Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Lu Ye's palms, hidden under his cloak, were already sweating profusely.

Xiao Chenlin was suspicious, but even more arrogant.

He believed Yelü Yuanjia would use blackmail, but he didn't believe Yelü would leave such a formal handle against him.

But at this critical juncture, he had no choice but to gamble, "because before, His Majesty was not His Majesty."

"Now that you are the Emperor of Great Wei, Your Highness's words cannot be entirely trusted; you must keep evidence."

Xiao Chenlin remained silent; these were indeed words that Yelü Yuanjia would say.

They also share many similarities, otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to form an alliance.

For example, they never trust anyone but what they hold in their hands.

He remained silent for a long time, his palms sweating. The longer he stayed, the greater the risk of being exposed.

Lu Ye reached out to take back the silk book.

"If Your Majesty is unwilling, I can go back and inform Your Highness, but..."

He paused, his heterochromatic eyes fixed on Xiao Chenlin, "It's hard to say whether the Northern Di cavalry will march south in three days."

The blatant threat caused Xiao Chenlin's expression to change drastically.

He stared at Lu Ye, a murderous intent surging in his eyes.

"Ah, I will grant Yelü Yuanjia's request."

Xiao Chenlin took out his private seal, which was carved from white jade into the shape of a dragon, with a red agate in its mouth.

He bit his finger, using his blood as ink, and held it above the silk scroll, about to press it down.

At that moment, Lu Ye held his breath, his heart pounding.

As long as it falls, it will be successful...

With a soft "snap," the dragon-patterned seal pressed onto the silk book, blood seeping in and leaving its mark.

It became.

Lu Ye took one of the silk scrolls, carefully rolled it up, and put it into his pocket.

"Go back and tell Yelü Yuanjia that I have done as he asked. If he dares to return, I will not forgive him."

Xiao Chenlin silently allowed Lu Ye to leave, a sinister glint in his eyes.

Lu Ye said no more and turned to leave.

But as soon as he reached the temple gate, countless imperial guards, wielding long swords, surrounded him from all directions, making escape impossible.

Lu Ye had a bad feeling. Could it be that he had given himself away?

But he maintained his original demeanor, his tone sharp, and questioned, "What does Your Majesty mean? You've just signed the alliance, and now you want to tear it up? Do you intend to become a complete enemy of the Northern Barbarians?"

Xiao Chenlin laughed loudly, his voice filled with malice: "Breaking the alliance? It was clearly Yelü Yuanjia who broke the agreement first. If he truly trusted me, why would he have released Pei Yaojun back to the capital? And even allowed him to threaten me in the Golden Palace?"

"What is Yelü Yuanjia plotting? Does he really think I'm a fool?"

"Isn't he just trying to intimidate me? He wants to show me that he can put me on the throne, and he can also bring me down. Unfortunately for him, I hate being threatened!"

Xiao Chenlin had set up this scheme from the very beginning, and this was the moment he had been waiting for.

He had assumed that the secret letter was so important that he would come in person, and that the one from the Northern Barbarians would be Yelü Yuanjia.

Unfortunately, Yelü Yuanjia did not appear at the last moment.

Xiao Chenlin stopped pretending. Being controlled by someone once was enough; why would he give them leverage again?

He waved his hand. "Kill."

The Imperial Guards charged forward, swords drawn.

Lu Ye pulled off the cumbersome cloak and drew two short swords from his waist for protection.

The blade is only the length of a forearm, extremely sharp, and best suited for close combat.

Lu Ye leaned against the broken Buddha statue, his gaze sweeping over the imperial guards who had surrounded him.

The silk scroll in his arms was the key evidence to bring down Xiao Chenlin, and he had to take it back.

I didn't want to fight head-on, but the enemy had too many people, and they were all elites.

"kill--!"

The Imperial Guards charged forward!

Lu Ye also wielded a knife and fought fiercely, about to break through the encirclement with his unbridled ruthlessness.

A centurion of the Imperial Guard rushed in from the side, his long sword aimed straight at his face.

Lu Ye dodged to the side and stabbed at the opponent's ribs with his backhand, but the sword was blocked by the armor. The tip of the sword cut through the armor plates with a piercing sound and sparks flew everywhere.

In that brief moment of delay, three imperial guards had already blocked his path.

Lu Ye suddenly ducked down, rolled through the legs of the three men, and used his short knife to slash open the calf of one of them!

That was a fighting skill he had learned from years of battling wild beasts.

Amidst screams, he broke through the encirclement and headed straight for the temple gate.

