Her guards

Chapter 265 Withdrawal
"Reinforcements? There's no way there will be any reinforcements!"

Upon hearing the scout's report, the Wei family members, grieving the death of Master Wei Qi, immediately cried out.

Prince Mo's surprise attack on Qin'an City from Wu City involved a small number of people, and he even left a double in Wu City, which is why he was not discovered and caught them off guard.

If Prince Mo's men are mobilized in large numbers...

That's impossible!
“What kind of manpower does he have! The people who helped him start the rebellion were people we arranged. They appear to be subservient to Prince Mo, but in reality, they are also monitoring him.”

It's impossible to let Prince Mo leave with his men.

"Have you considered that the reinforcements might be the imperial army?"

Wei Cui's voice rang out.

Everyone looked at Wei Cui, who sat silently behind the table.

The imperial army?
"He's a traitor! How could the court do this?" everyone exclaimed in unison.

Wei Cui looked at the scout: "You said the reinforcements used heavy crossbows?"

The scout nodded: "Yes, the range is very long, so Seventh Master and the others didn't notice it."

"Was Prince Mo also hit by a shot?" Wei Cui asked again.

The scout nodded again.

Wei Cui looked at everyone and said, "In the eyes of the imperial army, we are all traitors."

This explanation is reasonable, but...

"General," someone couldn't help but say, "didn't you say that Prince Mo might have sided with Deng Shan..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Cui's originally calm expression betrayed his hatred.

The arrow shot in Qin'an City at the beginning was both an act and not an act.

The original plan was to support the young prince in causing trouble for at least a year, so that he would have enough momentum to be eliminated.

He wouldn't be as foolish as Zhao Tan, who hesitated before killing Emperor Ai and then used the young prince as a figurehead. As a result, when he became emperor, he lacked confidence and Deng Shan seized the throne.

He will not allow the young prince to live to reclaim the throne.

When he saw Prince Mo in Qin'an City and heard him utter those words again, he decided to hasten the prince's death.

Such a disobedient little prince cannot be kept.

However, during the pursuit, Feng Su of the Yunyang Army did not follow, but instead attacked Longxi City.

He sensed that something was wrong.

How could Feng Su actually believe the words of that young prince? He disregarded everything and mobilized all his troops to besiege Longxi City.

He seemed completely indifferent to Prince Mo, only wanting Wei Cui dead.

Therefore, he guessed that Prince Mo might have already pledged allegiance to the emperor, and that his trip to Longxi was actually a scheme he had reached with the emperor.

Thinking of this, Wei Cui let out a cold laugh.

"...Would Deng Shan keep him alive?" he said. "The remnants of the previous dynasty naturally died in the Longxi rebellion."

The others also figured it out and started discussing it amongst themselves.

The soldiers who went to investigate the battlefield brought back the bodies of Master Wei and others, along with details.

"...The body of Prince Mo is missing. Judging from the traces, it went into the canyon."

"General, let's go after them," someone suggested. "Once they enter the canyon, they'll be trapped like turtles in a jar; they won't be able to escape."

Wei Cui looked at the map.

This canyon was the burial place he had carefully chosen for Prince Mo.

Even if reinforcements do arrive, we can ignore them; many people coming into the canyon can be buried.

"General—"

A messenger rushed in, his face covered in dust and his clothes stained with blood, clearly indicating that he had had a difficult journey.

"Breaking news—"

"The imperial court has mobilized the Nanyang and Wuyang armies to Longxi—"

"General, the Miss Yang who married into our family isn't the real Miss Yang; she's just a maid—"

"The maid who remained in the Duke of Ding'an's mansion in the capital is the real Miss Yang—"

"From the very beginning of their journey to the capital, these two, master and servant, switched identities—"

The people inside the tent were shocked, angry, and filled with barely concealed terror.

They actually mobilized these two heavy troops guarding the capital. It turns out that the person in the Wei family is not the real Miss Yang. There is no need to keep her around to threaten the emperor!
This was all part of Deng Shan's scheme from beginning to end!

Deng Shan is determined to destroy the Wei clan!
"General—"

"Get back to defense quickly!"

"Longxi City cannot be defended!"

"It's not just Longxi City; it would be terrible if other places were occupied by the imperial army!"

The collusion between Prince Mo and Deng Shan was originally just a guess, but now it's confirmed.

Therefore, killing Prince Mo is of no importance!

Wei Cui raised his hand and angrily tore the map down.

"Back on defense—"

…… ……

Night fell, and the canyon was pitch black.

