Upon hearing this, Cheng Yun felt that Su Rong made sense and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Vice General Feng Sheng was not a stickler for the old rules and unable to adapt to change; with Nangong Zheng’s 300,000 troops and only 40,000 on his side, victory was impossible. The only wise decision would be to retreat and escape. He surely wouldn’t foolishly choose to hold their ground and resist obstinately.
After all, these were troops that His Majesty had privately trained for five years. They could not afford a failure at their debut, otherwise, wouldn’t they be a laughingstock?
Wanniang asked Su Rong, "Master, did Master Xie eventually fall into the hands of Nangong Zheng?"
Su Rong nodded, looked at her and said, "Nangong Yun and Nangong Zhuo are in my hands now, Nangong Zheng will probably not kill Uncle Xie, especially with so many from the Nangong family in our custody. Even though we are outnumbered, we still have some cards to play against Nangong Zheng."
Wanniang heaved a sigh of relief, "Indeed, we have so many of the Nangong family in our hands, and we are not afraid of Nangong Zheng."
At this moment, Fen Ling asked, "Sister, should we continue on our journey or wait here for Nangong Zheng?"
Su Rong calmly responded, "Our soldiers have reached their limits, we should rest and recuperate on the spot, and wait here for Nangong Zheng."
Cheng Yun surveyed all the bound members of the Nangong family with concern, "What if Nangong Zheng decides to risk it all? The princess is too valuable, we can’t take that risk. I suggest the princess leave first with a small team, while I remain here with the Nangong family members and hold Nangong Zheng off."
"No need, Ye Guixue and Nangong Yun fought several battles on Fengming Mountain. When Nangong Yun suddenly withdrew, Ye Guixue would undoubtedly have pursued. After I left Wanren Mountain, Zhou Gu and Zhang Yun wouldn’t stay on Wanren Mountain for very long either; they would go to join Ye Guixue. With the combined forces of both parties, they would chase after Nangong Yun. And currently, having caught Nangong Yun and already advanced a hundred miles in the direction he came from, I reckon our reinforcements should not be far behind," Su Rong responded. "With backup, even though it’s not up to 100,000 and less than Nangong Zheng’s forces, we don’t need to be overly afraid of Nangong Zheng’s 300,000 troops."
After all, she still had the troops she borrowed from Daliang, led by Zhang Mao and Ning Ze; they would also hurry over.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yun was also reassured, "If it is really as the princess has described, then I was indeed overthinking this."
As such, the team regrouped on the spot, awaiting the arrival of Nangong Zheng. Meanwhile, Fen Ling sent out scouts to the rear to gear up news about Ye Guixue and the reinforcements — whether they were already close by — as a precaution.
Twenty miles could be reached quickly.
As such, when Nangong Zheng arrived with his 300,000 troops, dragging along the captive Xie Yuan, he saw Su Rong with her 60,000 troops, disciplined and orderly, with a row of soldiers wielding large blades at the front, the blades pressed against the necks of the captive Nangong family members.
The matriarch of the Nangong family with her silver hair, Lady Marquis Wan’an’s pale face, Nangong Yun, Nangong Zhuo, as well as Nangong Zheng’s other uncles, brothers, and sisters.
Nangong Zheng’s face changed, his still somewhat immature face tightened up, and the hand that was holding the reins bulged with veins.
Su Rong was not in the formation, but rather seated on a boulder halfway up the hillside not far away, roasting a rabbit. After such a long journey, her soldiers were all chewing on dry rations, and she herself had no appetite due to worry for Xie Yuan, her stomach empty for a day. Now that she had all the members of the Nangong Family in her grasp, she had a trump card, had recovered her mood, and suddenly felt extremely hungry. Therefore, during the interval while waiting for Nangong Zheng’s arrival, she had someone fetch a rabbit to roast.
Since Wanniang was with her, she didn’t have to do it herself. Wanniang was by her side, roasting it for her to eat.
