Chu Qiao frowned and hit his chest lightly, “You dare?”

　　“You should work harder before I get another concubine.” Zhuge Yue instinctively undid her hair, as his hands brushed across her neck. As kisses trailed down the side of her neck, he used his fingers to unfasten her clothes. Under the dim lights, her clothes fell to her feet, revealing her fair skin.

　　Zhuge Yue turned around and picked her up, and walked towards the big bed.

　　The effects of skipping dinner were not pleasant. As the night passed on, Chu Qiao stood up, her back aching and sore, and went to sneak some food to eat. It only took two steps before she stumbled, as she frowned and rubbed her back, taking every bit of effort to remain standing, looking at the person lying on the bed.

　　It hurt a lot. Even standing required a lot of effort. She widened her eyes, looking at the man on the bed. Was this necessary every time? How was she going to teach Zhou’er to use the sword tomorrow? Was seeing her being mocked by her son satisfying to him?

　　Even though the tea had turned cold, her hungry stomach meant that the snacks were still as delicious as before. Suddenly, a quiet laughter rang out from the bed. Sitting on the couch, Chu Qiao instinctively stood up and wiped her mouth, asking, “You’re still awake?”

　　As the moonlight shone through the compound’s windows, the man lying on his side on the bed signaled towards her, “Come over here.”

　　Chu Qiao grunted and replied, “No.”

　　Zhuge Yue smiled. “It’s for your own good. You aren’t wearing anything, I was afraid that you would catch a cold.”

　　Chu Qiao’s face immediately turned red as she hurriedly tried to find her clothes, only to feel someone grip her waist and pull her into his arms.

　　“Tired?” Zhuge Yue asked as he wrapped a blanket around her chest. As her shoulders were still exposed to the air, he could not resist lowering his head to kiss them.

　　Chu Qiao replied sheepishly, “A little.”

　　“Hungry? I’ll get someone to bring some food over.”

　　“No, no,” Chu Qiao hurriedly declined. Eating at this time of the night would lead to her being laughed at by Li Qingrong and the other children.

　　Hugging each other, the couple sat on the mat, Zhuge Yue feeding Chu Qiao a couple of small cakes. Time flew by as the pair chatted about their daily lives; the silent compound only highlighting each other’s company.

　　“Xing’er, Quanrong has fought its way to Beishuo Pass. What do you think of it?”

　　Chu Qiao sighed and took a long while to gather her thoughts before she asked, “Zhuge Yue, do you trust me?”

　　Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “You want me to send troops to help Yan Xun?”

　　“Not to help him, but to help ourselves.” Chu Qiao shook her head. “We both know Quanrong has nothing to gain from this conflict. Perhaps, initially, they used the element of surprise to their advantage, but that will come to an end once Yan Bei snaps out of its daze. As to when will that happen, that topic is up for discussion. The difference in this war is how much damage Quanrong can wreck on Yan Bei. After all, they are savage on the battlefield. But, without a complete military strategy, their efforts would mean nothing. They operate more like a meat grinder rather than a complete army.” Zhuge Yue hugged her, quietly listening to her every word.

　　Chu Qiao continued, “Quanrong once broke through Meilin Pass during the 13th year of Emperor Tangming’s rule. Within a month, the entire Western region was reduced into a wasteland, the historical buildings within all destroyed, and nearly a million people were killed. That alone set the country back by decades. If it wasn’t for that, Tang would not have allowed Xia to seize the opportunity to destroy them.”

　　“If the wars have weakened Yan Bei, doesn’t that mean we have a greater chance of reclaiming our lost territory?”

　　Chu Qiao smiled gently and looked at him. “You yourself know what’s about to happen, yet you still choose to ask me. May I ask why is our king of Qinghai questioning himself?”

　　Zhuge Yue chuckled, before kissing her. “I know, there is no way Yan Xun would let me off that easily. If he sees that I won’t budge, who knows, he may even ask Quanrong to attack Qinghai.”

　　“That is a good point. After all, it fits his style.”

　　“Never mind,” Zhuge Yue replied and continued, “Instead of leaving the door open for the others to enter Qinghai, why not send troops to assist him in keeping them outside Beishuo? That way, there won’t be any trouble here. The civilians here are just beginning to adjust back to their normal lives. If they were to come here and cause trouble, how will the civilians be motivated to work harder?”

　　Chu Qiao asked, “When do you intend to send the troops?”

　　“Within the next few days. I’m waiting for news from Zhao Che. By now, he should be in the northern regions causing trouble. Yan Xun will delegate troops against Quanrong. We can let him claim a share of the pie. I will only move once he has played his hand, while seeking some military funds from the emperor of Yan.”

　　Chu Qiao replied, “You both really aren’t afraid of circumstances, aren’t you? Never mind the talks potentially collapsing, won’t it be embarrassing when you both send your troops?”

