Chapter 361 Threat
Hearing Mei Dai's cry, Xiao Beiheng stopped, wiped the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, and said loudly: "Queen Xiliang, what do you want to say to me?"
Mei Dai turned downhill, passed through the Xirong army and came to the front of the battle. She first grabbed Su Mo's wrist and said to Shen Yuexi:
"Sister, step back."
When Shen Yuexi saw Mei Dai coming to help, she felt relieved, let go of Su Mo's hand and took a few steps back.
Xiao Beiheng had just confessed his love to Su Mo, leaving her speechless. Su Mo was moved to tears again by Xiao Beiheng. She felt like a bad guy who had destroyed the harmony of other people's families and was almost about to let go.
Mei Dai twisted Su Mo's wrist behind her back, and she frowned slightly in pain and asked, "Queen, what are you doing?"
Mei Dai said nothing. She drew the sword from her waist with a clang and placed it diagonally on Su Mo's neck. She said, "Don't move. The blade is very sharp."
Su Mo also knew how powerful he was, so she raised her chin slightly and stood still.
Shen Yuexi was startled and almost jumped up, shouting, "Sister Mei, what are you doing?"
She thought Mei Dai was coming to support her, but she didn't expect Mei Dai to pull out the sword as soon as she came up. This thing is not a joke. If your hand slips, your neck will be cut open.
Mei Dai said without turning her head: "Sister, retreat to the military formation and go to Chen Lan."
Shen Yuexi knew that Mei Dai was much smarter than her and must have her own reasons for doing this, so she quickly took a few steps back, turned around and ran back to her own camp and climbed up the slope.
Seeing Mei Dai's action, Xiao Beiheng's face was filled with anger. He said, "Mei Dai, Momo volunteered to stay in your army. Now she wants to return to me. Why don't you let her?"
Mei Dai said coldly: "Prince Ping, you are also a smart man, retreat first."
Shen Yuexi was stunned when she heard this. It turned out that Mei Dai was holding Su Mo hostage. Isn't this a bad idea? She was about to speak when Shen Lan grabbed her sleeve and said, "Sister, don't make a sound. Can't you see the eight thousand cavalrymen on the opposite side?"
"I saw it."
"Why don't they attack us?"
After Shen Lan's reminder, Shen Yuexi finally understood that Xiao Beiheng's cavalry had been waiting there because Su Mo was there. If Su Mo had returned to Xiao Beiheng's side, the enemy would have already started the attack.
"Sister, we are outnumbered. Even if we win a small victory, it will be a huge loss for us. The enemy infantry has not yet arrived at Baixiushan," Chen Lan whispered in her ear, "The Queen just said that you will definitely not be able to keep Su Mo. She wants to try to gain bargaining chips for our safe evacuation... The method is indeed not very glorious, but it is the only one we can use. Don't worry, the Queen knows her limits and she will not really hurt Su Mo."
Shen Yuexi touched the back of her head, remembering the blow from Mei Dai. Mei Dai hadn't hesitated when it came time to strike. Considering her relationship with Su Mo, she truly couldn't do such a thing. And since Su Mo had saved Shen Lan's life, Shen Lan definitely wouldn't do such a thing. Mei Dai was the only one present who could do such a thing.
After understanding Mei Dai's good intentions and Chen Lan's assurance, she calmed down and looked at Xiao Beiheng opposite her.
Xiao Beiheng laughed and said, "Mei Dai, don't bluff. Do you think I will be scared by you? Momo has helped you a lot. I don't believe you dare to hurt your benefactor."
Mei Dai said coldly: "It's true that Su Mo has done my sister a favor, but she has nothing to do with the Xiliang Mei family."
She was wearing a metal mask made by Mep, so Xiao Beiheng couldn't see her expression. He could only see a determined look in her eyes, which showed no fear and no compromise.
"Do you really dare to hurt her?" Xiao Beiheng's face showed a trace of contempt. "She is just a concubine serving the emperor, and you actually want to intimidate me, a battle-hardened man, on the battlefield?"
When Shen Yuexi heard what Xiao Beiheng said, she thought to herself, "Brother, you underestimated Sister Mei. You think that scaring her will do the trick. Sister Mei's willpower is definitely not comparable to that of an ordinary woman. She even managed to survive when Prince Mei died in front of her eyes."
"Prince Jing thought so at first." Mei Dai said calmly.
Xiao Beiheng's expression changed slightly: "Mei Dai, don't forget, it was me who killed Xiao Kai, the enemy who killed your mother."
"So what?" Mei Dai sneered. "Prince An, under my father's will, attacked Xiao Kai for our Mei family and fought all the way to the city of Yongwei. Just as victory was imminent, you attacked your brother behind the scenes. I only recognize the kindness of Prince An and his wife. You simply took advantage of the situation. Do you still expect our Mei family to be grateful?"
"I don't believe it," Xiao Beiheng took a step forward, "Let go, I want to take Momo back now."
"Don't come over!" Mei Dai took a step back and gently pressed down the sword in her hand. Su Mo groaned in pain, and a thin line of blood flowed down her neck.
"Mei Dai, if you dare to hurt Momo, my cavalry will trample you all into pulp," Xiao Beiheng stopped, quickly drew the Yanque sword from his waist, and shouted sternly, "None of you can escape."
Behind Xiao Beiheng, the cavalrymen unhooked their bows, nocked arrows, and drew their strings. Thousands of bows were raised simultaneously, aiming at Mei Dai. The sharp arrowheads gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Seeing this, the Western Rong soldiers immediately raised their shields and gripped their swords, ready to fight.
Shen Yuexi stood on tiptoe nervously and said, "My brother is very erratic. Will he really attack?"
