chapter 5

I ordered my people to tear up the earth until they found Chi Yuan, the man whose disappearance had stained Shen Qingbi’s name. We watched the Chi residence and every official in the capital.

I was already furious with the emperor, General Jiang, Prince Liang, and the traitors in her household. Now I could add the Chi family.

Shen Qingbi, how many people had betrayed you? Once you fell into the well, how many dropped stones after you?

I found examination papers on her desk. Since arriving in this world, she had studied tirelessly, reading the classics and the essays of civil-service candidates. For ten years she had reviewed papers to understand the people and discover overlooked talent.

Could someone this busy truly have found time to be deceived by a man?

That night, I dozed over the desk until Bai Zhou’s enormous frame filled the doorway.

“My lady?”

I woke from a nightmare in which Shen Qingbi had died.

“The Northern Passage Garrison has come to reinforce the capital. Fighting has begun outside the city, and the Northern Imperial Guard has surrounded the residence.”

So it began.

Ran Mu was under attack while we were besieged. The empress dowager had denied my rebellion to my face, yet secretly mobilized troops. The guard would wait for news. If our army lost, they would storm the residence at dawn. If battle dragged on, they would use me as a hostage.

They had never imagined they might lose.

“They struck me. Naturally, I will strike back.”

Bai Zhou eagerly rolled the hilt of his man-tall horse-cleaving blade. I drew my twin sabers.

“Prepare to receive our guests.”

Moonlight lay over the courtyard like tempered steel.

“Crossbowmen.”

Dozens flew to the rooftops and drew powerful bows. The enemy had not expected a hundred people to attack first. Curses erupted beyond the gate.

“Open it.”

Their commander charged inside and barked that the full guard had mobilized. Ten thousand men could exterminate my hundred favorites in an instant. I should surrender.

I had never seen a commander so stupid.

He thought ten thousand soldiers were his shield. He did not realize he had made himself the tallest target.

Bai Zhou lost patience, kicked away his scabbard, and hurled the enormous blade. The commander tried to parry. Bai Zhou’s strength shattered his sword and sent him flying into his own men.

The guard lost its commander. Silence swallowed the courtyard.

My hundred had been chosen with care. My infantry carried armor-breaking weapons and trained for street battles.

“Kill.”

That night, every door in the capital stayed shut. Corpses clogged the alleys. Blood flowed from the eastern gate of the princess’s residence and froze in the winter streets.

By dawn, the leaderless Northern Guard was being slaughtered, yet the twenty thousand Southern Guard under Chi Ke had never moved.

Now I knew: Chi Ke was the deepest-hidden and most vicious wolf Shen Qingbi had raised.

“My lady, the Northern Guard is retreating!”

Bai Zhou returned with his great blade.

“Ran Mu must have won too.”

However strong we were, one hundred could not destroy ten thousand. The guard withdrew because another army stood outside the capital and would attack at my signal.

The bowstring of this city had been drawn almost to breaking.

“What of the Southern Guard?” Bai Zhou asked.

“Why be afraid? Feigned strength is among the finest stratagems.”

Ran Mu’s mere five thousand had broken the Western Garrison, then the Northern Passage Garrison. Inside the city, one hundred of us had fought ten thousand through the night. Three times our enemies expected certain victory, and three times they lost.

The empress dowager understood intrigue, not war. She would be terrified. Chi Ke would continue to watch.

“Shen Qingning!”

A woman’s shriek rang across the bloodied courtyard.