How to Save the Empress

The dagger was clearly extraordinary. Its hilt was inlaid with emeralds, exuding an air of supreme luxury, and its blade caught the dancing candlelight in the dark night, gleaming with a biting, cold intent.

Tuoba Xiangtai wore a bizarre expression on his face.

It seemed joyful, relieved, yet mad... it was indescribable.

He advanced step by step toward Xiao Mingzhao.

This scene thoroughly terrified Xiao Mingzhao.

Recalling Tuoba Xiangtai's increasingly twisted behavior over the past few days, her courage shattered. A premonition of death surged within her heart, and terror instantly consumed her.

She had dedicated her life to building a glorious world where everyone loved one another, where the people of Yu and the barbarians were one family. Now, with her wish completely unfulfilled, how could she die with such grievances?

Furthermore...

She had never even had a man she truly loved. If she died now, wouldn't it be a great regret in her life?

She immediately pleaded, "Xiangtai, Xiangtai, calm down..."

"I... I was just momentarily confused."

"Please, don't be impulsive, alright?"

"I swear, I won't run away again."

"I really won't."

Tuoba Xiangtai paused. Facing Xiao Mingzhao, the woman he deeply loved, his heart still held an intense affection.

Only when he could no longer hold onto this love would he choose mutual destruction—unable to share a bed in life, they would surely share a grave in death. Right now, as long as Xiao Mingzhao did not leave him, what else couldn't be negotiated?

"Luan'er, are you just coaxing me?"

"It's true, it's true, I won't run away again!"

"Hmph, do you take me for a fool? Even if you don't leave me willingly, someone will rescue you. Eventually, you will still leave me!"

"No, no, no, I... I won't."

Terrified, Xiao Mingzhao completely yielded to Tuoba Xiangtai's will. With the dignity of a mighty Empress, she now spoke so humbly and subserviently that she actually seemed somewhat credible.

At the very least, in Tuoba Xiangtai's eyes, it was somewhat believable.

And so, Tuoba Xiangtai nodded.

"Alright, Luan'er, I will give you one chance!"

"You must never think of leaving me again."

"If you ever think of leaving me again..."

"I..."

Tuoba Xiangtai suddenly raised the sharp blade in his hand. With a flash of the blade, he plunged the knife into his own arm. Instantly, blood gushed out.

His face twisted in pain, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot, yet his smile only grew wider. However, that smile was both eerie and fragile.

"Luan'er, if you try to leave me, I will chop off this arm. I will go mad for you, bleed for you, then I will kill you, and then kill myself!"

"I will die together with you, alright?"

The bloody scene utterly terrified Xiao Mingzhao.

As an Empress, it wasn't that she had never ordered executions or seen dead bodies, but she had never witnessed a scene like this. Tuoba Xiangtai stood before the light, the flickering candlelight casting his shadow so that it drifted and swayed like autumn leaves in the wind, leaving a profound terror in her heart.

"I... I... I wouldn't dare."

"I won't let you die."

"Luan'er, I said I would trust you this time..." Tuoba Xiangtai gradually calmed down. After pulling the knife from his arm, he let the blood continue to flow freely, completely ignoring it. Instead, he slowly reverted to his composed, unhurried, and elegant noble young master persona.

"Luan'er, I trust you, but this time, you broke my heart. I have to teach you a little lesson, otherwise..."

"What if you do it again?"

Before Xiao Mingzhao could react, Tuoba Xiangtai had already stepped out the door. When he returned, he held a leather whip in his hand. The whip was clearly prepared in advance; its handle was inlaid with gold and silver, evidently crafted with great care by skilled artisans.

"What... what are you doing?"

Xiao Mingzhao was nearly in tears from fright.

Having been an Empress all her life, showered with endless devotion, she had never encountered such a situation.

But the response she got was...

The whip!

The whip fell heavily!

Striking true and hard against Xiao Mingzhao's legs.

Xiao Mingzhao understood.

Tuoba Xiangtai's intention was obvious!

If she wanted to run, she would have to use her legs.

But if her legs were broken, how could she run?

Suddenly, Xiao Mingzhao remembered what Tuoba Xiangtai had said before: "If you run, I will break your legs!"

Even in her most desperate moments, Xiao Mingzhao had never imagined... that he actually meant it!

He was actually going to do it?

Immediately, Xiao Mingzhao began to scream miserably.

She kept begging for mercy, but Tuoba Xiangtai did not stop at all, nor did he lessen his force, as if he truly intended to break Xiao Mingzhao's legs to keep her by his side.

As he lashed the whip, Tuoba Xiangtai kept shouting hoarsely.

"Luan'er, scream, scream!"

"I want you to remember your betrayal this time!"

"I would rather be hated by you than forgotten by you."

"I want you to stay obediently by my side until you love me, love my elegant noble persona, and also love my dominance and commands over you."

"I want you to love everything about me!"

