acknowledged An Youliang as his adoptive father, he had discovered a shortcut to rising in rank. Coming from a humble background, he was adept at ingratiating himself with An Youliang, quickly winning favor. Within a few days of arriving in Fengxiang, he had secured the position of General of the Imperial Guards. In his official robes, he looked every bit the part of a high-ranking official, completely unrecognizable from his former lowly origins.

Seeing this procession, Prince Ning clenched his hands nervously. Instinctively, he feared An Youliang. The next moment, he saw several officials suddenly bring forward a bright yellow dragon robe and kneel, loudly declaring, “The nation cannot be without a ruler for even a day. We implore Your Highness to ascend to the throne and inherit the imperial legacy!”

Prince Ning was taken aback, confused by the sudden act of draping the yellow robe over him. He instinctively took a step back. “What are you talking about? I… my… elder brother is the rightful Emperor.”

An Youliang stepped forward and stood in front of Prince Ning, speaking in a thin, sharp voice, “Your Majesty has passed away, and Your Highness is now the last remaining royal bloodline of Great Yan. We ask Your Highness to ascend to the throne, fulfill the divine will, and govern the nation.”

Prince Ning stared in disbelief, wide-eyed. “What? My elder brother… how could he? Who said that? Where did this news come from?”

An Youliang produced an imperial edict. “The rebel Li Jichang has already declared himself Emperor in Bianzhou. Your Majesty is most likely gone for good.”

Thinking of how Li Jichang and Duan Yunfeng had been fighting fiercely in Luoyang, An Youliang felt a sense of relief in his heart. As for the now-disgraced Emperor, if someone else were to eliminate him, that would be even better.

After speaking, without waiting for Prince Ning to respond, Chen Chong raised his hand and swiftly draped the yellow robe over Xiao Tan.

“No…” Xiao Tan felt as if he were sitting on needles. He instinctively wanted to tear the robe off, but Chen Chong firmly held him in place, his gaze stern and imposing.

Chen Chong then stepped back several paces, kneeling suddenly before Prince Ning. “Your Majesty need not worry. We pledge to serve you with our lives.”

The officials and the Imperial Guards all kneeled, shouting in unison, “Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!”

Amid the cheers of “Long live the Emperor,” Prince Ning, Xiao Tan, was ceremoniously placed on the throne and crowned Emperor at the Prince’s residence in Fengxiang.

An Youliang squinted his narrow eyes, gazing contentedly at his “work.” Just then, a high-pitched voice cried from outside the door, “Godfather, something’s wrong!”

A small eunuch came rushing in, panting.

An Youliang shot him a glare. “What’s all this shouting about?”

The eunuch handed over an imperial edict to An Youliang. “This is a new edict that just arrived in Fengxiang. It says that the Jianning Emperor is currently in Chang’an, having not only repelled the Qin army but also gathered the forces of Duan Yu and his son.”

An Youliang snatched the edict from the eunuch and scanned its contents with a dark expression.

Reading it nearly caused him to faint from rage.

If the Imperial Edict Is True

If the imperial edict was true, then the Jianning Emperor, Xiao Huan, whom he had left behind in the capital, had not died. Instead, he was now ruling in Chang’an. Not only that, but Xiao Huan had also gained the allegiance of Duan Yu and Duan Yunfeng. It was important to note that the Duan family was his enemy. The Northern Border Army was so formidable, and with Chang’an being so close to Fengxiang, what would happen if they decided to march towards them?

An Youliang immediately handed the edict to his trusted ministers, his gaze darkening as he asked, “What do you think we should do about this?”

The room fell silent for a moment before one of the ministers cautiously approached and spoke:

“Privy Secretary, there is no need to worry too much. As you know, the former emperor was weak, indulgent, and incapable of fulfilling his duties. In my opinion, what kind of loyal servants could Duan Yu and Duan Yunfeng be? Most likely, they are only trying to ‘use the emperor to command the lords.’ Now, the political situation in Chang’an is probably a mess with everyone harboring their own schemes. How could the Jianning Emperor not be suspicious of the Duan family? After all, Duan Yunfeng once led troops to march directly towards Luoyang…”

An Youliang narrowed his eyes and nodded. “That makes sense.”

He gestured for the minister to continue. After all, no one knew better than him the strategy of “using the emperor to command the lords.”

The minister continued, “You have great prestige in the court. Perhaps you could reach out to your old contacts in Chang’an and sow discord between the two. If the Emperor begins to distrust Duan Yunfeng and Duan Yunfeng, in a fit of rage, raises an army against Yan or even kills the Jianning Emperor, he will inevitably clash with Luo Shiwei, the Governor of Xijing. At that point, with both sides at odds, and with threats from Sun Haohan in the north and Li Jichang in the west, Duan Yunfeng will likely be too preoccupied with his own problems to think about attacking Fengxiang.”

An Youliang smiled, a thin, pleased grin forming on his lips. “Good!”

“Excellent plan!”

---

Song Shiyu’s Time in Yanzhou

Song Shiyu had been living like a wild man in the Yanzhou military camp for over ten days. His daily routine consisted of chewing on dry corn cobs and having high-stakes standoffs with Sun Haohan, an infamous cannibal. The physical toll was bearable, but the mental anguish was far worse.

Ever since Duan Yunfeng had been summoned to Chang’an by a mysterious letter, there had been no word from him. Song Shiyu waited anxiously, but Duan Yunfeng never returned to the camp. Just as Song Shiyu was on the verge of leading his troops to Chang’an to find out what was going on, a letter finally arrived. It only stated that he should continue to stay in Yanzhou and that no action should be taken without orders.

Song Shiyu, holding the letter, was on the brink of madness. What did this mean?

What had happened in Chang’an?

Where was the princess?

Where was the heir?

Where were they all?

A few days later, Song Shiyu learned from the Qin soldiers he had captured that Chang’an had already been occupied by the Great Yan Emperor.

He was stunned.

Wasn’t it the princess who had led the troops to Chang’an? How had an emperor suddenly appeared?

Who had summoned the heir to Chang’an?

As doubts began to grow in his mind, a man, dressed as a servant, rode into the camp. The man claimed to be a servant of Duan Yunfeng, bringing a secret order from Duan Yunfeng himself. The man also carried a golden dagger, a token that Song Shiyu recognized as belonging to Duan Yunfeng.

Song Shiyu immediately opened the letter.

The secret order simply read:

“The Emperor plans to eradicate the Northern Border Army. You are to lead your 30,000 troops stationed in Yanzhou to march against Yan and attack Chang’an.”^[1]SHIIIIITTTTTTT YOU MUST NOT!!!