The armies led by Prime Minister Du and the forces secretly recruited by Lord Qin over the years faced off across a plain outside Yaozhou City.

Although there had been two small-scale battles, both sides suffered few casualties, as if they were probing for something. In terms of military strength, Lord Qin was no match for the imperial army. However, having occupied Yaozhou City for many years, Lord Qin had built high walls and fortifications, making it a city that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If they just hid inside the city like this, the imperial army would be helpless. If they tried to attack forcefully, they would likely suffer heavy casualties. After probing, Prime Minister Du had no choice but to retreat and set up camp.

Prime Minister Du was not wholeheartedly willing to sacrifice his life for the emperor. He could see that this was a dead end and was reluctant to obediently walk down this path, inevitably harboring other thoughts.

On Lord Qin's side, he naturally also hoped to win over Prime Minister Du. An alliance between the two sides would be more advantageous for his situation. Moreover, with Chen Yun's various strategies, Lord Qin was more inclined to win over Prime Minister Du. With both sides having their own intentions, they secretly made contact.

It was at this time that the emperor's carriage and entourage arrived, entering the imperial army's camp and being respectfully invited in by Prime Minister Du.

Soon, Lord Qin and Chen Yun inside Yaozhou City learned of this news. Lord Qin had been feeling unwell for some unknown reason recently, lying in bed for two days and becoming increasingly listless.

Upon hearing this news, he finally perked up a bit and said to Chen Yun, "Your guess was indeed correct. That Sima brat really risked coming here in person for the sake of a woman."

Chen Yun, with a dignified appearance, knelt beside Lord Qin's sickbed and solemnly said, "Sima Jiao may not necessarily have come here for Consort Liao. It's just that as an emperor, Sima Jiao cannot tolerate people defying him and trampling on his dignity. Being provoked by the letter we sent, it's normal for him to personally come here to urge the attack on the city."

Although he guessed that Sima Jiao had most likely come for Liao Tingyan, how could he, as the male lead of this world, admit to such a thing? Thinking carefully, wouldn't that be putting a green hat on himself?

The female lead could only be with him, the male lead, and could only love him. This was a matter of course. As for the male supporting character Sima Jiao, if he got in the way, he had to die.

Lord Qin was obviously also very pleased. "That arrogant Sima brat still thinks he has the protection of hundreds of thousands of troops, but he doesn't know that his 'loyal ministers' by his side have already betrayed him. Let's see how much longer he can remain unrestrained!"

"Go contact Prime Minister Du again and ensure our plan is foolproof!"

Having received Lord Qin's instructions, Chen Yun honestly agreed. Just then, a servant brought in medicinal soup. Chen Yun didn't linger and took his leave, walking past the servant without a sideways glance.

As soon as he left Lord Qin's residence, Chen Yun was pestered by Qin Wuxia.

"Why have you been so busy lately that you don't have time to play or talk with me? There are so many people under Father's command. If you have something to do, can't you just have them do it? Why are you working so hard yourself?" Qin Wuxia was very dissatisfied.

Chen Yun had no choice but to patiently explain a few words to her. "I promise, all of this will end very soon."

He reached out and stroked Qin Wuxia's cheek, his gaze seemingly sweeping over Lord Qin's bedchamber. Indeed, it would be soon. Everything had already been arranged. He was just waiting for everyone to fall into the trap. Then he could pull in the strings in his hands and take down all those eyesores in one fell swoop, taking over this empire that belonged to him.

Seeing Chen Yun hurry away, Qin Wuxia was upset. Then, recalling the news she had just learned from Chen Yun, she immediately ran to the courtyard where Liao Tingyan was being held, feeling smug. "Sima Jiao has already arrived in Yaozhou. Your days are numbered!"

He really came. After putting on a noble and aloof face to drive the person away, Liao Tingyan's expression immediately crumbled. She frowned and looked out the window at the sky, pursing her lips tightly.

Although every time she encountered danger, she would think that she was the female lead and would definitely survive, this was just self-consolation. She knew better than anyone that this was not a story.

For her, this was the real world where many changes could happen. She was not special, and death only required an instant. It was the same for her and for others.

...So would Sima Jiao really take the risk to come and save her?

Sima Jiao had indeed come to Yaozhou, but he was not currently in the camp where the army was stationed.

When Prime Minister Du invited "His Majesty" who had come from Luoyang into the tent, he indeed had ill intentions. However, he quickly discovered that something was off about "His Majesty".

He couldn't help but approach and take a closer look, immediately noticing the unnaturalness of this person's face, as if it had been smeared with something to become like this. His eyes and actions also lacked the ferocity of the real emperor.

This was not Sima Jiao! Seeing Prime Minister Du's expression change, the Grand Protector who was beside "His Majesty" stepped forward, moving in front of "His Majesty", and smiled slightly at him.

