Chapter 110 - Eagle Mountain valley

In the Eagle Mountain valley, Cui Yi led his troops in a pincer attack, successfully biting back at the Anti-Rebellion Army, killing one deputy general, one military officer, and three squad leaders. The Anti-Rebellion Army was terrified, losing their command and wandering aimlessly like headless flies. In the end, about four thousand were killed, ten thousand were captured, and the rest escaped. They might regroup, but they wouldn't dare come back to suffer again. Cui Yi was basically satisfied with the outcome of the battle and hadn't expected to swallow all forty thousand soldiers at once. He ordered them to rest on the spot, set up stoves for cooking, and clear the battlefield before setting off for Xuancheng the next day. His personal guards had just pitched the tent when a scout came to report that a large troop was coming from the north, wearing uniforms resembling those of the Yanzhou army. Cui Yi spat out the water he had just drunk and roared angrily, "It must be an enemy trick! Notify the entire army to prepare for battle!" He put on his helmet, grabbed his halberd, and rushed out. The soldiers, exhausted after the battle, were hungry but had no choice but to take up arms and retreat to hide. Cui Yi hid in the grass behind a rock, vigilantly looking towards the direction the scout indicated. Soon, the "enemy trick" appeared at the other end of the valley, with a large banner bearing the word "Cao." Leading them was none other than Cao Qian, causing Cui Yi's jaw to drop. "What's going on here!" Half an hour later, the soldiers re-established camp and started cooking. Inside the commander's tent, Cui Yi raged like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on. "Who allowed you to leave! Huh? What if everyone left, what would happen to Yanzhou? Huh? What would happen? Would women be left to defend the city? If the Northern Di attacked, what could they do? Hang themselves?" Cao Qian almost flew out under his storm of curses. Bai Li Zan tried to interject, "Your Highness, please calm down! This was my and Fu Zhi's arrangement. We knew Your Highness wouldn't agree, so we kept it secret!" Cui Yi immediately redirected his anger at him, "Your arrangement? You're abandoning women in Yanzhou? Bai Li Wen Yu! I've tolerated you for more than a year. If not for Holding Ying pleading for you, you'd have died a thousand times! And now you make such a heartless decision. Who are you loyal to!" Bai Li Zan, spattered with saliva, shouted back, "Lady agreed to this too! Gong Qi went to rescue Lady Cheng. Once successful, he will return quickly. With Hu Erhana dead, the Northern Di are leaderless and won't invade the Central Plains anytime soon. Your Highness should seize this opportunity to conquer the land, or wait until when?" Cui Yi, enraged, grabbed Bai Li Zan's collar and shook him violently, "Conquering the land, so what! If anything happens to Holding Ying, what use is this throne to me!" Seeing Bai Li Zan about to be thrown out like a sack, Cao Qian held onto his arm tightly, begging, "Your Highness, please calm down! I am also responsible for this, please punish me!" Bai Li Zan steadied himself and calmly said, "Lady said that when Your Highness ascends the throne and rules the world, it will be her time to fulfill her wish and retire. She asked me to tell Your Highness not to worry about her safety." Cui Yi froze like he had been struck by lightning. Bai Li Zan seized the moment to straighten his collar, took a breath, and continued, "Lady also said to spare the Longevity Tutor Changsun's family, neither giving them special treatment nor killing them. Just confine them to live out their days. Since Empress Changsun can't bear children, there's no need to worry about future rebellion. Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince are nothing to fear. Your Highness can rest assured ruling the land." "If Crown Prince Cui Hao proves capable, great. If not, Your Highness can choose another capable son from future concubines. Don't hand over hard-won land to an incapable person, risking the fate of the Great Chu imperial family." Cui Yi's eyes became vacant, staggering backward. Cao Qian hurriedly supported him, "Your Highness!" "What does she mean by this?" Cui Yi's eyes bulged, staring blankly, "She... retiring, what does that mean? Is she leaving? Where? To Guannei to find Bo Muer?" Bai Li Zan shook his head, "Lady said she was sent by heaven to help Your Highness conquer the land and will leave the mortal world afterward." Cui Yi instantly lost it, "Sent