Suddenly, the darkness shifted, and a figure entered from outside. Whether it was because it couldn't see the road clearly or was exhausted, the person suddenly fell to the ground with a thud.

"Blackie—"

Several more figures rushed out of the canyon, lit their own tinder, and illuminated the people on the ground.

Uncle Hei lay on the ground, covered in blood, but in good spirits.

He propped himself up and sat up. The blood on the rest of his body had dried, but fresh blood was seeping from his legs.

He deftly tied the tourniquet and said, "Wei Cui's army has retreated."

The group breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good."

Uncle Hei looked at them: "How is the young master?"

In the darkness, the group shook their heads, their expressions anxious. "That person was extremely fast; we couldn't catch up."

After saying this, the group angrily pounded the ground.

By the light of the tinderbox, it was clear that several people had injuries on their arms and legs.

If the young master hadn't shouted to lie down, they would probably have become corpses too.

The crossbow bolts came extremely suddenly.

First, Wei Cui's soldiers fell one by one, and they thought they were reinforcements. Just as they were about to rejoice, the young master suddenly shouted, "Lie down!"

They instinctively followed the young master's instructions, and the moment they lay down, crossbow bolts were fired at them.

Fortunately, he dodged in time, and the crossbow bolt did not hit any vital organs.

However, the young master who had made them lie down in time to avoid the crossbow bolts stood up when everyone else had fallen down.

She waved over there, and then—

A crossbow bolt flew over, and the young master fell to the ground.

Thinking of that scene, Uncle Hei couldn't help but pound the ground hard.

They struggled to crawl towards the young master, but there were too many corpses, and their injured legs made them clumsy. Just as they were about to reach him, someone pounced on them from behind—

For a moment he thought it wasn't a person, but a giant eagle.

A gust of wind swept through, almost blinding him, and then the young master was snatched away, disappearing into the canyon in the blink of an eye.

They chased after them desperately—

Unable to move freely and fearing the arrival of Wei Cui's army, they lost track of the young master.

"Brother Hei, we've entered the canyon." One of them said in a low voice, "Now that Wei Cui's army is no longer a threat, if we keep chasing, we'll eventually find the young master."

"Young Master, she..." another person whispered, "was she alive or dead back then?"

They only saw the young master fall after being shot by an arrow. The speed was too fast and there were too many obstructions, so they didn't see where the arrow hit. Immediately afterwards, the young master was taken away.

Is the young master dead or alive?

Uncle Hei didn't speak, but clenched his fists and looked into the canyon.

Who exactly is this person who suddenly appeared?

……

……

pain.

Mo Zheng's consciousness gradually coalesced.

The image of the arrow shooting towards them seemed to reappear before their eyes.

She hissed, opened her tightly closed eyes, and was met with complete darkness.

No, it wasn't pitch black; beyond the jagged shadows, one could see scattered stars.

Mo Zheng couldn't help but move away, and the pain in her arm intensified instantly. As her vision adjusted to the darkness, she could see an arrow stuck in her left arm, its fletching trembling.

"This is bad," she murmured. "They didn't pull the arrow out while I was unconscious, so I'll have to suffer the pain again when they do pull it out."

A soft laugh came from the jagged black shadows above.

"That's easy to handle. Shoot another arrow, and when you're unconscious, just pull both out."

The man's voice was soft, and as he spoke, the jagged black shadows suddenly expanded, and someone jumped down, obscuring the starry sky.

At the same time, the firelight flared up, and Mo Zheng, lying down, saw a pale face appear above her.

Although covered in dust and her skin was no longer as delicate as jade, her lips, though chapped and bleeding, were still bright red.

Mo Zheng thought back to the first time she met him.

"Actually, you look even more like a glamorous ghost like this," she couldn't help but laugh.

Wei Jiao looked at her and suddenly smiled sweetly: "Do you recognize me?"

Mo Zheng sighed softly and nodded: "Greetings, Commandant Wei."

Wei Jiao raised an eyebrow.

"You know who I am, that's good," he said, looking down at the people lying on the ground. "I'm tracking down the murderers who killed more than a dozen people from the Li Family Escort Agency in Zhao County. Do you have any leads?"

　On the last day of 2025, thank you all for your company throughout the year~~~
　　thanks, thanks
　　Let's continue in 2026!
　　But the update time tomorrow is still uncertain, so don't wait. Have a great holiday everyone!
　　I'm asking for monthly votes again this year!
　　(End of this chapter)