Gu Family Villa
A ball of fire on Phoenix Mountain to the north illuminated half the sky. Yu Mingyue knew that her actions had disrupted the rebels' grand plan, and they would surely retaliate and come to silence them soon.
She had spared their lives before to use them as leverage against her family, but now they would only kill them in a fit of rage.
"Brother Tingyun, is everyone going into the secret passage?" Yu Mingyue asked.
Gu Tingyun nodded, "Don't worry, everyone is inside."
"Miss, the crossbows have been prepared as you instructed," Zhu Yu said.
The weapons in the villa were limited, and they had made the most of what they had.
"Good, let's go in too. It's just," Yu Mingyue looked at Gu Tingyun, "Brother Tingyun, I'm afraid this villa cannot be saved."
If the rebels couldn't find them, they would be enraged and would likely set fire to the villa. Such a fine villa would be destroyed tonight.
"If it can't be saved, then it can't be saved. If it can protect the Great Wei and its people, what is a single house?" Gu Tingyun said generously.
He had also overheard the conversation between Sister Mingyue and Jing Zhan in their room. Those rebels were vicious and had been extremely cruel to the common people along the way. It was already too lenient for them not to have died in the fire tonight.
However, they couldn't escape forever. With the Northern Army and the victorious forces of the Seventh Prince flanking them, they wouldn't get away.
"Brother Tingyun is righteous. Fortunately, we have you today, otherwise, we wouldn't have succeeded," Yu Mingyue looked up and smiled at Gu Tingyun, her eyes curved, just as they always were.
Gu Tingyun smiled back at her. She had said "we" just now, which meant that in her heart, they were one of their own, and that was a very important meaning.
"Let's go in quickly." Gu Tingyun held the lantern and carefully led the way for Yu Mingyue.
Xiao Changgong led his men in retreat, and He Jing personally led a troop to the Gu family villa.
With a hiss, He Jing pulled on the reins, and the black horse beneath him raised its hooves and stopped.
"Brothers, all the most esteemed young ladies from the capital are in this villa. Tonight, they are all yours to enjoy," He Jing's voice was cruel and arrogant.
"Thank you, General." The soldiers roared with laughter.
These noble ladies were of high status, with delicate skin, unlike the women from the wilderness.
Everyone dismounted, kicked open the main gate, and rushed inside.
The dark villa was instantly illuminated by their torches: "General, the inner quarters are that way."
"Go, it's all yours."
"Yes!"
As soon as the words fell, everyone rushed in one direction, but after only a few dozen steps, they heard screams one after another.
"General, there's an ambush." One of the soldiers said.
He Jing had not expected an ambush within the villa. He looked at his brothers, who were impaled by arrows, all dead in a terrible state.
He Jing, with his furious and domineering voice, ordered, "Beware of ambushes! We must avenge our brothers."
"Avenge our brothers! Avenge our brothers!" The crowd shouted in unison.
The weapons in the villa were limited, and it was already difficult to create these mechanisms. There were no further obstacles ahead.
The rebels naturally discovered this and became even more audacious. They searched the rooms, and finding no one, they set them ablaze. They also smashed anything they could.
He Jing searched for nearly half an hour but found no one. He called over the guards stationed there: "Didn't you say not a single person left? Where are they?"
"This subordinate dares not deceive you, General. This subordinate has been watching the entire time. They were singing inside just now, so they were indeed all inside," the soldier said, trembling.
He Jing grabbed the man by the collar, "Then tell me, where are they? Did they fly to heaven or burrow into the earth?"
Suddenly, one person had an idea: "General, could there be a secret passage?"