With two thousand Level 6 Xuanjia Guards and a thousand Level 6 mounted cavalry, Wei Tingyu had the capital he needed to make his move. And now, with the West Shazhou secretly pledging allegiance to him, usurping the power of the An Kingdom was not an impossibility. As long as the plan was executed properly, he had a real chance!
Wei Tingyu couldn't help but smile. He had been away from his own kingdom for long enough. It was time to settle things with An Guo. Looking at the timeline, it was almost time.
"Marquis..." Chu Yue, who had just woken up, blinked and saw Wei Tingyu's smile. She asked with a puzzled expression, "What are you smiling about?"
"Just in a good mood," Wei Tingyu chuckled, using the same excuse he had before.
But before the little girl could protest, he flipped her over and pressed her down, and her lips were taken once more.
...
An hour later, the room was quiet. Chu Yue lay on Wei Tingyu's chest, her arms wrapped around his strong neck. Her eyes, filled with stars, were fixed on his face, a smile stretching from ear to ear. This girl truly had no shame! She was indeed a wild mare from the plains.
Wei Tingyu grinned, about to stir up some more trouble, when the door suddenly burst open. If it had been Dou Zhao or any of his other wives, they would have screamed and scrambled to cover themselves. But Chu Yue was different. She only instinctively covered her more sensitive areas, then, upon seeing that it was Ren Ruyi, she no longer cared.
Ren Ruyi rolled her eyes in exasperation and walked straight in. Yang Ying, the little princess, poked her head in from outside, looking shy yet curious.
"Ahem!" Wei Tingyu, feeling a little awkward, sat up and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something you need?"
"Nothing," Ren Ruyi shot him a look. "It's already noon, Marquis. Are you not getting up?"
As soon as she spoke, Yang Ying rushed in, closing the door behind her, and ran to the bed.
"Is this the new Elder Sister?" Yang Ying had never met Chu Yue before. Her face slightly flushed, she asked, "What a beautiful Elder Sister..."
Chu Yue's arm was still around Wei Tingyu's neck, but she showed no signs of embarrassment. As she got dressed, she looked at Yang Ying and asked, "And you are...?"
"This is Princess Yang Ying, also known as the King of Wu, Li Wang," Wei Tingyu explained, rising to his feet.
"Princess Yang Ying? The King of Wu?" Chu Yue was stunned. Her expression slowly turned to one of surprise as she began to understand. Wei Tingyu had been using a "prince-for-a-pauper" scheme here in An Guo.
She was delighted that Wei Tingyu had shared such a major secret with her. It meant she had his full trust and was now truly a part of his inner circle. This would give the West Shazhou more security in the future.
Ren Ruyi and Yang Ying, seeing that Wei Tingyu was up, quickly helped him get dressed. Chu Yue, who had finished dressing, watched them. This was a new experience for her, but the quick-witted girl soon joined in, learning from Ren Ruyi and Yang Ying.
"The Marquis seems very happy today!" Yang Ying, getting along well with Chu Yue, looked up at Wei Tingyu's smiling face as she instructed Chu Yue.
"With a beauty like this, how could he not be happy?" Ren Ruyi said. "But I suspect there's more to it than that, isn't there?"
Ren Ruyi was a keen observer. She saw that Wei Tingyu's happiness went beyond simply winning Chu Yue. There had to be another reason. At her words, Chu Yue and Yang Ying both looked up at Wei Tingyu with curiosity.
"Of course," Wei Tingyu smiled and nodded. "It's time for us to bring our great plan to an end."
His words made both Ren Ruyi and Yang Ying's eyes light up.
"Now, my power is greater than before, and the West Shazhou has also pledged its allegiance," Wei Tingyu knew that Ren Ruyi's hatred for the An Emperor had reached an unbearable point. He gently lifted her kneeling face with his hand, his eyes meeting hers. "Now is the time!"
Yang Ying was also excited. She was tired of being in Andu and pretending to be a man. As for her emperor brother, Yang Ying simply wanted to rescue him. She no longer cared if the plan succeeded or failed.
"Marquis, just give the order!" Chu Yue, hearing that a major event was about to unfold, immediately knelt before him. "The West Shazhou will follow you to the ends of the earth!"
...
"You still haven't caught Ren Xin?!" Five days later, late at night in the An imperial palace, the An Emperor was scolding Deng Hui, who was kneeling before him.
"Your servant has spread a wide net. I believe we will have news soon," Deng Hui was sweating profusely. He knew how mad the An Emperor could get. "Your Majesty will soon be able to rest easy."
"Soon?" The An Emperor slammed his hand on the table, standing up and glaring at him. "How soon? I know there's an assassin in Andu! When can I sleep peacefully?!"
"Your servant..." Deng Hui was terrified, his body trembling.
Before he could finish, a figure shot down from the rafters, a sword aimed directly at the Emperor's head!
"Your Majesty!" Deng Hui cried out in alarm.
The An Emperor, who had no martial arts skills, saw a blur and felt a cold blade touch his neck. He was captured by the assassin.
"Ren Xin, don't!" Deng Hui cried out, no longer minding his manners. He scrambled to his feet, pulling his own sword and pointing it at the assassin.
The An Emperor finally saw that the assassin who had infiltrated his palace was none other than Ren Ruyi, the one he had so desperately wanted to capture!
"You... how did you do it?" The An Emperor's neck felt cold. He looked at Ren Ruyi, his voice filled with fear. In his mind, no matter how skilled Ren Ruyi was, the imperial palace was a forbidden place she could not enter easily. But her real face and the cold blade at his throat told him this was no illusion.
