Chapter 118 Epilogue (Part 3) If He Hansheng were here...
Chapter 118
When Shen Suining first arrived at Danyu Pass, he discovered that the so-called fierce cavalry of Tuoba Dian coming to attack the pass was a ruse, and the person leading the troops was not Tuoba Dian at all.
At the time, Hu Ji guessed that Tuoba Dian's feint attack was likely a tactic to target the capital, which was behind them. If the capital fell, and they attacked Danyu Pass in the opposite direction, Shen Suining and his men would be attacked from both sides.
As for how Tuoba Dian led his army into the capital, they had no way of knowing. Although the person leading the troops was not Tuoba Dian, he was a fierce general under Tuoba Dian who was known for his bravery. They fought tirelessly for more than half a month before finally exhausting the enemy's fighting strength and rebuilding the defense line of Danyu Pass, thus filling the gap that the Empress Dowager had specially left for Tuoba Dian.
However, this meant they had very few men left to bring back to the capital for support. The only saving grace was that they had exhausted the army he brought, making it impossible for Great Dan to come to his aid in the short term.
In order to successfully infiltrate the capital, Tuoba Dian did not bring a large army with him. Apart from the iron cavalry that Shen Suining and others desperately blocked outside Danyu Pass, he only had a small elite force of less than a hundred men. In addition, although he had extraordinary military talent, he was arrogant and conceited. He believed that the Empress Dowager could betray the country and the Emperor was so weak that the court was rotten to the core and not worth his time. Only after he had control of the capital did he leisurely send a message to the royal court, asking them to send more troops.
Of course, it's also possible that he never thought Danyu Pass could be defended, as it was said to be the team he was most proud of.
This gave Shen Suining and his group an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
After arriving in the outskirts of the capital, in order not to alert the enemy, Shen Suining had Hu Ji secretly station the few remaining soldiers, while she, Shen Fengyu, Ling Rui and others infiltrated the capital to look for an opportunity to launch a coordinated attack from within and without, striving for a decisive victory.
Although Tuoba Dian did not seal off the city after taking control, he arranged for people to strictly control the entry and exit of people at the city gates. He made it easy to enter but strict to leave. If anything unusual was found, the person would be sent back to where they came from, or be executed on the spot.
Fortunately, the girls from Bifengtang were experienced and it didn't take them long to sneak into the city.
Shen Suining and the others entered the city at dusk.
The setting sun cast its rays upon the mottled mud-brick walls. Looking out, the once-glorious gilded tiles of the imperial city towers had lost their luster in the twilight, leaving only a few broken glazed tiles leaning precariously over the eaves, whistling softly in the wind. A few pedestrians hurried along the road, heads bowed, their clothes faded hemp, patched upon patched, yet all pulled as neatly as possible, as if to conceal their disheveled state.
This was the first time Shen Suining had seen such a depressing capital. It wasn't as ravaged as she had imagined during the war, but it was filled with an unspeakable fear and sorrow that made it hard to breathe.
The first thing she did after entering the city was to return to the Yong'an Marquis's residence.
According to Hu Ji, Tuoba Dian had fought against He Changxin many times. He had suffered more defeats at He Changxin's hands than he had ever been to the Central Plains. On several occasions, Tuoba Dian's army had already retreated to the border, but He Changxin still chased them for hundreds of miles, almost losing the border city in the process.
Tuoba Dian hated He Changxin to the bone. If he came to Huadu, he would definitely go to the Yong'an Marquis's residence, but neither she nor He Hansheng were there; only the Princess was there.
Shen Suining's heart was in her throat. She even began to think about how she would explain to He Hansheng, who was on a southern expedition, and how she would face her parents if something happened to the princess.
When she arrived at the Yong'an Marquis's residence and saw that the huge courtyard was empty, Shen Suining finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although there were signs of disarray inside the house, indicating that no fight had taken place, it was likely that the people from the Marquis's residence had evacuated long before Tuoba Dian arrived.
Shen Suining breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Shen Fengyu reminded her, "Young Master, I have already sent people to find out where the Princess and the others are. We should not stay here any longer."
Shen Suining nodded and asked Ling Rui, "Any news from Xiao Jiu?"
Ling Rui shook her head. "It's not just the Nine Heavens, all those once bustling music halls and singing houses are now empty. I heard that Tuoba Dian is a womanizer and has taken all the pretty girls in the city to the palace."
Just then, a burst of maniacal laughter came from the nearby alleyway, breaking the sudden silence.
The three people went over at the sound and saw a woman in a dirty and smelly alley. Her hair was disheveled and tangled like dry grass. She was wrapped in a tattered brocade robe that was torn in many places and covered with mud and bloodstains. Her exposed forearms were purple from the cold and had several bloodstains of varying depths on them.
The brocade robe was made of the finest material. The eldest princess also owned several bolts, which were said to be brocaded with gold thread from the Western Regions. Before the New Year, she gave them all to Shen Suining and had several new clothes made for her for the New Year.
This was not something an ordinary family would have, and although the woman's face was covered by her hair, Shen Suining still felt inexplicably familiar with it.
