Chapter 23, the twelfth and thirteenth time! ...
Chapter 23
In the dimly lit room, Ma Shan picked up the red-hot iron, his eyes calm, but his fierce face exuded an oppressive aura. He turned around to look at the person behind him, who, in the candlelight, seemed like a demon, biting and refusing to let go.
Immediately, someone splashed water on them to wake them up. The people hanging there were already covered in wounds and barely breathing, yet they were being tortured into staying conscious, not even allowed to faint.
As Ma Shan approached, the group trembled with fear and struggled incessantly.
"Please, let me go."
"I really didn't do anything!"
"I'll give you whatever money you want, please let me go."
...
"Confess." Ma Shan ignored their pleas for mercy, his eyes suddenly turning fierce. "If you don't confess, none of you will leave here alive today. What exactly did the Crown Prince of Northern Yan buy from you...?"
As he spoke, he casually pressed Luo Tie down onto the nearest person, and with a few "sizzling" sounds, a strange smell spread.
The man was in so much pain that he couldn't even cry out, tears streaming down his face.
"I'll confess!" Someone on the other side finally couldn't hold back any longer and roared out, their face full of terror.
-
Imperial City Guard, Imperial Prison.
Ye Xiren couldn't help but sigh:
“You were absolutely right. Those merchants were indeed suspicious. Chi Zhanlan Ce ostensibly bought some ordinary valuable items from them, but in reality, he secretly bought... gunpowder.”
Yan Danqing was not surprised at all, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Those merchants were all involved in mining, and the court allowed the use of gunpowder in mining. If Chizhan Lance really wanted to take the gifts back, he would ask Daliang for them instead of buying them with his own money. What he bought were not the things that were on the surface!
It really was gunpowder.
“He bought only a small amount from each person. Those merchants were greedy and, seeing that he was willing to pay ten times the price, they couldn’t resist the temptation and sold to him in private. According to those merchants, they mixed the goods with the goods and handed them over to the Northern Yan people. They were worried that there might be some problems, but thinking that the quantity was small and they could not do anything, they felt at ease to make the transaction…” Ye Xiren sighed.
Where is it that a small amount is fine?
The Northern Yan delegation's purchase of gunpowder in the territory of Nandu was clearly a treacherous act. These merchants were willing to do anything for money and were trading with the enemy, using the "small quantity" as a cover for their greed and treasonous intentions.
"All of these amounts combined are enough to cause quite a stir." Yan Danqing lowered his eyes, frowning in deep thought. "I'm afraid he intends to use them to save his own life at the moment the peace talks fall apart."
If he is killed, Chi Zhanlan will immediately break the peace talks and create chaos in Nandu, so that Beiyan can quickly break through the Huai'an Canal, rush into Nandu, and occupy this Nandu that they have long coveted.
While gunpowder isn't particularly powerful these days, the combined amount can be quite effective. Since Chi Zhanlan Ce has purchased this gunpowder, it will be of great use.
Ye Xiren sat up straight, her eyes lighting up as if she had just thought of something, her gloom vanishing, and she asked excitedly, "There are witnesses and physical evidence from the post station, as well as witnesses and confessions from Chizhan Lance who privately bought gunpowder. Doesn't this prove that Beiyan has ulterior motives and that you are being falsely accused?"
Doesn't this mean we've got news for both objectives?
Ye Xiren was overjoyed.
Seeing her happy, Yan Danqing nodded slightly and smiled, her eyes softening. The candlelight flickered, and the chill in the originally cold and dark dungeon disappeared completely, replaced by a sense of warmth.
He stared intently at the person in front of him, unable to look away.
"Let my father present this evidence to the Emperor and the court officials. As long as we can hold out for even one more day, and the evidence of the military rations is returned on the fourth day of the third month, your innocence will be cleared. As for killing Chizhan Lance..."
