Chapter 199 Leaving

Outside the capital, the courtyard looked increasingly lonely and desolate in the twilight.

An inconspicuous green-covered carriage broke through the dust and stopped abruptly in front of the closed gate.

The curtain of the carriage was suddenly lifted, and Xun Chen jumped out. The hem of his dark blue brocade robe was covered with dust. His usual elegance and composure were gone, and his eyes were full of sinister intent.

"Open the door, open the door quickly!" Zhu Xi pounded on the heavy door panel hard.

From inside the door came the old woman's cautious voice: "Who is it?"

"It's me." Xun Chen appeared with a cold expression.

There was a sound of a bolt being pulled, and the door opened a crack.

Xun Chen walked into the yard and glanced around, "Where's she?"

The old woman staggered at his shove and hurried to catch up, whispering, "Sir, the man is in the inner room and has been very quiet."

Xun Chen didn't wait for him to finish speaking, but strode straight to the east wing of the main house and pushed the door open with a bang.

"What are you doing?" Zi Su stepped forward to stop him.

"Get out of here!" Xun Chen threw her out.

Inside the house, Jiang Qingning sat by the window.

There was a desolate scene outside the window. She was holding a book in her hand, her posture was graceful. She only looked up slowly when she heard the sound of the door being broken.

Her face was still a little pale, but her eyes were as calm as water, without any panic or helplessness of being imprisoned. Instead, they were filled with a coldness that seemed to see through everything, which made Xun Chen's heart inexplicably tremble.

Xun Chen subconsciously straightened his clothes, walked calmly in front of her, and said in a deep voice, "Come back to the capital with me. We can't stay here anymore."

Jiang Qingning's gaze lingered on his disheveled face for a moment, then slowly returned to the pages of the book. His tone was calm and unperturbed, "What are you talking about, Master Xun? It was you who abducted me, and now it's you who wants to send me back. Could it be that you think this courtyard is too harsh and want to move me to another place?"

Her calmness and sarcasm were like a bucket of cold water, leaving Xun Chen somewhat bewildered. Then, a surge of rage and shame welled up in him. "I'm not discussing this with you. Murong Feng from the Northern Di tribe has already attacked, and his troops are only a hundred miles away. I'm afraid this place will soon become a battlefield. You'll be dead if you stay here."

"I didn't expect the Northern Di to launch a surprise attack on Dagan while Wei Zhai hadn't made any movement. Qin Xiu led a mere 30,000 men out of the city to meet them. He was simply going to die. The Emperor has imprisoned He Ning in the palace as a watchdog, and the defense of the capital is now temporarily in the hands of that worthless Third Prince Lu Qi. No one will notice if I bring you back to the Anping Marquis's Mansion now."

Jiang Qingning finally raised his eyes again, his gaze cold and a bit amused: "Returning to Anping Marquis's Mansion? Xun Chen, have you forgotten that we divorced long ago?"

"So what if we divorce?"

Xun Chen suddenly raised his voice, his eyes bloodshot, and with a kind of paranoid madness, "You will always be my woman, Xun Chen, and Li'er's mother. Now that there is chaos and war outside, the only way to be safe is to stay by my side."

"Once Wei Zhai and Grand Tutor Fu's army arrives and takes the capital, the world will change. By then, I will be a meritorious official, second only to the emperor and above everyone else. Qin Xiu, He Ning and the others will be trampled under my feet and at my mercy."

"Qingning, I was wrong before. I was deceived by that bitch Bai Qingyi and wronged you. For Li'er's sake, can we start over? I can pretend that nothing happened. You are still the mistress of the Anping Marquis's Mansion and will be even more noble in the future..."

"Oh."

A very light sneer interrupted Xun Chen's immersed fantasy.

Jiang Qingning put down the book and slowly stood up.

Those cold eyes stared straight at him, yet with a condescending and oppressive feeling: "Xun Chen, you are truly pathetic and ridiculous."

"You think that by colluding with a remnant of the previous dynasty like Wei Zhai, you can win a fortune? You think that by locking me up like a canary, you can erase everything from the past and make me feel grateful to you and renew our relationship?"

Her voice was low, but every word was like a knife, cutting through all his hypocritical delusions. "You've been deceiving yourself from beginning to end. You don't even know who you're playing against, let alone that you've already become a pawn on someone else's chessboard, ready to be discarded at any time."

Xun Chen's face turned pale and ashamed at her words. He said, "Shut up! What do you know? I did all this for..."

