The 170th day of the Great Turmoil.

The happenings in Bianliang also quietly spread throughout the land.

In the eyes of the people, this is a young power-holder, determined not to let the Great Song’s land fall into enemy hands. He boldly strides to the center of the royal court, rallying hundreds of thousands, with horses trotting into Bianliang City.

The structure of the Great Song has profoundly changed ever since.

Through the spread of folk tales and novels, Chen Mo has been even more portrayed as a young hero for the nation and the people. To resist foreign invasions, he not only bravely confronts the An Yang Duke, who holds command over hundreds of thousands of the Imperial Guard, but ultimately turns the tide.

What Chen Mo doesn’t know is that among the people, he has gained many admirers.

There are even many aspirants heading towards Nanyang County, swearing to join the Fire Qilin Army created by Chen Mo.

Nanyang County, Nanyang City.

The women in the backyard of the State Governor’s Mansion all sported expressions of disbelief upon hearing the news.

Since it was Yi Yao and Zhao Jiangning who were aware, they intimately knew the power of the Xiao Family.

Yet, the mighty Xiao Family was toppled by the master.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the master now stands at the pinnacle of power.

"No wonder the master instructed us on so many things before he set off, almost like he was giving final instructions. It turns out, this was what he was up to." Luo Zhen couldn’t help but feel restless these past few days, like something major was about to happen. And now, hasn’t something major indeed occurred?

"That scoundrel, doing something so big, didn’t even think to call on me. At least I’m now a First Grade Martial Artist; I could have been of help," Jiang Ruoqing cursed with slight discontent.

Though it was a curse, there was unmistakable concern in her words.

"Master, I guess the reason the master didn’t take you might have been out of worry for our safety, so he left you here," Yi Yao said, her eyes brimming with emotion. Even in such circumstances, the master still thought of them.

This made Yi Yao unwilling to see Chen Mo suffer even the slightest harm, even if it meant her death.

...

In the inner court, Zhao Chong’s trusted eunuch hurriedly found Zhao Chong, telling him that almost all the bamboo in the Shenxiao Temple had died, with only a few remaining barely alive.

Zhao Chong was shocked. After all, this bamboo was tied to the national fortune of the Great Song, as Han Er had once prophesied.

As long as the bamboo stands, so will the Great Song.

If the bamboo perishes, so does the Great Song.

He hurriedly ran over to take a look, and sure enough, only three bamboo stalks were still alive, though the leaves on these living ones were all gone.

Zhao Chong was so frightened he sat down heavily on the ground.

Now, with incessant domestic unrest and the army of the Desolate Kingdom moving south, with internal troubles and external threats, doesn’t this signal the signs of a nation’s downfall?

Zhao Chong even speculated that Chen Mo’s northern military expedition was very likely to fail, as that would fulfill the prophecy.

He immediately ran to Weiyang Palace to find his mother.

"Your Majesty arrives!" Xiao Qing’Er intentionally raised her voice and also tried to stop Zhao Chong: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is..."

But Zhao Chong had urgent matters with Xiao Yunxi, so he didn’t even finish listening to Xiao Qing’Er and hurriedly walked into the bedchamber.

The moment the beaded curtain was lifted, Chen Mo saw the torn stockings on the ground hadn’t been picked up, and he quickly put them into his sleeve robe.

This scene was witnessed by Zhao Chong, whom Chen Mo was bowing in salute on behalf of his mother on the couch. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Mother, what’s wrong with you? Your face is so red, are you sick? Have you called for the Imperial Physician to take a look..."

Seeing Xiao Yunxi’s state, Zhao Chong first expressed concern, then glanced at Chen Mo with suspicion: "Chen Aiqing, why are you here with my mother?"

"Your Majesty, I came to discuss an important matter with the Empress Dowager, but I didn’t expect the Empress Dowager to be unwell," Chen Mo replied respectfully.

"An important matter?" Zhao Chong was somewhat skeptical. He had not infrequently heard rumors about his mother and Chen Mo, and upon hearing them enough, he began to harbor some hesitation.

But in broad daylight, it seemed unlikely he would be so bold.

However, Zhao Chong still asked, "What important matter?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and casually made up a story: "It’s not a big deal, just that the traitorous ministers of the Wan Kingdom are persecuting the royal family, and now the princess of the royal family asks us to administer justice.

After all, the Wan Kingdom is a vassal state of our Great Song, and the royal family of the Liang clan was even granted by the Grand Ancestor, being the legitimate rulers of the Wan Kingdom. How can we Great Song stand idly by, so I came to discuss this with the Empress Dowager."

In principle, such matters should be discussed with Zhao Chong.

Discussing it with Xiao Yunxi was clearly overstepping.

But now the imperial power, under Chen Mo’s transfer, had shifted to Xiao Yunxi, so it was not inappropriate for Chen Mo to discuss matters with her.

Hearing this, Zhao Chong’s face turned a bit sour. After all, officially, he was the emperor of Great Song.

With Chen Mo’s power evident, Zhao Chong dared not contend with him. After nodding, he said, "I have some matters to discuss with my mother."

"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, I shall take my leave," Chen Mo knew Zhao Chong was issuing an expulsion order.

Xiao Yunxi nodded: "Qing’Er, see Minister Chen off."

"Certainly." Xiao Qing’Er came in to respond.

As they neared the exit of Weiyang Palace, Chen Mo suddenly wrapped his arm around Xiao Qing’Er’s waist, startling her greatly. It was broad daylight, and being outside made it easy to be seen.

"What... what are you doing..."

"Where do you live? Let me give you a massage." Zhao Chong arrived so suddenly that Chen Mo’s urge hadn’t subsided.

"Ah... oh... over there..."

...

Seeing Chen Mo leave, Xiao Yunxi felt slightly less panicked and forced herself to appear calm: "What brings Chong’Er to see me?"

Zhao Chong did not answer directly but asked, "Chen Mo didn’t do anything to you, did he?"

"Minister Chen is humble and courteous, unparalleled in valor, what would he do to me?" Xiao Yunxi replied.

Even as Xiao Yunxi said this, Zhao Chong watched her intently, a flash of green light in his eyes catching a momentary flicker of tension in hers, then smiled, "I’ve been hearing some gossip about my Mother these days, so I just asked casually."

"Just rumors, they shouldn’t be believed."

"Oh." Zhao Chong nodded lightly, but inside he felt a wave of inexplicable feelings, then he brought up the main issue, "Mother, do you remember Han Er’s prophecy?"

"I remember, what’s the matter?"

"Mother, there are only three bamboo stalks left in the Shenxiao Temple; the rest have all died," Zhao Chong said: "Mother, do you think this has anything to do with Chen Mo’s northern campaign? Mother, you see, if Chen Mo is defeated, the elite of the Imperial Court will be lost, and no one will be able to stop the Desolate Kingdom from marching southward, putting Great Song in peril."

Upon hearing the connection to Chen Mo, Xiao Yunxi immediately furrowed her brows, her face becoming serious: "Even King Yan’s two million allied troops were no match for Minister Chen, and the army of the Desolate Kingdom heading south is only a million and has deeply penetrated our territory, lacking two of the advantages that favor us. Our chances of victory are still greater."

"But there’s still King Yan, and in Jizhou, there are the Yellow Turban Bandits..." Zhao Chong exclaimed anxiously.

After all, he is the Emperor of Great Song. Though he had no power, if Great Song truly fell to the Desolate Kingdom, historical records would only say that Great Song was lost in his hands.