In just a few breaths, the sweat-blood dappled steed, standing half a head taller than the ordinary warhorse, dashed up to Qin Zheng.

Chu Chengji pulled the reins, and the steed lifted its front hooves, neighing as it arched its neck.

His cloak billowed in the wind, forming a sharp arc behind him.

Qin Zheng had only learned to ride a horse a few months ago for the convenience of patrolling the river, and her equestrian skills were not as proficient as his.

After pulling the reins, the warhorse trotted a few steps forward before coming to a stop.

Seeing the Chu army, black as an iron wall, looming on the high slope behind her, the Prince of Huaiyang cavalry, who had been relentlessly pursuing them, involuntarily slowed their pace.

It was like a pack of hunting dogs on the grasslands encountering a wolf pack, weighing the balance between retreat and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Unconsciously, Qin Zheng’s mind, which had been tense all the way, relaxed at the sight of Chu Chengzhi.

When the sky fell, he was there to support it.

Qin Zheng lightly urged her horse forward a few steps.

For the convenience of marching, she wore a suit of chain mail, and the wind tousled her hair, while her face was still stained with the charcoal left from burning the mountain, yet it did not detract from her beauty.

She smiled at him, her face radiant like a white lotus blossoming through fire, “Weren’t you in Wu County? How did you come here?”

Standing on the gentle slope, Chu Chengzhi stared at her, uncharacteristically silent, his jaw clenched tightly.

Qin Zheng belatedly realized that he seemed angry and immediately reined in her smile.

As she kept looking at his face, pondering the reason for his anger, her whole body was suddenly pulled into a strong embrace, crashing into his arms.

Qin Zheng’s forehead pressed against the hard armor on his chest, feeling the strength of his big hand pressing on her shoulder and neck, causing her heart to beat faster.

The dry yellow grass of late autumn lay fallen on the ground, and the sunlight outlined the silhouette of the two embracing figures, making it seem as if the world had momentarily fallen silent.

Only the sharp whistles continued to sound incessantly.

Between breaths, she could smell the faint scent of cedarwood emanating from him.

Qin Zheng’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Closing her eyes, she embraced him back, “I have returned safely.”

She didn’t speak again, but as soon as she did, Chu Chengji immediately let go of her, turned his horse around, and spoke in a cold, stern tone, “Go back.”

As if the brief embrace just now was only Qin Zheng’s imagination.

Qin Zheng, because of her daze, fell half a step behind.

As she caught up, Chu Chengji reached out and took the reins from her hands, allowing the two horses to run side by side.

The sweat-blood dappled steed he rode was tall and muscular, while the warhorse Qin Zheng rode was half a head shorter, so she had to trot to keep up with the pace of his horse.

Grasping the saddle, Qin Zheng suddenly felt as if she were jogging to keep up with his strides.

Behind her, Yang Yi and the others had already mounted their horses and rushed over.

Seeing the prey escaping, the Prince Huaiyang’s cavalry stationed at the foot of the hill seemed to have made a decision and continued their pursuit.

Qin Zheng was worried that the bed crossbows might injure Yang Yi and the others, but then she saw a dozen catapults being pushed out by the soldiers, lining up next to the bed crossbows.

The ignited fire-bomb projectiles were launched from the catapults, flying through the air in a long arc and crashing into the Huaiyang King’s cavalry.

Soon, deafening explosions resounded from the foot of the slope, and the Huaiyang’s cavalry was thrown into chaos, no longer maintaining their previous formation.

The Chu army had been using fire-bomb projectiles to suppress the advance of the Huaiyang King’s cavalry.

Only after Yang Yi and his group retreated behind the bed crossbow defenses did they stop launching fire-bomb projectiles and switch to firing crossbow bolts from the bed crossbows.

The range of the bed crossbows reached three hundred paces.

Within two hundred paces, the bolts could deeply embed into the rammed earth walls, becoming “stake arrows” for the attacking soldiers to step on and climb the city walls.

In tough battles, cloud ladders and “stake arrows” were often used together.

