According to the agreement, once Ye Li snatched her away from the palace, it would be equivalent as going back on his word with the Second Prince. Would Ye Li, whose interests were always his main priority, do something like this that isn’t beneficial to him in any way?
But Ye Mu’s train of thoughts was broken when Zhang Yuan said, “Young miss, let’s head back to the residence. The general has the map of the Imperial army and has learned the map by heart now. Rest assured that there won’t be a problem. Even if the Second Prince wants to join forces with the Imperial army, with the Emperor still alive and the map with the general, the Imperial army will not listen to his commands–even if he is of royal blood.”
The chances of winning are that high?
Even if reinforcements from the surrounding countries wanted to come over, it would still take a few days to reach the Yue country. Therefore, Ye Li did indeed have the largest number of people…yet there were also quite a lot of soldiers if the imperial army and the Second Prince’s forces would unite.
If they were to join hands, the outcome of the battle would be difficult to determine…but bloodshed would most likely be a lot.
This meant that blood would flow like rivers the moment the fight commences, fate notwithstanding. And in the end, the outcome of this gruesome war would all depend on the will of the heavens.
Under the gloomy sky, Ye Mu looked at the troops that were getting further and further away and asked, “Zhang Yuan, when you went to save me today, what happened?”
Zhang Yuan remembered the miserable state he went through this morning when he rescued Ye Mu and his eyes dimmed a little.
“If not for the general’s intelligence, we would not have been able to find the young miss inside the complex interiors of the palace with the imperial army guarding vigilantly. But even with this, we have lost more than a hundred of our deadly warriors…he cares so much for the young miss person to be rescued.”
Zhang Yuan’s words caused Ye Mu’s heart to be slightly shaken.
A great battle was coming, yet Ye Li had actually used the lives of over a hundred people in exchange for her. Was it truly because he was afraid that she would be in danger inside the palace?
But what was really startling was that there were more than 20 internal martial artists who had guarded her in the palace. This meant that the Second Prince didn’t really consider her as a hostage at all. For her, who had the lowly position of a daughter born from a concubine, she couldn’t find herself to believe the Second Prince would raise such a ruckus and send so many experts to guard her…
This could only mean one thing—the person who really wanted to keep her there was Mo Linyuan!
And as for why the Second Prince would listen to Mo Linyuan, it could only mean that they had long since allied with each other.
History was repeating itself according to the plot in the book!
The more Ye Mu thought about it, the more she felt that she was seeing things clearer this time, but ultimately, the more she realized things, the more ironic she found the situation.
She was truly foolish. It was only because Mo Linyuan had taken the risk to steal the map of the imperial army for Ye Li did she thought that the winner of this battle would be Ye Li.
But Mo Linyuan did not fully lie to her. His connection with Yan Xu hadn’t been hidden from her—he just opted to tell her bits of the truth. She should have discovered it a long time ago, but her eyes were opened too late.
If everything went according to the plot of the book, Ye Li would lose this battle; there is a high possibility that the map of imperial army given by Mo Linyuan is a counterfeit one.
Another fact was…Ye Li hadn’t forgotten to “rescue” her before the great battle.
No matter how she thought of it, despite the kind of ruthless person he was, she wanted to save Ye Li’s life.
Is it too late now?
Snowflakes slowly fell from the sky once again. The winter wind seemed extremely cold—so cold that it caused one’s thoughts to freeze.
Four hours later…
“Reporting! General! The number of troops in the western part of the city has greatly exceeded the estimated number!”
“Reporting! General! The defensive formation of the imperial army in the east of the city is not a crossbow formation!”
“Report! General! The Emperor is already dead, and before he died, the Emperor handed the control of the imperial army to the Fifth Prince, Qi Yan, and Qi Yan had already joined hands with the Second Prince!”
Only after attacking did Ye Li realize that the reality before him was vastly different from the information he had obtained!
How could he not understand it clearly at this time? The map of the Imperial army was fake; the arrangement of the Imperial army was completely different as stated on it. Moreover, the equipment: armor and weapons used as stated in the map was also a complete sham!
