News of the Xia Emperor's demise had spread throughout the lands within two days. Those who heard it were simply too astonished to speak as they digested the following fact:
This time, the Xia Emperor was truly dead.
Furthermore, there was another terrifying revelation hidden behind that astonishing piece of news: the Xia Emperor's assassin was Imperial Concubine Wan of the Western Palace.
Wan Yunshang had stayed in the palace for nine years now; the fact that she waited till now to strike was completely unexpected.
Of those that heard the news, only a handful knew that this concubine of the Western Palace was actually Qing Wuheng from the Qing family. However, none of these people would ever reveal this fact.
Ever since the start of the war between the two dynasties, there had been numerous upsets and surprises. Today, both sides didn't even have an emperor anymore; that alone had to be the most ironic thing about this situation.
The Xia Emperor had died. While there was no one who was ecstatic about his death, there were definitely people who were at least happy it happened.
Little Ming Yue was one such person.
Ning Chen needed to recuperate from his wounds so he took up temporary residence in Prince Yan's manor. Naturally, little Ming Yue followed suit as well. While this little girl was, in name, a captive, a hostage and a negotiation tool, in actuality she lived the life of a little ancestor.
With Prince Yan's steward protecting her wherever she went, her safety was no longer a concern so he saw no reason to restrict her freedom anymore. However way the girl wanted to mess around, she was free to do so.
Ever since the Xia Emperor died, Old Eunuch Pei had gone into seclusion so there was no one who could cause trouble for little Ming Yue.
In fact, everyone's focus was turned towards the matter of succession instead. Within the court, officials of every stripe were in a hurry to pick sides. Most likely, this chaos would last a while so who even had time to spare on these youngsters.
As for Zhang Sun, her headaches had reached new heights thanks to the Emperor's funeral and the subsequent choosing a successor. These were all issues that required her attention. At the same time, these were matters Ning Chen couldn't help with so the teen had a bunch of free time on his hands right now.
Regarding the identity of the Western Palace, he had some insights about that but they weren't confirmed. However, there was one thing he was sure about: Wan Yunshang had to be connected to the Mongols.
Months ago, he stumbled upon news of the Northern Marquis' betrayal. Back then, it was the Western Palace who dispatched assassins after him and that alone was enough to establish the connection between the two.
However, there wasn't a point in harping over her identity anymore. The Xia Emperor was dead and that was something no one could deny.
In this world, there were a whole host of mysteries and one more wouldn't make a difference.
For the past two days, Prince Yan rarely showed up at the manor, most likely he was dragged off somewhere by Zhang Sun; she was the number one slavedriver in this world after all. If it wasn't for the fact that truly he couldn't help with those matters, he would have probably suffered the same fate as well.
It could be said that in the two days after the Emperor's death, he was freer than he had ever been since coming to this world. There was no work, no chores and no children to mind.
"Bad man, I'm back."
It was then that little Ming Yue ran into the room with an ecstatic look beneath that cloth hat of hers. Behind her, the steward had a slight look of exasperation on his face as he lugged a whole pile of goods into the manor.
"Hah." Grinned the teen; watching someone else suffer was truly a delight.
"Uncle Rong, it's been tough on you."
While he was secretly delighting in his heart, he did however express his gratitude with a bashful smile.
"It's alright, just make sure to rest up." The steward smiled wryly.
"Uncle Rong, how's the situation outside, is it still that chaotic?"
"It has mostly settled down now. Marquis Taiping and Marquis Xueyi stepped forth to stabilize the situation even in spite of their wounds and that calmed some of the more restless elements in the city."
Hearing that, Ning Chen nodded his head. In the giant empire of Grand Xia, the deterrence factor of a military marquis was something the other officials couldn't compare to. With two such esteemed personages in charge, the Imperial City shouldn't have any problems.
The biggest problem right now was who should the throne belong to. Grand Xia couldn't remain headless for long and in light of that, the decisions made by Zhang Sun and the other three grand dukes were of utmost importance.
However, those weren't easy decisions to make. Every prince had their own ministers backing them. Even the three grand dukes weren't in sync about who to support.
Duke Taishi was the teacher of the Eldest Prince while Duke Qingwu was the martial instructor of the Third Prince. As for Duke Xiyu, he favored the tenth prince over the other two princes. All in all, the situation was a tangled mess that wouldn't be untangled anytime soon.
Normally, it would have been the Eldest Prince who ascended since he was the oldest son in the imperial household. Though he wasn't a blood relation of Zhang Sun, his mother was an imperial concubine in life. Furthermore, he was raised under Zhang Sun's care so his pedigree was spotless. However, amongst the generations of Xia Emperor, those that ascended simply because they were the eldest son weren't many so his pedigree wasn't that persuasive in the first place.
Furthermore, the other two princes were just as extraordinary as he was and commanded significant loyalty amongst the court officials.
It had to be said that the death of the Xia Emperor ensured that Grand Xia would be thrown into chaos for a while. Who knew what that woman was plotting in the interim.
Fan Lingyue was simply too smart to the point of being frightening.
Thinking about that, Ning Chen couldn't help but get a headache so he decided to put it aside for now. He finally managed to get some off time for himself after all. Just as he was about to snatch some snacks from little Ming Yue, an extremely unwelcome voice echoed in the background.
"By Her Majesty's edict, Marquis Zhiming's presence in the palace is required." Behind him, junior eunuch had just entered the manor after which he immediately read the edict in his hands.
Instantly, his mood sank. Looks like there were some things you just couldn't run away from. However, what infuriated him the most was the fact that he still didn't dare to resist her order.
"Ming Yue, are you coming with?" Ning Chen turned around and glanced at the little girl hugging a table full of snacks.
"Mhm." She put down the snacks and answered.
