Chapter 76: The Terrifying Scheme Begins to Unfold

Kaimei was startled for a moment and hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, I dare not presume."
The Emperor of Tianjue snorted. "Are you saying that I am mistaken?"
"No, no, that's not it. Well, I suppose I do possess a bit of cleverness, but that's only a necessary skill for survival, not at all what Your Majesty is imagining... that sort of..."
She had barely uttered "that sort of" when her chin was lifted by warm fingers, causing her to look up, following his strength unconsciously. In his brilliant imperial robes, the young emperor, with bright eyes and gleaming teeth, fixed her with a probing gaze.
"You were once captured by the strategist Nangong. It's said that he caught you three times and released you three times, and even turned against Commander Sikong for your sake, causing wild rumors to spread through the Nangong army camp. If Ao and Chang Geng are both hot-blooded and impulsive youths, Qingyun is a strategist, calm and wise. Why would he commit such foolish acts?"
"You said it yourself, they were foolish acts," Kaimei replied, looking up at him. The position was tiring, and she felt as if she were being toyed with, making her extremely uncomfortable. As he was the emperor, she dared not speak harshly or brush his hand away. She could only endure it and replied in a muffled voice, "He must have had his brains fried to behave like that."
"I think so too." The Emperor of Tianjue noticed her impatience, the corners of his lips curved, and instead of letting go, he pressed his fingers harder, his voice dropping low. "Commander Kaimei doesn't strike me as someone who doesn't understand the times."
Kaimei's eyes blazed with anger, and her tone grew less polite. "And what do you mean by that?"
"You must understand, your position as Commander was bestowed by me, and I can take it away at any time." He enunciated every word, finally releasing her chin.
Kaimei rubbed her chin vigorously and glared at him, thinking to herself: Take it if you want, I couldn't care less about your title. But considering he was the emperor, she dared not voice such crude thoughts.
"Commander Kaimei, go back and think it over. Give me your answer when the time comes." The Emperor of Tianjue waved his sleeve, reclining on the soft couch, clearly dismissing her.
Kaimei stood up and took two steps toward the doorway, sulking. Suddenly, she remembered what Chunhua had asked her to do and paused. Should she mention it to the emperor? But then she thought, why should I have to ask his permission for two ordinary female soldiers? I can just request them directly from the Lord of the Imperial Guards.
While she hesitated, the emperor’s voice sounded, "Does Commander Kaimei have anything else to say?"
"No, nothing at all!" she replied at once. "I’m leaving, I’m leaving."
Damn, the palace is yours, you make the rules. Even if you won’t let me linger, there’s nothing I can do.
She was escorted out by a palace maid, her head spinning from the palace’s labyrinthine passages. Standing at the palace gates, she smirked inwardly. This maze-like haunted place—whoever wants it, can have it. Didn’t he say I had until 'the time comes'? That could mean many things. A year or half a year is also 'when the time comes.' I’ll just play tai chi with you and see who can drag it out longer.
This thought eased her mind. She boarded the general’s carriage and dozed off on the way home. By the time she arrived, Xiaowan had already awakened, and she dashed straight to the inner room.
The first thing she saw was Shaozi, his eyes swollen like walnuts, red as he looked at her, as if someone had died. This sight startled her. "Xiaowan, Xiaowan, is she…"
"I’m all right," came a weak child's voice. Kaimei’s heart instantly settled, and she shot Shaozi a fierce glare—don’t scare people for nothing.
But when she saw Xiaowan on the bed, she was truly shocked. The little girl’s once rosy cheeks were now pale as paper, her lips trembled, and her eyes looked at Kaimei with pitiful longing.
"How did she get hurt like this?" Kaimei sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking Xiaowan’s face, heart aching. Though they never had enough to eat or wear in the countryside, Xiaowan had never so much as caught a cold. How was it that the moment she entered the general’s mansion, she became so frail?
She lifted a corner of the quilt and saw the blood-soaked wound on the girl’s chest. Kaimei’s own hands and feet went cold. She gasped, "Which heartless wretch did this to my Xiaowan!"
"Mother…" Xiaowan wanted to move but couldn’t, her eyes pleading, "Mother, I want to go home… with you…"