Therefore, some large cities reinforced their defenses with bricks and stones to prevent the outer walls from being damaged by the bed crossbows.

The flesh and blood bodies of the Huaiyang’s cavalry were naturally unable to withstand the power of the bed crossbows.

The reorganized charging formations fell in swathes under the barrage of crossbow bolts.

Warhorses neighed, and people wailed.

This cavalry force, which had pursued from Feng County all the way to Minzhou, finally met their end here.

The scattered few remaining cavalrymen did not dare to come forward to their deaths again and directly turned their horses to retreat.

Chu Chengji did not order a pursuit but had the cavalry on both wings protect and escort the infantry pushing the war chariots and bed crossbows back.

Once the main army had retreated into the city, the gates were immediately sealed.

The Feng County refugees who had just entered the city crowded the streets together with the Minzhou locals, cheering loudly to welcome Qin Zheng and the others safely into the city.

“Princess Consort!”

The loudest voice in the crowd was calling Qin Zheng’s name.

Qin Zheng and Chu Chengji walked side by side at the forefront of the army.

Despite the unkempt appearance she still had from the battlefield, she remained a divine figure in the hearts of the Feng County refugees.

Yang Yi and other soldiers rode their horses behind them.

It was the first time they had seen such a warm welcome scene.

Seeing the people’s support for the Chu army and hearing someone loudly calling his name in the crowd, Yang Yi grinned widely, feeling that everything he had done before was worthwhile.

The Minzhou locals had heard about Qin Zheng leading tens of thousands of Feng County refugees on their journey to Minzhou.

They admired the Princess Consort even more.

Qin Zheng was not dressed in fine clothes but in armor, which made the people even more excited to see her.

“Princess Consort is truly a heroine!”

“I’ve heard early on that Princess Consort treats the people like her own children. She even gave her own carriage to the elderly and weak, walking with the army from Feng County to Minzhou!”

“Do you know about the big fire at Fenghuang Slope today? It is said that the Prince Huaiyang ‘s cavalry, infected with the plague, relentlessly pursued Princess Consort and the others.

In order to delay them, Princess Consort let the Feng County refugees enter the city safely and summoned heavenly fire to burn Fenghuang Slope.

Otherwise, how could such a large mountain suddenly catch fire for no reason?”

“Princess Consort must be a celestial being descended to assist His Highness in unifying the country!”

When it came to celestial beings, someone inevitably paid attention to Qin Zheng’s appearance.

Seeing a glimpse of Qin Zheng riding past, one of the people at the front of the crowd was unable to utter a word, just staring foolishly.

If someone hadn’t shaken him a few times and asked what the Princess Consort looked like, he might have lost his soul.

Upon regaining his senses, he couldn’t think of any words to describe the breathtaking beauty he had just seen, just murmuring, “Princess Consort… truly a celestial being!”

Qin Zheng didn’t expect to be revered like this.

Sitting straight on her horse, she tried to maintain a dignified demeanor to show her nobility.

Chu Chengji listened to the cheers from the people along the street, and his eyes swept over the noisy officials who were singing praises.

The officials instantly fell silent like chickens.

Chu Chengji said, “The Princess Consort and the officials of Feng County have been traveling day and night, exhausted from their journey. We’ll postpone the welcoming banquet to another day.”

After dismissing the officials who came to pay their respects, Qin Zheng returned to her room, and the first thing she said was, “I want to take a bath.”

For the past three days, they marched both day and night, rushing through every moment to light fires and cook meals, not to mention finding a place to bathe.

Due to giving up their carts for the elderly and weak, and lending their warhorses to civilians to carry goods, Qin Zheng had truly walked alongside the common people these days, her sweat drying and wetting on her back repeatedly, making her suspect she had an odor.

Chu Chengji didn’t have someone prepare water for her, instead leading her directly to the bathhouse.

It was only then that Qin Zheng discovered there was a hot spring in the bathhouse, indicating the former owner of this mansion was one who enjoyed life.

