The Grand Empress Dowager 125: Waiting for You to Enter the Urn

  Waiting for you to fall into the trap.

  In the dead of night, the Dingguo royal palace was quiet. In the study, Ye Li sat under the lamp and looked back at Feng Zhiyao sitting not far away, "Feng San, are you sure it's tonight?"

  The phoenix's gentle swaying of the folding fan, smiling as if basking in the spring breeze, yet the words that came out of her mouth made one's hair stand on end. "Your Highness can rest assured. The capital is only so big, and if they don't make a move tonight, they'll miss their chance. Tonight, I will definitely let the enemy's blood stain the entire Ding Wang Fu red. Hehe... This is a beautiful, enchanting color, and in the capital, it's a rare sight."

  "It's been years since it was this lively." With so many strange occurrences happening one after another, if the Imperial Guards of the Ding Kingdom couldn't find them, then they would be letting the whole world think that the Imperial Guards were useless.

  Ye Li nodded, "So it's best. Then we'd better wait for their arrival."

  Mo Hua looked at Ye Li, whose expression was calm and composed, with a complex gaze. He hesitated for a moment before saying: "Should the princess and Lord Xu go to a safe place first? There are many top-notch experts among the guests tonight. If something unexpected happens..." Ye Li turned his head to look at Xu Hongyan, who was sitting on the side drinking tea calmly, and furrowed his brow in concern.

  She also knew that if she didn't leave, he would absolutely not go. But now it's impossible to let her leave... Seeing the embarrassed look on her face, Xu Hongyan put down his teacup and said: "Just do your own thing, I'll just sit here for a while and have two cups of tea." Understanding her uncle's meaning, Ye Li nodded lightly and smiled: "Since it's like this..."

  "Then, Lier will play two rounds with Uncle."

  Xu Hongyan nodded, looking at his niece's calm and composed expression with satisfaction. Since Ye Li had married into the Dingguo Wangfu and become the Dingwang Fei, her fate was now tied to that of the Ding King. It was also destined that she would never be able to live a peaceful life, so whether it was Xu Hongyan or the Xu family, they all hoped that Ye Li would become stronger.

  Even if she were as talented as her mother, it would still be futile to live in this world with such a strong and unruly temperament.

  It was still quiet in the Wang's residence until midnight. Ye Li and Xue Hongyan had already played three rounds of chess, with one win and one loss each, and it seemed that they were about to end in a draw. The two of them were so engrossed in their game that even Feng Zhiyao and Mu Zongguan, who were sitting on the side, couldn't help but get up and watch. Feng Zhiyao occasionally opened his mouth to comment on the moves, and Ye Li turned around with a smile and said: "Third Master Feng

  "Watching the chess game without speaking is a true gentleman." Fengzi rubbed his nose, "This young master is helping you, after all." Ye Li silently rolled her eyes, you're interrupting my train of thought.

  A faint sound came from afar, and Ye Li's hand with the chess piece paused slightly. Feng Zhiyao and others' expressions also changed, Xu Hongyan didn't hear anything, but he clearly sensed the change in everyone's expression. With a light smile, he put down his chess piece and said: "Let's stop here for today. In just over a year, Lian'er's chess skills have improved greatly." Ye Li smiled and dropped a piece.

  "It doesn't matter, it's not too late to finish this round. Mohua, go take a look." Mohua nodded silently and turned around to push the door out.

  As they finished this sentence, the sound of fighting outside had gradually approached. Ye Li waved her hand to let Qing Luan, who was attending to one side, put away the chessboard, and got up to walk to the window and push it open to look out. The courtyard was still quiet, shrouded in a faint moonlight, but many places outside the courtyard had lit up with flames. Ye Li lowered her eyes and sighed slightly: "Let them be more careful,"

  "Don't destroy the hundred-year-old mansion of Ding Wang Fu." Mo General Manager said respectfully, "The queen can rest assured, I have already instructed them beforehand." Ye Li nodded and sat by the window, leaning against the windowsill with a smile: "It's good that it's settled. Let's take a look at what kind of people will come tonight." Let's see how many people in this world want to destroy Ding Guo Wang Fu.

  Earth.

