Chapter 132: It's Hard to Do It Alone
Ten days had passed since Wen Yao fell off the cliff. In full view of the crowd, Prince Yan followed Wen Yao down the cliff without hesitation, then climbed out of the river alone in the cold late autumn night.
Gao Shaoshan and Zhongli He hurried down with their men and spotted Zhao Xuanxu standing by the river. His hair was broken, his hair all wet and tangled, clinging to his body like a demon fresh out of hell. Everyone saw that his arms and legs were intact, but before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they heard Zhao Xuanxu's chilling command: "Return to the camp and inspect the troops."
Gao Shaoshan was stunned and stammered a little: "Now? Who to beat?"
Zhao Xuanxu was breathing heavily. A streak of blood flowed from the wound on his forehead where the rocks had cut him, staining his long eyelashes and threatening to fall off. "Besiege Xijin. I want to fight Yelu Duhan."
The entire Tianshui garrison was awake in the dead of night. Zhao Xuanxu was serious; he was serious about attacking Xijin City. Fortunately, Zhongli He had spotted the letter Wen Yao had left on the table and hurriedly handed it to Zhao Xuanxu. He had read Wen Yao's account of the whole situation, and his heart was in turmoil. He had never expected her to be so bold, and he was even more unsure whether their Prince Yan, now in a state of rage, could follow Wen Yao's plan.
The last time Wen Yao was unexpectedly taken away by Yelu Duhan, what did Zhao Xuanxu do? He led the Feathered Guards back to Bianliang and surrounded the Eastern Palace at night, dragging Prince Yong into the street and killing those who resisted, those who tried to escape, and those who disobeyed. The blood was so strong that the ditches in front of every household in Bianliang were filled with blood. A year of recuperation, normal behavior and good temper made some people in Bianliang forget their past memories. A censor named Huang, who had defected to the King of Qin, pointed at Zhao Xuanxu and cursed him as a traitor before being dragged away, saying that the King of Qin would definitely rescue him. Zhao Xuanxu stepped over the corpses and blood on the ground and walked up to him, bending down and twisting his head off. The moment his internal force was injected into him, the exploding skull and blood splashed all over the face of the person next to him.
That night, Zhao Xuanxu slaughtered all the people the King of Qin had left behind in Bianliang, sparing only the imperial concubine, the prime minister, and the King of Qin's fiancée. While others suspected the King of Yan of rebellion, they saw clearly that he cared little about who would rule the country and was simply venting his anger. He possessed an eccentric and unruly personality. Although he bore the surname Zhao, his concern for the people of the land was far less than that of Zhang Yun, Zhongli He, or even Wen Yao.
This was also why Zhongli He had previously disliked Zhao Xuanxu. Zhao Xuanxu showed too little of the common sense of a human being. Holding such power was like walking a tightrope, extremely precarious and terrifying. Wen Yao's appearance had made matters much better, but it also proved just how important Wen Yao was to Zhao Xuanxu. Such an important person had been lost once, and now a second time. And yet, Wen Yao was willing to take the initiative to assassinate the enemy emperor and empress for the sake of peace and the people of both countries, a matter Zhao Xuanxu didn't care about at all... Even if Zhao Xuanxu now abandoned Bianliang and headed for Shangjing, Zhongli He would still find it normal.
Zhao Xuanxu sat at the head of the table, his elbows resting on his knees, his forehead in his palm. After listening to Zhongli He's words, he leaned over and took the letter with an expressionless face. The people below held their breath, their eyes fixed in fear on the scattered fruits and wine cups.
After reading the letter, Zhao Xuanxu slowly gathered it in his palm with his slender fingers and tore it apart bit by bit.
"She doesn't allow Yelu Duhan and I to fight." Zhao Xuanxu threw away the paper scraps in his hand, and the tiny sound of his movements made the people below feel numb.
Gao Shaoshan asked cautiously, "Are we still going to fight?"
Zhao Xuanxu didn't say anything.
That means no more fighting.
