My lord, spare his life!

In the dead of night, Lü Yuan's troops rested on the spot.

Because his purpose was merely to intimidate the Zongzheng and Zongren prefectures with force and demand an explanation, Lü Yuan did not proceed hastily. The deputy general also casually hunted a game, skinned it, and roasted it. As the aroma of the meat grew stronger, the deputy general's suppressed resentment flared up: "That old thief talks about trust, but his actions are full of suspicion."

No matter how urgent the military situation, Lü Yuan could not bring all her direct subordinates out; she always had to leave some men in the rear. This time was no different; only a portion of the troops she brought were her elite direct subordinates.

The remaining soldiers only looked at the military tally.

Lu Yuan had limited control over them.

If she were to try to overturn the table, these soldiers would likely betray her.

Lu Yuan: "Have all the internal traitors been purged?"

The lieutenant said, "All the nails have been pulled out."

He had tolerated these traitors for years. Knowing their identities were questionable, he could do nothing but let them run rampant around him. Now, finally able to kill them all at once, the sudden sense of freedom brought him an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.

"Good, very good." A hurricane was brewing deep within Lu Yuan's calm eyes. "Whether the Lu family's revenge will succeed depends on this!"

The lieutenant's eyes also reddened slightly.

He had received kindness from Lu Yuan's parents in his youth, and fortunately, his public identity wasn't that of a retainer of the Lu family, which allowed him to survive. Later, he found a way to join Lu Yuan's household and has served her ever since. Now that he finally sees a glimmer of hope, he is naturally overjoyed.

In contrast, Lu Yuan was much calmer.

She had meticulously planned and refined her strategy for this day.

Unsuccessful, they become benevolent.

Her collaboration with Xiao Sui was not complicated.

It could even be described as overly simplistic.

Even Guan Si was surprised that the Prefect of Che Si would cooperate so well with the two women: "The Prefect of Che Si actually allowed Lü Bafeng to take away a portion of the garrison troops in the prefecture, and left her troops behind."

Xiao Sui said, "This is what they call being too clever for your own good."

In fact, Prefect Che Si wasn't just targeting Lü Yuan; he used the same method with every adopted son and daughter, forbidding them from taking all their personal guards with them, precisely to prevent them from suddenly turning against him. For this reason, for many years he had held a portion of his personal guards and all their relatives hostage. If a mutiny broke out at the front lines, he would kill all these hostages. Without exception, this had been the case for many years.

Xiao Sui was toying with the military tally given to her by Lü Yuan.

With it, he could mobilize the remaining personal guards of Lu Yuan.

The small military token weighed heavily on Xiao Sui's mind. It was a gamble that Lu Yuan was risking everything; success meant revenge, failure meant utter ruin.

Xiao Sui handed the military tally to Guan Si.

"Please, General, proceed according to plan."

Guan Si took the military tally without even frowning.

He was confident in his abilities, and this time it was to assist Lü Yuan in seizing power through a coup, not to attack the city. He only needed to take advantage of the chaos to behead the Prefect of Chesi and kill a few of his adopted sons and daughters who posed a threat, and he would have succeeded more than halfway. The two tasks were not on the same level.

but--

"What are you doing here?" Guan Si was surprised to see Zhang Yang and Wang Qi here. "And the Hundred Ghost Guards too..."

"Your Hundred Ghost Guards are busy planting trees right now."

"Why didn't you bring it?"

"Didn't I say we can't be without people while we're busy planting trees? A mutiny and beheading are easier to expose if the target is too big. Also, how did you recognize me?" Zhang Yang touched her current sculpted face. This was a generic, ordinary face she had just created, the kind of face that's commonplace and unremarkable, yet Guan Si recognized her at a glance.

Guan Si did not answer, but instead turned his gaze to another person.

This person came with Zhang Yang.

With the same unremarkable face, he looked at first glance like a low-ranking soldier, tanned dark by the sun. However, Guan Si recognized him immediately as Wang Qi in disguise. He could understand Zhang Yang coming over, but why was Wang Qi from the Dongxian camp also here?

Guan Si asked abruptly, "Aren't you afraid he'll betray you?"

Zhang Yang said expressionlessly, "If he betrays me, I'll kill him on the spot and let him die far from home. Wang Ba would never have imagined that his son would die here instead of in Tianyue."

Wang Qi revealed a wicked and wild smile.

"You two are talking about this right in front of me?"

That's incredibly disrespectful to him.

"This shows they don't consider you an outsider."

Wang Qi: "..."

So he should thank the murderer who wanted to kill him?

Zhang Yang and Wang Qi infiltrated Chesi County under the guise of delivering goods, and the entire process went unnoticed. However, they couldn't easily reveal themselves, so they simply hid in Xiao Sui's guest courtyard.

With nothing to do in his spare time, he memorized the layout of the city.

