The Imperial Army moved toward Suliang without ceasing. Their entourage arrived at the north gates bringing dust.
At the gates, the Censor and other officials from Tanglin were personally invited in by Prince Ping's closest confidant. The soldiers were to camp not too far away from the gates. As per courtesy, they were not allowed to enter Suliang.
For some reason, these officials from the capital treated Xiao Bao as their long-lost brother. One should know that people from Tanglin always felt superior. When did they ever greet someone so warmly?
However, the young man didn't change expressions one bit and was very professional in leading them to Prince Ping Manor.
In the main hall, the officials were received by Junwang and Junwangfei and a line of servants with the two concubines.
Looking at this grand display, who would have known that there was an ongoing war on the borders?
The peace inside the inner walls wasn't the least bit disrupted by the faint explosions they had heard all day.
Again, these Tanglin people except for the Censor were enthusiastic upon seeing Prince and Princess Ping. They were humble in their actions and warm in their greetings which puzzled them both.
Long Sangyu was prepared for a bloody battle but was instead greeted by smiling faces. It was baffling.
As the Prince invited them for a meal, the leader of these officials rose from his seat.
"Your Highness, these humble officials were originally sent here to deliver a message so we won't delay Prince Ping at all."
The Censor then took out a golden scroll from a lacquered box.
"Prince Ping of Suliang, hear the decree!"
The whole household of Ping Junwangfu knelt. Long Sangyu's mind raced. What could it be?
"The Son of Heaven is benevolent and upright and has treated Wan Li and Ping with kindness from a young age. His Majesty is truly grateful for the Prince's meritorious deed. The letter of report about King Wan Li's hidden iron mine is duly received. Prince Ping is thereby ordered to personally arrest the treasonous King who is now demoted to a commoner and will be facing trials at the Tanglin Court."
Thunder exploded inside Long Sangyu's mind.
Letter? Report? Iron mine?
He had never sent any letters! What treason?
His lips dried in an instant and he couldn't speak as he received a copy of the letter he supposedly wrote and sent to the Emperor. It was undoubtedly his writing and the seal wasn't fake. Sangyu's breathing was labored and his hands shook.
How? His mind raced, thinking back to everything that happened as though he might find some clues. And then his heart stopped. There was only one other person who accompanied him in the study day and night.
That person was standing not too far away behind him with his straight back and upright face.
It was Princess Consort Ping who tugged his sleeve to accept the decree.
Sangyu exhaled. He couldn't let anyone see his struggle.
So the Prince gave a dazzling smile as though the day that he had always dreamed of finally came. "This subject-prince obeys!"
Only he knew the murderous intentions he was trying to swallow with all his might.
Today was the birth of the vicious two-faced prince. If Feng Yanyan was here, he would have noticed this was the original setting of Ping Junwang.
---
Back in the borders, Long Xu Le felt the upward slope under her feet and knew that Taize was leading her inner toward the city walls.
"You're attempting to die with me." She uttered this calmly while her sword was still violently crashing unto the opponent.
The King of Hu Ren cut a sorry figure now after several exchanges of hits. But he was excited.
"Are you scared, Wan Li?" His foreign accent was thick. "I know your secret!"
Who would have known that the person the grassland people feared the most was currently blind?
All around them, the war was at its peak. But Taize didn't care about the flying arrows here and there or the spears that might fall any minute.
He only had one goal.
Of course, he wouldn't be too successful at sneaking away. The Danwan soldiers would still notice where he wanted to take their commander.
Several arrows flew towards him but he didn't care. The fire that burned nearby foliage almost reached them but the two kept their sword dance.
One was dignified and the other was too wounded to be recognized.
Long Xu Le didn't care. Taize would die soon under her hands. Even the lack of vision couldn't stop that.
She danced and danced with the dangerous blade as though she had never done it in this life. No holding back. There was no reason to be restrained now.
In the distance from them, her soldiers shouted, "Commander!"
But they couldn't get close. For the Hu Ren people, this was their last stand and King Taize was obviously planning something.