He ruthlessly tore the paper in his hand, “Damn it! That slave dares to lie to me!”
The situation was obviously already extremely disadvantageous, but Ye Li thought of something on the spot and raised his hand angrily, “Continue to attack the city! Don’t be afraid! Even if the Imperial Army and the Second Prince were to join hands, they would only have 20,000 troops in the city. We have the larger number of people than them!” Ye Li angrily ordered, and then used the fastest speed to change the previous arrangement.
Although they were caught unprepared by the Imperial Army earlier, after changing their tactics on attacking, the two sides soon became evenly matched. However, Ye Li’s people were evidently even more fearless as they pushed forward with all their might towards the Imperial Palace.
At this moment, a small figure suddenly broke through the chaotic battlefield.
“Father!”
Ye Li’s ears twitched at this familiar voice. Indeed, when he turned his head around, he saw Ye Mu in the flesh.
Damn it! Where is Zhang Yuan?!
Ye Mu had spent a lot of effort before she had managed to successfully shake off Zhang Yuan, so he was quite delayed on chasing her. Seeing Ye Li reining his horse in, she hurriedly ran towards Ye Li. Along the way, many soldiers saw her and shifted the blades in their hands away from her.
Ye Mu was wearing a red dress. Amidst the black army and the white snowflakes, she seemed to be the only color in this brutal scene.
“What are you doing here?!” Ye Li glared ferociously at Ye Mu. The unexpected loss in military strength just moments ago made his heart feel as if it was being stabbed by knives. At this moment, his gaze towards anyone who would look at him carried a heavy killing intent!
Ye Mu panted and said loudly, “Don’t attack anymore! Now that the Imperial Army and the Second Prince are colluding, how can you be evenly matched with them anymore?!”
“Who said I’m not evenly matched?!” Ye Li said in a cold voice, “Even if I have to use corpses to pave my way towards the palace, then I will slaughter everyone along my way! Evenly matched? No, we are far stronger than them! Go back and be a good girl!”
“Father!” Ye Mu didn’t expect Ye Li’s mind to be so fixed. The situation was clearly unfavorable, so why did he still recklessly bargain his life away?
“Father, now that prince Zhao has disappeared, if the Second Prince were to capture him and force him to gather troops to fight you, then you–”
But before she could finish, Ye Li suddenly reined the horse towards her. Sitting on top of the horse, he turned over his bloodstained spear and pointed it straight at Ye Mu’s nose!
“Don’t come back!”.
Ye Mu was stunned and stopped in her tracks.
After charging inside the palace walls, Ye Li, like everyone else, had already killed to the point where his eyes were bloodshot. He pointed his spear at Ye Mu, his eyes filled with intense coldness!
“Who knows if you and that slave are on the same side? His origins are unknown, and I still can’t find out his identity. He pretended to submit to me, but in reality, he used the map of the Imperial Army to deceive me! You have a close relationship with him. Did you already know of his scheme? Did you plotted to harm me together with him? Whose spies are you all!?”
Ye Mu’s expression was tense at Ye Li’s growing fury. “I didn’t!”
“No?” Ye Li sneered, “Are you truly my daughter? Or do you wish for my death, like many others? Now that my army has attacked the Imperial Palace, you want me to retreat? Hahahaha! Do I have a way out?! Ah, I got it, you’re a traitor too!”
“I’m not! I just wanted to keep you alive, would you calm down?!”
“You are not? Then would you dare tell me what is that slave doing, or you do not know at all?!”
When Ye Mu heard this, her face instantly paled! Although she didn’t truly know, she knew how the plot would progress in the book.
Ye Li deeply looked at complicated her and a look of disappointment flashed in his eyes. Just when Ye Mu thought he would be furious and stab her to death with his spear, he actually took away his weapon.
“Scram! On the battlefield, there is no need for old people, women and children like you!”
After Ye Li said this, he adamantly rushed inside the palace once again. It was as if the imperial palace was a gigantic black hole, sucking in countless lives into it forcefully.