"Whoosh—"

A cold arrow pierced the air.

Lu Ye instinctively turned to the side, and the arrow grazed his cheek, drawing a line of blood!

But then the second and third arrows followed in quick succession.

He swung his sword to parry, but was still shot in the left shoulder by an arrow.

"Well!"

A sharp pain shot through him, and Lu Ye staggered.

The silk book in his arms came loose during the fight, slipped out of his clothes, and fell to the ground.

Don't lose it!

He turned and lunged at the silk scroll, but this lunge opened his life-threatening wound.

"Pfft—!"

A long sword pierced his back, penetrating his shoulder blade, with the tip protruding from his chest.

Fresh blood gushed out.

Lu Ye grunted, but used the momentum of his forward lunge to grab the silk book on the ground.

Without even glancing at it, he stuffed the blood- and dust-stained silk scroll into his mouth and bit down hard with his teeth.

Lu Ye stood up unsteadily, leaning against the broken walls and ruins.

The firelight illuminated his blood-stained face, making his dark gold eyes shine terrifyingly.

Like a dying lion, it stared at the imperial guards who were closing in.

The sound of bowstrings being drawn rang out, and dozens of arrows and the gleaming white blades were aimed at Lu Ye.

Blood soaked through his robes, and Lu Ye could feel his life slipping away.

Her face appeared before his eyes, which were turning black in waves. Her face was fuller after giving birth to Jichuan, and her almond-shaped eyes smiled like a crescent moon in the sky.

Before leaving, she held his hand, her eyes reddening, and said, "No matter what happens, you must come back."

And then there's Pei Yaojun, the man who was exceptionally hostile towards him.

He said, "If you can accomplish this, I might as well treat you to a drink."

And there's his grandma, and Shanqing, who always clings to him...

He must get back alive.

Lu Ye suddenly sprang up, pulling out the long knife stuck in his body, blood spurting out like a fountain.

But he ignored everything and charged at the nearest Imperial Guard with his sword.

A life-or-death style of play, no defense, only offense!

The Imperial Guards were taken aback by his reckless attitude, and their formation even faltered slightly.

Lu Ye fought his way through the broken wall and escaped to the outside. Behind the temple was a steep slope, and below the slope was a dense forest.

He rolled down the steep slope and stumbled forward.

The silk scroll in his mouth was soaked in blood, dripping onto the ground and blooming into blood flowers.

At midnight, the silent night was suddenly torn open by the long, drawn-out chirping of cicadas, as mournful as weeping.

Liu Wenying was startled awake while leaning against the table. The needle and thread in her hand fell to the ground next to the candlestick.

She rubbed her temples and looked up at the bed.

Jichuan and Luoluo slept side by side, with Luoluo on the outer side, her little hands gripping the corner of the blanket, a trace of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth, probably dreaming of eating something delicious.

Jichuan slept on the inside, wrapped in a swaddle cloth like a chubby silkworm cocoon, with only his round little face showing.

Liu Wenying got up and went to the bedside to tuck Luo Luo in with a thin blanket.

She returned to the table and picked up her needle and thread again.

I originally intended to make a little bib for Jichuan. I embroidered a deer that was only half-finished, with fine and lifelike stitches.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't drop the needle.

Tonight is the night Lu Ye goes to collect evidence.

Pei Yaojun said that if they act at Hai hour (9-11 PM), they must return by Zi hour (11 PM-1 AM) at the latest.

Now that midnight has passed, there is no sound outside the window except for the mournful chirping of cicadas.

Feeling confused, Liu Wenying put down her needlework and adjusted the candlelight.

The candle wick burst open, the flame flickered, and my heart felt empty; each day felt like an eternity.

The cicadas started chirping again, each chirp more shrill than the last, so noisy.

Liu Wenying got up and paced around the room, raising her hand as if to push the door open but then stopping.

What could she possibly do outside? Her fingers gripped the door latch so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the village.

Liu Wenying could no longer contain herself, so she opened the door and rushed out.

The moonlight, like a ribbon, illuminated the courtyard, making it feel cold and desolate.

Pei Dingxuan and Pei Yaojun carried a person through the moon gate.

The person looked as if they had been pulled out of a pool of blood; their features were indistinguishable, and their arms hung limply at their sides, swaying with the two people's steps.

Liu Wenying's pupils constricted as she rushed down the steps, her pale blue skirt fluttering in the wind.

"Lu Ye—!"

The voice trembled, breaking in the night wind.

…………