Chapter 39 - 39: In Control
“Yunzhi, you’ve avenged us fiercely. I believe the Family Head won’t blame you for moving the troops on your own, right?” Madam Kong Tong didn’t speak until now.
Moving troops without authorization is a serious crime.
Without her title as Female Monarch, Li Yunzi still gathered her subordinates in the west, an act no different from rebellion.
Of course, even serious crimes depend on the situation.
Had it not been for Li Yunzi moving those former troops and capturing that
Sudden Attack Team, the four cities in the west might have been lost by now. The highly mobile Flying Bird Camp had already been redeployed to the east, leaving nothing to salvage the situation.
This is why Li Ying had remained silent all this while.
He was very aware of how dire the Li Family’s situation was the moment the Fortress City fell. What’s most frightening was that the Lingxiao City State had no intention of negotiating peace from the beginning. The proposal for the Female Monarch to become a concubine was merely a ruse, a distraction on the one hand and, on the other, waiting for the eastern Fortress City to fall, then the main army would press in!!
Even if Li Ying was confused, he couldn’t fail to understand this point.
“Yunzhi, you’ve done well. You will still be in charge of those Army Guards,” Li Ying finally said, showing a hint of warmth on his face.
When Li Ying took away Li Yunzi’s Army Guards, he intended to completely strip her of her military power, but Li Yunzi had retrieved her troops in this manner.
How could Li Ying possibly impose punishment on her?
Without her Army Guards, the western border would have likely faced a devastating coordinated attack by the enemy!
“Yes, the Army Guards should indeed be given back to Yunzhi, after all, they were her old subordinates.”
“Lingxiao City State’s wolfish ambition is truly detestable!”
“Speaking of which, how come we didn’t know when Dongxu Fortress City was breached???” a general said.
“We have a traitor within our army!” Li Ying said gravely.
“We should hurry and summon that student from the Dragon Taming Academy to the hall; he should have arrived by now,” Kong Tong said at this moment.
“Yes!”
Li Ying had already guessed as much, but he still wanted to hear it.
Now that the great menace in the west was suppressed by Li Yunzi who also captured the eldest prince of the Lingxiao City State, this gave the Ancestral
Dragon City a significant negotiation leverage against the Lingxiao City State. How could they dare to make another move?
The issue of the rampant forces in the east needed to be addressed urgently!
The pine trees stood tall, and those in the wedding party, dressed in festive vermilion outfits, appeared lifeless, no different from a funeral procession.
The inside affairs of the hall had already spread, and they were firmly controlled by the Prohibition Guards, unlikely to leave the Ancestral Dragon City alive.
Zhu Minglang walked along the hall and up the steps towards the Li Family Deliberation Hall, his gaze curious as he observed these brightly dressed people from another city…
Stepping inside the hall, Zhu Minglang saw the members of the Li Family, seated solemnly on either side of the hall, their expressions complex as if they had just experienced some significant event.
At this moment, they were all looking at him.
Zhu Minglang saw Li Yunzi standing at the front of the hall.
She slowly turned around, seemingly surprised to see him too, her beautiful eyes shining with an enigmatic brilliance.
“Isn’t this Zhu Minglang, the man who impersonated a member of our clan, who returned with Yunzhi from Wutu?” Kong Tong recognized Zhu Minglang instantly and spoke up first.
Li Ying too recognized Zhu Minglang, whom he had not even bothered to question at the time.
Zhu Minglang had no desire to engage in verbal sparring with this woman. If it weren’t for his pity for the residents of Rong Ancient City and his concern for the frail scholar in the rain, he wouldn’t even have appeared in this hall.
“Luo Xiao has killed all the messengers with battle reports…”
Zhu Minglang stated the facts and informed the Li Family that there were still survivors in Rong Ancient City.
The City Lord of Rong Ancient City, Zheng Yu, was struggling to hold onto the narrow path that led directly into the Li Chuan Plain!
“Nonsense, if the Fortress City has fallen, how could a mere Rong Ancient City withstand an army of tens of thousands in rebellion? Does the City Lord possess the power to reach the heavens?!” Li Pinghai, a junior member of the Li Family, said irritably.
Zhu Minglang had no energy to deal with such foolishness today. His gaze fell on Li Yunzi, who today was dressed in light armor, looking completely different from her usual frail appearance. A heroic aura surrounded her beautiful features, making her hard to ignore.
“Yang Xiu,” Li Yunzi spoke.
“Here, I’m here…” The envoy had lost all backbone.
“Have you prepared the ransom note?” Li Yunzi asked.
“It’s ready, but the Female Monarch has not yet told me which city we must cede to secure the safe return of our son, ” Yang Xiu asked respectfully.
Li Yunzi took the brush and personally wrote the name of the city on the document prepared by Yang Xiu.
Yang Xiu picked it up and looked at it earnestly, but after reading it, his face was filled with confusion.
Without waiting for Yang Xiu to ask, Li Yunzi had already approached Li Ying’s seat at the head of the hall and spoke, “Father, give me the command seal of the Flying Bird Camp, I will quell this uprising.”
“Even if you wield a sword, you can only kill a limited number of rioters. Let General Wu from the Flying Bird Camp handle this,” Li Ying said.
Li Yunzi stood before Li Ying, her eyes fixed on her father, showing no sign of backing down from these arguments, and they were at an impasse in front of the great hall.
“Yunzi, although you have achieved a great feat this time, the military authority…” Kong Tong tried to interject at this moment.
“I am not seeking permission,” Li Yunzi said with an increased tone, cutting off Kong Tong.
Lady Kong Tong was on the verge of anger.
Li Ying’s expression was also not pleased. Hadn’t this scene occurred before?
“Li Ying, the peaceful marriage conspiracy of the Lingxiao City-State was seen through by Yunzi, saving our four western cities. Yunzi is indeed capable of shouldering great responsibilities. After discussing among ourselves just now, the elders believe it’s best to restore her title as Female Monarch and let her take command of the Flying Bird Camp to quell the Wutu uprising,” the family matriarch spoke at that moment.
This family matriarch, who had always remained silent, watched everything in the Deliberation Hall quietly, like a deaf old lady.
“Yes!” Faced with the matriarch’s words, Li Ying did not dare to object and handed over the military command seal of the Flying Bird Camp to Li Yunzi.
The Flying Bird Camp had already set out. It was an extremely fast army, riding Flying Bird Pseudo-Dragons and should be able to reach Rong Valley City in about a day’s time.
Each soldier in the Flying Bird Camp was highly skilled in combat, and the Flying Bird Pseudo-Dragon mounts were also strong fighters. A thousand of them could contend with ten thousand troops. It was no wonder Li Ying was so reluctant to hand over this military power!
Having obtained the seal, Li Yunzi quickly walked towards the outside of the hall.
“Minglang, come,” Li Yunzi said to Zhu Minglang.
Zhu Minglang’s attention was still on Yang Xiu; he had barely caught a glimpse of what Li Yunzi had written, but couldn’t completely make out what it was.
Only when Li Yunzi called his name did Zhu Minglang come back to his senses.
“Oh, coming,” Zhu Minglang responded and quickly followed Li Yunzi. “Where are we going?”
“East,” Li Yunzi replied..