  The sounds of fighting outside grew louder and closer, Xu Hongyan stood by the window, gazing at the distant flames on the horizon and sighed, "It seems that His Majesty really intends to stand idly by." Ye Li shook her head lightly and whispered, "Uncle, it's not that His Majesty wants to stand idly by, but rather he wants to muddy the waters. I wonder how many of these people are from the palace?"

  The capital is not that big, and in these ten or so days, people from all sides have been provoking the Imperial Palace, resulting in no less than a hundred casualties. How many can still be hiding in the capital? If it weren't for someone providing convenience from behind the scenes, how could so many experts easily infiltrate the capital? If they were really that formidable, I'm afraid the emperors of all countries would have trouble sleeping at night. Xu Hongyan hesitated, and finally just let out a long sigh, "Your Majesty, why must you..."

  When the first assassin crossed the wall of the main courtyard, Ye Li stood up again and walked out. The several maids beside her hurried to follow, Ye Li waved her hand and said: "You don't have to go out." Qing Luan said: "Normally we can't help with anything, now in the mansion the princess doesn't let us follow either, all of us servants feel useless. Qing Shuang and Qing Xia won't leave the room since they don't know martial arts, it's better if I and Qing Yu follow the princess instead." Seeing her insistence Ye Li slightly furrowed her brow but didn't say anything else and turned to step out of the study.

  In the courtyard, Zhuo Jing and Feng Zhiyao welcomed them. Seeing Ye Li come out, Feng Zhiyao said: "There are several teams of people going to the ancestral hall, they should be there to worship the Lianyun Sword, others have gone to the main courtyard, but a few went to the book building."

  "Regardless of why you came, no one will be allowed to leave alive."

  "Yes!" Feng Zhiyao's loud laughter echoed, and she bowed slightly to Ye Lian before flying out of the courtyard, her red clothes disappearing into the bloody atmosphere with a hint of cold and eerie aura.

  The sounds of fighting gradually gathered outside the main hall, and the guards of the Ding Wang Fu seemed to be barely holding on. Ye Li stood under the eaves, although she couldn't see the scene outside, but she could hear the sounds of killing and smell the strong bloody scent brought by the night wind.

  Suddenly, several black shadows broke through the outer wall of the courtyard and jumped in, almost instantly spotting Ye Li standing under the eaves in a white robe. The black shadows pounced on Ye Li with a unified ferocity, their swift and lightning-fast movements revealing that they were not ordinary assassins, but truly top-notch experts. Ye Li remained unmoved, as if the surging killing intent before her eyes did not exist at all. Just as the black shadows were about to reach her, Zhuo Jing suddenly moved beside her. He raised his hand, and a cold light flew out from his sleeve, sweeping away only the person in front. At the same time, several sharp arrows shot out from the shadows, forming a neat row of arrows that were completely consistent in direction and force, inserted into the ground between the two parties, drawing a white line to warn them to stop.

  The man in black at the front stopped and glanced down at the feathered arrow, then raised his arms to either side. The sleeve of his left arm had been torn open by a long gash.

  "The guardian of the Imperial Palace is indeed as formidable as his reputation." The man in black said in a low voice.

  Ye Li smiled and said, "You're overpraising me."

  The man in black narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of cold light flashing in his pupils, "Ding Guo Wang Fei?"

  Ye Li nodded and smiled slightly: "Exactly, how should I address you?"

  The man in black hummed softly, "You don't need to know who I am, just knowing that I'm here to take your life is enough." Ye Lian didn't mind his threatening words, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "Oh? It's just as well that this princess also wants to know how many people want to take her life. Since you've come, why don't you stay behind?" With a raise of her hand, a red glow accompanied by a sharp whistling sound shot out into the night sky, bursting into a huge red flower in mid-air. The eerie, blood-red color instantly filled the entire Dingguo King's estate sky, making people who looked up feel a sudden sense of foreboding. The man in black was on high alert, not looking at the sky but instead staring vigilantly around him. In the darkness, it seemed like there was something more, and he cocked his ear to listen carefully, but with the commotion outside, even someone with deep inner power like him couldn't make out anything.

  On the wall, a phoenix in red clothes flew away with a swift strike, killing an assassin. With a look of admiration, he gazed up at the sky and smiled: "Princess, what kind of flower is this? It's really beautiful. I'll have to embroider this kind of flower on my robe when I return."

