The Princess Is On Top (GL) - Chapter 7

The foot soldier who had remained silent all this time suddenly shouted, making Xiao Le and the other two tense up.

When Liu Yu heard him, he thought, Isn’t he trying to drag us down to die with him? How can that be allowed? No longer caring that he had just been kicked, he desperately argued back, “Bullshit! ‘Defecting to the enemy’ sounds so ugly. What we’re doing is abandoning darkness for the light. You’re the villain for wanting to inform on them!”

“General, please see clearly! Emperor Wu is cruel and tyrannical. The three of us truly set our hearts on the Prince of Luoyang!”

In their hearts, Du Fei and Xiao Le quietly gave Liu Yu a thumbs-up. This ability to shift with the wind and still make it sound passionate and righteous was not something just anyone could do.

A trace of hesitation flashed through the general’s eyes. In the end, he still changed his order. “Bring them over.”

“Then what should be done with these two?” He was referring to the two who had intended to leak the information.

“Soldiers loyal and devoted to the Wu Dynasty should naturally be beheaded.”

The three were pressed forward. Xiao Le suddenly thought of something and abruptly looked back, only to see the scene of a soldier swinging his sword and cutting someone down. Blood splashed everywhere. Xiao Le suddenly felt that death was actually so close to her. If anything had gone even slightly wrong just now, they would have been the ones spraying blood on the spot. For the first time, she felt that this was a real world—a time when the weak were prey to the strong and human lives were as lowly as ants. If she wanted to survive, if she wanted to live well, then she had to become stronger. She had to stand at the very top of the pyramid.

“Commandery Princess, the commotion just now was made by these people. There were also two others who were confirmed to be Wu Dynasty soldiers. They discovered our side’s movements and were preparing to report us, so they have already been executed. These three claim they followed them all the way here and have an important matter to report… They know our plan for this mission. Since the matter is of great importance, this general was bold enough to bring them here. How they should be handled, I ask for your instructions.” The general brought them before a young woman and reported everything in detail.

The woman’s armor was different from that of the black-armored soldiers around her, yet it was also the same; only its patterns and material revealed an outward air of nobility. As for the woman herself, she possessed an aura that could not be ignored and a peerlessly cold, beautiful face. Could someone this good-looking truly exist in the world? Xiao Le thought as the woman’s pair of phoenix eyes examined them, as though trying to see straight through them.

“I’m not dreaming, am I? He called you Commandery Princess?… Then aren’t you the legendary Su Luoyang!!” Liu Yu cried out foolishly, and that shout quickly snapped Xiao Le back to herself as well.

The shock the woman herself had brought Xiao Le had made her completely overlook the conversation between them. So the Commandery Princess of Luoyang was actually such a peerless, magnificent person. The world would probably never believe that a dignified commandery princess would personally lead herself deep behind enemy lines.

“Impudent. Is the Commandery Princess’s name something you may call directly?” Silver light flashed. Before Liu Yu could even recover, a sword was already pointed at his neck. It turned out that aside from Su Luoyang, there was another woman present. Judging by her appearance, she was Su Luoyang’s attendant.

“Ah Zheng, it’s fine. Put down the sword,” Su Luoyang instructed the attendant beside her.

“I wonder what matter the three of you went through so much trouble to report?” Su Luoyang smiled kindly, making people feel especially close to her, but Xiao Le kept feeling that this smile was far too fake. If they could not give a satisfactory answer, who knew whether this commandery princess would smile while ordering them to be cut down? Imagining that scene, Xiao Le shivered. Since when had she become so inexplicably strange?

“Ah… It’s like this…” Liu Yu wanted to speak, but Du Fei cut him off at once. “Commandery Princess, allow me to report.” Du Fei gave a cupped-fist salute while glancing at Liu Yu, signaling him to shut up. Indeed, Liu Yu was a big mouth. At a time like this, if he said even the slightest thing wrong, it could cost them their lives.

Su Luoyang listened to Du Fei’s account with great interest. “You are saying that there is still a hundred-man group behind us?”

“That’s right. Although the Commandery Princess’s strategy is excellent, variables are not something human strength can control.” Xiao Le’s voice was clear and bright, not as deep as an ordinary man’s. The moment she spoke, Su Luoyang’s gaze was drawn over.

