Chapter 313 Pleading for Mercy

Those bandits originally came to stand up for Yue Jiaoluo, but it took them so long to understand what was going on.

It turns out that Yue Jiaoluo had the audacity to try and seduce the King of the Northern Frontier, but she was caught red-handed by his wife. This was already embarrassing enough, but Yue Jiaoluo didn't let it go and even incited them to come and demand justice, causing them to lose face as well.

Everyone lowered their heads, unwilling to speak up for Yue Jiaoluo anymore.

Ye Guhong had been watching the commotion for a while and was still somewhat unsatisfied. However, Yue Jiaoluo was someone he had brought along, and among those present, he was the one most familiar with both sides of the conflict. It would be unreasonable not to say something to ease the tension.

So he stepped forward to act as a peacemaker.

“Good disciple, I also bear some responsibility for this matter. Yue Jiaoluo was impulsive and willful, but in the end, it did not cause any major harm. In my opinion, let’s just let this matter go.”

“Master, your word is law in other matters, but you absolutely cannot let it go if someone dares to hurt my queen.”

Wen Zhiming said bluntly, "The Princess Consort has already dealt with the previous matter, and I can let it go. But if I had arrived any later than that sword strike just now, my Princess Consort and child would probably be dead. Such a grave mistake cannot be forgiven even if I consider my master's feelings and Senior Yue's merit in saving people earlier."

Ye Guhong was slightly choked, but he wasn't very angry.

Wen Zhiming cared deeply for Meng Lingge, yet he failed to protect her despite being present, so he certainly had no right to plead for her.

He gave an awkward smile and stepped aside.

Seeing that Yue Jiaoluo's hand was bleeding profusely and Wen Zhiming was still unwilling to release her, Yue Jiaoman asked anxiously, "What exactly does the King of Northern Frontier want?"

Wen Zhiming said coldly, "She may be spared the death penalty, but she cannot escape punishment. She used her right hand to swing the sword and injured my wife. She only needs to cut off her right arm, and I will not pursue the matter further."

"What?" Yue Jiaoman and Yue Jiaoluo's expressions both changed.

Yue Jiaoman shouted loudly.

"King of the Northern Frontier, you have gone too far! If it weren't for your master's invitation, my junior sister and I wouldn't have made this trip, and we wouldn't have suffered this undeserved calamity. After arriving, I worked tirelessly all night, venturing deep into the Cold Palace to rescue you. And yet you want to force my junior sister to lose an arm? Is the King of the Northern Frontier such an ungrateful person?"

Seeing Wen Zhiming's cold and stern expression, Yue Jiaoluo knew he was serious. She immediately lost her previous arrogance, hid behind Yue Jiaoman, and bit her lip in silence.

Wen Zhiming said without changing his expression, "Senior Yue saved people for me, and I am deeply grateful. As long as I can offer a reward, I will accept it without hesitation. However, compared to Yue Jiaoluo's injury to the Princess Consort, it cannot outweigh the merit."

He picked up the sword from the ground and handed it to Yue Jiaoluo.

"Will you do it yourself, or do you want me to help you?"

Yue Jiaoluo shook her head with tears in her eyes, hiding her hands behind her back.

Yue Jiaoman was heartbroken and stood in front of Yue Jiaoluo with a death-defying spirit.

"You can only harm my junior sister if I die!"

She was no match for the King of the Northern Frontier, but no matter what, she couldn't ignore Yue Jiaoluo. Wen Zhiming's sword slowly moved up to Yue Jiaoman's neck.

Ye Guhong and the other martial arts figures couldn't sit still any longer and prepared to step forward to plead for mercy.

"Husband, please wait." It was Meng Lingge who spoke first.

She removed the sword from Wen Zhiming's hand and asked softly, "Is this the Senior Yue you told me about, the one skilled in digging tunnels? The benefactor who rescued my third sister from the Cold Palace?"

