Before long, Tushan Ze, his hands and feet shackled, was escorted onto the city wall by the imperial guards.
Censor Ni Tiezui, Ning Shoujiang, and the others had also arrived on the wall.
Yun Yaoyao walked toward Tushan Ze step by step and looked down at him.
“Tushan Ze, you colluded with the Xiongnu and betrayed military intelligence, causing Yan Chi to lose two cities in succession. Did you ever consider the consequences you would face today?”
Tushan Ze lifted his head. His eyes were webbed with red veins, and they glared at Yun Yaoyao with venomous hatred.
The person standing before him wore a dragon robe and wielded supreme power, while he had become a prisoner at the foot of the steps, cursed by the common people.
The difference between their positions drove Tushan Ze to wish he could eat Yun Yaoyao’s flesh raw and drink his blood!
Where had he gone wrong? Why had he lost to Tu Shanjin every single time? Why had he ended up in such a state?!
Seeing that Tushan Ze remained silent, glaring at her with nothing but hatred, Yun Yaoyao withdrew her gaze and raised her voice.
“Tushan Ze has committed treason by colluding with the enemy. The witnesses and evidence are conclusive! Take him to Xuande Gate immediately and execute him before the eyes of the people!”
“Good!” the citizens cheered.
The censor Ni Tiezui suddenly dropped to his knees. He was just about to smash his head against the city wall when Yun Yaoyao shot him a cool glance.
He had grown bolder after returning from the Xiongnu, hadn’t he? Did he want to spill his blood on Xuande Gate alongside Tushan Ze?
After receiving that look, Ni Tiezui’s head finished its journey toward the wall, but his eyes instantly cleared, and his entire body felt refreshed.
Heh heh. It had been several days since he had submitted a remonstrance. He had been itching all over, hadn’t he?
Now that he had seen his beloved sovereign, he simply couldn’t resist slipping into his professional habits~
Ni Tiezui gave her an ingratiating smile. “Your Majesty, what I mean is that beheading him would be letting him off too easily. Why not have him turned into a human swine instead?”
Tushan Ze: “…”
The executioner was already on his way to Xuande Gate.
Yun Yaoyao sat down and gestured for the imperial guards to bring Tushan Ze before her. Then she sighed.
“Xiao Wuzi, bring the wine.”
Xiao Wuzi immediately carried over a jar of fine wine and poured two cups.
Yun Yaoyao picked up one of them. Her expression grew slightly complicated. After a sigh, she drained it in one gulp.
“Once you’re dead, there will be no one else in this world who shares my blood. In your next life, behave yourself and be a good person.”
Tushan Ze let out a cold laugh. “At a time like this, you’re still putting on an act, trying to make yourself look compassionate and righteous! Tu Shanjin, you’re nothing but a hypocritical, sinister wretch. Even as a ghost, I’ll never let you go!”
Xiao Wuzi frowned as he lifted the cup to Prince Ze’s lips and said unhappily, “Just because you’re rotten to the core doesn’t mean everyone else is. His Majesty is kindhearted. After everything you’ve done, he’s still willing to grant you this final dignity. Drink it or don’t.”
Tushan Ze had intended to disdainfully refuse.
But no one had given him water or food since yesterday. Now he was both thirsty and hungry, and the intoxicating aroma of the wine only made his mouth feel drier and more uncomfortable.
Naturally, Tushan Ze wasn’t about to make things difficult for himself. He drank it straight from the rim of the cup.
Afterward, he glared fiercely at Xiao Wuzi. “You filthy eunuch, do you believe this prince will kill you?”
Xiao Wuzi immediately shrank his head and shot back, “A eunuch prince, are you? You’re the one about to lose your head now.”
“You!”
Before long, the executioner was waiting outside Xuande Gate.
The imperial guards escorted Tushan Ze down from the city wall and out through Xuande Gate, then forced him to kneel.
“Execute him!” Yun Yaoyao ordered coldly.
The executioner raised his broad blade and was just about to bring it down. The citizens all rose onto their toes, craning their necks to witness this thoroughly satisfying moment.
But just then, something unexpected happened!
Someone in the crowd suddenly began scattering handfuls of copper coins into the air. The crowd’s orderly formation instantly descended into chaos.
Then the earth began to tremble, sending clouds of dust billowing upward. From within the crowd burst a large group of burly men with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes. They wielded silver iron shields and enormous bronze hooks covered in barbs.
Joined together, the shields and hooks formed something resembling an armored vehicle!
The vehicle instantly smashed through the imperial guards’ blockade, injuring numerous men in a matter of moments.
The imperial guards’ attacks were completely useless against it. Even when one corner of the vehicle was broken open, the burly men inside remained astonishingly fierce. They seemed utterly incapable of feeling pain, and their great blades swept through everything in their path!
In scarcely four blinks, Prince Ze had been rescued!
The situation beneath the city wall instantly became chaotic. The imperial guards and the Dragon Shadow Guards gave chase.
On the city wall, the ministers rose one after another.
“That… That’s the legendary Xiongnu Death Riders! Their bodies are like walls of bronze and iron, and they’re ferocious warriors—each one can take on a hundred men!”
“Why would they appear here? And why would they rescue Prince Ze…? This must be the force Prince Ze obtained by trading two cities to the Xiongnu!”
