Chapter 130

Chapter 130: The Scheme Ling Jiayue sat inside the carriage as the wedding procession from Dayi escorted her all the way to the border between Dayi and the Ye Kingdom. Once they reached the border, the wedding procession from Dayi turned back, because anything farther ahead would be Ye Kingdom territory. The situation between the two countries was extremely delicate at present, and the Dayi wedding procession had no intention of entering Ye Kingdom lands. The steward of the Dayi wedding procession spoke to Ling Jiayue from outside the carriage. “General Ling, this is as far as we can escort you. The rest of the journey will be accompanied by His Highness the Seventh Prince. We must return to the capital immediately.” Dressed in a vivid red wedding gown, Ling Jiayue stepped out of the carriage and said to them, “You have worked hard along the way. It is enough that you have escorted me this far. You may return. I will make my own way for the rest of the journey.” As she spoke, a sharp glint flashed through Ling Jiayue’s eyes. Thus, the wedding procession from Dayi returned to the capital, while Mu Yuheng continued escorting Ling Jiayue toward the Ye Kingdom. As they traveled, Ling Jiayue looked at the familiar scenery before her, and her gaze grew increasingly cold. She sat quietly inside the carriage, while Mu Yuheng, afraid that she might be overcome by memories of the past, kept trying to amuse her along the way. Several days later, Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng arrived in the Ye Kingdom. Chu Chaoci had sent an old acquaintance of Ling Jiayue’s to receive the bride—Murong Xi. Murong Xi knew that Ling Jiayue was the deceased former Empress. He had been utterly unwilling to come and receive her, but the imperial edict had already been issued, and imperial commands could not be disobeyed. In the end, he had still come. The moment Ling Jiayue saw Murong Xi, she gave a cold laugh. “Grand General Murong, it has been a long time. You truly look just as impressive as ever.” Yet inwardly, Ling Jiayue murmured, Just as hateful as ever. Murong Xi replied, “When we first met, General Ling was still a delicate young lady at the peach-blossom banquet. Now you have become a general who has fought on the battlefield, and you are about to become the Empress of our Ye Kingdom. You truly are a person of great fortune.” Ling Jiayue let out a cold laugh and said nothing more. Mu Yuheng then said, “Grand General Murong, you should take General Ling to the Ye Kingdom as soon as possible. If you delay, I fear the Sovereign of Ye Kingdom will hold you accountable. Once General Ling becomes the Empress of Ye Kingdom, you will have plenty of opportunities to speak with her in the future.” “What His Highness the Seventh Prince says is true. General Ling, shall we?” Murong Xi said coldly. “Lead the way,” Ling Jiayue replied before returning to the carriage. Murong Xi then escorted Ling Jiayue toward the capital of the Ye Kingdom. After several days of hurried travel, Ling Jiayue and Mu Yuheng finally arrived in the capital. Upon reaching the Ye Kingdom, Murong Xi sent Ling Jiayue to the imperial palace to await the wedding. When Chu Chaoci heard that Ling Jiayue had arrived, he put aside the matters at hand and went to the bedchamber where she was resting to see her. Chu Chaoci entered the bedchamber in high spirits, only to discover that Mu Yuheng was inside as well. His face darkened as he said, “Why is His Highness the Seventh Prince here? If word of this gets out, I am afraid it will lead to gossip.” Mu Yuheng replied with righteous conviction, “You and General Ling have yet to be married. As the person who escorted the bride, I naturally must accompany General Ling, lest she feel lonely in this foreign land. Besides, you are not yet married, so it is not appropriate for you to meet. You should return for now.” Chu Chaoci was rendered speechless by Mu Yuheng’s words. He flung his sleeve angrily and left. Hearing that Mu Yuheng had driven Chu Chaoci away, Ling Jiayue could not help laughing. “You really are remarkable. Even Chu Chaoci was angered into leaving by you. From now on, I had better not casually argue with you.” Mu Yuheng gazed at Ling Jiayue affectionately. “How could I ever argue with you? All right, we should