Noble First Daughter-in-law

Chapter 1134 A Big Gamble

Shang Ru thought for a while, then said, "You speak first."

Hearing her say this, Guan Chiying was completely relieved and even breathed a sigh of relief.

He had heard of the "reputation" of the young lady of the Yuwen family, now the Princess of Qin, before. Especially when he came to Xiao Yuansui's camp this time and found out that it was she who stopped Shi Yuxin from leading tens of thousands of troops to the west, he realized that she was a heroine who was no less capable than any man. He was even more relieved to see that even after recognizing her and talking to him for a long time, she was still cautious and prudent, and did not have the slightest attitude of being manipulated.

You can discuss it with him.

So he took a deep breath and said, "I want to rush back to Luoyang in the next two days, but I'm afraid that we can't get through the blockade of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. We need Xiao Yuansui to send troops to help us."

Shang Ruyi subconsciously wanted to say something, but Guan Chiying immediately said, "I know he will definitely not agree, so I would like to ask the princess to find a way to persuade him."

"..."

Shang Ruyi did not explain too much about her relationship with Xiao Yuansui. It was obvious that Guan Chiying should have known something about it. Besides, there was no need to care about these trivial matters at the moment. She just thought for a moment before asking doubtfully, "Why do you want to go back? Now that Luoyang is in such a mess, what can you do if you go back?"

She thought about it again and realized that after these people came out, their families must have been detained in Luoyang, so she said, "Looking at the current situation, Xiao Yuansui will definitely send troops to Hulao Pass soon, and the King of Qin will definitely find a way to end the confrontation here immediately. As long as Hulao Pass wins or loses, the situation in Luoyang will be determined. You don't have to rush back within the next few days."

Guan Chiying shook his head slightly: "That's not what I'm worried about."

Shang Ruyi looked at him: "What is that?"

"..."

Guan Chiying hesitated for a long while, and finally said with determination: "It was Liang Shide. Before we left Luoyang, I accidentally heard a piece of news that he seemed to have planned to ascend the altar and offer sacrifices in ten days and declare himself king."

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi opened his eyes wide in shock.

Ascend the altar to offer sacrifice? Proclaim yourself king?
After all, they were all heroes who dominated a certain area. Since Yuwen Yuan could replace Daye, others naturally had the same idea. Moreover, Liang Shide was different from other rebels and volunteers. He occupied Luoyang, the richest city in the East, which was also half of the capital of the Daye Dynasty. He must be more eager and more qualified than others to create his own achievements.

But no matter what, it shouldn't be now.

Now, there is a food shortage in Luoyang City and people's hearts are unstable. Yuwen Cheng has besieged the city for several days. Although he has failed to take the city, it is a crisis war after all. Moreover, the eight passes of Luoyang are almost out of his control. There has been a new defeat in Huiluo Cang and the confrontation at Hulao Pass is still going on. How could he actually want to establish himself as king at this time?
Is this person crazy?
Seeing Shang Ruyi's frown and puzzled look, Guan Chiying said in a deep voice: "I guess he might be worried that Luoyang will be lost, so he wants to make a last-ditch effort."

"..."

"Moreover, when I was leaving, I accidentally saw him ordering his men to transport gunpowder to the altar he had built and to some places on the strong walls."

Shang Ruyi suddenly became alert: "What do you mean?"

Guan Chiying said: "If I'm not mistaken, he may feel that his road is almost at the end, so he wants to complete his dream in the last step and become king."

"..."

"Then, he wanted to destroy the entire Luoyang and bury it with him."

Shang Ruyi couldn't help but gasp.

Yes, when people are about to reach a dead end, they will go crazy, and the first step to madness is often destruction.

Destroy everything, destroy the most important things to you.

Luoyang is the most important thing to Liang Shide. It is the place he has taken with all his efforts and has defended until now, but now he is trapped in a dilemma.

Guan Chiying continued, "He did all these things in secret, and almost no one knew about it. I wanted to tell my family, but they had already refused to see me. Plus, I was sent out of the city to go back to Luocang at that time, and the situation was urgent, so I didn't have time to tell my family. This time, I have to go back no matter what. First, I want to save my family's lives, and second, if Liang Shide really has this plan, I have to stop him."

Shang Ruyi frowned and said in a deep voice, "You mean, his plan is in ten days?"

"Yes."

"That is to say——"

Guan Chiying nodded: "Counting it up, there are still five days left."

Shang Ruyi immediately felt his scalp tingling.

There are still five days left. Even if Guan Chiying can go back, and everything goes well, it will take two days on the road. Moreover, there is no guarantee that he can pass through Yuwen Cheng's blockade. Even if he goes back -

Shang Ruyi said: "I can help you find a solution, but how can you make them believe you?"