Xiao Sui took the opportunity to teach, and Zhang Yang listened with great interest.

"Lu Bafeng took her troops out, but only a portion of them were completely loyal to her. The rest weren't on her side, right? So how will she come back? What excuse will she use?"

If Lu Yuan doesn't come back, he might end up benefiting someone else.

But once she comes back, won't her purpose be exposed?

Xiao Sui said, "Does Your Majesty think that the two counties of Zongren and Zongzheng are causing trouble now, instead of earlier or later? There will naturally be someone to solve this problem for Lu Yuan. She only needs to pay to redeem the people after the situation is stabilized."

The actions of the Imperial Clan Court and the Imperial Clan Administration were naturally also part of the plan.

Lu Yuan only needed to suffer a defeat, or take advantage of the pretext of dividing his forces to encircle the enemy, to bring his troops back. Zhang Yang was still somewhat confused, but Wang Qi understood immediately and then sneered.

"You told her to do that?"

Xiao Sui's face also became terrifying in his eyes.

If Lü Yuan were to follow Xiao Sui's plan, it would be tantamount to handing over her lifelong stain on her reputation—a military general, regardless of the reason, abandoning his troops is shameful. Even if Lü Yuan's motivation is revenge, and even if the troops she abandoned and used were enemy soldiers, it wouldn't undo the damage to her reputation, making it difficult for her to gain the trust of others in the future. Therefore, even if Lü Yuan succeeds in her coup and revenge, she will still be subject to constraints. Otherwise, if Xiao Sui were to spread the news widely, Lü Yuan would lose control of the carriage market.

Tsk, that's quite a ruthless scheme.

Xiao Sui said, "She only wants revenge and doesn't care about her reputation. Since that's the case, then of course we should do whatever it takes to get it over with as quickly as possible."

Lu Yuan is not a three-year-old child who doesn't know the consequences; the other party clearly knew the consequences before taking action and choosing to cooperate.

Xiao Sui gently waved her sword fan.

She smiled and said, "Lord Gongsun, this is called mutual consent."

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Besides, Lu Yuan already has a bad reputation; he's known for being a womanizer, lustful, and a traitor. If he could kill the man who wiped out his family, at least he could earn a reputation for "enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens."

Wang Qi avoided Xiao Sui's beautiful, sparkling eyes.

Even someone with his personality couldn't help but get goosebumps.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

The troops dispatched by the Zongzheng and Zongren prefectures this time were not large. When they received news from their scouts that the commander of Chesi prefecture was Lü Yuan, they were genuinely worried for a while. This was because Lü Yuan was an old acquaintance of theirs, someone whose strength they knew very well.

That's why we realized that our forces might not be enough to take on the enemy. If a fight broke out, we'd likely suffer a huge loss.

"Has Lü Bafeng gone mad?"

Without even a word, they're already ready to fight?

However, as they played, they realized something was wrong.

Aside from seeing Lu Yuan on the front lines on the first day, they hadn't seen him for the next two days, and the offensive from Chesi County had noticeably weakened. Suspecting a trap, they dared not make any rash moves.

A thought immediately popped into my head: what was going on?

Lü Yuan may be dividing his forces to launch a surprise attack.

One of them was almost speechless: "Lu Yuan is getting more and more shameless. He even has to resort to tricks to deal with such a small group of us?"

"But she doesn't know we only have so many people." To cover up their numerical disadvantage, they've been racking their brains these past two days to fool the other side, just to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. "If she knew, she would have pounced on us like a hungry tiger."

"That's true, our heads aren't light either. If we let Lu Yuan take them off and give them to her godfather, we can get a lot of beauties in return."

As he spoke, the military officer even laughed.

"We'll get a hefty reward if we take her head."

Because of the geographical location of the counties in the mountains, although there were frictions between the counties, they were not as fierce as the warlord conflicts outside. The counties would occasionally provide assistance to each other. The commanders of Zongzheng and Zongren counties were even drinking buddies with Lü Yuan.

When it comes to interests, friends one moment can become mortal enemies the next. There are only two trade routes connecting the mountain prefectures to the outside world. Cheshi Prefecture, relying on its geographical advantage, occupies one route, raking in huge profits from tolls over the years, increasing the fees annually, much to the resentment of other prefectures. If Lu Yuan could be killed, the arrogance of the Cheshi Prefecture governor could be severely curbed, and the toll fees suppressed.

however--

Only half a day later, I realized something was wrong.

By the time they discovered the problem, Lü Yuan had already led his troops back to the county seat and sent a trusted confidant to do another very important thing: "If this succeeds, everything will be fine."

Lu Yuan's face showed none of her usual frivolousness; she said seriously, "If it doesn't work, then I'll trouble you to eliminate the problem completely."

The trusted confidant accepted the order and disappeared into the night.

