Chapter 92 You still love arguing with me so much...
Lou Xueying's eyes suddenly widened, she sobbed and trembled, staring intently at the person in front of her, her eyes filled with an indistinguishable mix of anger and fear.
"Are you so excited to see me?" He chuckled softly, his long fingers tracing her cheek. "Poor thing, you can't even speak."
He raised his hand and removed the gag from her mouth.
But she still couldn't speak, only able to make short, hoarse breathy sounds.
How could this be! How could it be him—Crown Prince Liang Ji!
When she first learned of his death last year, she wondered if he was really dead or not, but since there has been no news of him since, she assumed that he was truly dead.
In the end, it actually appeared right in front of me!
He was even wearing the armor of the Beijing army, and he had men at his beck and call!
He really did fake his death!
It turns out that the person who went to great lengths to abduct her was not Emperor Jinghui, but him, who had "come back to life"!
Seeing that Lou Xueying was speechless, the Crown Prince frowned and turned to ask the person behind him, "How much medicine did you give her?"
The man hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, "I was afraid she would make a fuss, so I used the largest amount. Even so, it was still almost too much for her, and she was nearly noticed to be acting strangely during the interrogation."
The Crown Prince sighed softly, untied the ropes binding her hands and feet, and stroked her wrists, which were chafed raw, saying affectionately, "Susu, you still like to go against me. But it's alright, at least it means you're still healthy, which is better than being bedridden."
Lou Xueying gave a cold laugh.
What difference is there between her now and someone who's too sick to get out of bed?!
Her cold laugh was so obvious that the Crown Prince's expression hardened slightly. He placed his finger on her lips, drew closer, and whispered, "I know you're cursing me in your heart, but Susu, you have to blame yourself. If you had stayed quietly in the General's Mansion in the Northwest, my reach might not have been so far. But you insisted on coming out with Li Pan, so how could I miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"
His fingers pressed tighter and tighter, his body drawing ever closer, his breath almost touching her face: "Susu, why did you come along to such a dangerous place as war? Are you so lonely, unable to live without a man? If you can't, then why can't I..."
Lou Xueying struggled desperately, but the effects of the drug hadn't worn off, and her struggles were futile, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
He smiled, his lips about to fall, but suddenly stopped.
He frowned slightly, his nostrils twitched, and he sniffed lightly around her face and shoulders.
"What's that smell?" he asked, his face showing disgust.
Lou Xueying then smiled.
The subordinate at the door looked embarrassed and didn't know how to answer.
The crown prince turned his head and stared at him: "How did you bring her here?"
The subordinate had no choice but to tell the truth: "I initially used a horse-drawn carriage, but that scoundrel Li reacted too quickly. Before I even reached the capital, I was checked at every checkpoint. And at each checkpoint, there were at least three or four people, not just one. I couldn't fool so many people at once, so I had no choice but to..."
The Crown Prince asked in a deep voice, "Only what?"
The subordinate whispered, "We had to find a coffin, hide the lady inside, cover her with a real corpse to conceal it, and then put her back on a cart, pretending she was being brought back for burial. That's how we managed to fool the checking soldiers and bring the lady back..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Crown Prince abruptly released Lou Xueying and stepped aside.
Lou Xueying lay on the ground, looking at him mockingly.
She was no longer afraid, and she wasn't even that flustered anymore, because she found the Crown Prince to be far more ridiculous than she had imagined, and there was absolutely no need to worry.
"You put her with the corpse? Then the smell just now must have been..." The prince was both shocked and furious, and kept dusting himself off.
Lou Xueying let out another cold laugh.
The subordinate immediately knelt down, forcing a smile, and said, "Your Highness, the matter was urgent, and I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. If that traitor Li had been slower, I could have successfully brought my wife back to the capital and caught up with General Liao's plan to put her in a military crate and transport her into the capital... It's just a pity that we were delayed along the way and missed it all. In Your Highness's opinion, should we take my wife back to the city now, or continue to keep her here?"
The Crown Prince said coldly, "Of course we should bring her back to the city. Leaving her outside the city is just asking her to be found by Li Pan."
"Bring her back to the city?" The subordinate hesitated. "But without the cover of the supply train, how can I bring the lady into the city?"
"Now the entire defense of the capital is under my uncle's control, so whatever he says goes." The Crown Prince took a deep breath. "Where's your coffin?"
"It's right outside."
"You continue to take your coffin back to the city, and say that the brother who was ambushed by Li's men sacrificed his life, and you risked your life to bring him back. I will talk to my uncle tonight and ask him to let you pass."
Subordinate: "Then wouldn't the lady have to..."