"But, rest assured."

"I will manage this Great Yu empire well for you, including the territories of our barbarian people. I will help you fulfill your wish, bringing about a great harmony in the world where Yu and the barbarians are one family."

"Luan'er, I love you!"

"Can you feel it?"

...

The Pei Manor!

Pei Jingzhi sat upright behind his desk, writing furiously.

Suddenly, a figure stumbled in.

Before reaching him, the person collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, blood continuously seeping from their body, their face covered in scars.

Pei Jingzhi was startled. Looking closer, he realized it was Sun Da, one of the two loyal servants he had sent out to rescue Her Majesty Xiao Mingzhao.

He hurriedly went to help him up, exclaiming in shock, "Sun Da, what happened to you?"

"Why did you come back alone?"

"Where is Sun Er?"

Sun Da was already on his last breath. Hearing this, he merely shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Master, the second brother... he won't be coming back..."

With just that one sentence, Pei Jingzhi's body trembled.

Sun Da and Sun Er had followed him for years. His bond with the two had long transcended a simple master-servant relationship. And now... Sun Er wasn't coming back?

Pain surged in his heart, but Pei Jingzhi remained relatively calm. After all, when he sent them to the Yuchen Estate, it was highly likely that such a situation would occur.

The two of them had nodded without hesitation back then.

They had also anticipated this outcome.

"Master, I... I won't make it either..."

Sun Da's next words struck like another bolt of lightning.

However, the weakened Sun Da's face was filled with pride. "Master, Sun Er didn't disgrace you, nor did he disgrace Great Yu. And I... I didn't disgrace you either, nor did I disgrace Great Yu..."

"I... I brought back Her Majesty's blood edicts."

Trembling, he took out the three edicts personally written by Xiao Mingzhao from his robes.

Even though he had been hunted down by barbarians and was covered in blood, he had preserved the three edicts perfectly. Hidden in the innermost layer of his clothing, they remained completely unstained by a single drop of blood to this moment.

These three blood-written letters were his answer to Pei Jingzhi, his answer to Pei Jingzhi's strength of character, and above all, his answer to Great Yu.

After presenting the three blood letters, the smile on Sun Da's lips grew wider. "Master, this humble servant... won't be able to serve you in the future. I... I must go... go..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Sun Da's head slumped to the side.

He collapsed in front of Pei Jingzhi.

And breathed his last.

He had clearly used his final breath to return to the Pei residence, exerting all his strength to complete his mission.

Now he had nothing to be ashamed of before Pei Jingzhi or Her Majesty; even in death, he could smile in the netherworld.

But this heroic sacrifice instantly brought tears to Pei Jingzhi's eyes. Usually calm and composed, his hands now trembled uncontrollably.

When a nation is about to fall, demons and monsters are bound to emerge.

Yet, no matter how many demons there were, there would always be righteous and benevolent people willing to lay down their lives for justice. Over the eight hundred years of the Great Yu dynasty, so much imperial grace had been bestowed, and these people were willing to die for Great Yu.

Willing to die for the integrity in their hearts!

And he, Pei Jingzhi, was exactly the same!

With a gentle stroke of his hand, he closed Sun Da's eyes. Pei Jingzhi did not dare to delay and opened the edict written by Xiao Mingzhao.

The words upon it were indeed written by Xiao Mingzhao's own hand.

Every word wept blood.

"I have been imprisoned by Tuoba Xiangtai, bound by iron chains, unable to escape my shackles. It is not that I have indulged in personal affairs and forgotten the state, but truly that I am helpless, enduring humiliation while waiting for rescue..."

Just these few words made Pei Jingzhi almost jump to his feet.

When he sent Sun Da and Sun Er to the Imperial Chen Manor, he had already made the worst assumptions, including the possibility of this exact situation.

But,

When reality was truly laid out before his eyes, his face was still filled with disbelief.

He cursed in anger, "Tuoba Xiangtai!"

"You barbaric scum, you blood-drinking savage!"

"It was Her Majesty who thought highly of him, summoning him to the court, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to supply his army's needs, and building the Imperial Chen Manor for him. If he is not grateful, so be it..."

"How, how could he..."

"Be so audacious?!"

"To dare use Her Majesty's infatuation to enter her inner sanctum and imprison the Emperor of my Great Yu!"

"How is this any different from invading our territory and disrupting our imperial court?"

"What vicious and wolfish ambitions!"

Pei Jingzhi tightly gripped the blood edict, anger boiling in his chest. As the saying goes, when the ruler is humiliated, the minister dies. As a veteran official of three reigns, how could he watch Her Majesty suffer such humiliation?

How was this any different from Great Yu being humiliated?

It took a long while for Pei Jingzhi to calm down a bit.

He was no ordinary man. He immediately ordered someone to give Sun Da a proper burial, and then sent someone to urgently invite Chen Liang.

As he sent the messenger away, a wave of sorrow inevitably washed over his heart.