"Let's go then."
Holding onto her hands, he bid farewell to Uncle Rong before following that junior eunuch into the palace.
Right now, the imperial palace was in a state of high alert. Around every corner was a forbidden guard patrolling the area and judging by the faint murderous aura they exuded, they must have disposed of a number of people within these past two days.
Because his identity was no longer that of an eunuch's, he couldn't enter Weiyang Palace anymore and that made meeting Zhang Sun a headache in of itself. Thus, she awaited him in Revelations Hall.
Customs dictated that the Imperial Harem did not interfere in the governance of the country. Normally, even Zhang Sun wasn't allowed to private meet with other officials but these were extraordinary times. If Zhang Sun didn't step in now to stabilize the court, who knows what it would become.
Within Revelations Hall, Zhang Sun could be seen quietly sitting down behind her desk. Qing Ning wasn't by her side and most likely had been dispatched on a mission.
Hands held together, Ning Chen led the little Great Khan into the hall and respectfully knelt before the Empress. That seemingly simple action stunned little Ming Yue.
The bad man actually paid respects to someone? That was the first time she saw that herself.
"That's enough, normally you don't even care for such rules." She said irritably.
Ning Chen rose to his but as he did so, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Looks like Zhang Sun was in a terrible mood right and most likely he would have to weather a thunderstorm soon.
"This Empress is really busy so she'll keep things short. The negotiation with the Lady Strategist requires your presence. As for what the terms of the negotiation are, this Empress will leave it up to you. This Empress is too lazy to repeat her usual threats but there's one thing she expects: before this Empress cleans up this mess in the Imperial City, she doesn't hope to see the Mongolian army at her doorstep."
There were no outsiders present so her tone was noticeably gruffer. All she stated was the outcome she wanted, as for how it was to be accomplished, she didn't care nor could she.
"Just me?"
"Why would you negotiate alone, are you looking for an early death?!" Her anger almost threatened to swallow him whole at that instant.
Seeing that, his neck immediately shrank inwards while he lowered his head even more.
Suppressing her explosive mood, she flatly stated, "Marquis Xueyi will accompany you on this mission. In additional to that, this Empress will give you 5000 forbidden guards to command along with 70 000 troops from Beichui City. This Empress doesn't care how much trouble you cause but you'd better eek out every bit of relief you can."
Ning Chen furiously nodded his head and kept his mouth shut, not daring to waste a single word on idle banter.
"Go back and prepare for now, tomorrow morning, you'll set off. Alright, you can leave now." Having said that, she waved her hand and dismissed him.
Hearing that, Ning Chen bowed and promptly left without saying another word. At the side, little Ming Yue had a slightly dazed look after weathering that storm.
As they stepped out of Revelations Hall, the pair heaved a sigh of relief together.
"She's so fierce."
"I'm used to it." Ning Chen answered with a body dripping with sweat.
"Do you think Big Sister Lingyue will withdraw her troops?" Ming Yue asked as she raised her head.
Ever since she saw that mountain of corpses in the Northern Plains, she started to doubt the righteousness of wars.
"If you were still in the Mongolian palace and you sent out an edict ordering her to withdraw, do you think she will do so?" He threw the question back at her instead of answering directly.
Thinking about it for a second, she finally shook her head and said: "No."
Even if Big Sister Lingyue doted on her a lot, this was one matter she would never relent on. Furthermore, because she was still too young to rule, her authority was limited. If Big Sister Lingyue insisted on her way, she couldn't do anything about it either.
"Your big sister seems like an evil empress, doesn't she?" He jokingly asked upon noticing her crestfallen expression.
"Just a little." She drew a tiny line with her finger to illustrate her point.
"Hah, there's some improvement at least." Ning Chen chuckled. At least all those stories weren't wasted on her.
In a sense, wasn't he grooming this little girl right now? Fan Lingyue was clearly too far gone for that so he had better plant the seeds of compassion in this girl while he still could.
Thus, the day passed by in the blink of an eye and the sun rose once more the next day. His army had assembled and in a majestic display, marched off towards the north.
At the head of the army was Marquis Xueyi, dressed in his signature crimson garments as he rode down the streets of the Imperial City. Of the ten military marquis, he had to be the most unfortunate one of them all having been previously assigned to fend off the Eternal Night Cult in the west.
In that fight with the Martial Monarch, he lost badly and was sent back barely hanging onto a thread of life. However, considering that there were only a handful of people who ever survived a fight with the Martial Monarch, his survival was a feat in of itself. Despite only being a half-step Xiantian, he did something even a Xiantian would find hard to accomplish.
Having met for the first time, Ning Chen paid his due respects as a junior. Regarding this marquis who defended the borderlands of Grand Xia with his life, he deserved every bit of respect shown today.
However, Marquis Xueyi wasn't a man for words and merely nodded his head in acknowledgement.
All throughout the journey, the grand army rarely stopped for a break and marched at breakneck speeds instead. Of the forbidden guards, all of them at least had some martial background so this amount of exertion was still within acceptable limits.
Little Ming Yue on the other hand, ended up suffering because of that. The violent shakings of a horse wasn't something a little girl like her could withstand for long.
Seeing that, Ning Chen's heart ached for the little girl. Thus, he got off his own horse and carried her on his back instead while he proceeded on foot.
At the side, a strange look crossed the eyes of Marquis Xueyi but he said nothing about it.
After seven days of forced marching, the army finally reached Beichui City.
Opposite them, the Mongolian grand army had already set up camp half a month ago. Troops and equipment readied, these invaders were poised to strike at any moment.
It was under such circumstances that Ning Chen penned a letter and had it sent to the Mongolian camp on the night of his arrival.
Its contents were simple: Ming Yue is in my hands, let's have a talk.