Chapter 687: Female Sovereign’s Consort Selection 44

Tang Can gave a faint nod, her gaze narrowing as she looked toward the city walls. Her eyes locked onto Lan Xintong, who stood above with what appeared to be a frustrated expression, and a cold certainty flickered within her. Next time, she thought, you won’t be this lucky.

Unaware of her thoughts, Lan Xintong had already stepped down from the walls.

“The battle was hard on everyone,” he said calmly to the soldiers gathered nearby. “Have the logistics division properly tend to the wounded. There must be no negligence—do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Highness!” they replied in unison, their voices steady despite exhaustion.

Only after ensuring everything was arranged did Lan Xintong turn and return to the tent.

He had barely lifted the curtain when a figure rushed toward him.

“Tongtong!”

Tang Wan threw herself into his arms, her voice urgent. “You’re back! Are you hurt anywhere?”

Lan Xintong blinked, momentarily startled by her reaction. Then he smiled faintly, his tone softening. “You worry too much. I didn’t even enter the battlefield directly—there were plenty of people protecting me.”

Tang Wan let out a quiet breath of relief. “That’s good… that’s good.”

Then, without hesitation, she tightened her arms around him. “Let me hold you for a bit.”

Lan Xintong couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath, though his arms instinctively wrapped around her in return. Though he found her behavior a little excessive at times, he couldn’t deny how much he liked it. Every time she showed such concern, it made him feel as though he truly occupied her entire world—a warmth that settled deep in his chest.

In the days that followed, Tang Can’s forces returned again and again to provoke them.

Every morning, every afternoon, even at dusk—the insults and taunts rang out endlessly beneath the city walls. Yet Tang Wan never responded. She remained within the camp, refusing to show herself, as though she truly feared confrontation.

Gradually, even Tang Can began to lower her guard.

Until the seventh night.

Under the cover of darkness, a carefully planted piece of information slipped into the hands of Tang Can’s spies.

Tang Wan was preparing a night raid.

The moment Tang Can received the report, she did not act immediately. Instead, she dispatched multiple scouts to confirm its authenticity. Only after repeated verification did she finally relax, a sharp smile forming on her lips.

“So… the opportunity has come.”

In her eyes, Tang Wan’s earlier defeats had already shaken her confidence. Now, unable to bear the humiliation of repeated losses, she was attempting a desperate counterattack.

“How predictable,” Tang Can murmured coldly. “She thinks I’m unprepared… that she can regain her prestige in one strike.”

Her expression hardened.

“Then let her come. This time… she won’t be going back.”

That night, beneath a pale, cold moon, two armies moved in silence.

One advanced with the intent to ambush.

The other lay in wait, ready to counter.

It did not take long before the two forces collided. Shouts erupted into the night, blades clashed, and the battlefield was instantly engulfed in chaos. Yet almost as soon as the fighting began, Tang Wan’s troops appeared to falter. Their formation broke, their lines wavered, and before long, they began retreating in disarray, shouting that they had fallen into a trap even as they fled.

Tang Can’s forces, seeing this, felt their confidence surge and pressed forward without hesitation.

The retreating soldiers soon reached the Yunhe River. Under the dim moonlight, the wide riverbed lay exposed, its waters long since receded. Tang Wan’s troops rushed straight down into it, their steps hurried as they crossed toward the opposite bank, appearing as though they were desperately escaping.

Tang Can’s army had been stationed near Ningcheng for some time and knew this terrain well. They were fully aware that during this season, the Yunhe’s dried riverbed could be used as a shortcut. Seeing the enemy flee along that very path, none of them hesitated and surged forward as one.

But the moment their feet touched the ground, something was wrong.

The seemingly solid earth gave way beneath them. Their legs sank deep into the softened mud, the ground clinging heavily as if trying to swallow them whole. The more they struggled, the deeper they sank, until even lifting a foot became nearly impossible.

Panic spread quickly, but it was already too late. Those at the front were trapped, unable to move, while the soldiers behind, unaware of the danger, continued rushing forward. Within moments, the entire riverbed became crowded with Tang Can’s forces, packed tightly together with no room to retreat.

And at that exact moment, bowstrings snapped sharply through the night.

From both sides of the riverbank, Tang Wan’s soldiers appeared, drawing their bows in unison. Arrows rained down like a storm, merciless and unrelenting. Screams filled the air, echoing through the riverbed, yet those still advancing mistook the cries for the enemy’s suffering and charged forward even faster, unaware they were rushing straight into a deadly trap.

In the blink of an eye, the Yunhe River became a cage.

And everyone inside it had nowhere left to escape.