Chapter 195: If I Die, I Die

Xiao Li had left her strongest man, Rong Qing, behind for two reasons: first, to mislead the enemy, and second, to protect the Emperor.

The Emperor was mediocre and incompetent, but as long as he sat on the throne, the plot could not proceed.

Otherwise, Xiao Li wouldn’t have wasted so much effort trying to curry favor and act cute, taming the Emperor until he was like an older brother who doted on her.

Lou Yan was supposed to protect the Emperor. Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to get poisoned wine anywhere near him.

The soldiers under Vice General Liu had been personally trained by Rong Qing over the past six months since his recovery, and they were on par with the guards from the Princess Mansion.

Rong Qing had even personally led his men to guard the area beneath the grandstand, ready to execute anyone who made a suspicious move.

Furthermore, Xiao Li had secretly planted Palace Attendants whose primary directive was to protect the Emperor.

Xiao Li didn’t care about the fate of the empire or its people. She had only one goal: for the Emperor to stay alive.

She had thrown herself into the fray, taking on the risk and putting her life on the line, yet the Emperor had fallen into the trap anyway.

The head of the Imperial Guards was a trusted confidant whom the Emperor had personally promoted. He commanded the Imperial Army and held a position of immense power.

Xiao Li had investigated his background. He came from a military general’s family—not a prominent one, but one with a clean record. He was also at odds with two other major families. His entire career, his position today, was all thanks to the Emperor, who had chosen and single-handedly promoted him. ’How could someone like that betray him? What good would the Emperor’s death do him?’

Xiao Li couldn’t make sense of it. In the end, she could only attribute it to fate.

It wasn’t that her protection had been inadequate, nor that the enemy had been too strong. It was simply that the Emperor’s luck had run out.

Destiny wanted him dead.

For a moment, Xiao Li felt a flicker of regret, thinking she should have protected him herself. But the thought was fleeting and vanished instantly.

If she had stayed by the Emperor’s side, the rebels would have focused their full force on attacking them.

Then she wouldn’t have been chased by just a thousand or so men. Against a larger force, and with her martial arts being somewhat lacking, she would have been forced to reveal the firearms in her possession to protect the Emperor.

Even without the mortars, just the handguns, sniper rifles, and shotguns would have been enough to stun everyone.

The outcome would have been certain: she would have protected the Emperor, but things would have spiraled out of control.

Once they knew she controlled weapons that could completely overwhelm traditional ones, the Emperor would fear and distrust her. Others would either try to win her over or risk everything to kill her.

In short, from that moment on, she would become a public enemy to the entire world.

She was arrogant, but not conceited. She knew the Emperor couldn’t be trusted, and until she was powerful enough to overwhelm everyone, she had to leave herself an escape route.

Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t dare to risk it all. Rather, the Emperor wasn’t worthy of it, because she knew he would inevitably disappoint her.

’Things have come to this. If he has to die, then so be it.’

’Let the plot begin its next Chapter. I want to see what this world is trying to accomplish anyway.’

She wouldn’t kill this particular Emperor, Xiao Jingyun, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t kill others who sat on the throne.

----

The troop returned to the city gate to find it tightly shut. The Military Department had the city under lockdown. While everyone else was wondering if they could get the gates open to return, Xiao Li suddenly pitched forward and fell off her horse without any warning.

Luckily, Ziyue’s Qinggong was superb. He lunged forward to act as a human cushion, saving her from being killed on the spot.

The Emperor had been attacked and was in a coma, and now Princess Xuanyang had also collapsed from an attack at the city gate.

The situation was so tense that even the common folk could feel the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of a brewing storm.

Xiao Jingzhao shot to his feet. "She really fainted?"

The guard nodded. "The soldiers at the city gate saw it with their own eyes. She pitched forward right off her horse. Her face was ashen, and she wouldn’t wake up no matter how much they shouted. The Princess Mansion guards carried her inside, and someone even went to the palace to try and summon Doctor Cen, who’s currently treating the Emperor."

Lu Ling entered, and Xiao Jingzhao hurried forward, asking agitatedly, "What’s going on with Xuanyang?"

