Chapter 758: Leave Behind

Early the next morning, Xiao Yin led eight hundred royal guards, his own Empress, and even the two young princes, marching toward the tightly shut city gates of Shang Jing.

The surrounding generals, seeing such a scene, silently gasped, "Is this even called warfare?"

Might as well just call the whole family out to play.

Xiao Yin tightened the reins, hugged the little princess in his arms, raised his finger toward the grand gate tower of Shang Jing not far away, bent down and whispered with a smile, "Father Emperor, shall we bring you home?"

The little princess, seeing such a grand scene for the first time, clapped her tiny hands and laughed joyfully.

Riding on the horse, Gu Jiu Ling scolded, "Don't spoil her; lately she doesn't even listen to her brother's words."

Gu Yi rode alone on a small red horse, while Ling Feng, uneasy, rode his own horse to stay beside the child.

This child is the future Crown Prince; if anything went wrong, cutting off all their heads wouldn't even be enough compensation.

Gu Yi snorted coldly, tightened the reins, and his upright little face, though not yet fully grown, already bore the aura of a future icy‑handsome man.

Gu Jiu Ling worried about his son, but Xiao Yin had said that boys must be let go to do what they ought to do themselves.

Xiao Yin smiled at Gu Jiu Ling, "This child has suffered plenty with us; we must make up for all the affection owed to her."

The four of them, with eight hundred royal guards, marched grandly toward the imperial city; as they neared the gate, Ling Feng and the others grew tense.

He gripped his sword tightly, positioning himself in front of the young prince, still resenting the Emperor's carelessness.

Indeed the Emperor had made thorough preparations, but on the battlefield blades have no eyes; the Empress and the princes and princesses standing so far forward were truly too dangerous.

Just as Ling Feng was agonizing, the city gate not far away slowly opened.

Cheng Ming, clad in silver armor, and his wife Lin Rujun, dressed in a striking red outfit, rode out of the gate together.

Behind them, a mass of Cheng army soldiers knelt in a black sea; Cheng Ming and Lin Rujun dismounted and knelt before Xiao Yin's warhorse, paying their respects.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor! Long live! Ten thousand years!"

The Cheng army behind them shouted in unison, shaking the earth and mountains.

In that instant, Ling Feng finally understood.

What Cheng army rebellion? Rebellion, what a joke! This is clearly clearing the remnants of the previous regime in Shang Jing for the Emperor.

Earlier the Cheng army took over the Five Cities Military Office, completely overhauling it—a mere puppet incident from before.

The Emperor no longer trusted anyone, even his own close people, remaining cautious.

The Five Cities Military Office had been run by the Emperor for a long time; if someone deliberately swapped personnel, many could have slipped in.

Everyone thought the Cheng family and the Emperor were enemies with a poor relationship, but the Emperor went the opposite way, using Cheng Ming's men to purge those around him.

Instead, the situation became safer and more assured, far better than baseless suspicion.

So Cheng Ming was Xiao Yin's biggest inside source!

Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling dismounted themselves and approached the couple.

Xiao Yin bent down to lift Cheng Ming from the ground, his gaze showing rare respect, and said slowly, "Thank you, General Cheng, for your intervention, sparing the common folk of the world from further war's harm and trouble."

Hearing Xiao Yin call him General Cheng, Cheng Ming felt a sudden pang in his heart, almost to the point of tears.

He, once the monster that everyone in Shang Jing feared, now finally had Xiao Yin address him as General Cheng; his father's spirit in heaven must be pleased.

He had always lived in his father's shadow; wherever he went, no matter how outstanding his battle achievements, he was always called the son of Lord Cheng.

At this moment, the title General Cheng was one he had waited for far too long.

He left Shang Jing with his wife during the life‑or‑death clash between the eight great families and Xiao Yin.

Through his own effort he stabilized the southern frontier, rebuilt the Cheng army, and together with Zhao Lang guarded the southern and northern gates of Southern Qi, protecting the world's people without worry.

Now he is no longer that hot‑tempered reckless youth; the young man finally exudes a few touches of mature composure capable of handling matters alone.

Cheng Ming bowed to Xiao Yin and said, "Securing peace for the world's people is a blessing for this humble general!"

Cheng Ming pronounced the words "the world's people" with genuine emphasis, stressing that he acted for the common folk, not for Xiao Yin.

This awkward temperament remains unchanged even now that he has become a senior general capable of handling affairs alone.

Xiao Yin smiled; his nephew could sometimes be quite… hard to describe.

Meanwhile, Gu Jiu Ling, with two children, caught up with Lin Rujun; the two no longer shared the previous open intimacy, keeping a certain ruler‑subject distance.

Lin Rujun bowed to Gu Jiu Ling and said, "My lady, I convey greetings to the Empress, and greetings to the two young princes!"

Gu Jiu Ling quickly lifted her hand to help her up, laughing, "No need for formalities between us; you're being too distant. How is your son doing?"

Mentioning her son, Lin Rujun's eyes softened as she smiled, "Thank you, Madam, for your concern; that boy is indeed rather mischievous, but at least he knows some manners."

Gu Jiu Ling nodded, "Your son and my son are of similar age; feel free to bring him into the palace to play regularly!"

Gu Jiu Ling's remark made Lin Rujun pause in surprise, then her eyes filled with complex emotions.

All of Southern Qi knew that their family had some feud with the current emperor and empress, especially after the scholars' disturbance and the Lin family's support of the former Crown Prince against Xiao Yin.

Any of those incidents could spark royal suspicion, making it possible to uproot the couple entirely.

This time Gu Jiu Ling clearly intended her son to be the study companion of the young Crown Prince; the bond between the two when they grow up would be far from simple, allowing the son to thrive in the court.

She never expected Gu Jiu Ling to still trust her; a flood of emotions rose, and her eyes reddened.

Gu Jiu Ling, following Xiao Yin to prepare to enter Shang Jing, before leaving looked at Lin Rujun and said, "I heard your elder brother had a favored concubine who left him a bloodline, so that he can later return to the Lin family and inherit the marquisate; the Lin lineage cannot simply end."

"After all, the Lin family's genes are fine; producing several top scholars, the Imperial Court values literature and education, so there will be many opportunities to employ the Lin family in the future!"

Gu Jiu Ling laughed, "That's also the Emperor's intention!"

Lin Rujun's eyes flashed with immense joy; she could no longer hold back tears, and with a thud she knelt before Gu Jiu Ling.

"My lady thanks the Emperor, thanks the Empress!"

At this moment the palace city fell into chaos, while the Hall of Nurturing the Heart was dead silent.

Gu Kang, dressed in a dragon robe, sat on the Dragon Throne, his complexion dark and gloomy; opposite, Master Wen sat on a solitary grandmaster chair.

Usually calm, composed, and decisive, Master Wen also found it hard to cope with this sudden turn of events.

Furious, Master Wen struck the stone floor with his cane, gritting his teeth, "Scoundrel! Scoundrel! How can a brat make such empty promises?"