By the time Qi Jingren finished seeing others and arrived at the Eldest Princess’s residence, it was already past midnight. Feng Lezhen was seated in the main hall, still in her earlier attire, as though she had known Qi Jingren would come.
“That note was given to me by someone else,” Qi Jingren said directly upon entering, knowing what Feng Lezhen wanted to ask. “Right after I killed the Moli king, the palace was in chaos. Someone slipped the note into my sword sheath while I was escaping. I didn’t discover it until after I’d gotten out.”
There was only one sentence on the note, and it was addressed to “Your Highness.” In all of Great Qian, the only one addressed as such was likely Feng Lezhen. That’s why Qi Jingren had immediately handed it over upon returning.
Feng Lezhen glanced at her. “Did you see anyone suspicious during your time in Moli?”
Qi Jingren was about to shake her head, then suddenly thought of something. “They… recently had a newly arrived State Preceptor.”
“State Preceptor?” Feng Lezhen raised her eyes.
“I never saw him myself, and know very little about him. Just that he was deeply trusted by the Moli king. This entire conflict was apparently stirred up by him. By the time I infiltrated the palace, he’d already been gone a few days, so I don’t know what he looks like.”
Feng Lezhen leaned thoughtfully against the chair and didn’t speak for a long time.
“Does Your Highness know this State Preceptor?” Qi Jingren asked hesitantly.
Feng Lezhen gave her a look. “Yes.”
“Who is he, to be able to incite war between two nations?” Qi Jingren frowned.
“Feizhan,” Feng Lezhen replied.
“Feizhan?!” Qi Jingren was shocked.
“Feng Ji never managed to catch him. I thought he was still hiding somewhere in Great Qian. Never expected he had escaped to Moli—and even became their State Preceptor.” Feng Lezhen’s tone was cool. “That man’s capable. Wherever he goes, he manages to thrive.”
“So, Tayuan’s sudden move to seize Moli’s land wasn’t a coincidence either?” Qi Jingren frowned again. “Clever of him—he knew he’d been away from Tayuan too long. Even if he returned, he might not regain favor. The king of Tayuan might even send him back to Great Qian to curry favor. So he staged this whole thing as a grand gesture. Even before returning, he’d already made a name for himself. Now that the Tayuan king sees his capabilities, he’ll definitely want to keep him.”
She paused a moment, then added, “Your Highness, this man spent years in the palace. You must know him well—what’s his temperament like? Is he easy to deal with?”
“If he were, he wouldn’t still be alive,” Feng Lezhen replied slowly. “Given time, this man will become a major threat to Great Qian.”
Qi Jingren took a deep breath. “What are all those people in the court doing? How could they just let him escape like that?”
Feng Lezhen chuckled. “If you’re going to blame someone, blame that idiot Feng Ji. I delivered the man right to him, and he still couldn’t bring himself to finish the job.”
Although Qi Jingren thought the same, well… she certainly didn’t have the courage to curse the current emperor.
After a few more words, Qi Jingren got up to take her leave. Feng Lezhen looked at her face—exhausted but glowing with vitality—and gave one last reminder: “You sneaked into Moli with a few men and assassinated their king. That kind of feat will spread across the land within a month. When all of Great Qian knows your name and calls you the goddess of war, are you prepared?”
“Prepared for what?” Qi Jingren asked.
Feng Lezhen gave a faint smile. “Prepared for others coming after you, of course.”
“My military merits were earned with my own life and the lives of my brothers. Who would dare target me over that?” Qi Jingren said, unconcerned.
Feng Lezhen said no more and gestured for her to go.
Qi Jingren turned and left. Feng Lezhen watched her spirited back and stretched lazily with satisfaction.
“Your Highness, you seem to be in a good mood,” Ah Ye said softly.
“This girl is about to become mine—how could I not be in a good mood?” Feng Lezhen glanced at her.
Ah Ye froze. “She already counts as yours?”
Qi Jingren was naive, thinking that as long as no vow had been made, she wasn’t officially pledged. But the letters exchanged with the Eldest Princess’s manor over all this time, the help given and received—they had already tied her down in invisible bonds. As long as Her Highness wished, those “records” could be released at any time, and by then, whether Qi Jingren liked it or not, she’d have no choice but to fall in line.
“Now?” Feng Lezhen shook her head slightly. “Not willing enough yet.”
“Then when will she be truly willing?” Ah Ye asked, puzzled.
Feng Lezhen thought for a moment. “That depends on whether Feng Ji moves fast enough.”
Ah Ye didn’t understand but didn’t ask further.