The smell of blood was thick in the air and the nauseating scent of burnt flesh accompanied it. Huge, black smoke curled up ominously into the sky; the scene in front of her was like a picture from hell.
This is war.
The surrounding people had all left, leaving only Ye Mu standing behind with a blank stare at the city gate, powerless and insignificant.
What went wrong? Why did Ye Li choose to enter the palace even if means his death?
Is his unfortunate ending as stated in the plot destined to be unchangeable?
***
“Trash!”
Within the confines of the imperial palace and inside the emperor’s chambers, Mo Linyuan’s face was deathly pale. The brush in his hand had long since been shattered into pieces!
His chest was heaving up and down violently, and his expression too terrifying for his age; no one would have thought that he was actually capable of being incensed.
Mo Linyuan tried his best to calm himself down, but when the thought of Ye Li capturing Ye Mu rushed into his mind, the ill-fated situations that could arise plagued him. Ye Li could perhaps use her as a bargaining chip to threaten him, or in a worse case scenario, he would hurt her out of fury!
His anger was excruciating. It made his murderous aura surge around him, causing everyone to tremble with fear, not daring to speak a single word.
When the Second Prince entered, he was dumbfounded for a moment at this unexpected scene. Although he had only known Mo Linyuan for only a few months, the young man in front of him was too cunning and calm to the point where it was chilling.
He did not seem like a ten-year-old young boy at all—he could even go as far as to describe he had the bearing of an adult the same age as him.
But now, his rage and murderous presence were all accumulated between his frowning eyebrows. And in front of him, many internal force masters knelt down reverently. Usually, these people were very prideful, but at the face of an imminent debacle, they immediately prostrated themselves at the feet of this young man.
“Your Highness doesn’t need to be so mad.” The Second Prince forced a placating smile and said, “Ye Mu is Ye Li’s daughter. A tiger doesn’t poison his cubs, let alone a human kill his own child.”
Mo Linyuan swept his gaze over him and suddenly sneered. If it was an ordinary person, perhaps it would be as he said.
But, is Ye Li an ordinary person?
When he was playing as Ye Li’s subordinate and stuck to his side, by chance he had grasped information that Ye Li had hidden a lot of loyal soldiers underneath the privy eyes of the imperial family.
Initially, he came to the conclusion that Ye Li felt humiliated by the emperor and thus wanted to start a rebellion. But later on, he realized that two of the three generals who had led the army of Yue country who had lambasted the emperor had been framed for conspiracy.
Once the two generals are executed by the emperor, the loyal militias under their respective banner would also be suppressed!
Ye Li harmed others and became a predator, but in this way, he was able to save the old generals making them see him as their savior, and in turn gained their gratitude and loyalty…
He was such a profound, intelligent and vicious person. Mo Linyuan didn’t believe he would hold himself back when blocked by anyone, not even his daughter. So, how could he not be anxious?
Mo Linyuan closed his eyes and said to the people kneeling in front of him, “I don’t care where you will go or who you will fight! I’m only concerned of one person and she must be left unscathed! Otherwise, you will all need to answer to me!”
His overly strict words caused everyone to feel dread, and those kneeling quickly kowtowed, “Your Highness, please rest your heart! We will go to the general’s manor right now!”
“Wait. Some men must be left and venture to the Middle Palace. Ye Li’s men might have already reached there. And there is a high probability that he will bring her.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The experts hurriedly left, leaving only Mo Linyuan who was still uneasy.
At this point, Ye Li would have definitely discovered that the forbidden map of the Imperial Army in his hands was completely fake. Would he vent out his fury on Ye Mu? After all, Ye Mu could be considered his closest aide…
Back then, Mo Linyuan had chosen to form an alliance with Yan Xu precisely because of Ye Li’s cruel nature. When he thought about how Yan Xu had come to him, informing him that Ye Li had personally given his daughter to the Emperor to enjoy, and how he used his former comrades to his benefit—he naturally did not have a good impression on this person.