She moved closer, and the woman noticed her, letting out a panicked scream and turning to run away, but Shen Suining grabbed her wrist.
“…Gao Lanxin?” Shen Suining hesitated for a moment before calling out this name that seemed so distant to her.
Princess Lanxin of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was the girl who came to see Shen Suining when she had just married He Hansheng. The last time she saw her was last year when they were fighting in the martial arts hall. At that time, there were still red handprints on her face, but she was not as disheveled as she is now.
Upon hearing her name, Gao Lanxin looked up in confusion, seemingly not recognizing Shen Suining in disguise. After Shen Suining explained, she finally sobbed with excitement, "I knew... I knew you would come back here! I've been waiting for you here for so many days..."
As Gao Lanxin spoke, she broke down in tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Her once beautiful face was now ashen, with two white streaks left by her tears.
Shen Suining couldn't stand her like this; she would rather Gao Lanxin be as domineering as she was when she stopped her carriage.
After Xu Lanji and the others left the city, the Linjiang Villa was now uninhabited. Shen Suining brought Gao Lanxin to stay here temporarily, and had Ling Rui find the old clothes that Xu Lanji had worn before, so that Gao Lanxin could do a simple wash.
Gao Lanxin told Shen Suining that the eldest princess was currently in the capital.
Shen Suining's heart skipped a beat. "How could this be?"
How could such a large marquis's mansion, with its numerous soldiers, not even be able to protect the eldest princess?
Gao Lanxin said, "I don't know exactly what happened. After Tuoba Dian took control of the capital, he began to purge the mansions of military officers who could fight in the court, and kidnapped the female relatives of the households to take them into the palace as hostages. I... I risked my life to escape."
Shen Suining sneered, "No wonder he still has the leisure to party every night; so this is the dirty scheme he's up to."
“The eldest princess should have been able to escape as well, but it seems she made some kind of deal with Tuoba Dian and exchanged the other women from the mansions,” Gao Lanxin said, her voice trembling with tears in her eyes. “She exchanged all the hostages all by herself.”
Shen Suining suddenly stood up.
She clenched her fists to control her emotions and asked, "Where are the military generals in the court? Where are those arrogant men who used to look down on everyone? Now that the country is destroyed and their families are ruined, how dare they cower behind the princess?"
"They all ran away. As soon as they heard that Tuoba Dian's iron cavalry had reached Danyu Pass, they ran faster than rabbits." Gao Lanxin said sarcastically, while at the same time feeling an unspeakable sense of shame, because her father, the Duke of Zhenguo, was the first to abandon his post and run away.
It was then that she realized that very few people would dare to charge forward when faced with a formidable enemy, and not everyone had the unyielding spirit of Lord He.
Shen Suining couldn't sit still any longer. She didn't know what the eldest princess would experience alone when facing Tuoba Dian. She dared not think about it. She had to rescue the eldest princess immediately. The best way was for her to go and exchange hostages with the eldest princess, becoming Tuoba Dian's hostage in her place.
Shen Fengyu and Ling Rui sensed her intention and almost simultaneously stepped forward to restrain her, "Young Master! You mustn't!"
"Do you have a better idea?" Shen Suining glanced at them. "Or is there someone more suitable than me?"
The two remained silent.
No. Apart from Shen Suining, no one is more suitable to be this hostage.
However, the eldest princess is, after all, of the imperial bloodline. In addition to restraining the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, others would not dare to act rashly because they would be concerned about the princess's safety. In addition, there is a noble and weak princess and a female general who can drive back the Great Dan Iron Cavalry at Danyu Pass. It is obvious to a fool who is more suitable to be a hostage.
Moreover, I've heard that Tuoba Dian has killed many people these days. He's so cruel. What if he finds out that Shen Suining has wiped out his army and, in desperation, tries to kill Shen Suining? In that case, not only will he fail to get the princess out, but he'll also lose his life in vain.
Shen Fengyu knew Shen Suining's temperament all too well; once she made a decision, nothing could change it. So she said, "I'll go in your place. Anyway, Tuoba Dian has never met you."
Ling Rui also said, "I'll go! The manor can't be without the young master, and Bifeng Hall can't be without Feng Yu!"
Shen Suining frowned: "Both of you shut up! Did I say I was going right now? You came in all this time acting like you're ready to die. Do you think I'm some kind of idiot who's eager to go and die?"
Shen Fengyu and Ling Rui exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Isn't that right?"
Shen Suining: "..."
Shen Suining was too lazy to argue with them. The most urgent thing right now was to find out how the eldest princess was doing in the palace. If Tuoba Dian needed her as a hostage to restrain the Dacheng army, then the eldest princess should not be in any immediate danger.
However, everyone said that Tuoba Dian was a lecherous man. Although Shen Suining said that she was not in a hurry to replace him, she was inwardly tormented like an ant on a hot pan.
If they were outside the imperial city, within the capital, she might have been able to rescue the princess, or even try to exchange her for her. But it was only within the impenetrable palace walls, the only place she couldn't reach.
If He Hansheng were here, she thought.
She had never felt so in need of him before.
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