The road was relatively flat, so it wasn't strenuous for everyone to walk. However, the surroundings were unusually quiet.
Zhong Muyu felt uneasy. She held Lu Ziyuan's hand tightly. When they reached a depression, her ominous premonition finally came true.
"There's an ambush!"
Following the warning from those in front, a large number of people suddenly appeared and surrounded them.
Lu Ziyuan narrowed his eyes and watched them gather around. Then he made way for General Zheng and his men.
"Your Highness, Prince Ling, you've finally come out."
Lu Ziyuan said, "They deliberately led us here; it seems they intend to annihilate me in one fell swoop."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, it's not that I want you to die, it's the Emperor's decree. Are you going to disobey the imperial decree?"
“I have done nothing wrong, and I will not offer my neck for execution.”
General Zheng saw that although the enemy was not many, each of them was determined to die and glared at them fiercely.
General Zheng's tone softened: "Why does Your Highness do this? As the saying goes, if the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. How about this, if you surrender, I will release everyone here and at the same time inform the Emperor, asking him to spare the others from the Prince of Ling's residence. What do you think?"
Before Lu Ziyuan could speak, Chengfeng righteously refused: "Impossible! We swear to live and die with Your Highness!"
"That's right! I swear to live and die with the Prince!"
As soon as Chengfeng finished speaking, the others also expressed their stance, roaring loudly, looking as if they would die for their country.
General Zheng's face turned cold: "If you won't listen to reason, then you'll have to drink the penalty cup. Let's all be buried here together!"
After saying that, he ordered an attack. Just as the people in the encirclement rushed over, Cao Lin also gave the order at the same time. The dark muzzles of guns were pointed around, and at the same time, ear-piercing gunshots rang out.
Those who stepped forward fell to the ground, and General Zheng retreated in terror, exclaiming, "What...what is this thing?!"
Before he could react, the soldiers around him fell one by one.
"Fire arrows! Shoot them dead!"
Some of the people on the other side reacted and prepared to draw their bows and shoot arrows, but arrows are ultimately not as fast as bullets, and they had almost no chance to fire.
Everyone was startled and dared not attack rashly again. Although there were only a little over a hundred people, in their eyes, these people were like monsters.
Seeing the situation was dire, General Zheng immediately ordered, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
Lu Ziyuan stared intently at him, as if he were watching prey: "Don't let him get away."
"Don't worry, he can't escape."
As Zhong Muyu spoke, he raised something, and a beam of blue light suddenly flew out, striking General Zheng in the back. General Zheng trembled and fell to the ground, his body convulsing.
Lu Ziyuan looked curiously at the metal object in her hand: "What good thing is this?"
"A stun gun won't kill anyone. Go check on him."
With their commander down, the morale of the other soldiers instantly plummeted. Coupled with the recent barrage of gunfire, many had lost their will to fight and surrendered one after another. A hundred-plus men defeating an army of several thousand was an unprecedented event in the history of Yuanqi.
General Zheng was electrocuted and foaming at the mouth. Zhi Yu asked, "Your Highness, aren't we going to get rid of him?"
"No rush, let's tie him up first, and then we'll make plans when we get to Licheng."
...
News of Lu Ziyuan's kidnapping of General Zheng and his open rebellion quickly reached Licheng. The governor of this barren land had never seen anything like it before, and had no choice but to surrender. Licheng was now Lu Ziyuan's territory.
If they continue to hold out in this remote place, the result will be certain death. Since that's the case, Lu Ziyuan might as well press his advantage, capture a few more cities, and bolster his troops.
At the same time, news of the Prince of Ling's rebellion quickly reached the capital.
The atmosphere inside the main hall was oppressive; a group of people knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe.
Lu Ziying was furious. He grabbed the memorials on the table and threw them at their heads. Some of them were hurt, but they could only endure it.
"I knew it! I knew he harbored evil intentions and had long wanted to rebel. Now he has finally found his chance!"
At this moment, an official below said, "Your Majesty, they are currently too weak. We should take this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop, lest things get complicated."
"Indeed, immediately write to your brothers, ordering them to send troops to capture the traitor Lu Ziyuan!"
After everyone had left, Lu Ziying slumped onto the dragon throne, rubbing his temples repeatedly.
After a while, the Empress arrived.
Lu Ziying glanced at her only: "Why didn't you send someone to announce the arrival of the Empress?"
"Knowing that Your Majesty is in a bad mood, I did not have anyone announce it. I have made some desserts to help cool you down; Your Majesty, please have some."
Lu Ziying waved his hand: "Even the best desserts can't quell the fire in my heart."
"How could that be? The rebels number only a few tens of thousands; they can't stir up any trouble."
"Of course I know that only the heads of Lu Ziyuan and Zhong Muyu can make me feel at ease right now."
Speaking of Zhong Muyu, the Empress frowned slightly: "This Zhong Muyu is truly extraordinary. I still can't understand how she escaped from the palace and how she found Lu Ziyuan. Could it be that she has someone in the palace who is helping her and we don't know about it?"
"It's hard to say. This woman has too many secrets. She has changed a lot since she married Lu Ziyuan. Whatever secrets she has, we'll find out once we capture her."
...
In the northern border city, Lu Ziyuan temporarily chose a place as a stronghold. Although there were attacks, they were all repelled.
Inside the room, Zhong Muyu was restless. Although she now had plenty of time to rest, she seemed more tired than ever before.
Zaochun looked at her with concern: "Your Highness, it's not good for the baby in your belly if you don't rest."
Zhong Muyu rubbed her temples: "It's not that I don't want to rest, it's just that I'm not in the mood to rest."
"Don't worry, His Highness is making great strides, and I believe things will be resolved soon."
Zhong Muyu did not answer her again. The winner takes all, and no matter which outcome this path led to, she would not be happy.
At this moment, Lu Ziyuan, who had just finished a meeting, rushed over to see her. Upon seeing Lu Ziyuan, Zaochun tactfully withdrew.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
Lu Ziyuan squatted down in front of Zhong Muyu, looking her in the eye.
"Yeah, I'm not happy."
Unexpectedly, Zhong Muyu was so candid. Lu Ziyuan asked, "Is it still because of the rebellion?"
Zhong Muyu nodded: "Yes, Lu Ziyuan, I've thought a lot these past few days. I'm wondering, do we really have to seize this throne? Lu Ziying still has many loyal ministers and generals under his command, and other princes will also make their move. This path is truly difficult."
Lu Ziyuan's smile faded, and he fell silent.
Zhong Muyu continued, "Since General Zheng didn't kill you, we might as well expose Lu Ziying's framing of you to the world. You can make it clear that you won't threaten the throne, and we can just stay in Lingqing like this."
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