Chapter 70, the final twenty-third cycle!

Chapter 70

Ye Xiren had heard of this name before. In the fourteenth cycle, after killing Lu Qian, she went to see the Emperor, presented evidence related to gunpowder, and demanded that Yan Danqing be transferred.

But considering that Chi Zhan Lan Ce was ruthless, she wanted to kill him or distract him so that Yan Danqing could be transferred from the imperial prison to the Dali Temple and be freed from the threat of gunpowder.

Who knew that when this man's carriage passed by her, it stopped moving forward and instead reversed, forcing her into the carriage. Later, it tried to kill her, but Yan Danqing arrived in time to save her...

Ye Xiren clearly remembered that at that time, Mole and Chizhan Lance were whispering something in the Northern Yan language. She couldn't understand it, but she imitated the accent and repeated it in her mind several times, trying her best to remember it.

In Northern Yan dialect, isn't that just to avoid her?

What they avoided her was naturally a secret that Northern Yan could not reveal to outsiders.

After repeating the word "t" too many times, the pronunciation of a few words of Northern Yan dialect that she couldn't understand had become blurred in her memory, but when "sir" was mentioned, she instinctively felt familiar with it. Now, when the title "Mr. Wu Qiao" came together, she finally remembered it!

At that time, Liu Duoxi caused trouble that required the Northern Yan people to handle. Since Chi Zhanlan Ce was no longer going, someone else naturally had to be found to make arrangements, and the name of the person in charge that he mentioned at that time must have been in Nandu...

Ye Xiren took a deep breath, looked at Liang Yue, and said with a determined look in her eyes: "Your Majesty, the person we are looking for is... Wu Qiao, the National Preceptor of Northern Yan."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Immediately, Liu Duoxi opened his mouth, his chubby face full of disbelief, his eyes narrowed, "How could this be? That's the Grand Preceptor of Northern Yan, why would he personally come to Nandu to risk his life?"

The National Preceptor of Northern Yan, second only to Chi Zhan Lan Ce and the King of Northern Yan, is not enough with just one Chi Zhan Lan Ce, so why add another National Preceptor?

To the people of Northern Yan, the Imperial Preceptor was believed to be able to communicate with the gods and spirits, so he almost never left the Northern Yan Temple. How could he possibly have personally traveled to the Southern Capital?!

Liu Duoxi had some doubts.

It's not that I doubt Ye Xiren's guess, but rather that I doubt this thing that feels so out of place!

That's so strange.

Jiang You rubbed his sleeve with his fingers and slowly said, "Because the Northern Yan delegation never intended to negotiate, but only wanted to kill Yan Danqing and disrupt the situation in Daliang. When the Northern Yan delegation entered the capital, two forces came: openly Chi Zhan Lan Ce, and secretly the Grand Preceptor Wu Qiao."

"Whether Chi Zhanlan succeeds or fails in the open, it will fall into the hands of our Great Liang. The Grand Preceptor Wu Qiao is in the shadows, probably to protect him."

One operation is overt, the other covert; they cooperate and support each other, making this Northern Yan conspiracy incredibly powerful.

Liang Yue was even more puzzled, his brows furrowed as he looked at him: "Since Northern Yan has never considered peace talks and cares so much about Chi Zhanlan Ce's life and death, why did they send him to risk his life in Southern Capital?"

They were fooled because they couldn't understand this point.

Ye Xiren lowered her eyes.

With Chi Zhan Lan Ce and Mr. Wu Qiao, Northern Yan is going all in, determined to succeed at all costs. Considering Yan Wan's account of Chi Zhan Lan Ce, he was always a madman; it's just unclear why the Northern Yan Grand Preceptor would follow him in his madness…

Ye Pei thought of the Northern Yan National Preceptor and murmured:

“Wu Qiao holds an exceptional position in Northern Yan. Ever since Chi Zhanlan Ce became the ‘Holy Son,’ Wu Qiao has been subservient and a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince of Northern Yan. Yet we have never heard of Wu Qiao leaving the capital of Northern Yan.”

Everyone fell into deep thought, their minds filled with countless thoughts.

“There is a woman outside who calls herself Yan Shuang and wants to see Miss Ye Er, saying that she has important business to discuss.”

Ye Xiren's heart skipped a beat, and she took two steps forward.

Liang Yue immediately ordered someone to summon them and compile the information, ensuring that no piece of information was missed.

Before long, Yan Shuang strode in, bowed, looked at Ye Xiren, and whispered, "Second Miss Ye, our people just sent back a message. There are no natural disasters or man-made calamities in Northern Yan, and everything is as usual."

In the early morning of the sixth day of the third month, Ye Xiren asked her to send someone to Northern Yan to gather information.

Miss Ye repeatedly emphasized that Yan Shuang also took this matter to heart and was extremely cautious. She immediately made arrangements, and although she had completely forgotten about the matter in the past two days, the people had already been sent out and had just sent back a message by carrier pigeon.

