I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 197 Dead End
"Impossible!" Ji Yunze stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "The Prince Qi's mansion only has a few hundred guards. Where would he get the audacity to rebel?"

"You're really stubborn." Fu Mingchi said angrily, knocking him to the ground with a spear: "If anything happens to Wan'er, I will grind you to dust."

After saying this, he hurriedly inquired about the situation inside the palace. Upon learning that Ji Ningxi had led people to chase after Wan'er and the emperor, Fu Mingchi felt extremely anxious and directly ordered the Divine Might Army: "Everyone, listen to my command and follow me out of the west city to rescue the emperor."

Commander Qian raised an eyebrow: "Prince Yongning, did you not hear that the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Seal are both in Cining Palace?"

"You scoundrel!" Fu Mingchi interrupted him angrily, "The Divine Might Army has always been His Majesty's personal army. You must not forget your duties."

Even if Prince Qi's troops occupy Cining Palace, they won't be able to cause any trouble. On the other hand, Gu Tingchen, that devil, still has tens of thousands of imperial guards under his command. If he finds out that he has been tricked by Wan'er, he will definitely not let her off easily once he catches up with her.

He immediately ordered Han Jin to open the city gates, and Fu Mingchi led the Shenwei Army towards the west of the city without stopping.

Ye Wanshu led the emperor on a long and arduous journey, finally managing to escape the palace. She intended to find a private residence to temporarily avoid the storm, but unexpectedly, Ji Ningxi and the people from the Qi Prince's Mansion came after them.

Thinking of how Gu Tingzhou led the cavalry in a bloody battle in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation for two hours, yet Prince Qi still did not appear, she now roughly understood the reason.

I'm afraid it's my half-sister who's causing trouble.

This person is truly incredibly stupid. Prince Qi has already missed the best opportunity. Instead of gathering everyone to control Empress Dowager Gu, he has sent troops to chase after him and the deposed emperor. Is this not out of personal resentment?

Now that she had escaped the palace, she absolutely could not fall into the hands of this fool again.

He immediately pulled out a thick wad of silver notes from his pocket and threw them into the air. When the passersby saw the gleaming silver notes, they all rushed forward to grab them.

Seeing a carriage stop, Ye Wanshu tossed five silver notes to the coachman and said, "I'll use these silver notes to exchange for this carriage."

The coachman grinned from ear to ear at the sight of the five hundred taels of silver notes. He immediately made way for the emperor, and Ye Wanshu helped him quickly board the carriage. She then instructed the chief eunuch to drive the horse westward in haste.

Hearing the shouts fading into the distance behind him, the emperor remained uneasy: "Girl, do you think Prince Yongning will dare to enter Lin'an this time?"

“Your Majesty should trust the person you have chosen,” Ye Wanshu said with unwavering certainty. “He will definitely come.”

The emperor sighed softly: "I'm afraid he's only after that jade seal."

This question stumped Ye Wanshu.

In comparison, at this critical juncture, for Fu Mingchi, taking control of Empress Dowager Gu and the Imperial Seal is indeed the best option.

Helping the emperor regain the throne has actually caused some trouble.

After all, if one can become emperor directly, no one would want to step down to the position of crown prince.

Her return to Lin'an was originally to assist Fu Mingchi in protecting the emperor. If he could indeed control the Empress Dowager and seize the imperial seal, she could then retire gracefully.

"Your Majesty, if Prince Yongning chooses the Imperial Seal, will you hate him?" Ye Wanshu asked directly, without beating around the bush.

Emperor Zhaolie smiled faintly: "Who in the world does not yearn for that throne? Since I have chosen him, I will naturally not regret it. I only hope that he will not let me down, nor let down this world."

Having spent so many years in open and covert struggles with the Empress Dowager, Emperor Zhaolie now felt much more indifferent.

Seeing the faint worry on his face, Ye Wanshu guessed that the emperor was worried that he would have no way to survive today.

"Your Majesty, we must not give up until the very last moment," Ye Wanshu advised. "Your Majesty, I will certainly protect you and help you escape."

Hearing the approaching hoofbeats behind her, Ye Wanshu calmly said, "If we are destined to meet our doom today, I am willing to die with Your Majesty."

Emperor Zhaolie was moved by her integrity and nodded with satisfaction: "She truly deserves to be Ji Yuan's daughter."

