Dark clouds filled the sky, making it seem as if the sky was about to collapse, and a biting wind carrying the scent of blood drifted through the air.
Shen Yan glanced at the sky, which looked like it was about to rain, remained silent for a while, and then spoke in a low voice.
"A noble family's son ascends the throne without imperial decree, which will surely cause turmoil in the previous dynasty. Marquis Yan, how about we make a deal?"
Yan Beimo was not surprised. He chuckled and spoke.
"Your Majesty lured me here for the sake of my wife's younger sister?"
"I heard that the Marquis of Yan found something for his mother in the East Sea, but unfortunately, his father passed away before he could use it. How about I exchange the throne for it?"
Yan Beimo raised an eyebrow, looked at him, and sneered.
"She's just a woman. Your Majesty must be possessed."
Shen Yan didn't respond, his deep eyes fixed on the prince's restless army, and he raised his hand.
"Release the arrows."
The sky was filled with raging waves, and the roaring thunder echoed across the heavens.
The sounds of fighting erupted, lightning tore through the sky, and torrential rain poured down.
Arrows rained down, piercing the westerly wind and sweeping in. The entire Danbi Palace was filled with carnage, bloodshed, and deafening shouts of battle.
The princes, their eyes bloodshot with rage, marched straight toward the high palace, intending to take the new emperor's head.
In the midst of the chaos, the new emperor was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a large army appeared from nowhere and surrounded them. The princes fled in panic, sending signals into the air, but reinforcements were slow to arrive.
Under the torrential rain, soldiers clad in armor fell into pools of blood, and the entire area in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was awash in blood, resembling a hell on earth, a scene of utter devastation.
After a while, Yan Beimo came out from the inner hall.
He sat high above the temple, overlooking the fight in front of the hall.
"Gentlemen, have you had enough?"
The sharp sound, mixed with internal energy, reverberated across the earth.
The princes glared angrily at the high hall, where the hostage princes were heavily guarded, with knives held to their necks, their eyes filled with rage.
"Yan Beimo, what exactly do you want?"
"Are you crazy?"
"You dare to use us? Do you want to be trampled into oblivion in the North?"
King Ding was greatly alarmed and roared angrily.
"What are you going to do? If you dare to lay a hand on my son, I will fight with all my might to raze Li Bei to the ground."
His heir is his only son, and absolutely nothing can happen to him.
Yan Beimo sneered, "If you don't want your princes to die, then please lay down your weapons, or you will all die."
In the winter of the first year of the Tai Shi era of the Great Jin Dynasty, on the sixteenth day of the first month, the Eight Princes attacked the capital of the Central Plains, plotted rebellion to usurp the throne, and forced the new emperor to commit suicide. The Marquis of Yan, who was far away in Beiyou, led his troops to rescue the emperor. On his deathbed, the new emperor passed the throne to him, but the princes were dissatisfied and staged a coup.
Yan Beimo ordered the aristocratic families to send troops to help, secretly brought the Eighth Prince's eldest son back to the capital, and spread the word.
“If any of the eight princes dare to plot rebellion again, their hostages shall be killed first, and their entire clan shall be exterminated.”
Not long after, the Eighth Prince was imprisoned in the deep palace. However, the aristocratic families were dissatisfied with Yan Beimo's ascension to the throne. The previous dynasty was unstable and there was internal strife. When he became emperor, he was besieged and attacked. Mobei attacked into the mountain pass. Some rebels colluded with the Western Regions rebels to enter the pass. The entire capital was in turmoil.
Beneath the vast, gray city walls, snow still lingered on the mountainsides, forming a formidable barrier. The moat was dotted with warships, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring scene.
The battle between the two armies was earth-shattering, with arrows strewn across the entire moat and smoke billowing everywhere.
Looking around, it was as if wolves and tigers were rampaging and locusts were swarming across the land.
