Looking at the rapidly changing situation below the mountain, Wei Shuwan sighed, "Everyone says that Pan Weizhong is upright and loyal, but I never thought that he would abandon his principles and personally lead people to snatch back his daughter at this last moment."
"Being loyal to a wise ruler is certainly a good thing, but if one is blindly loyal to a foolish ruler, it becomes aiding and abetting evil. Only those who can adapt to change are the good generals of my Great Ye."
Hearing Li Qingchen's thoughts, Wei Shuwan was delighted. For the first time, she began to look forward to such a clever person taking control of the court. It seemed that by then, everyone would have a good ending.
Unlike her previous life, she had dragged Li Qingchen into this plan, and she didn't know if her actions would affect his grand scheme.
So he couldn't help but ask, "Now that your men have joined the battle, if any of the bandits are captured alive, will they betray you?"
Li Qingchen looked at her with a faint smile: "Are you worried about me?"
"I..." Her thoughts were exposed, and Wei Shuwan subconsciously wanted to deny it, but then she realized that Li Qingchen had been dragged into this mess entirely for her sake, so what was wrong with her worrying about him?
So he replied confidently, "Yes, you did all this for me, so naturally I don't want you to be implicated."
Li Qingchen slightly suppressed his smile and explained, "Actually, I agreed to do these things for you, not just for you alone. Governor Pan has done enough for Daye, and his relatives should not suffer such humiliation any longer."
Hearing this, Wei Shuwan believed that Li Qingchen did indeed have these thoughts, but she knew that what ultimately made him act was because of her own desires. After all, in her previous life, even though he couldn't bear it, he still watched everything coldly from the sidelines, and later even used the people's anger towards the court to make his usurpation of power more legitimate.
He's saying this now only because he doesn't want her to feel too much indebted to him.
Wei Shuwan pursed her lips, not exposing him, but only echoed, "So even the young prince has moments when chivalry outweighs personal gain."
Li Qingchen felt that her words were not a praise, but rather a mockery of his utilitarianism. However, he did not take it to heart and only answered her previous concerns: "Few of the bandits in Yandang Mountain know my true identity. Only Yan Sandao and Lu Beixing know, but they will not be captured alive."
Hearing this, Wei Shuwan suddenly recalled something she had heard before and tentatively asked, "I also heard that these bandits attempted to assassinate the current emperor more than ten years ago. Was that also at your behest?"
This time, it made Li Qingchen laugh. His smile was so bright, yet he looked at Wei Shuwan as if she were a fool: "More than ten years ago, I was just a young man who had just arrived in Shengjing as a hostage. What do you think?"
Wei Shuwan blushed slightly. Yes, how could she not understand such a simple truth and ask such a stupid question?
So her thoughts returned to the chaos down the mountain. Looking at Pan Wei, she thought that Pan Jieshi had once personally tried to save her daughter, but unfortunately he hadn't succeeded. Otherwise, her sister Pan wouldn't have had to go through all that in her previous life.
With Li Qingchen's help, their chances of winning were greatly increased. Some of the bandits from Yandang Mountain blocked the road again, completely stopping the wedding procession that hadn't yet crossed over. The others surrounded the carriage, trapping Awuge and his men in the middle.
The situation reached a stalemate. At this moment, Pan Wei once again leaped over the wall of people and landed on the carriage, holding his sword to Sun Xingjian's neck: "Get down!"
Pan Wei did this to absolve Sun Xingjian of responsibility, so that the emperor would not later find out that it was Sun Xingjian who drove the princess away on that day.
Sun Xingjian understood his meaning, glanced back into the car, and gave Pan Wenjun a subtle signal. Actually, Pan Wenjun had already recognized her father. Although she couldn't see his face or eyes from inside the car, she recognized him solely by his silhouette and voice. It was precisely because of this that she was afraid of revealing anything and implicating her father, so she had remained hidden in the car, afraid that others would see her tears and guess what was going on.
Sun Xingjian obediently got off the carriage, and Pan Wei drove the carriage, intending to force his way through the human wall. However, how could A Wuge just stand by and watch him leave with the princess?
"Stop him! Don't let them get away!" With Awuge's order, the standoff was broken, and the three parties were once again drawn into the chaos.
According to Li Qingchen's original plan, he had instructed them not to harm Awuge, but only to abduct Pan Wenjun. Because Awuge came to Daye as an envoy of the Ziyi Kingdom, and envoys are not to be killed in war between two countries, if Awuge died within Daye's territory, whether it was the bandits or someone else who acted at this moment, the blame would fall on the imperial court.
However, Awuge resisted fiercely and refused to let Pan Wei leave. Helpless, Sun Xingjian took advantage of the chaos to tear a piece of black cloth from the face of the fallen man in black, covered his own face, and then with a swift stroke, severed the arm that Awuge was using to slash at Pan Wei with his long knife!
Pan Wei glanced back, exchanged a quick look with Sun Xingjian, then took the reins and led Pan Wenjun away.
Sun Xingjian read a meaning in his eyes: this arm can be considered revenge for the soldiers of Daye who died at the hands of Awuge.
Awuge clutched his severed arm, bleeding profusely, but he couldn't even see who had done it; he only saw a dark shadow flash before his eyes. With no way to seek revenge and unwilling to truly die here for a princess sent for a political marriage, he hastily withdrew from the battle and hid behind some rocks for safety.
At that moment, a soldier from the Wei Rong army, who was already bloodthirsty, happened to see him. Without any hesitation, he drew his sword and slashed at him! In the end, A Wu Ge died at the hands of an unknown junior general from Daye.
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