No title, no marriage? Do you think I'm some kind of lapdog?

"Ye Qingyue is really in a hurry!"

Su Chuang wiped away the tears of laughter, spat the sunflower seed shells on the ground with a "pui" sound, and said, "They even brought out 'military law enforcement'."

Does she still think of me as that pathetic loser who knelt before her begging her not to call off the engagement?

He jumped off the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), walked barefoot around the room twice, his mink coat dragging on the ground, looking just like a nouveau riche.

"Wenhe."

He turned to look at Jia Xu.

"Tell me in detail about your two plans."

Jia Xu bowed, his voice flat and monotone, as if he were reading from an account book:

"First come, first served, by Eunuch Li."

He stretched out his withered fingers.

"Eunuch Li must pass through Yumen Pass on his way back to the capital."

"Now that the Xiongnu army is pressing in from outside the pass and the garrison inside the pass is too busy to defend itself, it is the perfect time to make a move."

"I have selected twelve skilled members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, all of whom are locals from the northern frontier, familiar with the terrain, and adept at infiltration in the snow."

"They would disguise themselves as the routed Yumen Pass garrison and make their move when Eunuch Li's convoy passed through 'Black Wind Pass'."

Su Chuang raised an eyebrow: "Black Wind Pass?"

"Thirty li south of Yumen Pass lies a treacherous canyon."

Jia Xu explained, "The cliffs on both sides are steep, and there is a narrow road in the middle that is covered with snow all year round, making it difficult for carriages and horses to travel."

"Eunuch Li's yellow-draped carriage doesn't go very fast."

Su Chuang grinned: "And then?"

"Then."

Jia Xu paused for a moment, then said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard might have 'mistakenly' left behind a few items."

"What is it?"

"Three standard-issue arrows from Ye Qingyue's Divine Might Army, and one waist badge from the General's Mansion's personal guards."

"besides……"

Jia Xu took a piece of cloth out of his sleeve and handed it to Su Chuang.

Su Chuang took it and saw that it was a piece of brocade with half a silver phoenix embroidered on it.

"This is the material from Ye Qingyue's silver phoenix cloak."

Jia Xu said.

"She ordered these from 'Jinxiufang' in the capital last year. There were only two pieces in total; the other one is in the palace."

Su Chuang's eyes lit up: "You even managed to get your hands on this?"

"The Jinyiwei's informants at Yumen Pass were taken along."

Jia Xu remained unfazed.

"I have arranged for someone to 'accidentally' hang this piece of material on a tree branch in Black Wind Pass, so that Eunuch Li's men can see it."

"Great!" Su Chuang slapped his thigh. "What's the second move?"

"The second option is Yumen Pass."

Jia Xu raised his second finger.

"Ye Qingyue has only two purposes in asking our lord to come to our aid:"

"Firstly, they want to use the Xiongnu's weapons to wear us down; secondly, if we don't go, they will have a reason to accuse us of 'refusing to come to our aid' before Emperor Wu."

"So, we have to go."

Su Chuang nodded, "But we can't actually go."

"right."

Jia Xu's lips curled into a very faint smile. "My lord only needs to bring a small number of elite troops to 'roam and provide support' outside the pass."

"How do you mean by 'swimming'?"

"The Xiongnu army besieged the city, with its main force concentrated on the east and north walls."

"The forces at the south and west gates were relatively weak, especially at 'Langya Slope' outside the west gate, which was open and suitable for cavalry charges. The Xiongnu only stationed 500 cavalrymen there."

Jia Xu paused.

"My lord, you may lead the White Horse Cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Langya Slope under cover of night."

"We do not seek complete annihilation, but only a crushing defeat. After achieving military merit, we will immediately withdraw without lingering."

Su Chuang rubbed his hands together: "This is a good idea—it can earn military merits and give Ye Qingyue an explanation that 'I have done my best'."

He thought for a moment, then asked, "Who will handle things with Eunuch Li?"

Jia Xu raised his eyes and looked towards the doorway.

Li Cunxiao, who was yawning while leaning against the doorframe carrying the wide knife, heard this and his eyes lit up:

"My lord, let me go! I promise I'll chop that eunuch into eight pieces!"

Su Chuang rolled his eyes at him: "What are you chopping up? If you want to leave a whole corpse—at least let people recognize that it's Eunuch Li."

Li Cunxiao scratched his head: "Then what do we do?"

"Wenhe."

Su Chuang looked at Jia Xu, "You take Thirteen with you. Remember, be clean, get the gold back, and the body must 'look' like it was killed by Ye Qingyue's people."

Jia Xu bowed and said, "Your subordinate understands."

