The Double-Chapter 652 - 200: Like

In the following days, outside the city gates of Huangzhou, Prince Cheng’s troops launched several attacks. However, Huangzhou’s terrain was naturally easy to defend and hard to attack, so it wasn’t an easy task for those men. Moreover, since the city defense army successfully defended the city several times, the morale of Prince Cheng’s soldiers was greatly damaged and was not as fierce as it was during the night raid on the first day.

The citizens of Huangzhou were still living their lives in trepidation, but the city defense army’s successful defense gradually gave them confidence. Apart from repairing the houses that had been burned that night, they were also working hard to return to their normal lives. The City Garrison Army still patrolled the streets every day, searching for any assassins who might have slipped through the net, to prevent any disturbances that might cause chaos among the citizens.

When military tensions were not as high, Jih Heng and Lu Jiu would not be away from the family residence with their grandfather absent. This morning, after several days of rain, the sun shone warmly. Wen Renyao was in the courtyard, teaching Lin Yao the characters on his divination board. Lin Yao’s parents, brothers, and sisters had already been buried, handled by Wen Renyao and Jiang Li. Without any other place to go, Lin Yao stayed here. Of course, even if he didn’t say it, Jiang Li would not leave him alone in his former house.

Lu Jiu entered from outside and said, "Empress Dowager Liu has been sentenced to death."

Jiang Li had just gotten up and walked into the hall when she heard this sentence. Jih Heng was sitting in a chair, drinking tea.

"Is she already dead?" Jiang Li came out and sat down as well, asking, "Didn’t Prince Cheng send someone to rescue her?"

"No," Lu Jiu shrugged.

"Then the Emperor’s ’luring the snake out of its hole’ ploy has fallen through," said Jiang Li.

At this, Jih Heng laughed lightly, "Not necessarily."

Jiang Li looked at him, and Lu Jiu explained, "Prince Cheng is inherently selfish, and the Emperor must have known this. Going to the palace to rescue Empress Dowager Liu would have been too dangerous and would have disrupted his original plans. Once this incident occurred, Empress Dowager Liu’s death was inevitable. If the Emperor really wanted to lure the snake out of its hole, he must have other methods. It’s precisely because the Emperor understands Prince Cheng’s nature that he directly sentenced Empress Dowager Liu to death. Empress Dowager Liu couldn’t avoid death anyway, so it was better to give an explanation to the people sooner."

"I see," Jiang Li nodded. Her understanding of Emperor Hongxiao was limited to what she knew from Shen Yurong in her previous life, including her father’s narrations. In this life, she had rarely seen Emperor Hongxiao’s face, knowing only that he still had plenty of chips in his hand, but the specifics of his relationship with Prince Cheng were not very clear to Jiang Li.

"Moreover, the Emperor has already dispatched the Military Defense General to come to Huangzhou," said Lu Jiu.

"That’s good news," Jiang Li commented.

With the arrival of the Military Defense General, Huangzhou City would be secure.

Lu Jiu glanced at Jih Heng before saying, "Zhaode General is also on his way back to the capital."

His tone was strange enough that Jiang Li also looked at Jih Heng. Jih Heng maintained his composure and simply said, "Prince Cheng is heading for Yanjing."

After a moment of thought, Jiang Li asked, "Prince Cheng is no match for Zhaode General, right?"

Jih Heng smiled softly and said, "Between a wolf and a tiger, do you think it’s the wolf that kills the tiger, or the tiger that eats the wolf?"

His casual words sent a chill through Jiang Li. On the surface, Jih Heng meant that Prince Cheng was no match for Zhaode General, but looking deeper into his words, the meaning changed. Prince Cheng had been preparing for this moment for years, so much so that previously, Emperor Hongxiao had not dared to make a move against him. However, Jih Heng’s words suggested a huge gap in the strengths of Prince Cheng and Zhaode General. If Zhaode General was really that powerful, it meant his influence was greater, which begged the question: when did Zhaode General start preparing?

Back in the day, besides The Late Emperor suddenly sending Zhaode General to the Northwest, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly significant between the Late Emperor and Zhaode General. Did Zhaode General pose a threat to Emperor Hongxiao’s throne? If Emperor Hongxiao knew, he likely wouldn’t have allowed Zhaode General to return to the capital.

Jiang Li always suspected that Yin Zhan’s matter was tied to a big secret of the Imperial Family. But at least for now, she could only see the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, Jih Heng and Old General Jih had both warned her not to intervene in this matter. Jiang Li was not one to meddle, but her intuition told her that this was a matter she would have to deal with regardless of her desire, as the Jiang Family was also involved.

She had to protect the Jiang Family, protect herself, protect Xue Huaiyuan and his achievements. Otherwise, a single misstep could mean losing everything.

While she was contemplating all this, Jih Heng stood up and walked outside. Lu Jiu asked him, "Where are you going, sir?"