Sweat dripped down their temples, which were streaked with white as winter frost.

"Would you rather surrender and die a quick death, or wait for my men to trample your corpses into mud?" Ning Hongxi said from his horse.

With fewer than a hundred people, the fight had dragged on for so long. Ning Hongxi was losing patience and just wanted to get Ye Qingxue's body as soon as possible and take it back to the capital so he could finally rest easy!

Zhan Shuang, Dong Bai, and Zhuang Xin gripped their swords tightly, more blood dripping from their palms, but none of them retreated.

Ning Hongxi waved his hand again, and the guards behind him swarmed forward, their shouts of battle deafening.

But just then, another group of people rushed in from the outside, catching Ning Hongxi off guard.

When Zhan Shuangdongbai and the others looked over, they were immediately taken aback. It turned out that Yu Xiao and Zhen He had arrived with their guards.

When Yu Xiao arrived in front of Zhan Shuang and the others, fighting alongside them, Zhan Shuang and Dong Bai learned that Ning Hongxi had arranged for men to massacre the villagers in the back mountain, so Jing Tian had led some guards to rescue the villagers.

"Have you made contact with Prince Yu?" Dongbai asked the crucial question. Only by making contact with them could reinforcements arrive and save them.

Zhan Shuang's eyes were also red as he looked at Yu Xiao. When Yu Xiao led his men over, he was excited, feeling that he had help.

But after calming down a bit, he was filled with despair, guessing that Yu Xiao and his men were unable to break into the capital city, which was why they had no choice but to turn back and fight against them!

As expected, Yu Xiao said, "We can't get into the capital city!"

Zhan Shuang's heart turned cold.

Unexpectedly, Yu Xiao changed the subject, saying, "But His Highness the Crown Prince is still alive. He sent us to protect the Crown Princess, and he is leading his men to the palace to meet the Emperor!"

What? Zhan Shuang, Dong Bai, Zhuang Xin, and the guards around them were all shocked. Surrounded by flashing swords and the sounds of fighting, they wondered if they were hallucinating because of their serious injuries!

"What did you just say? His Highness the Crown Prince is still alive?" Zhan Shuang pushed aside several people and rushed to Yu Xiao: "You saw His Highness the Crown Prince with your own eyes?"

Yu Xiao said decisively, "Yes, I saw His Highness the Crown Prince. He is alive, truly alive! We came here to protect the Crown Princess, which was also His Highness's idea!"

Ning Hongxi also heard Yu Xiao's words, his eyes filled with disbelief. It was impossible; under such circumstances, Yun Zhuo couldn't possibly still be alive!

However, his officers and soldiers were stunned and hesitated for a moment.

Ning Hongxi angrily retorted, "It's all fake! This man is deceiving you, trying to confuse you and disrupt your actions. His true purpose is clearly to rescue the Crown Princess. Don't fall for it! If you fail to capture the Crown Princess and report back to the Emperor, none of you will live!"

Ning Hongxi said these words, and he himself believed them.

Yes, the tunnel collapsed twice, burying Yun Zhuo underneath. There was also the backflow of the canal, so it was impossible for him to come back alive!

These people must have deliberately told lies to distract the soldiers and buy Ye Qingxue time to escape!

Don't fall for it!

Even though Yu Xiao brought a group of people, there were only about a hundred of them, and Ning Hongxi didn't take them seriously!

He could hear Ye Qingxue's voice from five zhang away. It must be that Yun Zhuo's death had shocked her too much. She had been on the run for the past two days, which caused her to give birth prematurely.

"No wonder she hasn't shown up yet, it's like heaven is helping me!" Ning Hongxi thought to himself, drew his long sword from his horse, and led a group of men to charge towards Ye Qingxue's house. He wanted to kill Ye Qingxue himself to avenge his son Ning Xun!

The not-so-spacious courtyard was instantly illuminated by torches.

A murderous aura, like the wind, surged into the room through the cracks in the windows and walls, enveloping Ye Qingxue and the others. Their faces instantly turned ashen, and they instinctively looked towards the window.

Granny Xing and Chunxiaqiu quickly stood guard around Ye Qingxue's bedside, but the murderous aura was too overwhelming, and Ye Qingxue could still feel it. She could even see the figures moving outside the window.

That was Ning Hongxi himself who came over.

Ye Qingxue paused for a moment, and at that very moment, she felt an overwhelming urge to urinate. She gripped Qiu Shen's wrist tightly and bit down hard on the ginseng in her mouth.

"Crown Princess..." Qiu Shen called out to her urgently.

The midwife snapped back to reality and noticed that Ye Qingxue's expression was off. She suddenly bent over and went under the covers, then emerged drenched in sweat, her lips trembling: "All ten fingers are dilated, the Crown Princess is about to give birth!"