Chapter 222: Something Went Wrong

Wan Tang pretended to be angry: "Do not be rude to the Empress!"

"No problem." Hui Guifei's eyes instantly lit up; she drew her sword and rose, "Today we need not yield."

Minghui, excited in Wan Tang's arms, waved his little hands, chirping encouragement.

Sword light flickered, sleeves fluttered.

Hui Guifei's sword technique was agile and intricate, like fine rain threading needles.

Xu Yanchuan's moves were broad and sweeping, like a great river surging.

The two exchanged blows in the courtyard clearing, swords clashing with crisp ringing, yet always managing to avoid each other's vital points just right.

Each time the tips met, Hui Guifei could feel his deliberately restrained inner strength, steady and suppressing.

Xu Yanchuan also read from her shallow breaths and reddening cheeks the stubbornness that refused to concede.

Their gazes occasionally met, then quickly averted, as if burned, yet that fleeting intersection was enough to stir an indescribable ripple in their hearts.

When the duel ended, both had fine sweat on their temples.

"Your 'Flowing Cloud Sword Technique' has become ever more refined; the final variation nearly caught me off guard," Xu Yanchuan sheathed his sword, his tone respectful, though his eyes hid a barely perceptible admiration.

"Commander Xu is overly modest. Had you not shown mercy, I would have already been defeated," Hui Guifei brushed her temple with her sleeve, voice calm, fingertips slightly curled.

The conversation naturally shifted to military formations.

Discussing battlefield strategy, Hui Guifei's eyes shone with a brilliance unlike her usual restraint, quoting classics with unique insight.

Xu Yanchuan also relaxed a bit, his words revealing the composure and sharpness of one seasoned in battle arrays.

One, a palace scholar well‑versed in books; the other, a frontier veteran—now they collided in astonishing rapport.

At times arguing, at times agreeing, it was as if kindred spirits had finally met, lamenting the lateness.

Ning Daying, chewing on a grass stalk, tilted her head at them and whispered to Wan Tang, "Sister, look, their eyes are almost stuck together."

"And they keep pretending to discuss the 'Wild Goose Formation' and 'Sharp Arrow Formation'…"

Wan Tang lightly tapped her, signaling silence, her gaze sweeping over the pair who seemed to discuss earnestly yet harbored hidden currents, understanding in her heart.

Within these high walls of the deep palace, some feelings can only remain within propriety, hidden in the heart, like still water deep beneath, calm on the surface yet already raging within.

The late‑autumn sun filtered through the sparse leaves of the persimmon trees, casting dappled light.

Wan Tang gently pushed the swing; Minghui sat on it, emitting a bell‑like laugh.

Ning Daying crouched nearby, twirling a blade of grass to tease the ants on the ground, appearing as carefree as ever.

Yet when her gaze inadvertently swept to Xu Yanchuan, who was low‑voicing tactics with Hui Guifei not far away,

That upright figure and the occasional soaring spirit Hui Guifei displayed only when speaking of battle seemed to prick her.

Ning Daying's eyes suddenly reddened, large tears streaming down silently.

Wan Tang, pushing the swing, sensed something amiss, turned her head and was startled.

Ning Daying had always been everyone's source of joy; such silent weeping was rare.

She quickly stopped, softly asking, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Ning Daying wiped her face hard, pulling out a smile uglier than crying.

Her voice carried a heavy nasal tone: "It's… it's just that… I feel that if it weren't for that vicious woman Bai Li, sister would still be with the Grand General in the camp, that galloping, commanding female general…"

She looked toward Xu Yanchuan's direction, tears flowing more fiercely, choking out, "Freedom, the one I truly love, the days I imagined…"

"For us women locked in cages, it's all damn dreams!"

Wan Tang felt as if something heavy blocked her chest, weighty, suffocating.

She was silent for a moment, then whispered, "And you?"

"What do you want?"

Ning Daying wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve, lifted her head, gazing at the four‑cornered sky cut by the palace walls.

In her eyes rose deep yearning and bitterness: "If I could choose… I'd like to tie my hair like a man and go to the steppe."

"And ride with the one I truly love, on the fastest horse, feeling the freest wind…"

Her voice grew hoarse, drifting into dreamy rambling: "Raise a great herd of yak, and white lambs…"

"Even without silk and brocade, even with only a tent that shields wind and rain… that's fine…"

The lower she spoke, the softer it became, until barely audible.

Then, as if to block all unrealistic fantasies, she snatched a persimmon from the basket beside her and shoved it into her mouth almost madly.

Juice smeared her face, indistinguishable whether it was sweet persimmon pulp or bitter tears.

"What a pity…" she mumbled between chews, ending in an almost inaudible sigh, "There is no if."

Wan Tang's heart ached, but she could not show any sign, forcing a light smile.

She lifted Minghui a bit higher, nudged his soft little face with her nose, cooing gently: "So, our little Minghui, when you grow up, what kind of life do you want?"

"Will you be a majestic female general like Hui Niangniang, or run horses on the steppe like Aunt Ning?"

Little Minghui giggled, waving his tiny hands, babbling back, his big grape‑like eyes sparkling.

However, the next second, his pink little face suddenly twisted into a knot.

He showed an extremely painful strained expression, his small body tensing tightly.

Immediately, an indescribable foul smell began to spread quietly.

Xiao Shunzi, experienced, immediately reacted, suppressing a laugh and stepped forward, saying: "Ah, it seems our Princess… seems to be 'handling a big matter'!"

"Ah!" Ning Daying, immersed in self‑pity, was jolted by the sudden odor and snapped back to herself.

She shouted exaggeratedly, pinching her nose, turning her head and calling toward Hui Guifei: "Sister, hurry!"

"Your dear sweetheart, …"

Sister, hurry!

