Li Jin did not stop Han Chen from slapping himself, but said with extreme calmness, "Even if you die here, it will not be of any help to the Princess Consort.
Han Chen, you were the first to appear among the four seasons, and the Princess Consort placed great trust in you, not for you to waste it."
Han Chen was just indignant, and after venting his anger, he calmed down.
Hearing Li Jin's words, his eyes immediately cleared up, "What do you mean?"
"We tried to kill Cheng Jiuxiao so many times before, from Wu Ying to Wen Jiting to the Xuanjia Army, so many people, and the plan was so thorough.
In an assassination attempt on Cheng Jiuxiao, even if you couldn't kill him seven times, you should have at least injured him once or twice, right?
But inexplicably, you didn't."
Li Jin frowned, "I followed the Prince for many years, and Cheng Jiuxiao was someone I dealt with frequently. I was always familiar with the defensive forces around him, and it was the same pattern as tonight.
But when we tried to assassinate him before, we were blocked before we even got close to the camp.
I always thought Cheng Jiuxiao had strengthened his defenses, until tonight, when I realized that Cheng Jiuxiao's defenses around him had never changed."
Han Chen was stunned. As he was pondering the meaning of Li Jin's words, a sudden voice sounded from the side.
"You mean someone deliberately prevented Wu Ying and the secret guards from killing Cheng Jiuxiao, just to wait until today for the master to personally kill Cheng Jiuxiao?"
The voice came without warning, startling Li Jin and Han Chen, who shivered.
"Damn, you're like a ghost!"
Han Chen cursed under his breath, but his eyes were fixed on Li Jin, "Is what he said true?"
Li Jin nodded, "I have no evidence, but I can at least confirm that the obstacles encountered in the previous seven assassination attempts on Cheng Jiuxiao were definitely not the same as this one."
As Li Jin was Feng Xiwu's most reliable subordinate, he would not have said such a thing without some basis.
Duan Yue and Han Chen both understood this and knitted their brows simultaneously, "Thinking of ways to make Cheng Jiuxiao die at the hands of the master, what is this mastermind's intention?"
"Who knows?"
Li Jin sighed, "In short, the Princess Consort is in a precarious situation. Duan Yue, you all need to be more careful."
As people who came from the Samsara Hall, the strength of the Twelve Months was undoubtedly recognized by everyone.
Duan Yue glanced back silently, crossed his arms, and said, "With us here, she will be safe.
But our original intention was not just to ensure her safety."
For the Samsara Hall, saving someone's life was simple, but he wanted Lu Qingwan to be carefree and unrestrained, not to be suffocated as she was now.
Li Jin remained silent, his eyelids lowered, in deep thought.
Only when footsteps sounded did they disperse.
The combined forces of the Northern Wei, Yun Qiang, and Xiliang invaded the northwestern border of Daqian. This had continued for nearly half a year.
This time, the Northern Wei were finally driven out of Beixiao Pass in a sorry state. As Lu Qingwan walked out of the tent, the army was cleaning up the battlefield.
Lian Yu saw her and came forward with a joyful expression, "Princess Consort."
Lu Qingwan nodded slightly, "This battle was fought in a hurry. Although Beixiao Pass was captured, the Northern Wei's national strength was not greatly depleted, right?"
When fighting wars, it was not the enemy's strong forces that were daunting, but the stalemate of the war. Just like Daqian and Xiliang before, it dragged on for four or five years, which was the most draining of national strength.
This kind of hasty assault battle, though seemingly brutal and resulting in many deaths, did not deplete national strength significantly.
Lian Yu was momentarily bewildered by Lu Qingwan's question and then nodded, "Compared to a prolonged tug-of-war, the Northern Wei's depleted strength this time is not much."
"Then leave those two cannons behind."
She casually raised her hand and pointed to the two cannons that the Xuanjia Army had retreated with. "From your perspective as the commander of the three armies, choose a good location to place them and deter the Northern Wei wolf soldiers.
The remaining cannon will be mounted outside Yumenguan..."
"Princess Consort?!"
Lian Yu was slightly shocked. The power of the cannons was enough to make all generals covet them instinctively, and Lian Yu was no exception.
However, he did not expect that Lu Qingwan would so casually gift these giant steel beasts, which could have greatly increased his value, to the Xuanjia Army.
"I am the matriarch of the Xuanjia Army."
Lu Qingwan said with a straight face, "What is mine is the Xuanjia Army's."
Lian Yu's face showed a hint of emotion, but Lu Qingwan then said something astonishing, "If one day, I want to lead the Xuanjia Army away from here, would they be willing to follow me?"
"The lives of the brothers were saved by you, Princess Consort. Wherever your sword points, the army will follow."
Lian Yu alone could not represent the will of all the Xuanjia Army, but Lu Qingwan was already satisfied.
Nodding with satisfaction, she said, "Wait for the imperial decree. The Xuanjia Army will remain the Xuanjia Army. It doesn't matter who comes."
Lian Yu cupped his hands, "I will order someone to escort the Princess Consort and the Prince, along with Marquis Lu, back to the capital."
Before descending the mountain, Lu Qingwan had said she would offer the heads of Xie Shiyu and Cheng Jiuxiao to appease the souls of Feng Xiwu and Lu Zhenting in heaven. Shen Qingzhou and others had preserved the bodies in ice coffins, which had not been touched since.
Lu Qingwan nodded heavily at this, "Thank you, Military Advisor. Please let Shen Qingzhou's Heavenly Guard escort the Prince and my father back to the capital."
Escorting the coffins of Feng Xiwu and Lu Zhenting back to the capital was no small matter.
Although Lu Qingwan had agreed with Lian Yu, the formal departure was three days later.
The Xuanjia Army gathered in Beixiao Pass and shouted loudly, "Farewell, Your Highness!"
Lu Qingwan, dressed in mourning white, rode her horse behind the two coffins and set off with the thousand soldiers of the Heavenly Guard, accompanied by the grief of the entire army.
Because they were transporting the coffins, the procession could not move fast.
A journey that usually took about ten days took more than half a month.
It was freezing cold in the northwest when they left, and when they reached the capital, the capital was full of spring.
However, the area outside the city was unnervingly quiet, and the city gates were tightly shut, with no officials from the court to greet them.
Li Jin was furious and shouted, "The Regent and the heroic souls of Marquis Zhaolie have returned, why are you not opening the gates quickly!"
The guards on the city wall were unfamiliar faces. They lay on the parapet and shouted, "It's late, and the city gates are locked. Wait outside tonight, and you can enter when the gates open at Mao Shi tomorrow."
This remark completely infuriated the soldiers of the Heavenly Guard outside.
"Wait for your grandmother's gates to open! Open your dog eyes and see clearly, this is the Regent's Consort, open the gates immediately..."
"I don't care who you are! The order from above is for you to wait!
The Regent is dead, and the Regent's Consort is still putting on airs here..."
Before the guard could finish speaking, Lu Qingwan raised her hand, and with a bang, the guard who had been shouting fiercely went limp and fell down.
Lu Qingwan shouted sternly, "I only want to escort the Prince and my father into the city. Are you opening the city gates or not?"
There was a commotion on the city wall, and then the captain of the guard hid behind the parapet and said with false bravado, "Regent's Consort, you are attempting to force your way into the city. This is an offense punishable by the extermination of your entire clan..."