The Prince Wants to Assassinate Me Every Day-Chapter 992 - 540: Departure (First Update)
Bai Moyi turned his head to Bai Mowan and said viciously, "It seems the Emperor won’t be fooled so easily! I said he couldn’t possibly come to the border!"
Bai Mowan’s eyes were also filled with cruelty.
She secretly arrived at the border after leaving the Imperial Palace, waiting for Xiao Jinxing to walk right into her trap.
She actually knew Xiao Jinxing was not so easily duped.
And she was certain he would come because Xiao Jinxing couldn’t ignore the chaos at the border. Once the situation became irreconcilable, he would definitely come.
He wouldn’t joke about the wellbeing of the people and the country. He has his sense of responsibility and mission!
So when the news that Xiao Jinxing intended to personally lead an expedition arrived, she did not doubt much. She just needed to set up her trap and wait for Xiao Jinxing to walk into it. But she didn’t expect that midway, Xiao Jinxing would choose to return the way he came.
What on earth is Xiao Jinxing doing now?!
How will he explain his return to the court ministers, to the people?!
Or is he up to some other conspiracy?
"Wan’er, what should we do now?" Bai Moyi asked nervously.
Once the Emperor returns, it will be even harder for them to act against him.
And if they act, it will be without justification, and the reputation of the loyal Bai Family for generations cannot be ruined suddenly!
"Raise the army, under the pretext of welcoming Xiao Jinxing, to prevent him from returning to the court!" Bai Mowan decisively made up her mind without letting herself agonize too much.
"But... could the Emperor be deceiving us?!" Bai Moyi became calmer now.
This concerns the key to the Bai Family’s success or failure, so he dared not act rashly.
"He indeed is deceiving." Bai Mowan’s eyes hardened, "Now that he is returning, he definitely won’t come to the border. He knows he will only meet his death there, and sending troops while knowing he is going to die is merely for the civil and military officials to see. This return, he is likely thinking about how to explain to the civil and martial officials, perhaps with reasons like physical discomfort or sudden illness, never tarnishing Xiao Jinxing’s abilities!"
Bai Moyi’s face became extremely ugly upon hearing Bai Mowan’s analysis, "The damned Emperor is indeed sinister and cunning! I’ll prepare to dispatch the troops right away!"
"Hold on." Bai Mowan suddenly seemed to recall something.
"What is it?" Bai Moyi asked.
"If we pursue Xiao Jinxing now, it means the Tatars cannot be used by us. We cannot let them truly invade for now. Once they cross the border, the consequences would be unimaginable, and perhaps we won’t be able to clean up the mess in the end." Bai Mowan started to analyze again.
Bai Moyi nodded, "Naturally, the deal I made with the Tatars was that once they capture the Emperor, I would provide enough gold, silver, jewels, and livestock. But Tatars have always been a nomadic tribe focused on invasion, accustomed to plundering and killing. Once they really cross the border and invade our Central Plains in Daxuan Kingdom, they will no longer keep our agreement and might swallow up the entire Daxuan Kingdom!"
"So we cannot let the Tatars cross the border, which is a future problem. We cannot control the endgame, which would still kill us Bai Family. And if the Tatars can’t cross the border, then pursuing Xiao Jinxing means missing a component of military force." Bai Mowan’s face paled.
"Even without the Tatars’ force, I can still capture the Emperor! We refrained from acting only to preserve the Bai Family’s reputation, never out of fear!" Bai Moyi did not fear Xiao Jinxing at all, "And isn’t the information clearly conveyed? The Emperor is only accompanied by a few thousand personal soldiers; I command fifty thousand troops, why should I fear him?!"
Bai Mowan still felt somewhat worried.
After all, Xiao Jinxing is not simple.
"Wan’er, if the reason is merely military force, you don’t need to worry! Big Brother has improved a lot in the years since Father died and will no longer act as rashly as before. Leave it to me; I will surely help you capture Xiao Jinxing’s head to relieve your anger!" Bai Moyi said confidently.
Bai Mowan thought about it and also doubted Xiao Jinxing truly had the prowess to counter their tens of thousands of Bai Family troops.
Even if he mobilized all forces nationwide, they would not match half of their Bai Family army. Importantly, the Bai Family troops are brave and battle-hardened, often expeditioning and fighting; other local soldiers haven’t gone through such a scale of formal training or truly experienced warfare—if they fought, they would scatter quickly—she needn’t be so concerned!
She coldly said, "The only commander in Daxuan who can rival us is Xie Ruotong."
"Her?" Bai Moyi sneered, "No matter how powerful she is alone, what can she do? She only has tens of thousands of elite soldiers, while our Bai Family army numbers in the hundreds of thousands—we could crush her without using swords or spears!"
"One cannot be careless; no one should be overlooked." Bai Mowan was evidently more composed, "And also, this time, pursuit of Xiao Jinxing cannot involve all forces at once. We must divide into three troops! The first team will rush to intercept; I will lead the army by swift horses to engage with Xiao Jinxing directly, blocking his path back to the court. You lead the second larger army to reinforce, sealing all possible escape routes, ensuring he has nowhere to retreat, catching him like a turtle in a jar. The remaining troops will be handed to a trusted Bai Family general stationed at the border, ostensibly against the Tatars, actually trapping and assassinating Xie Ruotong!"
"Still not quite thorough, I’ll arrange it right away!"
"Quickly go!" Bai Mowan said coldly.
Bai Moyi quickly left.
Bai Mowan displayed a sinister smile.
Xiao Jinxing, this battle is either your death or my survival! I will make you regret it for life!
...
Xiao Jinxing’s army set off to return to Xun overnight.
By dawn, the troops rested on-site, replenishing their provisions and strength.
An Ning got off the carriage, watching Xiao Jinxing riding his warhorse toward a nearby stream.
Xiao Wu followed beside him alone.
"Does the Empress want to go over?" The palace maid observed An Ning’s gaze and respectfully suggested.
"No need." An Ning replied directly. She turned and saw the leader of the personal soldiers’ guards, directly walking toward them.
"Servants greet the Empress." The guards were very respectful.
"Prepare a warhorse for me." An Ning said bluntly.
"Does the Empress not ride in the carriage?" The guards were surprised.
"The carriage is too stuffy; I wish to ride for the next stretch."
"Yes, servants will fetch a horse for the Empress immediately." The guards took the order and left swiftly.
In a short while, a white stallion was brought before An Ning, "Empress, this horse is the gentlest. You may try it first."
An Ning coolly mounted the horse.
"Giddy up!" Then she spurred the horse and left the army directly.
In the distance.
Xiao Jinxing was holding his horse grazing and drinking water, from afar he saw a familiar figure riding away swiftly...
