Chapter Eighty-Eight: A Fight to the Death

Lu Liyuan could not possibly execute Feng Jinye on the spot, so the group waited outside the east gate of the city for half an hour.

Feng Jinye was on the verge of collapse. He could sense that Tail Spoon Qianyu was on the other side of the gate, yet there was nothing he could do. He had still come too late.

He had not expected that, after only a dozen days away, the emperor would recover and dispatch the imperial guard to catch them unprepared.

No one but the emperor could command the imperial guard. Not even the Empress Dowager.

Feng Jinye bitterly regretted his one fatal misstep, leaving Tail Spoon Qianyu in danger.

Separated by a single city gate, even with armies behind him, Feng Jinye was still helpless.

If he did not attack, then given her nature, if she were captured, she would rather take her own life than allow anyone to use her to threaten him.

If he did attack, it would take at least three days to break through the gate. How long could she hold out inside the city?

Standing outside the gate, every breath Feng Jinye drew was torment.

Then a sudden imperial decree arrived, bringing him a glimmer of hope. He pressed close to the gate and strained to hear its contents.

It was Tail Spoon Qianyu's voice.

Inside the city...

Tail Spoon Qianyu thrust the sealed decree before the city defender, her fist clenched around it.

Lu Yanan and Dongnuan stood hidden among the palace attendants, their expressions frozen. Tail Spoon Qianyu's right hand was tightly clenched, trembling slightly as she concealed it in her sleeve and drew it behind her back.

The defender was about to take the decree, but Tail Spoon Qianyu refused to let go, turning her head with a cold snort.

The defender knew the eunuchs serving before the emperor in the palace were all men of prestige and flattery, not to be doubted by him. So he reached out and touched the decree; indeed, it was royal brocade made specially by the palace.

Sweat beaded on Tail Spoon Qianyu's brow as the defender still hesitated over whether to open the gate.

On the other side of the city gate, Feng Jinye's back was nearly soaked through with cold sweat. This girl was taking too great a risk.

With two armies in standoff, how could the gate be opened so casually?

"The emperor says the War King is a meritorious subject of the kingdom of Liyue. A ruler does not kill a worthy servant, and so he orders the War King to take his own life!" Tail Spoon Qianyu seemed to see through the defender's suspicion and explained.

The words "worthy servant" struck the hearts of many soldiers and common folk on the walls. The War King was the faith in their hearts, the one who could keep the people of Liyue safe.

Their hearts stirred. To say he must not be killed as a worthy subject, while forcing him to kill himself, was that not still persecution of a loyal minister? What difference was there from murder?

The defender was moved and immediately waved his hand, signaling his men to open the gate.

Four imperial guards stepped forward together, straining to lift the heavy red-lacquered bar.

At that very moment, a fierce horse came racing in from afar, clearing the way. "His Majesty arrives..."

Tail Spoon Qianyu looked at the bar that was about to be lowered and felt half her heart turn cold.

At the other side of the gate, Feng Jinye heard every sound from within and could almost see Tail Spoon Qianyu's spirit sink as she lowered her head.

His heart constricted. He ordered, "Attack the city!"

With a thunderous crash, Feng Jinye used every ounce of his strength to kick the vermilion gate.

The impact sent the four imperial guards lifting the bar reeling backward, and the heavy bar slammed down upon them.

The vermilion gate cracked open a sliver. A spark of hope flared in Tail Spoon Qianyu's eyes as she shouted, "Run!"

Feng Jinye shoved the gate open. Night Eleven, Night Nine, and Night Ten, one after another, black-clad figures appeared behind him.

Tail Spoon Qianyu's eyes instantly welled with tears. She sprinted toward Feng Jinye and crashed directly into his arms.

The weight on Feng Jinye's heart finally lifted. As long as she was beside him, he feared neither life nor death.

If they lived, they would live together.

If they died, they would die together.

The emperor's carriage drew closer step by step.

The four imperial guards who had opened the gate struggled up and ran toward the city, just in time to block Lu Yanan.

Tail Spoon Qianyu flinched and was about to rush forward, but Feng Jinye held her back hard.

Lu Yanan still had Lin Rui hidden in her arms and could not fully fight. She tore open her outer robe and lifted Lin Rui up.

The imperial guards seized the opening and thrust their swords toward Lin Rui. In trying to protect him, Lu Yanan stumbled, and Lin Rui fell from her arms.

A streak of bright yellow descended from the carriage and, by chance, snatched up Lin Rui from the ground.

Dongnuan killed the imperial guards surrounding Lu Yanan and dragged her toward Tail Spoon Qianyu.

"Rui'er!" Lu Yanan cried urgently.

Tail Spoon Qianyu looked up. The dazzling figure was strangely familiar.

Lin Rui burst into loud sobs. The emperor seized him by the throat.

"Rui'er..." Tail Spoon Qianyu and Lu Yanan cried out.

Remembering what Tail Spoon Qianyu had said before, that if they were captured they should claim Lin Rui was Feng Jinye's son, Dongnuan shouted, "Young master!"

The emperor paused, then took Lin Rui into his arms before turning to look at Tail Spoon Qianyu and Feng Jinye's group.

His gaze locked straight onto Tail Spoon Qianyu.

She was watched with such chill that her skin crawled. She had definitely seen this man before, and there seemed to be a deep, bitter enmity between them.

"The emperor is a fake!" Tail Spoon Qianyu said.

She examined him without fear and saw that he looked somewhat like Feng Jinye.

The emperor's eyes turned back to Lin Rui, and the more he looked, the more he felt the child also bore a few likenesses to Feng Jinye.

