Chapter 76: Won the final round!
Chapter 76
March 8th, Yin hour
As time rewinds, the boudoir in Tingxue Courtyard of the Ye family is empty, with maids and servants fast asleep. When they wake up, they will have to serve the old lady.
In Changheng Courtyard, the family portrait hanging above Ye Changming's bed, with its radiant smile of a charming young girl, has vanished. In his dream, Ye Changming sheds tears.
"Xixi..."
Yan Danqing stood at the entrance of the Northern Yan embassy, with Jiang You and Liu Duoxi beside him. The person who should have been standing on his left was nowhere to be seen, as if he had never been there.
The last image in my mind was Ye Xiren strangling Chi Zhanlan Ce, and the two of them dying together...
Clinging to a last glimmer of hope, his voice trembled slightly: "Prime Minister Jiang, why have we come here?"
Jiang You was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at him strangely: "Of course, it's to interrogate Chi Zhanlan Ce to see if we can uncover the secrets of Northern Yan!"
"Where is Miss Ye Er?" Yan Danqing asked urgently. "Does anyone remember her?"
Jiang You and Liu Duoxi looked bewildered. "Who is that?"
who?
How come I've never heard of this name before?
Yan Danqing closed his eyes, his face deathly pale, his fingernails digging into his palms, drawing blood, and he swayed precariously, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed and kneaded tightly.
For a moment, he even wanted to destroy everything and perish together with everyone else.
Ye Xiren...
She vanished completely from this world, taking with her all traces and memories.
[In the spring, I have a guess, a guess that will lead us to final victory. Do you remember that Yan Wan's timeline doesn't align with mine?]
I suspect there's another cycle going on.
After Yan Wan died, the world started anew. That time, it was because of her. Therefore, the fifteenth cycle isn't the last; the sixteenth is, which means we have one more chance!
[Chi Zhanlan Ce still remembers me, and specifically requested to see me at this moment. He must have discovered a clue to the cycle, or at least realized the strangeness surrounding me.]
【Then let him know more.】
[I'm going to see him with Yan Wan's notes, to make him understand the cycle, and to make him realize that the root of my constant failures lies with me. He'll definitely want to kill me.]
He's run out of cards; the hidden secret is his only bargaining chip. I'm going to bet the truth of the cycle, exchange it for his chips, and get what we want.
[Spring Day, I believe this time, we will definitely be able to find out the whole truth!]
Yan Danqing's lips trembled, and she bit her lip until it bled. Ye Xiren had not only staked the truth of the cycle, but also her own life...
She disappeared.
"Spring Day, the rest is up to you."
He opened his eyes, his eyes red-rimmed, cold yet clear-headed, and silently said, "Don't worry."
“No need for interrogation, I know what his secret is.” After saying that, Yan Danqing left only one sentence: “Let me see him alone.”
He strode into the room.
Chi Zhanlan Ce leaned against the soft couch, his eyes vacant, but when he saw Yan Danqing walk in, a series of scenes flashed through his mind...
He remembered!
His body tensed instantly, and he sat up, saying each word clearly: "There was... another time."
It's reopened again!
He neither eliminated the variables and the cycle as he had hoped, nor did he restart from last year, returning everything to its starting point.
Chi Zhanlan Ce's eyes were bloodshot, and he suddenly understood the meaning of Ye Xiren's last words!
He bet that after she learns the truth, unable to prove he has a heart condition, she will desperately try to retrieve the note and ultimately die from poisoning.
Ye Xiren was also gambling.
She bet that once he knew the truth about the cycle, he would go all out and use the "truth" that could lure her to kill her, thus revealing the truth.
Upon learning that fate was against him, Chi Zhanlan Ce wanted to fight against it, but he overlooked the fact that there was someone else. In the final battle, the truth was revealed: it was a battle between Ye Xiren and him!
He spent his days scheming against others, but he never imagined that one day he would be the one schemed against with his life...
Chi Zhanlan's eyes were bloodshot.
Yan Danqing could tell from his reaction that this person still had memories, which wasn't too surprising. He took a few steps forward, grabbed the man's neck, and his eyes were filled with hatred. This was the man who had killed his Xixi!
The two stared intently at each other, their hatred surging simultaneously.
Chi Zhanlan closed his eyes.
Yan Danqing threw him out hard, and with a flick of his wrist, Xu Cheng glanced at them worriedly, then obediently left the room, leaving the two of them facing off.
"What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?" Yan Danqing looked down at him as if he were a dead man.
Chi Zhanlan Ce slowly straightened up, his eyes flashing sharply as he stared at the corner of the table.
Yan Danqing kicked him away, slamming him onto the soft couch. His already exhausted body lost all strength under the heavy blow, his vision went black, and he couldn't even commit suicide.
