Su Anhe didn't dare to get too close with his men.
The Western Rong tribe was located on the grassland. The vast plain stretched as far as the eye could see, making it easy to spot anyone or anything. Now that they dared to burn the granary, it was entirely because of the cover of night.
"Fall back and stay hidden," Su Anhe ordered while carefully observing the situation ahead. When they reached a distance he deemed relatively safe, he stopped. But he knew well that this safety was only temporary.
After one granary was burned, the Western Rong people would surely not allow the other one to meet the same fate. They would surely conduct a thorough search around the granary to eliminate any potential risks.
They had to come up with a plan before that.
Staring intently at the only source of light in the darkness, Hong Rui suddenly had an idea. "Captain Su, do any of the men you brought know how to use a bow and arrow?"
"Of course!"
To deal with unexpected situations, Su Anhe had brought several excellent archers to cover the retreat of the others from a distance.
"That's good!"
The woman's lips curved slightly, looking dangerous and alluring in the flickering light. Hong Rui leaned over and whispered her plan into Su Anhe's ear.
"Brilliant plan!"
Su Anhe praised and immediately gave the order for everyone to follow Hong Rui's arrangements.
At Yuheng Pass
Lu Yinxi stood on the city gate tower, her eyes fixed on the enemy camp in the distance. But the distance between the two places was so great that apart from the initial smoke and the subsequent flames, all she could see was the pitch - black night.
The fire had started. Her cousin and Hong Rui should have completed their mission by now, right?
Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a twinge of regret. She should have used her power of words on Hong Rui before the mission. Then she wouldn't have to worry so much.
But the next moment, Lu Yinxi started to scold herself and slapped her own head hard. She had promised not to rely on her power of words anymore!
She had to change!
"What are you doing?"
Hearing that his future wife hadn't eaten dinner and had been on the city gate tower, Shang Luoshu came to look for her. He was shocked to see her 'abusing' herself.
"No matter how worried you are about your cousin and Hong Rui, you shouldn't punish yourself like this," he said.
Shang Luoshu always seemed to understand Lu Yinxi's thoughts well. This made the girl wonder several times if he could read minds. How did he always know what she was thinking?
"I'm just worried," she said, her gaze turning back to the distance. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but did the fire in the enemy camp seem to be getting bigger?
Half an hour ago
Su Anhe had brought six archers this time. Hong Rui divided them into six teams, each with an archer and dozens of men for protection to ensure a timely retreat.
Then, with the Western Rong granary in the distance as the center, she dispersed these six teams around it.
"Remember, all the arrows must be coated with kerosene. As soon as I shoot the first arrow, yours must follow immediately. Do you understand?"
Understood!
Everyone silently acknowledged and then dispersed to their designated positions as planned.
The Western Rong people were really stupid. To protect the only remaining granary, they not only stationed a large number of soldiers there but also made each of them hold a torch. Wasn't this just telling the enemy exactly where the granary was?
"Are you ready?" Hong Rui asked in a low voice, holding a new fire - starter.
The archers' arrows were already coated with kerosene. They had come here to burn the granary, so they naturally carried such flammable materials with them.
The archer didn't respond, but Hong Rui understood his meaning.
She opened the fire - starter, and a small flame instantly ignited the arrowhead.
A faint light suddenly appeared in the darkness, immediately alerting the Western Rong people who were on the lookout. But before they could react, they saw the flame flying straight towards them and then landing on the haystack behind them.
The small flame instantly grew, with a domineering air as if defying the sky, greedily devouring everything around it.
"Fire!" Someone shouted. Only then did the soldiers react and rush to put out the fire, but it was too late. More arrows flew in from all directions, adding more fuel to the greedy fire.
"They're back! They're back! Captain Su and Miss Hong Rui are back!"
As night deepened, the wind at Yuheng Pass was strong, and it was much colder at night than during the day. Shang Luoshu was worried that Lu Yinxi would catch a cold and finally managed to persuade her to come down from the city gate tower and return to the tent. But less than a quarter of an hour later, a soldier outside brought the good news.
Lu Yinxi immediately ran out of the tent and saw Su Anhe and Hong Rui surrounded by people, their faces beaming with joy.
They were all safe!
In the capital city, Shang Luoze, who should have been sound asleep, was sleepless tonight.
Even though he kept telling himself that Shang Mozheng's words were false and not to be believed, that this was an attempt to drive a wedge between him and the emperor brother, he shouldn't take them to heart.
However, the scene from the day kept replaying in his mind like a play, especially the words "You two share the same blood of our Shang family."
Shang Luoze could ignore Lu Yinxi's power of words and forgive Feng Zheng's so - called disloyalty, but he couldn't accept that he and his elder brother had the same blood in their bodies.
Anyone with a brain could understand the meaning behind these words. Either he and Shang Luoshu were both orphans whose parents were unknown, or Shang Luoshu, like him, was the emperor's son.
The answer seemed obvious.
So, was his elder brother not the emperor's adopted son but his biological son who had been lost in the folk?
After holding it in for a day, Shang Luoze's thoughts finally followed Shang Mozheng's words and reached this conclusion. And once he believed this idea, the things that had puzzled him before gradually made sense.
For example, why the emperor had suddenly adopted a son from the folk and even specially gave him a name and allowed him to enter the royal family genealogy, following the royal generation name "Luo".
At that time, Shang Luoze was still young. His elder brothers had all died for various strange reasons. He thought the emperor had found an elder brother for him.
Later, when the former emperor passed away and Shang Mozheng took control of the court, Shang Luoze naturally regarded Shang Luoshu as his only relative.
But today, he had even lost this only relative!
Shang Luoshu was older than him. The court officials and the common people trusted him very much. He also had a secret army. If he was really the emperor's bloodline and if this was known to others, would he become another regent king after he got rid of Shang Mozheng?
Did Shang Luoshu want to be the emperor?
No, he had a fiancée. Didn't Shang Mozheng say that Shang Luoshu's fiancée had the power of words?
So, the throne of the emperor was just a matter of a single word from her!
The more he thought about it, the more panicked Shang Luoze became, as if such a scenario had already happened in reality.
"Shang Luoze, wake up!"
A moment of clarity woke him up. The young emperor slapped himself hard. The stinging pain finally pulled him out of that obsessed state.
This was all Shang Mozheng's conspiracy. He couldn't believe it! Otherwise, he would fall into his trap. Repeating this in his mind, Shang Luoze turned over and forced himself to close his eyes.
His breathing gradually became even as time passed. He seemed to have fallen asleep, completely believing his previous self - hypnosis that all this was Shang Mozheng's trap.
However, the young emperor forgot that once the seed of suspicion was planted, it would only continue to take root and grow into a towering tree in the future.