Rong Heng said, if the Wei Army doesn’t want to travel tonight and has nowhere to go, they can camp outside the city in the Yan Army’s camp and rest for a day.

"If you wake up tomorrow and suddenly regret it, you can attack the city on the spot," Rong Heng said with a straight face.

Wei Junzhuo coldly replied, "Really, if you’re the one who regrets it, should I be on guard against a night attack from the Yan Army?"

Although they said so, that night, Qingzhou City had no guards from the Yan Army, and no guard was arranged for the Wei Army camp either.

The next day, both sides were settled properly, and the battlefield was cleaned up. The Wei Country had completely withdrawn its troops. The specific terms of the ceasefire between Yan and Wei had to be discussed when Wei Junzhuo returned to Bian and sent an envoy.

The contents of the alliance were roughly what Rong Heng and Wei Junzhuo had discussed on the battlefield the day before.

Use Qingzhou as the boundary; Yan and Wei do not invade each other.

The Wei Country occupied most of Qi Country, and it would take several years to assimilate these lands as its own. Qingzhou was easy to defend and hard to attack, with natural barriers; in the future, the Wei Country could never bypass it if they wanted to attack the Southern Border of Dayan.

Each country still had its own internal disputes, and for the time being, both Wei Junzhuo and Rong Heng needed to return and handle these matters.

Rong Heng was uncertain how long this ceasefire would last, but he knew that breaking the peace would come at a great cost, a cost that Yan and Wei would not easily try for ten or eight years.

The warm noon sunlight poured over the frozen moat outside Qingzhou City, reflecting dazzling light. The first snow melted, the cold wind dissipated, and the air was cold and fresh.

Apart from the flag on the city wall changing from Qi Country to the black dragon flag of Dayan, nothing else changed. Qingzhou City regained its former prosperity and abundance, and the people finally stepped out of their homes to celebrate the new life.

At the city gate, Rong Heng and Yan Country’s generals saw Wei Junzhuo off.

The great army of Wei had already departed in the morning, but Wei Junzhuo, having spent the previous night in deep conversation with his brother, overslept. Unwilling to wake his soundly sleeping brother, he stayed with a camp of trusted aides until noon.

Although the Prince Xiang of Dayan and the General of Wei didn’t exchange a word, the entire farewell scene was still warm and moving.

In the end, Yuan reluctantly agreed with Wei Junzhuo to return to Bian and meet Wei Liuyu together.

But Yuan said that after meeting Wei Liuyu, he would come back to find Gu Lan. He also mentioned that he did not like staying in Wei Country and intended to accompany Lanlan to the Northern Territory to assist Marquis Gu in defending the frontier.

On the surface, Wei Junzhuo had no objections. After being separated for so long, he was willing to fulfill his brother’s every request.

As for what might happen when Yuan meets Wei Liuyu... His sister was not as easily fooled as he was. Even expounding on compensating Yuan would be enough to keep him for a year or so.

After a long exchange of pleasantries, Wei Junzhuo finally departed with Yuan.

Rong Heng watched their retreating figures silently. Suddenly, a Yan Army in black clothing and armor, covered in dust, rushed over from afar.

"Who are those people?" Rong Baoyi gazed toward the horizon at the approaching Yan Army. "Are they messengers from the Southern Border?"

Rong Heng squinted and said in a low voice:

"They are the imperial guards of the Capital City."

"A decree from Your Majesty announces that the Heir of Duke Dingyuan, Pingnan General Gu Lan, disguised as a male since childhood, has been charged with deceiving the sovereign. If the Prince still considers himself a Yan Minister, he should return to the Capital immediately to crusade against Dingyuan Marquis Mansion with His Majesty!"

This Yan Army consisted of only about ten people; they rode swift horses with imperial guard banners flying behind them. Even before approaching, they began to shout, their voices uniform and loud, clearly under the Emperor’s orders to inform everyone of this matter.

It finally arrived.

The great stone in Rong Heng’s heart was lifted, and he thought the news came just in time.

This rhetoric was indeed a handiwork only Rong Jing would undertake.

Call him back to the Capital to "crusade" against Dingyuan Marquis Mansion then. As for the decree to Marquis Gu, Rong Heng didn’t need to guess; it must be to summon him back to the Capital to clear his name, then order him to execute traitor Rong Heng.

Drive a tiger to swallow a wolf, sow discord; only, Rong Jing underestimated the friendship between him and Gu Lan, and also underestimated the hearts of Yan Country soldiers and civilians towards Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

Gu Lan and he were not the Pingnan Marquis Mansion of the past. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Rong Heng steadied his mind and looked at the crowd beside him, who were stunned in place.

Except for him, who had already prepared, everyone else was frozen, unable to believe their ears. Only that imperial guard continued repeating the same words, and with many civilians at the city gate, the news spread quickly.

Rong Baoyi shook her head and murmured, "Gu Lan...disguised as a man? Jiu, did I mishear that?"