Right now, with Tuoba Xiangtai, this barbaric savage, imprisoning Her Majesty, the officials should have gathered to discuss the matter. But just one rebellious Ren Tianye was enough to suppress the ministers so much that they dared not breathe.

Looking around, there were countless people who ate the sovereign's salary, but the only one he could discuss things with was a single Commander of the Tiqi!

His heart was filled with desolation. It took a great deal of effort to suppress it. He tried hard to sit quietly behind his desk, waiting silently for Chen Liang's arrival, while his mind rapidly formed a plan.

Chen Liang arrived quickly.

Before long, he reached the Pei residence.

When the servants brought him in, he still looked cautious, glancing around, clearly in awe or afraid of someone.

With his sharp mind, Pei Jingzhi immediately said, "Chen Liang, do not worry. My wife is not in the residence these days..."

Chen Liang instantly let out a sigh of relief.

He had visited the Pei residence a few times, and had been driven away with cold words by Madam Liu every time, leaving him with a bit of psychological trauma. He even pondered over it after returning home.

He had visited many colleagues' homes, even taking colleagues out to drink with courtesans, but none of their wives had ever dared to treat their friends like this!

Lord Pei's wife, Madam Liu, was indeed terrifying.

He said, "That is good, that is good..."

"By the way, when will Madam return?"

Chen Liang was clearly still somewhat worried.

Pei Jingzhi did not want to talk about this right now, so he said directly, "My wife has a manor outside the capital. She loves going there. For all these years, she has rarely come home and mostly stays at that manor."

"This time she has left, I am afraid she will be gone for at least a few months."

"You do not need to worry!"

Pausing, he handed the blood edict to Chen Liang and said, "This is Her Majesty's blood edict, which my servant exchanged his life for."

Chen Liang took it, glanced at it, and instantly exploded just like Pei Jingzhi: "Tuoba Xiangtai, how audacious! To dare imprison Her Majesty and bind her in iron chains!"

"These foreign barbarians have wolfish ambitions!"

"It is absolutely unforgivable!"

"Lord Pei, what should we do now?"

Pei Jingzhi's face instantly turned solemn, and he said coldly, "Tuoba Xiangtai has usurped the capital and humiliated our Majesty. As a minister of Yu, the only thing to do is to fight to the death with blades in hand and drive out the barbarian captives!"

Chen Liang shivered and immediately agreed, "Exactly so!"

"The barbarians are wreaking havoc in the capital, causing Her Majesty to suffer. We must splash the thieves with the blood from our necks, kill Tuoba Xiangtai, rescue Her Majesty, slaughter all the barbarian soldiers, and protect the lands of our Great Yu!"

However, although the two shouted passionately.

Putting it into practice was a headache!

Especially since Tuoba Xiangtai's faction was not the only power in the capital; there was also a jackal brought in by Gu Qingyue—Ren Tianye.

The two had long seen through Ren Tianye's true colors. He would absolutely not save the Empress; instead, it was far more likely that he would sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.

"Right now..." Pei Jingzhi had already thought it over and had a strategy in mind, but he needed to discuss it with Chen Liang: "We need to make Ren Tianye work for us."

"However, this is mostly impossible."

"Therefore, at the very least, we must transfer Ren Tianye away so we can act."

Chen Liang instantly felt a headache.

Not long after entering the capital, Ren Tianye had displayed extraordinarily fierce methods. On one hand, he suppressed the ministers, but on the other, he appointed talented individuals. Playing with a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other, he had mastered the game to perfection.

How difficult would it be to transfer away such an extremely shrewd person?

"Other methods will inevitably be useless against Ren Tianye..." Pei Jingzhi clearly knew this as well and understood Ren Tianye's methods, so he directly adopted an unconventional approach: "Fortunately, there is an opportunity right now."

"Lin Zixiao from the south has already led an army of two hundred thousand marching north, and they are about to reach the capital."

"The armies that have already been dispatched cannot stop them at all."

"It will not be long before Lin Zixiao's army reaches the capital. At that time, the defense inside and outside the capital will be in Ren Tianye's hands."

"He will definitely be distracted."

"He must go and deal with Lin Zixiao's matter."

"At that time, it will be our opportunity!"

Hearing this, Chen Liang looked astonished.

This was a strategy of driving a tiger to devour a wolf. Although this plan was much more brilliant than Gu Qingyue's, it still carried too much risk.

After all, a single careless move could lead to the fall of the capital and the destruction of the Great Yu dynasty.

But Chen Liang knew that Pei Jingzhi would absolutely not act like Gu Qingyue, doing things on a whim without careful consideration.

So...

This was something Lord Pei had thought over carefully.

Yet he still chose to take this path!

That meant... Pei Jingzhi had no other choice either.

He also thought about it seriously and could not help but let out a bitter laugh: "Right now, it seems this is the only path left to take!"

...