Tai Luan entered the palace for an audience.
Zi Shou tightened his grip on Deng Chanyu's trembling hand, but the moment Tai Luan entered the hall, she finally lost control and burst into tears like a child. "Xiu... Xiu..."
Zi Shou gently patted the back of Deng Chanyu's hand. She needed someone to lean on now.
Tai Luan, however, seemed oblivious to the situation. As soon as he entered the hall, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Zi Shou was furious. He should never have summoned Tai Luan; the bastard had never brought good news. Almost gritting his teeth, he shot Tai Luan a pointed look. His meaning was obvious: get out now, before his presence stirred Deng Chanyu's grief.
But Tai Luan was anxious too. He merely said, "Your Majesty, General Deng... General Deng has escaped. He has come to pay his respects."
Huh?
At that, Deng Chanyu stopped sobbing. She looked at Tai Luan's familiar face, puzzled. General Tai was not the sort to comfort someone with lies!
Zi Shou was a little dumbfounded too.
Deng Xiu had fallen into an ambush and been trapped in the wooded mountains, surrounded by the Yue people. How could he possibly have survived?
Wasn't that utterly inconceivable?
With so many layers of encirclement, neither Three Mountains Pass nor the Southern Campaign army could rescue him. Any rescuers would instead be surrounded themselves and suffer even greater losses. And with Uncle Wen's backbone, there was no chance he would send an envoy to bow to the Yue people and negotiate peace.
Under those circumstances, Deng Xiu could not have stayed alive even if he wanted to. He could only obediently become the first named figure on the Investiture List.
Deng Chanyu had even written a letter home a few days earlier,