Chapter 135: Chapter 131: The Fall of the City

“Report! Second Prince! General Wang! The Yunyi army has invaded!!”

The Second Prince was still holding a fragrant beauty in his arms, while before him, the dancers were performing his favorite battle dance.

When the soldier delivering the message entered, he saw General Wang kneeling on the ground, while the Second Prince was ordering a dancer to take off her clothes.

The soldier couldn’t quite define his feelings at that moment; a mix of sorrow and relief.

The Second Prince, upon hearing the news, remained indifferent.

Mingxu City was not like the rundown Jiangkou County. How could it be breached without an army of at least a hundred thousand?

The Second Prince even felt that the opponents had willingly walked into his trap, intending to defeat Yunyi decisively so that his father would appoint him as Crown Prince.

“They’re attacking? First, defend the city, then find the right moment to counterattack. General Wang, go redeem yourself through merit.”

Yet, before General Wang could speak, the reporting soldier hastily added, “Second Prince, they’ve already entered the city!”

“What? They’ve entered the city? So quickly?”

Mingxu City had plenty of troops; the fact that they could breach it so quickly suggested that the enemy might have indeed brought a hundred thousand troops.

The Second Prince suddenly felt that he had played a losing game.

He had chosen to attack Yunyi because someone told him that his father’s heartache over the years was the inability to expand Dongwu’s territory, and that the Fourth Prince, Li Yan, was favored because the Dongwu Emperor saw an extraordinary ambition in him.

The Second Prince thought that if he could show his father his ambitious and capable side, perhaps his father would be decisive in making him Crown Prince.

He carefully selected a small city, Jiangkou County.

Jiangkou County was at Yunyi’s border; although it was difficult to attack, it was defended by few soldiers and had limited resources. The Second Prince thought that with his thirty thousand troops, he could take the city in less than a day. While other princes struggled with so-called political achievements, he believed he had already won his father’s favor and felt a sense of pride.

General Wang hadn’t returned at the agreed time, but the Second Prince wasn’t worried. He simply thought General Wang was useless, never considering that his thirty thousand troops might lose.

Today, General Wang returned with news of defeat. Although angry, the Second Prince still felt indifferent.

If it couldn’t be taken, so be it. He didn’t suffer any loss, at most, he lost some soldiers.

Soldiers were just lowly people; if they died, so be it. He could always recruit more. Surely his father wouldn’t punish him over a few soldiers’ deaths, especially since it wasn’t intentional on his part; they hadn’t taken the city, and he hadn’t blamed them.

Just moments ago, he was reprimanding General Wang, and was about to attack Jiangkou County again once his mother’s elite soldiers arrived in two days.

So Yunyi Country’s reinforcements had arrived, as if he didn’t have any reinforcements himself.

What had he just heard?

Infiltrators had gotten inside?

“Your Highness, Princess, this is where the Second Prince resides!”

“Is the Second Prince the most powerful person here?”

“Yes, indeed, he was the one who ordered the attack on Yunyi.”

“Oh, well then, bring him before me. I don’t like the atmosphere here, I won’t go in.”

“Yes, Your Highness!!”

The Second Prince, upon hearing this, looked at General Wang in terror, “General Wang, what’s going on?”

General Wang’s face turned ashen. If he had known, he would have left with the strategist instead of coming to admit guilt to this fool of a prince.

“Second Prince, the city has fallen… Yunyi’s troops have entered the city.”

But it wasn’t the Yunyi soldiers they had imagined that came through the door. Instead, they were Dongwu soldiers dressed in Dongwu uniforms, one of whom was a familiar face to General Wang, Vice General Zhang.

The group entered, neither saluting as usual nor saying anything; they immediately restrained both of them, binding them with ropes.

“How dare you!!” the Second Prince shouted with a facade of bravado, “I am the Second Prince! Why aren’t you protecting me?”

Upon hearing this, they sneered, “You’re the Second Prince of Dongwu Country; what does that have to do with us? We are now Yunyi Country men in service of the Princess.”

“What?” The Second Prince couldn’t comprehend, and General Wang was just as confused.

These were soldiers they had been with day and night. Could it be that all those days were a lie, and their real identities were spies?

They were dragged outside.

General Wang, while not too astute, was known for his righteousness; the soldiers handling him showed some restraint due to past camaraderie. Vice General Zhang even advised him, “Brother, join Yunyi Country and serve Yunyi with us.”

General Wang arrogantly remained silent and cursed, “Traitors!”

Vice General Zhang wasn’t offended.

The Second Prince, on the other hand, wasn’t afforded such leniency. Having often insulted others due to his status, relying on soldiers for battle while looking down on them, he was mostly unpopular in the military camp. Seizing the opportunity for revenge, they didn’t hold back.

The Second Prince was tossed to the ground, right in front of Shen Jingxian, posing perfectly in a prostrate position not unlike a groveling dog, or rather, one of utmost reverence.

Shen Jingxian covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes widening slightly, “Given that you’re a prince, such grand gestures aren’t necessary.”

The Second Prince had never endured such humiliation, yet his face was pressed against the ground, and his limbs were bound. Unable to rise and berate the woman for insulting him, he could only lie there, slightly raising his head just enough to avoid eating dirt, and threatened, “I am the Second Prince! Dongwu Country won’t tolerate this!”

“You were the ones who first moved against Yunyi, weren’t you? Think I won’t let you go? How about asking if I’ll let you go today?”

“Perhaps the Second Prince is still in a daze. Who wants to wake him up?”

As soon as Shen Jingxian finished speaking, Dongwu soldiers eagerly volunteered. She suddenly realized that this prince was truly unpopular.

Not just unpopular; the soldiers’ eyes clearly showed hatred.

In the original text, Dongwu Country’s Second Prince hadn’t appeared, so Shen Jingxian naturally didn’t know what kind of person he was. But that didn’t stop her from judging by others’ attitudes.

The Second Prince, always pampered, the only challenge he ever faced was his father’s reluctance to choose him as Crown Prince, so naturally, he couldn’t take a fright.

Before any of the soldiers even touched him, he started wailing, “Don’t touch me!! Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you!!”

Hearing what she wanted, Shen Jingxian raised her hand, and the soldiers released the Second Prince.

Shen Jingxian approached, adopting the manner of a great villain, and said word by word, “Has the Second Prince heard of ceding land and paying reparations?”

The Second Prince looked up at Shen Jingxian, reportedly the Princess Yi Fen of Yunyi Country, as beautiful as the legends said.

But he couldn’t fathom how such a beautiful mouth could utter such venomous words!!

“You can take the money, but no land!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Ranchen’s sword was at his throat, and the Second Prince went silent.

“Second Prince, be confident. You’re the Emperor’s son, surely you’re worth tens of thousands of gold and… a Mingxu City?”

The Second Prince felt that he might not be worth that much, but he dared not say.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep