Chapter 564: The Death of Grand Marshal Yuan

Chapter 564: Grand Marshal Yuan Dies

The two of them blended into Grand Marshal Yuan's ranks and began killing.

At first, the soldiers on Grand Marshal Yuan's side didn't notice anything amiss, but when they saw their own men killing each other, they realized something was wrong.

In the blink of an eye, a large swath behind them had fallen, and the soldiers in the ranks immediately fell into chaos.

Because no one knew whether they would be the next to be killed.

This also gave General Ming's side an opening. He keenly noticed that Grand Marshal Yuan's forces had fallen into internal strife and promptly rallied his own men to launch a counterattack.

The battle immediately took on a one-sided trend.

General Ming's side firmly suppressed Grand Marshal Yuan, beating his forces back step by step.

Ji Yuntang and Xie Liuzheng were right in the middle of it, taking advantage of the chaos, killing a few people from time to time to create a bit of crisis for Grand Marshal Yuan's ranks.

Soon they had thrown Grand Marshal Yuan's troops into disarray and low morale.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Grand Marshal Yuan wanted to retreat with his men, but how could General Ming possibly let them go?

He pressed the advantage, growing bolder with each victory, leaving a trail of bloodshed and screams wherever he passed.

The guards protecting Grand Marshal Yuan were cut down, and soon Grand Marshal Yuan himself died beneath General Ming's sword.

Empress Dowager Yuan knew nothing of this. She was still in the palace, expecting the good news of Grand Marshal Yuan's triumphant return.

General Ming hadn't expected to encounter such a calamity just as he led his army to the capital.

Fortunately, Yuan Jiuan had long since written to him, saying that once the army reached the capital, if they encountered resistance from Xishu Kingdom's soldiers, they need not hesitate—just fight them directly.

If anything went wrong, he'd take the heat.

Although General Ming didn't understand why Yuan Jiuan had issued such an order, he had also vaguely heard some news—that the Xishu royal family had been through a major upheaval.

After the battle was over, Ji Yuntang and Xie Liuzheng emerged from behind the trees and walked up to General Ming.

General Ming immediately became wary, for they were still wearing the uniforms of Grand Marshal Yuan's soldiers.

Seeing that the other party had drawn his sword, Xie Liuzheng quickly said, "General Ming, wait! We're not the enemy. We're friends of Prince Chengxuan, sent by him to escort you into the capital."

Afraid the other party wouldn't believe him, Xie Liuzheng also produced a token—Yuan Jiuan's personal seal.

After inspecting it, General Ming remained half-convinced and asked tentatively, "May I ask your names, young friends?"

Ji Yuntang took off her hat and said, "I'm Ji, and he's Xie."

General Ming was startled. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked excitedly, "Are you Ji Yuntang?"

Ji Yuntang nodded. "That's right."

General Ming was overjoyed. "Miss Ji, you are the one who saved our prince's life! I've heard our prince speak of you often."

"If it weren't for you saving our prince, he would have been done for long ago, and the court would have taken Jizhou by now. You saved not just our prince, but everyone in Jizhou!"

Ji Yuntang rubbed her nose and smiled. "You flatter me, General Ming."

General Ming let out a hearty laugh and asked again, "Miss Ji, Mr. Xie, was it the two of you who sneaked into Grand Marshal Yuan's ranks earlier and disrupted their morale?"

Ji Yuntang said softly, "Mm, it was nothing."

Seeing that Ji Yuntang wasn't trying to take any credit, General Ming respected her even more.

While chatting, Ji Yuntang briefly explained the current situation in Xishu Kingdom to General Ming.

Now that the great clans had been destroyed, Empress Dowager Yuan still had at least four hundred thousand troops under her command.

She planned to make her move tonight and eliminate all of Empress Dowager Yuan's forces in one fell swoop.

When they reached the capital, Yuan Jiuan met with General Ming, and together with Shen Xiangming, they discussed the night's battle plan.

Ji Yuntang, meanwhile, released Hua Feixue from her storage space.

Everyone was overjoyed when they saw Hua Feixue.

Yuan Jiuan took the initiative to ask, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, are you alright? Is Emperor Chu well?"

Hua Feixue looked at Yuan Jiuan and said respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Royal Uncle. I'm fine, and my father is fine too. Princess Ye has already given him medicine, and he's now resting in a very safe place."

Yuan Jiuan smiled with relief. "That's good. Heaven hasn't forsaken Xishu. This time, we must strike while the iron is hot and oust Empress Dowager Yuan from power."

After dinner, Ji Yuntang said to Yuan Jiuan and Hua Feixue, "Prince, Your Highness the Crown Prince, tonight the two of you will lead General Ming and your forces through the main gate into the palace to capture Empress Dowager Yuan and the Grand Preceptor."

Then she turned to Shen Xiangming and instructed, "General Shen, you'll be responsible for holding the palace gates with your men. You need to stop outside reinforcements from getting in, and also keep deserters from getting out. So you've got an equally heavy task."

"Pay special attention to one thing—check if there are any underground tunnels leading out of the palace, and make sure to post guards at that exit."

Shen Xiangming acknowledged, "Rest assured, Princess Ye. I'll fight to the death to take down those little bastards and won't let a single one slip through the net."

Xie Liuzheng asked curiously, "Yuntang, then what do the two of us do?"

Ji Yuntang raised an eyebrow and playfully teased him, "You'll find out soon enough."

Xishu Imperial Palace.

When Empress Dowager Yuan learned that Grand Marshal Yuan had been killed and all two hundred thousand troops had been wiped out, she was so furious that she spat blood.

Nanny An quickly rushed over to steady her and poured her a cup of tea.

"Empress Dowager, you've got to take care of yourself. With Xishu in trouble both inside and out, if anything happens to you, everything will fall apart."

She knew that today's events had hit Empress Dowager Yuan hard.

The grief of losing both a son and a father—nearly two hundred and fifty thousand troops gone in an instant.

Since Yuanchao's death, she had been keeping vigil by his bedside, never leaving his side for a moment, and refusing to let anyone put the body in a coffin.

Empress Dowager Yuan never usually cried, but today she couldn't stop crying.

Even Nanny An's heart ached watching her.

The Grand Preceptor, who usually fussed over her, was now silent, sitting alone on the stone steps, drinking heavily in silence.

The two faced each other without a word, the air thick with a strange, heavy silence.

The shock had brought on another headache for Empress Dowager Yuan.

She drank a little water and instructed Nanny An, "Go fetch Doctor Yun for me. My headache is acting up again."

Nanny An acknowledged, "Empress Dowager, I'll go find Doctor Yun and bring her to treat you."

She searched the whole palace, but Ji Yuntang was nowhere to be found.

She asked Xin Yue, the palace maid attending to Ji Yuntang, and Xin Yue said that Miss Yun had gone out early in the morning and she didn't know where she was.

Nanny An quickly brought this news back and reported it to Empress Dowager Yuan.

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