"I won't kill you." Yan Danqing looked at him and said, word by word, "You were already about to die. I want your heart disease to flare up and you to die helplessly."
Of course, it doesn't matter if he commits suicide; the result is the same anyway. All he wants is a corpse.
Chi Zhanlan Ce swayed, his eyes fixed on the person in front of him, his voice hoarse: "If I die in Daliang, the Northern Yan army will surely hate you to the core, and they will avenge the Holy Son."
He had already prepared a blood oath, and even if Chi Zhan Chengye was a fool, he should have known to bring it out when the Liang army was mobilized.
There is still hope.
Even if the chances are slim.
"Have you forgotten Wu Qiao?" Yan Danqing sneered. "The person in charge of the Yan army north of Huai'an Canal is not you, Chi Zhan Lan Ce, but your spoiled second prince, Chi Zhan Cheng Ye, who only knows how to seek pleasure."
Chi Zhanlan Ce's pupils contracted. Wu Qiao was still alive, and Yan Danqing would definitely take Wu Qiao to the battlefield. Moreover, he already knew about Wu Qiao's serious illness. Even without evidence, shouting at the front of the battle would disrupt the morale of the army.
Chi Zhancheng knows the truth. Will he be influenced by Yan Danqing?
Just thinking about this extinguished the hope that had just risen in his heart. He tensed up, veins throbbing on his forehead, his eyes sharp. "No, this is not the end. Northern Yan is powerful, and your Great Liang is too busy to take care of itself. Refugees, military disasters..."
Yan Danqing's expression remained unchanged; he simply spoke:
"Then guess where Ma Shan went?"
Chi Zhanlan Ce was stunned, his pupils contracted, and he asked incredulously, "Jiaozhou?"
Yan Danqing's smile grew even colder, his eyes filled with mockery: "Do you think you're the only one stalling for time? At dawn on the sixth day of the third month, Ma Shan and Zhao Wu set off on horseback for Jiaozhou. They've already arrived. It's just war and refugees. Kill the leaders of the rebellion. Jiaozhou has grain. Use the refugees from Xuzhou to attack the war in Jiaozhou. After taking it, open the granaries and provide disaster relief!"
His greatest skill was rallying large numbers of refugees.
If Jiaozhou has grain, it will be used for disaster relief; if Xuzhou has refugees, they will be used as soldiers. In this way, both provinces can be involved at the same time, restraining each other and alleviating the disaster of war and refugees.
Once he wins a match, everything will fall into place.
"Moreover, your heart ailment will not only affect Northern Yan, but also Great Liang." Yan Danqing spoke slowly, saying that it was unfavorable to Northern Yan, but beneficial to Great Liang.
Many people in the court still hope for peace talks, and the common people feel the same way.
This news is very important.
Let those who harbored hopes understand completely that Northern Yan would not negotiate with them, Chi Zhanlan Ce is suffering from a heart ailment and is about to die suddenly, and now, only war is possible.
Chi Zhanlan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
What else could he do?
He had already lost more than half of his game from the moment he failed to kill Yan Danqing, and then he lost the other half with Ye Xiren, leaving him completely without any bargaining chips or means...
"If it weren't for God's help!" he said with difficulty.
"Yes, it's because you weren't blessed by Heaven." Yan Danqing remained calm, continuing to wait patiently. "With the right timing, location, and people, Chi Zhan Lan Ce, what do you have left?"
Chi Zhanlan Ce was speechless.
Time passed second by second, and at the same time, a bird silently landed on the windowsill.
Yan Danqing's eyes flashed with even more murderous intent.
Sure enough, this was prepared in advance!
Chizhan Lanze is truly adept at leaving himself a backup plan. Wuqiao can tame wild birds. If the plan fails and even Wuqiao is captured, on the eighth day of the third month, the day Chizhan Lanze will die, this bird will come to find him on time.
If Ucho is still outside, whether the bird will appear on the eighth day of the third lunar month depends on the signal.
Chizhan Lance closed his eyes. Wu Qiao couldn't save him; he could only suppress his condition with medicine. They had calculated the time precisely, and at most, they could delay it until the eighth day of the third month.
This bird was his last resort.
If all his previous arrangements fail, he will still have this one last trick up his sleeve when he dies: to take someone with him...
He chose Ye Xiren.
He succeeded, and he failed miserably.
With a flick of the red-tasseled spear, all the fine needles were blocked. Outside, Yan Shuang and Ying Changping threw out a net and caught the bird. They then carefully removed the pills and note and handed them to Yan Danqing.
This is the last dose of medicine. I hope Your Highness will have a smooth journey.
There wasn't even a signature.