Just as Feng Lezhen predicted, Qi Jingren’s achievement spread across all of Great Qian within a month. Everyone heard of the brave goddess of war, and for a time, she completely outshone Qi Jingqing, one of Great Qian’s celebrated pair of prodigies.
Qi Jingren’s reputation boomed outside and echoed inside the Qi army. Seeing this, Qi Zhen finally felt confident handing over command temporarily. She became the undisputed leader of the Qi army.
But she didn’t have long to enjoy her success. A message came from the capital: the emperor was gravely ill. Accompanying that news was an imperial edict—
“The emperor is gravely ill, and the nation is at risk. The Bureau of Astronomy has observed the stars and seen a Ziwei star in the far northeast. Only by bringing the Ziwei star into the central palace can the emperor recover and the nation flourish. Therefore, the daughter of Zhenbian Marquis, Qi Jingren, is hereby granted entrance to the palace to become empress and take command of the phoenix seal. Out of compassion for the marquis, who has no male heir, the emperor’s firstborn with the empress will be raised by the marquis’ household. Thus decreed.”
When the decree arrived, Qi Jingren smashed everything in her room out of rage. Feng Lezhen, by contrast, remained calm, even chatted idly with Hu Wensheng upon hearing the news: “Using national fate and the emperor’s life as leverage, and dangling the promise of an imperial-blooded child for the Qi family—slap with one hand, sweeten with the other. It’s hard to refuse. Such a vile scheme must be the work of Fu Zhixian.”
Hearing her speak so casually about an imperial edict, Hu Wensheng swallowed nervously. “Y-Your Highness, how can you be so sure it’s from Lord Fu? What if His Majesty…”
“Oh, he’s not that clever,” Feng Lezhen replied.
Hu Wensheng: “…” He had only wanted to suggest that the emperor might truly be sick. He hadn’t meant to question His Majesty’s intelligence.
After just a brief chat with Feng Lezhen, he was already sweating bullets and could only clumsily change the subject. “So… do you think the Marquis will accept?”
“That, I don’t know.” Feng Lezhen shrugged.
“Could you at least make a guess?” Hu Wensheng asked.
Feng Lezhen chuckled. “The hardest thing in this world to predict is the human heart.”
Feng Ji still had no son. If Qi Jingren gave birth to a child, and that child was raised personally by Zhenbian Marquis, then with royal blood and the military power of Yingguan… it would be no different from handing the empire to the Qi family.
The temptation was enormous. If it were her, she’d definitely take the risk. As for Qi Zhen, she couldn’t say.
She wasn’t the only one who didn’t know. No one did. The Marquis’s household hadn’t accepted the edict, and the eunuch sent to deliver it couldn’t sleep from anxiety. After two days, he finally decided to ask the Eldest Princess in Yingguan for help.
Before he could act, however, Qi Jingren arrived on her own.
Feng Lezhen wasn’t surprised by her visit. She even had the leisure to pour her some tea.
“Did Your Highness foresee today’s situation?” Qi Jingren asked directly.
Feng Lezhen’s expression was composed: “Qi Jingqing is too sickly to inherit the family’s responsibilities. The Qi family line was supposed to end with Qi Zhen. But unexpectedly, he produced a capable daughter like you. Feng Ji, who was waiting to take the Qi army for himself, naturally couldn’t just sit back and watch you take it. I knew he’d try to cut off your path—but I didn’t expect him to use such shameless means.”
She let out a small laugh. “But thinking about it—it makes sense. What method is better at cutting off a woman’s ambition than marriage and childbirth? If you were just a bit more docile, willing to play the role of a good wife and mother, you might even offer up the Qi army with your own hands after marrying him… Ah, or better yet, give it to your shared child. Either way, it stays in the Feng bloodline. Same result.”
Qi Jingren clenched her fists tightly. “Despicable.”
“This? This isn’t even the worst of it,” Feng Lezhen said idly. “He’s too timid—he wouldn’t dare harm you. He’ll shower you with affection, patiently wait for you to give birth. But if it were me, I wouldn’t be so patient. Within a year, you’d die of water and soil incompatibility in the capital. Your parents would grieve themselves to death in Yingguan. By then, I’d comfort the soldiers, promote who needs promoting, raise salaries where needed—once the dead are buried, who would even remember the Qi family?”
Reclining casually in her chair, every word Feng Lezhen said sent chills down Qi Jingren’s spine.
After a long silence, Feng Lezhen smiled lightly. “Just kidding. Don’t take it to heart.”
Qi Jingren suddenly moved. Ah Ye, who had been lazily standing behind Feng Lezhen, flicked her wrist, and a tiny poison-tipped needle appeared at her fingertips.