get down to business first. You said that you saw some old acquaintances on the way into the city. Is that true? If we can obtain the help of your former subordinates, we will certainly accomplish twice as much with half the effort.” “I did see them, but I cannot guarantee that they are still loyal to me. In any case, there are still several days before the wedding. We should use these days to quietly contact some of my former subordinates and ensure that we can bring Chu Chaoci down in one strike,” Ling Jiayue said. “There is no time to lose. Let us get moving, then. The sooner we establish contact, the greater our chances of victory,” Mu Yuheng said. Ling Jiayue nodded and immediately summoned Cheese Lord and the forces of the Ling Residence to set things in motion. Ling Jiayue changed out of her bright red wedding gown and put on a plain outfit. She also called in a maid and had her put on the red wedding gown to impersonate her. After arranging everything, Ling Jiayue left with Cheese Lord and Mu Yuheng. As she walked, Ling Jiayue considered which household they should visit first. “Yue’er,” Mu Yuheng said, “we should begin with the people in whom you have the greatest confidence. After all, what we are planning is not something ordinary people would be willing to do.” “You are right. Let us visit one of my former subordinates first. When Chu Chaoci exterminated my entire Ling family, he also hunted down and killed every member of my Liuhuo Army. Only one of my former subordinates escaped. He was injured on the battlefield back then, so I sent him home. Fortunately, that allowed him to escape the disaster. Now, we have someone to help us.” As Ling Jiayue spoke, she recalled the blood feud from that day and was consumed by hatred. Mu Yuheng tightened his grip on her hand. Feeling the warmth of his hand, Ling Jiayue smiled at him, and the two of them went to visit her former subordinate. When that former subordinate first saw Ling Jiayue, his expression grew somewhat dazed. He could not help asking her, “Who are you?” Ling Jiayue said, “We are old acquaintances meeting again. Will you not invite me inside to sit?” The former subordinate was so overcome with excitement that he could barely contain himself. “How could I fail to invite such honored guests inside? Please, come in! Quickly, come in!” Ling Jiayue and the others followed him into the house. The moment she stepped through the door, Ling Jiayue said, “Lu Sheng, how have you been these past few years?” When Lu Sheng heard her words, tears of excitement immediately welled in his eyes. He asked, “General, is it really you? Have you truly returned?” Ling Jiayue replied, “I have returned. I came back to avenge the brothers of the Liuhuo Army, and to avenge every member of my Ling family. Chu Chaoci must pay for each and every one of these blood debts with his blood! Lu Sheng, I need you. Are you willing to join me in clearing the Liuhuo Army’s name?” “General, of course I am willing! Back then, the Liuhuo Army was unjustly accused and massacred, and then you suffered that fate as well. At the time, I broke into the imperial palace, wanting to clear your name and that of the Liuhuo Army. Instead, I was beaten severely and thrown out. From that day onward, the only thing I thought about was revenge.” As Lu Sheng spoke of that day, his eyes reddened with hatred. He spoke through clenched teeth. Ling Jiayue soothed Lu Sheng’s emotions, and the two of them began making plans for their revenge. Time passed in a flash. By the time Ling Jiayue left Lu Sheng’s home, it was already deep into the night. “We should return for now and continue tomorrow,” Mu Yuheng said. “That is fine. Let us go back for today. With Lu Sheng’s help, things should be much easier. Tomorrow, I will contact some of the former court officials,” Ling Jiayue said. The two of them returned. Before they knew it, Ling Jiayue had already contacted more than half of the court officials. Because Chu Chaoci was excessively cold-blooded and ruthless, most of the former officials were dissatisfied with his rule. They were all overjoyed at Ling Jiayue’s return. Ling Jiayue had already taken control of more than half of the power in court. Three days later, the wedding banquet of Ling Jiayue and Chu Chaoci would take place. Close