Ye Minghua felt a sense of unease welling up inside him.
Compared to his high - spirited self before setting out, the sudden turn of events had caught him off guard.
His deputy general whispered, "General, we have no way back now. Prince Feng is not as weak as he seems. We must kill him quickly!"
Ye Minghua knew his deputy was right. Frowning, he ordered him to launch an attack.
The deputy general thought to himself, I'll be the one who slays a prince. After this, I'll surely go and claim my reward before the Northern Di Empress!
Still daydreaming about becoming a great general, he stepped forward. But he couldn't even withstand a single move from Feng Xingzhi. He fell to the bustling ground. The contemptuous smile on his lips hadn't faded when his breath left his body.
Ye Minghua gasped in horror as he witnessed this with his own eyes.
Feng Xingzhi had deceived everyone.
This was the only thought in his mind as he watched Feng Xingzhi's movements. He realized how utterly foolish he had been.
Ye Minghua was scared. He was afraid of death. In a hurry, he grabbed the soldiers beside him and pushed them forward.
If they had held back a bit in the previous battles, now Ji Yunxi and Feng Xingzhi showed no mercy. Anyone who stepped forward to block them was instantly slain.
Gradually, they began to feel fatigued. Their arms, which had been constantly swinging, could hardly be lifted.
Ye Minghua heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that it was finally coming to an end. But suddenly, the sound of galloping horses came from afar.
Accompanied by the tremors of the ground, someone in the crowd shouted, "It's over! Reinforcements are here!"
A mighty army roared towards them. Taking a closer look, they saw that the leader was Su Ningyuan.
Ye Minghua knew that he was doomed. But he couldn't understand why Su Ningyuan had managed to bring his troops so quickly. Had the Feng family known about his actions all along?
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Ye Minghua didn't dare to stay. He tried to slip away in the chaos.
Ji Yunxi and Feng Xingzhi exchanged a glance. They immediately used their light - footed skills to leave the crowd and directly caught Ye Minghua.
"All the rebel soldiers listen up! Your commander has been captured. If you lay down your arms and surrender, you will be treated leniently. But if you resist stubbornly, your nine generations of kin will be punished!"
The soldiers of Ye's army looked at each other. One by one, they dropped their weapons, and more and more people surrendered.
The crisis was thus resolved. Su Ningyuan ordered his men to clean up the battlefield. After arranging everything, he walked towards Ji Yunxi.
However, as he got closer, he saw Prince Rui surrounded by people.
The atmosphere froze. Sorrow spread among the royal army.
Almost all the royal soldiers tore off a piece of their white shirts and tied them around their heads as a sign of mourning.
Seeing Feng Xingzhi's grief, Ji Yunxi stood aside without disturbing him.
"Miss Ji, are you alright?" Su Ningyuan asked in a soft, concerned voice.
Ji Yunxi turned her head. "I'm fine, Brother Su. I didn't expect you to come."
Su Ningyuan was silent for a moment. "Someone from the Dream Blossom Pavilion came to find me. I immediately led my troops here, but I still came too late."
As he was speaking, Feng Xingzhi stood up. He arranged Prince Rui's remains properly and said to Ji Yuchen, "Uncle sacrificed himself for the country. We must inform His Majesty about this as soon as possible. The funeral ceremony should be carried out according to the royal rules."
"Your Highness is right. I'll go and take care of it immediately."
Feng Xingzhi turned around and saw Su Ningyuan. He nodded at him. "Thank you, General Su, for coming in time."
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. I came too late."
How could Feng Xingzhi blame him? It was no small matter that the defending general had led his troops out of the city without permission. "You've done nothing wrong. If you hadn't come in time, we might all have died here. If we had to wait for the reinforcements from the capital, who knows when they would have arrived."
Ji Yunxi was a bit worried. "Brother Su, won't you be punished for leading your troops out without permission?"
"No, don't worry. I've already submitted a memorial to His Majesty."
Feng Xingzhi was physically and mentally exhausted at this moment. He didn't want to be jealous of Su Ningyuan. He tugged at Ji Yunxi's sleeve and said to Su Ningyuan, "Thank you for your trouble."
"It's my duty."
Watching Feng Xingzhi lead Ji Yunxi away, Su Ningyuan felt a strange feeling in his heart. Ji Yuchen saw this and walked up to pat him on the shoulder. "There are plenty of fish in the sea."
"I know."
The casualties in this battle were still under control. It didn't take long to clean up the battlefield.
Ji Yunxi and Feng Xingzhi rode on their horses, quietly making their way back along the path they had come.
It was very quiet around them, but Ji Yunxi didn't feel the relief after the battle.
She kept thinking that it was all because of her that Feng Xingzhi had rejected the Ye family's daughter. If he had agreed to the marriage or allowed her to be a concubine, perhaps this battle wouldn't have happened.
This thought kept swirling in her mind. The bloodstains that kept appearing in her mind were telling her that she was not blameless in this battle.
Feng Xingzhi keenly noticed something was wrong with her. He gently called out, "Xixi, what's wrong?"
Ji Yunxi looked at him. After a while, she said, "Maybe if you had agreed to the Ye family's daughter, this wouldn't have happened."
Her answer made Feng Xingzhi stunned. "Xixi, you've got it all wrong. Ye Minghua's rebellion has nothing to do with this. The Ye family has been loyal for generations. How could they rebel because of such a trivial matter? And even if they did rebel for such a small thing, it was their own choice. What does it have to do with you?"
Ji Yunxi opened her mouth, wanting to refute but couldn't find a reason.
Feng Xingzhi reached out his hand to her. "Xixi, even if I had agreed, he would have found another excuse. In the end, it's because the position and honor of a general couldn't satisfy him anymore."
His words gradually woke Ji Yunxi up. The pungent smell of blood also gradually dissipated.
Su Ningyuan should have returned to the city immediately, but the situation in Hua City was unclear. So Feng Xingzhi ordered him to go to Hua City to eliminate the rebels and investigate the military supplies.
As for Ji Yunxi and the others, they were taking Prince Rui back home.
In Prince Rui's Mansion, Princess Rui was sitting restlessly on the corridor. She even accidentally broke her beloved cup.
Li Jiuge noticed something was wrong and asked with concern, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
She felt an indescribable sense of unease. She always felt that something was gone forever. But in front of Jiuge, she still forced a smile. "I'm fine. Maybe I didn't sleep well last night."
Li Jiuge knew that she was worried about her uncle. She comforted her gently, "It's okay, Auntie. Uncle will surely resolve the battle and come back soon."
"I'm not worried about him!"
The two were chatting and laughing, but Princess Rui's unease didn't fade at all.
At sunset, the army arrived at the gate of Rui City. The soldiers on the city tower were overjoyed and were about to open the city gate to welcome everyone. But suddenly, they noticed something was wrong.
Every soldier had a white cloth on their head, and even Prince Feng had one on his arm.
Someone had died.
They opened the city gate tremblingly. They saw the royal army holding up a board high, on which a person was lying quietly.
Feng Xingzhi stood at the front, his voice low. "Welcome Uncle back to the city."
The weapons of the city - guarding soldiers fell to the ground instantly. They knelt down on the ground.
The royal army marched in in an orderly manner.
"Welcome Prince Rui back to the city!"