But in the very next moment, Qi Jingren dropped straight to her knees. Ah Ye paused, then silently retracted the needle.
“Your subordinate begs Your Highness to point out a clear path,” Qi Jingren said in a low voice.
Feng Lezhen glanced at her with a calm expression. “And why should I help you?”
She was asking her to declare her stance.
Qi Jingren remained silent for a long while. When she finally spoke again, her eyes held a new determination: “Because this subordinate will become… Your Highness’s greatest support in inheriting your legacy.”
Feng Lezhen’s lips curved into a deep smile. After a long pause, she replied with a laugh, “With you by my side, what more could I ask for?”
“Does Your Highness have a way to make the Emperor withdraw the decree?” Qi Jingren asked.
Feng Lezhen raised her brows slightly. “I do. But once this method is used, Feng Ji will only become more wary of the Qi family. You’ll truly have no way back.”
Qi Jingren’s expression was calm: “With my name already spread far and wide, I doubt there’s any way back left for me.”
“You’re not going to discuss it with Zhenbian Marquis?” Feng Lezhen asked. “If you don’t ask, how do you know he won’t protect you?”
“Even if he does, so what? Escape this time, but what about the next?” Qi Jingren had already thought it through in the past few days. “If I were a man, inheriting military power would be a matter of course—no one would be able to shake my position. But I was born a woman. If the Emperor wants to deal with me, he has countless ways. Your Highness said it yourself once—if we don’t change this world, I’ll never be able to fight openly and proudly for my future.”
Feng Lezhen sat up straighter, looking at her for a long moment before speaking: “I need to borrow the Marquis’s private seal.”
“I’ll personally deliver it within two days,” Qi Jingren replied, then turned and left.
Once her figure had fully disappeared, Ah Ye immediately asked, “Your Highness, do you really have a way to help her?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Feng Lezhen answered calmly.
Ah Ye was curious: “What is it?”
Feng Lezhen smiled. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
After Qi Jingren left, Zhenbian Marquis’s household still didn’t show any sign of accepting the decree. The eunuch sent to deliver it eventually went to Feng Lezhen for help. Feng Lezhen put on a surprised expression: “I can barely protect myself right now. How could I possibly persuade the Marquis?”
The eunuch returned empty-handed and could only continue waiting outside the marquis’s estate.
Almost a full month passed like that. Suddenly, rumors began to spread across various regions: the Ziwei Star mentioned in the heavenly signs wasn’t referring to Qi Jingren at all—it was referring to the current Eldest Princess Feng Lezhen. Only by bringing the princess back to the capital could the Emperor and the nation be saved.
Feng Lezhen had already heard all of this in Qi Jingqing’s bedchamber before the rumors became widespread.
“I thought I should tell you first,” Qi Jingqing said, looking into her eyes.
Feng Lezhen calmly gazed back at him. “Why spread such rumors?”
“First, it gets rid of the marriage decree to Jingren without bloodshed. Second…” Qi Jingqing’s hand on his knee tightened slightly. “I wanted to help Your Highness return to the capital.”
“And how do you know I want to return?” Feng Lezhen chuckled.
Qi Jingqing’s smile was faint. “Don’t you?”
“Of course I do.” Just not yet.
Upon hearing this answer, Qi Jingqing only lowered his eyes and smiled. “So, it hits two birds with one stone.”
“If I leave, who’ll play chess with you?” Feng Lezhen crossed her arms, teasing.
Qi Jingqing fell silent for a long time.
Feng Lezhen took a sip of tea and asked, “This plan was supposed to be secret—why tell me in advance?”
“I was afraid you’d be upset.”
“Why would I be upset if you’re helping me return to the capital?”
“Between friends, there should be no secrets,” Qi Jingqing replied.
Feng Lezhen paused, then laughed. “Well then, I’ve kept plenty of secrets.”
“This rule doesn’t apply to you, Your Highness,” Qi Jingqing also smiled.
Feng Lezhen’s heart stirred slightly. She raised her eyes to meet his beautiful ones and curved her lips: “So you’ve never hidden anything from me?”
Qi Jingqing froze, then fell silent.
Feng Lezhen raised an eyebrow. “What? You really have kept something from me?”
“…Two things,” Qi Jingqing pressed his lips together. “Only two.”
“Which two?” she asked.
Qi Jingqing: “…If I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets anymore.”
Feng Lezhen laughed. “You’re good at dodging questions.”
“I promise there are only two. Once I’ve made those clear, I’ll hide nothing from you again,” Qi Jingqing said.
Feng Lezhen had only meant to tease him, but when she looked up and saw the seriousness in his eyes, her expression also sobered.
