After making contact with Prince Wu and his group, Zhao Moyan quickly led his army to attack back to the capital in the shortest possible time. After meeting up with Prince Wu and his group halfway, the first thing Zhao Moyan asked Prince Wu and Li Xingyun was, "Where is Tian Yu? Where is she?" At that moment, he hoped that Tian Yu was just playing a joke on him and would suddenly appear to tell him that she was here.
Prince Wu and Li Xingyun avoided Zhao Moyan's gaze. In their previous correspondence, they had consistently refused to discuss the matter, telling Zhao Moyan they would tell him everything upon meeting. But now, neither of them was willing to speak of Tian Yu. Seeing their hesitant expressions, Zhao Moyan knew there was no need to ask further. Regret and sorrow instantly overwhelmed him, and the light in his eyes vanished. Jifeng and Lvliu Qiuju had also left the city with Prince Wu; they had only heard about what had happened and didn't know how to tell Zhao Moyan.
Prince Wu took the child from the princess's arms and handed her to Zhao Moyan, saying, "This is your and Tian Yu's daughter. Before she passed away, she entrusted her to me. Now that you're back, it's your turn to take care of her. I will repay what Wu Kingdom owes the Zhao family." After saying this, he patted Zhao Moyan's shoulder and left.
Li Xingyun said, "Tian Yu has found the culprit who framed the Zhao family back then, and she also told us that the people who caused your death were the Emperor and Consort Li. It's just that she... she herself was unable to leave with us."
Zhao Moyan looked at the little girl in his arms, frowning, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Li Xingyun continued, "This child was born half a month late, on the day of your funeral, and we haven't even had time to name her yet."
Everything became clear, but she was gone. Zhao Moyan looked at the child in his arms, suppressing his grief and pain, and asked, "How did she die? What does 'self-destruction' mean? Where is her body?"
“She…” Li Xingyun was also very sad and did not want to mention Tian Yu’s death, but she still endured her grief and said, “Tian Yu invented a kind of explosive that can destroy everything. After she learned of your death, she was very sad. That day, in order to let us escape, she blew up the palace gate and herself.”
“Even if she knew I was dead, with Tangyuan and this child here, she wouldn’t do that,” Zhao Moyan said confidently. She knew that Tian Yu would never abandon her child for anyone, not even him.
"Don't cry! Don't cry!" The little girl saw Zhao Moyan crying and reached out her little hand to wipe away his tears.
Zhao Moyan was even more heartbroken looking at the girl in his arms who resembled him somewhat. Li Xingyun shook his head, unable to speak. The princess held his hand and, looking at Zhao Moyan sadly, continued on Li Xingyun's behalf: "She was poisoned. Even if she didn't die, she would become a puppet. She knew she couldn't hold on any longer, so she did this."
"What kind of poison? Even you can't cure it?" Zhao Moyan stared at Li Xingyun and said.
"It's a kind of Gu poison. With the help of drugs, it will slowly cause people to lose their memory, forget who they are, forget everything, and in the end, they will only obey the orders of the Gu user and become his puppet," Li Xingyun added.
Zhao Moyan couldn't listen anymore, but he wanted to know everything. Li Yong behind him was both angry and heartbroken, and had already started wiping his eyes.
“Sister-in-law! What exactly did she go through? No wonder she asked me to protect Lao Zhao Village. It’s all my fault for taking her away back then!” Li Yong said.
"Can't it be solved?" Lu Da asked.
“There’s no solution! The only way for someone afflicted by the Gu poison to break free is to be completely destroyed. Tian Yu must have known this all along, which is why she chose to do this!” Li Xingyun said. He only found out about this later; it turned out that Tian Yu had known all along.
"Burn to pieces!" Zhao Moyan couldn't imagine what kind of explosion could kill someone.
"Yes." Li Xingyun didn't want to recall the scene anymore; it was too tragic.
Knowing everything, Zhao Moyan unconsciously hugged the child in his arms tightly. The little girl also started crying sadly. Zhao Moyan looked at her, gently stroked her a few times, handed her to Li Xingyun, and without saying a word, mounted his horse and left. Everyone was worried that he might do something rash, or hurt himself from excessive grief. Li Yong wanted to chase after him, but Li Xingyun said, "Don't disturb him. Let him be alone for a while!"
Zhao Moyan rode his horse deep into the woods, drew his sword, and hacked wildly at the surrounding trees to vent his anger. He chopped down several large trees in succession, but the blows to his heart caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood before he stopped. He leaned against a large tree and slowly slid to the ground, where he buried his face in his hands and cried bitterly. He had endured so much for so long, but he could no longer hold back. Tian Yu was really gone!
The next day, everyone was worried that something might have happened to Zhao Moyan since he hadn't returned all night, and wondered if they should send someone to look for him. But Prince Wu said, "Don't worry, he will come back."
After listening and thinking about it carefully, everyone agreed that he wouldn't just leave like that. The matter wasn't finished, and so many people were waiting for him. He wouldn't leave. That's how he felt, and that's how Tian Yu felt too. Their responsibilities still remained.
Sure enough, Zhao Moyan returned on horseback not long after. Everyone could see that his hair had turned much whiter overnight, and he looked much more haggard. Zhao Moyan picked up the little girl and handed her to Prince Wu, saying, "Since Tian Yu has entrusted the child to you, take good care of her." After saying this, he left the room and ordered the army to set off. He was going to fight his way back to the capital. Step by step, he had retreated and considered the overall situation, but in the end, this was the result. For his own desires, the entire Wu Kingdom had suffered. He would depose that absurd monarch!
After months of arduous travel, Zhao Moyan's army had fully assembled at the city gate. Li Yong came to Zhao Moyan's side and said, "Brother, we can attack the city at any time. I must avenge my sister-in-law and kill that dog emperor."
"Once we enter the city, we must not harm the innocent!" Zhao Moyan instructed.
"yes!"
As they prepared to attack the city, a group of elderly, weak, women, and children were brought up to the city walls. Zhao Moyan immediately ordered a halt to the army, recognizing them as the refugees Tian Yu had rescued. Understanding the reason, Li Yong was furious and wanted to force his way through. Zhao Moyan refused and ordered a temporary retreat.
In the military camp, Li Yong roared, "This despicable scoundrel knows that my elder brother wouldn't have the heart to hurt them, especially since they were people my sister-in-law saved. Yet he uses them as hostages. He's utterly shameless!"
“This emperor is truly unkind. These are his subjects, how can he do this!” Lu Da said with dissatisfaction.
"How about we sneak in secretly?" Zhang Zhan suggested.
Zhao Moyan sat in the main seat, listening to their back-and-forth conversation, and said, "We must not harm the innocent. Let's think of other ways to attack the city."
Outside the capital, the three armies stood ready for battle, but Wu Yaohui in the palace was not in a hurry. He was still indulging in revelry and extravagance every night. He said to the old eunuch beside him, "Pass down the order: whoever can take Zhao Moyan's head, I will make him a king. Also, arrest all those disobedient ministers and take them to the city wall so that Zhao Moyan and my good brother can have a good look at them!"
"yes!"
The two armies remained deadlocked for several days. Those captured on the city walls included not only refugees but also ministers from the capital. Among them were members of the Tang family and several old ministers who had once protected Zhao Moyan and Prince Wu. When Prince Wu fled the capital, he wanted to take them with him, but they refused and insisted on staying to protect the Wu Kingdom. Now they had become a burden.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
