Chapter 276 I Don't Want to Die
Zheng Wenkai's body collapsed to the ground with a thud, and he was completely lifeless.
This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
No one expected that Li Yuanshu would suddenly make a move and kill Zheng Wenkai.
Even Li Yuanzhao downstairs showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Ru Mo forgot to give the order to shoot the arrows.
Only Zheng Xinglang was enraged and suddenly drew his sword, slashing at Li Yuanshu: "You bitch! Are you looking for death?!"
Just then, a burst of arrows rang out, and Ru Mo finally gave the order to attack.
Zheng Xinglang reacted extremely quickly, swinging his sword to parry and barely dodging the fatal arrow.
However, most of the Longwu Army soldiers beside him were hit by arrows and fell to the ground, suffering heavy casualties.
He then looked up and saw that, without him noticing, the Imperial Guards had already surrounded them!
After dodging a sword strike, Li Yuanshu quickly said to Zheng Xinglang, "Zheng Xinglang, do you really want to die with your uncle? I know a secret passage. Follow me, and you can live!"
Zheng Xinglang's movement of swinging his sword at Li Yuanshu suddenly stopped.
He looked at his uncle's corpse lying on the ground, then at the city walls surrounded by the Imperial Guards, and at the trembling, demoralized remnants of the Dragon Martial Army. His anger was gradually replaced by fear.
He gripped his sword tightly, and finally gritted his teeth: "Where's the secret passage? Lead the way!"
Ru Mo led the Golden Guard to wipe out the remaining rebels. In less than half an incense stick's time, all the remaining enemies inside and outside the city were eliminated.
The last few hundred Dragon Warriors, seeing that the mastermind was dead and their retreat was cut off, threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.
Although Zheng Xinglang escaped the palace through a secret passage, he was caught red-handed by the imperial guards who had been lying in ambush there and executed on the spot.
Only Li Yuanshu seemed to have vanished into thin air; a search of the entire capital city yielded no trace of him.
This palace coup, which seemed poised to overthrow the Great Qi Dynasty, came to an end in just three days.
Pei Huaijin and Juela Yundan were locked up together and knew nothing about what was happening outside.
Three days ago, Jue La Yun Dan was lying happily in bed, reading the storybook that Li Yuan Zhao had sent to him.
Suddenly a group of soldiers burst in and took him away without saying a word.
It wasn't until he was thrown into this cold, dark cell that he learned from Pei Huaijin that rebels had taken Li Yuanzhao hostage and besieged the entire palace.
Jue La Yun Dan felt utterly unlucky.
Two months ago, he was lying comfortably in bed reading a storybook when Yangjin led his troops in and kidnapped him.
Now, the situation is exactly the same.
He sat cross-legged on the haystack, his little face drooping, and muttered aggrievedly, "But why did they capture me? I'm just a hostage sent by Tibet. Do you think I can be used to blackmail Tibet? That Yangjin would love for me to die sooner!"
Pei Huaijin explained gently, "The rebels installed Chen Yanqing as the eldest prince, so he must have ordered your arrest. Perhaps it was because he was jealous..."
Jue La Yun Dan was confused. "Who is Chen Yan Qing? Why is he jealous of me?"
Pei Huaijin kindly reminded him, "Chen Yanqing was Your Highness's bodyguard before, so you should have met him."
"So it was him..." Jue La Yun Dan suddenly realized, "I remember now! That day when I was having dinner with His Majesty, there was a guard standing next to me, and he looked at me like he wanted to eat me alive!"
"He's definitely jealous of me and Li Yuanzhao being together, humph!"
Pei Huaijin couldn't help but smile when he heard his childish words.
No wonder His Majesty likes him so much.
Such sincerity and innocence truly bring joy to people.
As he thought this, his eyes darkened, and a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.
Jue La Yundan continued, "Then why is he locking us up here? Does he want to kill us?"
Pei Huaijin shook his head. "He probably wouldn't dare. I have the Pei family behind me, and you have Tibet behind you. He wouldn't dare to make a move easily."
"So you're going to lock us up like this, how long are you going to keep us locked up like this?" The boy puffed up his cheeks and lay down on the pile of straw, staring at the ceiling and sighing.
Seeing his dejected expression, Pei Huaijin gently comforted him, "Don't worry, His Majesty will soon lead troops to quell the rebellion and rescue us."
"Why do you trust her so much?" Jue La Yun Dan asked, tilting her head.
