Like a lone candle guttering in the wind, Gu Dumu returned to the front of the military camp.
Together with the late empress and Hu Feilong before him, the three of them had dreamed of Jinling's imperial city for years. Now it lay right before their eyes.
Alas, Heaven's will was iron, and time had not been on their side. They had not even managed to take the last great pass before the imperial city.
He had wanted to set foot in Jinling's imperial city for many years.
He even believed the prince before him had wanted it for longer than he had.
Today, he had finally reached the foot of this great pass, almost close enough to step into the city.
He had originally thought that a sudden assault would let them seize Jinling Ford in one fell swoop.
He had never imagined that the seemingly unremarkable young prince was the most terrifying presence here.
Looking up at the southern sky, he gave a bitter smile. "If the prince saw that terrifying scene, would he regret leaving the imperial city in the southern border?"
"If we hadn't left, that brat and Hu Keke wouldn't have succeeded... The late emperor's imperial seal really was in Hu Keke's hands..."
"And that brat deceived everyone. He isn't a prince, but a princess... It's just a pity that I don't think I'll make it back."
Gu Dumu sighed inwardly, just as he had when he saw the imperial seal in Wang Xian's hand.
He had never expected the imperial seals of two great dynasties to end up in the hands of a man and a woman.
If Wang Xian hadn't been certain of victory and told him this secret, he would never have understood it, even on his deathbed: the late emperor had