Chapter 412: One side rejoices, while the other side splits.

Translator: 549690339

The latest news about the war was rapidly spreading back to the capital cities of Qian Country and Liang Country.

After returning to Nanping City, Yi Fei had ordered the lockdown of South City gate. All soldiers were on standby, prepared to respond to Qian Country’s counterattack while awaiting new instructions from the court.

Yi Fei, who had used Peng Wei to stage a drama and was slapped angrily by Peng Qian in public, did not arouse suspicion from Liang Country. Although many people mocked Yi Fei and his son’s actions behind their backs, others suspected that the Peng Family had long been spies for Qian Country. They believed there was nothing wrong in using Peng Wei to exchange for Yi Fei’s return, and even suggested capturing Peng Qian to prevent him from causing any more trouble.

A junior officer who held this view approached Yi Fei with his suggestion. After some thought, Yi Fei said that it was unreasonable to arrest Peng Qian without a reason and assigned the junior officer to monitor Peng Qian’s every move.

The junior officer believed that Yi Fei thought the same way as he did, and that he would be heavily valued now. Little did he know that Yi Fei was only humoring him. Monitoring Peng Qian would yield no results.

On the Xuanbei City side, the reinforcement of the shattered city wall and gates had been completed. Some people in the Qian Country army thought they should counterattack and show Liang Country a lesson. However, Xing Ji chose to remain still.

But that was only on the surface. In secret, Qiao Cong and his son Qiao Jing had already entered Liang Country and were rushing to assassinate Situ Xie in Yao City. This was not arranged by Xing Ji, but rather an action that the father-son duo had always wanted to take, if not for various obstacles in the past.

Now, with the current situation where Liang Country’s General Yi Fei had been turned against them, although Qian Country had a higher chance of winning, there was no need to fight any further, as it would only cause unnecessary casualties.

As long as they could successfully kill Situ Xie, other members of Situ Imperial Family would not amount to anything, and Liang Country’s fate would be sealed.

Peng Wei stayed indoors to avoid being seen by spies, living comfortably in Xuanbei City.

The only two women in the army, Ren Dong and Min Rou, quickly became good friends. Ren Dong shared many things about Su Liang with Min Rou, who was always amazed. The old Mu who had brought Min Rou hadn’t left yet, planning to wait in Xuanbei City for Su Liang to send another message regarding whether they would go to Xingluo Island or not.

As for everything that happened on Xingluo Island, Min Rou occasionally recalled, feeling as if it all happened in another lifetime.

Capital city of Qian Country.

Upon receiving the news that the war had subsided and that the Qiao family’s father and son were going to assassinate Situ Xie in Yao City, Duanmu Chen was overjoyed. He immediately ordered Chang’an, “Go call Gu Ling and Su Liang!”

Just as Chang’an turned around, Duanmu Chen changed his mind, “Today is a great day, let me go out of the palace!”

“Are you going to the Su Mansion?” Chang’an asked respectfully.

“Where else?” Duanmu Chen retorted, laughing, “We should make it in time for lunch. I wonder what delicious dishes Su Liang and Gu Ling have prepared today. Let’s go.”

Chang’an: … His master, who once did everything to become the lord of the palace, now looked forward to leaving the palace and mooching meals at Su Mansion.

They ran into Situ Yao halfway. She was being attended by palace maids and was about to take a stroll in the Imperial Garden. She saw Duanmu Chen and performed a salutation, but the sparkle that had once captivated him was gone from her eyes.

“Wait for me to return to the palace and visit you.” Duanmu Chen no longer minded Situ Yao’s concern for her family. Although things could never return to the way they were, there was no true affection between the two. He only wanted to be responsible for each woman in the Imperial Harem as much as possible. Perhaps he couldn’t be a good husband, but he would try to be a good person. Of course, except for Ji Yue Xuan – the woman who kept waiting for her lover, who was not Duanmu Chen.

Situ Yao replied and watched Duanmu Chen leave. She could sense his good mood, which made her wonder if good news had come from the northern border.

Situ Yao gazed into the north, where only the tall palace walls stretched and a few birds flew out, flapping their wings and disappearing into the blue sky.

“Your Majesty, are we still going to the garden?” The maid worriedly looked at the aloof Situ Yao.

Situ Yao shook her head slightly, not knowing if she was answering the maid or her own heart, “I don’t know…” but continued to walk towards the direction of the Imperial Garden.

Situ Yao was lost. If Qian Country won and Liang Country fell, what should she do? Even if Duanmu Chen still granted her the honor of Imperial Concubine, she knew her father and brothers would die, and the murderer would be Duanmu Chen. How could she face him, and even share a bed with him? She couldn’t do such a thing.

