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

Chapter 211 Dare to Fight Me One-on-One

The banners that blotted out the sky almost covered the entire city of Huizhou. Even Empress Dowager Gu, who had experienced many storms, felt a chill upon seeing such a magnificent scene.

"Has Tingchen sent any news back?" Empress Dowager Gu asked Gu Ye anxiously.

If her grand-nephew cannot quickly capture Yuezhou, then she fears there will be no way to turn the tide this time.

Seeing Gu Ye lower his head in a gloomy mood, Empress Dowager Gu already knew the result in her heart. She sighed silently, squinted and looked down at the city below, and said loudly, "Gu An, you traitorous scoundrel, what benefits did the emperor promise you that made you work so hard for him?"

Gu An glanced at Fu Mingchi beside him and said in a deep voice, "Prince Yongning, this old minister has no other requests now, only two things that I am worried about. The first is that I ask Your Highness to fulfill His Majesty's promise and treat the Gu family well in the future."

After a moment of silence, he continued, "The second thing is that my Gu family owes Wanwan a great deal, and I hope you will never let her down in this life."

"The Duke of Rong is a man of noble character and integrity, and I will certainly not break my word."

Thinking of Wan'er, who was still waiting for him in the capital, Fu Mingchi was already eager to return home: "As for Wan'er, there's no need for the Duke of Rong to worry about her."

Gu Ansi pondered for a moment and nodded: "Please wait a moment, Your Highness."

After saying this, he pulled on the reins and slowly rode forward. When he reached the pontoon bridge, he looked up at the city wall and shouted, "Aunt, the situation is hopeless. Stop now and don't let any more innocent soldiers be killed."

Empress Dowager Gu looked down at the high-spirited army of Daye below the city, then looked at the people around her, who were all dejected, and her heart sank considerably.

"Has Aunt forgotten how we escaped from Beidu thirty years ago?"

Gu An earnestly advised, "The royal family, the entire city's people, and millions of ordinary citizens were ravaged by the northern invaders' iron cavalry. Less than 30% of those who crossed the river to Lin'an survived. Do you really want to see such a tragedy repeat itself?"

Thinking of the tragic scene in Beidu back then, Empress Dowager Gu still felt lingering fear; it was a nightmare she did not want to recall.

"Am I really wrong?" Empress Dowager Gu asked, her voice trembling as she slowly closed her eyes.

“Aunt, surrender,” Gu Ye advised in a deep voice. “You are His Majesty’s legal mother. You rescued him from Lin’an and helped him ascend the throne. As long as you are willing to yield, His Majesty is magnanimous and will surely allow you to live out your old age in peace.”

Empress Dowager Gu gripped the city wall tightly with both hands, pondered for a long time, and finally compromised: "Open the city gates."

Gu Ye was about to order someone to go down and deliver the decree when he saw Gu Tingchen walk up with a knife in his hand: "Let's see who dares."

Striding up to Empress Dowager Gu, Gu Tingchen roared in anger, "Auntie, you can't resist temptation? You've kept the old emperor trapped in the palace for decades. If you surrender today, do you think he'll forgive you so easily?"

Empress Dowager Gu's expression froze for a moment: "Has Yuezhou been captured?"

Gu Tingchen sighed helplessly.

"If that's the case, what bargaining chips do you have left to fight for?" Empress Dowager Gu sighed, "Do you really want the 100,000 soldiers of Huizhou to be buried with you?"

"Huizhou is an important town of the imperial court, with ample supplies. How can we not fight for it?"

Gu Tingchen glared angrily at Fu Mingchi, who looked relaxed below the city: "Wanwan and I are childhood sweethearts. We have known each other since we were young. The first time I saw her, I vowed to marry her. How can I hand her over to this bastard Fu Mingchi?"

"For a woman, you're willing to sacrifice so many innocent soldiers' lives?"

Empress Dowager Gu grew increasingly disappointed as she listened: "Open the city gates."

"Grandson, ask your great-aunt one last time, is it really necessary to surrender?" Gu Tingchen stopped her, his anger barely contained.

Empress Dowager Gu lost her patience and stared intently at Gu Ye with an unusually determined look in her eyes.

Enraged, Gu Tingchen stabbed at Empress Dowager Gu in the chest and abdomen, shouting, "Whoever dares to surrender outside the city today will suffer the same fate as this old woman!"

