“What Old General Cui Shanzhong can do now is escort Li Tianjiao out of the palace. If General Cui Shanzhong learns that the secret passage is in this very palace, he’ll likely send Li Tianjiao back here! We can wait here like hunters by a tree stump. However… I suspect Li Tianjiao probably won’t be willing to leave. As an emperor, she has her pride.”

Bai Qingqi, his silver armor stained with blood, led troops in from outside the great hall. In one hand he gripped a silver spear reddened with blood, in the other he held a precious sword he had reclaimed from a Western Liang general… Bai Qingyu’s precious sword.

Seeing his fifth younger brother standing together with Great Yan’s Ninth Prince, both having just gone through an intense, fierce battle, breathing heavily.

Bai Qingqi’s eyes reddened. He decided to discipline this recklessly bold brother of his after they returned. He casually tossed the precious sword in Bai Qingyu’s direction.

Bai Qingyu raised his hand to catch it, looking at his third brother whose thin lips were pressed into a straight line, and spoke: “Third Brother, we need to secure control of several palace gates now! Leave Li Tianjiao to me!”

Indeed, securing control of several palace gates was more important at present—it could prevent Li Tianjiao from fighting her way out to escape the city, and would also cut off the Western Liang soldiers who had abandoned defending Yun Jing’s city gates to come rescue Li Tianjiao.

But capturing the trusted confidants around General Cui Shanzhong was also very important!

Now that Elder Sister had already stationed troops at Yan Country’s border, regardless of how Great Zhou and Yan Country cooperated in this siege, when it came to determining the realm’s future, Yan Country and Great Zhou would inevitably clash. If Elder Sister chose the timing for this great battle to be after destroying Western Liang, then Bai Qingqi needed to pave the way for this matter’s legitimacy.

Someone in Yan Country had conspired with Old General Cui Shanzhong behind Great Yan’s Ninth Prince’s back. Even if Yan Country acknowledged this and beheaded General Chu for it, Great Zhou still needed to produce concrete evidence—they could advance to attack Yan Country, or retreat to negotiate terms with Yan Country.

The trusted confidants around Old General Cui Shanzhong were the most crucial witnesses.

Seeing Xiao Rongyan standing beside Bai Qingyu nod slightly at him, apparently meaning he would look after Bai Qingyu, Bai Qingqi nodded and warned Bai Qingyu: “Be careful!”

“Third Brother, rest assured!” Bai Qingyu forced himself to appear composed.

As soon as Bai Qingqi left, Yue Shi noticed a silver mask on Li Tianjiao’s table.

Recognizing it as Bai Qingyu’s, Yue Shi stepped forward to retrieve the mask, presenting it with both hands to Bai Qingyu: “Fifth Young Master, this is yours!”

“No need!” Bai Qingyu glanced at the mask and shook his head, instructing: “Have our people clean up this battlefield as quickly as possible, then wait here like hunters by a tree stump!”

The sounds of slaughter continued outside the great hall. Hearing they were to wait here like hunters by a tree stump, the Bai Family Army and the men Xiao Rongyan had brought charged out to continue fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with their comrades.

The Bai Family Army that Xiao Ruohai had brought, after ensuring the north gate’s control was in Great Zhou’s hands, also came charging over.

Xiao Rongyan sheathed his long sword and casually tore down the swaying bright yellow curtains in the great hall, ripping off strips of cloth as he walked to Bai Qingyu’s side: “Your hand…”

Bai Qingyu raised his eyes to look at Xiao Rongyan’s deep, dark eyes behind the mask, switching his sword to his other hand. From bare-handedly gripping that shadow guard’s sword edge earlier, Bai Qingyu’s palm had two sword cuts deep enough to expose bone, the flesh turned outward, and blood continuously flowed out.

Xiao Rongyan pulled out a white jade bottle of hemostatic powder from his chest, roughly pouring it into Bai Qingyu’s palm, then tightly wrapping Bai Qingyu’s hand with the cloth strips. Xiao Ruohai arrived with steaming Bai Family Army soldiers, fighting while shouting: “Yun Jing City’s palace has fallen! Surrender your weapons and live! Surrender your weapons and live!”

