Chapter 20: Disappearance

Before Liu Mei could finish speaking, Jiang Qingqing stepped out from behind Jiang Yu.

Without hesitation, she raised her hand and slapped Liu Mei twice across the face.

After delivering the blows, she shook out her hand and frowned in disdain. “Hiss—Is your face made of stone? It’s so hard.”

Arrogant and petulant.

Jiang Yu, standing beside her, didn’t remain idle either.

As soon as Jiang Qingqing’s slap landed, he lifted his foot and kicked Liu Mei, sending her flying.

Liu Mei’s body was thrown across the courtyard, crashing into a water tank. The shards of shattered ceramic cut deep into her skin, leaving her covered in blood. She spat out a mouthful of it.

Her already frail body suffered another devastating blow.

She was in so much pain that she nearly fainted. Gritting her teeth, she turned to Liu Xu Bai and pleaded, “Help me… Brother…”

But no one paid her any attention.

The guards had already followed Liu Xu Bai, surrounding the entire courtyard.

Blades were drawn, poised for battle!

From the moment he entered the courtyard, Liu Xu Bai’s gaze had been fixed on Jiang Qingqing and Jiang Yu. The way they stood together, united as one, made his expression darken.

He hadn’t known that they were acquainted.

And he certainly hadn’t expected Jiang Yu to have been alone with Jiang Qingqing right under his nose.

Holding his soft sword, Liu Xu Bai’s eyes were sharp as he spoke, “Jiang Yu, it’s been a long time.”

Jiang Yu did not reply.

His eyes, filled with resentment, remained locked on the elegant and refined figure standing in the courtyard—the man who was as graceful as pine and bamboo.

Who would have thought that the eldest son of the Prime Minister’s household, praised by the people of the capital as noble and gentle, was the mastermind behind this entire scheme?

Liu Xu Bai sensed the hatred radiating from Jiang Yu.

He shook his head.

“The Jiang family’s army has been accused of treason, and the verdict is final. You can’t escape. Because of your family’s actions, Yingzhou has become a living hell, and the Great Liang is no longer stable. Don’t drag Qingqing down with you.”

His words seemed to be persuading Jiang Yu to surrender.

But in reality, he was telling Jiang Qingqing—choosing him was the right decision.

In these turbulent times, only he could give her the stability she sought.

Jiang Yu clenched his fists at his sides.

“Innocent citizens have become mere pawns in your struggle for power. Do you even have a conscience?”

Memories of enemy troops setting cities ablaze, slaughtering, and plundering at will flashed through Jiang Yu’s mind.

His eyes burned with rage.

Jiang Qingqing, listening to their conversation, had initially only half-understood the current situation.

But now, she finally saw the full picture.

The Great Liang was truly in chaos.

It was no longer the world she had naively envisioned—where everything would return to normal as long as her mother returned to the palace and her father took control of the court again.

The Prime Minister and the Empress Dowager would never give her that chance.

And neither would the enemy nations.

With the Jiang family’s army leaderless, their absence had given the enemy a free hand to trample over the Great Liang.

Looking at Jiang Yu’s overwhelming grief, Jiang Qingqing bit her lip and stepped forward, shielding him behind her.

She met Liu Xu Bai’s gaze head-on.

“Let him go, and I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Yu was gravely injured—escape was no longer an option.

If he were captured today, then all hope for the Jiang family would be lost. The Great Liang would meet its end.

Because her father had once told her:

As long as the Jiang army stands, the Great Liang stands.

The neighboring empire, Tianqi, was a fearsome adversary.

Only the Jiang army had the power to keep them at bay.

Liu Xu Bai was taken aback by Jiang Qingqing’s actions.

He had predicted that she would choose to leave with him.

But he hadn’t expected her reason for doing so—to protect Jiang Yu.

“Qingqing…”

Liu Xu Bai tried to say something, but Jiang Qingqing cut him off.

“I have only one condition. Let him go, and I’ll go with you.”

Her unwavering stance made Liu Xu Bai feel both love and hatred.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, his grip on the soft sword loosened slightly.