“Oh? How do you know this was my strategy? There are no shortage of military advisers in the army.” Su Luoyang carefully examined the young man before her. Though his face was dirty, one could still see that it was a delicate and handsome face.

Xiao Le raised her head and met her assessing gaze. “Although there are many military advisers in the army, there are not many who would dare propose such a dangerous move. If this had not been the Commandery Princess’s own idea, then with your precious status, why would you personally venture deep behind enemy lines?”

Su Luoyang smiled and neither explained nor denied it.

“What makes you think I should believe you?”

Finally, she had asked the key question.

“Why doesn’t the Commandery Princess send someone to investigate? Since you have the leisure to question us here with such calm composure, I presume the grain convoy being escorted is still some distance from this place.” Xiao Le forced herself to calmly state her guess. She knew that before someone of high status in ancient times, one had to properly display one’s ability in order to be noticed. In chaotic times like these, every faction would certainly thirst for talent. First, she had to pique Su Luoyang’s interest and preserve her life. Xiao Le might not be good at other things, but at least she had been a top student at a military academy. She did not understand The Art of War, but she had taken no small number of military and combat classes. Surely they would not be completely useless.

Su Luoyang looked at her thoughtfully, the smile in her eyes deepening.

“You are very clever.”

She beckoned and called the young general from earlier to her side.

“Deputy General Liu, take a small team and investigate the rear. Confirm whether what they said is true. If there truly is such a group, handle them yourself. Remember, make your move inside the forest.” In broad daylight, the road was too conspicuous.

Su Luoyang did not finish saying the rest, but Deputy General Liu naturally understood what she meant. After receiving the order, he selected his men and left.

“At most, two hours. Let us wait and see.”

Su Luoyang looked at the sky and said this to Xiao Le.

Xiao Le, however, noticed the sword Su Luoyang’s left hand was pressing down on. “Commandery Princess, you know martial arts?”

“Would a weak woman with no strength to truss a chicken run behind enemy lines just to drag her subordinates down?” the woman asked in return.

Xiao Le was rendered speechless. She had been misled by Su Luoyang’s appearance and made assumptions first.

Maybe I can’t even fight as well as she can…

When Deputy General Liu returned, a faint smell of iron lingered in the air, so faint that Xiao Le almost thought it was an illusion. It must be blood staining the armor, Xiao Le thought. What was strange was that she did not feel ashamed for betraying the lives of those hundred or so people. Shouldn’t you feel ashamed? Are you some kind of demon? Xiao Le asked herself.

No one in this world was innocent. If anyone was, then it was surely herself. She had been swept into this chaotic age—was she not innocent too? She could only do her best to protect the people beside her.

Deputy General Liu reported the situation to Su Luoyang, confirming that Xiao Le and the others had spoken the truth.

“The three of you, forgive me. Although what you said is true, I still cannot let you go,” Su Luoyang said to them with a hint of apology.

The three exchanged a look, but none of them was surprised. This was within their expectations.

“However, the three of you may follow us. Once we finish our business, we can take you back to camp with us.”

“We understand. Caution sails the ship for ten thousand years. Everything will be arranged according to the Commandery Princess’s orders,” Du Fei replied.

What came next was the ambush of the grain supplies being transported to Youzhou’s main camp.

Xiao Le and the other two did not take part; they only watched from the side.

At dawn the next day, when daybreak finally arrived, the grain convoy came late and unhurried. Su Luoyang led her subordinates in a beautifully executed ambush.

“Heavens, the Commandery Princess is too ruthless when she kills.” The three of them hid in the forest and watched. Liu Yu was left dumbfounded.

Du Fei crouched beside him and teased, “Let’s see if you still dare run your mouth in the future. Be careful—the Commandery Princess might chop off your head if she gets unhappy.”

Xiao Le did not joke around with them. Her burning gaze watched Su Luoyang freely swing her sword amid the crowd, her black hair flying, the bearing of a heroine unmatched in all the world. For the Prince of Luoyang to have such a daughter, he himself certainly could not be lacking. No wonder so many people were willing to pledge themselves to him.

This battle did not last long. Their goal was to destroy the grain, not annihilate the enemy. In the end, they left behind only raging flames and a grain-escort team thrown into complete chaos. Their withdrawal route had been planned long ago, so there were no real obstacles.

After finding the place where the horses had been hidden, they swiftly returned by the original route. Horses were limited, so Xiao Le and the other two were carried along by the soldiers on horseback. Finally, at dusk, they arrived at the main camp. As soon as Su Luoyang entered the camp, someone hurried inside to report.