"Prime Minister Du."

"Grand Protector, what is the meaning of this?"

"His Majesty was supposed to come in person, but for some reason, he fell ill and couldn't tolerate the long journey, so he wanted to stay in Luoyang. Therefore, we had no choice but to resort to this tactic and send someone to impersonate him.

By the way, having a fake emperor cooperate is more suitable for the matters here, isn't it?" The Grand Protector said meaningfully.

Prime Minister Du narrowed his eyes. He understood the deeper meaning in the Grand Protector's words and immediately denied without thinking, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

As he said this, he saw the Grand Protector present a box and hand it over. "Prime Minister, there's no need to be in a hurry to deny it. Why don't you take a look at the gift His Majesty has prepared to show his appreciation for you first?"

Prime Minister Du had a bad feeling. He snatched the box and opened it to take a look. Inside were some personal accessories, jewelry, jade locks, and other items. He certainly recognized them. These were all personal belongings of his family members, including those of his wife, several children, and even the longevity lock his grandson had worn since birth.

Prime Minister Du's eyes instantly turned red, glaring fiercely at the Grand Protector. However, the Grand Protector remained unmoved, even still smiling, and said, "Although Prime Minister discreetly arranged for his family before leaving Luoyang, His Majesty was worried that those people wouldn't take good care of them. So he had already taken them to a safe place for protection long ago, just waiting for news of the Prime Minister's victory to be sent back."

"You..." Prime Minister Du had never imagined that the arrangement he thought was foolproof had actually been discovered by Sima Jiao.

Grand Protector Gao saw his shocked and angry expression, and softened his tone, "The Prime Minister has always been loyal to Your Majesty, and Your Majesty naturally would not let him down, after all, the Prime Minister has watched Your Majesty grow up since childhood."

Prime Minister Du's face twisted for a moment, his eyes struggling as he looked at those boxes, finally slowly revealing a defeated look, lowering his head and saying, "Your servant obeys His Majesty's command."

Grand Protector Gao was not surprised at all. Although Prime Minister Du was an ambitious and cruel person, ruthless in dealing with political enemies, and insatiable when it came to money, he valued his family very much. He had a great relationship with his old wife and was extremely protective of his children.

It was precisely because of this point that the previous emperor dared to let him be the Prime Minister. His Majesty's personality was completely different from the previous emperor's, but deep down, they shared the same thing. It was also because of this that His Majesty allowed Prime Minister Du to dominate the court in recent years.

It was not because he was afraid of him, but because he felt it was unnecessary to move against him. Firstly, Prime Minister Du was useful, and the court needed such a person.

Secondly, he had not really done anything to anger Your Majesty, which was why he could live until now. Now that he wanted to betray his master, Sima Jiao naturally could not let him live. They were both very clear that this time, what Sima Jiao wanted was Prime Minister Du's life. Whether he won or lost this battle, Prime Minister Du's life had to be left here in exchange for the safety of his large family.

"The Prime Minister needs to know that Your Majesty is giving you face. If the Prime Minister and the emperor can understand each other, at least you can still get a reputation of being loyal to the emperor and loving the country after death, and your family will not be implicated."

......

Prime Minister Du walked out of the emperor's tent with heavy steps, his eyes filled with deep anger, fear, and helpless resignation. Hearing his subordinates report that the Lord of Southern Qin had secretly sent people again, his expression turned severe.

Remembering what Grand Protector Gao had said earlier, he gritted his teeth and said, "Bring them to my tent as before."

Facing the Lord of Southern Qin's messenger, Prime Minister Du did not show any abnormality and agreed to the plan he conveyed. "Sima Jiao is indeed in the tent. When the time comes, I will naturally lead him to his death. Tell your king not to forget his words and cooperate well."

After the attendant quietly left, Prime Minister Du ordered someone to summon his son, the only one who had followed him to the battlefield. After this battle, he was afraid that he would not survive to return. He could only take advantage of the time he had now to make arrangements for his affairs in advance.

In recent years, he had indeed been blinded by Sima Jiao's performance, thinking that he was just a mediocre person with a violent temper. He never thought that a dog that bites does not bark. Now, he only hoped that by doing as Sima Jiao instructed, he would spare his family as promised.

Regardless of what everyone was thinking at this time, Sima Jiao, who had forced Prime Minister Du to willingly go to his death, was currently sitting in an ordinary-looking carriage with dozens of guards, disguised as the son of an ordinary small family, temporarily resting at an inn outside Yaozhou City.

Due to the tense war situation, the inspection of people entering Yaozhou City was particularly strict. It was impossible to sneak in with guards in a carriage, all of whom were unfamiliar faces. However, this did not prevent someone from leaving the city to deliver a message.

