She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

In the dead of night, the wind howled fiercely.

At this moment, the heavy city gates of Ningcheng quietly opened.

A cavalry unit led the way out of the city gate, with soldiers following closely behind, and quickly headed towards the enemy camp.

At this moment, the enemy camp fell into silence; apart from the patrolling soldiers, most of the other soldiers were fast asleep.

The Ningcheng Commander-in-Chief could almost foresee victory. He gave the order: "Soldiers, charge!"

This shout was full of momentum, a battle cry that shook the heavens.

The soldiers, wielding long swords, charged menacingly and unstoppably into the enemy ranks.

Suddenly, the soldiers of Ningcheng saw flames soaring into the sky from the enemy camp, and thousands of cavalry galloping towards them with tremendous force, as if capable of destroying everything.

The Ningcheng Commander's expression suddenly changed; they had been tricked!

Zhao Yi did not return to Yuncheng. In a broader sense, Shen Qingtan may be unharmed; she may have simply put on a show to lure them out and then killed them.

Looking at the enemy's stampede of thousands of horses, a sight that shook the earth, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Just as the Ningcheng Commander was about to issue orders, his warhorse began to pace restlessly. He tried to calm the horse while looking ahead, and when he saw what was approaching, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Moo-moo-moo"

The water buffalo ran wildly as if possessed, its four hooves stomping heavily on the ground with a series of rapid "thump-thump" sounds.

The soldiers realized that these were not warhorses, but mad bulls.

The ox was covered with a brightly colored blanket, with two sharp knives tied to its horns and a bundle of oil-soaked reeds burning fiercely on its tail. It charged toward them with overwhelming force.

The soldiers had never seen anything like it before, and their legs went weak with fear. They swung their long swords at the mad bull, only to be charged at by the bull, the sharp blades on its horns piercing their chests.

In an instant, the sounds of fighting shook the heavens and the earth.

The sounds of weapons clashing mingled with the screams of soldiers.

Ningcheng's warhorses, startled, galloped wildly, knocking down their own soldiers who were trampled to death. Some soldiers had their armor set ablaze by the flames from the mad bull's tail and were burned alive, plunging the battlefield into chaos.

"Retreat—everyone retreat quickly—" Ningcheng's commander shouted hoarsely, watching his formation being broken up by the mad bull, his soldiers being knocked to the ground by the bull, either trampled to death or stabbed to death.

The soldiers' morale collapsed, and they fled in all directions in fear, only to be surrounded by the square formation of the army brought by Wang Qiaoxin.

The Ningcheng Commander knew very well that continuing the battle would only result in even greater losses.

His expression was calm, as if he wanted to fight his way out.

"boom--"

The mad bull collided with his warhorse, which, startled, raised its front hooves high, let out a long neigh, and galloped wildly, knocking down a large number of soldiers.

The Ningcheng Commander clung tightly to the horse's back, gripping the reins tightly with both hands, trying his best to maintain his balance.

Almost there, almost there, we're about to break through the encirclement.

He clenched his jaw, his heart pounding, as he saw that he had broken through the encirclement.

Suddenly, the warhorse bucked, the immense impact throwing him off and causing him to crash heavily to the ground, where he watched helplessly as Wang Qiaoxin plunged a spear, gleaming with a chilling light, into his chest.

The intense pain made his eyes widen, and he vaguely saw Zhao Yi, clad in iron armor, cutting down their flag as the dawn broke on the city wall of Ningcheng in the distance.

Ningcheng fell.

-

Cloud City.

When Shen Qingtan received the good news sent by Zhao Yi, she was lying on the couch vomiting. She vomited up all the bile in her stomach and could not vomit anything else before she felt a little better.

Liu Yue brought over a glass of water and handed it to Shen Qingtan to rinse her mouth. Then she took a piece of dried plum and fed it to Shen Qingtan, saying with concern, "You've only just become pregnant, and you're already vomiting so badly. The next few months will be even harder to endure."

Shen Qingtan leaned against the large pillow, put the plum in her mouth, the sour taste suppressed the bitterness in her mouth, stimulated her mouth to salivate, and then a feeling of wanting to vomit welled up.

She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, spat out the sour plum, and said listlessly, "There's nothing I can do. I just hope the baby in my belly is kind and won't torment me like this anymore."

She originally sent Tingxue to invite the royal physician over for a performance, but unexpectedly, after taking Ping An's pulse, the physician diagnosed that she was pregnant.

