Watching his retreating figure, Zhu Yan felt a sense of calm wash over her, along with a surge of inexplicable emotions.
The man before her no longer seemed to be the cold and distant White King of Hell he once was. He had changed, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that they had both changed, and the feelings between them had transformed.
With the current situation so dire, she had no time to dwell on these thoughts. Without delay, she stepped in front of Shen Du, resembling a protective mother hen. With composure, she began to speak:
“Everyone, please hear me out.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear and ethereal, soothingly caressing their eardrums.
They all turned to look at this young girl, barely out of her teens.
Zhu Yan took a deep breath. Her delicate hand was held by Shen Du, noticeably easing her nervousness. She understood that this was Shen Du’s way of giving these commoners a chance, as well as showing his trust in her. Forcing herself to remain calm, she scanned the crowd and raised her voice:
“You’re all right. Lord Mo is indeed a good official. We’ve all witnessed how he has worked for the welfare and benefits of the people of Yingzhou.”
The crowd began to agree, clamoring to open the gates and let Lord Mo enter.
Zhu Yan’s next words were drowned out by the rising cacophony.
“Silence!” Shen Du’s shout thundered, echoing for miles. Not only did it quiet the commoners, but even Mo Qianzhi outside the gates fell silent.
Grateful for Shen Du’s assistance, Zhu Yan composed herself and continued with a serious expression: “But times have changed. Lord Mo has been sheltering the Fire Moth Party and covering up the crimes of Half-Face Ghost. This has led to Gannan Circuit living under the shadow of Half-Face Ghost for decades, with people living in constant fear. The mastermind behind all this is your Lord Mo, a man of two faces.”
“He has been deceived by the Fire Moth Party and has become Half-Face Ghost’s lackey.”
Zhu Yan took another deep breath. She dared not look back at Shen Du, knowing he could never utter such words against his former senior disciple and savior. It had to be her.
As soon as she finished speaking, a chorus of objections erupted.
“Lord Mo is no one’s lackey!”
Knowing it wouldn’t be easy to convince them, Zhu Yan was about to speak again when a figure stepped forward. It was Li Zimo, the groom from the recent bride case. He nodded slightly to Zhu Yan and Shen Du, then faced the crowd:
“Lady Shen is right about one thing. Lord Mo is no longer the good official he once was. On the day of the city massacre, he ordered my wife, Du Xiaowan, to be shot. Later, he allowed Half-Face Ghost to abduct her. You mustn’t open the gates!”
Before the crowd could react, Mo Qianzhi’s voice came from outside: “My people, I, Mo Qianzhi, would never harm the innocent. Just open the gates and drive away these dogs of the imperial court. I’ll atone for my sins with my life if necessary, and won’t implicate anyone else.”
Zhu Yan thought cynically, if he truly didn’t want to implicate others, why insist on opening the gates? Why not atone right there and then?
Li Zimo was pushed by the surging crowd towards Zhu Yan, but Shen Du quickly stepped in and steadied him. Feeling somewhat awkward, Zhu Yan had a sudden flash of inspiration:
“How about this? Since you all say Lord Mo is a good official who won’t harm you, surely he’ll listen to the people’s will. Why don’t you go up to the city walls and try to persuade him? If he’s willing to lay down his weapons and hand over Half-Face Ghost, we’ll certainly open the gates to welcome him.”
The commoners looked half-convinced. “Really?”
“Of course,” Zhu Yan glanced at Shen Du, who furrowed his brow but nodded solemnly.
The commoners were eager to try, their hearts filled with excitement at the prospect of rescuing Lord Mo and fighting for justice.
But Zhu Yan wasn’t finished.
“However, we’ll only welcome Lord Mo, not Half-Face Ghost. They are the executioners who murdered your loved ones.”
“Naturally, we won’t let them off either.”
At the mention of “Half-Face Ghost,” fear gripped the commoners. They had lived under this shadow for too long.
Even though Wang Buzui was dead, they still harbored fear.
“You all saw how Lady Mo and the children were alive and talking to us just moments ago, and now they’re gone. If the Fire Moth Party’s claims about resurrection were true, they should have come back to life by now. But they haven’t.”
Her heart grew calmer, no longer fearing life or death.
“So, regardless of whether you succeed in persuading Lord Mo or not, we will decide whether to open these gates. Otherwise, if we let in a horde of demons and they harm you, we’ll be too overwhelmed to protect you.”
Zhu Yan’s fingernails dug into her palms as she forced herself to meet the countless eyes of the commoners.
“Alright.”
Zhu Yan’s face relaxed, and as she stepped aside, everyone surged towards the city walls, eager to call back the Lord Mo they once knew.
The battlements were soon crowded with commoners, all facing the familiar figure of Lord Mo on the other side, pouring out their hearts.
Mo Qianzhi saw this too. Every battlement was filled with several commoners’ heads, some of whom he even recognized.
Frowning, he couldn’t make out their chatter and didn’t care to. He had hoped these commoners would open the gates for him and hold off Shen Du and the others, but it seemed that plan had failed.
It was unexpected. The people he had nurtured for over a decade proved unreliable.
As the crowd dispersed, Li Zimo bowed and retreated. As a scholar, it wasn’t appropriate for him to linger and would only cause trouble.
Shen Du took Zhu Yan’s hand and gently pried open her fingers. He caressed her palm with his fingertips, their hands intertwined. The earlier tension now gave way to the heat of skin contact.
Zhu Yan belatedly realized the impropriety of this gesture and tried to pull away, but Shen Du held firm. As a blush spread across her cheeks, Shen Du spoke:
“My lady, you’ve truly impressed your husband.”
Jing Lin turned away, automatically heading to the city walls to prevent any unrest among the commoners.
Unable to escape, Zhu Yan looked up, her dark eyes glaring at him. Shen Du chuckled, ruffling her black hair before getting down to business:
“Is there any chance of persuading Mo Qianzhi?”
Zhu Yan shook her head, her face showing resignation: “He’s your senior disciple. You should know it’s impossible. I just thought, since we couldn’t convince the commoners, we might as well go along with their wishes. Perhaps it will help them see the current situation clearly and prevent them from making the mistake of opening the gates and throwing away their lives.”
The smile faded from Shen Du’s face as he gently pulled Zhu Yan into his embrace: “Don’t worry. Leave the rest to me.”
Zhu Yan nodded against his chest, her hands clutching his outer robe. Her nose tingled inexplicably, but she bit her lip to hold back the tears.
In this situation, they could only defend the city and wait for reinforcements. If Mo Qianzhi and his men breached the city, they would not only lose Yingzhou but also endanger their loved ones in the capital.
Lai Luozhi would not spare the Zhu family.
In the distance, someone called for him. Shen Du released Zhu Yan and leaped onto the city wall, arriving at the battlements to find Mo Qianzhi on horseback, shouting:
“Push these commoners out, Shen Du! Is this all you can rely on?”
“Do you think I won’t kill them?”
Mo Qianzhi was furious, but his anger wasn’t because of this. He was clear-headed inside, merely putting on a show for those around him.
Shen Du nodded in acknowledgment: “Yes, this is all I have. The common people are my support. Do you dare kill them?”