Chapter 78 Anyone who dares to waver will suffer the consequences.
Ye Wanning touched the stone tablet with her hand, but didn't feel anything special. Then she went around to the back of the stone tablet and found a small groove on the back, the shape of which matched the shape of the main symbol of the tiger tally very well.
"Chuntao, give me the Tiger Tally main talisman," Ye Wanning said.
Chun Tao took out the Tiger Tally main talisman from her bosom and handed it over. Ye Wanning put the main talisman into the groove and pressed it gently—"Whoosh!" A narrow crack appeared behind the stone tablet, and a cold wind carrying the smell of earth blew out from the crack, making people's arms go numb.
Ye Wanning held her breath, told the guards to be on guard, and then gently pushed open the crack—inside was a palm-sized sandalwood box, with dragon patterns from the previous dynasty carved on its body, and some damp moss clinging to the edges.
"Miss, is this the thing that can counter the military token?" Chun Tao leaned closer, her eyes fixed on the box.
Ye Wanning had just carefully brought out the box, wanting to see what was inside, when suddenly the sound of horses' hooves came from afar! The head of the guards immediately drew his sword: "Second Miss, someone's coming! It looks like they're from the former Crown Prince's side!"
Ye Wanning's heart tightened, and she hugged the wooden box tightly in her arms, saying to Chun Tao, "Quick! Let's hide in the cave next door first!"
Just as the group hid in a nearby cave, several men dressed in black rode up on horseback. The leader, a man with a scar on his face, pointed his whip at the stone tablet and yelled, "Who the hell touched this stone tablet? The master said it's untouchable! Search it!"
Several men in black dismounted and looked around the stone tablet—the footsteps were getting closer and closer to the cave. Chun Tao covered her mouth in fright, while Ye Wanning reached into her sleeve and pulled out a silver needle, her eyes fixed on the cave entrance—if anyone came in, she would subdue them first.
"Boss, we couldn't find anyone, but we saw a crack behind the stone tablet, and it looks like the things inside have been taken!" a man in black shouted.
Scarface's expression changed drastically: "Not good! It must be that girl Ye Wanning! Master said she was most likely to come here! Quick, after her! Chase her out of the valley, she can't have gone far!"
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her sweat: "That was dangerous, we almost got discovered. Let's open the box now and see what's inside."
The cave was extremely dark, so Chun Tao lit a lamp with a tinderbox. Ye Wanning carefully opened the sandalwood box—inside, lined with red velvet, lay a bronze token and a yellowed parchment. The token was engraved with the words "Zhen Guo" (镇国, meaning "Protecting the Nation"), and the words on the parchment were written by her mother: "The military tally of the previous dynasty must be suppressed by the Zhen Guo token. When the two are in contact, the military tally becomes ineffective, and the old troops will surely scatter."
Before they could examine it closely, the scarred man's voice suddenly came from outside: "Ye Wanning, I knew you hadn't gone far! Give me the box, and I might let you die a little easier!"
"Want the box? You'll have to get past me first!" The head of the guards charged forward, brandishing his sword, and started fighting with the men in black.
Ye Wanning pulled Chun Tao back, took out a silver needle from her bosom, and aimed it at the enemy archers—but there were too many of them, and the guards were quickly at a disadvantage. One of the guards was hit in the arm by an arrow, and blood gushed out immediately.
"Miss, what should we do? There are too many of them!" Chun Tao was so anxious she was almost crying.
Ye Wanning was anxious when she suddenly remembered the national protection token in her bosom and an idea came to her. She raised the token and shouted at the men in black, "Look carefully! This is the national protection token of the previous dynasty! Your master is a traitor! Following him will only lead to your heads being chopped off sooner or later!"
The men in black suddenly stopped moving, and the eyes of several of them began to waver—most of these men had been forced there by the former crown prince and were not actually willing to come.
Seeing this, Scarface rode his horse and slashed down one of the hesitant men in black beside him: "Anyone who dares to waver! They'll suffer the consequences! Anyone who hesitates again will end up like this!"
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves and familiar shouts of battle suddenly came from afar! Ye Wanning's eyes lit up: "It's Pei Zhi's men! We're saved!"
Pei Zhi galloped forward on horseback, leading a troop of imperial guards. His longsword gleamed coldly, and he quickly felled several archers. Scarface tried to flee on horseback, but Pei Zhi fired an arrow that struck the horse's leg, sending him sprawling to the ground with a thud.
Pei Zhi jumped off his horse and rushed to Ye Wanning's side, looking her up and down: "Wanning, are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" Ye Wanning took out a sandalwood box and said with a smile, "We've found something! With this, we can defeat the former crown prince's army on the first day of next month!"
"That's great!" Pei Zhi took the box and breathed a sigh of relief. "With the National Protection Token, we won't be afraid of the former dynasty's old subordinates anymore! Now let's go back to the capital, make preparations, and wait for the former crown prince to walk right into our trap!"
Several men, accompanied by the Imperial Guards, escorted Scarface towards the capital. Along the way, Ye Wanning leaned against Pei Zhi, touching the Zhenguo Token in her bosom. She finally felt reassured—she knew that as long as she had this token, Pei Zhi by her side, and the children of Ci'an Hall waiting for her, she would definitely be able to protect the Great Qi and safeguard her mother's life's work.
Upon returning to the capital, Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi went directly to the palace and presented the Emperor with the National Protection Token and the parchment. The Emperor, who had just recovered somewhat, jumped up from his bed with excitement upon seeing the token: "Excellent! With this token, we no longer need to fear the former Crown Prince's 50,000-strong army! Ye Wanning, Pei Zhi, you have rendered a great service!"
"Your Majesty is too kind. This is what we should do," Ye Wanning said. "There are still ten days until the first day of next month. We must make preparations quickly to prevent the former crown prince from launching an attack ahead of schedule."
Pei Zhi also added, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should set up additional defenses around the capital and have the garrison at the Haitang Valley armory on high alert. In addition, we should send someone to the border to tell the General of Zhenbei to pay attention to the movements of the Turks and see if they have really joined forces with the former Crown Prince."
The Emperor nodded: "Do as you say! Pei Zhi, I'll leave the defense setup to you; Ye Wanning, go and interrogate Scarface, see if you can get more secrets about the former Crown Prince out of him."
"Your subject (your daughter) obeys the decree!" the two replied in unison.
Ye Wanning took Scarface to the prison. As soon as they entered the cell, Scarface shouted, "I don't know anything! Don't ask me! My master will kill me!"
"If you don't tell us, you won't be alive now!" Ye Wanning sat in the chair, toying with the Zhenguo Token in her hand. "Your master is a traitor. What good can come of following him? Why don't you tell us about his conspiracy, and we might spare your life and let you go home to reunite with your family."
Scarface's hand froze in mid-air, his eyes filled with struggle. Finally, he sighed and said, "I...I'll tell you! Master isn't actually the former crown prince! He's the former crown prince's personal eunuch. The real crown prince died long ago. He just wants to use the crown prince's name to seize the throne of the Great Qi!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com