Speaking of this, Guan Chiying's face suddenly darkened. He had not been able to tell the Guan family about this matter before so that they could prepare in advance, because Guan Ao and his people had long regarded him as a disgrace and refused to see him. Even if he could find a way to go back, they might not be willing to see him, and they might not believe him even if they did.

By that time, perhaps he would not have had time to accomplish anything, and Liang Shide would have already -

Seeing that Guan Chiying was at a loss, Shang Ruyi suddenly thought of something and immediately reached out to touch his collar. He came to his senses halfway and looked up. Guan Chiying keenly noticed something and hurriedly turned his face away.

Shang Ruyi also turned sideways and took something out from his pocket.

It was a jade token that carried her body temperature.

The official jade plaque!
When she married into the Yuwen family, she was recognized by her mother-in-law, Mrs. Guan, who not only gave her a box of glittering gold jewelry, but also a jade token bestowed upon women of Guan family since the day they were born. She also told her that the token was very useful, and that if she needed help, she only had to give it to the head of the family, and she would naturally receive all the help she could.

In recent years, she had less contact with the government. Although she carried the jade token with her, she never used it. She was like a hermit who lived in seclusion, quietly watching the chaos of the world.

As soon as he saw the jade plaque, Guan Chiying's eyes widened.

Although he had never received it, he knew the rule and had seen such a jade token on his cousin. Naturally, he knew that this jade token was probably given to her daughter-in-law by his aunt Guan Yunmu who married into the Yuwen family.

He subconsciously held his breath.

Shang Ruyi held the jade stone which still carried her body temperature. She had never gained any benefit from it in these years, but she was reluctant to give it away. After thinking for a while, she looked up at Guan Chiying and said solemnly, "You can guess that this jade tablet was given to me by my mother-in-law. She said that if I need it, I can give it to the head of the Guan family. He will help me without asking why."

Guan Chiying nodded: "Yes."

Shang Ruyi asked, "If I give it to you and you take it back to Guanao, will he trust you?"

Guan Chiying looked serious and said, "Maybe, it's possible."

After he said that, Shang Ruyi's fingers holding the jade token tightened a little.

She really couldn't bear to leave.

We must also be more cautious.

But at this moment, another patrol soldier passed by outside. Hearing the heavy and orderly footsteps, the heartbeats of the two people became more rapid and disordered. Shang Ruyi gritted his teeth and waited until the group of people walked away before whispering: "Then, I'll leave it to you. Whether you have ulterior motives today or you really want to go back to protect the Guan family and stop Liang Shide, I'll leave it to you."

"..."

"I may not believe you completely, but I believe in this jade token that has been with me for many years. I also hope that you will not let the jade be covered in dust."

After saying that, she finally reached out and handed over the jade token.

Guan Chiying stepped forward and carefully took it from her hand. He could not only feel the body temperature still remaining on the jade token, but also feel a slight tremor from Shang Ruyi's fingertips. Indeed, everything that happened tonight was just his own talk, without any witnesses or evidence. Shang Ruyi did not completely believe him because of her caution, and handing the jade token to him was a gamble.

Guan Chiying stroked the jade token with his rough fingers, tightly grasped it in his palm, and then said to Shang Ruyi: "Thank you for your trust."

After handing over the jade token, Shang Ruyi actually breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the decision had been made, and he had to concentrate on thinking about what to do.

She said, "I will try to get Xiao Yuansui to send troops to send you back. Whether you can persuade Guanao and the others will depend on your own ability. But, you... have no troops, how can you stop Liang Shide?"

Speaking of this, Guan Chiying's brows furrowed even tighter.

Indeed, this was what had been troubling him these days. Even though he had been thrown into the army by Liang Shide, his riding and archery skills were still very poor, and he was not good at leading troops. He could only use his own intelligence and cleverness to perceive some information that others could not perceive, and to access some secrets that others could not access.

However, neither he, Guanao, nor those civil officials and noble families who were as stubborn as the emperor and refused to surrender, understood the matter of war.

Seeing his troubled look, Shang Ruyi took a deep breath and could only bite the bullet and said, "If you really don't know what to do, then I will try to think of a way. After you go back, it's best to persuade the emperor and other civil servants to submit to Liang Shide. Take advantage of this opportunity when he ascends the altar to offer sacrifices and proclaims himself king to present him with a congratulatory letter and let him believe in you. In this way, he will definitely be very happy."

Guan Chiying said: "Then, what can we do?"

Shang Ruyi said: "Then, you should try your best to persuade him to make the ceremony of the altar bigger and more grand, the better."

"..."

"And this kind of altar should generally be built in the east."

"...!"

At this moment, Guan Chiying also understood a little: "What you mean is——"