After only a few days of peace, I started having problems these past two days. I can't stand any taste other than sour or spicy. I vomit immediately after putting anything in my mouth. I also vomit when I'm starving.

Seeing that Shen Qingtan seemed listless, Liu Yue asked worriedly, "Your Highness, are you going to tell the Prince about this good news?"

Shen Qingtan shook her head slightly: "I have good news. I'll tell you after the prince returns in triumph, so that he won't worry about me on the front lines."

She calmed her stomach discomfort before taking out Zhao Yi's letter and reading its contents word by word.

In his letter, Zhao Yi praised her extensively. First, he commended her for her intelligence and foresight, noting that keeping Lin Youwei alive provided them with the opportunity to capture Ningcheng. Second, he praised her for her resourcefulness, citing the strategies she provided that led to their successful conquest of Ningcheng.

Subsequently, Zhao Yi wrote down the battle plan in detail in the letter. The reason was that he learned that she was pretending to be poisoned. He arranged for the soldiers to set up camp and bought oxen from the people. He deliberately challenged Ningcheng and made the Ningcheng commander believe that they were bluffing. Then he secretly led a group of people away from the front line and headed towards Yuncheng.

In reality, he took a long detour and outflanked Ningcheng from the rear.

Once Ningcheng's commander-in-chief is certain that after he returns to Yuncheng, he will transfer most of the city's troops to Yuncheng, preparing to seize their camp in one fell swoop and catch them off guard.

Therefore, other parts of Ningcheng must be poorly defended.

He and Wang Qiaoxin attacked from both sides and captured Ningcheng.

Shen Qingtan smiled. Zhao Yi was used to flattering her; some of the schemes she mentioned were probably already on their minds, they just needed the right opportunity. It was he and his valiant soldiers who truly breached Ningcheng.

She put the letter away, then summoned her guards and ordered them to deal with Lin Youwei.

Keeping him around will only lead to trouble.

-

The capital city, the Imperial Tutor's residence.

The Imperial Tutor, who had been in a coma, awoke under Gu Changsheng's medical treatment.

The Imperial Tutor's eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes. The dim candlelight was blinding, and he closed his eyes again, unable to adjust. He was about to call Yan Yi over when he coughed first.

Yan Yi was cooling down the medicine he was feeding the Imperial Tutor, while Yan Er was preparing hot water to wipe the Imperial Tutor's body. When they heard the Imperial Tutor coughing, they turned around and looked at the bed. They saw that the Imperial Tutor's shoulders were trembling from coughing, and his face was even paler.

They ran over excitedly: "Master, you're finally awake!"

As she spoke, Yan Yi instructed Yan Er: "Go quickly and invite Doctor Gu over to take the master's pulse."

"I'll go right away." Yan Er turned and rushed out of the house to fetch Gu Changsheng.

At this moment, the Imperial Tutor stopped coughing, and his eyes adjusted to the light in the room. He asked, "What is the current situation in the court?"

"Your Majesty, everything is proceeding according to your plan." After Yan Yi recounted the whole story to the Imperial Tutor, he then brought up the current situation: "His Majesty has been unconscious and is only kept alive by the prescriptions given by Physician Gu."

"The court is divided into three factions: one led by the Right Pillar of State, one led by the Grand Secretary, and another led by members of the imperial clan. Each has its own schemes."

"The Grand Secretary's faction is hoping that the Prince of Guangling can return to the capital quickly and purge the Right Pillar State's faction. The imperial relatives' faction hopes that the Right Pillar State and the Prince of Guangling will both be weakened so that they can reap the benefits. Therefore, they turn a blind eye to the matter of purging the court of corrupt officials."

"If the Prince of Guangling and Wang Qiaoxin act quickly, they could bring their troops to the gates of the capital within a month. The Right Pillar faction has been in a state of panic these days."

"You woke up at just the right time."

The Imperial Tutor had a plan in mind: "Arrange for someone to lend a helping hand to the Prince of Guangling."

Yan Yi was startled, wondering why the Imperial Tutor had suddenly changed his mind.

Before he fell into a coma, the Imperial Tutor asked him if he would help the Prince of Guangling if the Prince rebelled.

The Imperial Tutor said, "No need. If he doesn't have the ability to walk from Yuncheng to the capital, he won't be able to hold onto that position in the future. Some paths, in the end, he has to walk them himself."

Now, the Imperial Tutor is actually going to help the Prince of Guangling.

The Imperial Tutor seemed to see through Yan Yi's confusion: "I can't wait that long."