Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 438 Refusal to Submit, Even at the Cost of Death
"kill!!"

The shouts were like thunder, suddenly rang out, startling Yan Ciwan. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw thousands of soldiers riding horses toward her, with Lu Jinshu leading the way!

Yan Ciwan subconsciously took two steps back, but she quickly realized that her dissociative identity disorder had flared up again.

Lu Jinshu rode his horse through Yan Ciwan's body, followed by a massive army of horses, the clatter of hooves making the ground tremble.

Yan Ciwan looked around and found herself back in Chang'an. All the houses on both sides of the street had their doors and windows tightly closed. The remaining troops of the imperial court were still fighting desperately. Swords clashed, shouts and curses rose and fell.

Houses were set on fire, billowing thick smoke. The people hiding inside fled in panic. The unarmed elderly, women, and children had nowhere to escape and were unfortunately hit by stray arrows, falling down with screams.

Precious spices turned to ashes, porcelain and jade shattered on the ground, and treasured books were trampled beyond recognition by horses' hooves.

The once incredibly prosperous city of Chang'an was destroyed in an instant, and all that had happened seemed like a dream.

The Daye banner that stood atop the city tower was cut down, marking the end of the Daye Dynasty.

Once all the imperial troops involved in the city had been eliminated, the Zhenxi Army lined up neatly on both sides of the street, the city gates were opened wide, and the King of Xizhou was allowed to enter the city.

Yan Hengyu wore black armor, his red cloak fluttering in the wind, and his horse trotted forward step by step, trampling on the blood-soaked ground.

The soldiers of the three armies knelt on one knee in perfect unison.

Yan Ciwan was trapped in place and could not move. She looked at Yan Hengyu, who was getting closer and closer to her, and felt that he was both familiar and unfamiliar.

His appearance was the same as before, except that there were two deep wrinkles between his eyebrows, making him look extremely serious and cold. Coupled with his murderous aura, he was like a demon incarnate, inspiring fear in people.

In Yan Ciwan's memory, Yan Hengyu was an exceptionally easy-going father, kind and generous, whose gaze towards her was always warm, a stark contrast to the Yan Hengyu before her.

Or perhaps, the person in front of you is the real Yan Hengyu.

She was blinded by family ties before, which is why she couldn't see his true colors.

As Yan Hengyu rode his horse through her body, the scene before her eyes suddenly changed.

She arrived at the palace and saw Fu Zheng bound hand and foot, kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and in a sorry state.

Lu Jinshu kicked him in the chest and demanded, "Where did Li Baizhou run off to?"

Fu Zheng fell to the ground, spitting blood, but remained silent.

At this moment, Yan Hengyu walked in. Lu Jinshu bowed to him and said, "I ordered my men to search the entire palace, but we couldn't find Li Baizhou. He must have escaped from the palace."

Yan Hengyu walked slowly to Fu Zheng, looked down at the man lying on the ground barely clinging to life, and said slowly.

"You are indeed a talented general, but unfortunately you followed the wrong master."

Fu Zheng spat out the blood and saliva in his mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "You're a ruthless person too. You're willing to sacrifice even your own daughter to achieve great things."

Upon hearing the word "daughter," Yan Hengyu frowned, his expression turning cold and grim: "You are the ones who killed my daughter. I reluctantly sent her to Chang'an, only to have you force her to commit suicide and falsely accuse her of plotting against the Crown Prince. How can I tolerate this? Now that Chang'an has fallen, Li Baizhou can only flee like a stray dog. All of this is your own fault."

Fu Zheng seemed to have heard a funny joke, grinning to reveal a mouthful of blood-red teeth, laughing unrestrainedly.

"Hahaha! Do you really think I don't know anything? The Princess Leyou you sent to Chang'an is a fake. She is actually the daughter of Ji Songluo and the Emperor. The real Princess Leyou is long dead!"

Yan Hengyu remained silent. Knowing he was doomed, Fu Zheng wanted to provoke his enemy before he died, so he continued speaking to himself.

"That night, I saw Ji Songluo run out of the Zichen Palace with my own eyes. She had already slept with the Emperor before she married you, but unfortunately you were cuckolded without even knowing it. If you don't believe me, you can go back and ask your concubine Ji what she has to say."

That night, Yan Hengyu brought Ji Songluo to Li Baizhou's bed, so he naturally knew what would happen between the two of them.

He didn't love Ji Songluo, nor did he care whether she would cheat on him.

"Is this all the nonsense you want to say when you're about to die?"

Seeing that he remained unmoved, Fu Zheng was very unwilling and continued, "You only have two daughters in total. Yan Tingyu was born to Consort Ji and another man. Only Yan Ciwan is your biological daughter, but you actually listened to the instigators and killed your only flesh and blood! You deserve to be childless for the rest of your life!"

Lu Jinshu stomped hard on his head and ordered, "Shut up."

Yan Hengyu said expressionlessly, "Let him continue."

Lu Jinshu withdrew his foot, and Fu Zheng, lying on the ground, coughed twice before panting and saying, "Back then, Ning Qingyang rejected the Emperor's advances for your sake. She gave up the fine clothes and delicacies of the palace and insisted on following you to that remote place in Xizhou to suffer. How did you repay her? If Ning Qingyang were still alive, she would definitely regret following such a heartless and ungrateful person as you!"

Yan Hengyu asked, enunciating each word clearly.

"You mean Ah Yang rejected Li Baizhou's advances?"

Fu Zheng's face was full of mockery: "Although the Sage didn't say it, I know that he secretly went to see Ning Qingyang that night. He wanted to rekindle their old relationship, but he returned to the Zichen Palace not long after. Judging from his frustrated look, I knew he hadn't succeeded. Later, Ning Qingyang went to Xizhou with you. The Sage sent someone to deliver a letter to her, but she never replied with a single word..."

Before Fu Zheng could finish speaking, Yan Hengyu turned and left impatiently.

A moment later, Yan Ciwan arrived at a bedroom. Judging from the furnishings, it should be a woman's room. Ji Songluo sat on the edge of the bed, holding her daughter's belongings and silently shedding tears.

The door was suddenly pushed open, and Yan Hengyu strode in.

He immediately asked, "When you slept with Li Baizhou back then, did Li Baizhou say anything to you?"

Ji Songluo was both surprised and frightened, her cheeks turning bright red.

Why did you suddenly bring this up?

Yan Hengyu grabbed her collar and demanded, "Speak!"

Ji Songluo had never seen him so fierce, like a man-eating beast. She trembled with fear and managed to say, "Li Baizhou mistook me for Ning Qingyang. He kept calling me A-Yang."

"anything else?"

He also said that he knew I had feelings for him, and that my previous refusal to submit was just an act.

The words "I'd rather die than submit" were like a sharp knife, piercing Yan Hengyu's heart and making him numb all over, almost unable to breathe.

"Why didn't you tell me these things sooner?" He practically forced the words out from between his teeth.

Ji Songluo stammered, "You...you didn't ask either."

(End of this chapter)