PRINCESS AGENTS (SEASON 2)-COMPLETED

Chapter 10

Note: Xia is Wei Empire
Yuan Yang is the 14th Prince of Wei Empire.

The Xia army ceased their attack but did not make way to let them leave. The merciless siege had truly begun. At this moment, Yuan Yang fully understood the accuracy of the intel that he had received. Chu Qiao had truly fallen out with Yan Xun, and wished to leave Yan Bei. The gates of Longyin would no longer open for them, and apart from heading to the Tang Empire through the Waterway of the Southern Borders which Yan Xun had already sealed up, they could only pass through by the Xia defense line. With increasing certainty, he was sure about her escape.

September 20th, it snowed. At this juncture, snow would not be too heavy yet, but it continuously snowed for two days. Xiuli Army’s rations had been almost depleted, and if not for the fact that some of the civilians had brought some food, they may have started starving long ago. All the tents were allocated to the civilians, yet every night, there were elderly and children who froze to death. Medicine had run out as well, and injured soldiers could not even get a sip of warm water. Chu Qiao could only helplessly watch as the coldness and injuries robbed the lives of those soldiers who could withstand even the tremendous might of the Xia Army.

Each time she saw that a soldier had died, or a child was trembling in the wind, she felt an urge to rush back to the Longyin Pass to apologize to Yan Xun, and plead for him to save those innocent people. Helplessly, she smiled, and could only feel that strength had left her body. Yan Xun was really the one who understood her the most. Perhaps, he had knew long ago that this would happen. She was never scared of war, killings, or even death, but her Achilles heel was that she would never allow people who loved and supported her to die meaninglessly. In the past two days, she attempted to break through the encirclement four times, and she had been unsuccessful. Yuan Yang adopted a full defense formation. Not only did Prince Yang not face them in front combat, he did not bother with their attacks either. Each time the Xiuli Army charged up, they were merely welcomed by a barrage of arrows, resulting in dozens of bodies being left behind.

On the night of September 22nd, a snowstorm begun. The temperature dropped drastically. In just half a night, there were over 50 deaths among the injured soldiers, and over 80 deaths among the civilians. The civilians finally reached their limit, as a middle age woman left the camp and rushed to Longyin Pass to request entry. Following which, more and more civilians left, as they tumbled in the frigid winds towards the fort.

In this life and death situation, the fear of death had finally won their conscience. The civilians abandoned this army that had fought to the end to defend, and charged back to their homeland. The soldiers of Xiuli Army silently watched as everything unfolded. No one said anything, and no one tried to stop them. They merely watched these people who were crying, and emotionlessly let them go.

A sobbing elderly walked over to Chu Qiao. In his embrace was a child whose breathing had already weakened to the point that one could barely hear it. With his face full of humiliation, he tried to say something, but all that came out were weeping sounds. The child was already completely pale. Chu Qiao could tell that if he did not quickly go someplace warm, he would die very soon. Chu Qiao felt as though her throat was being choked by something. She was not angry, neither did she feel sad. Of course, she did not blame them for abandoning her. As a soldier, she had no excuse when all she could do was watch her countrymen die one by one, unable to protect them. She could no longer bear to see that guilty gaze of the old man, because she felt even more guilt ridden deep down. She could only lower her head in silence, expressing her emotions.

Sorry.

Atop Longyin Pass, torches gradually started to light up. Under the pass, there were countless elderly, children, women, tumbling forth. People shouted, “Open the gates! Open the gates!” in unison, with a sense of despair and fear in their voices. At the end of the day, they were normal civilians. Their only wish was to survive, and sometimes they merely wished to live a better life.