Chapter 108: Cold Night

The soldiers watching burst into a raucous laugh.

Xiao Shunzi trembled with anger, Li Ping'er's eyes were blood‑red, and she clutched the hem of her robe tightly.

If it were anyone else, the two would certainly snap back in fury.

But at this moment, they could not.

Because they both understood deep in their hearts that, for Wan Tang, Xu Yanchuan was that different.

Xu Mingde squinted, staring at Xu Yanchuan with a fixed gaze.

The hatred in his eyes was impossible to conceal, and his pupils were filled with disgust.

With the Emperor as guarantor, Xu Yanchuan was allowed to atone by earning merit, and no one dared speak further.

What merit he would have to achieve, however, no one knew.

Now that he was here, Xu Mingde truly wished he could kill him with a single blade.

But thinking that Wang Jingyi was still detained in the Imperial Palace, he could only swallow his breath and endure.

The horsewhip lightly slapped his palm: "You little bastard, you're finally acting like a man today."

He lowered his voice, "Had you been this sensible earlier, when I broke your ribs, this general might have been gentler."

When Xu Yanchuan's torment was mentioned, Wan Tang became furious.

Clenching the knife in his hand, he roared, "Get out of the way!"

"Today, I will definitely walk out through this city gate!"

Xu Mingde's horsewhip cracked through the air, and as he dismounted, his iron boots shattered a layer of thin ice beneath him.

"Princess Wan, what a grand presence you have."

He deliberately raised his voice so the onlookers could hear, "It's just a warming‑bed trinket, yet it dares to shout and whine before me."

"You shameless thing, you caused my sister to meet this fate, and even my mother was left in the imperial harem."

"Today, I'll see for myself whose importance the Emperor truly holds in his heart—my Xu Family's glorious war merits, or you, the despicable woman who only knows how to charm."

Before the words finished, a hand wearing mysterious iron bracers pushed toward Wan Tang's shoulder.

"Clack!"

A brittle crack of dislocated bones rang out.

Xu Yanchuan, from somewhere, sprang forward, his five fingers clamping Xu Mingde's wrist like iron tongs.

The boy's pallid, sickly face was terrifyingly grim, the fresh blood at the corners of his eyes making his gaze as cold as a blade.

"Don't touch her."

The three words slammed down.

Xu Mingde's forehead bulged with blue veins from pain, yet he still twisted his mouth into a sneer: "Wasn't it you who just shouted at her the most? Now you're playing the brotherly affection act?"

"Xu Yanchuan, have you lost your mind?"

"You dare to fight me over a despicable woman!"

Xu Mingde again flashed his trademark threatening glare, but this time, after meeting Xu Yanchuan's eyes, there was no hint of retreat.

"My scolding is my business." Xu Yanchuan's fingers suddenly tightened; though two were missing, they still made Xu Mingde's wrist bone emit a strained groan.

He suddenly yanked Xu Mingde and slammed him into the city wall, the blood‑stained bandage flaring out, "If you dare glance at her again with those filthy eyes, you won't be allowed!"

"Xu Yanchuan!" Xu Mingde clutched his twisted wrist, staggering back, his facial flesh twitching wildly with pain, "The Emperor can protect you for a moment, but not for a lifetime!"

"Our Xu Family will never let you go; in our father's heart, you've long been as good as dead."

"I will have father expel you from the Xu Family genealogy."

"The Xu Family?"

Xu Yanchuan let out a sudden light laugh; the sixteen‑year‑old boy stood in the snow, his blood‑stained bandage fluttering in the wind like a torn flag.

He tilted his head, sizing up the "older brother" who had once broken his ribs, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes.

How amusing—how had he never noticed before that the raging Xu Mingde looked so foolish?

"Go ahead and report it." Xu Yanchuan suddenly stepped forward, his boot crushing the long sword Xu Mingde had dropped, "Better beat the drums so the entire Forbidden City can hear."

As he leaned down, blood seeped from the bandage around his neck, "How did the eldest Xu heir get his hand twisted by a 'submissive waste'?"

Xu Mingde's pupils contracted sharply.

The boy who once was pressed into an icy lake and dared not move now resembled a drawn demon blade, exuding a dangerous aura.

"You… you…"

Xu Mingde truly felt fear.

