"This is too much, absolutely too much!"
Goguryeo had played such a grand scheme, even dragging the Jin Kingdom into it, pretending to sever ties with Great Yan, but their true intention was actually to help Great Yan annihilate Fusang!
That scoundrel!
He had utterly ruined Fusang.
Meng Qingyu's army of five thousand had already reached the city gates, and the main gate had been blown to pieces. It was clear that the troops previously sent to aid Goguryeo had been quietly subdued by the joint forces of Great Yan and Goguryeo.
The enemy had already arrived at their doorstep, yet they had no idea.
The Fusang royal court was in complete chaos. The king had been assassinated and fallen into a coma, and the situation had unfolded so suddenly that there was no time to formulate a response.
The main issue was that the Fusang king was an extremely self-centered man. He had always centralized power in his own hands, leaving few of his court officials with any real authority.
Otherwise, when he hosted a banquet to welcome the "Fusang merchants" from Great Yan, someone would have surely warned him about the potential danger.
Now that Meng Qingyu had led his troops into Fusang's capital, there were still no orders from above.
Should they fight to the death or surrender? The higher-ups needed to issue commands so that those below would know what to do.
At this very moment, Shi Ruojun climbed onto the roof of a carriage and shouted to the soldiers on the city wall, "The King of Fusang is dead! If you lay down your weapons and surrender, we will spare your lives."
The Fusang general on the city wall frowned, "What is she saying?"
A soldier beside him replied, "I understand. She's speaking in Goguryeo's language. She's saying that the king has been killed by them, and if we surrender, they'll spare us."
"What? The king is dead…"
"Has the scout returned? What did he say?"
"Report—"
Just then, a soldier came scrambling up the city wall, "It's chaos! Everything is in disarray. The king is either in a coma or dead from the assassination. The royal court is in complete turmoil, and there's no one in charge."
The news had been suppressed, but it was impossible to keep it under wraps.
There had been too many people present at the time. When the assassins struck, many officials and their families had fled.
There were also many people outside the palace gates trying to gather information. At the time, the nobles and officials had emerged covered in blood, panic-stricken, while the sounds of fighting and screams echoed from within. It was impossible to ignore.
The Fusang palace was not like the Forbidden City of Great Yan. It wasn't very large, and what had happened inside couldn't be hidden for long.
It seemed that the female demoness was right—their king was indeed finished.
In the autumn of that year, Great Yan's cavalry army defeated both Goguryeo and Fusang, shattering the Jin Kingdom's conspiracy.
On the day of their triumphant return, Shi Ruojun rode side by side with the cavalry general, receiving flowers and applause from the people.
News had already spread from the border that the cavalry general had gained a female warrior under his command.
This female warrior led five hundred soldiers and moved like a ghostly presence on the battlefield, taking lives in the blink of an eye.
Especially the woman leading the charge—it was said that she had single-handedly assassinated the King of Fusang and led her troops out of the Fusang capital, leaving the Fusang royal army in ruins.
After reuniting with the cavalry army, she went on to kill three of Goguryeo's fiercest generals, eventually leaving no one brave enough to answer the challenges of this female demoness named Shi Ruojun.
The people of Great Yan had assumed that the reports from the frontlines were exaggerated.
But today, as Shi Ruojun returned, she was still clad in her red battle attire, though her demeanor had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Her jet-black hair was tied into a ponytail with an exquisite golden crown, hanging neatly behind her. The softness in her sharp eyes was long gone, and if one met her gaze, it felt suffocating, as if her stare could pierce through flesh.
She was like a sword that had been unsheathed, showcasing her sharpness and imposing presence to the world.
Whispers of admiration and even sobs could be heard from the women around her.
"General Shi... the first female general of the Great Yan Dynasty!"
"She's not just a subordinate of the cavalry general? She's a general appointed by the emperor?"
"Why add the word 'female' before 'general'? Can't women be generals just as men can?"
"The female students from the Great Yan Academy, founded by Her Majesty the Empress, have already taken up positions in shops across the capital. Tell me, which of them is weaker than a man?"
"Hey, speaking of which, have you heard? There's a new restaurant near the palace gates. Rumor has it that the owner is a former imperial chef named Zhang Xiuzhu. Her cooking is absolutely divine. To celebrate the cavalry general's triumphant return, the restaurant is offering free meals for three days!"
"I heard it was to celebrate General Shi's victorious return that they're offering free meals for three days."
"Who cares why? Free food is free food. Let's hurry and grab a seat before it's too late!"
In the war between Great Yan, Fusang, and Goguryeo, Shi Ruojun and Meng Qingyu were the most celebrated heroes, followed by Third Yan, whose strategic brilliance as a military advisor had also earned him great acclaim.
The cavalry general, a seasoned veteran, winning battles was no longer surprising.
What mattered was that Great Yan needed fresh talent. When the cavalry general could no longer fight, someone would need to take his place.
Eldest Yan was a natural-born general, and it was widely accepted that he would succeed his father. But the people of Great Yan hoped for more such invincible generals to emerge.
Their peaceful lives were built by the hands of these warriors.
So what did it matter if General Shi was a woman?
It was the common people who ultimately reaped the benefits.
As they made their way to the palace to receive their rewards, the cavalry general and Eldest Yan stood at the forefront, handing over their swords to the palace attendants.
Meng Qingyu and Shi Ruojun followed closely behind, trailed by the officials who had come to welcome them.
Among the welcoming party were several senior officials who had previously accused Shi Ruojun and Meng Qingyu of eloping. They now realized what a ridiculous mistake they had made in front of the emperor and Jiang Xinyue.
While Shi Ruojun had been risking her life on the frontlines, assassinating the King of Fusang and fighting valiantly, they had been spreading rumors about her eloping with a man.
...
Lord Ren, in particular, was displeased. He gave a subtle signal to one of the attendants, who nodded and proceeded to pat Shi Ruojun's waist.
"What are you doing?"
Shi Ruojun slapped his hand away with a sharp "smack."
The attendant immediately knelt, "General, please spare me! It's customary to perform a search before an audience with the emperor. I momentarily forgot that you are a woman. Please forgive me."
This was clearly an attempt to humiliate Shi Ruojun.
They could have easily arranged for a female attendant to conduct the search.
Shi Ruojun was certain that Her Majesty the Empress had given specific instructions, but some people were determined to make a fool of her.
She smirked coldly and gave the attendant's backside a playful pat, adopting a flirtatious tone, "Well then, young eunuch, you'd better make sure to search thoroughly. Not just me, but the general and Deputy General Meng as well. If any hidden weapons are found on us later, you'll be in big trouble."
What a blatant threat!