It was already late at night when they quietly left the marquis’s residence. Once in the carriage, Ah Ye immediately asked, “Your Highness, did you tell the young shizi about your plan?”
“No.” Feng Lezhen closed her eyes and pretended to nap.
Ah Ye: “But he told you. Why didn’t you tell him?”
“He told me—that was his choice. I didn’t tell him—that’s mine,” Feng Lezhen answered without guilt. “This matter is too important. I can’t let one person’s feelings dictate everything.”
“Then once the truth comes out, he’ll probably be heartbroken,” Ah Ye said softly.
Feng Lezhen was silent for a while, then said nothing more.
Qi Jingqing acted swiftly. Rumors swept through the empire, and after nearly a month of waiting, the eunuch finally received a second imperial decree from the capital.
This time, it was to rescind the previous edict.
No one knew why the Emperor had suddenly reversed course, but those tasked with delivering the order sighed in relief and left immediately after the declaration.
Feng Ji’s rescindment of the decree made Qi Jingren truly breathe a sigh of relief. She had just finished her daily duties and was preparing to rest in the military camp when personal guards from the marquis’s residence arrived abruptly and, without explanation, took her back.
“She was taken away in front of a crowd?” Feng Lezhen was quite surprised upon hearing the news.
Ah Ye replied, “Yes, Your Highness. Ever since you instructed this servant to keep an eye on Qi Jingren, I’ve remained vigilant. Everything I reported just now was witnessed with my own eyes.”
Feng Lezhen considered for a moment and said, “Prepare the carriage. I’m going to the Marquis’s residence.”
“Going now?” Ah Ye was startled. “Wouldn’t that be walking straight into muddy waters?”
Feng Lezhen stood and headed out. “I can’t just let one of my people fight alone.”
At Zhenbian Marquis’s residence, in the main hall—
Qi Zhen sat at the head seat with a cold expression. Beside him, Song Lian paced anxiously back and forth.
Amid the increasingly tense atmosphere, Qi Jingren finally returned.
“Father, Mother, why have you summoned your daughter at this hour?” she asked.
“The matter of the imperial decree—are you aware of it?” Qi Zhen asked.
Qi Jingren had mentally prepared herself beforehand. “Yes, Father, I am.”
“This Marquis finds it strange. Clearly, your brother’s plan was only halfway through and hadn’t yet affected the capital in the slightest. Why would His Majesty suddenly abandon it? Why don’t you explain that to me?” Qi Zhen asked slowly and deliberately.
Qi Jingren replied, “No need to analyze. I sought Her Highness’s help. She found a way to save me, and in return, I pledged allegiance to her…”
Before she could finish, a cup of hot tea—with the cup—was thrown straight at her, hitting her forehead squarely.
With a dull thud, the cup shattered on the ground, and a gash appeared on her forehead.
“Marquis!” Song Lian’s face changed as she rushed over to check on Qi Jingren.
Qi Zhen’s eyes stung at the sight of her blood. Trembling, he pointed at her and asked, “Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
“I do. I am now Her Highness’s person,” Qi Jingren said calmly.
Qi Zhen roared, “Has the Qi family wronged you?! Was it I, Qi Zhen, who tried to sell you out for glory and refused to save you?!”
“None of that. I simply don’t want to spend my whole life bound by my gender, always obeying father, then husband, then son. I don’t want to live only as someone’s daughter, wife, or mother. I don’t ask for much—only that I can live as myself,” Qi Jingren said, each word firm.
“What nonsense are you speaking?” Song Lian cried out anxiously. “Are you saying that if you don’t side with Feng Lezhen, we won’t let you be yourself?”
“Have you, Mother?” Qi Jingren asked in return.
Song Lian opened her mouth to answer, but froze under her daughter’s mocking gaze.
“If my brother were healthy and could lead the family, would you have let me into the military? If I couldn’t bear children and produce a Qi heir, would you have handed me military power? Why is it that everything I want, I have to fight and scramble for, trying to earn your approval—while my brother does nothing and only needs to say he wants something, and you, Mother, give it all to him? Can you truly say it’s only because he’s weak in body?”
Song Lian was stunned speechless.
Qi Jingren smiled faintly. “The truth is, you treat us differently because I’m not a son.”
“That’s not true…” Song Lian murmured weakly.
“You say all this, but really, you just resent not being born a man. Do you think by siding with Feng Lezhen, you’ll become a man?!” Qi Zhen roared.
Qi Jingren’s expression remained calm. “I’ve never wanted to become a man. I want a world where women aren’t inherently inferior. Her Highness can give me such a world—so that I, my daughter, and granddaughter, generation after generation, won’t be considered lesser than men.”
