The men of the Three Thousand Camps were all cavalry. Although named the Three Thousand Camps, their actual establishment numbered thirty thousand.
This time, Shen Yun and Liang Jingchen had mobilized troops and horses to arrive.
Amidst the clear, resounding sound of hooves, the commotion outside Chun Ya Lou could be heard.
Shen Yun raised a hand to stop everyone, signaling them to halt ten feet away and await orders.
He himself then rode forward to observe the scene.
The main gate of Chun Ya Lou was open, and outside, a large number of masked men in black lay sprawled on the ground.
Blood had stained the steps leading to the building a gruesome red, a horrifying sight.
Shen Yun's first thought was that Xiao Qi and the others were in trouble.
He handed the tiger tally of the Three Thousand Camps to Liang Jingchen and, without a second thought, spurred his horse forward.
What he saw was Su Ze leading the Western Frontier Army, standing before the gate of Chun Ya Lou.
Unlike the others, who were masked and dressed in black, they had removed their masks and were clad in armor.
But regardless, upon seeing Su Ze, Shen Yun's first instinct was to charge forward and drag him off his horse.
However, upon hearing the slogans they shouted, he realized something was amiss.
They were rebelling against the Crown Prince.
Su Ze, seeing Shen Yun approaching in a hurry, his gaze was sharp and cold.
He rode forward, stopping three paces away from Shen Yun, and cast a chilling glance at him: "You're so late. Do you know Xiao Qi was almost harmed."
If he hadn't arrived in time just now, Xiao Qi might truly have been in danger.
Shen Yun's heart gave a violent lurch.
Without the time for verbal sparring with Su Ze, he turned his head to look for Su Xiao Qi.
Fortunately, as he raised his eyes, he saw Su Xiao Qi, clad in a white fox fur coat, hurrying towards him with her skirt gathered.
"Husband," Su Xiao Qi was immensely excited.
Shen Yun had arrived, he had arrived.
This meant he had brought the soldiers of the Three Thousand Camps from outside the city.
With them, the Western Frontier Army mobilized by the Crown Prince was hardly a threat.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, apart from the Northern Frontier Army, no other army could contend with the Three Thousand Camps.
"Xiao Qi, are you alright? Are you injured?" Shen Yun quickly stepped forward, supporting Su Xiao Qi by her arms and examining her from head to toe.
Su Xiao Qi shook her head repeatedly, "I'm fine, I'm fine."
Shen Yun, however, looked at the bloodstains on Su Xiao Qi's face and body, asking if she was hurt.
Su Xiao Qi shook her head and pointed to the people collapsed on the ground beside her:
"No, I'm not. This is all the blood of the household guards from my maternal grandmother's estate. I was treating their wounds.
But now that you've arrived, they won't have to fight while injured."
Su Xiao Qi felt great pity for those household guards.
They had retired from the battlefield, and their bodies were more or less injured.
Their individual strength was already greatly diminished.
Yet they still had to face the Western Frontier Army.
It was only through their fearless spirit that they could barely hold back the Western Frontier Army, commanded by that madwoman Su Yu Ru.
When facing the enemy's fierce attacks, they all transformed into fearless warriors, fighting bravely.
Even though they were no longer soldiers on the battlefield, they still displayed the passion and valor of army soldiers.
But the moment the enemy was held back and they had a brief respite, they became exhausted.
Su Xiao Qi knew that the continuous fighting had drained all their strength and spirit.
The only thing that kept them going was the blood coursing through their veins.
Now that everyone was safe, the pressure in their hearts dissipated.
Their bodies turned weak, and they collapsed to the ground, unable to rise for the time being.
Shen Yun surveyed the scene, seeing that everyone in the hall was unharmed.
Only these household guards, Zhang Yu, Zhang Dian, Yu Changfeng, and others were injured.
It was clear that in the recent conflict, they had stepped forward to protect them.
This was why they had not sustained any harm.
Shen Yun paid them his sincere respects, cupped his hands in a bow, and then solemnly declared:
"Xiao Qi, you stay here and look after them. We must go quell the rebellion."
Su Xiao Qi worried about Shen Yun's safety, but she also knew that without his timely intervention at this moment.
The favorable situation could be lost.