“The Xiongnu Death Riders have entered the imperial capital and rescued Prince Ze. This is an enormous threat!”
Yun Yaoyao’s expression was equally grim. She issued a stern order. “Send word at once! Seal the city gates. Do not let them escape!”
With that, Yun Yaoyao prepared to return to the imperial palace by sedan chair.
The Yaoyao Legion immediately followed her.
Ning Shouli wore a worried expression. “Your Majesty, Prince Ze actually had a contingency like this prepared. These Xiongnu Death Riders came fully prepared and are exceptionally elite and cunning. I fear that…”
But then the voice ahead suddenly lost its former urgency and concern, becoming completely relaxed instead.
“Don’t worry. This is exactly what I wanted to see.”
“Your Majesty, you…” This time, it was their turn to be confused.
Yun Yaoyao slowly explained the entire situation.
When she had decided to have Ning Shoujiang beat the Dengwen Drum and execute Prince Ze outside Xuande Gate, her true purpose had not been to clear Ning Shoujiang’s name in front of the people and kill Tushan Ze in accordance with public sentiment.
It had been to draw the snake out of its hole!
Tushan Ze had betrayed his country and handed over two cities. There had to be some sort of exchange of benefits involved.
But Tushan Ze had been far too cautious. Even after investigating for so long, they still hadn’t discovered what that exchange was. Nothing had appeared during his imprisonment, either.
That was when Yun Yaoyao had figured it out: whatever benefit had been exchanged, it had to be something capable of saving Tushan Ze in a moment of crisis!
So she had devised this entire scheme.
But Yun Yaoyao had also considered what would happen if Tushan Ze really was rescued.
She was absolutely not the sort of person who would waste time talking nonsense or torturing someone before killing them, only to accidentally leave her enemy a path to survival.
If she had the chance to finish someone off, she would simply stab them straight through without another word.
And so, Yun Yaoyao had cheerfully decided to poison Tushan Ze in advance!
The farewell wine on the city wall had all been an act. She had also deliberately ordered that he be given neither water nor food for an entire day, so that Tushan Ze would drink without the slightest suspicion.
Who would have thought that, even though he was going to be beheaded anyway, she would still make preparations to poison him beforehand?
As things stood, it had clearly been an extremely wise choice!
She had not only poisoned Prince Ze to death, but had also drawn the enormous threat of the Xiongnu Death Riders into the open!
After hearing Yun Yaoyao’s explanation, her trusted ministers all stood there with their mouths hanging open.
This… this, this, this…
A thousand words and countless exclamations of admiration ultimately became a heartfelt barrage of flattery.
Once again, they were deeply convinced of something their sovereign had said in the past:
Sometimes, a little well-timed deviousness can bring you unexpected surprises.
Yun Yaoyao, however, had this to say:
This isn’t deviousness. It’s merely showing a little courtesy while lacking great virtue… No, wait. It’s having great righteousness while lacking a little virtue!
Now, go tell my beloved Consort Tu the good news~
^o^
Meanwhile, Tushan Ze had already come up with more than a dozen grand schemes for revenge as he was carried away by the Xiongnu death riders. He snarled, “Tushan Jin, for the grudge between us today, I, your prince, will—ugh!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain seized his chest, and he vomited up a large mouthful of black blood.
Tushan Ze clutched his chest in disbelief. He could clearly feel his body’s vital functions rapidly failing, and panic finally set in.
But how could this be?!
He immediately remembered the cup of wine he had drunk atop the city wall. His eyes bulged with fury. “Damn you, Tushan Jin! Damn you!”
He had guarded against every possible danger. Even knowing that Tushan Jin was an utterly treacherous villain, he had never imagined that Tushan Jin would go to such lengths to poison him before killing him!
Tushan Ze vomited another mouthful of black blood, his breath reduced to a thread.
Years of careful planning had been destroyed in a single day. He hated it—hated it!
After vomiting black blood for the third time, Tushan Ze’s eyes widened. He died with his eyes open, utterly unwilling to accept his fate.
He had died far too quickly. Now it was the Xiongnu death riders’ turn to be stunned.
Their master had suddenly died. What… were they supposed to do now?
Human joys and sorrows were not shared equally. Humming a little tune, Yun Yaoyao happily made her way to Yun Ning Palace.
The moment she stepped inside, she ran straight into Niu Xiu’er, who was charging out while letting out an excited series of bovine moos.
“Y-your M-M-M-M-M-M-M-Majesty! The Empress is awake! Her Majesty has woken up!”
Yun Yaoyao’s heart lurched. She quickened her steps and shoved the door open.
There sat Tushan Jin on the bed. Her face was still pale and weak, but at least she was no longer unconscious.
“Tu~ my~ beloved~ consort!” Yaoyao cried, so thrilled that her little feet nearly left the ground. She rushed forward, shedding three lines of tears!
Just as she was about to throw herself into Tushan Jin’s arms, a small hand pressed against her forehead and stopped her. Her puzzled gaze collided with the other woman’s dark, inscrutable eyes.
Yun Yaoyao: Something’s wrong, something’s wrong… Is that murderous intent I sense…?
The next moment, the world spun around her, and Yun Yaoyao found herself pinned beneath Tushan Jin on the bed.
“These past few days, I’ve heard that after fooling around with women, you moved on to men as well, indulging in lust without restraint. Is that true?”
