The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

50.1

The battle outside Yanzhou was fought for two consecutive days. Soldiers from either side refused to cede. Swords and spears crossed as blood spilled over the battlefield, dyeing the land scarlet. In the aftermath of the siege, the corpses that were left outside the city looked like they were floating on a red sea.

An Chang Qing sat on the roof of the manor, awaiting the coming dawn.

Impending Xiao Zhige's return, An Chang Qing couldn't help but worry. Only under Zhou He Lan's persuasion and his declining health was he willing to rest up back in his room.

The following day, An Chang Qing woke up to the sound of murderous calls from outside the city. The Beidi army had begun their second siege. That day, An Chang Qing stayed inside the manor and concentrated on crafting the piece of purple jade. This was the only thing he could do to keep himself from worrying.

When the rough surface of the purple jade was polished, the inner luster of the gem revealed itself. An Chang Qing observed it in his palm and finally decided to craft it into a personal seal for Xiao Zhige.

The rugged jadite was slowly carved into shape but Xiao Zhige still had yet to return. An Chang Qing routinely stopped working in the evenings, heeding Xiao Zhige's instruction to not overwork his eyes in the dark.

The denizens of Yanzhou seemed to go on with their daily lives but they were not null of the influence from the war outside the city gates. A heavy air hung over the city and the people couldn't help but cast worried looks towards the city gate from time to time.

And so, the second day came and went. At midnight, there was a knock on the Generals' Manor gates.

An Chang Qing got up immediately. He randomly grabbed at a piece of garment and hurriedly put it on as he rushed out. Getting close to the gate, An Chang Qing eagerly called out 'Wangye', thinking that Xiao Zhige had returned.

When the gates opened, Tie Hu's towering body came into sight. He scratched his head and saluted, "Wangfei, Tie Hu has arrived with the remaining rations."

An Chang Qing was disappointed. He looked down briefly before raising his head and smiled, "Thank you for the hard work."

.....

The following morning, Qi Wei brought his men to check up on the newly delivered supplies. The grains they previously received from An Chang Qing were almost depleted and Tie Hu had arrived in the nick of time.

Qi Wei's face was beaming, he patted Tie Hu's shoulder and exclaimed, "My good brother!"

Tie Hu grabbed Qi Wei's back collar and pulled him away, "Get to work. These supplies were all thanks to Wangfei's efforts. I'm only obeying orders to deliver them!"

Qi Wei adjusted his collar and turned to An Chang Qing. He bowed and said, "I thank you on behalf of Yahzhou's troops!"

An Chang Qing smiled and told him he did not have to be so formal. He then hesitated before asking, "Is Wangye at the barracks? Does he need anything? I can have it sent over."

Qi Wei's smile slightly froze and he quickly covered it up, "There is no shortage of anything. Wangye is currently on military duty and does not have time to return for the time being."

An Chang Qing did not miss the small change in his expression. He continued to question, "Is that so? But when Wangye left, he told me that he will not be in the city for a few days."

"The General even told you that?" Qi Wei was taken aback and quickly comforted An Chang Qing, "Big brother-in-law, please do not worry. The General will return safely."

"So the General has really left Yanzhou?" An Chang Qing had deceived Qi Wei to get the truth. His heart sank as he remembered the words Xiao Zhige had said to him before he left- 'I will definitely return'. Now that he thought about it, there wasn't a need for such strong-willed words had it been a battle just surrounding Yanzhou.