He was delighted. If he could not capture Tail Spoon Qianyu, then capturing Feng Jinye's bastard would be just as good.

"Feng Jinye, if you want this bastard's life, then exchange your own for it," the emperor said calmly.

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.

Dongnuan's cry of "young master" had already left Feng Jinye and the hidden guards behind him dumbfounded, and the emperor's words exploded in their minds like muffled thunder.

Lin Rui had been crying incessantly. His little head suddenly recalled Tail Spoon Qianyu's words: "He is Feng Jinye's son."

Just then, he cried at the top of his lungs, "Mother, Father, Rui'er is scared..."

Lu Liyuan led a troop of cavalry forward. Hearing Lin Rui shout, he stared in shock, then turned to Feng Jinye and asked, "Your son?"

Could this child have existed even before the campaign two years ago?

Lu Liyuan glanced at Tail Spoon Qianyu's stomach, shot Feng Jinye a vicious glare, and cursed inwardly: Truly beyond the pale.

Lin Rui had been badly frightened today. Held high by the emperor and jostled about, he kept calling out, "Mother... Mother..."

Lu Yanan and Tail Spoon Qianyu both nearly lost control and rushed forward to snatch Lin Rui back.

But Tail Spoon Qianyu was locked in Feng Jinye's arms and could not take a single step.

Seeing that Lu Yanan was about to charge ahead, Lu Liyuan also yanked her back.

Judging from the women's reactions, this little brat had to be rescued.

The emperor, seeing that Tail Spoon Qianyu's group ignored his words as though they had not heard them, flew into a rage. He changed his grip from the back of Lin Rui's clothes to his arm.

Tail Spoon Qianyu and Lu Yanan's pupils contracted, their expressions alike in seven parts. Each knew in her heart that a child of three would have that arm ruined in no time.

"Jinye..." Tail Spoon Qianyu called helplessly to Feng Jinye.

"Is Your Majesty truly this heartless?" Lu Liyuan suddenly asked.

"Does Your Majesty still remember that the late emperor and the deceased Prince Yuan were full-blooded brothers born of the same mother?"

"Even if the War King has erred, the emperor should not disregard blood ties!"

"More than that, my investigation has already made it clear that Crown Prince Yun's death was caused by the assassin Mei Ji of the Twilight Pavilion, and has nothing to do with the War King!" Lu Liyuan said sternly.

Everyone was shocked.

"Hahaha..." The emperor laughed wildly and ground out, "Today, I want Feng Jinye dead!"

A madman. That was all everyone could think: the emperor was utterly insane.

Tail Spoon Qianyu suddenly felt that the emperor, in his decent-looking disguise, seemed familiar. She had to have seen him somewhere before. Someone who hated Feng Jinye to the bone...

She searched her memory and at last matched him to one figure.

Tail Spoon Qianyu stiffened and looked toward Banqiu, who had just been slain by Lu Yanan's throwing knife.

"It's Lin Yichu!" Tail Spoon Qianyu said.

Her brows knit. Wasn't Lin Rui Lin Yichu's child? How could he fail to recognize him?

Her words ignited fury in Feng Jinye. He drew Tail Spoon Qianyu behind him, pushed her in front of Lu Liyuan, and seized the hidden abyss blade from her hand.

Tail Spoon Qianyu was stunned by the force of Feng Jinye's presence.

"Didn't you say you wanted my life? Come and take it," Feng Jinye said flatly, though a killing chill radiated from him, warning that any who approached would die.

The emperor's face lit with joy. Feng Jinye's reaction made him believe the child in his arms truly was Feng Jinye's son. Seeing Feng Jinye advance, he immediately lifted Lin Rui high overhead, intending to smash him to death before Feng Jinye's eyes.

"Lin Yichu!" Lu Yanan cried sharply, causing Lin Yichu to pause and look at her.

Casting aside the timidity and fragility she had once worn, Lu Yanan said solemnly, "That is my son!"

The emperor stared in disbelief and looked again at Lin Rui. Impossible.

Lin Rui flailed his arms and legs, his voice already hoarse. Hearing Lu Yanan, he cried in a choking voice, "Mother..."

Feng Jinye, holding the abyss blade like the god of slaughter, advanced step by step toward Lin Yichu, while the imperial guards retreated one after another.

Everyone understood in their hearts that if they rushed forward recklessly, none would escape the War King's sword.

Tail Spoon Qianyu knew all too well that Feng Jinye hated Lin Yichu to the core. She herself hated Lin Yichu no less, but Lin Rui was still in Lin Yichu's hands, and she was deeply worried.

Because of Lu Yanan's one sentence, the emperor lost all reason. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"This bastard looks so much like Feng Jinye! How could he possibly be..." Lin Yichu broke off, then laughed wildly. "Hahaha... Lu Yanan, do not try to fool me!"

"I am not Lin Yichu. I am the current sovereign. My surname is Yun!"

As if enlightenment had dawned, Lin Yichu decided that Lu Yanan was trying to trick him.

Even if the child were his flesh and blood, so what? Today, he would make Feng Jinye die.

Lin Yichu fixed Tail Spoon Qianyu with a vicious glare. "Tail Spoon Qianyu, make Feng Jinye stop, or in half an hour there will not be a single living soul left in the Duke's Manor!"

At this, Lu Yanan and Lu Liyuan both stiffened. Tail Spoon Qianyu, however, showed no concern. She picked up a longsword from the ground.

"Night Eleven, open the city gates at once!"

Lu Liyuan frowned. Tail Spoon Qianyu was preparing to fight to the death.