Yan Beimo, dressed in white robes, stood on the warship, his eyes darkening as he watched the multi-ships lined up along the southwest waterway approaching.
At the bow of the ship, Helian Ye stood high on the tower, dressed in a red robe, his devilish eyes full of smiles.
"Lord Yan's tactic of using someone else to do his dirty work is truly brilliant. I really admire the military strategies of the Central Plains."
Yan Beimo ignored him, his gaze fixed indifferently on the person beside him.
Chu Changning noticed his gaze and slowly raised her eyes.
Their eyes met in mid-air.
Her eyes shone like the moon in the sky, while his gaze was as cold as the abyss of hell.
Helian Ye glanced at their gazes, a smile playing on his lips.
"Even the 560,000 iron cavalry of the North are nothing special; they can't even keep an eye on a single woman."
"Chu Changning, I thought you took the 560,000 iron cavalry from the north to kill your husband and seize the throne, falsely claiming that I died in a mutiny, and supporting the child in your womb to become emperor. I never imagined that you would be so foolish as to collude with the Western Regions."
He stared straight at him, his eyes filled with an unprecedented murderous aura.
Under the vast darkness of night, the water was filled with corpses and blood, and the torrential rains caused the city to swell. A massive army pressed in from both banks of the moat.
Chu Changning blinked lightly and smiled faintly, "Lord Jun has long known my thoughts, of course I wouldn't be so foolish as to kill you."
Yan Beimo, that cunning and treacherous villain, has been testing her all along.
After discovering that he knew her plan, she played along and followed He Xing out of Taiyuan. When He Lianye went to attack, she pretended to be innocent and fooled He Xing, then left with He Lianye.
Helian Ye believed that the 560,000 cavalrymen from the north were blocked in Taiyuan, but in reality, the troops from the north had already arrived in the capital.
She wanted to make Li Bei and the Western Regions fight, and Yan Bei Mo and Helian Ye fight.
She never intended to collude with Helian Ye; she simply needed Helian Ye to help her leave.
She wanted to leave Yanbeimo alive.
"Not to mention the 560,000 iron cavalry in the north, the 350,000 troops in the capital, and the 200,000 troops in Jiangdong, what do you have to fight me with? Just that good-for-nothing by your side?"
Yan Beimo stared at her coldly, his eyes devoid of warmth.
"Lord Yan's words are truly unpleasant. No wonder even your own wife doesn't want you anymore."
Chu Changning, "---"
She glanced sideways at the foul-mouthed Helian Ye and said coldly.
"You won't do him any good by provoking him."
Helian Ye chuckled and lowered his eyes, his words half-truths and half-lies.
"Isn't this helping you vent your anger?"
Under the moonlight, the sight of the two whispering to each other was incredibly jarring.
Yan Beimo's face was gloomy. He gently raised the musket in his hand and fired it with a bang, aiming it at Helian Ye's heart.
The killing intent, carried by the cold wind, swept past thousands of troops and horses towards him.
Helian Ye quickly dodged to the side, the bullet grazing his neck and leaving a faint bloodstain.
He raised an eyebrow, rubbed the blood on his fingertip, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"When did Marquis Yan become so easily angered?"
Yan Beimo ignored her and looked at the silent Chu Changning with cold eyes.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"Why?"
"Why?" Chu Changning murmured, looking at him with a mocking smile, "I want to live."
Yan Beimo's expression was cold. "By my side, did I let you die?"
"Yes," she replied decisively. "Every day I'm by your side is like living a life worse than death."
“We could have lived in peace. You could have just let me go. But you insisted on making me live at your mercy for the rest of my life. That kind of life is worse than death.”
Yan Beimo's eyes grew even colder.
"Read my face? Haven't I treated you well?"
Chu Changning raised her lips and questioned, "You treat me well? You humiliate me day and night, never caring about my feelings, forcing me to do that to you, is that good?"
"Didn't I make you feel good? Why are you bringing up these bedroom matters?"
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