Your dear sweetheart, it's gotten big…

The setting sun dyed the horizon a splendid orange‑red, giving the cold palace walls a warm hue, yet it added a further sense of bleakness.

Hui Guifei gazed at the slowly sinking sun, then softly recited, "The lone smoke over the desert rises straight, the setting sun over the long river is round…"

"Back then, when I was stationed at the border with my father, seeing this sight, I felt the world vast and my ambitions swelling."

A faint, barely perceptible loneliness and reminiscence tinged her voice.

Wan Tang also watched the sunset, her tone calm yet profound: "The setting sun melts into gold, the twilight clouds merge like a gem."

"There should be an ending now."

Hui Guifei withdrew her gaze, glancing at Ning Daying beside her, who was carefree teasing Minghui.

Her eyes turned cold, voice lowered further: "Since last month, impeachment papers against the Xiao Family have been arriving like snowflakes, without pause."

"The Xu Family has already declined, Xu Yanchuan…" she paused, tone complex, "He is rather 'obedient,' only knowing how to be loyal and dutiful within this tiny Imperial harem."

"When the Xiao Family fell into chaos, the Empress regarded my palace as a thorn in the eye and a splinter in the flesh."

"Do you know, lately she even dared to look for a pretext, to seek my misfortune."

Wan Tang heard this, a hint of playful smile on her face: "Now that the veteran General Huang Hu is missing, isn't the only force in court that can oppose the Xiao Family just the Noble Consort's maternal family, the Ning family?"

Hui Guifei's gaze suddenly sharpened, icy as frost toward Wan Tang, voice cold: "It is not the Ning family."

Wan Tang fell silent, waiting for what came next.

Hui Guifei did not look at her, only stared at the distant silhouette of the palace towers.

Her tone heavy: "If it were merely the Xiao Family's own misconduct inciting the officials' fury, that would be tolerable."

"But if… there is an invisible great hand behind, stirring the waves and clouds…"

She paused briefly, then slowly continued the latter half: "That must be a… how terrifying a force."

Having said that, she said no more, as if her words were merely a casual sigh.

She bent down, scooping up the babbling Minghui, adjusted her collar and said, "It is inconvenient for this palace to receive you again soon; you yourself must be careful in all matters."

As she turned to leave, she seemed to recall something and added, "Reports of Su Yanci's victories at the frontier are coming in constantly; he will soon return in triumph."

"When that time comes, the position of Commander will surely belong to no one but him."

"The Xiao Family… will probably be forced to act rashly."

When her words faded, she was already holding Minghui and Ning Daying, and her figure vanished at the far end of the palace corridor as dusk deepened.

Hui Guifei's silhouette disappeared at the corridor's end, and the courtyard fell silent again.

Xiao Shunzi leaned toward Wan Tang, lowering her voice, unable to hide her worry: "Master, has Hui Guifei sensed something?"

Wan Tang gazed at the direction they departed, her eyes deep, and whispered, "She's no fool."

"The Ning family has stood tall in court for years; how could they be completely oblivious?"

Xu Yanchuan, who had been silently standing nearby, did not speak, but his furrowed brows and clenched fists revealed the heaviness and worry in his heart.

Wan Tang walked to his side, raised her hand and gently patted his arm.

Her tone firm: "There's no need to worry excessively."

"Ning Commander is a British duke; his loyalty lies with the lands and state of Fengqi Kingdom, with the border's stability, not with any individual on the Dragon Throne."

She paused, her gaze burning as she looked at Xu Yanchuan: "As long as Fengqi Kingdom needs the Ning Family Army for a day, the Ning family will not fall easily."

"Even if I were to be shattered to pieces, I would never stand by and watch the Ning family's ruin."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yanchuan's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and he let out a long sigh.

He lifted his gaze toward Wan Tang, a resolute determination in his eyes: "Sister, it seems… the time has come for me to act."

However, upon hearing this, Wan Tang's eyes did not show any relief; instead they instantly filled with an overwhelming, inextricable sorrow and reluctance.

She reached out, as she once did in childhood, gently smoothing the creased collar of Xu Yanchuan's robe, her movements tender and slow, filled with endless affection.

Finally, she let out a long sigh: "If there were still a choice…"

"We have no choice." Xu Yanchuan cut her off, his voice low yet unusually firm, "You, Minghui, I intend to protect them both."

"This is the path I must walk."

After speaking, he stepped back, giving Wan Tang a deep look.

His tone grew distant and cold: "This Cold Palace… is too comfortable; staying too long only erodes a person's will."

"From now on I will not return."

Having said that, he resolutely turned, his figure quickly merging into the deepening night.

Wan Tang stood where she was, watching the direction of his disappearance, her chest feeling as if a piece had been gouged out, pain choking her breath.

But she knew Xu Yanchuan was right.

The game had reached the middle stage; there was no retreat.

【'Rest assured, tomorrow the battle report from the Northern Border will be in the Emperor's hands.'】

【'Su Yanci has not returned, and the war flares again. The Xiao Family has already been impeached to the point that the Emperor is reflecting; the abundant incriminating evidence is enough to keep the Xiao Family from daring any rash moves for now.'】

【'The only candidates fit for the expedition are Qi Qi and Xu Yanchuan.'】

【'The Empress is the most advantageous sword for the Xiao Family; the situation has been forced to this point, and the Xiao Family will likely act rashly.'】

【'Oh dear, don't be afraid. The Empress has already acted, soaking Hui Guifei's clothes in a flower juice laced with deadly poison—how vile!'】

Wan Tang's heart suddenly lifted.

At that moment, a person staggered in, running.

With a sudden push, they flung open the Cold Palace's great doors.

Ning Daying, who had just left, eyes blood‑red, shouted, "It's bad! My sister and Minghui are in trouble…"