Tuoba Liuxiu suddenly rushed forward, leaped onto the ceremonial carriage, grabbed Tuoba Biyan by the collar, and tried to throw him off the vehicle.
The ceremonial guards were only stunned for a moment before they jumped up after him, grabbing Tuoba Liuxiu’s arms from both sides. “How dare you! This is the Great King’s ceremonial carriage!”
Tuoba Liuxiu gripped Tuoba Biyan’s collar tightly, refusing to let go, his eyes fierce and fixed on him.
Tuoba Biyan panicked only for an instant. Seeing that both of Tuoba Liuxiu’s arms were being held and he couldn’t do anything to him, he became smug again and deliberately provoked him: “Father King had me sit here. When you see the ceremonial carriage, you should kneel and pay respects. So what if you refused to kneel yesterday? Don’t you still have to kneel to me today?”
Tuoba Liuxiu’s eyes nearly split with rage. He roared furiously at the sky. With his arms restrained, he shifted his hands and grabbed Tuoba Biyan’s throat, ignoring the pressure and pain on his arms as he slowly applied force.
Tuoba Biyan’s face instantly turned iron blue. He opened his mouth wide but couldn’t make a sound, his hands frantically trying to push away Tuoba Liuxiu’s grip.
The guards were also startled and quickly tried to pry his thumbs loose. “Eldest Prince, you’ll kill the Third Prince like this—”
Tuoba Liuxiu’s men were also alarmed. Disregarding hierarchy, they immediately climbed onto the ceremonial carriage to pull Tuoba Liuxiu away, shouting loudly in his ear: “Eldest Prince, calm down, this is Pingcheng, this is the Third Prince!”
If he killed the Third Prince in Pingcheng, not a single one of them would leave alive.
Lady Zao also cried out in anguish, running to the side of the carriage to embrace his calf, continuously pounding on him. “Liuxiu, calm down, calm down! Your father did this on purpose. He wants you to make a mistake. Don’t do this, don’t do this…”
All the sounds disappeared. In Tuoba Liuxiu’s eyes there was only Tuoba Biyan’s arrogant face. His body felt as if it were being pressed down by a mountain, making it impossible to breathe. He desperately wanted this face before him to disappear—if he disappeared, the mountain and pain crushing him would all vanish too.
Just as his goal was about to be achieved, his mother’s crying and the stinging pain in his calf finally brought him slightly back to his senses. As soon as he regained awareness, looking past the long street and countless people, he saw guards rapidly running toward them.
Panicked civilians were knocked to the ground as the oncoming guards carried an aura of deadly intent.
Tuoba Liuxiu suddenly felt it—he wants to kill me, he wants to kill me with legitimate justification!
Tuoba Liuxiu abruptly released his grip, pushed away all the guards holding his arms and pulling at him, then jumped down from the ceremonial carriage, lifted his mother onto his horse, and shouted a command: “We’re leaving!”
Tuoba Liuxiu’s subordinates also saw the guards coming their way. They mounted their horses one after another, immediately cracking their whips and fleeing toward the city gates.
The ceremonial guards were urgently trying to save Tuoba Biyan. They pried open his teeth and slapped his chest several times until the breathless Tuoba Biyan suddenly gasped for air.
The guards nearly cried with relief. “He’s alive, the Third Prince is alive.”
Turning their heads, they saw Tuoba Liuxiu had already fled out of sight. They immediately sent people to pursue.
The Great King had first told the Eldest Prince to come see him off, then specially prepared his own carriage and ceremonial procession for the Third Prince, with even the vanguard and guard attendants being from the ceremonial team—clearly this wasn’t just to humiliate the Eldest Prince, and they absolutely couldn’t let him escape.
Tuoba Liuxiu rode hard toward New Pingcheng. Behind him, a large number of pursuers began to appear, chasing after them from a distance.
Lady Zao looked back and shouted loudly in her son’s ear: “Put me down! No matter how good your horse is, carrying two people it can’t outrun them!”