The Crown Prince held the upper hand.
In such a scenario, not only Shen Yun, but all of them would perish.
Therefore, Shen Yun had to go, and he had to succeed.
Not for the Emperor, but for themselves!
Su Xiao Qi took Shen Yun's hand and led him outside to Su Ze, saying softly:
"Husband, Xiao Ze, he..."
Shen Yun nodded. Since Su Ze had chosen to rebel against the Crown Prince and stand with them, Shen Yun didn't mind having an additional ally.
After a moment's thought, he extended his hand to Su Ze: "Let us join forces to slay the traitors and work together to save the Emperor!"
Su Ze did not respond to Shen Yun immediately.
He hesitated for a long time, still feeling unwilling.
This man before him had stolen the woman he loved most, a deep pain in his heart.
He was unwilling to cooperate with him.
Su Xiao Qi watched anxiously and quickly urged, "Xiao Ze, for the greater good!"
Su Ze gritted his teeth, reached out, and clasped Shen Yun's hand.
"Let us join forces to slay the traitors and work together to save the Emperor!"
The hands of the two men clasped tightly together.
Their voices resounded with determination.
Su Xiao Qi was no longer worried.
This was a man's promise.
Regardless of what Xiao Ze or Shen Yun might be thinking in their hearts.
She believed they would not betray this handshake.
The damaged door of Chun Ya Lou was repaired and reinstalled.
This was the darkest and most chaotic time. For safety, it was best not to wander around.
Otherwise, anyone who became separated and went outside would become a target for the masked men in black.
In this darkest hour, staying together was the safest course.
After the battle they had just endured.
Many were exhausted.
As the night deepened, some could no longer resist and fell asleep.
Those who had booked private rooms upstairs went to rest.
Downstairs, only over a hundred common people remained.
None of them took the opportunity to demand to go upstairs for anything.
Because they were very aware of their status.
Normally, Chun Ya Lou was a place only for royalty and nobles to enter.
They didn't even know which way the door opened, let alone the possibility of resting here temporarily for refuge.
All this was due to the compassion of the noble people inside that they were allowed in.
Therefore, they asked for nothing, only hoping for a safe place to stay.
Su Xiao Qi, standing at the door of a private room on the third floor, looked down at the commoners huddled together, shivering in the cold, and felt a pang of sympathy.
She called for Yu, the manager of Chun Ya Lou, and asked him to bring out blankets from the establishment for them to warm themselves.
But this request put Yu, the manager, in a difficult position.
"Madam, it's not that I'm unwilling to provide them.
It's just that this establishment is a restaurant, not an inn. The bedding from the private rooms on various floors has already been distributed to the private rooms on the second and third floors.
There are indeed no extra blankets."
Yu, the manager, was troubled.
He explained that it wasn't that he wouldn't help, but that he truly couldn't.
After all, though he wasn't a great philanthropist, he wasn't someone who would stand by and watch people suffer.
"Since Manager Yu is so kind, how about this: could you please ensure the charcoal fires in the main hall downstairs are kept burning brightly, so they don't freeze?"
The early spring in the capital was very cold, with water freezing into ice.
Earlier, everyone was worried about their safety and huddled together, only focused on their fear.
They hadn't thought about warming themselves by the fire.
But now, in the latter half of the night, they couldn't stay awake and needed to sleep.
If they fell asleep without the fire, and just endured the night like this, they might not freeze to death, but they would certainly catch a cold.
Yu, the manager, felt a twinge of pain.
He knew that the charcoal in his establishment was all high-quality silver silk charcoal.
It was very expensive.
Although he was willing to help them,
this expenditure was not a small sum.
Su Xiao Qi, knowing his thoughts, called out, "I will pay for this silver silk charcoal."
"Ah, ah, good, good, I'll go and light the charcoal fires right away."
"Also, go and see what food there is in your back kitchen, and have the staff cook it.
Let everyone eat something warm, and also prepare a stove for me to simmer some medicinal soup to ward off the cold."
After making these arrangements, Su Xiao Qi directly produced a silver note worth a thousand taels.
Yu, the manager, who had been somewhat worried about how to discuss the cost of the food,
saw such a large silver note and his eyes widened in surprise. He quickly took it and hurried off to work.