His gaze softened once more. “Alright. But I have a condition as well.”

“I will follow the proper betrothal rites. From now on, you will be my wife, Jiang Qingqing.”

Jiang Qingqing stared at him in shock.

“How could you be so shameless, Liu Xubai?”

“You already have a wife. If you say such things, where does that leave her? And where does that leave me?”

At the mention of Mo Yun Yue, Liu Xubai showed no emotion. His voice was calm as he replied,

“If I divorce her, then she ceases to exist.”

Not far away, Liu Mei, who was barely conscious, heard Liu Xubai’s words about divorcing his wife to marry Jiang Qingqing. The sheer anger made her body tremble violently.

“She’s not worthy! She’s not worthy of being my sister-in-law!”

Even if it took her last breath, she had to voice her hatred toward Jiang Qingqing.

Yet still, no one paid her any attention.

Jiang Yu, his eyes red, looked at Jiang Qingqing standing up for him. His throat tightened with emotion.

She was a princess. There was no need for her to go this far for him.

“Princess, I’ll go with him,” Jiang Yu said, voluntarily giving up his resistance.

If the heavens had decided to destroy the Jiang family, then at the very least, he wanted to see his family one last time. Being sent back to Yingzhou for execution would fulfill that final wish.

Jiang Qingqing looked at him in disagreement. “Jiang Yu, as long as you’re alive, the Jiang family still has—”

Jiang Yu smiled, his eyes becoming increasingly empty.

“Princess, it’s useless.”

A single person could not fight off a hundred.

The ministers who once surrounded and supported the emperor had, for some reason, all sided with the Prime Minister’s faction. The Jiang family had no foundation in the capital. Their only reliance was the emperor.

But even the emperor’s fate was uncertain.

Jiang Qingqing bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. She stared at Jiang Yu’s pale and powerless smile.

Was there really no hope left?

But she didn’t want to give up.

Back then, when the Empress Dowager had sent her alone to a remote village, she hadn’t died.

“We can, Jiang Yu. We still can…”

Her voice trembled as she tried to convince him.

She was afraid that Jiang Yu would give up. Afraid that, once again, she would be left to walk this path alone.

Jiang Yu said nothing.

He simply accepted his fate and closed his eyes.

“Jiang Yu, don’t do this…”

Jiang Qingqing stood there in a daze, murmuring in confusion.

Like a hollowed-out doll, her limbs felt numb, leaving her helplessly unable to move.

Liu Xubai quickly ordered his men to take Jiang Yu away. Jiang Yu did not resist.

It seemed like everything was about to come to an end.

Suddenly—

Jiang Qingqing felt a cool sensation in her ears.

Fu Zhengnan’s voice entered her mind.

“Jiang Qingqing, come back inside.”

Jiang Qingqing blinked blankly.

A god.

The god had come to save her again!

At this moment, she couldn’t think about anything else. She didn’t care what would happen if people discovered the house behind her.

Only one thought filled her mind—this was her only lifeline. If she didn’t seize it now, it would be gone forever.

And so, in the next moment, everyone watched as—

Jiang Qingqing suddenly broke free from Liu Xubai’s grasp, shoved open the old wooden door behind her, and rushed inside.

“Qingqing!”

Liu Xubai lunged forward, following her.

But inside—

The thatched cottage was tattered and empty.

Cobwebs covered the walls, and decayed furniture lay scattered across the floor.

Jiang Qingqing had vanished behind that wooden door.

Liu Xubai’s sharp, narrow eyes darkened.

Just one step—he had been just one step away from making Jiang Qingqing his.

Turning his head, his icy gaze locked onto Jiang Yu.

With a swift motion, his hand clamped around Jiang Yu’s throat.

His voice was chilling.

“This house—what is its secret?”

It was obvious that no one had lived in this house for a long time.

So how had Jiang Qingqing managed to survive here for so long?

He had thought that some loyal minister, devoted to the emperor, had helped her.

But now, it was clear—that wasn’t the case at all!