The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis
Chapter 86: A Call For Reinforcements

Chapter 86: A Call For Reinforcements

The capital was no longer humming with its usual routine. It was fraying—quietly, but undeniably.

The word ’war’ was being whispered about, behind hands and fans as the people tried to adjust to their new reality without being overly obvious about it. Until the Emperor said the word, nothing was official. And if they repeated it, then it was their head on the chopping block for treason.

The front gates remained open just long enough each morning for the flood of refugees to pass through, their clothes soaked in ash, their eyes hollowed out by the kind of grief that left no room for questions. They came from the southern plains—Xueshan, mostly—though few of them spoke of what they’d seen. What could they say? That the town had been taken in a single night? That the Chixia army had left nothing but corpses and soot behind?

Everyone knew. But like the word, no one could say it out loud.

The air inside the imperial court was heavy with denial.

Zhu Mingyu stood at the far end of the eastern corridor, watching a servant girl try to drag a crying child away from the ministerial wing. The child’s face was dirty, his hands clutched around a wooden horse that no longer had legs.

Mingyu didn’t speak. He simply waited.

A rustle of robes behind him signaled the arrival of a Shadow Guard.

The man knelt, holding out a scroll sealed in the crimson wax of the Red Demon Army.

Mingyu took it at once.

"Delayed at three checkpoints," the guard reported. "The officer at the southern wall nearly dismissed the messenger. He said it was likely another refugee story."

"Let’s hope he doesn’t say that to the Emperor."

The Crown Prince turned and walked toward the imperial hall without another word. He did not need a retinue. He did not need an escort. The weight of the seal in his hand was enough.

-----

The Emperor’s court had gathered early that morning. The hall was thick with conversation that veered too easily toward hysteria. Ministers paced beside their secretaries, clerks scrawled fresh figures from the southern census, and eunuchs darted between pillars, calling for updated records from refugee camps that were already overflowing.

No one noticed when Zhu Mingyu entered the room. Not until he stepped to the base of the dais and bowed once, deeply.

"Your Majesty," he said, raising the scroll. "A dispatch from General Sun Longzi. It is urgent."

The Emperor, seated beneath the golden dragon canopy, lowered the jade slip he had been reviewing. He studied the seal without speaking, then gestured for it to be read aloud.

The eunuch accepted the scroll, broke the wax, and unrolled it.

Zhu Mingyu watched the Emperor’s expression carefully as the contents were revealed.

"To the Imperial Court," the eunuch read. "The combined forces of Chixia and Yelan have committed to full-scale invasion. Enemy numbers are confirmed to exceed two hundred thousand. Our scouts report siege structures under construction and additional troop formations on the western ridge.

They have already taken Xueshan. Casualties are total. Civilian survivors number less than fifty. Refugees are expected to reach the capital within the week.

The Red Demon Army is currently engaged in active resistance across the southern line. We cannot hold without reinforcement.

The Crown Princess is here.

—Sun Longzi, Commander of the Red Demon Army."

Silence fell.

It wasn’t the stunned kind. It was the calculated kind—the kind that came when men were too afraid to say what they were thinking, and too proud to admit what they had ignored.

Two hundred thousand enemies were already on Daiyu soil.

And the court had done nothing but wring their hands and argue over border policies.

A voice broke the silence at last.

"What does he mean, ’The Crown Princess is here’?" Minister Zhao spoke slowly, his voice tight with disbelief. "A battlefield is no place for a woman. What is she doing? Issuing orders? It’s not the harem."

"She’s never even seen war," scoffed another. "She’s a bandit reject who lived in the woods."

"A girl who stopped a Red Demon advance singlehandedly," Zhu Mingyu said calmly. "And now is offering her help where she can."

"You let her go," sneered the Left Prime Minister. "Your wife."

"If you knew anything about my wife, Minister Zhao, you would know that no one lets that woman do anything. She was determined to protect our people."

While the two men snapped back and forth like dogs on a leash, the Emperor did nothing to stop them. He said nothing for several long seconds, his gaze fixed on the final lines of the scroll.

"She was not supposed to be there," he said at last.

"She was not supposed to marry into the royal family either," Mingyu replied, "and yet here we are."

A ripple passed through the court.

"But whether she is there or not is not the point," he continued, taking in a deep breath. "Two hundred thousand enemies have crossed into Daiyu territory. Xueshan is gone. The refugees are already here. And the Red Demon Army, outnumbered and outflanked, is still standing when this message was written. I would suggest we consider what we do next."

"And what is your suggestion, Crown Prince?" asked the Emperor in a deceptively soothing voice. But Zhu Mingyu knew a trap being set for him after all these years.

"I think that you are the only one here with the ability to change the course of this... disagreement," he said soothingly.

The Emperor finally stood, letting out a silent grunt of disapproval. His robes whispered across the steps as he descended, eyes unreadable. "General Sun is to assemble two thousand riders. They will march south within the week. We’ll let the father and son meet on the battlefield. Maybe that familial love will give them enough strength to defeat their enemies."

"My son and I thank you, Your Majesty," replied General Sun, stepping out of the line of minsters and dropping to his knees. He raised his clasped hand above his bowed head as he saluted. "With your blessing, we’ll return victorious."

There was silence in the hall as the Emperor left.

Everyone there knew there was no chance at victory, they were sending a single piece of straw to block a flood. The only issue was what were they going to do when the tides of war continued to make their way to the capital.