Ashes to Crown

Chapter 159: Chapter 113: Flame

”They came here because of my father.”

The night was deep, the street aglow with blazing torches. After Eunuch Qi finished explaining what had happened, Chu Zhao added a comment from beside him.

Zhong Changrong was stunned. He had been inside the city, but all he’d managed to glean from the chaos were snippets of information. He knew the Third Prince and the Crown Prince were fighting, but with the city gates sealed, no real news got through. He had no idea the Crown Prince was actually dead.

”Uncle Zhong, the Imperial City has been surrounded,” Chu Zhao continued. ”Eunuch Qi trusts my father, so he came here to take refuge. But we were being watched, so I had to get them out.”

As for the finer details—like Chu Lan’s murderous intentions or Xiao Xun’s visit—it wasn’t the time to talk.

Zhong Changrong pushed aside his tangled thoughts. He wouldn’t ask any more questions; now was not the time for thinking. He looked at the child sitting before Chu Zhao.

”I will guard the young prince with my life,” he said solemnly.

Eunuch Qi said, ”Seeing Miss Chu, and now you... I can finally rest easy.”

Someone nearby scoffed.

The three of them turned to look. It was the girl. She had been standing nearby the whole time they were talking, craning her neck to listen. Neither Chu Zhao nor Zhong Changrong had asked her to leave, and Eunuch Qi certainly wouldn’t—after all, she had appeared out of thin air to save them all.

The girl had been standing by, craning her neck and listening intently to the whole conversation.

All the talk of Crown Princes and Third Princes, of death and killing and survival, elicited no reaction from her. It was as if she were just listening in on some excitement. Only when she heard Zhong Changrong pledge his loyalty did she speak.

”Protect him? How?” she said with a sneer. ”This city is crawling with soldiers. It doesn’t matter who they belong to—you can bet most of them are against you. How are you going to protect him? With just these few men?”

She jutted her chin toward the men behind Zhong Changrong. He had brought more than a dozen men with him to the Capital City, but only four had followed him into the city proper.

Zhong Changrong’s expression darkened, the scar on his face contorting as he glared at the girl.

Xiao Man was unfazed. ”Don’t even think about using us. We don’t have many people either. Besides, we only came here for—”

At this, she glanced at Chu Zhao, leaving the rest of her sentence hanging.

Chu Zhao looked at the girl, only half-understanding. Zhong Changrong, however, knew exactly what the girl meant. ’She doesn’t give a damn if the Crown Prince or the young prince lives or dies,’ he thought. ’She’s only here to protect Chu Zhao. They’d only risk their lives for Chu Zhao. These bandits—’

Zhong Changrong gritted his teeth, forcing the word back down.

’Losing my temper with them now is pointless. Even with their help, we still won’t have enough people. Who knows how much power the Third Prince built up for his fight against the Crown Prince? Now that he’s unleashed it all, he’s clearly determined to win, and he’ll be utterly ruthless.’

’The only option is to hide. The Capital City is massive. We should be able to lie low with the men we have.’

’But Chu Zhao said the young prince has already been targeted. Those men surrounded the Chu Family. We took care of them, but word will spread fast, and their masters won’t give up—’

Zhong Changrong gripped his saber, the scar on his face twitching. His mind was a chaotic mess. ’If only the General were here. He wouldn’t be like me, completely at a loss for what to do—’

”Vice General Zhong,” Eunuch Qi said softly from the side. ”We have men.”

The Vice General froze. Both Chu Zhao and Xiao Man turned to look at the eunuch.

Men? What other men could they possibly have? If they’d had backup, things wouldn’t have become so dangerous before.

Eunuch Qi glanced at Chu Zhao. ”Miss Chu probably doesn’t know why I brought the young prince to the Chu Family.” He then looked at Zhong Changrong. ”Vice General Zhong, however, should know why.”

’Why?’ Chu Zhao was taken aback. ’Wasn’t it because he trusts my father?’ She turned to look at Zhong Changrong as well.

Zhong Changrong’s expression shifted, becoming a strange mixture of disbelief and grief. He even began to tremble slightly.

Eunuch Qi looked at him and said softly, ”His Majesty... he kept them all along. He never abandoned them.”