Ye Xiren frowned and clenched her fists. "With Chizhan Lance dead, Northern Yan and Great Liang will inevitably go to war. You are not a rebel, so the Emperor is not afraid of you plotting to usurp the throne. Perhaps the Emperor will pardon you and let you continue to lead troops into battle!"
Even without Chi Zhanlan Ce, Northern Yan still has its fierce cavalry. If Great Liang were capable of fighting, it wouldn't have suffered repeated defeats and fled all the way to the Southern Capital last year.
Since peace talks have already failed, as long as it is proven that Yan Danqing is not a rebel, surely the court wouldn't still want to kill such a genius?
It can be saved!
Ye Xiren became increasingly composed, nodding repeatedly.
Seeing that she had convinced herself, Yan Danqing's smile remained unchanged. No matter what the final outcome was, there had been someone who struggled to save him through countless deaths...
"Oh dear!" Ye Xiren slapped her forehead again, remembering something. "I forgot to ask my father to stay. I have to make him wait for me!"
Ye Pei had to go to court early in the morning, and by the time she got the evidence, he had already left, so she had to make him wait.
After saying that, she made a decision, tilted her head forward and raised her chin, and her pretty face suddenly appeared in front of Yan Danqing.
Her bangs were slightly curled up, her skin was smooth and fair, almost flawless, her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, her big eyes were closed, her small nose was holding her breath, and her thick eyelashes cast two shadows.
So close, her muttering seemed to be right next to my ear: "You didn't hurt me at all when you hit me, but why didn't you say so earlier? Before, when I hit my head against the wall and had my throat slit... it almost hurt me to death."
This person's actions were practically a painless restart; thinking back, all that suffering was for nothing.
"Come on, kill me," she finally demanded.
Yan Danqing: "..."
He tried to take action, but it wasn't in time.
Ye Xiren's face was right in front of him, he could almost feel her breath. His eyelids trembled, and he slowly reached out, placing his hand, cleaner than before, on the back of her head, applying gentle pressure.
Ye Xiren's vision went black.
"Wait..." Yan Danqing closed his eyes, "Will Ye Pei wait?"
-
"Bang!"
Ye Pei fainted.
Ye Xiren withdrew the wooden stick, gritting her teeth: "I told you to wait, why didn't you believe me?"
"I really just wanted you to wait while I went to get the evidence. Lots of witnesses and physical evidence; those things are much more useful than you taking the blame for someone else!"
From Ye Pei's perspective, yesterday was the second day of the third lunar month. He had just had a big fight with his daughter, Ye Xiren, who angrily denounced his act of taking the blame for Yan Danqing and tried to stop him from going to his death.
Therefore, when Ye Xiren asked him to wait and go with her to get the "evidence" today, Ye Pei didn't believe her. He naturally assumed it was a trick his daughter had come up with to prevent him from attending court, and he didn't care at all, refusing to wait no matter what...
Helpless, Ye Xiren had no choice but to "force" him to wait.
Yan Danqing: "..."
Ye Xiren didn't care about any of that. She was the one who broke her brother's hand, smashed her grandmother's Guanyin statue, and poisoned the whole family. She was just "forcibly keeping" Ye Pei, which was nothing. She was very accurate in her attacks.
Even if it's a mistake...
It's okay, we can always start over!
She was exhausted, covered in sweat and panting. Each time she did more work, she became more and more tired. This time, she could barely speak and could only manage broken sentences.
Today, Yan Danqing was closer to the dungeon bars. The straw was still piled up in front of him. Ye Xiren skillfully reached out to rummage through it, but realized that her hand had already reached Yan Danqing's feet and felt inexplicably embarrassed... She turned her hand and rummaged through a small pile of straw next to her.
Yan Danqing's pupils contracted, and her breathing became rapid: "No!"
Ye Xiren has already peeled it off.
Below was a row of rats, some dead, some unconscious, lined up neatly, all lying with their heads facing the same direction, quiet and still...
Ye Xiren: "?"