Gao Shaoshan and the others breathed a sigh of relief, then began to sincerely admire Wen Yao. Look, he poisoned the Northern Liao prince to persuade him to cooperate, appeased the Prince of Yan, and even devised a clever scheme to escape to the capital and kill the Northern Liao emperor. Any one of these actions alone would be a daunting task, but if they combined all three, only Wen Yao could pull it off.
Zhongli He frowned and said, "Since Yelu Duhan agreed to cooperate, Xijin should send someone to negotiate peace immediately. The Northern Liao court will not have any objections if Yelu Anduan is detained for negotiations." In other words, this battle was stopped by Wen Yao, and it is estimated that it will not break out in the short term.
"The situation in Bianliang is not good. The Wu Zhaosi can't do anything alone. We should immediately send an envoy from Bianliang to negotiate with Northern Liao, and send another person back to Bianliang to resolve the Qin King's siege."
Everyone had their own opinions, and the arguments gradually grew louder. From beginning to end, Zhao Xuanxu remained silent, his head bowed, his gaze fixed on the pile of paper scraps on the ground. The candlelight couldn't illuminate his face, which was dim from brow to nose, and the skin exposed through his wet collar was frighteningly pale.
Gao Shaoshan had been following Zhao Xuanxu for a long time, so he almost closed his eyes when he saw this, and kept praying in his heart that Commander Wen would bless him and nothing would happen.
The next day, the tent was deserted; His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan had vanished. Gao Shaoshan sat there, his eyes fixed on the truth. Zhongli He's eyelids twitched, his rage rising, but there was nothing he could do. He quickly suppressed the news and sent word to Bianliang to negotiate, intending to leave Gao Shaoshan behind while he led his troops back to deal with the King of Qin.
I can only hope that Wen Yao is doing well in Shangjing and that nothing goes wrong.
*
Wen Yao, unaware that her boyfriend had disappeared a few days earlier, had just donned a mask and court lady's attire and, following a map, made her way to Duo Yueli's palace. Faint breaths and gazes from the darkness constantly scanned her, then silently moved away after taking in her features and the badge hanging from her waist.
Wen Yao lowered his eyes and walked at a moderate pace, slowly counting the people hiding around him and their breathing. One, two... fourteen. Fourteen people were guarding outside Duo Yueli's bedroom, their breathing very lightly, all masters.
Outside the palace, a maid recognized Wen Yao's disguise as a court lady and spoke to her. The language barrier was a disadvantage; Wen Yao couldn't understand. She could only maintain a solemn expression as she pulled a letter from her bosom, indicating that she had an urgent matter to discuss with the Empress. The maid didn't investigate further, likely unaware that the court lady could be a different person, and quickly let Wen Yao in.
The chambers of Duo Yueli, the legendary empress of Northern Liao, were, to Wen Yao's surprise, not particularly opulent. As she entered, she was greeted by a bronze bull-headed statue in the center. Its eyes glared, its expression shimmering with a cold, sharp, and menacing aura, its rough, savage nature overwhelming. Daggers, bows, and arrows hung on the surrounding walls. Several maids stood nearby, their heads bowed in obedience.
Wen Yao walked step by step into the curtain and the first thing he saw was a huge bronze mirror. A woman was sitting in front of the mirror and putting on makeup.
The woman was not young, with thick eyebrows and earrings dangling from her earlobes. She looked at Wen Yao in the bronze mirror, her eyes calm and sharp, her sharp majesty almost visible through her eyebrows, scorching and intimidating.
This is the Holy Queen Duo Yueli who controls half of the Northern Liao Dynasty.
Duo Yueli clutched a sheep-horn comb. She hadn't been getting enough rest lately, and the news of Yelu Anduan's capture was giving her a headache. Duo Yueli hadn't expected that even with Dabale sent out to watch, Yelu Anduan would still be captured alive by Tianshui. She'd clearly fought on horseback in her youth, and the territory of Northern Liao bore her mark—how come each of her sons was less than the last? Wanyan Feng's son, on the other hand, was the capable one. Not only had he survived, but he'd also been a constant obstacle in Tianshui's way. Within a year of her return, many of the grassland tribes had switched sides, changing their tune and intentions.
