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“It looks like I’ve won again this time.”
Yun Chu’s heart instantly sank. In a daze, he took the medicine handed to him.
His dazed expression surprised the person in front of him, who stared at Yun Chu with uncertainty and suspicion.
Fear surged within Yun Chu, drowning out his senses. His body felt like it was no longer his own. The last remnants of his rationality made him raise his hand and bring the medicine closer for inspection.
Doubt suddenly arose in his mind.
He steadied himself, took a light sniff, and caught a strong bitter scent coming from the cloth bag.
His brows furrowed deeply. A wave of unease spread through him, replaced by a chilling coldness that seeped into his bones.
This medicine… smelled terrifying.
A shudder ran through him.
“Your Highness, this medicine is potent. You’d better not—”
The guard noticed Yun Chu’s unusual reaction and quickly took the poison back from him, intending to leave at once.
Yun Chu suddenly grabbed his arm.
His grip was so tight that the guard felt a sharp pain, but he dared not cry out. Yun Chu’s expression was off, and his voice was hoarse as he asked, “Did… she take it?”
The guard was momentarily confused, then suddenly realized what Yun Chu meant and let out a sound of acknowledgment.
“Ah, yes!” He nodded vigorously. “I tested the poison on a cat first to confirm its effects, then stood at a distance and watched her take it. I only left after seeing the poison take effect.”
A chill ran down the guard’s spine.
He suddenly realized that Yun Chu was looking at him as if he wanted to kill him.
“Your Highness…”
The guard was growing increasingly uneasy.
“Your Highness, what brings you here at this hour?”
A steady voice suddenly came from behind.
The owner of the voice sounded composed, as if he was in complete control of the situation.
Yun Chu turned around and saw Zheng Siyan stepping out from the house, his hands behind his back, walking unhurriedly.
When Yun Chu saw Zheng Siyan, his lips tightened, and his voice turned cold.
“Was it you who ordered him to poison Li Yunli?”
Zheng Siyan’s eyes flickered. He glanced at Yun Chu but did not take his clearly accusatory tone to heart.
“I thought that when Your Highness proposed this plan yesterday, you had already cast aside any sentimental feelings for the Grand Princess of Great Chu. But it seems Your Highness is more attached than I thought?”
He let out a cold chuckle, his gaze filled with indifferent contempt. “Your Highness, our great cause is not yet complete. If she were just a Grand Princess, then once we succeed, you could have as many women as you desire, and she would be of little consequence. But the problem is—she is standing in our way!”
Zheng Siyan stepped closer to Yun Chu, looking at him meaningfully.
Yun Chu met his gaze and enunciated each word carefully, “But you acted without consulting me. This was a unilateral decision!”
“It was my mistake to target someone Your Highness cares about,” Zheng Siyan admitted, “but with the enemy before us, Your Highness must distinguish between what is important and what is not. Are you really here to hold me accountable at such a critical moment?”
Zheng Siyan was confident that Yun Chu would not—could not—act against him.
He leisurely stepped between Yun Chu and the guard, offering what he considered a kindness by explaining further.
“The poison came from the Marquis of Yongcheng. He hopes to ally with us—you know this. Even if I had done nothing, the Marquis of Yongcheng would have taken action. Your Highness, we must take Yuzhou at all costs!”
Yun Chu lowered his gaze, clenching his teeth.
Silver moonlight spilled before his eyes as he exhaled slowly, deliberately.
“Fine.” He lifted his head slightly. In that instant, it seemed he had buried all his previous emotions. When he spoke again, his gaze was steadier. “Gather the troops.”
Zheng Siyan glanced at him sideways.
Yun Chu’s voice was clear and cold, leaving no room for argument: “We move now. Before dawn, I want Yuzhou City under my control!”
“Now?”
Zheng Siyan hesitated, wondering if Yun Chu was acting on impulse.
“Now.”
Yun Chu’s tone was firm. “News of Li Yunli’s poisoning hasn’t spread yet. The Marquis of Yongcheng doesn’t know.”
He turned and strode out in long, swift steps, his dark eyes void of emotion.
“Speed is crucial in war. We cannot miss this opportunity!”
With a sharp sound, he drew his sword.
—
The Marquis of Yongcheng had stationed his army outside Yuzhou, waiting to seize Li Yunli and complete his mission.
He had already made contact with the Wei forces and, seeing Yun Chu approach with troops, assumed it meant an alliance had been formed to aid him.
He never expected Yun Chu to charge straight at him with swords drawn!
“Hey!” The Marquis of Yongcheng pulled his horse back a few paces. He was still some distance from Yun Chu, but he dared not approach. He shouted loudly, “What do you think you’re doing? Look carefully!”
“I have looked carefully!”
Yun Chu’s horse galloped forward, his sword slicing through flesh and sending blood splattering everywhere. His expression was terrifying—like a demon possessed by bloodlust—as he murmured lowly, “I’m here to kill you.”
With a swift reverse slash, he beheaded one of the Marquis’s guards on the spot.
“You—you—you!”
The Marquis of Yongcheng had already retreated several steps. Even an idiot could tell by now that Yun Chu was here to take his life.
His guards immediately surrounded him in defense, while he trembled in fear, thinking only of escape.
Though his troops outnumbered Yun Chu’s, they were no match for the Wei soldiers.
And against Yun Chu’s reckless, fearless fighting style, the Wei soldiers fought with equal ferocity—even those who were wounded kept fighting. The battle quickly turned in Yun Chu’s favor.
The Marquis of Yongcheng yanked at his horse’s reins, shouting desperately to his guards, “Go! Run! Those Wei bastards are untrustworthy! Run!”
He didn’t even dare to curse too loudly, fearing it would slow him down and cost him his life.
Even the battering ram that had been breaching the city gates was abandoned. The gates were half-broken, but the Marquis dared not stay to finish the siege—he fled as fast as he could.
Yun Chu flipped his sword in his hand and hurled it.
The blade embedded itself into the Marquis’s horse, sending it tumbling forward and throwing the Marquis onto the ground, face-first.
Fortunately for him, though his soldiers were weak, his guards were highly skilled. They immediately grabbed the disoriented Marquis, threw him onto another horse, and fled.
Yun Chu had no interest in pursuit. Instead, he gave the order at the city gates: “Break them down!”
The half-broken gates didn’t hold for long. Within moments, the Wei army surged into Yuzhou.
Yun Chu rode at the front, heading straight for the Yuzhou government office.
—
“Li Yunli!”
The scenery blurred past as Yun Chu galloped, his heart pounding with urgency.
He knew the route from the city gates to the office too well. He quickly left the Wei soldiers behind, arriving at the government office in a hurry.
“Lord Yun?!”
Someone was waiting just inside the gate and immediately called out to him.
Zhilan waved at him. “This way!”
She had been expecting him.
Yun Chu followed her, bypassing Li Yunli’s usual residence.
Zhilan led him directly to the hall—a place used only for wakes and funeral rites.
Yun Chu’s brows knit tightly. He quickened his pace.
Inside, Zhihui knelt beside a narrow bed, where Li Yunli lay—pale, drenched in sweat.
Yun Chu hurried forward, took out a pill, and handed the rest of the medicine pouch to Zhilan. “I didn’t have time to mix everything—boil these in water for one quarter-hour and bring it at once!”
After giving his instructions, he exhaled deeply, carefully supporting Li Yunli and feeding her the pill.
Her eyes fluttered open.
Leaning against Yun Chu’s shoulder, she managed a weak smile.
“Looks like I won again this time.”