He immediately drew his sharp blade and pushed Empress Dowager Gu off the city wall without hesitation.

The crowd watched in horror.

"aunt."

Gu An was heartbroken and immediately dismounted to greet the Empress Dowager, embracing her tightly. "An'er, you're right. I was wrong. I raised a wolf myself," a tear fell, and the Empress Dowager slowly closed her eyes in deep regret.

"evil creature."

Gu An stood up angrily, glaring at the people on the city wall: "How could my Gu family raise such a scoundrel like you who has no loyalty to the emperor or his father?"

"Father was wrong."

Looking down at the city walls, Gu Tingchen said fiercely, "This is all your fault. If it weren't for your spinelessness, my Gu family wouldn't be in this situation."

After saying this, he immediately looked at the soldiers everywhere and shouted, "Soldiers, if you do not want to become prisoners, today you will fight to the death with me and Prince Yongning."

Gu Ye suddenly felt troubled.

For a moment, I didn't know whose advice to take.

"Gu Ye, do you want to watch the entire Gu family be wiped out?" Gu An glared at the city wall with bloodshot eyes. "This wicked bastard killed his brother and mother, and today he even dared to kill the Empress Dowager. He has long since lost his humanity. Do you want to follow him and bring about the deaths of all the soldiers in Huizhou?"

"Big brother," Gu Ye looked at his most respected elder brother, bewildered, not understanding why he would abandon the Gu family.

If he had been willing to unite the armies of Yezhou and Qinzhou, the Gu family's wealth and status could still have been preserved.

“Gu Ye, we soldiers spend our lives on the battlefield to protect our homes and country. How can you bear to watch your brothers kill each other and turn your swords against your own flesh and blood?”

Gu An said sternly, "When you were young, you went to the northern border with me and saw the blood-stained mountains and rivers there. Now that the northern invaders' iron cavalry are marching south, you are still aiding and abetting the evildoers. Do you want to become a sinner of the world?"

Gu Ye raised an eyebrow: "But brother, if we give up Huizhou today, it's the same as completely abandoning the future of the Gu family."

"You damned thing, you're just as stubbornly clinging to your delusions."

Gu An held a knife to his own neck and shouted to the city walls, "Men of the Gu family, His Majesty has decreed that as long as you abandon darkness and embrace the light, His Majesty will forgive your past transgressions and is willing to pardon the Gu family. Your rebellious son, Gu Tingchen, who murdered his brother and mother, has long been condemned by Heaven. Today, I am willing to die to completely sever ties with this rebellious son. If anyone dares to be under his command, everyone has the right to kill him."

As soon as he finished speaking, the blade slashed across his neck, splattering blood everywhere, and Gu An collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Brother!" Gu Ye felt a sharp pain in his heart. Many of the Gu family soldiers were so frightened that they dropped their swords and called out "Clan Chief!"

"I command you to pick up your weapons and defend Huizhou City to the death!" Gu Tingchen was furious and drew his sword, pointing it angrily at the crowd.

"brute."

Unable to bear it any longer, Gu Ye drew his sword with wide eyes and shouted in a rough voice, "In accordance with the last orders of the Empress Dowager and the clan leader, capture this beast and surrender the city."

In an instant, the soldiers in the city surrounded Gu Tingchen, and the city walls were in chaos, with no one willing to fight anymore.

Fu Mingchi silently observed for a long time, looking at the corpses of Gu An and Empress Dowager Gu, and couldn't bear it, so he closed his eyes.

Before long, the city gates opened wide, and Gu Ye personally escorted Gu Tingchen out, and had the imperial seal delivered to Fu Mingchi.

Fu Mingchi merely glanced at the imperial seal before walking straight toward Gu Tingchen.

Despite being bound hand and foot, Gu Tingchen continued to struggle and shout, "Fu Mingchi, you despicable and shameless scoundrel, can you fight me one-on-one?"

"A one-on-one fight?"

Fu Mingchi sneered: "What would I want from a prisoner like you?"

He has more important things to do now, so why waste time on this person?

"Take him away and escort him back to Lin'an to be dealt with by His Majesty."

Fu Mingchi gave a calm instruction, and Ji Yunze led the Yuezhou army slowly towards them.