On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, Qi Sheng finally started his north tour with his troops.

I fastened his helmet and, in the meantime, told him how to avoid being struck by lightning, “When you encounter thunderstorms in the wild, do not ride on high horses. You are already tall enough, and the tassel on your helmet is half an inch longer than that of others. Lightening like to strike someone like you…”

He suddenly grabbed my hand and held it tightly. After a while, he asked, “Can’t you wish me something good?”

Something good? Sure, I have a lot of them. I replied without a moment of thought, “Then I wish Your Majesty a safe trip wherever you go, succeed upon immediate arrival, win your victory at your first battle, everything will be fine and you will be richer and richer…”

“Enough!” Qi Sheng grumpily interrupted me and looked at me furiously.

I was speechless so I stayed in silence.

The furiousness in his face slowly faded and his eyes calmed down, without showing any emotion. Finally, he said nothing, just looked at me in a profound way. Then he turned around and left.

I watched him disappearing, and as if all my strengths were drained, I felt weak in my legs and almost fell to the ground. No matter what, he had finally left!

I didn’t know whether I was delighted or sad. I just felt there was an empty hole inside my heart.

Lv Li visited me in the palace after she bid farewell to Zhao wang. I described to her how I felt but after a series of descriptions and gesturing, she still couldn’t comprehend. After a long while, she slapped her own lap and yelled, “Your Majesty, I understand now. I understand what you meant.”

I was relieved, thinking what a soulmate she was to me as she understood how I felt when I didn’t even know it myself. I asked her surprisedly and delightedly, “Do you?”

Lv Li nodded with certainty, “I do. To put it in a straight way, it’s like you have been suffering like a daughter-in-law for thirty years, and now you can have a good time as a mother-in-law. Since His Majesty isn’t here, you will be in charge of the palace and do whatever you want!”

What was she talking about? I hadn’t seen any daughter-in-law, but I indeed had two mothers-in-law.

I didn’t respond so Lv Li tried to have another guess. I hastily stopped her and asked, “Did Zhao wang say anything before he left?”

She replied, “He asked me to tell Your Majesty one thing, that no matter what happens, His Majesty is the only one Your Majesty can rely on.”

I contemplated on his words and felt there was some hidden meanings.

Lv Li went quiet for a while, then she asked in a low voice, “Your Majesty, is waiting all we can do now?”

I asked in return, “Then what else can we do? They have just left the city, and who knows which side will win in the end. We have to reserve ourselves a way out.”

Girl, it was definitely not a good time for us to take a leap in the dark.

If Bathroom Lord failed, and I showed my ambition for a promotion, Qi Sheng would definitely settle the scores with me after he returned. So we had to wait now. I had been struggling through for so many years. I could do with another year or so.

In the end of the sixth lunar month, a Nanxia trade caravan of more than hundred men was robbed and killed outside Jingyang. The news travelled into the city, Qi Sheng, who just arrived at Jingyang, was furious. He immediately commanded two thousand soldiers in Jingyang to enter the realm of the Northern Dessert, searching for the banner of the missing caravan, and conduct robbery in the Norther Desert as revenge.

The Norther Desert army hurriedly organized military forces to fight back, and a fierce battle was conducted 70 li (one li equals 500 meters) north to Jingyang. Because of the outrageous disparity between the military forces of the two sides, Nanxia lost a lot of soldiers. Only three hundred or so had made out of the Northern Desert trap, and returned to Jiangyang.

It stirred up the hornet’s nest. Qi Sheng condemned the despicable actions of the Northern Desert, and announced he would lead the army to the Northern Desert immediately. As soon as the Jingyang gate opened, Nanxia army, which consisted of 400 thousand soldiers, breezed into Northern Desert, and won over several border cities within a few days.

The Norther Desert was taken aback. Small scale disputes happened quite often, and the guards of each country just messed around with each other. No one ever considered to turn it into a war. So what was Nanxia doing now? Why did they suddenly attack with such intensity?

Alas! Speak no more words and organize an army to fight!

It was already in the middle of the seventh lunar month when the news travelled back to Sheng City. Looking at the serious words in the “report of quashing barbarians”, I truly admired Qi Sheng’s cheekiness.

Lv Li was a girl after all so when she saw a war breaking out at the north, she grew anxious and asked me, “Your Majesty, what should we do now? Should we contact our families?”

Qi Sheng didn’t take the Minister of Defense, Zhang Fang, with him, but instead left him in Sheng City with me. To think it from a positive side, Qi Sheng wanted to leave me someone I could use. But on the other side, maybe he was luring the Zhang Family to do something shady. We couldn’t take his bait. We definitely couldn’t.