　　Zhuge Yue chuckled. “After fighting each other for so many years, we’ve begun to understand each other’s thoughts and tactics, to the point that one can’t discern a winner among us. With the political situation stabilizing on both sides, neither side would risk an all-out war. After all, war isn’t the antidote to all problems. There will come to a point where peace negotiations are required. West Meng has been fighting for over a decade, perhaps it’s time for peace.”

　　Chu Qiao sighed and leaned into the arms of Zhuge Yue, lightly replying, “Let’s hope so.”

　　The men of Quanrong rushed in from the outskirts of Meilin Pass to the anguish of the civilians in West Meng. Little did they know, despite the bloodshed and killing brought about, they had also offered a glimmer of hope and a real chance towards true, lasting peace.

　　Beishuo…. Beishuo…. How many years had it been since she left that place? It never occurred to her that she would return one day.

　　If there was any one period that could be called the apocalypse that brought about the genocide of an entire population, then the year 788 of the Baicang calendar was probably the closest to it.

　　That spring, as per usual, Yan Xun fought a ferocious battle with the northern region’s leader, Zhao Che, and Qinghai’s Zhuge Yue. The territory of Song, under the rule of Yan, clashed many times with Tang. This threw the entire continent of West Meng into chaos. With everyone involved in their own internal conflicts, little did they realize that a powerful and evil force was emerging from within the Yan empire.

　　That year, on the ninth day of the fourth month, an earth-shattering piece of news stunned the citizens of West Meng on the sixth anniversary of peace. Princess Jingan, the rebel of Tang, had led a force of 3,000 cavalry troops to secretly infiltrate Meilin Pass. After a rendezvous with Quanrong the previous night, an assault on the pass was initiated. The entire army at Meilin Pass, consisting of over 28,000 troops, were all killed in defense of their empire.

　　At the same time, another piece of news spread around the region like wildfire—the real Princess Jingan had publicly declared her identity as the Princess of Xia, under the protection of Quanrong. Using Quanrong’s troops, she would mobilize troops towards the east, in the name of reviving the Xia Empire and avenging its late emperor.

　　At the same time, Quanrong’s Khan, surnamed Nayan, would head east in high morale, proclaiming to “preserve the bloodline of its ally’s royal family and eliminate all other rebels”.

　　This was the third time that Zhao Chun’er had made her mark on history.

　　The first was on the 20th day of the fifth month, in the year 775, at the bloodshed wedding in Zhen Huang. She became the laughing stock of everyone as she became famous for being the fiancée of Yan Xun. She was only 16 that year.

　　The second time was on the first day of the ninth month, of the same year. After Yan Xun’s defection and Yan Bei’s declaration of independence, Xia, in their urgent political push, sought to use marriage to bind themselves with Tang. After Li Ce’s expulsion of the ninth princess of Xia, Zhao Chun’er was left to travel to Tang alone, to marry into the royal family of Tang. Thereafter, due to her attempts to sow discord and incite the Central Army, she was deported out of Tang. Unwilling to give up, she would attempt a coup with the king of Luo near the region of Meishan, with the help of Zhong Peng, a key general of Tang. However, their ploy was exposed by Li Ce. Since then, no news of her was ever heard.

　　It was only till now, after 13 years, that she would reappear as Princess Jingan once again to open up Meilin Pass. As she personally led 80,000 men from the tribes, she allowed the Quanrong people to rampage across the plains.

　　The war would always be remembered as a horrible disaster, no matter how long ago it was. Even the finest leaders in the region such as Zhuge Yue, Yan Xun, and Zhao Che would have never expected how the situation would deteriorate so rapidly and drastically.

　　After all, Zhuge Yue’s first thoughts when this news first broke were: Instead of letting these people come up to our doorstep, why not handle them right now. We might even be able to claim some benefits from Yan Xun.

　　No one would have known how costly and devastating the war would turn out to be.

　　The Quanrong people were thought by everyone to be barbarians, with brawn but no brains. For thousands of years, the tribe had wandered outside Meilin Pass. They roamed on their horses with no fixed living region, no city to settle in, no unified political system, no advanced warfare technology and were certainly without an elite leader. Combat to them was essentially leading a charge of horses towards the frontline, where they would only fight sides that were weaker while fleeing from stronger opponents.

　　Hence, every mention of them would result in the military leaders of the eastern region disdainfully terming them as barbarians.

　　Yet, no one had seriously thought it through. Since Yan Bei’s independence in the year 775 till Xia’s demise in 782, coupled with the six years of small internal skirmishes since, West Meng had been through 13 chaotic years. Contrary to the people of Quanrong, they had quietly lived for 13 years without a single major conflict, aside from a few skirmishes.