Chapter 1341: Chapter 1342: Coward!

“You!” Being scolded so harshly left the male soldiers fuming, yet Su Chengyuan’s commanding and superior presence inexplicably subdued them, making them too intimidated to retort impulsively.

Still, one male soldier couldn’t hold back and snapped, “You’re all just women! It’s impossible that we’re lesser than you; it’s always you who aren’t as good as us!”

Su Chengyuan ignored the soldier and continued, “The Emperor himself stated during the training ground session at the Imperial Palace that in the military camp, soldiers are evaluated first as troops, only then separated by gender. If you’re unclear, you can consult your camp officer.”

At the mention of the Imperial Palace, the soldiers became even more apprehensive, their expressions growing increasingly uneasy.

Even the soldier who originally retorted dared not say another word. They were merely foot soldiers who had never interacted with generals, let alone the one overseeing the entire military camp.

The Imperial Palace was the Emperor’s domain—a place they could only revere from afar, not even dream of desecrating. Their respect for it was absolute.

“But now,” Su Chengyuan suddenly let out a cold laugh, her gaze filled with disdain, “What do you think you’re doing—mouthing off like unruly children? None of you seem to understand the vast heavens above. If you’ve lost sight of that, then perhaps losing your heads wouldn’t matter much either.”

At the mere mention of losing their heads, the male soldiers squaring off against the female soldiers panicked. They no longer cared about the soldier who was writhing in pain from being whipped by Su Chengyuan.

Pointing at the whipped soldier, they hastily tried to distance themselves, saying, “We didn’t say anything! It’s all his doing; if anyone’s losing their head, it’s him.”

The soldier who had been whipped was still too much in pain to speak, trembling with his lips quivering.

But when he saw his comrades shifting all the blame onto him—and knowing full well the words were indeed his—he immediately knelt before the female soldiers, kowtowing repeatedly to plead for mercy.

If word of this reached the Emperor, he knew his head would truly be lost.

The female soldiers showed no pity for the soldier groveling before them. In their eyes, losing his head would simply be the consequence of his own actions. Who allowed him to mock the Emperor so brazenly?

Su Chengyuan paid no attention to the soldier begging on the ground. Instead, she looked at the others desperately trying to disentangle themselves from blame, fearing for their heads, and coldly sneered, “Cowards!”

“You!” The soldiers were instantly incensed, their fury mounting.

One among them, unable to contain his rage, shouted harshly, “You’re just a female soldier—what sort of status—” Thing—?

Before he could finish his sentence, Tobanya calmly interjected, “What if she turned out to be the Princess?”

“Wha… What?!” All the soldiers widened their eyes in shock, unable to believe their ears.

Su Chengyuan immediately lifted her chin and declared, “This Princess does not change her name nor her title—youngest daughter of the Retired Emperor of Xiyun, and youngest sister of the reigning Emperor—Su Chengyuan!”

Pretending to be a Princess was a crime punishable by death.

If this woman dared to claim she was Princess Su Chengyuan, then she must indeed be Princess Chengyuan. All the soldiers were so terrified they dropped to their knees, kowtowing to Su Chengyuan repeatedly, pleading for leniency, “We were blind to Mount Tai! We beg the Princess for forgiveness!”

Su Chengyuan scoffed, “Didn’t you just say that this Princess, as a woman, is inherently inferior to you? What forgiveness could you possibly ask for?”

The soldiers’ faces instantly turned deathly pale, their pleas becoming even more frantic.

Su Chengyuan watched their desperate groveling with cold detachment, until she grew tired of it. Finally, she spoke curtly, “Enough. In this military camp, those who look down on female soldiers are aplenty.”