"Alright." Su Chuang waved his hand.

"Go and get ready."

"Pengju, you stay home; Zilong, Wenyuan, come with me to Yumen Pass."

"Thirteen, you go to Black Wind Pass with Wenhe—remember, don't actually split the mountain in two!"

The crowd responded and withdrew.

Only Su Chuang and Lin Ruxue remained in the earthen house.

The charcoal fire was burning brightly, making the room warm and cozy.

Su Chuang plopped back down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), grabbed a handful of melon seeds and continued cracking them open, muttering, "A thousand taels of gold...it hurts my wallet."

Lin Ruxue walked over, sat down beside him, and whispered:

"Brother Chuang, isn't Mr. Jia's plan... a bit too ruthless?"

"ruthless?"

Su Chuang raised an eyebrow. "When Ye Qingyue poisoned my mother back then, didn't she think about how ruthless she was?"

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"Ru Xue, in this world, if you're not ruthless, others will be ruthless to you."

Lin Ruxue didn't say anything, but simply reached out and took his hand.

My palms are warm.

It snowed again that evening.

Heavy snow blanketed the sky, turning the world into a ghastly white expanse.

Outside Wangbeitai, the two groups set off separately.

Jia Xu and Li Cunxiao, accompanied by twelve Imperial Guards, led their horses and disappeared silently into the snowy night, heading straight for Black Wind Pass.

Su Chuang, accompanied by Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, and four hundred White Horse Cavalry, rode lightly on two horses each, heading towards Yumen Pass.

The horses' hooves were wrapped in cloth, and the riders gagged, so they made almost no sound in the snow.

Su Chuang rode on his cloud-riding horse, his fur cloak covering him completely, leaving only his eyes visible as he squinted ahead.

The beacon fires in the direction of Yumen Pass were particularly glaring in the darkness.

"My lord."

Zhao Yun rode closer and lowered his voice, "Ten miles ahead is the patrol area of ​​the Xiongnu cavalry."

Su Chuang nodded: "Have the brothers spread out and advance stealthily in small teams. If you encounter any Xiongnu sentries... take care of them silently."

"Here you are."

Zhao Yun turned his horse around and went to deliver the order.

Zhang Liao followed beside Su Chuang, clutching a long spear in his hand, his eyes cold.

He stared in the direction of Yumen Pass, his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.

"Wen Yuan," Su Chuang glanced at him, "are you holding back some energy?"

Zhang Liao took a deep breath: "My lord, this humble general... wishes to kill Yue Xinyang."

"What's the rush?"

Su Chuang grinned, "Once Yumen Pass falls, he won't be able to escape."

He paused, then said, "But tonight, let's collect some interest first."

At the third quarter of midnight, at Black Wind Pass.

Eunuch Li's convoy was making its way through the canyon with difficulty.

The snow was too deep; the wheels sank half a foot into the snow, and the horses were panting heavily, slipping with every step.

The yellow-draped carriage moved even slower, and inside, Eunuch Li, wrapped in a fox fur coat and clutching a hand warmer, muttered curses under his breath:

"This godforsaken place...it's freezing to death..."

Outside the carriage, the three hundred cavalrymen were also grumbling.

This mission was never going to be pleasant; traveling three thousand miles through freezing weather just to deliver an imperial edict, and in doing so, offending the Duke of Xin.

That guy is a ruthless killer!

If it weren't for that thousand taels of gold...

The centurion, who was leading the group, touched the gold ingot in his pocket and felt a little better.

Just then.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow shot down from the cliff on the left and struck a cavalryman in the throat!

The cavalryman didn't even have time to scream before he fell off his horse.

"Enemy attack—!"

The centurion roared and drew his sword, looking around.

But the snow was too heavy and the sky too dark, so they couldn't see where the enemy was at all.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three more arrows, and three more fell.

The arrows came from different directions, fast and accurate, specifically targeting the throat.

"Form ranks! Form ranks!" the centurion roared, his eyes bloodshot.

The cavalrymen hurriedly moved to the center, protecting the carriage in the middle.

But the canyon is too narrow to open up completely.

Inside the carriage, Eunuch Li turned deathly pale and screamed, "What's going on?! Who attacked us?!"

No one answered him.

Because in the next instant, more than a dozen huge rocks rolled down the cliff!

"Boom—!"

A huge rock crashed into the convoy, causing people and horses to fall and screams to fill the air.

Even more terrifying, there were burning grass balls behind the boulder.

It contained sulfur and saltpeter, and when burned, it emitted billowing black smoke that made it impossible to open one's eyes.

"It's bandits! Bandits!" someone screamed.

