Seeing Yun Xuanzhi's tone grow increasingly low, Yun Qianmeng turned her gaze towards the gradually approaching valley entrance and spoke calmly, "Under an overturned nest, how can the eggs remain intact? Father, the most important thing for us now is to win this tough battle. Otherwise, even if we win among the camps and factions, what good will it do? Could it be that after seeing us defeat Su Qi and the others, the Sea King and King Chen will look upon us differently? Instead of focusing on material possessions, we should think about how to assist the prince with matters at the rear. Otherwise, if we lose the battle at the front, our end will come."
Yun Xuanzhi had originally thought Yun Qianmeng would try every possible means to persuade him to side with the Rong family, but Yun Qianmeng wasn't worried about the Rong family at all. Hearing her talk about the current battle between the three kings, Yun Xuanzhi's brows furrowed even more. He sighed softly and said with a hint of helplessness, "Hai Quan is a military general by birth, and he's very familiar with marching and fighting. Prince Chen has countless generals and advisors around him, so he's naturally difficult to deal with. Prince Chu is facing a very difficult battle. It's good that you consider the overall situation, but you must never be as reckless as you were today in front of the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and others, so as not to implicate others."
As the father and daughter were discussing this, the Imperial Guards led their horses towards Yun Xuanzhi. Yun Qianmeng withdrew her gaze and turned towards Yun Xuanzhi, smiling faintly, "Don't worry, father. Rest in peace."
After he finished speaking, Yun Qianmeng led Yingxia a few steps back. When they saw Yun Xuanzhi leading a column of guards on horseback leaving the valley, they turned around and walked inside.
"Princess, look..." When the two passed by the wooden house where the emperor and empress lived, they saw Muchun and a palace maid in light yellow palace dress standing outside and talking.
Yun Qianmeng looked over, her calm eyes secretly sizing up the maid's stature. She nodded slightly to Yingxia, and walked over with Yingxia's support. At the same time, she asked gently, "Muchun, have you found my earrings?"
When the two saw Yun Qianmeng coming, they all bowed and said, "Greetings, Princess."
Mu Chun even took two steps forward to support Yun Qianmeng and replied respectfully, "In reply to your question, Princess, I just asked Sister Xiaoyi, and neither of them saw your earrings. Please punish me, Princess."
"You little girl, I sent you to look for it, and you were so lazy that you started asking others." Seeing Mu Chun lowering her head and admitting her mistake, Yun Qianmeng glanced at her unhappily. Then she focused her attention on the palace maid named Xiaoyi and asked softly, "Where do you work?"
When the maid heard Yun Qianmeng asking about her, she stepped forward, bowed to Yun Qianmeng, and said softly, "This servant serves the Empress. I've taken over the job formerly held by my sisters Qin'er and Bi'er."
"Oh, I see." Hearing this, Yun Qianmeng nodded slightly, looking at the wooden house of the Emperor and Empress not far behind Xiaoyi and smiled faintly, "Why are you out here now instead of serving the Empress?"
Xiaoyi's expression remained calm as she calmly answered Yun Qianmeng's question, "The Empress, noticing that the Emperor has been late for lunch, sent me to ask Eunuch Yu. However, I cannot help you find the earrings. I beg your forgiveness."
"In that case, you should hurry back to the Queen." Yun Qianmeng did not ask any other questions. She simply waved her hand and let Xiaoyi leave. She led the two girls to the wooden house where they were staying temporarily.
Mu Chun and Ying Xia supported Yun Qianmeng. Both of them were a little confused, so they turned back and took a peek at Xiaoyi who had already turned and left.
The three of them returned to the wooden house and saw Qiao Ying had returned. After Yun Qianmeng sat down, Qiao Ying began to report, "Princess, I have sent five groups of secret guards to secretly investigate the whereabouts of the princess and Miss Qu."
"Thank you for your hard work." Yun Qianmeng nodded slightly, then fixed her gaze on Mu Chun and asked, "How did you meet Xiaoyi just now?"
Mu Chun immediately stepped forward and replied, "Princess, it's outside the cabin. I saw Xiaoyi standing at the corner of the cabin, so I deliberately walked over. Her position was perfect for eavesdropping."
"Princess, is she planning to take action?" Qiao Ying frowned suddenly after hearing Mu Chun's report, and then asked.
Yun Qianmeng smiled elegantly, neither nodding nor shaking her head. She tapped her slender fingers on the table a few times before speaking, "When Emperor Yugan summoned me for questioning today, she found an excuse to eavesdrop."
Besides, the emperor and the empress lived in the same room, so why would the empress go to the trouble of sending someone to ask about the emperor's meals?
"Does that mean I need to help..." Qiao Ying was now most worried that others would draw attention to Yun Qianmeng. She couldn't help but take a step forward, making a knife-like gesture with her right hand and gently slashing across her neck...
"Don't move your troops, but you must stop all the messages she sends out." Yun Qianmeng rejected Qiao Ying's proposal. She put one hand on the table and stroked her abdomen with the other hand. There was a firmness in her gentle eyes, and her decision was firm.