The carriage sped westward, and after an unknown amount of time, the interior became increasingly swaying. The pursuers were closing in. Ye Wanshu peeked back through a crack and saw several archers firing arrows into the carriage. "Your Majesty, be careful!"

Ye Wanshu shouted and pulled the emperor down quickly.

The carriage jolted violently for a moment before suddenly overturning to the ground.

Hearing the shouts of battle rising and falling behind them, Ye Wanshu hurriedly pulled the emperor out of the carriage. Seeing that the old eunuch had been hit by a stray arrow and was pinned to the ground, she had no choice but to help the emperor and run forward desperately.

"My dear sister, you can't escape today. Quickly hand over His Majesty to me, and I'll spare your life."

Hearing Ji Ningxi's provocative voice behind her, Ye Wanshu looked up and saw that there was no way out.

Running to the edge of the cliff, looking down, all you could see was the surging river.

Emperor Zhaolie closed his eyes helplessly: "Girl, I've dragged you into this."

"Your Majesty is joking," Ye Wanshu said dismissively. "Even without Your Majesty, my sister would never have spared my life."

"Your Majesty, I have no intention of offending you. As long as you hand over this wretched woman to me and issue an edict establishing Prince Qi as the Crown Prince, I am willing to guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and honor," Ji Ningxi said loudly as she surrounded the others.

“Miss Ji is truly incredibly foolish.” Emperor Zhaolie curled his lips in disdain: “When I was in power, I had already issued an edict to establish an heir. Now that I have abdicated, how can I establish an heir again?”

"Your Majesty, I urge you to reconsider," said the Prince of Qi, displeased. "Even if Your Majesty refuses to issue this edict today, my father can still smoothly ascend the throne."

Hearing this, Ye Wanshu shook her head and chuckled softly: "Since that's the case, why does Your Highness still insist on pursuing me and His Majesty?"

Remembering that the heir of the Prince Qi's mansion was a clear-headed man, Ye Wanshu seized the opportunity to advise, "My eldest cousin sacrificed his life for you and your father, yet you betrayed him. Now the entire cavalry has been wiped out. Instead of seizing the opportunity to reclaim the Imperial Seal, you sent troops to chase after me and His Majesty. Do you really think you can rely on His Majesty to turn the tide?"

Prince Qi had previously felt that his father shouldn't have listened to Aunt Ji's words. After hearing Ye Wanshu's advice, he glared at Ji Ningxi with great resentment.

“Your Highness, don’t listen to her instigation,” Ji Ningxi said sternly. “As long as we capture His Majesty and persuade my father to lead the officials to pledge allegiance to Prince Qi, we still have a chance to reclaim the throne for your father.”

"That's the only way," the prince sighed deeply.

Ji Ningxi was secretly delighted, but immediately looked at Ye Wanshu with resentment: "Ever since this little bitch returned to the Ji family, my father has become a different person. Now I order you to kill her, so that my father will only listen to me from now on."

Without further hesitation, the Prince Qi drew his sword with a sinister look in his eyes: "Miss Ji, I'm sorry to offend you, but Prince Dao'an killed my two sisters. Today, I'll take you down to avenge them."

"With me here, you won't be able to hurt her." Emperor Zhaolie stood in front of Ye Wanshu with a deep look in his eyes: "If you are willing to let this girl go, I am willing to go back with you, otherwise I would rather fall into the river with her."

"Your Majesty really overestimates yourself." Ji Ningxi sneered, "Your Majesty, don't forget that the Gu brothers were fighting in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation today. If Your Majesty were to commit suicide, I, as the elder sister, would be perfect to be branded as a regicide."

"You," Emperor Zhaolie's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Ji Ningxi had clearly lost her patience and urged urgently, "Young Master, what are you waiting for? Make your move."

Prince Qi slowly raised his sword and swung it directly towards the two of them.

"His Majesty."

As the light of the sword was reflected by the setting sun, Ye Wanshu instinctively stepped in front of Emperor Zhaolie.

Just as the blade was about to fall, a dark figure darted in.

By the time he realized it was a sharp arrow, the arrowhead had already pierced straight through the chest and abdomen of Prince Qi's heir, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

“Fu Mingchi.” Ye Wanshu’s heart, which had been as still as stagnant water, was immediately stirred.