92. Go to Death

The army was slow to attack the city, and complaints arose among the barbarian army. Although Mo Beise himself had some prestige, he was still inferior to the eldest princess.

He was appointed to lead the troops to attack Beidi, and it was already his request, so why would he just waste time?

Mo Beise looked at the letter in his hand, took a deep breath, and lowered his eyes.

That was a letter from the eldest princess. Someone spread the news that he would not attack the city. The eldest princess was very angry and sent a letter here.

In her letter, she scolded Mo Beise for his willfulness, and even vaguely mocked him for his scheming in seizing power. However, he was just a man. When he saw the situation on the battlefield, he was frightened and concerned about his personal feelings. How could he lead the troops to fight?

She went to the capital of Ling Kingdom for a purpose. Did she fall in love with that Yun Niang after just a few days of chatting? Was she defending the city this time out of pity?

Mo Beise, you are so foolish in love, how can you be as smart and ruthless as when you and I supported you to the position?

What kind of woman can't you get if you want? Why do you have to be so cautious about such a big thing?

There was a reason why she sounded so angry.

Originally, the army she led was unstoppable and continued to attack, but she didn't expect that Lou Zhi came with his troops and relied on fewer troops than she had to win the stalemate. She was also tricked on the way and was almost captured alive.

Mo Beise sneered and looked up at Thor.

"You were the one who sent someone to tell her overnight that this prince would not send troops."

He spoke with confidence, without any doubt in his tone, and even smiled, with a lazy look in the corners of his eyes.

Thor was dazed for a moment by his beauty, swallowed, but still spoke.

"Your Highness, war is no joke for my lord. The eldest princess knows this... It would be best if you don't act so willfully."

"For a woman... Your Highness is trapped in love, or for a Central Plains person, do you have to ignore the barbarians?"

"Your Highness has never seen a battlefield before, so it's better to hand over the military power to us sisters..."

Mo Beise paused and let out a sigh.

He casually placed the letter in his hand onto the candle flame, and the flames spread, burning the paper.

“Hmm—”

He stood up, lowered his eyes as if he was a little bored, then suddenly pulled out the sword from the waist of the person next to him. With a "swish", the sword was unsheathed, and a flower of blood bloomed, shocking everyone.

"You... wu... gurgle..."

The smug smile on Sol's face had not yet disappeared. He covered his neck and looked at Mo Beise in disbelief. Blood seeped out from between his fingers and blood foam came out of his throat.

Mo Beise raised his hand to wipe the blood off his face, and looked at Sol with disdain as he gradually became limp and expressionless.

"I really hate... stupid people like you."

"This prince has his own plans, so why would he exaggerate anything to her? This prince is concerned about personal feelings."

Having said that, Mo Beise sneered, his eyes curved with a ripple of smile.

"This prince is not so kind-hearted... to be concerned about personal feelings... Your speculation is truly laughable."

As he spoke, he stepped on Thor's body, the corners of his lips slightly raised, and there was a paranoid savagery in his eyes.

"This prince, more than any of you, longs to conquer Beidi, and then charge in with his cavalry, burning, killing, looting, whatever..."

Mo Beise paused, unable to wipe the blood off his face, and casually threw the knife in his hand away. The servant next to him was already frightened silly.

His smile grew more beautiful, and his voice grew hoarse.

"If I just rush in, I can catch her."

Mo Beise seemed excited by this idea. He trembled slightly and kicked Thor's body several times fiercely.

His voice suddenly became hoarse.

"Do you think this prince doesn't want to attack the city right away?! I've been thinking about it like crazy every day! If I could capture her and make her my woman alone—and kill all those disgusting men who get close to her, do you think I wouldn't want to?!"

He took another deep breath, his face flushed, and he covered his face to calm his breathing.

After a long time, he looked up at the other generals and attendants in the tent. They were stunned, shocked by Mo Beise's sudden madness and cruelty.

Mo Beise's expression calmed down again, and he gave a soft order with a cold indifference.

"... drag the body out."

“Yes… yes.”

The servant was trembling with fear and dragged Thor's body out.

"Wait a moment."

Mo Beise suddenly called her. He was casually wiping the blood from his hands and face with a handkerchief. His behavior was elegant and beautiful. When he saw the servant stop, he smiled, which was even more beautiful and charming.

"Chop it up and feed it to the dogs."

The barbarians have always used killing to stop killing, but they have never had the custom of whipping corpses after death to vent their anger. His words were also shocking. The others looked at each other and spoke with trembling voices.

"Yes, yes, Sol may not have any brains... but Your Highness, she is a brave warrior."

Mo Beise said nothing, just looked at her with a smile.

She lowered her head tremblingly, stopped talking, closed her eyes and stopped looking.

…

The silly smile on Fang Li's face disappeared, she clenched her hands and said nothing.

The city was sealed off inside and out. The barbarian army refused to give in, and Qin Zhi was not transported out. Looking at Fang Li's appearance, he paused and asked.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Fang Li seemed to be startled. He whimpered for a while, lowered his head, and said something guiltily after a long time.

"No, I'm fine... I'm just a little, a little scared."

"Heh..." Qin Zhi sneered and rolled his eyes, "This prince didn't say anything, and you, a woman, are scared?"

"Even if Yun Zhihe wants to keep a loser like you in the city, she'll still have to send this prince away... She doesn't know what's good for her."

Fang Li paused, lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice.