Watching her departing figure, Lu Yuan took a deep breath: "Let's go!"

This time, it's all for revenge.

Her trusted confidante traveled through the night and finally arrived at an inconspicuous house before dawn. As soon as she appeared, an aura from the shadows locked onto her, and a young man dressed in blue emerged from the house. The young man was taken aback when he saw her.

The trusted aide asked, "Where is the young master?"

The young man stepped aside indifferently.

The young man's expression changed when he saw his trusted confidant rushing into the house.

His indifference vanished, replaced by a stern demand: "What are you doing?"

The confidant carefully observed the sleeping child, breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned to look at the young man, suppressing all his emotions: "The master's family passed by on their march and sent me to check on the young master."

The young man stared intently at his trusted confidante with his dark eyes, seemingly trying to discern the truth in her words. After a long while, he finally released her.

"Why didn't she come along during the march?"

The confidant said, "The military situation is urgent; the parents cannot come in person."

The young man's face darkened as he pursed his lips.

A vague "heh" escaped his lips.

The confidant lowered his head, afraid of revealing any flaws that would alert the other party. He knew that the man before him was once a renowned strategist, and even the chief strategist of the Che Si prefect in his early years. He had a deep grudge against the head of the family, Lu Yuan, but had been forced to obey him in recent years due to his subservience. If Lu Yuan discovered anything amiss, the young master would also be in danger.

Just then, the young master seemed to be startled awake.

The young man strode forward to comfort him.

The child on the bed groggily opened his eyes and saw a familiar figure, then closed his eyes again to sleep at the sound of the other person's cool voice.

The confidant kept a close eye on the young man.

The latter retorted with dissatisfaction, "You don't need to stare at me like that. Even tigers don't eat their cubs. No matter how much I hate Lu Yuan, I will not harm my offspring."

The confidant quickly lowered his head: "This subordinate dares not."

But he muttered something to himself.

How could a young man be so ruthless as to not eat his own cubs? Perhaps this is his only child. Thinking of the origins of this young master lying on the bed, the confidant felt a chill for his master's audacity and ruthlessness.

The young man said, "You don't need to refer to yourself as a subordinate."

At least I don't need to refer to myself like that in front of him.

The trusted aide quickly replied, "Yes."

But in his heart he was thinking about his parents' "last words".

That could be considered a last will and testament. If the coup failed, the outcome would be death. If the coup succeeded, everything would be fine. But if it failed, his confidants would carry out Lu Yuan's final instructions—kill the young man, take the child, and entrust the orphanage to Guan Zong.

Yes, the young man was killed.

The confidant's eyes quickly swept over the young man's neck.

The young man suddenly asked a question.

"What were you thinking about just now?"

"I am worried about the safety of my parents."

If you say you have "no distracting thoughts," the other person will definitely not believe you.

The young man sneered, "Worried about her?"

There are probably not many things in the mountain prefectures that could endanger Lu Yuan's life. What is there to worry about with Lu Yuan going out to fight? The young man lowered his eyelids and stared at the child on the bed. He appeared cold as ice, but his movements to coax the child were very gentle.

The child's facial features are somewhat similar to those of Lü Yuan.

It was this similarity that often stirred up hatred in his heart.

What can be done?

This was indeed his only child in his lifetime.

His only healthy offspring.

He also had two illegitimate children who suffered from serious illnesses. One died from the illness, and the other was killed by Lu Yuan before he could die from it.

All you need to do is protect me with your life.

The woman's indifference terrified him.

How do you know I won't have other children?

Why should he protect the child born to his enemy?

Lu Yuan's smile was icy: "You'll have to ask your nephew about that."

The moment he learned the truth, he was furious. "You madman! Lü Bafeng, you're a complete and utter madman!"

Lu Yuan shook his head mockingly.

Even someone as intelligent as you can make a mistake.

Young man: [...]

Thinking of this, my hatred intensified.

He had considered escaping, but the cost would be too high, and in his current state, escape was impossible. He'd barely step out before being chopped to pieces by Lu Yuan's men. Whatever his reasons, he could only feign compliance with Lu Yuan.

Several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

What complicated his feelings even more was that the child was healthy and exceptionally talented, unlike his family, which was sickly. The child had inherited his mother's robust health, which made him abandon the idea of ​​eliminating the child completely.

However, Lu Yuan still has to be killed!

The young man asked calmly, "You said she marched by, but didn't even have time to glance at us, which shows she was moving at a rapid pace... The situation has been quite stable lately, so who is Lü Bafeng going to fight?"

The confidant said, "Military secrets must not be leaked."

The young man said sarcastically, "You've already deserted your post, and you still care about leaks? Lü Bafeng disregards military discipline, and you still care about leaks? That's truly laughable."

A trusted confidant keeps his mouth shut.

??(』?』)シ┳━┳

Lu Yuan is a ruthless person in every way.