Yang Mengchen couldn’t stay, so after presiding over the opening ceremony, she left with Sister Jin and nine others, Mo Mei and Qing Hen, as well as a hundred soldiers specially arranged by Long Xuanmo to return to The Capital.
Midway, Yang Mengchen suddenly spoke and asked for the carriage to stop, then she lifted the curtain and stepped out of the carriage. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ
"What’s the matter, Princess?" Jumping off her steed, Mo Mei approached Yang Mengchen with a puzzled expression.
Yang Mengchen pursed her lips and didn’t answer, just quietly gazing forward.
The official road from The Capital to the villa had been paved with cement at Yang Mengchen’s request. It originally took nearly five hours by carriage, but now the time was reduced by about a third. At this stretch of the road, dense jungles flanked both sides, vaguely exuding an aura of coldness and death.
"Lv Luo, Shan Cha, notify everyone to prepare for battle!" Yang Mengchen whispered her orders: "Hong Ling, go to the rear carriage and, along with Bai He and the four others, protect Sister Jin well." She then gestured for Qing Hen to come forward and whispered a few words into the ears of Mo Mei and Qing Hen.
The group immediately obeyed and went to carry out her instructions.
Gazing at a certain spot in the jungle to her right, Yang Mengchen’s expression was calm and composed, her dark eyes bottomless, and they flickered with a cold, sharp edge like that of an ice blade.
"Second Young Master Zhuo has arrived, yet he hides without daring to show himself. Could it be he wishes to play the turtle, shrinking back into his shell?"
"If Princess Chen is so eager to meet me, I naturally grant her wish readily," a voice responded, laden with ill-intent and frivolity.
Following that disingenuous voice, Second Young Master Zhuo slowly emerged from the jungle on the left, his appearance handsome, eyebrows like ink painting, skin pale as snow, clad in dark blue strong suit trimmed with white embroidery and a deep blue brocade belt decorated with a wolf motif at his waist. His deep black eyes brimmed with gloomy murderous intent.
Suddenly, a large group of intimidating figures burst out from behind him on both sides, dressed somewhat like bandits, each holding swords or sabers, quickly surrounding Yang Mengchen and her entourage.
Observing the well-trained group, the hundred soldiers exchanged a look, their eyes showing surprise and wariness; it was clear these people were not mere bandits but a well-disciplined army. They unified in spirit, protecting Yang Mengchen and her companions in the center.
Arching an eyebrow disdainfully, Yang Mengchen’s clear, profound eyes remained calm and gentle, offering no insight into their depths, yet seeming to contain so much perspicacity and understanding that it made one feel utterly exposed.
An inexplicable unease overtook Second Young Master Zhuo, but he couldn’t put his finger on the feeling. A spark flashed through his eyes when an idea struck him, a glow that animals present when they spot their prey.
"I advise Princess Chen to surrender without resistance. After all, swords and sabers are blind, and if Princess Chen were to get hurt by accident, I would regret it," he suggested.
Yang Mengchen replied indifferently, "Has Second Young Master Zhuo forgotten so soon about the last incident involving the Princess of Beiyue who kidnapped me, only to meet her own downfall?"
"I am not as foolish as the Princess of Beiyue," retorted Second Young Master Zhuo, his face changing slightly before he quickly resumed a smug look. "Besides, if the princess were to be captured by bandits on the way back to The Capital, and her purity lost, what has that got to do with me?"
Furious at Second Young Master Zhuo’s malicious intentions, everyone was up in arms. To harm Princess Chen with such despicable means was unforgivable!
"Bandits?" Yang Mengchen’s lips curled into a mocking smile. "Aren’t they soldiers?"
Second Young Master Zhuo’s face took on a stunned look, his eyes narrow and indistinctly sharp.
"The, Black, Wolf, Army!" Yang Mengchen enunciated each word.
Second Young Master Zhuo’s pupils suddenly constricted, his face paling ever so slightly as a storm surged in his heart: "How, how do you know?"
The Black Wolf Army was an army he had secretly established, usually disguised as peasants or common vendors, obeying only his orders, unknown even to his grandfather and father. How could Princess Chen know of this secret?
Seeing Second Young Master Zhuo’s complexion, the Black Wolf Army knew well that Princess Chen had to be eliminated. Their swords and sabers pointed at Yang Mengchen, all eager with intent.
The hundred soldiers and Hai Tang alike gripped their weapons tightly, intently watching the Black Wolf Army before them, highly alert.
"The Emperor is a wise ruler. Even though Master Zhuo has already endangered the imperial authority, with Master Zhuo and Zhuo Yulin dead, the Emperor naturally won’t pursue the Zhuo family’s crimes any further," stated Yang Mengchen plainly. "Relying on the remnants of Master Zhuo’s influence, if Second Young Master Zhuo simply remains a loyal subject, using your cleverness and wit, you could surely continue the Zhuo family’s splendor. In the future, adopt a sharp and capable son, and the Zhuo family could maintain its glory for decades more. But unfortunately..."
"Unfortunately, what?" Suppressing the unease in his heart, Second Young Master Zhuo asked with a grave voice.
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