They wandered to the outskirts of the capital, but instead of entering through the city gates, they quietly arrived at the palace through a secret passage.
Su An, unaware of the reason, had no choice but to follow them inside.
Emerging from the secret passage and passing through the artificial hill, the familiar scene came into view again, accompanied by a suffocating sense of oppression.
She took a deep breath, looked coldly at General Wu, and questioned, "You used my mother as a hostage just to bring me back, didn't you? Now that I'm back, where is my mother?"
General Wu glanced back at her and responded with a light laugh.
"Don't worry! You'll see Madam Li soon!"
As he spoke, he led Su An to the Imperial Study.
Before even stepping into the Imperial Study, Su An smelled a strong stench of blood. A sense of foreboding washed over her, and she quickly broke free from the guards' restraints, jogging forward to push open the door.
Chu Yi sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy expression, toying with a gleaming dagger in his hand.
Not far away, Li Guihua was covering her left arm with her right hand, her body covered in blood.
Due to excessive blood loss, she sat slumped on the ground, her face pale, as if she might faint at any moment.
Seeing this, Su An's eyes widened slightly, heartache and anger swirling in her chest, and large tears streamed down her face and fell to the ground.
She rushed forward without hesitation and helped Li Guihua up.
"Mother, I'm sorry, it's all my fault!"
While apologizing to Li Guihua, she looked helplessly at Li Guihua's broken left hand.
They say the ten fingers are connected to the heart, but now Chu Yi has cut off her entire hand. How much pain must she be in!
Hearing the noise, Chu Yi raised his eyes, raised an eyebrow in a sinister manner, and stared straight at Su An.
Li Gui struggled to open her eyes and saw Su An. She instinctively frowned, pushed Su An with her only remaining right hand, and urged anxiously, "Didn't I tell you to leave quickly? Why did you come back?"
As she spoke, she looked at Chu Yi with fear.
Su An shook her head, crying loudly, refusing to back down an inch no matter how much Li Guihua pushed her.
"Mother, I'm not leaving. If I hadn't left, you wouldn't be like this now. I'm sorry!"
As she spoke, her eyes turned bloodshot, and she abruptly turned her head towards Chu Yi, angrily shouting, "You despicable and shameless dog, what have I done to you? Why are you treating me like this, and my mother too?"
"You have been suspicious of loyal ministers and generals, and committed all sorts of evil deeds against innocent people. Heaven has seen everything you have done. Aren't you afraid of divine retribution and a gruesome death?"
Having committed countless evil deeds, will he die a gruesome death?
Upon hearing this, the veins on Chu Yi's forehead throbbed frequently.
He slammed the dagger in his hand on the table, stood up abruptly, and took three steps in two to reach Su An. He grabbed her hair and pulled her towards him.
"I'll die without a complete corpse? Haven't I treated you well enough? Why did you leave me?"
Su An endured the tearing pain in her scalp and was forced to meet his gaze.
As they locked eyes, she glared at Chu Yi, her eyes filled with resentment and bitterness.
Sensing her hatred, Chu Yi's anger surged, almost overwhelming his reason.
Seeing Chu Yi's violent temper, Li Guihua feared he would harm Su An. Suppressing her fear, she grabbed his robe and held on tightly with all her might, anxiously saying, "Let go of Xiao An! If you have a problem, come at me! Let her go!"
Disgusted by her chatter, Chu Yi, radiating a fierce aura, rolled up his sleeves and flung Li Guihua away.
"Get out of my way! You have no right to speak before me!"
Li Guihua, exhausted, was thrown backward by the force and fell to the ground, gasping for air like a dying fish.
Then, before Su An could react, Chu Yi grabbed her hair and dragged her outside.
"You say I'm just making wild guesses? Then I'll let you see for yourself the true colors of these so-called loyal ministers and generals you speak of!"
Only when they reached the city wall did he release Su An's hair, push her to the front of the wall, point at the army below, snort coldly, and grit his teeth, saying, "See this? These are the loyal ministers and generals you spoke of, besieging the city with their troops, plotting a rebellion!"
Su An looked down and felt a little more at ease.
The reason was simple: the military flags displayed by the troops stationed outside were those of the Zhenbei Army.
Seeing that Su An was not afraid at all, but instead had a mocking expression, Chu Yi's eyes darkened, and he moved closer, grabbing her collar, his eyes revealing murderous intent.
"Doesn't he want to attack the city and kill me?"
"Your life is now in my hands. If he attacks the city, I will push you off. Whether he succeeds or fails, you will be the first to die. Tell me, does he want the empire or you, his beauty?"
No wonder Chu Yi went to great lengths to keep her in the palace.
So it was all to keep Fu Zhun in check!
Su An sneered, as if he had long since become indifferent to life and death, and mocked Chu Yi.
"To drag you down to hell with me, even if it means my death, is worth it. You have committed countless evils and have long lost the hearts of the people. This is your retribution. You don't think you can escape this calamity by using my life as a threat, do you? Let me tell you, dream on!"
"If you surrender the city as soon as possible, Fu Zhun might still leave you a whole corpse out of consideration for our past relationship."
"But if you insist on going down this dark path, I'm afraid you'll really live up to that saying and die a gruesome death."
Provoked by her words, Chu Yi's eyes flashed with madness.
Suddenly, he grabbed her neck tightly, slammed her against the city wall, and gritted his teeth.
"Su An, do you think I wouldn't dare kill you? Hmm?"
As he gradually increased his strength, Su An's face turned red and then blue, but she did not struggle; instead, she remained calm.
It seems that death was a relief for her.
After about several dozen breaths, Su An felt his vision begin to darken and his consciousness became somewhat blurred.
At the critical moment, it was Li Wanyue who spoke up in time to stop Chu Yi.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't! The Prince of Zhenbei's army is still stationed outside the city. If we secretly kill her now, it might not have the desired deterrent effect. In my opinion, it would be better to keep her alive and use her as a sacrifice to the flag on the day of the war!"
Hearing this, Chu Yi regained some of his composure.
He abruptly released his grip, shook his hand, and wore an enigmatic smile.
“Consort Wan is right. There’s no rush to kill you. Let’s let you live a few more days. When the time comes, we can use you as a sacrifice to the flag. This will not only boost our morale but also deter the rebels from running amok. It’s a win-win situation.”
After speaking, he gave instructions to the guards around him.
"Take her back and keep her under strict guard. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you all accountable."
He gave Su An a deep look, then turned and left.
Li Wanyue breathed a sigh of relief, glanced worriedly at the outside of the city, then patted her belly and turned to leave.
Three days later, the war drums sounded, and the entire capital was filled with a tense atmosphere.
The army outside the city was on high alert, surrounding the capital. The man in armor riding a horse at the front of the army was Fu Zhun.
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