Baby, don't be afraid, I'll accompany you to the heavens and the seas!

"Blackie!!!"

Elder Yun roared as he stepped forward and embraced the youngest member of the clan who had fallen in front of him, his face contorted with pain and despair.

"My baby, waaaaaaah~!" Heiwa's mother dragged her leg, which had been broken by a soldier with the hilt of a sword, and staggered forward.

"Waaaaaaahh ...

This scene resonated with the surviving members of the tribe, who knew that their own relatives and children had also met the same fate, perishing in the raging inferno.

The mournful cries and wails of the people gathered together, a heart-wrenching lament that seemed to steal souls from hell, and poured into the valleys of southern Xinjiang as night fell.

"What are you crying for?! A bunch of barbaric savages!! The Emperor has bestowed grace upon you, yet you dare to refuse his decree with tears and pleas!! Guards, kill them all except the clan leader, as a sign of imperial favor!!!"

Lin Litian's second henchman understood General Lin's expression, immediately drew the cold blade from his horse, spurred his steed forward, and made a move to kill the group of tribesmen.

Swish! ! !

Zhang Xiaogang brandished his cold blade, slashing at his clansmen who were weeping over the corpse of a child, but was stopped by an unknown force.

Qianqian blocked the cold, sharp blade with one hand, while tightly gripping the imperial edict with the other: "I wonder if His Majesty's decree commands the extermination of my entire clan?!"

She stared intently at Zhang Xiao, who was sitting on horseback, her eyes as deep and unfathomable as an ancient pool, leaving everyone stunned.

"Hmph! How dare you, a lowly commoner, speak of the Emperor's dying wish!!!" Zhang Xiao's face was filled with anger, unable to believe that his cold blade could be blocked by a frail and pitiful boy.

Qianqian's palm was stained crimson with blood, which dripped continuously. She gritted her teeth and endured the pain of the cold knife piercing her palm bone, trying to buy time.

Because in a little while, the emperor far away in the capital will be enthroned. The new emperor, Qing Tingmo, will grant a general amnesty and issue an imperial edict ordering the army to cease its killings, only requiring her to enter the capital.

Why issue such an order? Because news of the impending annihilation of the southern border had already spread far and wide, and various foreign tribes from the north and south were quite wary and eager to make their move!

To stabilize the new emperor's regime, Qing Tingmo casually wrote a few strokes on the pale imperial edict, thus deciding the fate of an entire clan.

"You dare to falsely claim imperial favor? You have some nerve!" Qianqianluo struggled to pull away the cold blade, then swung it, severing the front leg of the horse standing in front of her.

Woohoo! Woohoo!!!!

The horse stumbled and fell to its knees, throwing Zhang Xiao, who had no time to react, to the ground.

"Ugh, cough cough cough!!!" Zhang Xiao looked ashamed and collapsed on the ground, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.

"How dare you! You dare to injure my Qingting General!!" Zhang Mu, the number one henchman, gritted his teeth and pretended to shoot an arrow to kill Qianqianluo.

"Deputy General Zhang, what is the meaning of this?" General Yang swung his sword to knock down the poisoned arrow, his face ashen as he questioned.

"Yang Chenfeng, stop with the nonsense! I'm going to kill this bitch tonight, what are you going to do about it?!" Zhang Mu held the knife to General Yang's neck, full of disdain.

Snapped! ! !

"Zhang Mu, how arrogant you are!!" General Yang kicked Zhang Mu into the army, then dismounted and kicked him a few more times.

"Enough, General Yang, what kind of behavior is this?!" Lin Litian turned around on his horse and shouted at Yang Chenqing, who was beating Zhang Mu on the ground!

"Hmph! General Lin, I have been disrespectful!" Yang Chenqing shoved Zhang Mu, whose head had been beaten into a pig's head, aside, then mounted his horse and casually bowed to Lin Litian.

Qianqian protected her clansmen behind her and glanced at the Qingting army.

The young man, dressed in a robe with flowing sleeves and a jade hairpin holding up his hair, bowed respectfully. His face was resolute and righteous, and his black military armor made him look incredibly dashing and carefree.

