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

Chapter 225 Killing and Punishing the Heart

With the news that the Crown Prince of Daqiu was about to enter Lin'an, the entire city of Lin'an was filled with panic.

On the night of Laba Festival, Qian Zhang, the commander of the Imperial Guards, took it upon himself to mobilize 30,000 Shenwei Army soldiers to launch a night attack on the Eastern Palace. However, he was instead killed by the Daqiu Iron Cavalry. Overnight, the area around the Eastern Palace was littered with corpses and rivers of blood. Qian Zhang's head was even hung outside Zhengyang Gate.

In order to win over the hearts of the people before his brother entered Lin'an, Helian Jiu began to order his men to plunder the city.

When the news reached the Ji residence, Consort Zhang was furious.

"Qian Zhang is so muddleheaded," said Consort Zhang indignantly. "Since the Crown Prince of Daqiu is preparing to come to Lin'an, the best course of action is to remain still and lure the enemy deep into our territory. Why would he provoke the people of Daqiu?"

Ye Wanshu was certain that Fu Mingchi would seize the opportunity to intercept and kill the Crown Prince of Daqiu. As long as he made a breakthrough in the northern border, Helian Jiu and the delegation she brought would surely die without a burial place.

However, after the incident at the Eastern Palace, she also realized that the Daqiu Iron Cavalry was indeed terrifying and should not be underestimated.

"The people of the court were already afraid of the Daqiu people, and now that the Shenwei Army has been destroyed, the people of Daye will probably lose all confidence."

Ye Wanshu said, "We must not let the people's morale fall apart. Once Helian Jiu completely enslaves the people of Lin'an, Your Highness and the soldiers on the border will also be in a difficult situation."

"Helian Jiu only has five thousand iron cavalry under his command, how could he have inflicted such a crushing defeat on the Imperial Guards?" Consort Zhang sighed. "If my brother-in-law were still alive, how would they dare to be so arrogant?"

"It's just that people in our dynasty are all different." Ye Wanshu closed her eyes helplessly: "If everyone could have the determination of the Mu family army to fight to the death, let alone five thousand iron cavalry, what would we have to fear even if it were the thousands of troops of Daqiu?"

"Currently, there are no troops from Daye that can be mobilized in Lin'an City. If Helian Jiu continues to act recklessly, I am truly worried about everyone's safety." Consort Zhang frowned deeply. "I also wonder if Mingchi has already arrived at Jiayu Pass?"

Just as everyone in the room was at a loss, Tingfeng and Tao Anran hurriedly walked in.

Ji Yunze and Qin Chulin followed behind them.

"Ji Yunze, how dare you return to Lin'an without permission?"

Upon seeing Ji Yunze, Consort Zhang immediately showed her displeasure.

"Your Highness, please calm down." Tingfeng explained, "When Sima Ji heard in Qizhou that General Yu Bai was leading soldiers from several prefectures to the northern border in secret, he guessed that His Highness the Crown Prince was preparing to fight a decisive battle with the Daqiu army. However, the morale in Lin'an was low, and Young Master Ji was worried that Lin'an would become chaotic, so he deliberately came to relieve the siege."

Ye Wanshu glanced behind Ji Yunze and saw no sign of Zhao Yun and Zhao Yingying's family, so she roughly guessed that this must have been Zhao Changshi's idea.

After all, in their eyes, Ji Yunze was already a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water. If he insisted on returning to Lin'an, neither His Majesty nor Fu Mingchi would put him to death.

"Young Master Ji, did you come to Lin'an alone?" Ye Wanshu asked deliberately.

Ji Yunze carefully glanced at Consort Zhang, then respectfully clasped his hands and said, "Following General Yu Bai's instructions, and following Your Highness's usual route of advance, I have secretly assembled eight thousand Qizhou soldiers and brought them to Lin'an. They are currently stationed outside the city."

Upon hearing this, Consort Zhang's face lit up with joy, and she looked at Ye Wanshu with delight: "Wan'er, what are your plans now?"

"Your Highness has endured until now in order to awaken the people of Daye's determination to resist."

Ye Wanshu said, "Since Daqiu occupied Beidu, our dynasty has lost large swathes of territory. They have been managing the northern border for decades and now have a large army and many generals. Your Majesty and Your Highness are determined to fight against the Daqiu people. This is not something that can be reversed by just one or two battles. We must unite the people and make them of one mind in order to fight a protracted war against the Daqiu people."

