"I am Liu Shining, the Prince of Changping of the Yan Kingdom!"
After being separated for five years, Yu Shu had once imagined what sort of situation it would be when she reunited with Xue Rui, and meeting him in battle under the gazes of everyone was the situation she was most unwilling to see.
Looking at her lover on the tower, Yu Shu's eyes flashed. She could not look away and could not suppress the palpitation in her heart. She suppressed the desire in her heart and walked out of the carriage with a cold face. In front of her was the dark muzzle of a cannon not far away. Behind her was the long street stained with blood. Hundreds of black-robed guards protected her in the middle.
Flames flickered in Xue Rui's eyes. He had an extremely good field of vision from where he was. The smoke in the surroundings had dispersed, and he could clearly see her appearance. His greedy gaze swept past her from head to toe, and his heartbeat that had long since become numb due to the constant battles instantly became lively. Lovesickness that corroded his bones overflowed from his limbs and bones, and he wished for nothing more than to leap down from the tower and fiercely rub her into his embrace.
"So it's Prince of Changping." Yu Shu raised her voice and said, "I've heard so much about you." It was as if they had never met before.
Xue Rui's breathing froze as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on him, causing him to sober up from the pleasant surprise of their reunion, and he realized that they were enemies. He lowered his eyes and restrained the burning desire in his eyes, yet he still stared fixedly at her, and then he cleared his throat and said in a low voice —
"The Emperor of Da An has been captured by me. I advise you to surrender now."
Hearing his words, the burly man who had previously blocked the black-robed guard's path spurred his horse forward and thrust his spear forward. With a ferocious expression, he said to Yu Shu, "I don't care what you're talking about. In front of our Grand Marshal, you're not even worth mentioning. If you know what's good for you, surrender obediently. Otherwise, you'll die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the well-trained elites of the Yan Kingdom pointed their sharp blades at Yu Shu's carriage in unison. The archers on the city tower drew their bows and aimed the arrows at her head. For a moment, the atmosphere was tense, and a murderous aura rushed toward her.
Xue Rui had a headache. He saw that Yu Shu's expression was getting colder and colder. He quickly stopped them.
"Sha Liao, don't be rude. The Great Teacher is the chief of the Book of Changes in the world, it is only right to respect him. " This sentence determined the identity of Yu Shu. It avoided the important and focused on the trivial. It did not mention that she was an important minister of the imperial court, but only talked about her academic status.
Sha Liao put down his spear and pointed at Yu Shu, asking in a low, muffled voice, "What Yi Xue? Is this woman more powerful than the Imperial Advisor? You're just bluffing. "
Before Xue Rui could pull a long face, hundreds of black-robed guards had already drawn their swords and pointed them at Sha Liao. Their imposing manner was overwhelming, and they were glaring at Sha Liao with an expression that said, "How dare you humiliate us? You're courting death!"
Yu Shu said expressionlessly, "A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated."
"Sha Liao, stand down!" Xue Rui's face darkened. Sha Liao did not know how to read people's expressions at a critical moment. He really needed to teach him a lesson later.
Sha Liao felt very innocent after being scolded. He lowered his head and retreated to the side. He secretly looked at Yu Shu and thought, "This woman has fair skin and long legs. Her appearance is not bad. Could it be that His Highness has taken a fancy to her? Otherwise, why would he be so fierce?"
Xue Rui looked at Yu Shu and said with a serious expression, "I have no intention of humiliating you, but the Imperial Court has already lost its power, and it's of no use no matter how you struggle. Not to mention your Emperor is in my hands now." His last sentence was obviously a threat.
Yu Shu smiled coldly, "What do you want?"
"Tell your men to put down their weapons. I promise in the name of Changping that I will not kill a single one of your men."
Yu Shu stared at him for a moment. She raised her hand and pressed down. The black-robed guards around hesitated for a moment and then threw their weapons on the ground. They gave up resisting. This showed her prestige.
Xue Rui secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He ordered his subordinate, "Send the commander back to my tent."
Yu Shu did not say a word and turned back to the carriage. She allowed the Yan soldiers to separate her from the black-robed guards. They then sent her and the carriage to the camp outside the city. As for Xue Rui, he stayed behind to arrange the troops and entered the capital.
*
*
*
When Jiang Huaiying became the Emperor of Ningdong City, he had 100,000 soldiers under his command. This number was not complete. Later, the Yan army conquered the city and expanded their army. Within five years, they took in another 100,000 soldiers. Many of them were surrendered soldiers of the An Dynasty.
Prince Changping led 50,000 elite vanguards into the city. The Godly Machine Battalion's Thunder Fire Cannon blasted open the gate of Anling City. Then Emperor Chongzhen walked into the trap and became a hostage. The 20,000 imperial guards in the city surrendered and were forced to hand over the commander's seal.
The four city gates of An Ling were sealed by the Yan army. People were only allowed to enter but not leave. They blocked the escape routes of the officials and nobles in the capital city and arrested them one by one. The first to be arrested were Duke Jing, Count Zhongyong and the other senior officials. Apart from their family members, all the officials above the fifth rank were not spared. They were all thrown into the Supreme Court's prison temporarily occupied. Only Grand Tutor Yin, who left the capital two years ago, escaped.
After a series of meticulous arrangements, Prince Changping calmly led a large group of people into the palace.
A month ago, the two Empresses of the West Palace and the Empress went to the palace in Luoyang to seek refuge. They took away the crown prince, Liu Ying, who was hastily crowned by Emperor Chongzhen. At the moment, there were no important people in the harem except a few unfavored concubines. Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen left the city to fight the enemy and took away most of the imperial guards. The imperial guards inside and outside the palace were no match for the elites of the Yan Kingdom.
