Upon seeing that the two were actually planning to return to the capital, Fan Qingyue was terrified and hurriedly knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty! The capital is heavily guarded. If you return, you will surely be killed. Please reconsider!"
Seeing that Li Mufan remained unmoved and was about to mount his horse, she frantically grabbed his leg.
"Your Majesty, as long as we live, we can fight again! You absolutely cannot go back!"
The guards in the arena all knelt down, shouting, "Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"
Their voices were deafening, startling Li Mufan and bringing a sliver of clarity to his mind. Consumed
by rage, he looked at the female general clinging to his leg, then at the two hundred-plus guards kneeling on the ground, and roared to the heavens,
"Li Haotian, Wang Mengyu, and that old bastard Wang Fuchen, one day I will personally kill you all!"
"Go! To the west!"
With that roar, he mounted his horse first, leading his guards westward!
Five
days later,
at dawn in Sun and Moon City, in the royal palace's back
garden, a young woman with her long, black hair styled in a bun and dressed in magnificent palace attire gently sipped her tea in a secluded pavilion on the lake.
She was none other than Li Mufan's newlywed queen, Wang Mengyu.
"My beloved queen! A day apart feels like three autumns! Even a short time without you makes me feel restless and longing!"
Suddenly, a tall young man in the Sun and Moon royal robes sat down opposite the young woman, smiling.
This tall young man was none other than the kingdom's new emperor, Li Haotian.
Seeing this, Wang Mengyu simply smiled, then changed the subject, saying, "A few days ago, I heard that Li Mufan and his gang of traitors appeared near Canaan Pass. I wonder how Your Majesty handled it?"
Li Haotian shook his head upon
hearing this, saying, "Prime Minister Wang originally predicted that these traitors would definitely leave Canaan Pass and join the Empire." "We had already laid a trap, but who would have thought that the brat would escape before we could close the net? According to news from the front, he fled west."
"West?"
Wang Mengyu frowned slightly, saying, "The west is the Western He Kingdom. Although it is under the jurisdiction of the Empire, our relationship has been bad for many years. Could it be that those traitors want to join Bai Zhaoju?"
"It's not impossible,"
Li Haotian nodded, saying, "Bai Zhaoju of the Western He Kingdom has always wanted to expand its territory. It's hard to guarantee that they won't cross over because of this. The Empire has always turned a blind eye to matters between vassal states."
"If that person is truly being used by the Western He Kingdom, it will indeed be troublesome. I have already sent someone to inform the garrison commander of Pingxi Pass, and another 10,000 troops set off the day before yesterday. As long as they dare to take this route, we will surely attack them from both sides and capture them all in one fell swoop."
Wang Mengyu did not reply, but simply gazed quietly at the clear lake water outside the pavilion, seemingly lost in thought.
After a moment, Wang Mengyu sighed softly and said leisurely, "Your Majesty, your arrangements are indeed thorough. If that person leaves the country from the west, he will surely be captured by you. However, you may not know that the late King had a grudge against Bai Zhaoju. That person knows this well, so why would he defect to the Western He Kingdom?"
Li Haotian frowned and said, "Oh? Is that so? Then, according to you, where would they escape to?"
"Your Majesty, I have heard that there is a tower in Dongshan City called Wangjiang Tower. From this tower, one can see the Yuncang River rushing through the First Line Gorge, which is extremely magnificent. Would you be willing to accompany me to visit it?"
Li Haotian was slightly taken aback, then realized what she meant and laughed heartily.
"Since the Queen has invited me, how could I dare refuse? Let me make some arrangements, and we will head to Dongshan City first thing tomorrow morning!"
...