"Yes." Wen Zhiming nodded, assuming Meng Lingge was also trying to persuade him with this. "Madam, could it be that you..."

“That’s not what I meant.” Meng Lingge lowered her voice and said, “My husband said that Yue Jiaoluo’s mistake cannot be offset by the merit of saving people, but what if Senior Yue can earn even greater merit? Now the two armies are at a stalemate, and the emperor is threatening the lives of his ministers. If Senior Yue can help my husband achieve success with minimal casualties, such a great merit should be enough to offset the mistake of hurting people, right?”

Her voice could only be heard by a few people who were close by.

Although Yue Jiaoluo is despicable, if Wen Zhiming continues to insist, Yue Jiaoman, who saved her third sister, will die first, and she does not want to see that outcome.

But since Wen Zhiming stood up for her, she couldn't be so ungrateful as to plead for him.

There's only another way to turn this bad thing into a good thing.

Wen Zhiming seemed to hesitate, but Yue Jiaoman immediately said decisively, "As long as my junior sister can be spared, I will do my best to help her in any way I can."

Forcibly storming the palace would result in many casualties on both sides.

When the palace ran out of ammunition and food, the officials could not be saved.

If we can win by minimizing casualties as quickly as possible, that would be a tremendous achievement.

Wen Zhiming said, "If that's the case, I can grant Senior Yue one request, including releasing her junior sister."

Yue Jiaoluo wanted to tell Meng Lingge not to pretend to be kind, but then she thought that if such a beautiful woman like her lost her right arm, she would become a beautiful jade with a missing arm, so she could only turn her head away and secretly get angry.

What I am about to say is of utmost importance, but there are too many people here to discuss it properly.

Wen Zhiming instructed Ren Yang to take the others to rest. Everyone heard Meng Lingge go up and whisper a few words of advice, and the Northern Frontier King's anger immediately subsided. They all admired Meng Lingge even more and obediently followed Ren Yang away.

After Meng Lingge and the others dispersed, she looked at Wen Zhiming and said.

“I’ve heard you say that Senior Yue can dig tunnels very quickly, but it’s laborious and dangerous to bring people out, so there’s no way to rescue the civil and military officials. But what if we don’t bring people out, but instead bring people in?”

"Most of the officials are civil officials who don't know martial arts and can't climb the tunnels quickly. They need Senior Yue's help. But if the people we bring are all martial arts experts, wouldn't it be much simpler? We just need to open the tunnel to the Hall of Diligent Governance where the Emperor is. We can capture the king first. Once we kill the dog Emperor, the officials and soldiers will have no one to protect them and will naturally stop fighting to the death."

After listening, Ye Guhong rubbed his hands together, eager to try.

“That’s right. How come I didn’t think of that? The palace is heavily guarded. It would take too many troops for us to break in and reach the emperor. But if we go through the tunnel, we can scare the emperor to death without losing a single soldier. Yue Jiaoman, how long will it take to dig the tunnel to the Hall of Diligent Governance? Can you bring all of us martial arts practitioners there?”

Yue Jiaoman pondered for a moment and said, "When we rescued that girl last time, the tunnel to the Cold Palace was still there. We just need to extend it further to the Hall of Diligent Governance, and it can be done in half a day. However, navigating the tunnel is not just a matter of having martial arts skills; it is a great test of both internal strength and physical stamina. If someone runs out of strength halfway through and blocks the tunnel, they will become a burden to others. The tunnel is narrow, and if you climb slowly, you may suffocate and faint, which could be life-threatening."

This is a bit tricky.

None of them had experienced what it was like inside the tunnel, and none of them could guarantee that they could hold out until the end.

Moreover, if a large number of people go, the collapse of even one person will affect the plans of the entire group.

The tunnel was only wide enough for one person to pass through, so he couldn't be left unattended, nor could he be climbed over or dragged out.

All eyes were on Wen Zhiming, waiting for him to make a decision.