On the battlements, soldiers of the Xuanjia Army and the Jinwu Guard watched the scene below with bated breath.
Below the battlements, Feng Xi Wu and Lu Qing Wan, astride their horses, charged through the horde of beasts, heading straight for the group of archers.
Hundreds of archers loosed their arrows simultaneously, raining down on the beasts, leaving them either dead or wounded.
Therefore, Lu Qing Wan and Feng Xi Wu dared not delay. After charging into the beast horde, Lu Qing Wan put down her pipa.
Two golden eagles led the way in the sky, guiding the beasts back to the mountains, while Lu Qing Wan and Feng Xi Wu brandished their weapons, slaughtering the archers of the Tiger and Leopard Camp.
With no interference from their own people, Lu Qing Wan and Feng Xi Wu fought with utter abandon.
Feng Xi Wu’s sharp gang qi swept through, and the Tiger and Leopard Camp archers fell like leaves in an autumn wind.
Lu Qing Wan used the triangular stinger at the tip of her steel whip, piercing each archer, and they all ceased to breathe.
The two moved with perfect synchronicity, forcing the archers to abandon any hope of controlling Lu Qing Wan’s beast army. The beasts themselves were not foolish; seeing that someone was helping them, they quickly turned and charged towards the Tiger and Leopard Camp.
The fifteen thousand strong Tiger and Leopard Camp became scattered stragglers under the pursuit and blockade of the beast army, fleeing in disarray.
Just then, Li Jin appeared from who knows where, killing some of the scattered soldiers and capturing others. The remaining small pockets of the Tiger and Leopard Camp had lost the will to resist and surrendered on the spot.
The Ten Thousand Beast Army, led by the two golden eagles, headed back in the direction from which they came.
...
A few hours prior, the imperial city, which had been filled with the roar of battle, had returned to peace.
Inside the city, however, Lu Qing Wan could faintly hear sounds of commotion through the high city walls and the heavy city gates.
Clinging to Feng Xi Wu's saddle, she asked in confusion, "What is going on?
Weren't you told that the King of Qingzhou was plotting rebellion, but now it's the Lan family?
With such a bunch of cowards, they want to rebel? Have the Lan family members lost their minds?"
"Lan An hasn't lost his mind, but after a lifetime of training falcons, he was ultimately pecked in the eye by one."
Feng Xi Wu said with a hint of sarcasm, "After today, the Emperor Gengshi, we, and the various vassal kings will suffer no losses. But Lan An will never recover in this lifetime."
Lu Qing Wan, though she claimed to not understand court politics, was quite adept at strategizing. Yet, she had to admit that Emperor Gengshi's move of 'pulling the rug out from under them' was indeed brilliant.
"So, Emperor Gengshi's initial intention was to deal with Lan An, and we became the fish that took the bait?"
Emperor Gengshi wanted to deal with Lan An, using the entire Qin as his chessboard, and they had all become players in his game.
All parties had suffered losses to varying degrees, while they, in order to establish a foothold in Qin, had exposed all their existing strength under Emperor Gengshi's watchful eyes.
It could be said they had suffered heavy losses.
Lu Qing Wan had never been so thoroughly manipulated before, and her displeasure was evident on her face.
Feng Xi Wu gently rubbed the back of her neck, soothing her, and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, my brother and I did not intend to hide this from you. We only discovered Emperor Gengshi's scheme after arriving here.
Emperor Gengshi had set a dilemma for us. If I hadn't intervened, and the Tiger and Leopard Camp had entered the city, the King of Jizhou would have taken the opportunity to rebel.
He is Emperor Gengshi's younger brother. If his rebellion had succeeded, my brother and I would have met a terrible end.
Therefore, even knowing Emperor Gengshi's plan, I had to risk exposing all our strength and fight with all my might.
It's just that I didn't expect you to show up."
He had even less expected Lu Qing Wan to risk everything to save him, publicly controlling beasts and forming a vast army to rescue him from peril.
