The sound of the spear tip piercing the chest was just a soft “pfft”.
Dull and faint.
Caiyu in the front seemed to sense something and just then turned around.
This glance made her tremble all over. Before her mind could even start to think, tears gushed out.
“General Zhu!”
Caiyu's shrill and panicked cry pierced the sky.
The woman fell off the horse, then got up desperately after hitting the ground and rushed out of the city like crazy, pushing aside the crowd of the garrison troops.
Screams kept ringing in her ears. The calls for Zhu Xiao behind her were like a surging tide, pounding on everyone's eardrums.
Those who turned around were all stunned by the scene before them.
Zhu Xiao's hand grasped the spear shaft. Looking into Sheng Jiangli's extremely cold eyes, a trail of blood slowly trickled out of the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, he grinned, “...Good, good... I've always known you wanted to kill me, Lao Zhu. All the losses I've suffered from you in this life, I'll surely get them back in the next...”
This middle - aged, rough - tempered man's eyes were unexpectedly clear.
The heavy snow spread behind Sheng Jiangli. He tightened his hand on the spear slightly, as if about to pull out the tip.
Zhu Xiao grabbed the spear tip tightly and gasped, “Wait. I have something to tell Caiyu.”
Sheng Jiangli fell silent.
“General Zhu!”
Caiyu staggered forward. The scene before her eyes made her feel an uncontrollable chill on her head.
On the snow - white ground, there was clearly a trail of blood flowing down from Zhu Xiao's chest, extremely eye - catching.
Caiyu opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. Her outstretched hand wanted to touch Zhu Xiao but froze in the air, trembling violently. She didn't dare to touch at all.
It was snowing.
Another snowy day!
On that snowy day years ago, the blood of Coachman Lao Zheng had flashed before her eyes.
And now, Zhu Xiao's blood was dripping in front of her.
Suddenly, Zhu Xiao reached out and grabbed Caiyu tightly.
When he opened his mouth to smile, blood was still surging in his mouth. “Miss Caiyu... Don't marry this bad boy. Go, go and give the prince a try...”
Caiyu knelt face to face with him in the snow. Her back rose and fell. Her white teeth bit tightly on her lower lip, and her eyes stared blankly.
She didn't understand why.
Sheng Jiangli had already taken Lichen City without a single soldier lost. Why did he have to kill Zhu Xiao?
He clearly knew that Zhu Xiao was her friend!
Her wrist was tightly grabbed by Zhu Xiao. Her ears were buzzing with Zhu Xiao's voice, “Miss Caiyu! Promise me! Promise me!”
The glaring blood was swirling in her eyes.
A big tear welled up in her eye.
With a “pop”, it fell on the snow and disappeared instantly.
“...Okay, I promise you.”
“Ha ha! Good... Good...” Zhu Xiao let go of Caiyu's hand. His big bell - like eyes stared at Sheng Jiangli as he laughed loudly. “You brat, you turtle grandson... The woman you've been longing for, I've separated her from you. I've finally... won against you once!”
He suddenly grasped the spear shaft and exerted a great force!
A stream of blood shot up into the sky!
Caiyu knelt rigidly opposite, letting the blood splashing from the chest cover her head and face. She watched helplessly as the mountain - like man collapsed backwards.
“Don't be angry, don't be angry. If you ruin your health, no one will replace you...”
“Girl, stop staring at the prince. Although this incense is long, it will burn out eventually. You'd better think of a poem quickly...”
“Don't always pick on the little girl's mistakes, okay?”
“It's better to have a woman in the house...”
All the anger and pain welled up like a surging sea.
“General Zhu!”
Caiyu let out a hysterical scream. Suddenly, she turned her head sharply. Her beautiful eyes stared at Sheng Jiangli. “Why!”
She wanted to know the reason!
Meeting the woman's furious eyes, Sheng Jiangli slowly withdrew the spear and threw it into the distance. His expression was calm:
“Shuer, I also want to ask you this question.”
Caiyu was stunned.
Sheng Jiangli asked, “Why did you lie to me last night and make me take the antidote?”
Caiyu trembled her lips and opened her eyes wide. “...Brother A Li, I wanted to save you.”