A woman left the Lord of Southern Qin's manor, went all the way out of the city to the inn, knelt down behind a screen, and respectfully greeted the noble person in a slightly stammering tone, waiting for him to ask questions. Although she was a pawn planted in the Lord of Southern Qin's manor, her status was low and she could not do anything big in the mansion.

She never thought that one day she would be able to personally pay respects to the noble person. She was so nervous that she almost held her breath.

Hearing someone behind the screen ask, "How is she? Has her injury healed?"

The woman knew who he was asking about and quickly replied, "The noble consort is currently in the lord's manor, with doctors treating her. However, her arm was almost pierced through before, so it's not easy to heal. She still can't exert force and feels pain from time to time."

"Has she lost weight?"

The woman answered for a while. Seeing that the legendary violent master did not seem to want to beat or kill her, she relaxed a little and spoke in more detail, "Because of excessive blood loss, the noble consort's complexion has not been good recently. This servant cannot go often, but has secretly gone to see her a few times. The noble consort appears depressed and unhappy, and seems to have lost some weight."

"Everyone in the lord's manor knows that the princess has hostility towards the noble consort and often goes to make things difficult for her..." The woman honestly told everything she knew.

After she finished speaking, seeing no movement from behind the screen, she was arranged to leave and met a eunuch disguised as an ordinary attendant, who instructed her, "You must take good care of the noble consort. As soon as there is any movement, send out a message. Things are about to get chaotic, and you must protect the noble consort no matter what."

The woman repeatedly agreed and returned to the lord's manor without attracting attention.

The person behind the screen was Sima Jiao. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, not saying a word. Jin De, who had entered, saw him like this and couldn't figure out what he was thinking. He could only stand to the side and say softly, "Your Majesty, the person has been sent back. The noble consort is currently not in mortal danger. Your Majesty can finally be at ease."

Sima Jiao raised his eyes and glanced at him, causing Jin De's neck to shrink.

"Tell Grand Protector Gao to let the Prime Minister act faster," Sima Jiao said impatiently.

If they didn't hurry up and bring the person back, she might lose all her weight.

A few days later, Chen Yun suggested to the Lord of Southern Qin to send the women of the lord's manor to a safe place first to avoid worries. The Lord of Southern Qin's health had improved and he was arranging for his subordinates to defend.

Even though there was an agreement in place, he still had to guard against the other party changing their minds at the last moment. Hearing Chen Yun's words, he thought for a moment and agreed.

However, Qin Wuxia refused to leave. Chen Yun persuaded her for half a day before Qin Wuxia asked him, "What do you plan to do with Liao Tingyan then?"

Chen Yun said, "She naturally cannot leave. Father has already decided to tie her to the front of the army."

Qin Wuxia looked at him suspiciously, "You can bear to do that?"

Chen Yun showed a sorrowful expression, looking away as if to hide it, and said with great righteousness, "Now the situation is changing rapidly. How can I put personal matters above the overall situation?"

Qin Wuxia: "Fine then, I'll leave before the war starts!"

Liao Tingyan was soon spoiled again by Qin Wuxia, learning about her fate of being tied to the city gate. So what kind of ancient dog-blood drama plot was this?

The female lead, the one who brings misfortune, appears at the front of the two armies. If she can't come up with a lofty argument to stop the war, then she can only jump off the city wall in a tragic and beautiful way.

This time she guessed wrong. Before she was tied to the city wall, someone entered her small courtyard, secretly escorting her away and leaving a fake body double. The person who arranged this was none other than Chen Yun. He certainly couldn't let the female lead die like this, so he came up with this trick of stealing the sky and exchanging the sun.

Liao Tingyan was sent out of the Lord of Southern Qin's Manor. She had just exited the secret passage out of the city and hadn't gone far when she was intercepted by Qin Wuxia, who was waiting nearby.

Qin Wuxia, who should have left a day earlier, waited here because she guessed that Chen Yun might not be honest. She specifically blocked them here and sure enough, she caught her. As the female supporting character, her intelligence was fully maxed out at this moment. This is probably the mysterious detective attribute that women have for their own men.

Qin Wuxia was angry, and Liao Tingyan was even angrier. She had been transported around by people for a while and had a lot of opinions. She was almost going to explode in silence. Why did she still have to go through this emotional entanglement plot of the original wife catching the mistress? Obviously, her original plot had flown away, but this couple still wanted to pull her back to play their respective roles.

Hearing Qin Wuxia shouting "bitch, bitch" here, she really wanted to block her mouth and kick her off the carriage.

Qin Wuxia fell off the carriage with a cry.

Liao Tingyan: ... I seem to have only thought about it in my heart and haven't done anything yet?

Not far away, a carriage drove out of the woods, and an archer jumped down from the shafts.