.....
At night, the palace lanterns were lit. In the Fengqing Palace, which was used for grand ceremonies, Xue Rui stood sideways in the empty main hall. Half of his body was shrouded in darkness and his face could not be seen clearly. Below him were a group of trembling concubines. There were also a few palace maids and eunuchs of high status. They were all just captured from the harem.
Five years ago, Xue Rui was one of the few young talents in the capital. He went to the court and there were many people in the palace who had seen the eldest son of the Xue family.
It was a pity that he had been fighting outside all these years. His handsome face was no longer smooth and tender, and it had a thin layer of honey color. His facial features had become more and more profound, and even his figure had become tall and mighty. With a suit of armor on his body, he didn't have the slightest appearance of a distinguished and elegant young master in the past. Thus, for a moment, no one recognized him.
On the way here, this group of people from the harem had witnessed the ferocious appearance of the soldiers of the Yan Kingdom chopping up the imperial guards as if they were slicing watermelons, and they'd long since been scared out of their wits. At this moment, they didn't even dare to take another glance at Xue Rui. They only felt that this general of the Yan Kingdom before them was a living King of Hell, and he could possibly make their heads roll to the ground at any moment. There were even a few useless people who wet themselves on the spot, causing a wave of urine to emit from their bodies, and a puddle of wet marks appeared beneath their feet.
Xue Rui frowned slightly and asked his subordinates, "Are there only these few people left in the harem?"
"Your Highness, we've searched everywhere. They're all here."
A eunuch rolled his eyes and knelt two steps forward. As he kowtowed, he stammered, "Your Highness, Your Highness, I know that the two Empress Dowagers and the Empress have gone to Luoyang Palace to seek refuge. The Crown Prince has also been taken away."
Emperor Chongzhen had been on the throne for less than five years. He only had two sons and one daughter. The Crown Prince and the Eldest Princess were born by Empress Xia Jiang and the Second Prince was born by Concubine Mei.
As he spoke, the eunuch pointed to the beautiful woman in palace attire who was being supported by two palace maids. "This Concubine Mei is the Emperor's favorite concubine. If you capture her, the Emperor will definitely be wary." He then pointed to another pale concubine and said, "This is Concubine Rui Shu. Her father is an elder in the court, Count Zhongyong. If you capture her, you don't have to worry about her father disobeying you."
"That is the Chief Eunuch Jia Feng, an old servant of the Emperor. He is in charge of half of the affairs in the palace, and most of the key to the treasury is with him. If you don't believe me, you can ask someone to search for him."
These people in the palace had no idea that the Emperor had fallen into the hands of Xue Rui, and the capital city was already surrounded by the Great Yan's army. Therefore, this eunuch thought he was smart and sold out the few masters in the harem, hoping to save his own life.
Who would have thought that the Living King of Hell only glanced at him indifferently, waved his hand and said, "You talk too much. Drag him out and behead him."
Then, before he could even cry out for mercy, his mouth was gagged and dragged out, becoming a ghost under the saber. The rest of the people felt their hatred vented, but at the same time, they were filled with fear, fearing that they would be the next one to be dragged out. No one wanted to die. Immediately, someone came up with an idea and said in a trembling voice,
"Although I live deep in the palace, I have heard of the great name of Prince Changping of the Yan Kingdom. Seeing you today, you really live up to your reputation. I believe that a man like you would not make a move on a few weak women, right?"
The one who spoke was Concubine Rui Shu, the head of the four concubines in the harem. She plucked up her courage and looked at the Prince of the Kingdom of Yan, trying to make herself more confident. But when she saw his face, she couldn't help but exclaim —
"What!"
How could this Prince of Changping have such a face? He looked so much like someone she knew!
She suddenly recalled the case of the Xue family's rebellion that caused a stir a few years ago. It was caused by the Imperial Envoy's secret visit to Ning Dong City, where he saw the long-lost young master of the Xue family as the guest of the traitor, Prince of Dongjing.
"You, you, you are not Xue, Xue …" Concubine Rui Shu couldn't finish her sentence, as if she had seen a ghost.
Xue Rui didn't panic at being recognized. Concubine Rui had some history with him, and they could be considered as old acquaintances. But it wasn't worth it for him to be soft-hearted. He broke into the palace with his troops in the middle of the night, not to show off, nor for the gold and silver, but for the sons of Emperor Chong Zhen. Before he sent out his troops, the Imperial Advisor had divined that there was a hidden dragon in the harem of the Kingdom of Yan. He predicted that there would be a son who would restore the previous dynasty. The Imperial Advisor had repeatedly urged him to find this child, in case the wildfire was not extinguished.
Unfortunately, he found nothing.
"Lock them up together and keep a close watch." Xue Rui passed down the order, left a group of troops, and left the palace in a hurry. He didn't see the beauty behind him fall to the ground and stare blankly at his receding figure.
Outside the palace, Sha Liao followed closely behind him. Seeing that he still wanted to leave the city so late at night, he couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, the sky is dark. Why don't we rest here for the night and return to the camp tomorrow morning?"
Xue Rui stopped and turned back to ask him, "You want to stay in the palace for the night?"
Sha Liao scratched the hair on his forehead and said with a silly smile, "I haven't slept in the palace before. This is the place where the Emperor lives."
"Since you know this is the place where the Emperor lives, you still dare to sleep!" The whip in Xue Rui's hand unceremoniously lashed on the horse's rein. Seeing the horse galloping away, Sha Er Leng let out a ghostly howl.
"Hahahaha!" Xue Rui couldn't help but laugh. He urged the horse under his crotch to rush in the direction of the city gate.
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