From the moment she started interacting with Xiao Beiheng, she knew that he never played by the rules, and she never knew what he was thinking. Perhaps only Xiao Zhuo and Mei Dai could understand his thoughts?
The combined forces of the Western Rong and Western Liang armies numbered nine thousand men, and should be able to withstand the attack. However, if things drag on like this, the enemy forces at Baixiushan will probably arrive, and by then, even if we wanted to escape, we wouldn't be able to.
Chen Lan beside her also became nervous. She didn't bother to speak and stared at the three people in front of the two armies.
Mei Dai remained motionless, as if she had ignored Xiao Beiheng's words. She said coldly, "You can just order an attack and see if I dare or not."
Seeing Xiao Beiheng stop, she immediately realized that the initiative was on her side. Now she just had to hold on and wait for Xiao Beiheng to give her the result she wanted.
Xiao Beiheng stared at Mei Dai intently, unable to see her expression through the mask. He couldn't tell what she was feeling, whether she was trembling with fear. Perhaps she was just bluffing, or perhaps she truly dared to kill. He sensed something similar in Mei Dai, a man who would do anything to achieve her goals. The blood on Su Mo's neck was proof of that.
Moreover, with nearly 10,000 soldiers on the other side, attacking wouldn't necessarily give them an advantage. Simply giving in wasn't in line with his personality.
"Beiheng, my neck hurts so much, it's bleeding," Su Mo suddenly cried out, "Please don't be impulsive, retreat first, okay? The Queen will let me go."
Xiao Beiheng was stunned for a moment, then he put the sword back into the sheath, turned around and said, "Mei Dai, within half an hour, I want to see Momo return safely. Otherwise, I will massacre all the people in the four counties of Xiliang." After that, he strode back.
When the Yan cavalry saw Xiao Beiheng coming back, they put down their bows and arrows, turned their horses around, and followed Xiao Beiheng to retreat towards Baixiu Mountain.
Mei Dai heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the enemy retreat, lowered her sword, and said, "That was dangerous."
Shen Yuexi and Shen Lan ran down the hillside and came to the two of them. Shen Yuexi supported Su Mo, and Shen Lan supported Mei Dai.
"Sister-in-law, are you okay?" Shen Yuexi pressed the wound on Su Mo's neck with a handkerchief, "Oh, it's bleeding. No wonder you're crying in pain."
Su Mo said: "Sister-in-law is fine, it's just a small cut, it doesn't hurt. I cried on purpose for Bei Heng to see."
"Ah, are you crying on purpose?" Shen Yuexi asked.
"I didn't understand it at first, but later I realized what the Queen's intention was. If I went back to Bei Heng, I'm afraid he would immediately order his cavalry to attack you."
Mei Dai lifted her mask, revealing her face and smiling at Su Mo, "I'm sorry, but I have to make you bleed so that Xiao Beiheng will understand that I'm not bluffing."
Chen Lan said, "Queen, Xiao Beiheng has withdrawn his troops. We must leave quickly. Who knows if he will change his mind?"
Mei Dai nodded and said, "That's right. I brought 8,000 war horses, but I don't think it's enough. The extra soldiers will have two horses each. We need to leave as soon as possible to reunite with Prince An."
The two of them went to arrange the troops and prepare to evacuate. Shen Yuexi held Su Mo's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, do you really want to go back?"
Su Mo lowered her head and said, "Although Bei Heng beat me, he is still very good to me in his heart. Look, he has come to pursue me, and besides... I can't let him go."
Shen Yuexi also heard what Xiao Beiheng said before he left, and knew that she could no longer stop Su Mo from returning. However, she was still a little worried: "I always feel that he is not that kind of person. He even…"
Su Mo defended herself, "I know my brother wouldn't do that, but Bei Heng might have been injured by mistake. Neither you nor I know what happened at that time."
Seeing Su Mo start to defend Xiao Beiheng, Shen Yuexi knew that it was futile to persuade her any further, so she had to let go and said, "Go back to him. If he treats you badly again, come to my sister-in-law. I will definitely support you."
"Now that the two armies are at war, none of this matters anymore," Su Mo said with a wry smile. "I'll try to persuade him to stop the fighting when I get back. This is all I can do. I really don't want us to start fighting."
Shen Yuexi was speechless and could only smile. This battle was actually a struggle for the throne. Neither side would give in. Neither she nor Su Mo could stop the rolling wheels of war.
A sergeant came over with a horse, and she personally helped Su Mo onto the horse. She said to the escorting Xiliang cavalry, "My sister-in-law is not good at riding horses. If the horse goes too fast, she will fall off. You guys escort her slowly and make sure to escort her to my brother."
The cavalrymen agreed and surrounded Su Mo as they slowly marched south.
Shen Yuexi stood there and watched until their figures disappeared on the horizon, then she turned around.
Su Mo would never persuade Xiao Beiheng to withdraw his troops. Although they had escaped danger today, Xiao Beiheng's army would surely arrive soon. Where was Xiao Zhuo's army? If they stayed where they were, Xiao Beiheng would have to make a retreat. She had to catch up with Mei Dai and ask her.
She put her finger to her lips and whistled. Xiaobai came running over. The parrot Liuli landed on the saddle, flapped its wings, and called out, "Beiheng, you've let me down. Yuexi, good luck! Go go go go go go..."
Shen Yuexi saddled up the horse and said with a smile: "You stupid bird, you actually learned an extra word."
Liuli fluttered onto her shoulder and kept chirping like a chatterbox, as if urging her to go find Xiao Zhuo quickly.
"Let's go and catch up with Sister Mei."
Shen Yuexi shook the reins, and Xiaobai spread out his four hooves and galloped north along the long snake-like cavalry team.
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