"My Lord, your subordinate was wrong. I will go find Hu Yan Che immediately!"
Li Yang, emboldened by audacity, interrupted Si Feng Ming's words and, with legs clamped tightly together, sashayed out.
Lu Qing Wan, unsurprised, heard the suppressed laughter of the hidden guards and couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement herself.
Meeting Si Feng Wu's amused gaze, she deliberately spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "Actually, I also want to ask you, should we be going back?"
Si Feng Wu chuckled with mock reproof, "Return to Gui Hua Cheng!"
Lu Qing Wan, though her eyes sparkled with delight, pretended to be confused.
"Gui Hua Cheng is under attack, how can we go back?"
Si Feng Wu looked at her eager expression and gently pinched her pert nose.
"I'll take you to the front lines of Gui Hua Cheng. Happy now?"
Intercepting the Wu An Palace cultists at the imperial mausoleum had been a necessary evil. The Wu An Palace, now occupied by a different group, harbored hidden talents, and they couldn't be at ease without personally overseeing the operation.
But in reality, Lu Qing Wan's true concern had always been the battle at Gui Hua Cheng.
If Si Feng Wu hadn't mentioned it, she could have patiently waited for news from the front. But the moment he spoke, Lu Qing Wan could no longer sit still.
Mounting her horse, she sped off, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Before her words had fully registered, she was already gone.
Si Feng Wu let out a wry laugh and quickly mounted his own horse to chase after her.
The imperial mausoleum was to the west of Gui Hua Cheng, but the secret passage was to the north. Reaching the front-line position required traversing nearly half of Gui Hua Cheng, and taking a detour meant a considerable journey.
This resulted in Lu Qing Wan and Si Feng Wu arriving when the battle was already nearing its end.
As soon as they reached the area, scouts guarding the perimeter rushed out. Upon recognizing them, they quickly lowered their firearms and saluted.
Coincidentally, the leading scout was a young captain whom Lu Qing Wan had met a few times before.
Seeing them, he completed his salute and reported, "Reporting to my Lord, my Lady. Gui Hua Cheng has fallen. General Shen, General Lin, and General Feng are leading troops from three directions to clear out the remaining enemy soldiers within the city.
The Northern Wei Emperor and Wan Yan Lie have fled. The strategist is in pursuit."
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow and looked at Si Feng Wu, "You let Lian Yu let the Northern Wei Emperor and Wan Yan Lie escape?"
Otherwise, with Lian Yu's cunning mind and the overwhelming might of the Xuan Jia Army, how could such important figures have slipped away?
Si Feng Wu nodded with pleasure, "Given the current circumstances, it is clearly more advantageous for us to have the Northern Wei Emperor and Wan Yan Lie alive than dead.
I instructed Lian Yu to let them go, but not too obviously.
It appears Lian Yu's performance was quite successful."
Lu Qing Wan offered no opinion on this, instead, she leaned down to ask the captain, "What is the situation with the defenders in Gui Hua Cheng? Were they resolute in their resistance?"
The captain's face contorted in a sneer. "Originally, the defending enemy soldiers were filled with passion and ready to fight us to the death.
When the strategist had our soldiers use loudspeakers to inform them that the Northern Wei Emperor had already abandoned the city and fled, they were initially skeptical. They sent people to confirm, and once they knew the Northern Wei Emperor was not in the palace, their will to resist crumbled."
As Si Feng Wu had predicted, with the Northern Wei Emperor gone, Gui Hua Cheng had lost its core leadership.
"Where is Mu Rong Tao? What is his reaction to the Northern Wei Emperor's escape?"
Nie Wu Ming, for the sake of the King of Ten Thousand Phoenixes and the True Dragon Token, was willing to use Cheng Nan Shu, who had already borne him a child, as bait. Unless Cheng Nan Liu had lost his mind, he would not continue to help Nie Wu Ming fight against them.
The ministers who had been heavily relied upon by the Northern Wei Emperor had already fled with the Emperor and Wan Yan Lie.