"Disappointed?" Chi Zhanlan Ce opened his eyes and smiled foolishly. "This note is useless. It proves nothing. She died unjustly..."
What use is this note to the army? His blood-written letter, full of precious words, is what truly matters; it won't change the morale of the Northern Yan army.
Yan Danqing turned around, holding the note, her eyes icy cold:
"Stop pretending. With your intelligence, do you think you don't know the best use for this note? I don't need to prove anything. I just need to deliver the note, the pill, and your corpse to the rightful person in Northern Yan, and that will be the most effective thing."
He doesn't need to prove it.
He only needs to give it to the person who should see the truth. The note cannot disrupt the morale of the army, but it can disrupt the hearts of the people.
Chi Zhanlan's breath hitched.
Yan Danqing gave a mocking smile: "What will happen if these things go to Northern Yan and are handed over to those tribes that didn't want to start a war but only contributed manpower and effort because of what the Holy Son said?"
The Holy Son died of a heart ailment, without divine protection. The Grand Preceptor, Wu Qiao, knew this but deliberately concealed it.
For the Northern Yan people who already wanted to invade Daliang, this might not affect their decision to fight again. But what about those Northern Yan people who didn't want to fight in the first place? What will happen if they lose their faith?
Besides, Chi Zhanlan Ce is dead!
The Northern Yan's Holy Son, who had suppressed them and united their hearts, was dead, and in this manner. His body and evidence were sent back. The staff that had pacified the Great Liang was gone. Those who didn't want to fight, those who wanted to seize the power vacuum left by the Crown Prince's death...
It's time to throw Northern Yan into chaos!
Sacrifice?
Will they turn internal turmoil into hatred towards the Great Liang?
Don't even think about it!
"You've stirred up trouble between the peace faction and the war faction. It's time for your Northern Yan to also have a peace faction and a war faction." After saying this, Yan Danqing turned and left. "Keep an eye on him and wait for him to fall ill and die."
Although suicide would have some effect, it would be better to die from a heart attack. At that time, we can send him back in an ice coffin and let the Northern Yan people investigate how the Holy Son died!
The claim of divine protection is nothing but a lie used to win people's hearts from beginning to end.
They didn't know he had a heart condition before, but now that they do, they naturally want to make the most of it.
Chi Zhanlan Ce trembled, while Xu Cheng stared intently at him, ready to intervene at any moment to stop him from taking his own life.
Feeling the intense pain in his heart, he gasped for breath, trying to calm himself. He needed to control his emotions and not get too agitated, so he could stall for a little longer...
"Yan Danqing!" Chi Zhanlan Ce clutched his chest, his face turning ashen, and shouted, "You won, but are you happy? You saved 300,000 people in Nandu, but you couldn't save your beloved. I didn't lose to you, I lost to her life. On the road to the Yellow Springs, she will accompany me!"
His failure was bought with Ye Xiren's life.
Everyone survived.
They won a resounding victory in this game that involved their own country.
Yan Danqing's body trembled as pain swept over him, almost causing him to collapse. He paused, blood gushing from his palm, but this did not spur Chi Zhanlan Ce to turn back and kill him.
As Yan Danqing took another step, he became increasingly unsteady. Even though Chi Zhanlan Ce was on the verge of death, he knew how to inflict the most pain, and blood bloomed all over the ground.
Right next to them, an unseen and deaf person was jumping up and down in a panic. During the argument between the two, she would kick Chi Zhanlan Ce and poke Yan Danqing.
Ye Xiren: "I'm alive! I'm still alive, I'm not dead!!"
She was in a hurry!
However, no one could perceive it.
One staggered away, the other shut his mouth in despair, his face turning blue, trying to calm his throbbing heart. The room fell into utter silence...
Ye Xiren: "..."
She was speechless.
It turns out that after being ignored by everyone and becoming invisible as long as she doesn't speak, there is another cycle of being truly "invisible." Their timing is out of sync because it's Yan Wan's sixteenth cycle!
However, no one could see or hear her.
Yan Wan could do nothing but helplessly watch the world progress step by step. Fortunately, she had existed, and thus left her mark. Liang Yue and Jiang You both made choices influenced by her and successfully arrived in Nandu.
However, because they forgot about Yan Wan, they were preoccupied with peace talks and imprisoned Yan Danqing.
Continuing from Ye Xiren's cycle.
At this moment, she finally understood everything. No wonder her memories were neither Yan Wan's original state at the beginning of the cycle nor the world process of the last cycle...
Ye Xiren scratched her head, feeling somewhat sad.
So, after Sister Awan started her cycle, did she completely disappear from this world?
What about yourself?
She shook her head, deciding not to think about those things for now. The advantage lay entirely with them, and she needed to focus on securing victory!