"...It would be nice if you really left."

When I asked her again, she stopped talking.

She looked for Yun Zhihe closely, fearing that the enemy would invade and leave no one to take care of her. She followed Yun Zhihe every step of the way, from morning to night.

Yun Zhihe couldn't help but ask, "Have you swept that tomb? I'm also a scholar, weak as a chicken. Even if the enemy invades, I can't protect you if you follow me."

She pointed to the guard next to her and said, "If you are really scared, it is better to follow her than to follow me."

Fang Li lowered his head and muttered.

"No, I didn't sweep, but, but you...you're smart, you...you're powerful, and you're an official...I, I'll follow you."

Yun Zhihe paused, then shook his head and let her follow him, then asked casually.

"But your aunt is...?"

Fang Li was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "No, nothing... just... just... how, how..."

Yun Zhihe glanced at her without saying a word, his eyes slightly darkened, and he chuckled again.

“…Nothing.”

…

It was late at night and everyone was asleep, but the faint sound of rubbing could be heard. All the guards had been sent to patrol the city walls, so there were not many people in the palace.

Fang Li dodged carefully, trembling as he ran to the study door, observing for a while before daring to sneak in.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she kept crying and trembling, feeling remorse in her heart.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry just this once...

She took out the defense map that Yun Zhihe had placed in the secret compartment during the day, and held it in her hand as if it weighed a thousand pounds, sniffing and crying.

Fang Li walked out, but before he took two steps, a sharp voice suddenly came out.

"Catch the thief——"

The sound resounded through the sky, and the quiet mansion suddenly became noisy. Fang Li could see the lights gathering towards her. She was so scared that she peed her pants and ran away trembling.

"Wuwuwuwuwuwuwuwu, don't catch me, don't catch me..."

Before she could run a few steps, she was suddenly held down by someone and fell to the ground.

"Ahhh—don't catch me, don't catch me, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

Fang Li shouted with her eyes closed, her face covered with tears. She felt a little silence around her, and after a long time she carefully opened her eyes - it was Yun Zhihe.

Yun Zhihe held the lantern and looked down at him calmly, then squatted down and took out the defense map in her hand.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Wuwuwuwuwu, Yun Zhihe, I was wrong... I just..."

Yun Zhihe just looked at her, frowning slightly, as if he understood.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"If the Beidi defense map fell into enemy hands... the cavalry would storm this place, burning, killing, and looting, and countless people would suffer—this would be treason."

She spoke in a flat voice, but Fang Li broke down and burst into tears.

"Wuwuwuwu, it was my aunt who asked me to do this. My husband is not dead. She just said he was dead to trick me. Wuwuwuwuwu, if I don't do as she says, she will kill my husband..."

Yun Zhihe closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Then you know that you are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything, so why did she choose you?"

Before Fang Li could speak, the guards brought a few more people over, threw them to the ground viciously, and reported to Yun Zhihe.

"Sir, I just caught it."

The men Zhao Yin sent here looked ashen, with their heads down and no words spoken.

Yun Zhihe looked at these people, and then saw Fang Li's stunned look with tears in his eyes, and sneered.

"The defense map you have is fake. They asked you to attract attention so they can take advantage of the chaos to get the real map."

"And you... in Zhao Yin's eyes, you are just a waste."

"The only use is to divert attention and serve as a scapegoat."

Yun Zhihe tore up the defense map in his hand, sighed lightly, and looked down at Fang Li.

"If they take the real defense map and leave, I'll track down Zhao Yin and ask her. She'll definitely say, 'Wasn't there a thief last night using the name of Fang Xiaohou? The real Fang Xiaohou is in the capital. How could the Fang Li here be the real one? Lord Yun, please don't turn the tables and try to put the blame on me—"

"So... Yun Zhihe was the one who stole from the city and colluded with the enemy, treasoning against the country and causing the fall of Beidi City and the dispersal of its people."

Yun Zhihe squatted down, pinched Fang Li's chin, and continued to murmur. His voice was clear and light, and particularly pleasant to the ear.

"Fang Li, the defense map is no joke, and neither is Beidi City... The lives of the people depend on it. I'm not stupid, so how could I not know Zhao Yin's tricks?"

"Even before her title was revoked, she had a reputation for collaborating with the enemy and treason. I also thoroughly investigated the assassination attempt on the late emperor..."

She suddenly asked.

"What if this defense map is real?"

"If so, what if you really stole the defense map?"

"What if... the Iron Cavalry breaks through Beidi?"

Fang Li stared at her blankly, unable to utter a word.

Yun Zhihe pursed his lips, stood up and closed his eyes.

"I treated you as a friend before, Fang Li, so take care of yourself..."

"...put them in jail!"

Fang Li was dragged up and walked towards the dungeon. She was originally stunned, but she struggled and suddenly shouted at Yun Zhihe.

"I don't know... I don't know... Yun Zhihe! What would you do if your husband was threatened?!"

She looked at Yun Zhihe stubbornly, her face covered with tears, as if she had to give an answer.

Yun Zhihe paused, turned to look at Fang Li, seemed to be thinking, and waited for a while before speaking softly.

"Neither he nor I are the kind of people that the people use as bargaining chips."

“…He will die.”

She made her judgment almost calmly, then paused, her voice a little hoarse.

"I will defend what I am supposed to defend until victory comes... and then I will go and join him."

The author has something to say:

The plot... is so annoying... (feeling powerless)