Currently, the only one in Gui Hua Cheng capable of fighting the Xuan Jia Army was Mu Rong Tao.
Although he was just a small captain, this young officer was exceptionally well-informed about the affairs within Gui Hua Cheng. His expression changed as Lu Qing Wan mentioned the person she asked about.
He had spoken of the Northern Wei Emperor with disdain, but when Mu Rong Tao was mentioned, he gnashed his teeth while his face was filled with admiration.
"My Lady, you ask about him. In this vast Gui Hua Cheng, it was this Mu Rong Tao who caused our brothers to suffer losses repeatedly.
Fifteen minutes ago, I overheard the scouts saying he led his remaining five thousand soldiers towards the imperial palace.
Generals Shen, Lin, and Feng are preparing to surround him from three sides and capture Mu Rong Tao in one fell swoop."
After saying so much, he hadn't mentioned Cheng Nan Liu at all.
Si Feng Wu couldn't help but feel puzzled. "Where is Cheng Nan Liu? He is the commander of the Northern Wei Imperial Guards, responsible for guarding the imperial city. Where has he gone?"
The captain shook his head repeatedly. "I haven't heard anyone mention Cheng Nan Liu. The position of commander of the Imperial Guards has long belonged to Wan Yan Lie. Did he not flee with the Northern Wei Emperor? Only Mu Rong Tao remains in the city."
Someone who should have been guarding Gui Hua Cheng and protecting the Northern Wei Emperor had now mysteriously disappeared?
Lu Qing Wan and Si Feng Wu instinctively sensed something was amiss and immediately called out to those behind them, "Go to the palace immediately and find Cheng Nan Shu. Ensure she is brought out safely.
Inquire about Cheng Nan Liu's whereabouts. If he can be found, bring him out as well."
Li Su responded crisply and departed. Si Feng Wu looked at Lu Qing Wan's displeased expression and preemptively warned her, "Nie Wu Ming has gone mad for his own selfish desires.
Cheng Nan Shu might be alright, but Cheng Nan Liu held great power. His fate may not be good. You need to be mentally prepared."
The Cheng Nan Liu siblings didn't have much personal connection with Lu Qing Wan. If they had met on the battlefield, even if she had to kill them with her own hands, Lu Qing Wan would not have felt the slightest pang of emotion.
However, Cheng Nan Shu was someone she had sent to Nie Wu Ming's side, and it was through her cooperation that Cheng Nan Liu had become an enemy of Nie Wu Ming.
Therefore, Lu Qing Wan felt compelled to consider their situation.
They could die, but they must not die because of their cooperation with Lu Qing Wan. Otherwise, their deaths would undoubtedly become a scar that Lu Qing Wan would find difficult to reconcile with for the rest of her life.
"I know."
Nie Wu Ming, in his desperation to see Empress Dowager Xiao Cheng Ren, whose teacher and student status was unclear, had disregarded everything. How could he possibly treat the siblings who had betrayed him kindly?
Although she harbored hope, she was not blindly optimistic.
She flicked the reins of her horse and looked at Si Feng Wu, "Where do we go next?"
"Since we're here, let's go see Lian Yu."
Si Feng Wu gazed into the distance where flames raged, "We'll discuss the matters of accepting Gui Hua Cheng with him. If all goes smoothly, we should return to Shang Jing."
As prospective Emperor and Empress, they couldn't be involved in every single detail.
With the great undertaking of expanding their territory complete, he should return to Shang Jing to preside over the overall situation.
Lu Qing Wan readily agreed, "Alright, let's go find Lian Yu."
The guards outside the encampment quickly parted for them. The leading captain even dispatched someone to guide them.
As Lu Qing Wan spurred her horse towards Lian Yu's position, she sighed with a touch of admiration, "No wonder they say that every soldier in the Xuan Jia Army is a talent. Look at how thorough even a small captain under your command is.
It's no wonder the Xuan Jia Army has become the renowned invincible force of the three southeastern nations. This is true strength!"