"Get out."

Xu Yanchuan kicked Xu Mingde's chest; the force was so great the crowd gasped.

He turned and walked toward the city gate, his blood‑stained robes sweeping over the snow, and the defending soldiers involuntarily stepped back three paces.

The murderous intent swirling in the boy's eyes chilled the nerves.

"Move aside."

The two words floated down lightly, and the iron lock on the gate rang open.

Xu Yanchuan single‑handedly hauled Xu Mingde's warhorse, his great cloak rustling in the wind.

His fluid mount onto the horse was like flowing clouds, and as the bandage fell away, a deep, bone‑visible old wound on his waist was revealed.

"Leave the city."

The boy's clear voice startled the cold crows into flight.

Wan Tang entered the luan carriage, glanced at Xu Yanchuan's figure, and a faint smile lifted the corner of her mouth.

Her emotions tinged with a bit of excitement and relief, she said, "Thank you."

"Just following orders," Xu Yanchuan said, eyes fixed ahead, a mocking curl at his mouth, "None… of… your… business."

Each character is like an ice spear stabbing into the snow.

The heavy city gate slowly closed behind the honor guard, and at the instant the last sliver of daylight was snuffed out, the trembling young commander of the city drew near: "Y-Young master… what now… what should we do?"

Xu Mingde's twisted wrist still throbbed with excruciating pain, and upon hearing it he suddenly swung his intact left hand.

Snap!

A slap sent the young commander staggering into the city wall.

"Useless!" he roared in fury, "Do you still need to ask me about this?!"

The blood‑stained whip cracked, causing several bodyguards to clutch their heads and flee like mice, "Report to Father at once!"

He glared toward the city gate with a snarling grin, spitting venomous words: "Just say Lady Wan secretly consorted with the rebel general and defied the edict by leaving the city!"

Even the young commanders were greatly shocked upon hearing the news.

Such a charge is too severe; once spoken, not only Xu Yanchuan but even Wan Tang would be doomed for ten thousand calamities.

The honor guard moved forward beyond the city gate.

Beyond the city, there was no trace of prosperity left.

The accumulated snow along the official road gradually took on an eerie bluish‑gray hue.

It was frozen finger bones jutting out from the snowdrifts.

When Wan Tang's phoenix sedan rolled over a child's corpse, the bottom of the sedan emitted a sharp, teeth‑aching crack.

Everyone's mood was heavy, as if the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to draw a breath.

At first it was a chance glimpse of such a scene, but as we walked further, these sights were everywhere.

"Your Majesty, it seems that outside the city it is no longer convenient to procure supplies," the captain of the guard reported.

Wan Tang's gaze grew dark as she said simply, "Head toward Black River City."

Everyone was startled.

Xu Yanchuan suddenly reined in his horse, halting before the sedan, and pointed his whip northward: "The snow disaster is worse over there."

A white mist exhaled from his lips, tinged with the scent of blood, "The disaster victims have already begun dismantling houses for firewood."

"Go!" Wan Tang seized the wooden frame of the sedan window fiercely, her tone resolute.

Among the escorting honor guard, many showed signs of resistance, and Xu Yanchuan gave the knife in his hand a slight shake.

His tone was low, yet laced with an undeniable killing intent: "Wherever the Empress goes, you only need to obey."

"Outside the city, what happened out there, Shei knows?"

The honor guard tucked their necks, lowered their brows, and dared not argue further.

Black River City.

The ruined city walls, in the twilight, resembled the carcass of a great beast, and a half‑hanging "Black River" plaque slanted on the gate, creaking mournfully in the north wind.

Wan Tang's phoenix sedan halted at the end of the official road; when the sedan's curtain was drawn back, a bone‑piercing cold wind cut her face like a knife.

"We will rest here tonight."

Hearing the commotion, a woman in the thatched hut suddenly lifted her head from the boiling water, her cloudy eyes reflecting the honor guard's flames.

Her withered‑claw hand clutched the child's neck; the tiny body no longer struggled, its ribs stark beneath the yellowed skin.

"Hot broth, I have a steaming meat soup," she said, suddenly pressing the child deeper into the pot; the boiling surface rose with a few strands of black hair. "Lady of Grace, would you like a taste? All I need… all I need is a single cotton coat!"