Shang Ruyi nodded, "Mm."

Thus, Yu Wenye no longer lingered on her, turning to Lei Guo and said, "To the city gate!"

"Yes!"

In the darkness of night, the group hurried to the city gate. The soldiers guarding the gate were the same who had allowed them passage at dusk. Seeing Lei Guo leading them there, they were shocked. However, without waiting for them to react, Lei Guo issued a command, and in their confusion, they hurriedly opened the large gate.

As the gate opened, a gust of night wind suddenly rushed into the city.

The cold wind cleared the soldiers’ minds at once.

Qi County had surrendered to the Yuwen Family.

However, to them, this was not an unacceptable outcome. After all, from the beginning, they had obeyed Lei Guo, who in turn was obeying the Shanxi Comfort Envoy, Duke Sheng Yu Wenquan. Since Yu Wenquan had followed destiny, accepted the abdication of the Little Emperor, and established the new Dasheng Dynasty, it was only natural for them to obey him.

After all, even if judged by character alone, the virtuous and compassionate Yu Wenquan was far better than the greedy, arrogant, and ruthless Wang Brothers; moreover, even though Wang Shaoji and the others colluded with the Turkic people, these soldiers did not dare openly resist, but were secretly discontent.

Now, having King Qin Yuwenye, renowned for his valor and always esteemed in the army, to reclaim Qi County was something they could only wish for, so none uttered a word.

In the silent night, three swishes rang out.

It was Yuwenye standing atop the city wall, holding a torch and waving it three times towards the deep night outside.

Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps emerged from the night, approaching like rolling thunder, even trembling the ground beneath them. Before long, a large troop gathered—it was Shen Tu Tai leading his men.

As they approached the gate, seeing Yuwenye standing on the city wall, they all sighed in relief and silently entered the city.

The two groups met without any conflict. Once everyone had passed through the gate, Yuwenye immediately ordered the city gate be closed.

A plan to capture the city, which should have been resolved through bloody combat, happened and ended in silence.

Although Shen Tu Tai and others knew of Yuwenye’s abilities, they were still anxious as it involved two people entering enemy territory. Now, faced with this result, they were filled with admiration, and several deputy generals immediately ran up the city wall, bowing down to Yuwenye: "Prince Qin!"

"Indeed, Your Highness is wise and brave!"

"We are impressed!"

Yuwenye handed the torch he used as a signal to Lei Guo beside him. The raging flames illuminated his indifferent face, and even his cold and stern eyes showed no emotion. He calmly said, "Have the troops rest, remember not to disturb the city’s residents."

Everyone immediately responded, "Yes!"

At this moment, a small, sturdy figure emerged from the crowd, ready to rush to Shang Ruyi’s side in delight. But as he approached, he widened his eyes in shock and stammered, "Princess, you—"

The speaker was Shantong’er, who had been eagerly awaiting all night.

Just beneath the city wall, everyone’s eyes were on Prince Qin, except for him. After confirming Prince Qin was unharmed, he immediately searched the shadowy crowd for that familiar figure and indeed found her. Princess Qin stood on the city wall in a splendid colored gown, her beauty breathtaking.

However, as he drew nearer, he was shocked to discover it was a blood-stained white dress!

Hearing his voice, everyone looked over, inhaling sharply, even Shen Tu Tai widened his eyes: "Princess, this is—"

Shang Ruyi lifted her pale, bloodless face to look at them.

Then, she looked at Shantong’er and softly smiled, "It’s nothing. The blood of the Turkic people."

Though it was just a few words without any elaborate description, everyone sensed the hidden danger of a fierce battle within her calm words. Seeing her serene expression, Shen Tu Tai remained silent for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "The Princess is truly a heroine."

With Shen Tu Tai’s longstanding renown in the army, even he praised her, leaving everyone in awe of Shang Ruyi.

In the past, such scenes were not unheard of.

Shang Ruyi clearly remembered accompanying Yuwenye to the army for the first time. After competing with Huang Gongyi, even though she lost, she gained the admiration and praise of the army, with some cheering for her in exhilaration. At that moment, she was ecstatic beyond measure.

Now, it should be the same.

But for some reason, although she wanted to smile, she couldn’t, and even found it hard to breathe.

Shang Ruyi could only force a smile, curving her lips slightly, and offering a gentle smile towards Shen Tu Tai and the soldiers saluting her as a gesture of respect, "Just doing my duty."

Afterward, she lowered her head, reassuring the worried Shantong’er, "Don’t worry."

It was then that Yuwenye suddenly stepped forward, instructing everyone to leave and asking Shen Tu Tai and several deputy generals to join Lei Guo in the hall to discuss matters for the next day. Following his arrangements, everyone descended from the city wall. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Only the two of them remained on the wall.

In the dark night, Yuwenye looked down at her pale little face for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "I still need to discuss tomorrow’s matters with them. For now, you shouldn’t listen to these."

"..."

"Go and rest, it’s too late."

As he spoke, his eyes, darker than the night, shimmered slightly. Looking at Shang Ruyi, he softly said, "You cannot forgo rest."

"...!"

Shang Ruyi’s heart trembled slightly.

It seemed he knew she feared going to rest.