If it weren't for what happened today, perhaps I wouldn't have done this. But today's incident has obviously angered Emperor Yugan. If I keep Xiaoyi, maybe...
"Yes." Qiao Ying stepped aside, lowered her head and obeyed Yun Qianmeng's instructions obediently.
Near Yicheng in the eastern part of Western Chu.
"Sir Qu, Yicheng is fifty miles ahead, but we can't get close to it. After Sea King Liu Minghong led his army to capture Yicheng, he stationed his army near Yicheng. On the one hand, it is convenient for swallowing up nearby cities, and on the other hand, it can prevent sneak attacks from us and King Chen." A column of horses suddenly pulled the reins while galloping and stopped on a small hill. Seeing this, a guard who followed closely behind Qu Changqing immediately pointed to the city with closed gates in the distance and explained to Qu Changqing the current situation near Yicheng.
Qu Changqing sat upright on his horse. Although his armor was covered with dust from days of galloping, his calm and composed eyes revealed a rare composure. His black pupils clearly gazed at the distant city. Qu Changqing pursed his lips, and his hands gripping the reins tightened slightly, revealing white knuckles. After a long while, he spoke, "Let's go to the Chu King's army camp first and discuss it. This place is too conspicuous. It would be disastrous if we were discovered..."
"Swoosh..." But before Qu Changqing could finish his words, everyone heard the sound of an arrow breaking through the air and shooting towards them from far away...
Qu Changqing's eyes glared, his expression darkened, and he suddenly flung himself backward, falling straight onto the horse's back...
At this moment, the arrow instantly shot past Qu Changqing's head, where he had just been sitting. If it had been a minute later, I'm afraid Qu Changqing would have been covered in blood...
"There's an ambush!" Qu Changqing instantly straightened up, drew his sword from his waist with one hand, and with the other, he gripped the reins tightly, turned his horse's head, and led the guards behind him towards the Chu King's camp...
"Qu Changqing, I'm afraid you'll come here alive but not return alive..." At this moment, a rough voice came from above...
As Qu Changqing ran, he looked up at the man standing on the hilltop. He was clad in gleaming golden armor, but his back to the sun prevented him from seeing his features. However, his attire, unlike that of the Western Chu generals, made Qu Changqing's half-closed eyes suddenly widen. He shouted angrily, "You're from Dongyu! How dare you recognize me!"
At the same time, Qu Changqing was completely baffled. Western Chu and Eastern Yu had always lived in peace and rarely interacted. Yet, the man clearly had a thorough understanding of Western Chu's geography and the officials' situation. Otherwise, why would he have immediately called out his name?
"Hmph, I am naturally from Dongyu! Kill them all for me, and leave no one alive!" The man snorted coldly, and immediately raised the long sword in his hand. The cold light of the sword under the scorching sun flashed through everyone's mind, and countless arrows broke through the air from above and shot straight towards Qu Changqing and others on the hillside.
"Protect Master Qu!" Hundreds of guards surrounded Qu Changqing and escorted him towards the Chu King's military camp...
"Want to escape?" The man suddenly took a longbow from the guard, then pulled out three long arrows from the quiver on his back, put them on the longbow, and pulled it open. He aimed at Qu Changqing and quickly pulled the bowstring. In the blink of an eye, he shot the three long arrows in his hand.
"Ah..." The two guards protecting Qu Changqing were hit by arrows and fell off their horses in an instant. In the blink of an eye, they were trampled into a bloody mess by the galloping horses around them.
'Hiss...' The last arrow hit the horse Qu Changqing was riding. The horse let out a long whistle and then fell to the ground, throwing Qu Changqing out with it...
Qu Changqing instantly let go of the reins in his hand. When he was about to fall to the ground, he noticed that there was no one on the horse next to him. He immediately touched the ground with his toes, used the force to jump into the air, and reached out to grab the reins on the horse's head. He turned over and sat steadily on the horse's back.
Qu Changqing was furious. He quickly removed the bow and arrow hanging from his horse's back, then turned around and sat down. He quickly drew the bow and shot arrows in the direction of the man. He fired ten arrows in a row, and half of them hit the guards beside the man...
"General, why did you waste your time talking to Qu Changqing just now? Now you have given him a chance to escape." At this time, a man in a blue robe appeared beside the general and spoke gloomily with a hint of blame.
"Sir, we should not stay here for long, and we should not fight to the death." Seeing that more and more pursuers were coming from behind, the guards beside Qu Changqing spoke up immediately. After the previous battle, more than half of their side had been killed or wounded. If they did not find a way to break out, they would be wiped out.
Qu Changqing threw away the longbow in his hand and sat down again. He calmed himself down and looked around at the terrain. Seeing that the enemy was replenishing arrows, he immediately led the remaining guards to the blind spot.
Half a hundred people rushed down the hillside, followed closely by thousands of pursuers. Suddenly, from the front came the sound of cavalry, faintly accompanied by the shaking of the earth...
Qu Changqing and the others' expressions suddenly grew solemn and dignified, but their eyes revealed a look of unyielding determination. They gritted their teeth, gripped their swords tightly, and rushed towards the mighty sound that suppressed the mountain...
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