Accidentally Having a Baby with the Future Emperor - Chapter 129

There was no response from inside the room, only thunder rolling together with the sound of rain, the world a blur of chaos.

Mo Qing raised his voice again. “Your general, Mo Qing, humbly begs the Young Prince to return and take command, to save the Xiao clan and the Silver Dragon Cavalry from disaster!”

“You overestimate me, General Mo.”

The boy’s cool, clear voice finally drifted through the curtain of rain.

“Everyone in the world already knows I am no longer the Xiao clan’s heir. Without the rightful name or title, how could I possibly ‘take command’ of anything? Within the Xiao clan, do you not already have your newly chosen Young Prince, the one favored by all? He is the one you should seek.”

Mo Qing lifted his head and saw Xiao Rong, dressed in plain, wide-sleeved robes, stepping out from the house and stopping beneath the eaves. His gaze, directed at Mo Qing, was indifferent.

Mo Qing’s voice was hoarse with pain. “The Young Prince is Prince Xiao’s own son, appointed heir by an imperial decree. Prince Xiao never announced any dismissal of the heir. How can you say your claim is not legitimate? Does the Young Prince truly have the heart to watch Prince Xiao’s life’s work collapse before his eyes?”

Xiao Rong withdrew his gaze lightly.

“The Xiao clan’s legacy is not mine to safeguard.”

Mo Qing pressed on, “But right now, only the Young Prince can stabilize the situation. You are Prince Xiao’s sole bloodline; no one else in the world is more qualified than you to speak in his stead. If you refuse to appear, the Xiao clan will inevitably fall into chaos. And if the clan is in chaos, how can the Silver Dragon Cavalry remain stable?

“Right now, Zhang Qingfang continues his fierce assault on Shoushan Camp. If the camp falls, the consequences will be disastrous.

“For years, Cui Daohuan has dreamt of destroying Prince Xiao and swallowing the Silver Dragon Cavalry whole. If the Silver Dragon Cavalry suffers a crushing defeat, he will never let such a golden opportunity slip away.”

Cold rain traced the young man’s fine eyelashes.

Xiao Rong gazed into the vast, formless sheet of rain, pressed his lips together, and said, “Whether the Xiao clan survives or the Silver Dragon Cavalry survives, what does any of that have to do with me? Mo Dong, see the guest out.”

With that, Xiao Rong turned and walked back inside.

Rain splashed across Mo Qing’s armor. In only moments, the ground beneath his knees had already been stained with spreading patches of blood.

Mo Dong had been standing silently to the side. Shocked, he immediately stepped forward to help Mo Qing up.

Mo Qing raised a hand to stop him.

He stood on his own, then took something from his back. “I must return to Shoushan Camp immediately. Give this to the Young Prince. Tell him it is Prince Xiao’s will. Whether he believes it or not is up to Heaven.”

Mo Dong received it. It was heavy like an iron object.

“Master, has Prince Xiao truly met with misfortune?” Mo Dong could not help but ask.

Mo Qing looked up at the darkened sky for a long time and then said, “I fear… the odds are against him.”

Mo Dong froze. His master was famed for caution and precision; he would never make such a declaration without absolute certainty.

After seeing Mo Qing off, Mo Dong returned inside.

The windows were wide open. Xiao Rong stood before them, silent, the storm reflected in his dark eyes. Their conversation had clearly carried into the room.

“This is what Master asked me to deliver to Young Master, saying it was passed on from Prince Xiao.” Mo Dong held the wrapped object forward.

Xiao Rong neither spoke nor moved.

Mo Dong had no choice but to place the object wrapped in white cloth upon the small table beneath the window where the young man usually drank tea and played chess, before withdrawing to the side.

Xiao Rong stood there for a while longer. Then he finally sat down behind the table, staring at the object for a long moment. At last, he reached out and untied the cloth.

The silk wrapping loosened, revealing what lay within.

It was a sword. Ancient in color, its scabbard entwined with two striking silver dragons.

***

Mo Qing braved the rain as he hurried back to camp. Urgent reports were piled on the table like drifting snow.

He had barely sat down when his deputy rushed in and knelt to report, “General, Zhang Qingfang has begun another wave of fierce assault! At this rate, he clearly determines to take Shoushan Camp at all costs!”

Mo Qing paused to gather his breath and then ordered, “Have the Sixth Battalion relieve the Fifth. No matter the cost, Shoushan Camp must be held.” He had just finished speaking when hurried footsteps came from outside.

