Chapter 33: Coming to the Rescue

Li Li turned his head toward the official, a sneer of utter contempt tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Oh? So, according to this lord’s words, you intend to reject the goodwill of our Great Nan?"

The young official, struck by Li Li’s piercing gaze, found himself momentarily speechless.

Beside him, Grand Tutor Li Jingcheng let out a soft cough, stepped forward, and lowered his voice in a persuasive tone: "Your Majesty, although the matters proposed by the Great Nan envoy are somewhat difficult to accept, the Great Huang is currently beset by both internal and external troubles. If we can avoid war, it might be a blessing for our people..."

His words were laden with hesitation, clearly afraid of directly offending Great Nan. In his view, the current situation in the Great Huang could not possibly withstand a full-scale war.

Cheng Lingyu’s gaze was like a blade, sweeping across the ministers in the royal court. Her lips curled slightly, revealing a trace of cold, mocking irony. She did not interrupt anyone; she simply listened and watched in silence, as if waiting for their next performance. Seeing the Empress remain silent, the ministers became even more afraid to speak. For a time, only the cold laughter of the Great Nan envoy echoed through the vast Golden Throne Hall.

"Since that is the case, it seems the ministers of the Great Huang understand the situation," Li Li said, taking a step forward, his tone growing increasingly unbridled. "Ceding territory and paying reparations is for your own good. It is surely better than our Great Nan army sweeping down, breaking through the Imperial Capital, and turning the rivers red with blood, is it not?"

At these words, the faces of the ministers grew even paler. A few tightened their grip on their sleeves, yet none dared to step forward and refute him. Li Li took it all in, secretly feeling smug. This Great Huang court was nothing more than this.

Just as he was about to continue, a cold voice cut through the air.

"The envoy speaks well; ceding territory and paying reparations is indeed one path."

Cheng Lingyu finally spoke, her voice unhurried yet imbued with majesty. She stood up slowly, her gaze sweeping over Li Li like lightning, a faint, cryptic smile playing on her lips. Li Li felt a sudden chill and could not help but shed some of his arrogance as he looked up at the Empress.

"However..." Cheng Lingyu paused, a flash of cold light in her eyes. "Since this is a proposal from your Great Nan, I, too, need time to deliberate with my ministers. After all, a matter of such gravity as ceding land and paying tribute cannot be decided lightly."

Li Li frowned, clearly not expecting her to brush him off with such nonchalance. He wanted to press further, but seeing Cheng Lingyu raise her hand slightly, he turned his gaze toward the eunuch beside her.

"Dismiss the court." Her voice was flat and rippleless, as if everything that had just transpired weighed nothing on her mind.

The eunuch hurriedly cried out in a high-pitched voice: "Court dismissed!"

The ministers stood stunned for a moment before bowing their heads and retreating. Though Li Li was unwilling, he was eventually escorted out of the hall along with the guards. Cheng Lingyu stood alone before the dragon throne, gazing into the empty hall with profound eyes, her face as calm as water, wearing that same inscrutable smile.

The night was as dark as ink. In the streets of the Imperial Capital, the lanterns were dim, and a biting chill carried a sense of ominous menace. Chu Nan walked with steady strides through the alleys, heading toward his small shop. He had been busy with drills at the North Barracks these past few days and had rarely had time to return to his place of business. With the training now concluded, he finally found a moment of respite to retrieve some small items he had brought from the modern world and to clear his thoughts.

Just as he was about to reach the corner of the street where his shop stood, a sudden clamor erupted in the distance. The noise of a crowd, mixed with screams and the clashing of weapons, shattered the silence of the night.

"Let him go! Help!" a frail, elderly voice cried out in agony, accompanied by a girl’s desperate sobbing.

Chu Nan paused, startled, and looked up. At the corner of the street, a group of men dressed in foreign attire were accosting an old man and a young girl. The men were tall and burly, with rugged faces and robes embroidered with flame-like patterns—they were clearly members of the Great Nan mission.

"These... are the envoys of Great Nan?" Chu Nan’s brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing.

The old man was clearly a local, his face etched with terror, his entire body trembling. The girl was being held firmly by the wrist by one of the Great Nan warriors, struggling in vain. The onlookers kept their distance, no one daring to intervene. After all, the other party were envoys of a hostile nation, possessing a special status that ordinary people could not afford to provoke.

"Old man, you dare block our path? Get on your knees and beg for forgiveness!" one of the Great Nan warriors bellowed, his voice dripping with arrogance.

The old man waved his hands frantically, kneeling on the ground as he trembled, "I... I am only running a small stall, I would never dare to block you, my lords... I beg you, have mercy..."

"Have mercy?" Another warrior sneered, lifting his foot and kicking the old man in the chest. The old man collapsed, unable to rise, coughing up blood.

"Grandfather!" the girl screamed, struggling desperately, only to be violently shoved by the warrior holding her, nearly causing her to fall.

Watching this, Chu Nan’s brow knit together, his gaze turning cold. "Committing violence in the street—they truly think there is no one left in the Great Huang."

He muttered to himself, then reached back to touch the black backpack hanging from his shoulders, inside which lay a modern compound bow. He paused for a heartbeat, scanning his surroundings. Although the local people were watching, none dared to step forward, all hiding far away and whispering about the barbarity of the Great Nan envoys.

Chu Nan, however, calmly unzipped his bag, withdrew the compound bow, and nocked a sharp steel-tipped arrow. His movements were steady, as if he were performing nothing more than a mundane task.

"Stop." Chu Nan’s voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling edge.

The Great Nan warriors froze, turning to look at him. They clearly had not expected anyone to dare stand up to them.

"And what are you? You dare to meddle in our affairs?" one of the warriors grinned with a cold, mocking laugh, looking at Chu Nan with utter disdain.

Chu Nan ignored them, slowly raising the bow. He drew the string taut, aiming directly at the warrior holding the girl’s wrist.

"One last warning: let her go."

His voice remained calm, but the tension of the fully drawn bowstring added a palpable pressure to the air. The warrior holding the girl clearly did not take Chu Nan seriously, sneering, "You reckless brat, you think you can threaten us with that toy? Get lost, or I will—"

Before the words had left his lips, a "thwip" sounded as the arrow tore through the air.

Before the warrior could react, he felt a sharp, searing pain in his wrist. When he looked down, he saw that Chu Nan’s arrow had grazed his wrist with pinpoint accuracy, forcibly knocking his hand away from the girl and pinning itself firmly into the wooden pillar behind him.

The girl seized the chance to escape, throwing herself toward her fallen grandfather, while the warrior clutched his injured hand, his face pale with shock.

"You're courting death!" he roared. The other Great Nan warriors immediately drew the blades at their waists, surrounding Chu Nan with murderous intent.