The rebels had surrounded the entire palace, and even Li Yuanzhao had been captured. Given the perilous situation, it was strange that the person in front of him showed no concern whatsoever.
Pei Huaijin smiled slightly, "Because that's His Majesty, she can do anything..."
Jue La Yun Dan suddenly remembered that Li Yuan Zhao said he would find all the storybooks in the city for him, and the next day, there were indeed several thousand storybooks in his room.
He initially thought she was just saying it casually and didn't take it seriously at all.
The next day, the eunuch led a group of guards and carried more than a dozen large boxes into his bedroom.
It was filled with storybooks, and a rough count revealed that there were several thousand of them!
Thinking of this, the boy couldn't help but nod, sincerely agreeing, "She really does keep her word!"
But then, the bloody scenes of the Tibetan palace coup suddenly flashed before my eyes.
All his brothers and sisters died under Yangjin's knife.
The boy's eyes lost their sparkle, his voice lowered, and he asked earnestly, "What if...she dies?"
Pei Huaijin's tone remained firm: "She will not die."
"What if?" Jue La Yun Dan sat up, leaned close to Pei Huai Jin, and stared at him stubbornly.
"Swords don't discriminate. What if she gets killed by the rebels? What will happen to us then?"
"That Chen Yanqing hates me so much, he'll probably just chop me up, right?"
This problem weighed heavily on their hearts like a boulder.
Pei Huaijin couldn't help but imagine the worst-case scenario.
He lowered his head, his long eyelashes concealing the emotions in his eyes, and after a long while he slowly spoke, "If she really dies tragically, as her widow, I should die for her."
Jue La Yun Dan's eyes widened in disbelief. "A widow?! To be buried alive with someone?!"
He clearly did not know what "widow" meant, nor did he understand why the person in front of him would willingly be buried alive with Li Yuanzhao.
Pei Huaijin gave a faint smile, his voice so soft it was as if he were talking to himself: "Since Your Highness has bestowed that grace upon me, allowing me to stand by her side, I will follow her forever, whether in life or in death."
"But...but..." Jue La Yun Dan was so anxious that she couldn't speak coherently, "Isn't it good to be alive? When you're alive, you can eat lots of delicious food and read lots of storybooks...If you die, you'll have nothing left!"
Does he also have to be buried alive with Li Yuanzhao?
He dared not! He didn't want to die!
Pei Huaijin looked at him like this and gently shook his head, "You're still young, you may not understand, but there are some things in this world that are more important than living."
"Without her, this world would be an eternal night for me. Rather than live in darkness, I would rather go with her, so that at least she will not be alone on the road to the underworld."
“I understand!” The boy turned around, his eyes red. “I’ve seen too many people die in Tibet! Everyone wants to live, no one wants to die. My father only agreed to send me to Daqi so that I could live.”
He sniffed and said forcefully, "Living is more important than anything else!"
Pei Huaijin guessed that he must have faced life and death during the Tubo palace coup, which was why he was so afraid of death.
He patted his head, his tone softening: "Don't worry, you won't die. His Majesty will win, and we will all get out of here alive."
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from afar, accompanied by the sound of armor clashing.
The two men were startled at the same time, and without prior agreement, they held their breath and looked towards the prison door.
Zhou Hongying led a squad of Imperial Guards swiftly forward and deftly broke open the prison door chains.
"Lord Pei, Prince Yundan, His Majesty has specially dispatched me to escort you out."
Jue La Yun Dan never expected that the two of them, who were just on the verge of death, would be rescued in the blink of an eye!
He asked impatiently, "Li Yuanzhao won? So quickly?"
Zhou Hongying solemnly reported, "Zheng Wenkai is dead, the rebels have all been executed, and His Majesty is currently presiding over the situation in Yanying Hall."
Pei Huaijin slowly walked out of the cell, finally able to put his mind at ease after three days of anxiety.
He turned to look at Jue La Yun Dan, who was still in a daze, and said with a gentle smile, "See? I told you, His Majesty is very powerful."
Jue La Yun Dan, remembering that she had just been crying, scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly.
As he followed Pei Huaijin out, he changed the subject and complained, "I'm so hungry! The prison food they've been bringing me these past few days has been awful. I can't eat a single bite. I want to eat wontons..."
Pei Huaijin smiled and said, "Alright, I'll have the imperial kitchen prepare it for you. You'll definitely have a good meal today!"
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