Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 405 Abandoning the Army to Save the King
The emperor felt the chill emanating from the blade, his brows furrowing slowly. He said in a deep voice, "I ordered you to stay at home and not go out, yet you disobey my imperial decree?!"

Pei Yan sneered: "I already have so many crimes on my record, what's one more charge of disobeying the imperial edict?"

The emperor glanced at Yan Ciwan out of the corner of his eye, and was very disappointed: "You actually conspired with him to plot against me?"

"They threatened me with Grandma's life. I had no choice. I'm sorry." Yan Ciwan's eyes revealed deep regret.

Pei Yan deliberately said in a mocking tone, "You were worried just now that the emperor wouldn't come, but now you see, he still cares about you a lot."

Yan Ciwan's face showed indignation. She said bitterly, "I have done as you said. Can you release my grandmother now?!"

Pei Yan: "No rush, let's wait a little longer."

The emperor glanced at the knife in his hand and said coldly, "You'd better think this through. The crime of regicide is no small matter. Even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you will not escape death."

“Escape? Your Majesty underestimates me. I never even considered escaping,” Pei Yan said calmly. “I have spent half my life on the battlefield and finally achieved my current position. How could I possibly give it up? Your Majesty, I invited you here not to kill you, but to have a proper talk with you.”

The emperor glanced at the knife pressed against his neck and asked coldly, "Do you look like you want to have a proper conversation with me?"

"I have no choice but to do this. If I express my desire to see His Majesty, would he be willing to see me? Knowing you as I do, I know you would definitely not pay any attention to me. So I have no choice but to resort to some extreme measures."

The emperor, no longer wanting to listen to his nonsense, asked directly, "What exactly do you want?"

“I know that the Dali Temple has discovered my identity. His Majesty intends to abandon the army to save the general. Everyone is looking out for themselves, and I can understand His Majesty’s decision. But I have a way to give the court officials and the people an explanation while also saving my life and not putting His Majesty in a difficult position.”

The emperor became somewhat interested: "Tell me about it."

While they were talking, Yan Ciwan gently turned the silver ring on her index finger, then pressed the mechanism on the inside of the ring, and a small blade protruded from the front of the ring.

This ring was a gift from Xiao Wang; inside the ring was a poisoned needle and a razor blade.

She had already used up her poison needles when dealing with the Venerable Envoy, but Xiao Wang later helped her replace them.

She cut the rope with a razor blade, moving very slowly to avoid being discovered.

Pei Yan slowly said, "Since I can't use this identity now anyway, I might as well go with the flow. His Majesty can issue an order to convict me. After I'm imprisoned, His Majesty can find someone with a similar build and appearance to take my place and receive the death penalty. I can change my identity and appearance and continue to serve His Majesty."

The emperor looked thoughtful.

Yan Ciwan's mind raced. Pei Yan's method seemed feasible, but there would be many uncertainties in its actual implementation, and the possibility of it being perfectly implemented in the end was actually very low.

Pei Yan continued, "The King of Xizhou is a wolf in sheep's clothing and has always coveted the throne. Once he receives news of the Crown Princess's death, he will definitely seize the opportunity to raise an army. There are many military generals in the court, but I am the only one who can truly contend with the King of Xizhou. Keeping me alive will be of great use to His Majesty."

Yan Ciwan looked at the emperor and saw that he remained silent for a long time, seemingly having been truly persuaded.

The emperor said, "I need time to consider."

Pei Yan: "I know the witness who identified me will arrive in Chang'an soon, and I don't have much time left. So I'm sorry, Your Majesty, you must make a decision now. Do you want us both to live together, or do you want us to perish together here?"

The emperor felt the blade move slightly against his neck, and a slight pain shot through his neck, indicating that his neck had been cut.

His face darkened: "Fine, we'll do it your way."

Pei Yan's face broke into a smile: "Truly worthy of His Majesty, you have guts!" "Now you can put the sword away, right?"

"No rush. Words alone are not convincing; they must be written down in black and white. I know that His Majesty's calligraphy is very precious, so there is no need for His Majesty to write it himself. I have already written a copy here; you only need to sign and affix your seal on it."

After Pei Yan finished speaking, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket with one hand and handed it to the emperor.

The emperor took the paper, and upon seeing what was written on it, his expression immediately changed drastically.

He quickly crumpled the paper into a ball and angrily said, "Everything you wrote on this is fabricated. I would never sign it!"

Yan Ciwan's intuition told her that there must be something very important written on that piece of paper. She really wanted to see what was written on it, but because she was tied up and couldn't move, she could only worry anxiously.

Pei Yan seemed to have anticipated the emperor's reaction. He said calmly, "Your Majesty, please don't get agitated. I'm asking you to sign this paper now only to put my mind at ease. As long as Your Majesty can guarantee my safety, I will never take this paper out again."

The emperor refused without hesitation: "Don't even think about it!"

"Your Majesty, please think carefully before making a decision. My worthless life is not worth much, but Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, possessing a vast empire. If you were to die here, wouldn't that be a pity?"

The emperor felt the wound on his neck was hurting even more.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead; he had never been so close to death as he was now.

He slowly unfolded the paper, looked at what was written on it, his expression changing several times before finally making a compromise.

"I can sign, I hope you can keep your word."

Pei Yan promised, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that as long as I live, I will never allow anything to happen to Your Majesty."

"Give me the pen."

Pei Yan was prepared and took out a small calligraphy brush from his pocket with one hand.

The emperor took the brush: "There's no ink."

"Due to limited resources, ink is unavailable. Your Majesty can use your own blood."

The emperor frowned even more deeply. He suppressed his displeasure, raised his hand to touch his neck, and immediately felt blood. It seemed that his neck had indeed been cut.

He wrote his name on the paper with his blood-stained index finger and then pressed his fingerprint on it.

Pei reached out to take the paper.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the edge of the paper, a silver needle suddenly shot out!
He immediately returned to parrying, and with a clang, the silver needle struck the blade and was violently deflected.

The emperor took the opportunity to retreat and raised his hand to tear the paper, but Pei Yan raised his knife and slashed at him!
At the critical moment, Yan Ciwan endured the pain of her leg wound tearing open, threw off the quilt and rushed over. She held the emperor with both hands and knocked him to the ground.

Pei Yan reacted extremely quickly, swiftly changing the direction of his sword, the blade slicing across Yan Ciwan's back.

Ignoring the pain, Yan Ciwan seized the opportunity to snatch the paper from the emperor's hand, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it aside.