Lv Li was still waiting for my instruction. I thought for a while and shook my head, “We don’t need to worry about our family. But I have to pay a visit to the Grand Empress Dowager and try to figure out what she thinks.”

The Grand Empress Dowager Lin shi always looked as a buddha that cared about nothing. But she had been an Empress Dowager for decades, and showed what she was capable of when the late emperor passed away. I would be a fool to treat her like an old lady that knew nothing.

The Grand Empress Dowager was glad to see me and she delightedly asked me to sit beside her. She gently patted on my arms and comforted me, “You don’t need to worry about him. Just take care of Hao’er for him, and save him some family considerations.”

Hearing what she said, I decided to care for nothing. Apart from teaching Wei’er to read every day, I only watched nanny take care of Qi Hao.

The temperature dropped and news kept travelling back from the North. One day it said that the pioneer He Bingze had conquered an important city in Northern Desert and the next day it said how far Qi Sheng marched north. Every news was a good one.

I only ate and slept, but gradually Lv Li lost her cool and asked me in private, “Your Majesty, will Chu wang really try?”

I thought for a while and nodded.

If Bathroom Lord wanted to turn things around, this was his only chance.

Not two days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, when mooncakes hadn’t been consumed, Yang Yan, who was banished to Lingnan by Qi Sheng suddenly visited me at night.

I was shaken awake from my dream, and saw a dark shadow standing by bed side as soon as I opened my eyes. He said, “I couldn’t find my father.”

Thanks to my braveness that I didn’t scream. I went still for a while and replied, “I don’t have him here. Maybe… have a look somewhere else?

Yang Yan clenched his teeth, annoyed, pushed me inside the bed and jumped in it. He sat down with his legs crossed and whispered to me, “Not a while after we arrived at Lingnan, he found an excuse to lock me down. When I finally broke out, I found that he and my three brothers were all gone. I asked my family, and they only told me they went out together but it was unclear where they had gone.

I was confused. Why were they leaving together? Were they visiting relatives? But why did he have to lock his youngest son away?

Something flipped through my mind and it was so fast that I almost missed it. I asked Yang Yan, “When did they leave?”

Yang Yan answered, “I heard it was the beginning of the fifth lunar month. And they took away everything they used in the army. I was grounded for almost three months until I escaped several days ago. I asked around in the ninth brother’s mansion the night before. They didn’t go and seek the ninth brother.

There was a trace of nervousness in his tone, and he looked at me quietly after he finished.

Yang Yu suddenly disappeared with his sons. If they left in private, they wouldn’t leave with army possessions that might catch people’s attention, which meant they were not afraid of being seen.

I was nervous as well and couldn’t get things straight for a long while. I said, “They are all grownup men, and no one will have abducted them. Wait patiently in Sheng City for a few days and…”

Yang Yan angrily interrupted, “Do you know what it means that they kept all these from me?”

I got angry as well and sneered, “It just means that you are not the only one they keep in the dark, so is your ninth brother. It means you and your ninth brother have all been played by your father, an old fox. It means that they work for Qi Sheng now…”

Yang Yan was surprised and furious.

I watched him coldly and asked, “So what? Look at where we are now, what can you do?”

Yang Yan sat in a trance for a while, his shoulder dragging. He mumbled, “What should I do? I can’t believe they lied to me as well.”

Looking at how defeated he was, I sighed and kicked him, “Chu wang’s mansion must be under surveillance so you should stop going there. Go to Lv Li’s place. I’ll have someone look into it. I will let you know if there’s any news.”

Yang Yan sat quietly for a while and nodded, stood up and left.

I lay on the bed till morning with my eyes open, and contemplated the matter from beginning to end. No matter how much I resisted to the assumption, all clues indicated that Yang Yu was already in Jiangbei, and maybe he was already in the battlefield.

But why did Qi Sheng dare to use Yang Yu, who had half Northern Desert blood running in him? Why wasn’t there any news from Bathroom Lord?

Just when my head felt dizzy, Fu’er’s gentle voices sounded outside the curtain, “Is Your Majesty awake? Are you getting up now?

I thought for a while and drew a corner of the curtain. I asked Fu’er to come over and instructed her in a low voice, “I need you to secretly sneak out of the palace to Chu wang’s mansion today and ask the princess to come over as soon as possible.”

I had been training Fu’er for more than two years. She was sharp in mind, tight in her mouth, and fast in her legs. The most precious quality was that whatever I asked of her, she only answered yes, without ever asking why.