Xiao Le had never ridden a horse before. After being jolted around on a fast horse for an entire day, she felt unbelievably awful. On top of that, the insides of her thighs hurt terribly. The moment she dismounted, she vomited until the world spun.

Du Fei and Liu Yu were a little better off. After all, they were born and raised in the Wu Dynasty, came from decent family backgrounds, and had ridden horses plenty of times before. It was just that they had never gone on such a forced march either, so their complexions did not look very good.

Su Luoyang was actually not feeling that comfortable either. But when she saw Xiao Le leaning against a tree trunk and vomiting until she was nearly emptied out, she felt that she was still doing all right. Just as she was about to go forward and ask about her, the people coming out of the military camp interrupted her steps.

“Thank heaven and earth, Commandery Princess, you are safe and sound. Otherwise, I truly wouldn’t know how to answer to your father.”

Su Luoyang saw clearly who had come. It was an old general who had followed her father for many years, He Yan.

He was precisely the commander-in-chief of the troops fighting Youzhou’s main camp this time.

Burning grain behind enemy lines—Su Luoyang had gone without even obtaining his approval. Presumably, he had spent the past few days on tenterhooks.

“Liu Kun, I think you must be tired of living. You dared take the Commandery Princess to such a dangerous place. I’ll keep that head of yours on your shoulders for now. Go receive fifty military rods!”

Liu Kun was the young general who had previously been addressed as Deputy General Liu. The moment He Yan saw him, his anger flared. He had no idea where Liu Kun had found the courage to make a private decision and take the Commandery Princess along to attack the enemy.

As early as when He Yan’s gaze swept over him, Liu Kun had known that punishment would be impossible to escape. He sighed inwardly. “This general accepts the punishment.”

“And you too, Ah Zheng. As the Commandery Princess’s personal maid, instead of stopping her from risking herself, you actually followed her in making trouble!”

He Yan turned his spearhead toward Ah Zheng as well. Ah Zheng immediately knelt. “Ah Zheng knows her crime. Please punish me, Marshal.”

“Wait.” Su Luoyang glanced at Liu Kun and Ah Zheng. She knew He Yan was blaming her for acting willfully, but because of the relationship between ruler and subject, he could not directly reproach her. Since she had been the one who insisted on going, how could she let the people beside her take punishment in her place? She immediately turned and pleaded for them, her tone softening somewhat.

“Uncle He, this was Luoyang’s fault. But in my heart, I thought that since this strategy came from my mouth, I had to keep an eye on it. The matter was of great importance, and if I did not watch it personally, I could not feel at ease. That was why I pressured Deputy General Liu into taking me there. The commandery princess gave an order; he did not dare disobey. Ah Zheng is the same. I am the master, and she is a maid. If the master gives an order, would a maid dare not obey? Besides, I am not some weak woman with no strength to truss a chicken. If you want to punish them, then I must be punished with them. These past few days, they have all suffered plenty as well.”

He Yan had fought alongside the Prince of Luoyang for many years. It could even be said that he had watched the three Su siblings grow up. With the Commandery Princess calling him uncle, he did not feel she was overstepping in any way. Instead, these softened words dispersed some of his anger.

“Nonsense! You haven’t even said you suffered. What suffering could these brats have endured?” He Yan glared as he defended his own.

“Enough. Since the Commandery Princess has pleaded for you, those fifty military rods will be recorded for now. Return to your tents and rest first. Liu Kun, come to my tent tomorrow to report.” His subordinates had just accomplished a merit, so He Yan had not truly intended to punish them.

Liu Kun had thought a beating would be unavoidable, but unexpectedly, his backside had escaped disaster. He quickly answered, his heart immediately filling with gratitude toward the Commandery Princess.

Seeing that everything that needed to be ordered had been ordered, He Yan was about to lead Su Luoyang away. After taking only a few steps, however, Su Luoyang suddenly stopped and turned back to call Liu Kun.

“Deputy General Liu, there is one more matter I would like to trouble you with.”

She pointed at Xiao Le, who had already vomited herself into collapse, and the two people currently supporting her.

“These three who returned with us said before that they wished to join our army. I’ll trouble you to make arrangements for them.”

Liu Kun glanced at the three of them and cupped his fist. “This general receives the order.”