The more Lu Qing Wan threw caution to the wind, the more Feng Xi Wu felt guilty.
Lu Qing Wan didn't seem to mind. "Let's not talk about who did what to whom. I've also gotten you into big trouble.
At this point, whether the King of Qingzhou and Lan An, or the King of Jizhou, were truly plotting rebellion is no longer important.
What matters is that you and the Crown Prince must rebel. We have no other path but this."
Feng Xi Wu was stunned by her serious tone. "Must rebel? Why?"
"I beat up Emperor Gengshi."
Lu Qing Wan said without a trace of guilt, "And I also gathered evidence of his past crimes of fratricide and patricide.
I thought that after today's battle, with you and the Crown Prince having protected the Emperor and with the King of Youzhou's presence, even if he wanted to settle the score with me, he would have to endure it.
Then, at the national sacrifice ceremony, I would expose his sins, and everyone would be safe.
Who knew it would turn into this..."
Feng Xi Wu couldn't help but laugh and cry upon hearing this. "You moved too fast!"
He never imagined that while he was fighting enemies and gaining prestige, his little princess was secretly beating up Emperor Gengshi. It sounded chaotic, but why did it feel so satisfying?
Lu Qing Wan stated righteously, "You've known me for more than a day. When have I ever put up with such humiliation!
He sends those brainless women like Bai Lian Hua and Lan Yun Yi to disgust me, and then he wants me to enter the palace to attend to his illness? Who does he think he is?
I've waited until today only because we are unfamiliar with the terrain here. If this were my territory, I would have sent him to the heavens long ago!"
It was just that a spur-of-the-moment decision had almost landed Feng Xi Wu in trouble. But thinking that Feng Xi Wu hadn't informed her promptly of Emperor Gengshi's scheme, which had also put her in a difficult position, Lu Qing Wan felt a sense of balance.
She muttered to herself, was this the legendary 'loving too deeply leads to mischief'?
"It doesn't matter. This place will soon be your territory. Even if you're unfamiliar with the terrain, you can still send him to heaven!"
Feng Xi Wu, unaware of Lu Qing Wan's thoughts, stroked her head like he was petting a cat. "Since it has come to this, even if I don't want the throne, I cannot let Emperor Gengshi sit on it comfortably."
As he spoke, he suddenly clicked his tongue, regretting, "If I had known you had quietly accomplished such a significant feat, I wouldn't have dealt with the Tiger and Leopard Camp so quickly.
We should have kept Emperor Gengshi on edge for a little longer."
"It's not too late for that."
Lu Qing Wan grinned slyly. Feng Xi Wu understood her intention. "Are you referring to the remaining ten thousand plus soldiers of the Tiger and Leopard Camp?"
"The rebels that Lan Hua Jing brought into the palace number less than five thousand. We killed or captured a total of fifteen thousand just now.
There are still ten thousand troops. If I remember correctly, they should be the most elite ten thousand heavy cavalry of the Tiger and Leopard Camp.
And so far, only Lan Hua Jing of the Lan family has appeared. Lan Hua Xiao and Lan An have not shown themselves. Where do you guess these ten thousand heavy cavalry might be?"
Having said that, the two of them looked forward in unison, towards the vital route connecting the other eight prefectures to the central prefecture.
Ziyang Pass stood firm, impregnable.
If the Lan family truly intended to usurp the throne, they would need to block the various vassal kings before they gathered in the central prefecture. This would make their affairs in the central prefecture much easier.
"Lan An desires the throne, so he should not be far from the imperial palace.
The one guarding Ziyang Pass should be Lan Hua Xiao."
Feng Xi Wu gazed towards Ziyang Pass. "If the Lan family holds Ziyang Pass, preventing the nine kings from entering the capital, and if something were to happen to Emperor Gengshi at this moment, the Crown Prince, my brother, would ascend the throne most smoothly."