Xiao Jingzhao had been feeling frustrated that so many people had failed to kill Xuanyang, so he was surprised to hear she had collapsed at the city gate.

Lu Ling did indeed know about it. "Corpse poison. She was scratched."

’Lu Ling himself hadn’t expected this outcome. Lu Yanzhi had scratched Xiao Li, and Xiao Li had cut off Lu Yanzhi’s arm. What a deeply cursed fate those two share,’ he thought.

Xiao Jingzhao was only concerned with one thing. "Cen An went back to save her. She probably won’t die, then."

Lu Ling replied confidently, "This isn’t your ordinary corpse poison. It’s a secret concoction from the Southern Domain. Without the specific antidote made by the Great Witch of the Southern Domain, there is no cure. Even if she’s lucky enough to survive, the poison will corrupt her, and she’ll become one of the living dead."

"Feel free to do whatever you need to do. Once the dust settles, just help me take her away."

For Xiao Jingzhao, his quest for Imperial Power was paramount. Although he hated Xuanyang, as long as she was no longer an obstacle, he didn’t feel the need to kill her with his own hands.

"Alright."

Lu Ling favored sinister and unorthodox methods. The corpses he toyed with were denied peace even in death. If Xuanyang fell into his hands, her fate would be anything but pleasant.

Lu Ling then remembered something and said nonchalantly, "That useless oaf Lu Chengzhi is dead. I brought his body back, but I wouldn’t recommend telling Lu Ye right away. He’ll go mad."

With both his sons dead at Xuanyang’s hands, he would likely charge the Princess Mansion recklessly, an outcome neither of them wanted.

Xiao Jingzhao took a deep, incredulous breath. "He had five hundred elite soldiers, plus all those assassins coordinating with him. You were even involved! How did you still let Xuanyang make it back to the city gate alive?"

Rong Qing had taken so many men to protect the Emperor. Even if Xuanyang had arranged for Yang Jun and his men to act as hidden guards, their numbers couldn’t have been that large.

According to his calculations, even if they couldn’t easily tear her to pieces, there was no way she should have survived.

But she hadn’t just survived; she had brought all those people back to the city gate with her.

If it weren’t for the corpse poison, would she have gotten away completely unscathed?

He knew Xiao Li was difficult to deal with, but this was simply absurd.

Lu Ling had personally witnessed Lu Chengzhi’s death and knew that Xiao Li might have a Big Killer in her possession, but he had no intention of telling Xiao Jingzhao.

He was cooperating with Xiao Jingzhao and was willing to help him ascend the throne, but that didn’t mean he wanted Xiao Jingzhao to become untouchably powerful.

"Lu Chengzhi was already dead when I arrived. I can’t answer that question for you."

「At the courier lodge」 Mu Yunzhu was also being interrogated.

Liu Xueyin’s excitement was palpable, her grin stretching nearly ear to ear. "Is Xuanyang really poisoned? Is she going to die? Heaven truly has eyes! It’s the retribution she deserves!"

She looked like she wanted to dance on Xiao Li’s grave.

Mu Yunzhu was in a foul mood and didn’t want to speak, but Liu Xueyin, completely unrestrained, started to blame her. "You were with her the whole time! It was the perfect opportunity! Why didn’t you just kill her?"

Mu Yunzhu was so furious she let out a cold laugh. "I have no quarrel with her. Why should I kill her?"

’Besides, if I had killed Xiao Li, would I have made it back alive?’

Liu Xueyin said angrily, "She is our mortal enemy! We have a blood feud!"

Mu Yunzhu shot her a glance, her eyes filled with scorn. "She’s *your* enemy. If you want her dead, go kill her yourself. I am the Princess Chi Rong, not your hatchet man!"

Prince Chen? The Princess Consort? Her aunt and cousin? She was the princess of the Chi Rong, not their servant.

What did her father’s desire to compensate his nephew have to do with her? What did their quest for revenge have to do with her?

’One’s incompetent, the other’s an idiot. And they want to use me as their weapon? It would be better if Xuanyang just killed them and got it over with!’