If he really wanted to help a person ascend the throne, why should he choose someone with a troublesome personality? Therefore, from the very beginning, he never really wanted Ye Li to succeed with his plans.
The only thing unexpected was that after he numerous people, of whom where martial experts, to protect Ye Mu, Ye Li would actually dare use his men to take her away; callous to their lives, whether they died or get injured in the process.
He couldn’t fathom what the reason was for this brash decision on ye Li’s part. With Ye Li’s cold-blooded personality, he shouldn’t be able to remember an insignificant pawn like his daughter in the upcoming rebellion.
On the most crucial moment, why would did he go forth and take Ye Mu back?
For the first time, Mo Linyuan couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation. Nevertheless, when he thought about how Ye Mu could be hurt by Ye Li, he immediately blamed himself for not giving her enough protection…
Noticing that Mo Linyuan was caught in his own worries and would not to respond to him, the Second Prince rubbed his nose thoughtfully and slowly walked towards the bed.
Although the emperor had just died, there was no one around him. Originally, he should have died sooner, but Mo Linyuan wanted them to hang onto the emperor’s life, saying that it wasn’t his time ‘to die’ just yet.
If the emperor had died earlier, there would be no one left to command the imperial army. Moreover, it was still uncertain whose hands they would fall into. But now, with Ye Li’s victory against Prince Zhao, that left him scrambling for an escape, and the Emperor dead, the imperial army would fall into the second prince’s hands.
Therefore, the moment Ye Li would clash with Prince Zhao, it would be the time for the emperor to die.
The Second Prince glanced at the Emperor, but there was no change in his tranquil expression. He only used a blanket to cover the Emperor.
It didn’t matter if the Emperor died. If he died, then there wouldn’t be any more sufferings.
***
Meanwhile, Ye Mu was currently walking around the palace with one agenda in mind: she wanted to find Mo Linyuan. But with the thick battle happening around her right now, it was an impossible feat for her to break through the lines of battle to enter the inner palace.
How could I contact him? She was helpless when she suddenly saw the prince’s residence to the side. Her eyes suddenly lit up!
The last time he had taken her to the cellar, he had forbidden her to come back a second time. Yan Xu had also already lived in the prince’s estate back when he was still a child.
Ye Mu hurriedly ran towards the prince’s mansion. Through twists and turns, she finally arrived at a familiar location. And sure enough, just as she was about to enter the ice cellar, she was stopped.
“Who is it?!” The shadow guard that Yan Xu had sent to protect his mother’s body suddenly appeared and blocked Ye Mu on her path.
Ye Mu was breathing heavily from her non-stop running. When she saw the person, she only shouted, “My name is Ye Mu! I’m here to see Qi Yan!”
Qi Yan was Yan Xu’s real given name.
The shadow guard was stunned. Just as he felt that something was amiss, another male voice drifted out from inside. “Ye Mu?”
Yan Xu, donned in armor, was standing in front of her with a helmet in his arms. “What are you doing here?” he asked curiously.
When Ye Mu saw him, she also felt surprised, with a hint of relief mixed in it. However, from his current appearance, she knew that he was clearly planning to go to the battlefield, to fight till death.
Probably, before he would leave, he wanted to come her and bid his mother farewell.
“Yan…” Ye Mu looked at him with a complex expression. “Mo Linyuan and you have teamed up a long time ago, isn’t that right?”
Yan Xu frowned. After he waved for his shadow guards to retreat, only then did he say, “Right from the day I went to look for him and told him that you were sent to the Imperial Palace and given willingly to the emperor by Ye Li, he’d taken the initiative to form an alliance with me.”
Yan Xu could still vividly remember how livid Mo Linyuan was back then. To him, it was an unforgivable sin that Ye Mu would even be hurt in the slightest.
Ye Mu closed her eyes.
So, Mo Linyuan had been doing it for her all this time…
Ye Mu focused her sights and spoke again, “May I know why Ye Li, who has always been a cautious person, suddenly attack the Imperial Palace without regard for the consequences? Could it be that you did something?”
Yan Xu looked at her and only shook his head, “We didn’t do anything.”