Chapter 602: Abrupt change, Tianhui passes away (1/2)

Chapter 602: Abrupt change, Tianhui passes away

General Chu’s suggestion earned Chu Yunyi’s approval, but before the former could go out to discuss a deal, another surprise report reached their ears.

“General, news came from Western Liang. Emperor Tianhui’s passed away!”

“What?!” Chu Yunyi was shocked. After all, Witch Aunt had told them just a few days ago that Emperor Tianhui wouldn’t die that easily. But today, why had he…

There were a few eunuchs and imperial physicians on attendance in Emperor Tianhui’s rooms who worked for the fourth imperial prince. Witch Aunt didn’t have chances to plant agents of her own, so she could only wait for the man’s eventual death…

“When did this happen?” General Chu asked in a rush.

“The messenger hawk will take an hour at the longest to deliver the message. It should have happened about an hour ago,” the retainer replied.

“What else did the letter say?” General Chu asked.

“General, it was only a single message on a piece of paper. There was no letter.” Otherwise, the retainer would have presented it already!

Unease settled in General Chu’s heart as he glanced at Chu Yunyi, whose gaze turned dark. “Wait a bit.”

Witch Aunt was always dependable with her work. Perhaps she’d sent them a preemptive message in haste first. They should get a full account of the details soon. With Emperor Tianhui dead, the situation in Tianning would change. In fact, everything would change. Still, no matter what happened, this could only be to their benefit. At a time like this, they need to calm down and figure out the situation before doing things like exposing Gu Beiyue or dealing with the Duke of Qin’s demands.

“Ning Cheng should have gotten the news by now too. Noble Consort Ning should have made some moves, too,” Chu Yunyi remarked, before personally lifting a brush to pen Ning Cheng a secret missive. Then he wrote another message to Witch Aunt and had both sent off by flying messenger hawk. Both letters were asking for help and reinforcements.

Once the crown prince took the throne, Empress Chu could start holding court from behind the screen and even issue military orders to transfer Tianning’s troops to the western borders to assist the Chu army. They didn’t need to wait for the Ning Clan’s reinforcements then. Although Tianning didn’t have many soldiers stationed in the west, even the thinnest forces could add meat to their ranks. Both Youyun and Yaoshui were in desperate straits right now!

Flying messenger hawk was the quickest way to deliver messages in Cloud Realm Continent, but Chu Yunyi still hadn’t gotten an answer from Ning Cheng after four hours. Even as the first glimmer of dawn rose in the east, they didn’t get any replies from Western Liang, either.

General Chu finally grew restless. “Could something have happened at Western Liang?”

“That couldn’t be! The forces that Tianyin left in the city are ample enough to suppress the fourth imperial prince. Moreover, Noble Consort Ning’s a formidable foe herself!” Chu Yunyi said earnestly.

General Chu’s gaze grew complicated. Although he didn’t want to suspect, he still couldn’t help but ask, “Big bro, could Ning Cheng….could he have…”

“Impossible!” Chu Yunyi denied before he could finish. “This old man even gave him Gu Beiyue. He would never betray the Chu Clan at a time like this!”

Ning Cheng was a loyalist to West Qin. After Chu Yunyi verified his identity, he also told him about the survival of the West Qin imperial heir and the fact that all their daughters by the first wife carried a phoenix birthmark on their backs. Upon hearing the news, Ning Cheng had been happy for three entire days and nights, speaking no end of praise for the Nether Clan’s stratagem in the past. There was no question that his loyalty was genuine, so he had no reason to refuse an offer to work with the Nether Clan. He had even less reason to turn his back on them now, especially if it only hurt the West Qin Dynasty’s chances at revival!

Chu Yunyi kept waiting…until it grew light.

But neither Ning Cheng nor Witch Aunt replied to his missives. General Chu grew even more uneasy. “Big bro, do you think Ning Cheng might have discovered something…”

Chu Yunyi stared at the map of the battlegrounds in silence.

—

At the same time, Han Yunxi woke up in Long Feiye’s arms, unaware of everything that had changed overnight. She remembered them pitching a camp last night and talking around a stove before she grew tired and somehow fell asleep. By the time she woke up, Tang Li and Chu Xifeng were both gone, leaving just her and Long Feiye in the tent.

Long Feiye didn’t know she was awake yet. Currently, he was staring at the stove, his eyes dancing with their flames as he pondered something. Nestled in his lap, Han Yunxi could only see his chin and Adam’s apple, both looking quite sexy. Whenever this man grew quiet, he always resembled a flawless statue made by some uncanny craftsmanship. There wasn’t a speck of imperfection about him no matter how many times she stared. She never got tired of looking at him.

Eventually, she murmured, “Long Feiye, how did I end up running into you?”

Of all the people throughout these 3,000 years, why you? What kind of good fortune did I fall upon?

Long Feiye snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at Han Yunxi, gently stroking her hair. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” It’s fine if he didn’t hear me. I don’t think he’d answer it if I asked, anyways.

Han Yunxi lazily got to her feet while Long Feiye only said faintly, “Tianhui passed away.”