"Home, is it? All right, all right, mother will take you home." She looked at the pleading eyes of the boy beside her and added, "And Shaozi too. Right, and your father as well. We’ll all go back to the old days together, all right?"
Both children nodded vigorously, Xiaowan’s eyes shining with hope.
Soft footsteps stopped behind her, and a gentle female voice said, "You cannot leave yet."
"General."
"Xiaowan is my daughter, you should understand that." The woman glanced at Shaozi. "As for Shaozi, Xuan entrusted him to me, so you certainly cannot take him either."
Kaimei stared at her, speechless for a while. What was going on? Now that they were in the general’s mansion, both children had become hers, and Kaimei herself was the outsider?
Anger simmered in her chest, and her tone turned harsh. "The general’s mansion is full of blades and shadows. What if they get hurt again? What then?"
The general’s brows arched slightly, her tone hard. "That is my business. Commander Kaimei needn’t concern herself."
"But I’m the one who raised these two children!" Choked by the general’s dismissive words, Kaimei’s temper flared. Her voice rose, her face reddened, and her eyes widened in fury as she put her hands on her hips and shouted, "They were abandoned at birth, and I raised them through sickness and hardship! Now, with one word from you, they’re yours? Who decided that giving birth makes someone a parent, and that raising a child counts for nothing? Yes, the law says you must return a child to their birth parents if they come for them, but you committed abandonment first, and now you’re guilty of neglect! In the West, you’d have lost all parental rights by now! And here you are, demanding the children from me so righteously! How shameless!"
"Enough! You… you—how dare you…!" The general was at a loss, having never encountered such a tirade. Kaimei’s arguments seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving the general rooted to the spot, unable to retort.
Harsh as it was, it was the truth. Truth is hard to refute.
As the two glared at each other like fighting cocks, a gentle cough sounded at the door, a frail voice wafting in to break the tension. "May I come in?"
Both turned to see Tianlang, pale, holding a lacquered box in his left hand and lifting his robe with his right, hesitating at the threshold.
Kaimei snorted, shot the general a scornful look, and muscled her way past Tianlang, leaving him with a bewildered question mark.
The general clenched her fists in fury. "No manners! No respect! That shrew will be the death of me!"
Tianlang had to stifle a laugh; he’d never heard such a fresh and novel argument before. "General, don’t be upset. Even if there were charges of abandonment or neglect, Commander Kaimei would not be allowed to take the children away."
The general’s face darkened. "Are you accusing me too?"
"No, not at all," he replied meekly, though he thought to himself that only a brash woman like Kaimei would dare scold the proud general to her face.
"I’ve come to check on Xiaowan. Has she improved at all?" He set the lacquered box on the table and turned to the bed, his gaze falling on the breathless Xiaowan, full of remorse and regret.
No matter how many faults the general had, she should not have let such a frail child bear the consequences.
But what puzzled him most was that Miss Xiaowan had come all this way to acknowledge her. Why had the general unhesitatingly used her as a shield?
Was there some hidden reason behind all this?
"Tianlang," the general interrupted his thoughts, "come with me, let’s take a walk in the back garden."

With a respectful reply, he followed.
The artificial rocks piled high, the tranquil bridges and flowing water, and the budding flowers made the rear garden a pleasant sight.
They walked along a long, covered corridor built over water, and Tianlang turned. "General, what is it you wish to discuss?"
The general looked down at the still pond below. "We have work ahead, Lord Tianlang."
"As the saying goes, soldiers are raised for a thousand days, used for one moment." She turned to him. "I’ve made no secret of freeing you from the secret chamber and letting you move openly in the mansion. Do you know why?"
Tianlang smiled. "Didn’t you say so yourself, General? I am the soldier raised for this very day."
"You’re quick-witted," she replied with a smile. "The Dai family’s spies are everywhere, and I suspect they’ve planted many in my own house as well. I want them to be certain you’re here—as soon as possible, in fact."
"And why is that?" Tianlang was puzzled.
The general smiled. "There’s a reason for all this commotion. Have you heard the latest rumors?"
"Rumors?" Tianlang frowned. "I haven’t left the mansion in days, I haven’t heard a thing."
The general straightened, eyes drifting toward the distant flowerbeds. "Word among the people is that the lost prince of the Tianji Emperor has been found, and that the late emperor’s edict names him as heir to the throne."
"What?!" Tianlang was stunned. "That’s outrageous! That’s treason! General, this must be the Dai family’s conspiracy!"
The general glanced at him, eyes full of charm, and chided, "Lord Tianlang, those rumors were spread by my own people."
"General?!" He was even more shocked. "Why? Are you trying to ruin me, to have me die with no grave?"
She smiled as if nothing mattered. "I have my own plans. I won’t let you come to harm."
But Tianlang’s heart was in turmoil. Just what was the general’s aim? She served the Emperor of Tianjue, so why was she using him to topple that very emperor? Could it be that her ambitions went beyond the rank of general, that she sought the throne itself? But the Dai family would not simply let her have her way.
The more he thought about it, the more perplexing it became.
No matter how he looked at it, he was destined to be the most tragic pawn on this chessboard.
"General Dayin…" he began, hoping to extricate himself from her scheme.
But she quickly interrupted, "Lord Tianlang, there is much yet to do, and we must act boldly…" Seeing his face grow pale, she couldn’t help but laugh. "If we do not act, so be it, but once we make our move, it must be a sure strike!"
Tianlang broke out in a cold sweat, rooted to the spot, unable to utter a word.
The general paid him no further heed, laughing as she walked away.