A scout rushed in. “General, bad news! One of Prince Yan’s generals leading the Northern Yan heavy cavalry has clashed with the Seventh and Eighth Battalions stationed at Mount Qingping!”

Mo Qing’s expression changed drastically.

“How did they end up fighting? I clearly forbade any rash moves!”

The scout replied, “Those Northern Yan generals insisted on entering the mountains to look for Prince Yan. Their attitude was extremely arrogant. The generals of the Seventh and Eighth Battalions have long hated Prince Yan. Words were exchanged and then weapons were drawn. The Northern Yan heavy cavalry each is worth a hundred men. If this continues, a major disaster will break out.”

The very thing he feared most had happened. Mo Qing tossed aside the military report he had just picked up and stood abruptly.

He immediately ordered the deputy to prepare horses.

The deputy glanced at the blood oozing from several places on Mo Qing’s silver armor and couldn’t help but worry, “But General, your injuries…”

Mo Qing gritted his teeth. “At a time like this, you’re still saying useless things? Prepare the horses!”

“Yes, sir!”

Mo Qing stepped out of the command tent just as Zhang He arrived in full armor, riding straight toward him.

“I’ve already heard. I’m going with you!” Zhang He said from horseback.

Mo Qing nodded. The two each gathered a detachment of troops and rushed toward Mount Qingping.

No matter how fierce Zhang Qingfang’s assaults were, Mo Qing could still defend with all his strength.

However, the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry was different. Now that Prince Yan and Prince Xiao were both missing and presumed dead, the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry was effectively headless. If the Silver Dragon Cavalry and the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry clashed and suffered heavy casualties, the Silver Dragon Cavalry would face not only Zhang Qingfang and the Cui clan’s encirclement, but also the full retaliation of all Northern Yan.

That would be a disaster beyond imagining.

Even with all his mental preparation, when they arrived at Mount Qingping and saw the two armies already killing each other with blood-red eyes along the narrow mountain road, an icy dread fell through Mo Qing’s heart.

Even Zhang He lost his usual composure for the first time. “It’s over. This time it’s truly a catastrophe.”

The two spurred their horses forward, trying to break apart the soldiers and officers locked in combat.

But both sides hated each other to the bone. They wished nothing more than to flay the other alive. How could they obey orders?

The troops who tried to charge in and mediate were immediately dragged into the chaos.

Mo Qing instantly realized what had happened.

The news of Prince Yan’s death had driven the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry into the same madness. Prince Xiao and Prince Yan had fought for many years. After the battle at Xiangzhou Prefecture, even though the Silver Dragon Cavalry and the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry never clashed head-on again, the shame of that defeat was never forgotten by Northern Yan.

The recent martial arts tournament, coupled with the Prince’s murder, only doubled and magnified that hatred.

Both sides wanted the simplest, most brutal way to vent their fury.

Even if the Silver Dragon Cavalry were willing to stop, the blood-crazed Northern Yan Iron Cavalry would never stop.

In this world, aside from Prince Yan Ju, there was no one capable of subduing that blood-soaked army that had swept the northern battlefields undefeated.

The torrential rain hammered down on heaven and earth, fusing with the roars of battle and the flashing blades.

Blood mixed with rain splattered the ground; the stench of iron and violence rose thickly into the storm. The furious wind and rain only fueled the savagery.

An army driven mad was far more terrifying than bandits.

Military commands were meaningless now.

Steel was the only law.

Watching soldiers fall one after another, cut down in the frenzy, Mo Qing felt a despair like resigning oneself to fate.

Just then, two more riders came storming down the mountain path.

The youth at the front wore a plain, wide-sleeved robe. He drew his bow even as the wind and rain whipped around him; before the horse and the rider even arrived, his arrow pierced through the curtain of rain and shot cleanly through the plume of a Northern Yan general’s helmet.

One inch lower, it would have gone straight through the man’s right eye.

The arrow’s lethal chill made the general’s whole body tremble. He turned sharply toward the direction the arrow came from.

The youth had already nocked another arrow; this time, it was aimed directly at the man’s throat.

“Stop, all of you! Or I’ll send every last one of you to an unmarked grave!” the youth said coldly.

Behind him, his guard raised a sword whose scabbard bore two coiled silver dragons, as well as a dark black jade pendant.

The sword, named Jade Dragon, was the ancestral blade symbolizing the authority of the Xiao clan and one of Prince Xiao’s personal swords.

As for the black jade pendant…

A wave of shock swept through the Northern Yan generals.