"for what?"

Jiang Qingning took a step closer, his eyes sharp as ice spikes. "For your ambition, or for your ridiculous self-esteem, you think that controlling me can prove that you have defeated Qin Xiu and He Ning. Xun Chen, wake up! From the moment you chose to seek the skin of a tiger, your fate was already determined."

“…”

The two looked at each other silently.

"...Then let's see who wins and who loses in the end."

Xun Chen sneered, realizing that he had seen through Jiang Qingning's intention.

"Qingning, I advise you not to waste your time. My sincerity towards you is evident to all, but if you insist on choosing Qin Xiu or He Ning, I will have my own way of dealing with you."

"Report!" A panicked shout suddenly came from outside the yard, interrupting him.

A servant tumbled into the yard and scrambled. "My lord, this is bad! It seems the Northern Di's vanguard cavalry has appeared on the official road ten miles away. Many cavalry are heading this way!"

"What?" Xun Chen was struck by lightning, his body swaying violently. "How could it be so fast? Are Qin Xiu's 30,000 troops made of paper?"

The servant was so frightened that he was incoherent: "I don't know, sir, there's chaos outside. The refugees said that General Qin's troops encountered the main force of the Northern Di not long after leaving the city. They were defeated at the first blow, and now the defeated soldiers are fleeing towards the city!"

Xun Chen felt a chill running from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

He turned his head suddenly and looked at the still calm and terrifying Jiang Qingning: "Come with me immediately, it will be too late if you are any later." He reached out to grab Jiang Qingning's arm.

Jiang Qingning took a step back lightly, avoiding his touch.

Her gaze passed Xun Chen and looked at the dark sky outside the window and the faint rumble of horse hooves like thunder. The corners of her lips curled up in an icy arc.

"Leave?" she repeated softly, as if savoring the word. "Xun Chen, do you think you can leave now?"

Xun Chen was confused: "What do you mean?"

Jiang Qingning slowly turned his gaze back to his face, his eyes looking as if he was looking at a dead person.

"What I mean," she said each word clearly, "is that your ally Wei Zhai may be too late to save you, and it wasn't the Beidi cavalry who trapped you and me here."

Before he finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves outside the courtyard suddenly intensified, accompanied by shrill screams that made Xun Chen feel cold in his heart.

"ah!"

The guards in charge of guarding outside the courtyard screamed and then stopped abruptly.

"What's going on? They are not from the Northern Di?" Xun Chen's face turned pale and he rushed to the window to look out.

Dozens of black shadows rushed in from outside the courtyard wall. They were agile, ruthless and decisive in their attacks, like professional killers or assassins.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the few guards brought by the Xun Mansion were wiped out with a crushing force. Zhu Xi was a martial arts expert, and he barely held on for a few moves before being besieged by several black shadows and soon fell to the ground.

The entire courtyard was quickly taken over by this group of sudden, unidentified men in black.

Xun Chen's legs were so weak that he could hardly stand.

He leaned against the wall, watching in horror as the men in black poured into the yard like a tide, quickly blocked all exits, and then approached the room where he was.

"Who are you? Are you Wei Zhai's men? I am Xun Chen, one of us." He shouted with the last glimmer of hope.

The leading man, dressed in black and wearing a hideous ghost mask, sneered hoarsely upon hearing his words and was too lazy to answer him.

The pair of eyes revealed through the holes in the mask locked onto Jiang Qingning, who was standing still beside him.

Xun Chen instantly understood that their target was Jiang Qingning.

At this moment, the Ghost-faced leader raised his hand and made a gesture, and two men in black walked towards Xun Chen.

"You can't kill me. I'm the Great Earl of Anping. I..."

Xun Chen's voice came to an abrupt halt as he was struck on the back of the neck by a heavy knife. His vision went dark and he collapsed to the ground, being dragged aside like a dead dog.

Before he finally fell into coma, Xun Chen could only vaguely hear the conversation between the men in black.

"I'm sorry for being late, and causing my master to suffer."

"It's okay, the timing is perfect."

Jiang Qingning looked at Xun Chen, who was completely unconscious, quietly, with no expression on her face.

"Lead the way."

"Then this person...?"

Night Owl took off his mask, stepped aside to make way, and gestured for invitation.

Jiang Qingning straightened her slightly wrinkled sleeves, without even glancing at the unconscious Xun Chen lying on the ground, and walked calmly out of the room where she had been imprisoned for several days.