Chapter 836: Chapter 587: Long-standing Wish_2
The military authority is held by whose hand,
The fate of the empire, held by whose grasp.
Ao Qi felt the taut string in his heart slowly loosen.
No wonder she offered him tea, food, and kind hospitality.
He smiled faintly, his handsome face shadowed by eyes deep as the silent Han Pool.
"Empress, your subject believes this matter is unwise."
At thirty years old, Ao Qi had shed his youth’s immaturity; he was no longer reckless or brash.
He had his own judgments to make.
"The battlefield is ever-changing; for the Empress to go there on impulse would not only accomplish little but also divert His Majesty’s focus... Especially with winter’s chill upon us, the army should be resting and regrouping. What purpose would your journey truly serve?"
"It has a purpose," Feng Yun smiled faintly, "at the very least, to accompany His Majesty."
Ao Qi was left speechless.
After a long silence, he broke into a faint smile, his sharp brows lifting slightly.
"Empress, you must remain calm."
Feng Yun shook her head and said firmly, "I have actually had this plan since before the year’s end. But with Rui Bao’s birthday coinciding with the New Year’s festivities, only now have I delayed it until this point."
Ao Qi gazed at her silently.
Feng Yun gently lifted her sleeve to pour him tea, her expression suddenly cold.
"To personally defeat Xiao Cheng has been my long-cherished wish, and this opportunity is truly rare..."
Outside, snow fell heavily, and a cold raven darted onto the roof, shaking clumps of snow loose with a flutter.
Her gaze chilled further.
Sharp as frost that cut to the bone.
Gone was her usual warmth and dignity, replaced by a determination and detachment Ao Qi had never seen before—
As though her destination was not a battlefield but a place of revenge steeped in blood and hatred.
He found himself unable to utter words of refusal.
He had never been able to refuse her.
Ao Qi sighed.
It took him a long while before he lifted his sleeve, bowing his head in salute.
"If her Majesty commands, her humble subject dares not disobey. Yet your subject must still advise the Empress to avoid recklessness. For His Majesty, for the Crown Prince, think deeply before acting."
Feng Yun furrowed her brow slightly, "Here, I am not the Empress; I am your aunt. What I entrust to you is not court affairs but the wellbeing of Rui Bao’s elder brother. Xiaoqi, why have you grown so estranged today?"
Ao Qi’s throat tightened, "I have not."
Feng Yun said nothing further.
She simply sat there, her face pale and icy, her form rendered into a faint silhouette under the overcast light of the snowy day—
A shadow cast into Ao Qi’s gaze.
The backdrop was a barren wasteland of hues.
Ao Qi began to falter.
His father’s daily admonitions rang in his ears: the boundaries between ruler and subject are inviolate.
Since the day his uncle ascended the throne, he no longer dared to act with impudence.
"Speak the truth. How has your aunt wronged you?" Feng Yun studied him, her features steeped in stern coldness.
Ao Qi felt his heart racing, every pore trembling with anxiety.
Even if faced with thousands of troops, he could remain unflinching.
But from his youth until now, he had always yielded to her...
This lifetime had been set in place.
Finally, he stood and saluted Feng Yun, fists clasped in reverence.
"This humble subject will not fail the Empress’s trust. As long as I stand, the Crown Prince shall stand, and Xinjing shall endure."
This was the phrase Feng Yun had waited to hear.
She smiled and summoned Xiaoman, bringing out the items they had prepared for Amir and her unborn child—
Clothes, shoes, diapers, and small trinkets for the baby.
"This journey to Dan Prefecture will keep me away from the Capital for some time. I fear I’ll miss Amir’s labor, so I’ve prepared these things to express my heartfelt congratulations early."
Feng Yun spoke warmly, but Ao Qi felt a trace of awkwardness.
In truth, after all these years, much had faded.
There was no longer any shyness, nor the intensity of passion.
Yet the feelings that had carved themselves deeply into his youth, like a heavy stroke on his heart, remained his most vivid memory—
The deepest mark etched into his soul.
Through this life and beyond, he could never forget.
She was the first woman to invade his heart.
The wars he petitioned to fight in, even his rise to fame through military conquest, were all for her...
In some way, it was Feng Yun who made him who he was—
From soldier to general.
Even if heaven fell and earth split apart, he could never deceive himself into truly seeing her as just an elder, as his aunt.
Still, he had never thought that the youthful determination to marry her one day would eventually come to this—preparing diapers for another’s child...
Ao Qi sighed in faint amusement.
"Thank you, Empress."
-
The new year had just begun, and the streets lay empty and eerily quiet.
The morning had not yet fully broken, but Feng Yun had dressed simply and left the palace, causing no alarm.
At the city gates, Ao Qi waited astride his horse, covered in a layer of snow, uncertain how long he had been there.
The group accompanying Feng Yun on the journey to Dan Prefecture was handpicked by Ao Qi.
The officer in charge was none other than Ye Chuang.
Brothers for years, the two knew one another better than anyone.
Ye Chuang greeted him with a smile and a bow, "General Ao."
Ao Qi glanced at him briefly.
"Be cautious on the road."
Ye Chuang returned a knowing look, "Understood."
Ao Qi gave him a sharp glare before walking over to the carriage.
"Empress, take care."
Feng Yun lifted the curtain halfway, smiling at him.
"I leave Rui Bao in your hands."
Ao Qi softly responded with a hum, tugging at his reins and moving aside.
The carriage rolled forward slowly.
The curtains were drawn shut.
Only Ye Chuang turned back to wave at him.
Ao Qi remained still.
He sat atop his horse, gazing upward for a long time at the drifting snow—
A solitary eagle circling the heavens...
The departing carriage gradually vanished.
-
The day they arrived in Dan Prefecture was bitterly cold.
Before they set out, Ye Chuang had already gathered information on the location of the stationed troops’ camp. Feng Yun wasted no time lingering in Dan Jun City and made directly for the encampment.
But three miles outside the camp gates, they were intercepted by patrol soldiers.
In times of war and signal fire, the common folk were deeply fearful. By nightfall, the roads were already deserted. Initially, the patrolling officers thought they had caught spies from Nanqi, raising torches high...
Upon discovering that the carriage held none other than the Empress herself, they nearly lost their wits, hastily bowing in apology while sending someone to report back to the camp.
Feng Yun didn’t want to trouble them further. She glanced at the pitch-black sky outside and spoke calmly:
"Carry out your duties as usual; there’s no need to notify anyone."
The patrol colonel lowered his head nervously, his feathered crest trembling in the windy chaos, a reflection of his unease.
"Your Majesty’s presence here is an honor. If His Majesty were to find out we failed to report, it would be a breach of duty..."
Feng Yun had come for matters of war, not to interfere with the camp’s operations. Unconcerned with unnecessary formalities, she believed that was best. Yet she also knew that in the eyes of these soldiers, a woman’s presence in a military camp meant only one thing—to meet her man. To avoid unnecessary dispute, she smiled faintly and let them proceed.
In this season, night brought a harsh drop in temperature, a cold that sank straight to the bones.
Pei Jue arrived sooner than Feng Yun had anticipated.
Mounted and braced against the biting winds, he rode through the night with his attendants—
Through the cold and darkness, his pace swift and unyielding.
"Hyah!"
The carriage came to a halt.
Feng Yun parted the curtain to look out.
Under the flickering glow of torches, Pei Jue appeared in full armor, his Wind-Gown fluttering fiercely. His gaze locked onto her like the edge of a blade, sharp, unrelenting.