“But I want to save you.” Sheng Jiangli said firmly. “You gave me the antidote. I had to kill him and use his life to negotiate with Lü Baiwei... Shuer, I didn't want to kill him originally. I'm sorry.”
“You!” Caiyu felt dizzy. She didn't know if she had done something wrong.
She wanted to save Sheng Jiangli, but it cost Zhu Xiao his life.
In this life, how many lives would she have to bear before it ended?
“Brother A Li... I don't want to live anymore.” Caiyu gasped heavily. “Don't save me. Don't save me...”
The woman stood up with difficulty from the snow. Her body swayed and she staggered backwards.
Sheng Jiangli's black eyes had been fixed on Caiyu. A look of nervousness flashed across his face.
Suddenly, Caiyu took out the Yajiu Dagger from her body!
Sheng Jiangli's face tightened. He moved like lightning, quickly pointed at Caiyu's sleeping acupoint and held her in his arms.
The shocked garrison troops were surrounded by the Hu cavalry. Each of them looked terrified.
Wouldn't Sheng Jiangli go back on his word?
Sheng Jiangli quickly glanced at them and said, “Zhu Xiao is dead. I promised you that I would let you go north to Yanjing. You can leave on your own, including Zhu Xiao's body. Take it back to his hometown for burial!”
Everyone looked at each other in disbelief.
Sheng Jiangli impatiently drew out his scimitar and ordered, “I order you to leave immediately, or you will be killed without mercy!”
The garrison troops trembled at the words. They carried Zhu Xiao's body and quickly disappeared.
Sheng Jiangli held Caiyu in his arms and said to Qingqing who had just come out of the dark and the supervisor of the Eastern Depot behind her, “Please ask Superintendent Shi to return to Shangjing quickly to report to Empress Lü and bring back the real antidote for me. Otherwise, if the Yan Army counterattacks, I won't fight them at all!”
Shi Yong frowned, looking at the receding backs of the panicked garrison troops. A look of dissatisfaction flashed across his feminine face:
“General Sheng, you shouldn't have let those 20,000 people go!”
Sheng Jiangli sneered. “I promised Her Highness to take Lichen City and kill Zhu Xiao. Which thing haven't I done?”
“As for the soldiers and civilians in the city, I'm the commander of the Hu cavalry. I'll handle them as I see fit. It's not up to you, an outsider, to dictate!”
“Just take the result back and report properly... Don't even think about slandering me in front of Empress Lü. If you do me any harm, you'll be harming the great Ye kingdom. Without the emperor and Empress Lü, is there any other way out for you, a eunuch, but death?”
A look of embarrassment appeared on Shi Yong's face. He glared at Sheng Jiangli resentfully for a long time, and finally left angrily, flicking his sleeves.
Qingqing let out a sigh of relief and stepped forward. “He's finally really gone.”
Sheng Jiangli responded with a bitter smile. “But it's true that I killed Zhu Xiao. That damned eunuch just won't leave me alone!”
Qingqing's fingertips moved slightly. She whispered, “I sent a letter to Yanjing a long time ago. Calculating the time, Master Guangzhi should be near Lichen City by now.”
“Big Brother Sheng, fortunately you spent so many days on the way enjoying the flowers, the snow and the moon, delaying for a long time. I hope... it's not too late!”
The news that Zhu Xiao, the great general of the Yan Army, was killed in Lichen City quickly spread across the country, causing a huge sensation.
Zhu Xiao was Song Yinghuai's right - hand man. Killing him was like cutting off one of Song Yinghuai's arms.
When the news reached Shangjing, the young emperor and Lü Baiwei learned that the morale of the Yan Army was shaken. With Lan Yuanyi and Lan Guangling guarding the south of the Yangtze River, they immediately felt relieved.
The young emperor soon confidently handed the commander's seal of the garrison troops in the capital to Lan Yuanyi.
And the commander's seal of the 100,000 southern troops on the Yangtze River waterway was also sent to Lan Guangling's base camp as scheduled.
Shi Yong said to Lan Guangling, “The emperor bestows great grace. I hope the general will guard the Yangtze River, work hard for governance, train the troops hard, recuperate, and then fight a decisive battle with the Yan Army!”
After receiving the commander's seal, Lan Guangling, who always looked solemn, showed a faint smile. “This subordinate will surely live up to your expectations!”