She threw the horn comb in her hand away: "What's the matter? You need to come to see me now."
The female officer, unable to speak due to a throat injury, silently handed the envelope to the maidservant. Duo Yueli didn't pay much attention at first, but when the maidservant was about to open the envelope, Duo Yueli raised her eyes and unexpectedly met the eyes of the female military officer in the mirror.
A pair of beautiful eyes, with the tails of the eyes slightly pulled up, the pupils are black and bright, and the two colors are distinct.
Duo Yueli paused and said, "How's the thing I asked you to do last time?"
The female military officer shook her head again. Now even the maid standing nearby frowned and looked over, thinking that the female military officer was a little strange today.
Duo Yueli's expression remained unchanged, and she looked away: "Go down."
The female military officer raised her eyes——
The next moment, the dagger suddenly turned back and jumped out like a ghost, sticking to Duo Yueli's neck!
Duo Yueli's hands, reaching back for the crossbow under the table, and the sword-drawing movements of several men on the beams above her head suddenly stopped. The female military officer exerted a little force, and a little blood immediately flowed from Duo Yueli's neck.
"Bang!" In extreme shock, a maid accidentally knocked over a cup. The noise was so loud that several breaths drifted from the beams and landed silently outside the door. Wen Yao chuckled softly, her eyes narrowed as she studied the Northern Liao Empress under her. She noticed that of everyone present, Duo Yueli was the first to notice something was amiss, and she was also the calmest.
"Who are you?" Duo Yueli tilted her neck to avoid being scratched by the dagger. Even though her vital part was held in someone else's hand, she didn't show any panic on her face. She could even speak to Wen Yao in a steady voice: "There are so many people watching outside, and you can still come in. You are very capable."
Wen Yao didn't understand, and she didn't intend to chat with the Holy Queen. Her arm slipped and tugged at Duo Yueli's hand. The sound of bone cracking was clear. She twisted Duo Yueli's arm and dragged her out.
The pain was real, and a layer of cold sweat immediately covered Duo Yueli's forehead.
She stared at Wen Yao for a while, then suddenly asked in Tianshui dialect, "You don't speak, are you dumb, or are you from Tianshui?"
"Tianshui is negotiating peace with our Northern Liao, but now they've sent someone to assassinate us. Could it be that they don't want to sit down and talk anymore?"
Shout, shout, I don’t understand.
Wen Yao pretended to be dumb and deaf, and remained calm.
When the news of the queen's assassination spread, in addition to the guards who gathered around, there were more than a dozen people of different ages standing in the front, both old and young. The only thing they had in common was that they all looked very unhappy.
Forty-eight experts were guarding the emperor and empress, but someone managed to sneak in quietly and kidnap the empress. This was simply a slap in their faces.
Duo Yueli didn't get an answer, and said firmly: "You must not be mute, that's the sky-" Wen Yao pointed his finger at her, and her voice immediately died away.
With silence in her ears, Wen Yao recalled the map Yelu Duhan had given her, preparing to take the empress to the emperor's chambers. It was too much trouble to come in once, so if she could kill two at once, she didn't want to make another trip after the security was tightened.
After a moment's silence, a thumb-sized, thin knife, as thin as a cicada's wing, shot out from a gap in the crowd. Wen Yao traded the dagger for her palm, grasping Duo Yueli's neck. With a flick of the dagger, she knocked the knife away. Lifting Duo Yueli up, she took two steps forward, leaping over the surrounding palace walls and heading out. She had a quick memory and a good sense of direction. The moment the flickering lights in the distance caught her eye, she and Duo Yueli both landed.
The palace gate in front suddenly opened from the inside, and a dense mass of armor swayed as it poured out. A withered man, supported by others, walked out and fixed his gaze on Wen Yao. His eye sockets were sunken, his nose was high and his eyes were deep, and his cheeks were gray.
This is the current emperor of Northern Liao, Yelu Hao, who almost flattened the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