The aroma of the roasted rabbit spread throughout the mountains and fields, a strong stimulant to anyone’s appetite.
The soldiers discreetly swallowed their saliva, thinking that they too would catch some rabbits to roast once they had rescued Master Xie. After all, the forests of Nanchu were dense, and rabbits were plentiful.
Over the course of twenty miles, Wanniang had enough time to roast the rabbit for Su Rong. Thus, when Nangong Zheng arrived with his 300,000 troops, Su Rong was holding half a rabbit, biting into it.
She was sitting casually and eating casually. Facing the onslaught of an army of 300,000, she remained calm and composed, not changing her expression at all, even appearing to be thoroughly enjoying her meal.
This was the most appetizing and delectable meal she had had in a long time from running and rushing around.
Nangong Zheng pressed his lips tightly together, staring at the Nangong family members who were bound and had large blades against their necks for a moment before moving his gaze away and finally locking eyes with Su Rong amidst the aroma of roasted meat.
At this moment, Su Rong also looked up. While eating the roasted rabbit, she was looking at Nangong Zheng.
The young man had an erect posture, handsome features, a stable aura all around him, which combined with his still immature appearance to create a unique temperament.
Su Rong straightened slightly, considering him as an opponent; if he weren’t two years younger than her, had she arrived in Nanchu just two years later, the Nangong family wouldn’t have ended in such a downfall. Or one could say, if Uncle Xie had not killed Nangong Yin, the Nangong family wouldn’t have been dispirited, thrown into chaos and collapsed in disarray, and she wouldn’t have had these Nangong family members as bargaining chips and trump cards.
Nangong Zheng’s gaze remained on Su Rong for a moment, falling on the roasted rabbit in her hand, pausing again before he finally spoke out, "Princess, you’re not running away and waiting specifically here for me, is it to use my family members as ransom, in exchange for Xie Yuan?"
Su Rong nodded, answering him, "That’s right, so will you make the trade?"
"What if I say no? With my 300,000 troops, killing the princess and her men with ease, if the entire Nangong family can die together with the princess, it would be dying a worthy death," Nangong Zheng said coldly.
Su Rong nodded, "That’s true, after all I am worth quite a bit."
Nangong Zheng squinted his eyes, "Since the princess thinks so, then..."
"Then you kill Xie Yuan, I kill all the Nangong family members, then we fight each other to see if you could kill me in the end," Su Rong continued his words, "Using Xie Yuan in exchange for all the lives of the Nangong family, I think he’d find it a fair deal."
Nangong Zheng, interrupted by Su Rong, fell silent for a moment, his gaze turning icy, "The princess still has trump cards, you have reinforcements behind?"
Otherwise, he didn’t believe that Su Rong would dare to stop and wait here for him. The lives of the Nangong family were important, but the teachings that Nangong Zheng had received since childhood told him that there was nothing impossible as long as he deemed it worthwhile, even if it required mobilising the strength of an entire clan and risking all their lives.
In his eyes, Su Rong was worth the lives of all the Nangong family, even though included in these lives were his great-grandmother, grandmother, close uncles, and brothers and sisters.
Su Rong smiled at him, "Yes, otherwise how could I dare to wait for you here, after all, I never underestimated the upbringing of the Nangong family." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Nangong Zheng stared at her, "Even if reinforcements come, I suspect they are just 100,000 troops or so, my troops are twice as many as yours."
Su Rong nodded, "But I still have more troops. I borrowed 300,000 troops from Daliang, they are at the rear, they won’t arrive too soon, but neither would they be too late. Perhaps, after we start fighting, they might just get here."
She threw the leftover rabbit bones into the fire, which created a crackling sound instantly. She cleaned her hands with a handkerchief, stood up, and smilingly asked, "So, Nangong Zheng, do you dare to gamble? Use your 300,000 troops, and the lives of your Nangong family’s closest relatives, to bet on whether you could kill me."
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