Ye Xiren lifted her foot to catch up with Yan Danqing.
Chi Zhanlan Ce stared blankly at the table in front of him. Although it was already daylight, the candle was still burning. The next moment, in his gaze, it suddenly went out without any wind.
It's a terrible omen for him.
He suddenly lost his strength and was enveloped by despair.
"Ye Xiren." Chi Zhanlan Ce murmured the name, looked up at the front, and murmured, "The world has started again, the cycle has not completely ended, so are you alive? Just, living in a form that no one can see at all?"
Ye Xiren turned around abruptly, in disbelief.
This...this...
How can there be such intelligent people in the world?!
She turned back after a few steps and moved closer. Normally, she was afraid of death and dared not get close to Chi Zhanlan Ce, keeping as far away as possible.
But now I'm not afraid at all. And, probably because I can't do anything about it and I've already done what I wanted to do most, I feel particularly relaxed and very curious.
She observed Chi Zhanlan Ce, muttering, "His head isn't any bigger than others, and he's not bald, so how is he so smart? How does his head even grow like that?"
That's terrifying!
Fortunately, this person was short-lived, and fortunately, the crisis had been completely resolved. This person was of no use and was just waiting to breathe his last.
Ye Xiren patted her chest in lingering fear and hurried after Yan Danqing.
Embassy entrance
Yan Danqing explained the whole truth, and Ye Pei and the others who had just arrived were also shocked. They never expected that they would almost all perish at the hands of a dying man.
Liu Duoxi hurriedly said, "I'll go find the imperial physician to write up the pulse diagnosis and spread this news!"
Ye Pei was somewhat worried and couldn't help but remind them: "Once the news spreads, the court officials can focus on preparing for war, but the refugees outside the city will lose all hope once they know there will be another war..."
"Give them grain." Yan Danqing's voice was like frost. "Take the grain confiscated from the grain merchants and use it for disaster relief. After driving the Northern Yan people away, let them return to their hometowns. There will still be time for spring plowing."
Ye Pei and Jiang You nodded, and began to plan their next steps.
Jiang You asked worriedly, "And what about you?"
"And the batch of grain that Yunlai sent back, it'll be faster to send it to the Huai'an Canal than to the Southern Capital." Yan Danqing had already made up his mind.
"The grain that Yunlai obtained probably won't last long..."
Yan Danqing's eyes flashed, his red-tasseled spear trembled, and his killing intent surged: "That's enough. The rest... naturally, is to seize Northern Yan!"
Once, it was Northern Yan that seized Daliang; now, it's their turn to seize Northern Yan. After several feasts, they will fight and plunder at the same time, burning their bridges and sinking their boats. As long as they keep winning, they don't need to stop.
As for whether we can keep winning?
Northern Yan lost Chi Zhanlan Ce, but Great Liang still had him. After winning the next battle, they had nothing to worry about.
Beside her, Ye Xiren peeked out, cupped her face in her hands, and blinked.
Hmm...
What to do? It seems that General Yan, with his cold face, ready for battle, and exuding a murderous aura, looks even better.
Yan Danqing twirled his spear and said, “Although Chizhan Chengye is not very smart, he has the blood letter left by Chizhan Lance and probably his tactics. The Huai’an Canal could be attacked at any time. I must go to Yunlai’s grain supplies immediately and take them to the Huai’an Canal. I’ll leave this place to you.”
Liu Duoxi looked in the direction of the embassy, a thought suddenly occurring to him:
"How about we bring Chi Zhanlan Ce along?"
“He’s about to die, at his last gasp. Taking his body to the Huai’an Canal won’t do any good; it might even provoke the Northern Yan army.” Jiang You’s eyes sharpened. “We have to send his body back to Northern Yan to make it as effective as possible…”
Chi Zhanlan Ce is dying of a heart attack. Even if his hands and feet are tied, he can still die on the spot if he deliberately agitates himself and stimulates his heart. He can't take the living people to Huai'an Canal, so the dead are useless.
But they couldn't send the living person back to Northern Yan; they had to wait until he breathed his last and could no longer be disturbed before they could feel at ease.
Yan Danqing nodded.
Jiang You took a deep breath, his expression solemn: "General Yan, I will immediately make preparations for you to smoothly take over the provisions, and also bring some other things..."
He quickly made a decision in his mind.
The people escorting the supplies were his men; they had to be handed over to Yan Danqing so that the Emperor could issue an edict to aid him in the great battle…
"Approximately how long?"
"Two or three hours," Jiang You replied immediately. "I'll do it as soon as possible."
Yan Danqing looked ahead, her eyes deep: "Perfect timing, there's something I want to do before I leave."
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Author's note: See you tomorrow!
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