Zhong Changrong became even more agitated, so much so that he couldn’t speak. He simply reached for his waist, his hand gripping something, but he hesitated, not daring to pull it out.

”Vice General Zhong.” Eunuch Qi looked at him and nodded. ”Please summon General Chu’s forces. Protect His Majesty. Protect Great Xia.”

’Summon General Chu?’

Chu Zhao felt a glimmer of understanding, but the full picture remained elusive.

Zhong Changrong said nothing more. He took a smoke bomb from his waist, lit it, and raised it high.

The smoke bomb wasn’t heavy, but Zhong Changrong held it as though it took every ounce of his strength.

With a sharp WHISTLE, a firework exploded in the night sky. It burst in a dazzling array of colors, forming the image of a blazing flame.

For a moment, it seemed as if both heaven and earth were ablaze in an eerie, dazzling spectacle.

”A long time ago, His Majesty and General Chu had an idea. They secretly established an army that answered only to them.”

”This force had a complete structure, with scouts, spies, assault troops, couriers—everything. Its members were handpicked from every corner of the realm, but they never left their original posts. They simply gained a new identity on top of their old one. That identity was the Dragon Power Army.”

Beneath the fiery image in the sky, Chu Zhao tilted her head back, listening to Eunuch Qi’s quiet narration.

”In times of crisis, they had the authority to execute suspects first and report their actions later.”

”Wielding Dragon Power Tokens, they could come and go from the Imperial City as they pleased to have an audience with the Emperor.”

”Chu Ling, ostensibly General Wei, was in reality the commander of the Dragon Power Army.”

’So that’s how it is...’ Chu Zhao clenched her fists. ’No wonder. No wonder Xiao Xun made me Empress in that other life.’

Zhong Changrong looked up at the night sky. He too hadn’t seen a Dragon Power Flame Order in many years.

His voice was hoarse as he said, ”After that incident, even though His Majesty cut ties with the General, the General continued to manage and train the Dragon Power Army as he always had. He just never used a Dragon Power Order again.”

’Chu Zhao knew about that incident. Her father and the Emperor had argued about how to suppress a group of bandits. Her father’s words had enraged the Emperor, and he had been cast aside ever since.’

Eunuch Qi also stared at the night sky. He resided deep within the palace, while the Dragon Power Army primarily fought in the Border County. This was the first time he had ever seen the Dragon Power Flame Order.

When the Flame Order was first created, Chu Ling described it to His Majesty. His Majesty said it sounded beautiful and what a pity it was that he, sitting in the deep palace, couldn’t see it. Chu Ling replied, ”Then this subject will come to the Capital City and show it to Your Majesty.” His Majesty had cursed angrily, ”By the time you’re setting off a Flame Order in the Capital City, it’ll mean I’m in trouble and need you to save me!” Chu Ling, unafraid of the Emperor’s anger, had simply smiled and said, ”Then this subject wishes that Your Majesty will never see the Flame Order in your lifetime.”

At this thought, the rims of Eunuch Qi’s eyes grew red and his nose stung. A lifetime was so long... who could have predicted that His Majesty would one day truly see the Flame Order lit over the Capital City.

Aside from the few times he was framed and had to mobilize the Dragon Power Army to collect evidence on his accusers, Chu Ling never used the Dragon Power Army’s Capital City division again. The army, much like Chu Ling himself, had been shelved and forgotten.

”But His Majesty always maintained General Chu’s forces here in the Capital City, following the exact charter the General laid down,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. ”I brought the young prince into the city and sought refuge at the Chu Family for one reason: they are the only trustworthy force left in this entire city.”

’But in that other life, Eunuch Qi and the young prince weren’t met by a reliable force. It was because of my ignorance, because of Chu Lan’s greed, and because Xiao Xun had made his move first—’ Chu Zhao lowered her gaze.

Zhong Changrong remained silent. He signaled to the four men behind him, and each took out a smoke bomb and lit it.

One after another, fiery blossoms bloomed in the air, until it seemed half the sky was on fire.

Chu Zhao looked toward An Ye. In the darkness, countless shadows were gathering from all directions, converging beneath the fiery blossoms that lit up the sky.