If it weren’t for the child in her belly, Situ Yao had considered ending her life along with the downfall of the Situ Family…

When Duanmu Chen arrived at the Su Mansion, Gu Ling was cooking the last dish. Su Liang and the children were already seated and just waiting for the meal to begin.

Upon hearing Duanmu Chen’s voice outside, Ji Xiaoshu shouted loudly towards the doorway, “Oh my god! Uncle Emperor is mooching a meal at our house again! Big brother, let’s eat the chicken legs quickly!”

Zhengzheng laughed quietly, and Duanmu Chen entered with a slightly dark expression, rubbed Ji Xiaoshu’s head, and sat down next to him, “Xiaoshu, speaking of mooching meals, when are you going back to your home? This is not your home.”

Immediately, Ji Xiaoshu was displeased, “I am Master and Mistress’s disciple, and their son too! This is my home! What is Uncle Emperor to them?”

“How did you become their son? I am their best friend.” Duanmu Chen smiled.

Zhengzheng: … He had heard this sentence from his Uncle Lin Shun, and also from his Uncle Xing Yusheng.

“Mistress, who’s your best friend?” Ji Xiaoshu immediately sought confirmation from Su Liang.

Su Liang chuckled, “Of course, it’s your Master.”

“Then Master’s best friend must be Mistress! Master and Mistress’s best friend is me!” Ji Xiaoshu patted his chest, wearing a proud expression.

Duanmu Chen coughed lightly, “As long as you’re happy. But don’t you really miss home?”

Ji Xiaoshu complained to Gu Ling, who was entering the door, “Master, Uncle Emperor said I’m mooching meals here and wants me to go back to my daddy’s house!”

Upon hearing “my daddy’s house,” Duanmu Chen’s mouth twitched.

Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “He’s right.”

Duanmu Chen immediately laughed, hoping to comfort Ji Xiaoshu. However, he heard Gu Ling say, “You two are the same.”

Now Ji Xiaoshu was happy, “It’s not the same! I’m younger than Uncle Emperor!”

Duanmu Chen: … That’s true.

Little Nuannuan woke up in Su Liang’s arms, and Duanmu Chen’s attention was immediately drawn to her. He stood up and wanted to hold the chubby little girl but was met with a cold stare from Gu Ling. He silently sat back down and finally remembered the main issue, “There’s good news.”

Su Liang asked, “Have they stopped fighting?”

“How did you know?” Duanmu Chen still wanted to surprise her.

“I guessed it,” Su Liang replied.

After Duanmu Chen had explained everything, Su Liang nodded, “That’s for the best.” As long as the war subsided and no more casualties were incurred, everything else was less important at the moment.

“That mysterious force, the one you mentioned called Mo Yan, he’s left this time, but next time… could it be that he’s coming to snatch my Imperial Throne directly?” Duanmu Chen asked the question in his heart.

Gu Ling nodded, “Yes.”

Ji Xiaoshu looked surprised, “Is the person on that island with falling stars really that powerful? Why didn’t he snatch my father’s Imperial Throne?”

Duanmu Chen gave Ji Xiaoshu a thumbs up, “You really are a dutiful son.”

“In this respect, I’m not as good as Emperor Uncle.” Ji Xiaoshu said with a serious little face.

Duanmu Chen’s face stiffened for a moment, indeed, he was also a “dutiful son”…

Su Liang answered Duanmu Chen’s question, “It’s possible, so we still need to be cautious. However, we expect to find them before they come.”

Ji Xiaoshu asked again, “Why don’t you snatch my father’s Imperial Throne?” He really didn’t understand.

Duanmu Chen chuckled, “It’s all possible.”

“So if I kill Emperor Uncle, can I be the emperor of Qian Country?” Ji Xiaoshu frowned, “That doesn’t make sense.”

The last four words were strikingly similar to Su Liang’s tone.

“It’s not that simple, but to possess the throne of Qian Country, killing me is a must.” Duanmu Chen explained, “Similarly, if you want the throne of Yin Country, you have to kill your father.”

At this moment, Zhengzheng whispered to Ji Xiaoshu, “Little Shu, master wants to eat your chicken leg.”

Ji Xiaoshu instantly threw the matter of the throne out of his mind and watched Gu Ling pick up the chicken leg. He rushed over with a bowl to catch it.

Gu Ling teased him for a while before finally putting the chicken leg in his bowl.

Duanmu Chen started eating as well, planning to have a proper chat with Su Liang after finishing, so as not to have Ji Xiaoshu’s meddling spirit always interfering.

Lunch ended in a joyful atmosphere. Gu Ling instructed the two children to wash the dishes. They were not the first to do housework, even Ji Xiaoshu didn’t bargain and went obediently.

Duanmu Chen asked with a smile, “Will my son have to come to your house to wash dishes in the future?”

Su Liang nodded, “If he wants to eat at my house.”

“What about Nuannuan?” Duanmu Chen asked.