The Crown Prince glanced coldly at Lou Xueying on the ground: "We'll clean her up after we get into the city."
Lou Xueying returned the same cold gaze.
"What are you thinking about, Susu?" The Crown Prince scoffed. "You're not thinking about how to tip off Li Pan, are you?"
Lou Xueying remained silent.
He took two more steps forward, bent down to keep a distance from her, and gave a gloomy smirk: "Don't even think about it. You'll never escape my grasp."
Having said that, he turned and left, not forgetting to instruct his subordinates before stepping out the door: "Give her the largest dose of medicine tomorrow. Also, tie her up again."
"……yes."
The man came over, gagged Lou Xueying again, and tied her hands and feet again before leaving the woodshed and locking the door.
Lou Xueying lay motionless on the ground, but her mind was racing.
The fact that the Crown Prince was not dead and was still wearing the armor of the capital army indicates that his feigned death was carried out in secret, even unknown to Emperor Jinghui. Although it is unknown how he deceived his father, it is likely that his maternal clan provided covert assistance.
His maternal family is not to be underestimated. In his previous life, the Crown Prince conspired with the Empress to secretly kill Emperor Jinghui. In this life, the Crown Prince's uncle has somehow gained Emperor Jinghui's trust. A general who was originally only in charge of half of the palace guards is now in charge of the defense of the entire capital.
It's not hard to deduce from the conversation that if Li Pan hadn't acted so quickly, forcing the Crown Prince's men to abandon the carriage and use a handcart to transport her coffin, they wouldn't have been delayed for so many days. According to the original plan, the Crown Prince's uncle must have prepared a supply train to facilitate the Crown Prince's subordinates bringing her in, but they simply didn't make it in time, preventing the two from entering the city promptly.
The supply train from the capital must have come from the east of the capital.
Because the area west of the capital was blocked by Li Pan's army.
Therefore, the place she is currently in must be near the East Gate of the capital, otherwise she would be easily discovered by Li Pan.
In other words, by taking advantage of the fact that Li Pan's army did not harm civilians, the Crown Prince's subordinates were able to disguise themselves as civilians and lead her on a long detour around the capital region before finally arriving here.
Escaping would be difficult, but she had to try. She just didn't have the strength right now, and until she mustered it, she could use the time to think about other things.
For example... why hasn't the Crown Prince taken action against Emperor Jinghui yet?
Now that he controls all the troops in the capital, killing Emperor Jinghui would be a piece of cake. Is his delay in acting because he feels he must first eliminate the external threat of Li Pan before dealing with the internal problem of Emperor Jinghui?
Does the Crown Prince really think that he can force Li Pan to withdraw his troops by taking her hostage?
If she really keeps hiding in the Northwest General's Mansion and refuses to come out, wouldn't Li Pan be completely unburdened and invincible? Does the Crown Prince really think that a mere hundred thousand or so Beijing troops can stop Li Pan's two hundred thousand or so men?
No, she must have forgotten something.
Kidnapping her was just a convenient move; given the Crown Prince's personality, he wouldn't gamble all his hopes on this. It's truly baffling that he didn't intervene when Li Pan attacked so many cities, only acting suddenly when the sword was pointed at the capital.
Why not try a different approach and put yourself in their shoes?
If she were the crown prince, what should she have done after faking her death in order to both eliminate Emperor Jinghui and Li Pan?
If he faked his death to lower Emperor Jinghui's guard and then let his maternal clan take advantage of the chaos to strike, he could certainly get rid of Emperor Jinghui, but at the same time, it would also cause even greater chaos—would the ministers accept someone who faked his death and murdered his father? Would the princes tolerate him trying to seize the throne? And could he defeat Li Pan's army?
cannot.
Therefore, dealing with Emperor Jinghui at this time would not be a wise move.
Li Pan is the biggest problem, and the ministers are still completely obedient to Emperor Jinghui. If Li Pan's rebellion can be quelled under Emperor Jinghui's command, that would be the best outcome for the Crown Prince. If Emperor Jinghui solves Li Pan's problem for him, then he can solve Emperor Jinghui's problem.
Therefore, the crown prince kept observing in secret, waiting for the right opportunity.
Unfortunately, Emperor Jinghui failed to deal with Li Pan. Therefore, as the crown prince, he should have chosen another path in time.
This path was clearly not meant for the uncle to lead the capital army in a head-on battle against Li Pan. Otherwise, if they lost, Emperor Jinghui would die, and the crown prince would not survive either.
What else can we do but confront them head-on?
If one is not so keen on fighting, why would one allow one's uncle to take command of the Beijing army?
Lou Xueying carefully reviewed everything, then suddenly her expression froze.
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