An old man dressed in a fluttering white robe flew over. He had a smooth complexion. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had charmed many women in his younger days.
“Brother Yu!” The fighting trio stopped upon seeing him. They dared not continue fighting, as they didn’t know the old man’s stance and were worried that he would stab them in the back.
The man who had just arrived was one of the Eight Dukes, Imperial Preceptor Yu Rui.
Bi Linglong should have been overjoyed by Yu Rui’s arrival, since considering Yu Yanluo and Zu An’s relationship, the latter should have been an ally. But what Yu Rui had just said revealed too much about his stance.
The other three looked at Yu Rui with confused eyes as they asked, “Brother Yu, what did you mean by that?”
“Exactly as you heard,” Yu Rui huffed. “The three of you are comrades, and yet you let her manipulate you into fighting among yourselves. You must have lived all these years in vain.”
Usually, they would have lost their tempers right away if anyone dared reprimand them like that, but at this moment, they were more concerned about what Yu Rui had just said. They exchanged looks as they wondered... Could it be...
Yu Rui was worried that these fools would continue fighting, so he clearly spelled it out for them. “King Guangling told me that you secretly pledged your allegiance to different kings, which means we are in the same faction. If we continue fighting amongst ourselves, we’ll only become a laughingstock.”
“What?!” All of them were astounded. Their first thought was to wonder whether Yu Rui had intentionally said those words to bait them into revealing themselves.
However, they had been the Eight Dukes for many years now, such that they could converse just by exchanging looks.
“I didn’t expect you, thick-brows, to defect to the rebels too.”
Zhuang He scoffed, “Old Du, your earlier pretense of righteousness nearly scared me.”
Du Jian’s face reddened. “I was worried you two would gang up on me.”
Cheng Yuan laughed. “To be honest, Brother Du, I didn’t expect you to side with King Yan. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have fallen for your deception.”
In Bi Linglong and their eyes, Du Jian had no reason to join the rebels.
“A hero knows how to read the tides.” Du Jian felt awkward, as his act of betraying his liege was dishonorable. “But I hadn’t expected Brother Yu to side with the rebels.”
Bi Linglong shared the same doubt too. She coldly asked, “Why, Imperial Preceptor Yu?”
Yu Rui fell momentarily silent before replying, “Crown Prince Consort, it’s all over. It’s time for you to surrender. I can guarantee your safety in my name.”
He had chosen to address Bi Linglong as ‘Crown Prince Consort’ instead of ‘Your Majesty’, which showed that he didn’t acknowledge her position.
Bi Linglong held her blade in front of her as she coldly retorted, “How can I surrender when my soldiers are still fighting?”
Zhuang He laughed. “Do you think you can defeat us single-handedly?”
The others smiled too. Before Zu An appeared out of nowhere, the Eight Dukes had been the strongest experts in the world. They were legendary figures to mortals, and there were four of them gathered here.
“Someone once told me to not give up, no matter the difficulty faced. If I persist, a day will come when the sky clears.” Bi Linglong’s stern face turned gentle, making her look so beautiful for an instant that it mesmerized the four old men.
“That’s just meaningless consolation. What can you do even if you persevere now?”
A laugh suddenly echoed from afar as a group of people galloped over from an alley. This group was led by none other than King Yan.
Bi Linglong laughed. “You're too sly, King Yan. It took so much to lure you out. Imperial Preceptor Yu and Lord Du, you have done well.”
King Yan was horrified. He quickly halted his charge and ordered his aides to protect him well.
Zhuang He and Cheng Yuan were enraged as well. “Yu Rui, Du Jian, I knew you two were up to something!”
In truth, they'd doubted that Yu Rui and Du Jian would betray Yu Yanluo, and King Yan’s reaction enlightened them to the truth. To win the favor of their new master, they immediately made their move.
Yu Rui and Du Jian were stunned. They guarded themselves while explaining, “Don’t listen to that woman’s nonsense!”
Bi Linglong suddenly changed her tune. “Indeed, I was uttering nonsense.”
Zhuang He and Cheng Yuan had initially been doubtful about Bi Linglong’s claim, but the latter’s abrupt change in attitude made them wonder if she was protecting Yu Rui and Du Jian so that they could find an opportunity to strike. It also didn’t help that Yu Rui and Du Jian were formidable rivals. This was a good opportunity to get rid of them, lest there will be two thorns in their back in the future.
So, they intensified their offense, unleashing killing blow after killing blow.
Yu Rui and Du Jian realized their words were futile, and that made their anger surge. They decided to fight back. The nearby houses crumbled under the shockwaves from their clashes, and nearby trees were reduced to dust.
Fortunately, King Yan’s aides stepped forward to suppress the shockwaves, allowing King Yan and Bi Linglong to remain safe.
King Yan clapped his hands. “Impressive. You are full of schemes. You turned them against one another with just a few simple words... but you remain cornered.”
Bi Linglong fell silent. She had dealt with the four dukes for now, but King Yan had many experts on his side, whereas she only had a couple of guards left.
Her stalwart guards drew their weapons and stood in front of her, saying, “We’ll guard Your Majesty to our dying breath!”
Murong Qinghe and Zhang Zitong noticed the twist in the situation and wanted to lead their forces back to rescue Bi Linglong, but the rebel army had already received orders to stall them at all costs.
Bi Linglong understood the situation she was in and sighed softly. Ah Zu, I've done everything I can, but I still don’t see a ray of hope.
She turned to King Yan and said, “King Yan, I have one last question to ask. How did you convince them to betray me?”
Given the situation in the city, the traitors clearly weren’t just limited to these four.
King Yan sneered, “Demoness, do you think I would let you stall for time? I’ll give you a chance to preserve your dignity and end your own life now. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Bi Linglong was indeed beautiful—it was a waste to let her die like that. However, it was too dangerous to keep her alive. He was aiming for the throne, and she outranked him. He could potentially sully his reputation if he didn’t deal with this well. The ideal situation was to have her end her own life. Once the others learned about her death, the imperial army would lose its fighting spirit.
Bi Linglong quietly raised her blade. As the empress, she couldn’t let anyone sully her.
“I’m sorry, Ah Zu.” As she was about to slit her throat, a single teardrop fell from her eyes.
At her moment of death, however,she seemed to have seen a beautiful rainbow. How gorgeous. If only Ah Zu were here with me to witness this sight... but why is there a rainbow in the middle of the night?
“Didn’t I tell you to never give up?” a gentle voice echoed. It was reproachful, yet sympathetic.