She took off her shoes and walked around the hot spring pool, quite satisfied. Waving her hand, she gestured for Chu Chengji to leave: “You go out first, I’m going to bathe.”

As she turned around, she almost bumped into Chu Chengji’s chest.

Startled, Qin Zheng stepped back, forgetting she was already near the hot spring.

Her foot slipped, and she fell backward.

She hurriedly grabbed Chu Chengji’s collar, but unexpectedly, he fell down with her.

Qin Zheng wasn’t sure how steady Chu Chengzhi’s lower body was, but it seemed he did it on purpose.

Emerging from the water, Qin Zheng wiped the droplets from her face.

Seeing Chu Chengji still standing in the middle of the hot spring, she bluntly said, “I haven’t bathed in many days!”

Despite his refined appearance, Chu Chengji’s audacity was surprising in some respects.

For instance, when he returned from battle, he would unabashedly ask Qin Zheng to help him scrub his back.

Qin Zheng didn’t have his thick skin. At times like this, she just wanted to bathe alone and get clean.

Hearing her words, Chu Chengji stepped closer to her side.

The hot spring pool wasn’t large, and as Qin Zheng stepped back again, her back pressed against the hot spring’s stone wall.

Chu Chengji’s chin and hair dripped with water, and his thin undershirt, wet from the water, outlined his sturdy and slender body.

The loose neckline revealed a hint of chest muscles, and his half-lowered eyelashes were misted with the steam from the hot spring, making his dark eyes even more obscure.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, Qin Zheng averted her gaze from him.

But Chu Chengji said, “Let me help you wash. What does it matter how long it’s been since you bathed?”

He came closer, raising his hand to help her remove her clothes.

The water droplets on his tangled hair fell onto Qin Zheng’s shoulders, sending a shiver down her spine.

She clearly felt the warmth of his fingertips as they lightly touched her skin, causing them to tingle.

Tilting her head back, she told herself, “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.”

Indeed, Chu Chengji was only helping her bathe and hadn’t done anything inappropriate throughout.

It’s just that his touch felt too familiar to her, or perhaps it was the heat of the hot spring, but Qin Zheng found herself sweating on her forehead.

Feeling extremely tired these past few days, Qin Zheng leaned against the edge of the hot spring, her cheek resting on her snow-like arm, her eyes misted with the steam from the hot spring.

A strange itching sensation jolted her awake.

Glancing at Chu Chengji’s hand, she knew the big bad wolf couldn’t pretend any longer.

Climbing onto his shoulders, she wanted to kiss him, but Chu Chengji’s Adam’s apple moved several times, yet he still didn’t lower his head to meet her.

“Do you plan to risk your life again in the future?” His voice was cold, the breath that fell on Qin Zheng’s ear was far from steady, unlike his usual calm tone.

Raising her eyes to meet his, Qin Zheng said seriously, “I don’t think I did anything wrong. If given another chance, I would still flee with the people of Feng County.”

If she were just a commoner, she would surely only care about her own life in the face of any disaster.

But in her position of power, with the ability to command troops and resources, if she still only cared about herself in times of danger and abandoned the people, then she wouldn’t deserve to be in that position.

A light kiss landed on her eyelid, and Qin Zheng heard a sigh. “You’re not wrong.”

He had his own private thoughts now, but she didn’t.

If this battle were given to any other courtier, he would have been greatly praised.

The concern for victory was hers, and the worry outweighed the praise.

The Buddha said a heart stained with the seven emotions and six desires is impure, so let it be impure.

His hand on Qin Zheng’s shoulder suddenly tightened, and his kiss traveled from her eyebrow to her lips, holding her chin tightly, intertwining their lips and tongues, leaving her with nowhere to hide, shattering all the tenderness and revealing the most authentic selves.

He had also questioned himself, wondering if he was wrong to let her bear more and more burdens.

But eagles were meant to soar high, and no one would clip the wings of an eagle just because the sky was dangerous.

So, he would accompany her, providing her with a realm where there was no danger.