Chapter Twenty-One: The Trees Desire Quiet, but the Wind Will Not Cease

Deep into the night, silence reigned.

As Dou Yuan watched Gao Changsheng’s party board their carriage and depart from the military camp, he sank into a brief silence. The words Gao Changsheng had spoken before leaving still echoed in his ears: "If the Empress were to command the General to eliminate Changsheng in the Northern Frontier tonight, how would the General respond?"

Dou Yuan did not need to concern himself with whether Gao Changsheng had truly colluded with the Empress; a meeting with her would reveal the truth soon enough. What Dou Yuan truly feared was the Shenwu Emperor. As the sovereign of the Dayong Dynasty, the Emperor was the supreme authority who held the power of life and death. If Gao Changsheng represented the Shenwu Emperor, Dou Yuan had only one choice.

"I must appease the Empress at any cost and secure the Emperor’s trust!"

Dou Yuan had finally made his decision, though Gao Changsheng would never hear it.

Inside the moving carriage, however, a different scene unfolded. Chu Yunyan’s bright eyes remained fixed on Gao Changsheng, as if seeing him for the first time.

"What is it? Is there a flower on my face?" Gao Changsheng teased.

Chu Yunyan withdrew her gaze and shook her head. "I was wondering if your Highness knew about Dou Yuan before I did. Otherwise, how could you have known that his subordinates massacred Northern Qi prisoners in the Northern Frontier?" she asked, her face full of confusion.

"I did not know," Gao Changsheng replied with absolute candor.

At these words, Chu Yunyan nearly broke out in a cold sweat. "You mean to say that your Highness dared to assert that Dou Yuan’s men massacred prisoners based entirely on a guess? And from that, you deduced that Dou Yuan accepted the coercion of the Second and Third Princes to cover for his men? We were in Dou Yuan’s camp! Do you not realize how reckless it was to gamble like that?"

By the end, Chu Yunyan was genuinely indignant. Gao Changsheng had not only used his own life as a stake but had also gambled with her and Zhu'er. This was the true source of her anger.

"You are right," Gao Changsheng said, looking helpless. "I was indeed gambling, but in terms of outcomes, it was a fifty-fifty split, was it not?"

"It is not difficult to deduce the fate of those four thousand Northern Qi prisoners, nor is it hard to extrapolate why Dou Yuan abandoned the Crown Prince to turn to the Second and Third Princes. The real challenge was forcing Dou Yuan to abandon the Empress’s camp by making him believe that I serve the Emperor."

"Miss Chu, you are incredibly sharp; you must know how dire my situation is here in Jinyong City. Were it not for Miaofa’s schemes, I fear I would have died in my own home last night. Even if I survived the three days in Jinyong, the Crown Prince and the Empress would have had countless opportunities to eliminate me on the road to the Northern Frontier or during the campaign against Northern Qi."

"Every path ahead is a dead end. I am like a drowning man; I must grasp even a single straw if it offers a chance at survival. I am no gambler—it is the situation that forces me to bet!"

As he spoke, Gao Changsheng’s gaze sharpened, and his entire demeanor underwent a radical transformation. The "weakest prince" of Jinyong City seemed like a memory from a past life. The Gao Changsheng of today was a dragon lurking in the abyss, waiting for the day to leap forth and soar into the heavens.

"Your Highness’s courage and wit are truly admirable," Chu Yunyan said, her expression solemn. "But my decision to bind the Chu family to your Highness means I have entrusted our future to you. Now that Miaofa has sworn allegiance to you as well, your life no longer belongs to you alone. I only hope that from now on, your Highness will not risk yourself so readily. Even when facing difficulties, there may be safer solutions."

After all, she was a woman. It was not that she lacked intelligence, but there was an inherent difference in how men and women perceived such risks. She could understand his choices and style, but she could not fully endorse them.

"Very well," Gao Changsheng agreed with a smile, offering no further argument.

Throughout this debate, a third person in the carriage remained in a state of utter bewilderment: Zhu'er. She had been present from the moment they entered the camp until they left, yet after listening to their conversation, it was as if they had all narrowly escaped the gates of hell. To her, there had been no fierce verbal confrontation or clash of blades. Where was the danger?

"These important people are so interesting," she thought. "They all enjoy scaring themselves for no reason."

...

At the Imperial Palace, a tall steed carrying Dou Yuan stopped in front of the palace gate with great fanfare. The eunuch waiting there was stunned. He was holding a set of plain clothes intended to help Dou Yuan slip in unnoticed. Even in the inner palace, apart from the Emperor receiving ministers, what official would dare enter the harem in the middle of the night so brazenly? If the Shenwu Emperor found out, he would surely charge Dou Yuan with illicit access to the harem!

"My dear General Dou, what are you doing?" the eunuch cried, nearly in tears.

Dou Yuan dismounted, his expression calm. "I have been invited by the Second and Third Princes. Please, report it to them. I find it inconvenient to enter the palace, so I shall wait here at the gate."

Having said this, Dou Yuan stood tall, as unmoving as a stone statue. The eunuch’s jaw dropped, unable to close for a long time. What on earth was Dou Yuan doing tonight?

"Well? Go!" Dou Yuan urged.

The eunuch snapped out of it and scurried into the palace. When he reached the Empress’s bedchamber and relayed the news, the Empress and the two princes were equally stunned.

"Very well," the Empress said, her face darkening. "Since Dou Yuan refuses to take the risk, you two shall go out to meet him. But remember what I told you."

The two princes nodded and left the chambers.

Meanwhile, inside the Study of Scholarly Documents, a mysterious man clad in brocade knelt before the Shenwu Emperor, whispering his report.

"The Sixth Prince entered the military camp with Chu Yunyan, daughter of the Minister of War, and remained in the central command tent with Dou Yuan for half an hour. During this time, Dou Yuan was invited to the palace by the Empress. However, he seemed unwilling to risk entering the harem, and instead stood at the gate, loudly declaring he was there at the invitation of the Second and Third Princes."

"Furthermore, a guest from Northern Qi arrived at the Eastern Palace today. As for this person’s identity, your subordinate has yet to ascertain it."