"The two of you must have plenty of things to say to each other . Take your time to chat . This prince won't bother you . " Zhao Zhe was smiling as he walked out .

The two siblings bowed as Zhangjun Prince left . Once they were alone, Nie Qingyun grabbed Ji Man and said with a furrowed brow, "Did you know that after you left, Errong was so worried about you that she couldn't sleep well for a long time? She almost miscarried!"

Shocked, Ji Man hurriedly asked, "Is she okay?"

"Errong and the child are doing well . She wanted to come here too, but the child couldn't part with her, so she's staying in Jing Province to care for him . " Nie Qingyun let out a long sigh . Seeing his younger sister's face, which had become considerably haggard, he said in a hollowed voice, "I should be the one getting revenge for our family . You don't have to take part in this . "

Ji Man grinned at him . "Older brother and father have treated me so well, I can't just stand by and do nothing . So what if I'm a woman? A woman is still a person . Why can't a woman get revenge for her family?"

"You . . . " Nie Qingyun sighed . Furrowing his brow, he asked, "Do you still like Marquis Moyu that much?"

Ji Man froze in surprise . She wasn't sure how to reply .

From Nie Qingyun's perspective, Nie Sangyu was madly in love with Ning Yuxuan . Nie Sangyu had shared all sorts of her lush feelings to her older brother, ah . But, right now, Nie Qingyun wasn't aware of Marquis Moyu's plans . He thought that Marquis Moyu still wanted to help the emperor maintain his power . Since they were at opposing sides, how could he possibly support their relations.h.i.+p?

Ji Man thought it over before answering, "Older brother, you don't have to worry about me . Let things remained as they are . "

Nie Qingyun thought she was torn by two difficult choices, so he didn't question her further . Instead, he asked her how she had been doing during that past two years as well as mentioning stuff about Jing Province .

After that, someone came to report, "The commoners in the capital are rioting . Several thousands of commonfolk have gathered at the capital's gate requesting to be let out of the capital . " the person's voice was loud enough that half of the military camp had overheard his words .

Nie Qingyun froze in surprise for a moment . Parting the tent flap, he went outside with Ji Man .

Zhao Zhe was standing outside . He calmly issued the commanded, "Attack the capital!"

"Yes!" roared the soldiers .

Zhao Zhe would personally lead the army . As he was mounting the horse, he turned back to look at Ji Man and asked, "Want to come along to look?"

Nie Qingyun furrowed his brow . "Your Highness, it's dangerous on the battlefield . "

"That's okay, this prince will protect her . " Zhao Zhe ordered someone to lead over a horse . He grinned as he looked at Ji Man and said, “Come on, this prince will take you to see the how this country will change hands . "

Ji Man was slightly stunned . From nearby, Shen Youqing's tent flap was slightly opened .

The soldiers were rowdily heckling, so Ji Man could only put on a brave face and mounted the horse . "Thank you, Your Highness . "

"Make sure to follow me closely . " Zhao Zhe smiled at her, then raise his sword to the sky and shouted, "Charge!"

Hearing the rising chorus of voices, Ji Man desperately held onto the reins . She was scared that the horse would fling her off . Fortunately, this horse was relatively docile, and Zhao Zhe wasn't going too fast .

When the billowing clouds of dusts had settled, she had disappeared from the military camp with the army .

"Your Highness," a servant girl quietly called out to Shen Youqing, who was standing by the entrance of the tent .

Shen Youqing turned her head back and said with her eyes lowered . "Never mind, let's take off my hair accessories . "

"Understood . "

The rioting common people were a G.o.dsend golden opportunity for Zhangjun's army to break into the capital . Sure enough, having control over the grain supply was the same as having a chokehold on the capital . The families of officials could stave off starvation because they had their own supply of grain, but it was different for the commoners . The common people didn't care who the emperor was . They only cared about having enough food to eat .

Zhao Zhe had personally led the army this time because he had determined that his army would break through the capital's gate today .

Shen Youqing had been by his side since he had been a crown prince as his princess consort . And so, she thought that they would be able to share this moment of glory together . Her hair had been done up in a style that was befitting an empress, and she had on a golden xiapi .

(T/N: Below is a picture of a golden xiapi . )

Ch 413 - xiapi . png

However, he pulled another woman onto the horse .

Back then, Shen Youqing hadn't been able to understand why Zhao Zhe would allow a rice merchant to enter his household and become one of his advisors, or why he had been willing to so simply lend Zhangjun's grain to that person . She had felt even more confused on why Zhao Zhe had been so happy when he heard that person was coming back to Zhangjun .

Shen Youqing had felt puzzled right until that moment when that person took off the mask, then she finally understood everything .

Nie Sangyu .

Zhao Zhe had once jokingly said to Nie Sangyu, "If I become emperor, I would want a woman like you as my empress . "

Zhao Zhe had said plenty of things in jest before, but this was the only thing that she brooded over . When she had first heard these words from her personal servant, she had stared blankly at her in response .

(T/N: Zhao Zhe's original wording was, “Nie Sangyu, you're truly a woman that's suitable to be the empress . " in chapter 99 . It was a conversation between him and Nie Sangyu/Ji Man, which was eavesdropped by Ning Mingjie and Shen Youqing's servant . )

So, she had remembered Nie Sangyu's name .

Was her worry going to become reality? Her greatest fear was that he would arrogantly smile as he embraced a new woman after taking over the throne . She had already given her best years to him .

Her fingers slightly tightened up . Shen Youqing tried to calm herself down . She had to remain calm . She was someone that weathered through countless women . How could she possibly lose to a divorced woman that had already been thrown away once?

---

Ji Man repeatedly sneezed while riding the horse . Fortunately, the surrounding sounds of the horses' hooves were very loud, so no one noticed . This stretch of road to the capital was desolate and uninhabited, but when they got near the capital's gate, they could hear the bellowing voices of the people . It sounded like a cauldron that was boiling over .

"Let us out!" The shouts of thousands of people became increasingly loud . It sounded as if they were going to crash the capital's gate at any moment .