Before Ye Xiren could show any disappointment, Yan Shuang continued:

"But our spies reported that there seemed to be some unusual activity in Northern Yan. After the third day of the third month, for some reason, the King of Northern Yan was much more active than before. The royal court of Northern Yan seemed to be secretly preparing for sacrificial activities and had blocked the news."

The fact that the news could still be detected despite being blocked is enough to show that the sacrificial activities to be held by Northern Yan were extremely important, and that even a blockade could not completely conceal them.

"Besides that, there's another piece of news: it seems that the Second Prince of Northern Yan, Chizhan Chengye, is not in the royal court." Yan Shuang frowned. This news was just a guess, but Miss Ye said that everything, no matter how small, should be investigated and nothing should be overlooked, so they reported it as well.

Ye Xiren bit her lip, her brows furrowed into a deep frown, trying to sort out her myriad thoughts one by one.

"There must be a secret in Northern Yan, a huge secret with far-reaching implications, involving all the important people in Northern Yan!"

If the information is correct, then there's more to this than meets the eye.

After Chi Zhanlan Ce became famous, the King of Northern Yan almost retreated behind the scenes, only protecting the Crown Prince. Now, it seems that Northern Yan is preparing for a large-scale sacrificial ceremony, but the Grand Preceptor who should be presiding over the ceremony is in their Southern Capital!

With his elder brother's outstanding achievements preceding him, how could his younger brother, who always stayed hidden in the capital of Northern Yan and spent his days playing with cats and dogs, possibly have been completely unaware of him? Where did he secretly go?

The King of Northern Yan, the Crown Prince of Northern Yan, the Grand Preceptor of Northern Yan, the Second Prince... This peace talk involved almost the entire Northern Yan. Isn't the third day of the third month the day for the peace talks?!

Ye Xiren's breathing became rapid. Just as the Great Liang concealed news from Jiaozhou and Xuzhou, the Northern Yan was also tightly sealing off a piece of information, which only the most core members of the Northern Yan knew.

She was almost certain that the secret hidden by Northern Yan would drastically reduce their chances of winning when they fought against Great Liang, to the point that defeat was inevitable!

Otherwise, why would Chi Zhanlan Ce and the Imperial Preceptor Wu Qiao enter Nandu together, risking their lives, just to kill Yan Danqing?

If they find this secret, will victory be completely in their hands? Will Da Liang have a chance to survive, and will her cycle end?

Thinking of this, Ye Xiren's heart skipped a beat.

After a brief moment of excitement, Liang Yue looked dejected. "But it's too late to know now. With Chi Zhanlan Ce and Yan Danqing both dead, Great Liang and Northern Yan are about to go to war."

It's not that easy to find out the information they've blocked. Besides, with Chi Zhanlan Ce and Yan Danqing both dead, and Wu Qiao also dead, if Northern Yan has already achieved its goal, even if they find out the information, it will probably be useless.

Upon hearing this, Jiang You's excitement faded, and he sat down helplessly. If they had known about the existence of the Grand Preceptor Wu Qiao earlier, would they have been able to find out the truth?

The hope that had just been ignited in everyone present vanished again, their faces turning ashen; it was all too late.

Jiang You kept muttering, "Yes, it's too late..."

Only Ye Xiren looked out the window, feeling her drowsy head and increasingly blurred vision, a smile playing on her lips:

"No, there's still time."

The bright moon hangs high in the sky; it's past midnight.

-

The seventh day of the third lunar month, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM)

Ye Xiren felt light as if she had landed in another place, where she witnessed a series of tragic scenes.

With the fall of the Southern Capital, the iron hooves of the Northern Yan invaded, causing widespread panic and fear, with screams and cries of anguish filling the air.

The armored soldiers of Northern Yan stormed into the city, rampaging through the streets. Their eyes were filled with hatred and killing intent. Whenever they saw a person from Daliang, regardless of age or gender, they would draw their swords and kill them.

Why?

They were the ones who invaded Daliang, so why do they still have hatred in their eyes?

"It was these Liang people who killed our Holy Son."

"Kill them! Avenge the Holy Son!"

"Kill them all!"

...

Anger transformed into a surging killing intent, and roars echoed throughout the southern capital.

She seemed to see Ye Pei standing in the city gate, trampled into a bloody pulp by iron hooves; she saw her grandmother die by crashing into the Buddhist hall; she saw her brother leading men to defend the Ye family's gate, only to be cut in half at the waist and die, his body convulsing; she also saw her mother being pulled away by the Northern Yan people to protect her, crashing into a stone, her blood flowing like a river.

She saw herself, her face smeared with black ash, being pushed and shoved along with other people to the banks of the moat. Then, she felt a suffocating sensation; she was already sinking and floating in the moat…

The black ash was washed away with water, and Northern Yan soldiers tried to drag her up, their faces lewd.

She struggled desperately, trying to get back into the water, but her struggles were futile. She was half-dragged ashore by the Northern Yan soldiers, and despair overwhelmed her, leaving her heartbroken.