Tuoba Liuxiu ignored her, reaching out one hand to press on her shoulder and straighten her up.
Lady Zao cried as she shouted, “Child, it’s Mother who has wronged you. I didn’t raise you properly from childhood. If only you could be more steady and patient, you should return to New Pingcheng and never come back to Pingcheng. Don’t oppose your father anymore. If he beats you, go find your aunt. She’s a formidable person and will surely give you justice!”
With that, she pushed away his hand and with a clever maneuver escaped his grasp, falling from the horse.
Tuoba Liuxiu couldn’t help but cry out in alarm, “Mother!”
The instant Lady Zao fell from the horse, she protected her head and rolled twice. The subordinate following closely behind Tuoba Liuxiu pulled the reins and leaped directly over her. Those further behind jumped down from their horses, grabbed the reins, and with light touches of their toes ran forward more than ten steps before stopping.
Two subordinates helped Lady Zao up, then looped a horse’s reins and handed them to Tuoba Liuxiu. “Eldest Prince, go quickly.”
Seeing this, the others also dismounted in unison. Soon they had freed up fifteen horses to give to the remaining men, ensuring each person had two horses for alternating rides. They only kept the sabers they carried with them.
Lady Zao also took down the saber from her son’s horse and said to Tuoba Liuxiu: “Don’t worry. Even though I’ve been deposed, I’m still your father’s woman. They won’t dare kill me! Now go!”
With that, she slapped the horse’s rear hard, and the horse galloped away quickly.
Tuoba Liuxiu looked back at his mother and the fifteen subordinates who stayed behind. He wiped away his tears, then opened his eyes wide to keep more tears from falling. He kicked the horse’s belly hard, and the remaining followers tightened the leads on the horses beside them and cracked their whips to follow.
Lady Zao watched her son ride into the distance before finally feeling at ease. She turned to look at the pursuers getting closer and closer, holding her blade horizontally as she said to everyone: “Although we can’t delay them for long, every moment counts. As long as my son safely returns to New Pingcheng, he will certainly not fail to provide for your families!”
Those who came to Pingcheng with Tuoba Liuxiu were all people he planned to take to Luoyang to seek advancement—his trusted confidants.
They were naturally willing to die in battle for their lord. Therefore, they shouted loudly, drew their long sabers, and stood in military formation.
Lady Zao stood at the very front with her blade raised.
The sons and daughters of the grasslands, whether men or women, were all skilled in horsemanship and archery. Lady Zao’s riding, shooting, and martial skills were all quite good.
She hadn’t fought enemies in many years, but she had never abandoned her martial training in the inner palace. Now, standing before all the soldiers, she had already prepared herself to die in battle and therefore felt no fear of the warhorses charging toward her.
Tuoba Yilu had given the order to bring back Tuoba Liuxiu at all costs. If they encountered resistance, they could kill. He had even dispatched General Kezuhun Sun, who came from Tuoba Biyan’s maternal clan, to pursue them.
So when he saw Lady Zao blocking the way ahead, not only did he not stop, he actually accelerated the charge and ordered them to kill without mercy.
The soldiers behind him hesitated for a moment, but this was a battlefield—they could only follow orders.
Lady Zao gripped her blade tightly. They excelled at riding and archery, but they also knew best what cavalry feared most. Time was too short to do much, so they could only fill the gap with their lives.
Facing the blade’s edge, she fearlessly raised her saber and advanced. She swung the best stroke of her life, successfully intercepting a blade slashing down diagonally. The two blades clashed. The cavalry had a natural advantage. She knelt on one knee, sacrificing one arm but delaying him for three instants.
And in those three instants, the follower behind her slid on his knees beneath their crossed blades and slashed his saber hard across Kezuhun Sun’s horse’s leg…
The horse screamed in pain and its body crashed to the ground. Kezuhun Sun, who was on the horse, could only sheathe his blade and roll down, first protecting himself.
As soon as he fell, the next follower immediately raised his blade to slash at his head.