Wali Li turned his horse and walked away without saying anything more. In the Western Army, forcing someone else's will was not popular; as long as you could bear the consequences, it was fine.

Seeing Wali Li leave, Wang Zha commented, "He just left like that. If he tried to persuade us, we might have gone back with him."

Zhang Yan wiped his blood from his chest and said, "Let's go back to Bean Sand Fort at least. We still have our pants on. When our fellow soldiers return, we’ll find Prince Shizhi and settle this. The emperor will surely have some constraints against Prince Shizhi. What are they? Who will enforce them? Our secret edict is just for us—useless!"

The brothers exchanged glances, unable to come up with any plan. They reluctantly mounted their horses and headed toward Bean Sand Fort.

Cloudzheng now couldn’t understand Prince Shizhi at all. From the moment he saw him, Cloudzheng knew that this wasn't a brave man.

Some people could be extremely ruthless in dealing with others but would become merciful to themselves.

Prince Shizhi should have been such a person, but his sudden ruthlessness and willingness to harm Zhao Yan and Zhao Zha, whom the emperor cared deeply about, were illogical.

Wali Li was tasked with keeping an eye on Prince Shizhi; he didn’t usually show himself but appeared when Zhang Yan and Wang Zha were in danger. He had no choice but to intervene.

The Song Dynasty was strange now that Emperor Zhao Jing was sick. Everyone came out of their hiding places, showing their true colors.

When the emperor was well, they cowered in their shadows; now, with his sickness, they all emerged eagerly.

Cloudzheng didn’t believe that people like Pang Jie and Han Qi could do nothing against Prince Shizhi or that Emperor Zhao Jing would give up military power without oversight.

In any case, he thought it was a trap, and he had no intention of stepping into it.

Zhang Yan and Wang Zha returned in a state of humiliation, their initial bravado long gone. They hid in the back tent, vowing to seek revenge when their comrades returned. They didn’t look like soldiers but more like thugs.

Cloudzheng avoided unknown threats; thus, he took no action. He neither sought justice for his subordinates nor personally assessed Prince Shizhi at Sha Family Village. He just wanted to wait for Han Lin’s return.

Three days later, Cloudzheng received the shocking news of Han Qi's demotion to Hebei Province instead of waiting for any word from Han Lin. (To be continued)