Her expression was strange. She covered the straw back up, muttering meaningfully, "What kind of hobby is this?"
Yan Danqing: "..."
He sat stiffly inside, motionless, looking very calm, still like the bright moon hanging high, aloof and composed, only his ears twitched slightly, the base of his ears turning slightly red.
Ye Xiren sat outside the fence, calculating that it was still early, and asked curiously, "If there were no peace talks, who would win between you and Chizhan Lance, Huai'an Qu?"
Yan Danqing thought for a moment and replied:
"Fifty-fifty."
The stalemate at Huai'an Canal was because neither he nor Chizhan Lance could gain the upper hand. He could win, but too many people were holding him back. Chizhan Lance could win, but this was the land of Daliang, and cavalry would face similar difficulties if they ventured deep into the heartland.
"What if you and Chizhan Lance both die?" Ye Xiren continued to ask.
"The Yan family army and the Northern Yan army are not in chaos..." Yan Danqing replied earnestly, "It's still a 50/50 split."
"You're dead, but Chi Zhanlan Ce is alive?"
"Defeat is inevitable."
"What if you go to Huai'an Canal and Chizhan Lance dies?"
"Victory is certain."
Ye Xiren took a deep breath.
It's all the fault of those parasites in the imperial court who are holding us back. Otherwise, if Chi Zhanlan Ce had just delivered himself to our doorstep, we could have killed this scourge with one stroke and let Yan Danqing give him a good beating. We would have taken it back to the North long ago!
She was just an ordinary person who initially only wanted to save her own life and that of her family. But her father was willing to risk his life to save General Yan, so she wanted to find a way to achieve the best of both worlds.
Later, seeing the chaos in Daliang after Yan Danqing's death, seeing the blood-written letter, and seeing the people imprisoned here, she didn't understand many principles of saving the country, but she... wanted to save this person.
Such a person should not die unjustly.
Ye Xiren stayed for a while longer, then, estimating that it was about time, she stood up and waved her hand, "Alright, I'm leaving. General Yan, wait for me to rescue you!"
After saying that, she went to get the veiled hat from the side.
After struggling to pick it up, Ye Xiren put it on her head, took a deep breath, and strode away with her neck stiff.
Yan Danqing's gaze followed her retreating figure, lingering there for a long time. The lively atmosphere in the dungeon vanished, replaced by silence and darkness, devoid of any life.
-
"You're finally out." Lu Qian looked her up and down. "If I didn't know you two didn't know each other, I might have thought you came to say goodbye to your lover, reluctant to part..."
Ye Xiren was too lazy to waste words with him and just kept walking out.
Enraged, Lu Qian tightened his grip on the long sword, his eyes filled with malice. "Let's see how long you can hold out. Sooner or later you'll fall into my hands, and I'll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death."
The two left the prison one after the other.
Whoosh!
The arrows pierced the sky with a sharp whooshing sound. Before anyone could react, the arrows were already upon them, their fierce killing intent overwhelming, making it hard to breathe and causing the heart to almost stop beating. The surroundings were eerily quiet.
Chi Zhanlan Ce was waiting outside to kill them!
Lu Qian groaned and collapsed in disbelief. He dared to bring people to see Yan Danqing, and his so-called "compatriot," the Crown Prince of Northern Yan, dared to kill him.
An arrow came straight at Ye Xiren's neck, intending to pierce her throat with a sword!
"Clang!"
The arrow struck the veil that Ye Xiren had pressed down on. The metal clashed, and the arrow fell to the ground. The gauze on the veil tore, revealing a black, hard iron shield inside.
Ye Xiren, with her veil pressed down, tilted her head and curled the corners of her lips: "If I had known you were guarding here, would you really have thought I wouldn't do anything?"
Having died countless times, she is no longer the person she once was.
Ye, the Grim Reaper, cherishes people!
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Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your support! I love you all!!
Hold me tight!
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