Chapter 673: Chapter 673: He Won This Battle!

A prisoner’s wagon slowly rolled through the city gates.

All eyes were drawn to the sight, everyone turning to look.

Inside the wagon, a prisoner knelt, dressed in ragged clothes with his hair disheveled.

His hands and feet were bound in incredibly heavy shackles, making it difficult to even lift a hand.

Although it was already spring, the Capital City was in the north, and a lingering chill filled the air. The man, however, wore only thin clothes, and his exposed hands and feet were swollen and discolored from the cold.

His shoulder, in particular, appeared to be injured and had been crudely bandaged.

But the gauze, which hadn’t been changed in who knows how long, was stained with dried, dark-red blood and streaks of filth.

One could tell without looking that his body was likely covered in wounds beneath his clothes.

"Look! That’s the captured leader of the Nanhu bandits!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

Then, a rotten vegetable leaf flew from the crowd and landed on the wagon.

It was as if a switch had been flipped. Countless pieces of trash were thrown, accompanied by the clamor of merciless curses.

"Damn him! Kill him!"

"That’s right! Who knows how many of our soldiers have died at his hands! Even death by a thousand cuts would be too good for him!"

"Son of a bitch!"

Tuoba Yu was already numb, paying no mind to the insults.

He had already endured countless humiliations on this journey. This was nothing to him now.

Ever since he learned King Yan Nan and the others were taking him back to the Capital City, he knew—it was over for him!

The victor is king, the loser a bandit. He had nothing to say; he had to accept his fate.

But his captors were watching him too closely. He couldn’t even find an opportunity to end his own life.

THUD—!

A rock suddenly struck Tuoba Yu on the forehead. Caught off guard, he froze for a moment before intense pain shot through his head.

His long-suppressed emotions could no longer remain calm. He stiffly raised his head and looked in the direction the rock had come from.

But all he saw was the bustling crowd. When they saw he dared to look up at them, and with such a grim and dangerous gaze, they were instantly enraged.

"You dare to look?! Are you defying us?!"

That a mere captive would dare to show such an expression immediately sent the crowd into a frenzy!

SWISH— WHOOSH!

More and more filthy, stinking objects flew at Tuoba Yu. Soon, he was a complete mess, with several new cuts on his body.

King Yan Nan naturally saw this but gave no reaction.

This was his tacit approval.

At first, Tuoba Yu wanted to fight back. However, he was severely injured and had not recovered. He was already at the limit of his weakness, and trapped in the prisoner’s wagon, he couldn’t even stand up. How could he possibly handle such a chaotic situation?

In the end, he could only grit his teeth and swallow all this humiliation!

’If I die, so be it. But if I ever get the chance to escape, I will repay today’s humiliation a hundredfold!’

’King Yan Nan, and...’

Tuoba Yu silently repeated the name he had just heard—the name of the person who shot him, who brought him to this state!

’Ye Yunfeng!’

...

The procession gradually moved into the distance until it was out of sight.

Only then did Princess Qingyang reluctantly pull her gaze away. "Sigh. Who knows how long it will be before Father comes out of the palace. And today’s my eighteenth birthday! If it’s too late, he won’t be back in time to celebrate with me!"

Ye Chutang poured her a cup of tea, smiled, and said in an unhurried tone, "Don’t worry. King Yan Nan rushed this whole journey precisely because he was afraid of missing your birthday. He’s traveled a thousand miles to be here. Now that he’s back, how could he possibly not make it in time?"

Princess Qingyang’s spirits lifted at her words.

"You’re right! My father has always doted on me the most!"

She looked at Ye Chutang, a little perplexed. "But speaking of which, you were right. They took that prisoner straight to the palace! You have no idea—the moment I heard my father speak just now, I really wanted to go into the palace with him!"

She hadn’t seen King Yan Nan in several years, and considering he had recently been in peril, her reaction was understandable.

"If you hadn’t told me in advance not to follow, I definitely would have gone!"

Ye Chutang smiled. "They’re escorting a major criminal into the palace, which is a serious matter. Besides, His Majesty already said he would interrogate him personally. If you were there, it would only make things awkward."

This made Princess Qingyang even more curious. Her eyes darted about as she leaned closer and asked in a hushed voice,

"Chutang, give me a hint. What’s that prisoner’s real identity?"

’A bandit leader?’

’She didn’t believe that for a second!’

’To make such a big fuss and escort someone a thousand miles back to the Capital City... Anyone with half a brain could guess that prisoner’s identity was anything but ordinary!’

But Princess Qingyang only knew that a victory had been won at Long City; she didn’t know the details. After thinking it over, she decided it was more direct to just ask Ye Chutang.

Ye Chutang shook her head. "I don’t know either."

"You don’t know? How is that possible?! Didn’t Ye Yunfeng tell—" Princess Qingyang quickly clapped a hand over her mouth and looked around warily. Seeing that only the siblings were present, she relaxed, though she still found it incredible. "Even if it’s a military secret and he, as a soldier, can’t disclose it to you... what about that friend of yours? He would definitely tell you, right?"

After this incident, Princess Qingyang was convinced that Ye Chutang and her friend were both people of extraordinary means.

’Since they were involved, they must know what’s going on!’

Ye Chutang gave a helpless smile. "I really don’t know. He didn’t say."

Princess Qingyang was a little disappointed. "...Alright then. We’ll find out sooner or later anyway! But one thing’s for sure—he’s definitely one of the Southern Hu people! Did you see his blue eyes when he looked up just now?"

"I saw."

Ye Chutang wasn’t surprised by this.

Princess Qingyang propped her chin on one hand, her fingers tapping idly against her cheek.

"I heard the battle was incredibly fierce, but they finished it in just one night, killing all five thousand of those Nanhu bandits! Hey, Chutang, can you ask your fourth brother for me later what it was really like?"

Princess Qingyang clearly perked up as she talked about this.

Ye Chutang chuckled. "Why don’t you just ask King Yan Nan directly? I imagine he’s the one who knows the ins and outs of the whole affair better than anyone."

But Princess Qingyang shook her head.

"My father was trapped the moment he arrived in Long City, and all of his personal guards were lost. I’m guessing this battle didn’t have much to do with him. The real key player—was your fourth brother!"

Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Princess Qingyang huffed lightly. "After all, I spent a long time with my father on the Southwest Border. You think I don’t have at least that much judgment? Your fourth brother was supposed to be guarding the border at Xia City, but then he suddenly went to fight at Long City and ended up taking the top credit! Isn’t that telling enough?"

Her red lips curved into a smile as she spoke each word with firm conviction.

"He’s the one who captured this prisoner."

"And he’s the one who won this battle!"

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