Hearing Xiao Ruohai’s several penetrating, resonant calls, the Bai Family Army soldiers and Yan Country soldiers immediately became fired up with enthusiasm, while the Western Liang Imperial Guards, seeing enemy forces killing their way over, immediately panicked. Someone shouted in the Western Liang language: “Enemy forces have broken through! Flee quickly!”

The Western Liang forces caught in the pincer attack immediately fell into chaos.

The Western Liang general leading the Imperial Guards in desperate resistance cut down a Western Liang soldier who had dropped his sword in surrender, shouting: “Anyone who dares retreat will be executed without mercy!”

That Western Liang general was gasping for breath, the sword in his hand almost too heavy to lift.

Not only were all the elite troops Xiao Rongyan had brought this time, but the Yan Country spies who had been planted in the palace long ago had put various drugs they could obtain—poisons, purgatives, and knockout drugs—into the city’s wells!

Bai Qingyu’s men and Xiao Rongyan’s men had acted separately, with some wells even being drugged twice. The Western Liang soldiers were merely mortal flesh and blood—how could they withstand such treatment?

Some Western Liang forces couldn’t be awakened, others had been purged to the point they couldn’t stand—how could they possibly lift swords to come to the rescue?

The Western Liang general watched as his Western Liang soldiers fell one after another, with no Imperial Guard reinforcements arriving. Even when small amounts of reinforcements did come, they all showed expressions of unbearable pain—he didn’t know what was wrong—and were quickly dealt with. He glanced toward the interior of the hall and shouted: “Warriors, charge into the great hall! Capturing Bai Qingyu alive is our path to survival! Charge!”

Yue Shi and the Yan forces and the Bai Family Army, who had emerged from the great hall, stood ready in formation.

Bai Qingyu and Xiao Rongyan also gripped their long swords tightly, prepared for battle at any moment.

·

Li Tianjiao, who had been escorted back to the rear hall, finally met Old General Cui Shanzhong.

Old General Cui Shanzhong had originally prepared to lead troops in through the palace’s north gate, but when they reached the north gate… they were greeted with a rain of arrows. His deputy general shouted that Old General Cui Shanzhong was returning to the palace, but the rain of arrows from the city walls only became fiercer.

Already knowing that the Western Liang forces had been drugged with purgatives, Old General Cui Shanzhong immediately realized the palace’s north gate had fallen and decisively entered the palace through the east gate.

Learning that the palace where Li Tianjiao was located had fallen into battle, Old General Cui Shanzhong immediately sent people to rescue Li Tianjiao while establishing new defenses in the rear hall, leaving an escape route and posting soldiers to guard the imperial city’s west gate. He planned to first rescue Li Tianjiao, and if that proved impossible, to escort Li Tianjiao out of the city.

“Both the city defense forces and the Imperial Guards have been affected! Those poisoned are vomiting and purging so severely they can’t even stand, there are those knocked unconscious by stupefying drugs who can’t be awakened, and those with purgatives have made messes everywhere… there’s simply no way for them to come protect Your Majesty!” Old General Cui Shanzhong’s deputy reported the current state of the Western Liang forces to him.

Old General Cui Shanzhong’s face turned iron-gray. In disbelief, he asked again: “Even the Imperial Guards have been affected?!”

The deputy wiped sweat from his forehead and nodded: “Those unaffected have all gone to the city gates to resist the enemy forces. We must escort Your Majesty out of the city as quickly as possible!”

They had been careless! Truly careless!

Just how many people had the Great Zhou arranged within Yun Jing City, and how many had they placed in the palace? The soldiers had all been fine during the evening meal—how had soldiers suddenly been poisoned, drugged with knockout drugs, and purgatives!

What Old General Cui Shanzhong found even more unexpected was that right after he had met with Xiao Rongyan, Xiao Rongyan had personally led men under the cover of night from outside the city into the city, then entered the palace with the assistance of Yan Country spies.