In the chaos, more than a dozen dark figures slid down the cliff, their movements as fast as ghosts.

They wore tattered fur coats, their faces smeared with soot, and carried rusty knives, hacking at anyone they saw.

But a closer look reveals...

These "bandits" were extremely ruthless with their swords, killing with a single blow and showing no mercy.

Moreover, they specifically targeted and killed those protecting the carriage.

"Protect Father-in-law!"

The centurion roared and led his men toward the carriage.

But after rushing a few steps, a dark figure descended from the sky!

The dark figure was carrying a knife with a handle as wide as a door panel; when it landed, the ground trembled.

It was Li Cunxiao.

He grinned, revealing his white teeth, which looked particularly eerie in the firelight.

"This mountain is mine," he said in a deep voice, "and this tree is mine—"

"If you want to pass through here," he paused, recalling the words Jia Xu had taught him, "leave behind your toll!"

The centurion was so angry he almost vomited blood: "You son of a bitch—"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Cunxiao made a move.

The giant blade swept across with immense force!

"clang--!"

The centurion, sword and all, was cleaved away and crashed into the cliff face. He coughed up blood and was clearly going to die.

The remaining cavalrymen were completely thrown into chaos.

Some people tried to escape, but the two ends of the canyon had been blocked by huge rocks at some point.

Some people wanted to fight to the death, but those "bandits" were too powerful, killing them one by one with a single blow, as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

In less than a quarter of an hour, all three hundred cavalrymen were wiped out.

Li Cunxiao, carrying a blood-dripping knife, walked to the carriage and ripped open the curtain.

Eunuch Li huddled in the carriage, trembling all over, clutching the small wooden box containing the gold tightly to his chest.

"Please, sir, spare my life..."

His voice trembled, "The money, the money is all yours... all yours..."

Li Cunxiao grinned: "I don't want money."

He reached out, snatched the wooden box, and weighed it in his hand.

Then, with her other hand, she grabbed Eunuch Li by the collar and lifted him out like a chick.

"Hero... Hero..."

Tears and snot streamed down Eunuch Li's face. "Our family belongs to the palace...you...you can't..."

What happened to the people in the palace?

Li Cunxiao glared at him, "I killed people from the palace!"

He raised his hand, as if to chop.

"etc."

Jia Xu's voice came from the shadows.

He walked out slowly, his gray shirt covered in snow, his face expressionless.

Li Cunxiao paused, "Sir, what's wrong?"

Jia Xu ignored him and walked up to Eunuch Li, looking down at him.

"Eunuch Li."

His voice was flat and monotone. "When the Third Prince sent you to deliver the imperial decree, did he give any other instructions?"

Eunuch Li was taken aback: "You... how did you know...?"

"I also know."

Jia Xu interrupted him, "The Third Prince wants you to 'take a good look' at how the Duke of Xin is doing in the Northern Frontier, and report back truthfully—right?"

Eunuch Li's face turned deathly pale: "Who...who are you?!"

Jia Xu didn't answer, but instead took a piece of cloth from his sleeve and stuffed it into Eunuch Li's arms.

That was a brocade brocade depicting half a silver phoenix.

"This, this is..." Eunuch Li's pupils suddenly contracted.

"The material of Ye Qingyue's silver phoenix cloak."

Jia Xu said calmly, "It was what Eunuch Li held in his hand before he died—when the investigation begins, someone will naturally see it."

Eunuch Li trembled: "You...you are Ye Qingyue's people?!"

Jia Xu neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply waved his hand.

Li Cunxiao grinned, raising his giant blade—

"No--!!!"

The screams abruptly stopped.

Jia Xu squatted down, took the piece of cloth from Eunuch Li's arms, carefully folded it, and then "accidentally" dropped it next to Eunuch Li's corpse.

Then he stood up and clapped his hands.

The twelve Imperial Guards had already cleaned up the scene and kept all the necessary "evidence".

Three standard-issue arrows of the Divine Might Army were stuck in the cliff face.

A general's mansion badge fell under the carriage wheel.

There were also a few drops of dye that were "accidentally" spilled on the snow, which belonged to the specially made leather armor of Ye Qingyue's personal guards.

"Withdraw," Jia Xu said.

Li Cunxiao picked up the small wooden box containing the gold, grinned, and asked, "Sir, this money...?"

"Not a single cent less," Jia Xu said without turning his head.

"Oh." Li Cunxiao scratched his head and followed.

Twelve dark figures vanished silently into the snowy night.

Blackwind Pass returned to silence, with only corpses scattered on the ground and the lone yellow-draped carriage.

And... those deliberately left-behind "evidence".