Bi Linglong rejected the offer without hesitation. “How can I leave when my soldiers are fighting with their lives on the line? Now that Lord Du is here, I should have nothing to worry about. If we lose the battle here, I won’t be safe even if I return to the capital.”0

Du Jian tried to persuade her, “Your Majesty is right, but you didn’t consider how the rebel army slipped into the reinforced Phoenix Pass in the first place. There must be a traitor among us, and that traitor is likely to be a high-ranking person. I’m not confident I can protect you against the traitors.”1

“Are you saying that there’s a traitor among the other Eight Dukes?” Bi Linglong asked with a frown. Given their high standing and great prestige, she had brought the Eight Dukes with her to the battlefield,...1