Su Liang smiled, “It’s the same.”

“That’s great.” Duanmu Chen didn’t have any old-fashioned ideas of avoiding the kitchen, after all, he claimed to be Gu Ling’s best friend, and Gu Ling was a man with superb cooking skills. After getting to know this couple, many of his old concepts changed, and he hoped his children could have a more relaxed and happy life different from his own.

After discussing the current situation for a while, Duanmu Chen returned to the palace. He was not worried about what was to come. As a fortunate emperor who “sits and enjoys the fruits of others’ labor,” he only needed to do his job, not cause trouble, and not give Gu Ling and Su Liang orders, then everyone would be happy.

The two little ones finished their chores and went to take a nap. Lin Shuzhi came to give them lessons in the afternoon and talked about the current situation with Su Liang.

After confirming that the northern war had subsided, Lin Shuzhi breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s great.” He knew that although Gu Ling and Su Liang had been in the capital city all year and hadn’t left, the current results must have been influenced and played a crucial role by them.

Almost at the same time as Duanmu Chen received the good news from Xuanbei City, in the Royal Palace of Yao City in Liang Country, Situ Xie also received a message from Yi Fei.

Two days before this message, Situ Xie received the previous one: Liang Country had successfully blown up the city gate and walls of Xuanbei City.

Although Qian Country had also used explosives at the time, which prevented Liang Country’s army from attacking Xuanbei City that day, Situ Xie felt that with Mo Yan’s help, they had made an important breakthrough, and it was only a matter of time before Xuanbei City fell, and it shouldn’t take long.

Now, the message that Situ Xie received was from the day after Mo Yan disappeared.

Seeing the line “Mo Zunzhu has disappeared, and there is no additional food and grass,” Situ Xie’s hand trembled violently, and his heart sank heavily!

Situ Jing, sensing something very bad, felt uneasy. Since Mo Yan started to help them, it was the first time that Situ Xie’s face showed such an expression, something bad must have happened.

Then, Situ Jing heard Situ Xie gritting his teeth.

“Your Majesty, is something wrong in Nanping City?” Situ Jing asked cautiously.

“Mo Yan…” Situ Xie gritted his teeth, his eyes darkening terribly.

Situ Jing’s heart skipped a beat, he had mentioned before that there might be something wrong with Mo Yan, but he had been scolded by Situ Xie.

Picking up the note Situ Xie had thrown on the ground, Situ Jing read it and opened his eyes wide, “Our food… Did he collude with Ji Yuebai and Duanmu Chen? Was it to provoke us Liang Country to launch war first so that they can counterattack Liang Country justifiably?”

“Not necessarily, but something must have happened related to Gu Ling and Su Liang!” Situ Xie still believed that Mo Yan was not with Gu Ling and Su Liang up to this point. An unexpected situation had occurred in the dark that influenced Mo Yan, and he simply abandoned Liang Country and took the crucial food and grass with him!

The reason why Situ Xie didn’t share Situ Jing’s thoughts was that he knew what kind of people Gu Ling and Su Liang were. They couldn’t possibly let a person like Mo Yan entice Liang Country to send troops for the sake of unifying the world, as there were simpler and more direct ways to achieve their goals. There was no need for such a hassle. Moreover, a “divine” person like Mo Yan wouldn’t be used in such a place.

As Situ Xie was worrying about how to counter the situation and ordering the immediate collection of food from the common people, new news came from Nanping City: Yi Fei had been caught.

Situ Jing immediately said, “Use Peng Wei to exchange! It will definitely work!”

After a day, Situ Xie received the latest news that Yi Fei’s son, Yi Chong, really exchanged Yi Fei with Peng Wei, but there was not enough food or explosives, so Yi Fei dared not send out troops lightly. He asked Situ Xie what to do next.

Last night, Situ Xie hadn’t closed his eyes at all, and seemed to have aged a lot overnight. All his hair had turned white, and his eyes were red.

Hearing Situ Jing say that Qian Country would definitely counterattack Nanping City, Situ Xie remained silent. He looked at the lifelike golden dragon armrest on the Dragon Throne and recalled the ambitions he had when he first took the position, as if it were only yesterday…

A thunderous roar of thunder sounded, and Situ Xie looked outside, the dark clouds were menacing, and the wind and rain were about to come.

“Your Majesty, what should we do next?” Situ Jing’s expression was urgent.

Situ Xie suddenly turned his head and looked at him coldly, “Always asking me, no one has a brain!The only smart and powerful one among my children and grandchildren has betrayed me!”

Situ Jing was immersed in his worries about the situation, and suddenly got scolded. He didn’t dare to breathe, lowering his head.

At this time, the person Situ Xie mentioned as the “only smart and powerful one” had returned to Yao City, with the purpose of taking his head..