Jiang Longzhi was overjoyed. If he could capture Su Jinxia, he could take down Zhuang Jun without losing a single soldier. This would be an incredible achievement, and from then on, he would be the number one person in the court!
Thinking of this, Jiang Long couldn't help but feel smug, as if he could already see his own success and fame.
Su Jin smiled faintly, ignoring Jiang Long without giving him even a superfluous expression, and instead turned her gaze gently to Zhou Lin, "Third Prince, are you still so stubborn?"
If Zhou Lin still doesn't wake up now and only knows blind loyalty, then Su Jinxia doesn't need to waste any more words on him.
Zhou Lin closed his eyes in despair.
In fact, when Jiang Long kidnapped Wang Shuyi and Zhou Li, Zhou Lin had already begun to believe what Su Jin had said.
He just couldn't accept it for a moment; all his previous understanding was so ridiculously wrong!
Zhou Lin turned around and looked at Su Jinxia and Zhou Chen. They were clearly in danger, but their faces were calm. Then he looked at Jiang Long, whose eyes were filled with viciousness and greed. And Wang Shuyi, whose eyes were fixed on Zhou Li, filled with regret.
Zhou Lin sighed softly, then suddenly pulled a small object from his sleeve and tossed it straight to Zhou Chen.
Zhou Chen reached out and caught it. When he opened his palm, he saw that it was actually the Tiger Forest Army's mobilization order tiger tally.
“Lord Liuli is a peerless martial artist, he should be able to leave, right? Please take Zhou Li with you too!” Zhou Lin straightened his back and looked at Su Jin with earnest eyes.
They couldn't all perish here. Zhou Lin was willing to block all the attacks by himself to buy Su Jin a moment to escape, hoping that she could protect Zhou Li and Zhou Chen.
Before Su Jin could speak, Jiang Long laughed, "You want them to leave? Ridiculous, you..." Jiang Long counted on his fingers, "Six people, all of you will die here!"
As Jiang Long finished speaking, hundreds of soldiers sprang into action, forming a small circle that completely surrounded Su Jin and his entourage.
Jiang Long walked up to Wang Shuyi, grabbed her hair, drew his long sword, and placed it against her neck. "Let's start with this traitorous woman! Do you know? If you hadn't had the idea of betraying the Empress Dowager, we wouldn't have gone to such lengths to stage this fake child incident. It's a pity we couldn't find the newborn child back then, otherwise we should have just smothered the child to death and let you know the consequences of betraying the Empress Dowager!"
"But it doesn't matter now. You're going to die sooner or later anyway. You go first, and I'll bring your child down to be with you soon!"
Wang Shuyi gritted her teeth, her eyes bloodshot with hatred.
Zhou Lin's brows furrowed deeply with heartache. Even at this point, he did not want anyone to hurt Wang Shuyi, but he was powerless to do anything about it.
If Wang Shuyi hadn't rushed forward to question Jiang Long and been taken hostage by him, Zhou Lin might have been able to beg Su Jinxia to take Wang Shuyi with him. But now...
Looking at the pained Zhou Lin, Jiang Long suddenly had an idea. "Zhou Lin, I know you like Wang Shuyi. Why don't I give you another chance? Go and kill Su Jinxia, and I will hide it from the Empress Dowager for you. After the war is over, you and your family can be reunited and enjoy wealth and honor!"
Jiang Long believed this was an excellent plan, and Zhou Lin would certainly not refuse it.
Compared to Su Jinxia, aren't his wife, daughters, and wealth more important? With Zhou Lin's assistance, Su Jinxia has no chance of escaping even if he had wings.
But Zhou Lin chuckled. When he handed the tiger tally to Zhou Chen, he had already made his decision: this dilapidated court should have disappeared long ago!
"Shuyi, I'm sorry, I still can't protect you this time, but I will stay with you this time."
Tears welled in Zhou Lin's eyes; he was prepared to face death.
Wang Shuyi was completely limp, her eyes filled with sorrow as she hid her tears. "It was my mistake. I should have told you everything when we fell in love!"
Then none of the following things will happen!
Wang Shuyi finally realized that she, like Zhou Lin, was just a pawn to be manipulated at will by the Empress Dowager!
Wang Shuyi smiled at Zhou Lin, she no longer blamed him. Then, Wang Shuyi looked at Zhou Li, her eyes full of reluctance, but in the end she still closed her eyes with a heavy heart, preparing to die!
Jiang Long gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Stubborn to the end!"
As he spoke, Jiang Long's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he raised his sword, sliding it toward Wang Shuyi's neck.
However, before the sword could touch Wang Shuyi's neck, it stopped abruptly and fell to the ground with a clatter.
The disciples of the Liuli Society, hidden in the shadows, had already anticipated Jiang Long's movements and launched their hidden weapons at just the right moment, striking Jiang Long squarely between the eyebrows.
Jiang Long suffered a large hole between his eyebrows and fell straight backward.
Zhou Chen watched from the side, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that the surrounding area was full of Su Jin's secret guards who would rescue Wang Shuyi, but he didn't expect them to be so patient, only making their move at the critical moment.
This is the mark of a top-tier bodyguard; when they strike, it is a decisive blow!
Zhou Chen admired this composure and perseverance!
In contrast, Su Jinxia didn't even flinch, as if she had everything under control.
Zhou Lin instantly found an opening, pounced forward, and killed the two guards behind Wang Shuyi with a single blow, then stood in front of Wang Shuyi to protect her.
Wang Shuyi looked at that broad back and tears streamed down her face.
With Jiang Long dead, the guards were thrown into chaos. They stared in horror at the dense trees around them, completely unaware of who had killed Jiang Long or how many people were hiding here. After all, the names of the Liuli Society and the Guying Society were legendary!
Zhou Lin spoke up at the right moment, "Jiang Long is dead. Surrender now. If you are willing to lay down your weapons, I can spare your lives."
"But you've already given the tiger tally to Prince Zhuang, you're going to betray the court!" someone shouted from the crowd. In the end, many people were unwilling to bear the stigma of treason.
Zhou Lin replied, "I did not! The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are cruel and incompetent. I no longer wish to recognize them as kings, but I have not betrayed our country. I did not give the Tiger Tally to Prince Zhuang; I gave it to my own younger brother, the Fourteenth Prince!"
Everyone was shocked. The young man was actually the fourteenth prince who had gone to the Southern Kingdom as a hostage.
They were confused and completely lost.
"Put down your weapons! I swear on my life that I will always be a general of the Tiger Forest Army, and I will always protect you!"
As the commander of the Tiger Forest Army, Zhou Lin had guarded the border for more than ten years, and his character was well-known. Most of them followed Jiang Long because they had something to hide and had no other choice. So when Zhou Lin said this, many people were tempted.
Su Jin leaned slightly against the carriage; she was quite tired.
In fact, Su Jinxia didn't take these mere hundred or so people seriously at all. Back when she was pursuing Zhou Lin, she had already sent Yue Ziqi to gather the secret guards of the Liuli Society and the Guying Society. There were dozens of secret guards in this mountain, so if a fight really broke out, Su Jinxia wouldn't even need to lift a finger.
Moreover, these people are ultimately the Empress Dowager's people; keeping them around would be a hidden danger, so it's better to deal with them.
However, since Zhou Lin wanted to protect these people, Su Jinxia was unwilling to go against him. After all, she still needed Zhou Lin for important purposes, so it would only cause some trouble later.
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