"Hmph!" Ren Ruyi had no interest in answering the old man. She wouldn't have made such rapid progress in her martial arts without Wei Tingyu, a fact she couldn't reveal.
"Deng Hui!" Seeing that Ren Ruyi wasn't answering, the An Emperor's eyes darted to Deng Hui. He said in an angry tone, "You audacious fool, how dare you conspire with her to harm me?!"
The Emperor believed that Ren Ruyi couldn't have snuck into the palace on her own; someone must have brought her in. And that person could only be Deng Hui.
"This servant is completely loyal!" Deng Hui was flabbergasted. Was there a more loyal man in the An court? And now the Emperor was even doubting him?!
"He's too stupid to conspire with me," Ren Ruyi sneered, mocking the Emperor's foolishness.
"What do you want?" The An Emperor, now half-believing Ren Ruyi, tried to regain his composure. He had to know her purpose first.
Ren Ruyi didn't reply, her silence and cold gaze making the Emperor feel even more uneasy.
Deng Hui didn't dare to make a move, with Ren Ruyi's sword at the Emperor's neck. One tremor of her hand, and the An Kingdom would be without a ruler.
"Ren Xin! Kidnapping the Emperor is a capital crime!" Deng Hui tried to threaten her. "Do you think you can escape?"
"I wouldn't have come if I was afraid!" Ren Ruyi's sneer grew colder. "Follow me!"
She then began to slowly lead the Emperor toward the door, as planned. The Emperor was unwilling, but the murderous intent in Ren Ruyi's eyes and the cold steel at his neck made him powerless to resist.
But the An Emperor was an old fox. He had never fully trusted even a loyal dog like Deng Hui. The room was full of traps. As he slowly walked with Ren Ruyi, he discreetly stepped on a hidden button on the floor.
Two poison-tipped arrows shot from a hidden hole in the wall, flying toward Ren Ruyi and the Emperor. The Emperor, anticipating this, quickly dodged them. Ren Ruyi, though unprepared, was not phased. With her current skill, such a trap was meaningless. She frowned, her blade flashing twice to deflect the arrows toward Deng Hui.
Deng Hui was caught off guard! He had been focused on the Emperor and was suddenly attacked. He clumsily dodged the arrows, managing to avoid being hit, but looking very undignified.
The An Emperor was shocked. He never imagined his hidden traps would be so easily thwarted. Before he could react, Ren Ruyi's sword was back at his throat, giving him no chance to escape.
"This sword is a token of love from my man," Ren Ruyi said, angered by the Emperor's attempt. She frowned. "It has yet to taste blood. Li Shun, do you want to be the first?"
The An Emperor, hearing Ren Ruyi use his real name and the undisguised coldness in her tone, knew she was serious. He had no choice but to negotiate.
"Ren Xin... what do you want?"
"Revenge for the Empress? Or my gold and silver?"
"Heh," Ren Ruyi laughed coldly, lifting her proud head and looking at the pathetic Emperor. "What I want... is to ring the An Yang Bell!"
At her demand, the An Emperor and Deng Hui's faces both fell. The An Yang Bell was a sacred object used to summon the hundred officials of the An court. Its ringing meant an urgent and important matter was at hand, and every official who heard it had to immediately gather at the palace.
They couldn't understand why Ren Ruyi wanted to do this, but at that moment, they had no choice but to obey.
...
Clang... clang... clang...
The deep, heavy tolling of the bell echoed across the night sky of Andu. The once-quiet streets suddenly became noisy. Officials on night duty, patrol guards—everyone without exception rushed to the palace. Some officials who were already asleep hastily dressed in their robes on their carriages as they sped toward the palace.
As the officials and guards of Andu gathered at the palace gates, they saw a shocking sight. On the main gate tower stood the An Emperor, but next to him was a woman in white, a sword at his throat. Deng Hui and the Zhu Yiwei guards surrounded them.
The Emperor had been kidnapped by an assassin?! All the ministers were stunned. This was completely surreal. An assassin who kidnaps the Emperor, doesn't kill him or run, but instead rings the An Yang Bell to summon everyone to watch—what could she possibly be thinking? The ministers began to whisper nervously, but one man stood silently and calmly in the crowd.
It was the Duke of Chu, the leader of the West Shazhou. While the other ministers were terrified and confused, he alone knew exactly what was about to happen tonight.
Standing on the high tower, Ren Ruyi looked down at the clamoring ministers. With a flick of her wrist, she sent a dart flying, severing the rope of the An Yang Bell. The heavy bell crashed to the ground with a massive clang, and the ministers fell silent.
"Listen, all of you!" Ren Ruyi turned to the ministers. Seeing that all eyes were on her, she nodded in satisfaction and spoke, her voice amplified by internal energy. "I am Ren Xin, the former Left Envoy of the Zhu Yiwei!"
Her voice, powered by internal energy, was as clear as a loudspeaker. Even the oldest, hard-of-hearing ministers could hear her perfectly.
"Ren Xin, the Left Envoy of the Zhu Yiwei?"
"Didn't she die long ago?"
"Why is she holding the Emperor hostage?"
The ministers were in disbelief, their faces filled with shock as they began to whisper among themselves. The impact of this revelation was immense.
"Where is the Royal Historian?!" Ren Ruyi asked, seeing that they all knew who she was.
"I am the Prime Minister, Wang Donglai! I am in charge of the Royal History Office!" An elderly minister next to the Duke of Chu cried out. "Ren Xin! Do you know? Holding the Emperor hostage is a great treason!"
"This is a grave crime! Do not act rashly!"
"Yes! Ren Xin, please stop!"
Other ministers joined in, pretending to be worried about the An Emperor.