Qi Zhen gave a scornful laugh. “And what makes you think she can give you such a world?”
Qi Jingren looked at him without answering.
Qi Zhen was stunned at first, then a chill ran through him. “You’re mad—completely mad…”
“Whether I’m mad or not, Father will know in time,” Qi Jingren said flatly.
Qi Zhen exploded in fury. “This Marquis will never let you drag the Qi family army down a path of destruction! You’re to return the command tomorrow, and stay in your courtyard from now on—no more stepping outside!”
Before he finished, his personal guards entered, ready to detain her.
“I’m afraid the Qi family army is no longer under Father’s control,” Qi Jingren said, her expression darkening as she stared at him.
Qi Zhen froze. Before he could respond, someone rushed in to report, “Marquis! Soldiers have suddenly surrounded the estate!”
Song Lian gasped and collapsed to the ground, covering her mouth in shock. Qi Zhen’s face turned pale with rage. It took him a long time to choke out, “You… you’re committing treason…”
“This isn’t treason,” Qi Jingren interrupted. “I just think it’s time Father retired and enjoyed his later years.” Her eyes reddened. “I didn’t want to come to this—it was Father who forced me.”
Qi Zhen, beside himself with rage, drew his sword. “I’ll kill you with my own hands—!”
“Father!”
A shocked voice came from outside the door. Qi Jingqing rushed in, leaning heavily on his cane.
“Father, please calm down,” Qi Jingqing said, stepping in front of Qi Jingren.
Qi Jingren’s eyes instantly filled with tears. “Brother…”
“Have your men stand down,” Qi Jingqing said with displeasure.
Qi Jingren frowned and was about to refuse, but when she met his disapproving gaze, she paused.
After a moment of silence, she finally gave the order to withdraw the soldiers already inside the residence.
“You all leave as well,” Qi Jingqing said to the personal guards.
They hesitated briefly, but left too. The large hall was now left with just the three of them.
It was at this moment that Feng Lezhen arrived.
Before coming, she had already expected turmoil at the Marquis’s residence and brought all her guards. But by the time she arrived, Qi Jingqing had already taken control of the situation—
So she was more than happy to stroll into the hall alone.
All the current conflicts had been stirred up by her alone. Qi Zhen and Song Lian looked at her with clear displeasure, but only Qi Jingren moved to pull out a chair for her. “Your Highness, please sit.”
At this moment, Qi Zhen hated her to the bone, wishing he could kill her on the spot.
Feng Lezhen sat down calmly. “It seems everything has been more or less said?”
“So long as I, Qi Zhen, still draw breath, don’t even think about making a move on the Qi Family Army,” Qi Zhen rasped.
In the past, he had believed that Feng Lezhen deliberately approached him because she didn’t want to become his enemy. But now that his daughter had admitted her allegiance with her own mouth, he realized she had been eyeing his military power from the start.
Feng Lezhen curved her lips. “This princess told the Marquis before: when things haven’t reached their end, it’s best not to make premature conclusions.”
Qi Zhen let out a cold laugh and turned to Qi Jingren. “You think just because you’ve gathered a few personal guards in the army, you’re qualified to control the Qi Family Army? As long as I can walk out that door, the ‘Qi’ in Qi Family Army still belongs to me.”
“Then I won’t let Father leave this door for the rest of his life,” Qi Jingren said calmly. “Didn’t Father always like locking me in the courtyard? Now it’s Father’s turn to try what that feels like.”
“Jingren,” Qi Jingqing warned.
Qi Jingren’s eyes were red as she stubbornly turned her face away. Qi Zhen wanted to say more, but when he met Qi Jingqing’s gaze, he held back.
The atmosphere was taut and strained. Feng Lezhen spoke lightly, “The way this has turned out, it’s almost as if I’m the one who forced you all to turn against each other.”
“Your Highness, please don’t add fuel to the fire,” Qi Jingqing said helplessly.
Feng Lezhen: “Are you angry at me?”
“What would I be angry at you for?” Qi Jingqing frowned.
His familiar tone made the Marquis and Marchioness both turn to look at him.
Feng Lezhen smiled, then turned their attention back. “No matter how your family argues, the Qi Family Army must serve this eldest princess. No one’s opposition will matter.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Qi Zhen could no longer hold back. He raised his sword to strike, and Qi Jingren’s eyes turned sharp as she immediately threw a teacup at him.
Song Lian cried out in horror to stop them, but it had no effect. Just as father and daughter were about to come to blows, Qi Jingqing finally said, “It wasn’t Her Highness who pushed me into the pond that year!”
The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell into dead silence—even Feng Lezhen looked over in surprise.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 10+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