This is Yang Chenqing, the younger brother of Yang Huizhang, the current emperor's favorite concubine.

The old general before us, with his white-haired temples, sharp eyes, and fierce brows, still harboring a patriotic ambition, is none other than Yang Chenfeng, the renowned loyal general of the Yang family who was famous throughout the capital.

The Yang family is full of loyal and righteous men. Their eldest daughter, Yang Huizhang, is currently enjoying great favor and has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, whose popularity is rivaling that of Empress Lin.

Even with such power, the Yang family remained law-abiding and did not get caught up in the power struggles of the court. Instead, generation after generation, they guarded the frontier and protected the peace and tranquility of the people.

Consort Yang Huizhang was aloof and indifferent to worldly affairs, a breath of fresh air in the harem where all the beauties vied for attention. This was because Yang Huizhang had only entered the palace out of necessity, as her childhood sweetheart had already been murdered by villains and met a tragic end, his body never recovered, during an inspection tour of the northern battlefield.

Qianqian was stunned for a moment, because she knew that the Yang family's final fate was to be wiped out, and that Consort Yang Huizhang was skinned and had his bones removed due to the witchcraft accusation.

Even more tragically, her twins, a boy and a girl, were thrown to their deaths at the Meridian Gate.

Because Yang Huizhang missed her husband too much in her early years, she set up a shrine in her private chamber and chanted Buddhist scriptures and burned paper money day and night, just to pray for her deceased husband's soul.

However, Zhang Pin's trusted maidservant, who had been planted in Yang Guifei's palace, reported that this was witchcraft, that Yang Guifei was cursing the royal bloodline, and that her two children were conceived before she entered the palace, and must be the offspring of evil.

Then he produced a series of love letters from Yang Huizhang, accusing her of having affairs with several men outside the palace.

In reality, this was written by Consort Zhang deliberately imitating the handwriting of Consort Yang, in an attempt to frame her.

Faced with false accusations and having already learned of the massacre of his family, Yang Huizhang simply laughed loudly, rose in a disheveled state, and mocked the current emperor for being muddle-headed and having a heart more vicious than a woman's.

"What emperor?! What tender affection?! Hahahahahahaha!!"

"You, Qing Tingmo, are truly heartless and immoral. I, Yang Huizhang, will cut my hair to end our love. As a ghost, I will surely kill you. If there is an afterlife, I, Yang Huizhang, am willing to be the snake you, Qing Tingmo, fear most in the cycle of reincarnation, to gnaw at your blood and bones in every lifetime, so that you will never sleep peacefully for all eternity!!!"

Qianqian still vividly remembers this curse, because she knows why Yang Huizhang lost his composure and gave others leverage against him.

Because she suddenly realized that it was Qing Tingmo who was behind all of this and manipulating the situation.

Qianqian stared blankly at the old general on horseback, who had fought his entire life without ever resting and enjoying wealth and honor. She sighed at the ruthlessness of emperors and how power could lead people astray.

Chirp chirp chirp!

The jet-black eagle, carrying the imperial edict, landed smoothly on Lin Litian's strong shoulder.

Lin Litian, with a playful expression, pulled out the envelope, then released the flying eagle to scan the imperial edict that had come from the capital.

General Yang also had a flying eagle perched on his shoulder. He took off the envelope, stroked his white beard, and respectfully read the imperial edict.

"Withdraw the troops!!" Lin Litian gave the order urgently with a stern face, and the troops that had gone out to besiege the Qian clan immediately retreated back behind him.

"Qianqian, receive the imperial decree!!!" General Yang rode forward on his horse, appearing before her with a dashing and youthful air.

"In the third year of the Qingting Mo calendar, the late emperor passed away; Our Emperor Qingting Mo granted a general amnesty and summoned the eldest son of the Qian clan to the capital to meet the emperor and study Confucianism, to rectify his conduct and purify his character; to understand the hearts of Chinese and barbarians, and to unite as one; to demonstrate the glory of our holy dynasty and to receive the grace of our holy dynasty!"

"This humble subject kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty's grace. May Your Majesty be well!"

Qianqian, her steps faltering, stepped forward and accepted the imperial edict that General Yang had handed her.