In this moment of high-strung emotions, the copper skinned King took out a dynamite from his chest all of a sudden.
"Not good!"
But no matter how much they shouted or ran, it was too late.
The last thing they saw was King Taize lighting the wick and everyone turned deaf and blind.
For a while, soil rained down and dust floated.
---
"Once you see the smoke signal, no matter where you are, no matter what you do... the only order is escape. All high-ranking officers should scatter. Tell them to remember never go back to Suliang if they don't want to die. At that time, ben dian won't be with you anymore."
Before they parted, King Wan Li seriously left these words. Long Xu Le already knew that the Empress came to Suliang for trouble.
If Yao Ducheng wanted Wan Li Wang to die then the officers who were loyal to her would be affected.
For their sake, she had to cut the battle short. Every minute Her Highness could buy meant another life was saved.
That was why she didn't hold back and directly showed the aces she had been hiding all these years.
The black smoke signal from the watchtowers in the south meant the battle was over and reinforcements were needed to clean the outer districts.
When General Su saw this, he didn't know why his heart was heavy but his mind was resolute. "Retreat to the mountains and scatter!"
Under him was the most elite thousand man troop of Danwan. If the Empress knew this, none of these men would live by the next day.
Their location was nearest the inner districts so they were also nearest to the danger. If their escape wasn't timely, everything would be for naught."
"Stop everything you're doing and retreat!" Similar orders echoed.
Soon the color of the smoke signals changed to red. Su Chen saw this and didn't stop but his knees suddenly became unstable and his eyes were hot.
"Don't stop!" He shouted with a muffled voice. His throat constricted. "This is her last order!"
In other armies, red smoke signals meant there were enemies nearby but in Danwan, red meant life.
It was the life of their Commander!
These thousand soldiers were hardened by time and their training had been the most intense. But at this moment, all of them felt the anguish and tears couldn't help but run down from their faces.
However, they were now considered fugitives and they couldn't even stop.
When the red signal floated and the sound of war drums didn't stop, Long Sangyu was in the empty Zhongqing courtyard.
Wan Li Wangfu seemed to be also in a state of war. The mei ren from Tanglin were all apprehended together with the servants, eunuchs and court ladies. None of them were spared.
At first, everyone still welcomed the Imperial Army because of the appearance of Prince Ping. But then, those smarter people knew those from Tanglin wouldn't visit so casually in a critical moment like this.
Those who stood up against the Imperial Army were slain without mercy.
But Long Sangyu just watched with a calm and gentle face.
The Censor accompanied him all this time and watched his every movement. It was apparent that it was the Prince who betrayed his sister but the Censor wasn't so complacent.
It could still be possible that all of these were staged. So his job here wasn't just to see King Wan Li getting arrested or dead but also to watch Prince Ping for any suspicious behavior.
Wasn't the relationship between the King and Prince of Suliang always praised to be very close?
The Censor sneered in his heart. In the face of power, even the purest sibling relationship could be abandoned. Who would have known that the famous humanitarian prince could be as coldhearted as the demon King of Suliang? But now that he sold his sister, could it be said that His Highness was the real cruel demon?
Until the red smoke signal rose up to the orange skies and the sun was setting in the horizon, the Censor's hawk eyes didn't relax.
"Asking your Highness, just now the black smoke meant the end of battle. Then what does this red smoke mean?"
The man in his 40s had a vague guess in his heart but still pretended to be ignorant.
Prince Ping was in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. This was the same place where he first fought his sister one night. The place where he rebelled against her.
He slowly turned to the Censor with a brilliant smile on his face. "Da ren must know the good news. Wan Li Wang is no more!"
With this, the Censor's doubts cleared.
Junwang was indeed a white eyed wolf.
Suliang's King had fallen.
---
Melo has something to say: This is a heavy chapter for me because I want to portray the characters' conflicting emotions. Duty and personal feelings, grief, pain and pretense. I hope I wrote it effectively, tell me how you feel.