The Demon Lords

Chapter 450 55 Night Return_2

Baili Xianglan's face still held a very calm expression as she said, "Tomorrow, I will await you."

She still intended to kill him. Zheng Fan let out a sigh and said, "Miss, I am not feeling well tonight. I believe I have caught a chill and may not be able to leave the camp tomorrow."

Baili Xianglan looked at him, somewhat puzzled. Perhaps she had truly not expected that such a distinguished Yan military leader, a national envoy, and a figure who had earned numerous merits on the Yan and Qian battlefield, could behave so shamelessly.

Yet, what Chief Zheng did not realize was that their intention to kill him was not because of the previous lewdness in his gaze, but because of that swordsman, Yuan Zhenxing.

"General Zheng, there will always be an opportunity," Baili Xianglan said. That was all she could say.

Even if her own brother were here, he would not venture into the Yan Army camp single-handedly with his sword.

There is a difference between a swordsman and a pure martial cultivator. The swordsman's forte lies in one-on-one combat, not in battling thousands of enemies.

Yuan Zhenxing being shot dead in broad daylight by a hail of arrows illustrated this point well. If he possessed the physical prowess of a pure martial cultivator like Shatuo Queshi, he might not have had a major issue even after being showered by arrows multiple times.

Zheng Fan gave a small smile, walked into the basket, and was lowered down.

The three of them quickly mounted the horses that had been tied below the city wall and galloped home without hesitation.

On their ride, Zheng Fan cried out silently in his heart, Blindman, let's never do this kind of thing ever again. My life is precious; I haven't yet had my fill of fun.

The Blindman seemed much calmer and said, "My lord, take your time."

Grow slowly, until we too can say, 'A son of a wealthy house does not sit beneath dangerous eaves!'

But soon, the Qian Emperor's words, "Forbidden to march south with even a single soldier," crept back into Zheng Fan's mind. Ever since the Emperor had uttered those words, Zheng Fan's heart had felt heavy.

Although everyone had been jesting that with Yan State producing such an abundance of fierce generals and ruthless individuals, how could anyone else possibly compete?

He had lived in Yan State for a long time. From Zheng Fan's perspective, whether it was Ji Chengjue, Lord Jingnan, or the Earl of North Border, everyone had been good to him.

Yan State might fall into ruin, but it should be due to a period of prosperity followed by decline, or a rapid collapse after reaching its peak. But for it to end now, having only just begun, would undoubtedly leave one with a sense of profound melancholy.

Most importantly, his Green Willow Fortress cavalry had already suffered considerable losses. Zheng Fan was still hoping that after winning the war, he could trade his command for a small city. There, he could serve as a city commander and peacefully focus on farming and development, rather than ending up like a headless fly, buzzing around aimlessly.

Turning back to look at the towering city walls of the imperial capital behind him, a sense of foreboding arose within Zheng Fan. Will the Yan people be able to overcome this hurdle?

…

The warm room, also known as the "Mispring Pavilion," was so named for its year-round spring-like ambience.

Emperor Zhao, when not busy with governmental affairs, loved to stay here, especially in winter.

Of course, in the summer, the Mispring Pavilion would never be referred to as the warm room. It would be filled with ice blocks, keeping it cool even on scorching summer days.

The Mispring Pavilion's name wasn't very refined and bore too much resemblance to the names of pleasure houses in the imperial capital, such as Leisure Pavilion and Pleasure Garden. However, Emperor Zhao liked this name and insisted on using it.

Emperor Zhao began construction of this garden immediately after his coronation, facing much opposition from court officials. At that time, Qian State's great literary scholar Yao Zizhan had just started his official career. His father had once written an essay satirizing the then-Emperor's construction of the Mispring Pavilion, drawing parallels to a previous dynasty that had squandered public resources on grand halls, ultimately leading to its downfall.

In response, Emperor Zhao carried on regardless and did not retaliate in any way against Yao Zizhan's father. This only elevated the Yao Family's reputation, which became second to none at the time, and laid the foundation for Yao Zizhan's future literary fame.

Now, in the Mispring Pavilion, the Qian Emperor reclined in his armchair, slowly eating grapes one by one.

Kneeling before him was a middle-aged man.

The man's surname was Lo. He was notorious. Amongst the common folk of Qian State, he was rumored to be a monster with eight arms who devoured a child at every meal. He was the head of the Silver Armored Guard, controlling the operations of this Qian State intelligence agency.

Moreover, he had another status: his mother had once been the Qian Emperor's wet nurse. Thus, he and the Qian Emperor were milk-brothers.

"Your Majesty, the assassins are from Chu State and were hidden within the imperial capital," Lo Mingda reported, kneeling nervously.

"As I recall, the Silver Armored Guard has been monitoring spies from Chu State within the imperial capital."

"Your Majesty, due to the appearance of the Yan Army outside the city, panic spread within the imperial capital today. With so many disturbances, my men were momentarily negligent, which led to…"

"I am not interested in excuses."

"Your subject is guilty!"

The Qian Emperor spat out grape seeds. The whole affair was, in fact, quite clear: the attack on the Yan envoy was carried out by people from Chu State, and their game was to fan the flames and sow discord.

Since the Chu Emperor's death was only a matter of time and the princes were already at daggers drawn, Chu State urgently hoped the three external states would be embroiled in a chaotic war. This would facilitate their own matters of power succession and the ensuing turmoil for which they needed to prepare.

However, in the Qian Emperor's mind, Zheng Fan's words before he left resurfaced. He had said he didn't know how to fight wars, and he had also said that things wouldn't turn out so perfectly, developing exactly as he himself had predicted.

On the surface, this incident occurred because the Silver Armored Guard's surveillance had failed, allowing this group of Chu State spies to act. But from another perspective, it also signified that with the Yan people's southern advance, a certain established order that had been operating smoothly within the imperial court had been shattered.