Sheng Chumu took out the letter and read it quickly. He then put it away properly. Prince Han commented, “There are so many pages and you are already done reading them?”
Sheng Chumu sighed, “After writing so much over and over again, she was only talking about one thing. If you do not reach back home in one full piece, my sister will take it out on me.”
Prince Han laughed. “That’s right. Your sister cares about me the most.”
Sheng Chumu nagged, “You both are already an old couple. Can you not be so cheesy?”
“It is natural for a man and woman to love each other. In the future, when you get married you will understand. Chumu ah, when we return to Chang’an after this battle, you can’t be discouraged just because of a woman and keep going to the borders. Look at you. You are tanned and have gotten skinnier. You don’t look like how you were back then…”
Sheng Chumu cut him off. “I thought that you had two things to say? What is the second thing?”
“Oh, the second thing.” Prince Han spoke lightly. “My Imperial Mother emphasised that we must capture Prince Zhao alive.”
Sheng Chumu was stunned for a moment before shouting, “Why are you only saying such an important thing now?”
Prince Han felt like Chumu was making a big deal. “It is not too late to say it now. After all, we haven’t attacked yet.”
Sheng Chumu was flabbergasted. “Whose stupid idea was it to make you the main commander? Capturing alive versus capturing regardless whether he is alive or dead is two completely different stories. We have to reconsider our plans and formations.”
However, upon considering further, Sheng Chumu knew why the Empress emphasised that Prince Zhao needed to be captured alive. This time, it was Prince Han that was leading the army. If Prince Zhao were to die, despite Prince Zhao having committed a crime, Prince Han would still have to bear the burden of killing his younger brother.
Seeing him in deep thought, Prince Han waited a while before asking. “Chumu, is it more difficult to capture him alive?”
Sheng Chumu stared at his Brother-in-law. This person’s appearance must follow his heart. They were both big and fat!
Chapter 60.2: Capable
Fu Rou visited Concubine Xi on the Empress’ orders. Because of Prince Zhao’s rebellion, the Emperor was furious and Concubine Xi had been implicated and was under house arrest. Concubine Xi was resolved as well. Her son was at fault and she no longer wanted to live. She had starved herself for several days.
Yang Bo had been taking care of Concubine Xi. Although Chief Cao instructed that no one was allowed to visit Concubine Xi, he still let Fu Rou in.
Cold wind blew through the windows and the floor was cold. In the past, her palace had been bright. Now, it was solemn and dark. Fu Rou walked around a Hundred Flower Screen as she recalled Concubine Xi instructing her to embroider one of the orchid branches with great detail. She guessed that Concubine Xi liked orchids the most. However, in the palace, the Empress had to be the most outstanding and Concubine Yan was favoured by the Emperor. There was no place for Concubine Xi to show off.
Meanwhile, Concubine Xi was kneeling, her hair uncombed and her clothes were simple. She was like a high-spirited noble lady that had lost her husband and son, about to topple at any time. She appeared pitiful as she trembled in fear. There was nothing she could do. Unfortunately, it seemed like she was not going to live until she was old.
“Your Highness.” Fu Rou looked at the untouched food on the table. “You should eat something.”
Concubine Xi did not look at Fu Rou. “I only have one son. You’er was adorable when he was young. He had a soft pink face and was smart and loveable. I remember the first time he rode a horse. I was so afraid that he would fall down from the horse. When he sat on the horse, my heart kept pounding until his both feet finally touched the ground again. Now, the Emperor has sent out troops to kill him. He can no longer return to Chang’an and see me. In the future, we can only meet in dreams.”
“I don’t know how Prince Zhao will take responsibility for his actions after this battle or how the Emperor will punish him, however, I know that Your Highness still has a chance of meeting Prince Zhao. If Your Highness continues to starve yourself and faints before Prince Zhao reaches Chang’an, who are you going to meet?”
Concubine Xi suddenly raised her head. “You are saying...that he can return to Chang’an alive?”
“Yes.” Fu Rou was certain. “I heard the Empress emphasise to Prince Han to be careful not to hurt Prince Zhao when he attacks Qi City. She said to make sure that he is alive.”
“Are you speaking the truth?” Concubine Xi’s face lit up before worry washed over her once again. “Troops are fierce and the battleground is dangerous. You’er is very stubborn. Even if the Empress has asked Prince Han to spare him, Prince Han may not be able to do it. After all, a sword has no eyes.”
“Prince Han can definitely do it.” Fu Rou was certain.
“How are you so sure?” Concubine Xi needed two doses of confirmation.
“Because there is someone capable by Prince Han’s side.” She had boundless confidence in Sheng Chumu.
The “capable” Sheng Chumu was about to cause Prince Han’s head to crack open.
Although this was Prince Han’s first time as a main commander, it might very well be his last. He was not going to die by his battle plans but he was going to die as a sacrificial victim because of Sheng Chumu’s lack of fear of death. If he were to carry his younger brother-in-law’s ashes back to Chang’an, Consort Han was definitely going to kill him. It was true that Prince Han did not know how to go to battle and could even read the sand table wrongly, but he had read a lot of books. He had glanced through several battle plans before but he had never seen someone go to battle like Sheng Chumu.
Sheng Chumu had taken a hundred men to scout and bumped into Prince Zhao’s army of over a few thousand men. Good lad. Not only did he not run, he even attacked directly, using some Long Snake Formation. He managed to obtain victory even though he had been outnumbered. Yet, he continued to chase the remainder of the reinforcement army all the way to Qi City. That group, along with Sheng Chumu, were covered in blood when they returned to camp. Prince Han’s soul almost left his body in fright when he saw them.
Today, they were attacking Qi City.
Sheng Chumu had a hundred different tricks up his sleeves. The first was to fire a huge arrow to cunning people that instigated Prince Zhao to kill Qian Wenjing. This threw Prince Zhao into a frenzy and he threw all caution to the wind as he shot eight rounds of arrows, using up the entire stash of arrows in the army’s storage. He did not know that Sheng Chumu had already calculated the trajectory and none of his arrows would hit. Using the second huge arrow, he sent a letter to Prince Zhao to warn him that his troops were amongst the reinforcement army that had escaped into Qi City. He also informed Prince Zhao that another despicable official of his had resold the grain in Prince Zhao’s stockpile for a profit. Very soon, the people in his city would starve. However, he promised to treat anyone who surrendered with respect and not hurt them. Sheng Chumu surmised that Prince Zhao was obstinate yet timid. With Prince Zhao’s personality of not using his brains, Sheng Chumu could sweet talk him. In addition to that, Sheng Chumu would drive a wedge amongst the people in Qi City, stirring up chaos. Amongst the chaos, there were actually people who came out of the city to surrender and helped to open the city gates. Sheng Chumu did not suffer a single casualty on his side.