Yingyang City.
The widespread war brought a sense of panic to the royal city. Groups of two or three people could be seen discussing the war, their faces etched with worry.
Panic gripped the palace. As the rebel forces advanced, Emperor Rui's temper grew increasingly volatile. Palace maids and eunuchs serving him were frequently killed, and the corpses carried out were mostly unrecognizable, a horrifying sight.
Several days ago, Empress Jiang Tao'er's intentional or unintentional reminder led Emperor Rui to issue an edict summoning Prince Yu back to Yingyang City. Prince Yu Hao arrived in the capital ten days ago and has been visiting the palace to accompany Emperor Rui every day since.
Upon seeing Yu Wanghao, Emperor Rui felt a deep sense of kinship. Aside from spending time with Jiang Tao'er, he spent most of his time with Yu Wanghao. Now that even Hua Wanglie had rebelled, Emperor Rui felt even more strongly that Yu Wanghao was his closest and most loyal younger brother. His gentle nature and lack of ambition were truly rare qualities in the royal family.
In recent days, seeing that they could not stop the advance of the rebels, the court officials repeatedly petitioned Emperor Rui to withdraw from Yingyang City in order to save their own lives. However, when Emperor Rui asked Yu Wanghao for his opinion, Yu Wanghao firmly told him that Yingyang City was well-fortified and impregnable, and the rebels could not easily break in.
Afterwards, Yu Wanghao recommended a witch to Emperor Rui. The witch performed a grand ritual in the palace and concluded that the rebels would be wiped out sooner or later and would never be able to reach the capital.
Because of a glimmer of hope, Emperor Rui believed Yu Wanghao and the witch's words without question, and thus abandoned his idea of retreating from Yingyang City.
--
Liang Yihan returned to Yingyang City with Yu Wanghao. Li Molin and others came upon hearing the news, and all the outstanding disciples of the Buddhist sect also received the message and arrived in Yingyang City one after another.
For a time, the Buddhist, Taoist, and demonic factions gathered in Yingyang City, presumably because the armies from the east, west, and north were about to attack Yingyang City, and the Imperial Seal of the State was about to be unveiled.
Unlike the demons who supported Yelü Yan, the Daoists supported Hai Linqin. This was because the elders of the Buddhist Jinyuan Temple had been living in the palace and could keep track of the imperial seal at any time. The Buddhist sect was also unwilling to get involved in human wars, so they did not participate in this war.
Upon receiving the message, Shi Chan arrived in Yingyang City. He entered the city through the Kaiyang Gate and strolled along the long street, observing the various aspects of life in the city. At that time, groups of people had gathered in front of the houses on both sides of the long street, discussing the three rebel armies.
Shi Chan glanced at the deep fear on everyone's faces and gently shook his head. If possible, who would want their peaceful life shattered by war? He sighed softly and walked forward slowly.
At noon, the largest restaurant in the outer city of Yingyang was bustling with activity. Li Molin, Liuli, and the other two demons were eating around a table on the second floor of the restaurant.
Amidst the noise, Yu Ke sat down next to Li Molin and whispered, "As far as I know, Yu Wanghao has been secretly funding General Tianci Hai Linqin's army. The Liang brothers, Liang Yihan and Liang Yimo, are also serving in Hai Linqin's army. Liang Yihan is now using some underhanded means to return to Yingyang City, perhaps hoping to have Xuan Yuanhao act as an inside agent and open the city gates when Hai Linqin attacks outside the city."
“Not bad.” Li Molin smiled faintly and said, “If he can open the city gates, why can’t we? I had already discussed it with Yelü Yan before I came. If he can attack Yingyang City, as long as he sends out a signal, I will bribe the officials in the city to open the city gates for him and give him a helping hand.”
Yu Ke nodded, about to say something, when Liu Li, sitting on the other side of Li Molin, asked in a muffled voice, "Hey, speaking of Liang Yimo, I remember he was rescued when he was escorted back to Yingyang City. It must have been Liang Yihan who rescued him, right?"
"It should be." Li Molin turned to look at her and asked, "Why?"
Liuli was a little curious. She chewed and swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "Liang Yihan actually dared to defy the heavens. He used Taoist supernatural powers to save Liang Yimo. Isn't he afraid that the heavenly tribulation will become so severe that he won't be able to overcome it?"
Li Molin sneered and said, "He deserves it!"
Liuli snorted, nodded in deep agreement, and said resentfully, "Yes, he deserved it!"
Ahua stood on Liuli's lap, her two front paws gripping the table. She was eating a piece of meat that Liuli had placed in front of her, taking small bites. Hearing the conversation between Li Molin and Liuli, she paused for a while before continuing to eat.
Upon hearing Liuli and Li Molin mention Liang Yihan, Langyuan, who had been quietly eating, raised an eyebrow, glanced at Ahua, and then quickly looked away.
Li Molin pondered for a moment, then turned to Yu Ke and said, "Yu Ke, you must not miss any of the messages sent back by the Demon Feather Bird. Pay close attention to Emperor Rui's movements and be on guard against Liang Yihan and his group stealing the Imperial Seal of the State."
"Yes." Yu Ke nodded in response, and after a moment of silence, said in a low voice, "Speaking of which, although Emperor Rui is tyrannical and incompetent, he has kept the Imperial Seal of the State very well hidden. According to the reports from the Demon Feather Bird, even when Jiang Tao'er tried to find out where the Imperial Seal of the State was hidden several times while he was drunk, he never mentioned it. Later, Jiang Tao'er gave up."
"Tch!" Liu Li suddenly sneered from the side. Li Molin turned to look at her and saw that she was fighting with Ji Jue for the food on the plate and hadn't looked over. His expression was full of disbelief. He said, "That Emperor Rui is so lecherous and likes Jiang Tao'er so much. Even if Jiang Tao'er got him drunk, she couldn't get anything out of him. Could it be that even Emperor Rui himself doesn't know where the Imperial Seal is?"
Liuli's words hit the nail on the head, making Li Molin and Yu Ke feel as if they had been awakened from a dream. The two slowly looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
Indeed, it is illogical that Yu Ke, with his intelligence, could not find out the location of the Imperial Seal of the State even after following Emperor Rui for many days. It is also illogical that Jiang Tao'er, who is favored by Emperor Rui and is a very scheming woman, could not find out the location of the Imperial Seal of the State either.
Li Molin and Yu Ke stared at each other for a long time. Li Molin said in a deep voice, "Yu Ke, try to find out some secrets about the previous dynasty."
Yu Ke nodded and replied, "Yes."
Liuli ultimately failed to snatch the fish from Ji Jue. She watched as Ji Jue smugly stuffed the fattest piece of fish into his mouth, and she was greatly displeased, glaring at him fiercely.
Liuli looked away from Ji Jue's smug face and turned to look out the window. She saw a tall, thin monk in gray robes walking slowly down the long street. Liuli's eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed.
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