by heaven! Leaving the mortal world! Bai Li Wen Yu, even if you lie, make it believable! Are you treating me like a three-year-old?" Bai Li Zan paused, then asked, "Do you remember in the capital, Your Highness wondered how Lady knew of my existence? We thought it was because of Lord Changsun, but it wasn't." "Not?" Cui Yi's mind was completely blank, "Then why?" Bai Li Zan sighed deeply, "Lady said there was no reason, she just knew. Though she hadn't met us, she knew every key figure Your Highness would deal with, including me, Zhong Xing, Gong Qi, Fu Zhi, and Guo Ziyang. She even knew Empress Changsun couldn't bear children." Even Cao Qian was hearing this for the first time and was stunned, stuttering, "Lady knew even that? Could she really be a celestial fairy?" "Fairy nonsense!" Cui Yi roared, breaking free from his support, "Cao Zhong Xing! I order you to turn back immediately. No matter what, don't let Her Highness be harmed, nor let her follow anyone else! Otherwise, bring your head to see me!" Bai Li Zan exclaimed, "Your Highness! General Cao can't go back! We must attack the capital now and replace the Emperor..." Cui Yi shot him a cold glance, "Shut up, I didn't ask for your opinion." That gaze was almost savage, making Bai Li Zan feel like he would be beheaded if he spoke another word. In the four years since joining the prince's service, he had never seen Cui Yi like this, not even when Xie Jia made Holding Ying disappear. So, Bai Li Zan wisely shut up. Cao Qian, isolated, obediently returned with his men. Inside the commander's tent, silence reigned. Cui Yi sat on the general's couch, legs apart, looking lost. Bai Li Zan dared not leave, standing aside. Time seemed to pass slowly. After half an hour, food was brought in. Cui Yi reluctantly nodded. Bai Li Zan breathed a sigh of relief, ready to excuse himself, but Cui Yi suddenly called, "Wen Yu." Reluctantly, Bai Li Zan bowed, "Yes." "How long have you known Holding Ying?" Bai Li Zan thought, "Over four years." Cui Yi rested his chin on his hand, looking bewildered, "Only four years? Why does it feel like half a lifetime? I can't remember how I spent the twenty-some years before meeting her." Bai Li Zan, relieved that Cui Yi's anger had subsided, replied, "Some say you don't realize what's missing in life until you meet the right person. Then you realize all previous years were wasted." Cui Yi sighed, "That's exactly how I feel. I can't remember the past, nor know how to live without her." "More happened in these four years than in the previous twenty-four. Though mostly tough times, they felt happy. Strange." Bai Li Zan chuckled, "That's what they call a couple sharing hardships together." Cui Yi looked at the food, sniffed like a dog, and lost his appetite, "The green pepper stir-fry isn't as fragrant as Holding Ying's." Bai Li Zan felt a pang of sympathy, recalling Holding Ying's instructions during the empty city strategy, smiling lightly but with deep sorrow. "Did she really say she would return to heaven?" "Indeed, that was Lady's exact words." Cui Yi asked pitifully, "Do you think it's true?" Bai Li Zan laughed wryly, "Hard to say. Lady is indeed extraordinary, though she doesn't have magical powers, it's hard to deny she might be a celestial being." Cui Yi slumped on the table, like a deflated bear, "If that's true, marrying her was a huge blessing. If heaven wants her back, I can't stop it. Heaven is good, no hunger, no cold, no worries, no aging, no death..." "But heaven has no Your Highness, no children," Bai Li Zan couldn't help saying. Cui Yi jumped up like he was pricked, "You're right." Then he sprang up, "You're right! No matter how good heaven is, without family, what's the point!" Bai Li Zan, unsure what had gotten into him, said, "Your Highness... calm down! What are you planning!" Cui Yi stormed out of the tent. Soldiers eating hurriedly stood up. "Eat quickly, eat well, then move out!" Cui Yi surveyed, ordering fiercely, "One month to capture the capital, return home to see parents, hold wife, harvest wheat!" Many soldiers missed their families, and tears welled up at his words. Cui Yi barked, "Stop crying! Lady wants to ascend to heaven, I want to cry too!" The whole camp burst into laughter. Bai Li Zan followed, laughing, "Your method of boosting morale is truly unique." Cui Yi humphed, turned back to the tent, and soldiers buried their heads, eating frantically. Whether a celestial being or something else, even if heavenly soldiers came to take her away, he wouldn't allow it! Cui Yi clenched his fists, vowing silently.