After thinking for a moment, she immediately said, "Your Highness, I must go to the palace and try to see His Majesty."

Consort Zhang nodded: "Alright, I will accompany you into the palace."

“No, the Dowager Consort must not leave the Ji residence,” Ye Wanshu advised. “I’m afraid Helian Jiu doesn’t know that His Highness has already left Lin’an. The reason she’s acting so recklessly is to force His Highness to show himself.”

Glancing around at everyone in the manor, Ye Wanshu continued, "Furthermore, the entire household still relies on the Dowager Consort's protection." At this point, she suddenly looked at Zhu Wencai: "By the way, General Zhu, how are Ayin and my cousins ​​doing at the Duke's manor?"

"Don't worry, Miss Ye," Zhu Wencai said. "I have arranged for people to guard the Rongguo Duke's mansion, so they wouldn't dare to cause any trouble."

"I'd like to trouble General Zhu to bring them to the Ji residence," Ye Wanshu instructed.

Ji Yunze guessed that her purpose in entering the palace this time was not simple, and quickly said, "Princess, let me accompany you into the palace."

Ye Wanshu shook her head: "Young Master Ji, it was not easy for you to bring the Qizhou army to Lin'an. You must seize the opportunity. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the Shenwei Army. The iron cavalry of Daqiu should not be underestimated."

After saying this, Ye Wanshu stopped everyone inside the house and said loudly, "Everyone, please stay."

Afterwards, she took only Chunhong and Xingtao back to change into the princess's court dress and headed straight for the palace.

Upon learning that Princess Jinghe had entered the palace, the people of Daqiu did not stop her. After sending her to Qianqing Palace, they quickly sent someone to the East Palace to inform Helian Jiu of the news.

"I didn't expect that bitch would finally come out," Helian Jiu said with delight. "I thought she would stay cooped up in the Ji family and wouldn't dare to go out."

“Princess, I have recruited 100,000 young men from Daye in Lin’an City these past few days. They are all willing to submit to my Great Qiu. In my opinion, it would be better to kill that little wretch and the emperor directly, and force the Crown Prince of Daye to come to see you,” Changrong advised.

"You pig-brain," Helian Jiu said with a sneer, "If we kill that puppet emperor, who else will obey us?"

She paused for a moment, then added, "As for that little bitch, she is, after all, Ji Yuan's daughter. I've heard that Ji Yuan has quite a bit of prestige. Killing her rashly would inevitably provoke some people to object."

"What should we do then?" Changrong asked.

Helian Jiu smiled faintly: "Go and bring the emperor and that slut to the Eastern Palace. I want them to kneel before me, and then all the people will submit."

"Princess, your move is brilliant in striking at the heart of the enemy," Changrong said smugly. "If the emperor and princess of the Great Ye Dynasty kneel down, who would dare not submit?"

Helian Jiu waved his hand triumphantly: "Go quickly, I don't believe Fu Mingchi won't show himself."

"Yes."

Just as Changrong was about to leave, Helian Jiu suddenly remembered something and called him back: "By the way, I remember that the rebellious Prince Dao'an has been escorted back to Lin'an. Have someone bring him to see me."

"Yes, Your subordinate will go right away," Changrong replied.

The moment Ye Wanshu entered the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhaolie was utterly astonished: "Jinghe, why have you entered the palace?"

Looking around, he said with great concern, "Aren't you just throwing yourself into the lion's den?"

Ye Wanshu walked up to him and looked at his haggard face, feeling particularly distressed: "Your Majesty should take care of your health."

"I am fine, but Qian Zhang's recklessness and anger have implicated the Shenwei Army and caused chaos in Lin'an. I am deeply saddened by this."

Emperor Zhaolie pulled her to his side and asked in a low voice, "What is the situation outside right now? Where is the Crown Prince? You should stay by his side so that you can be safe."

"Your Highness should already be at Jiayu Pass by now," Ye Wanshu replied in a low voice. "This humble woman was worried about Your Majesty's safety, so I wanted to come and visit you."

"Silly girl, how could your little thoughts escape my notice?" Emperor Zhaolie said with heartache, "You want to emulate your father and die for your country, so as to awaken the people's determination to resist, don't you?"