At that moment, a hand reached out from the water.

A face strikingly similar to Yan Danqing surfaced, blood gushing from her body and spreading in the water. She was on the verge of death, yet she gritted her teeth and pulled Ye Xiren down with all her might, holding her tightly in her arms, stroking her head, before they both sank into the protective river...

Ye Xiren suddenly opened her eyes, raised her hand to touch her cheek, her face already covered in tears.

She was still sitting inside, candles burning, a map of the Southern Capital laid out before her. Time restarted, and she returned to the seventh day of the third month, the twenty-third cycle beginning.

She suddenly stood up, grabbed the map of the Southern Capital, and ran outside, causing a gust of wind to blow out the candle.

at the same time

Yan Danqing opened his eyes. He was sitting in the carriage, facing Chi Zhanlan Ce. He smiled slightly and said, "Let's go to the Hushuihe Wharf."

Clearly, everything restarted, back to the time when they had agreed on the deal and were heading to the moat dock...

Yan Danqing glanced at him, scoffed, jumped off the carriage, and turned back coldly, saying, "I suddenly regret my decision and don't want to make the deal anymore. Your Highness Chizhan should just stay at the embassy."

Chi Zhanlan Ce: "?"

Is it possible for someone to change their expression so quickly?

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze dangerous.

Yan Danqing ignored him and jumped off the carriage. Suddenly, he noticed a person leaning against the opposite corner, dozing off with a knife in his arms. He frowned and went over: "Yan Shuang, what are you doing here?"

Yan Shuang was taken aback, then came to her senses and replied blankly, "Of course I have to guard the general."

"Didn't I tell you to protect Xixi? Is she asleep?" Yan Danqing asked, puzzled. Yan Shuang was an extremely obedient subordinate. Could it be that Xixi sent her here?

"Who?" Yan Shuang's eyes grew increasingly blank. "Who is Xixi?"

Yan Danqing was taken aback.

His brows furrowed as he stared intently at Yan Shuang, saying each word clearly: "My fiancée, Ye Xiren, the second daughter of the Minister of Revenue's household."

Yan Shuang was momentarily stunned, then it took her a while to realize what she had done. She slapped her head, looking annoyed, "I'm so forgetful, I completely forgot about that! I'll go right away!"

After saying that, she made a hasty trip to the Ye family.

"Wait a minute." Yan Danqing called out to her, his expression grave. "I'll go. You and Ying Changping keep a close eye on Chi Zhanlan Ce and make sure no one comes into contact with him."

"Yes." Yan Shuang stopped and replied.

Yan Danqing turned around and led his men to escort Chi Zhanlan Ce back to the embassy. He dared not leave without keeping a close watch on this man, not to mention that this man was cunning and treacherous, and there were also people hiding in the shadows...

I wonder if Xixi has found out yet?

Thinking of Xixi, Yan Danqing's eyes darkened. Yan Shuang's reaction was too strange. For some reason, he had an ominous premonition, and unease spread through him, as if he were falling into an abyss.

What happened?

As the wheels rolled, Chi Zhanlan lowered the carriage curtain.

Ye Xiren.

Chi Zhanlan Ce lowered his eyes, a chess piece in his palm, his fingers constantly rubbing it, his face full of thought, his brows slightly furrowed.

-

Ye Xiren stood panting at the entrance of the Ye residence.

Maids, old women, gatekeepers... everyone, as long as she didn't make a sound, acted as if they didn't see her. Whether they walked past her or stood in front of her, they all ignored her!

Ye Xiren's teeth chattered, and her hair stood on end. This was even more terrifying than when she first entered the cycle of reincarnation. She was clearly still alive and standing here, but everyone in the world had forgotten her terror... It was as if something was wrapped around her ankles and slowly climbing up her scalp, making her feel cold all over.

That's terrifying!

Ye Xiren clenched her fists tightly.

Her face turned ashen. Her first instinct was to go and discuss it with Yan Danqing, but when she saw the gatekeeper yawning and walking past her, she realized that she was right there in the quiet of the early morning!

Ye Xiren suddenly turned around and ran back to her room.

She pulled out a parchment scroll, her heart pounding as if it could shatter her eardrums and leap out of her chest. Suppressing her fear and unease, she gripped the pen, dipped it in ink, and tremblingly wrote down the words.

My name is Ye Xiren. I was born in the nineteenth year of the Jingyou era. I am the daughter of Ye Pei, the Minister of Revenue. My grandmother is Zhao Lanjun, my mother is Liao Changying, and my elder brother is Ye Changming. I grew up in the northern capital. In the thirty-fifth year of the Jingyou era, I moved to the southern capital with the imperial court.

Since the beginning of the third month of the second year of the Xihe era, I have experienced a total of twenty-two cycles. Now it is the seventh day of the third month of the second year of the Xihe era, my twenty-third cycle.

This is also my last cycle of death and reincarnation.

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Author's Note: Happy Ending!

Don't worry, see you tomorrow!