Chapter 702: Sieging the City (Part 2)

Chapter 702 -700: Sieging the City (Part 2)

The others also began to murmur complaints.

Princess Ningyang was extremely irritated and in no mood for their complaints. She spoke impatiently.

“Go and get Elder Zhong’an.”

Soon, Hua Dingzong was brought before Princess Ningyang.

Princess Ningyang questioned him in detail about what Li Ji had said and done before leaving the Imperial Palace, demanding he recount everything, no matter how trivial.

Hua Dingzong did his best to recall the events, describing the scene to the assembled officials.

From start to finish, Li Ji had said nothing of his plans, nor had he mentioned his destination.

With the Regent King missing at this critical moment, everyone was at their wit’s end.

In the end, it was Princess Ningyang who broke the stalemate.

“If all else fails, I will personally go to the city walls and speak with Duke Zhen.

In any case, I am his mother-in-law. He will show me some respect.”

As she finished speaking, she paused and glanced deliberately at Li Qiong, who was still unconscious.

“Bring the Little Emperor along as well.”

The officials exchanged glances. They all felt this was an incredibly risky move, but with no better options, they had to take the chance.

The Left and Right Ministers stepped forward, offering to accompany Princess Ningyang.

Princess Ningyang looked at them. “On the battlefield, swords have no eyes. Do you really wish to take this risk with me?”

The two Prime Ministers replied without hesitation.

“We are willing!”

Their decision was not made on a whim; it was carefully considered.

They wanted to see with their own eyes if Duke Zhen was truly alive.

If Duke Zhen was truly alive, the city’s ragtag forces would be no match for him. In that case, they would have no choice but to open the gates and surrender.

But if they couldn’t see Duke Zhen, it would mean the Regent King’s words were likely a bluff. And in that case, they shouldn’t be blamed for turning on him.

Accompanied by the Left and Right Ministers, Princess Ningyang left the Imperial Palace with the unconscious Little Emperor, taking a carriage straight for the city gate.

「Meanwhile.」

Li Ji had already returned to the Regent Prince Mansion.

When he burst into the bedroom and saw the open wardrobe door, a terrible premonition struck him.

‘Could someone have entered the secret passage before me?’

When he entered the secret passage and saw the empty ice coffin, his mind went blank.

‘Where is Manman?’

A wave of immense panic washed over him, threatening to completely overwhelm his reason.

He clutched his forehead, forcing himself to calm down.

‘I can’t lose my head now, not at a critical time like this.’

He fought to suppress the dark thoughts swirling in his mind and forced himself to think clearly.

‘Now that Manman is gone, there are only two possibilities—

Either she woke up and left on her own.

Or someone entered the secret passage before I did and took her away.’

‘The first possibility would be fine, but the second would be a disaster.’

Countless life experiences had taught Li Ji that one must always prepare for the worst.

‘Assuming Manman was taken, her captors must still be in the city.

The city gates are sealed; they can’t get out.’

But then Li Ji remembered. He had instructed Li Liao before leaving that if he did not return to the camp by nightfall, Li Liao should attack the city as planned.

‘The city’s defenses could never withstand the onslaught of a half-million-strong army.

Once the Xuanjia Army breaks into the city, the gates will be breached, and chaos will erupt both inside and outside.

At that point, whoever took Manman could use the chaos as a cover to slip out of the Celestial Capital.’

At this thought, Li Ji spun around and shot out of the secret passage, his feet moving like the wind.

‘I have to hurry and stop the Xuanjia Army from attacking the city!’

However, when he ran out of the Regent Prince Mansion, he looked up and saw the glow of fire on the horizon.

The signal fires had been lit.

Li Ji’s heart clenched. ‘The Xuanjia Army has already started the attack!’

With no time to think, he used Qinggong to race straight toward the blazing signal fires.

Along the way, he ran right into the Three-colored Cat, which was also rushing somewhere.

Man and cat screeched to a halt.

Li Ji recognized this cat as Manman’s pet. He also knew that while it looked like a cat, it was a system on the inside, possessing the intelligence to communicate with humans.

He immediately asked, “Do you know where Manman went?”

The Three-colored Cat meowed at him in response.

Li Ji possessed the Mind Reading Technique and could hear anyone’s thoughts.

But he couldn’t understand what a cat was saying.

Without Manman there to help translate, the communication between man and cat reached a dead end.

Seeing this wasn’t working, the Three-colored Cat turned and took two steps toward the city gate. It then stopped, looked back at Li Ji, meowed twice at him, and flicked its tail.

Li Ji asked, “Are you taking me to find Manman?”

The Three-colored Cat nodded.

Although it had been unable to stop Ah Qi from taking Manman, it knew how to find her.

It had left something on her.

It could follow the object’s scent to find Manman, but the scent was time-sensitive.

The longer they delayed, the harder it would be for the cat to find her.

So they had to hurry and find her now.

Li Ji, of course, also knew how precious time was.

He didn’t ask another word and immediately followed.

「In an inn near the city gate.」

Ah Qi sat by the bed, silently watching Hua Manman, who was still sleeping peacefully.

As her breathing steadied, her complexion gradually became rosy, making her look more and more like a normal, living person.

‘Soon, we can leave this place and be together forever.’

At this thought, for the first time, Ah Qi tasted what happiness felt like.

KNOCK KNOCK.

The sound jolted Ah Qi from his thoughts. “Come in.”

The door was pushed open, and a military general walked in.

He bowed to Ah Qi and said respectfully,

“The Xuanjia Army has launched their attack and are storming the city. Once they break through the gates, we can slip out in the chaos.”

Ah Qi ordered coolly, “Take some men and help the Xuanjia Army. Have them break through the gates sooner.”

He wanted the city gates breached faster. That way, he could take Manman and flee far away all the sooner.