  Ye Li's mouth twitched slightly as she said lightly, "This is the Manjusaka flower, also known as the Higanbana. The only scenery on the road to the underworld, also called the flower of death."

  Feng Zhi Yao's body stiffened and she almost fell off the wall. Gan Xi smiled and said, "The princess really knows how to joke."

  "Feng San, are you here to play?" Mo Hua appeared on the wall at some unknown time, looking down coldly at the people in the courtyard.

  "Hmph, how dare this audacious thief trespass into the main courtyard of the Dingguo King's palace? He must be tired of living!" Zhang Qilan stood at one corner of the roof, wearing a battle robe and grasping a long spear. His robust physique had been tempered by years of martial arts training, exuding an aura of menace. Standing on the rooftop, he seemed to embody the spirit of a heroic warrior conquering all directions.

  The man in black quickly found himself surrounded by the masters of the Dingguo Palace. Normally, he should have immediately taken the Queen of Ding as a hostage to escape, but looking at the Queen of Ding standing leisurely under the eaves with only two girls and one boy, he suddenly hesitated. Was it really right to go forward? Wouldn't it be another trap?

  "The Queen's plan is indeed profound. So many days of hiding in plain sight, and it was all just to lure us into a trap?" The man in black stared at Ye Liri.

  Ye Li's voice was crisp as she laughed and said: "It's nothing, compared to all of you, my husband the King has not even left the capital yet you are all busy plotting against me. The King had just left when one by one you came to bully a weak woman like me, I think it's already very kind of me. These days, you must have played enough, now... why don't you take a look at the handwriting of the Dingguo King's mansion?" Outside the wall, the originally exhausted guards of the Dingguo King's mansion suddenly became even more heroic, and in the darkness, countless people rejoined the fray. The situation outside seemed to turn around in an instant. There were no more assassins attempting to jump over the high wall and rush into the main courtyard, but rather many wanted to flee outward, however, at the exit, there appeared the elite dark guards of the Dingguo King's mansion, sandwiching them from both sides, making the Dingguo King's mansion even more lively for a time.

  I understand that I'm trapped inside, the several black-clad men in the courtyard started to get anxious. A few of them didn't think twice and raised their weapons, charging towards Yelü's direction. Yelü's companions, Zhuo Jing and Qing Luan, calmly went forward to meet them. On the high wall, Feng Zhiyao furrowed his brow, took a glance at the situation in the courtyard, and found that there was no need for him to intervene. He turned his head back to observe the battle outside, saw several figures swiftly passing by, leaving behind a trail of black-clad corpses. He couldn't help but praise, "The princess has excellent skills, if the Mo family's army all had such prowess, how could we worry about not conquering the world and unifying the four seas?" Mo Hua stood beside him, following his gaze, her expression changed slightly, and she remained silent.

  Ye Li silently watched as several black-clad men fell to the ground, killed by a hail of arrows. She raised her head and looked at the remaining few people. The leader of the black-clad men chuckled twice and said, "Good, you live up to your reputation as the Dingguo King's palace, and also as the Hei Yun Cavalry. However... does the princess think we only have these preparations?"

  Ye Li walked down the eaves, calmly looking at the black-clothed man and said: "No matter how much you've prepared, I don't plan on letting any of you leave alive today. You, should be the true leader of the Night Killers, right?"

  The man in black was taken aback, but quickly laughed and said: "It seems that my people have already told the princess everything. Good tactics! Since that's the case... let's see who's stronger!" As soon as he finished speaking, the man in black suddenly flew towards Ye Li, pouncing on her. During this time, he even dodged two arrows shot from the shadows. Zhuo Jing furrowed his brow and raised his hand to signal for the archers to stop shooting. Ye Li calmly watched the man in black charge towards her, slightly sidestepping to avoid a knife attack. With a swift motion, she drew out a silver dagger from her sleeve and struck at the man's wrist. The man in black flashed with surprise in his eyes, but quickly turned his large knife to deflect Ye Li's attack. Ye Li let out a light hum, and her dagger clashed with the large knife, before she released it and swiftly switched hands to stab at the man's left rib. Ye Li's dagger was specially crafted by Mo Xiu Yao using high-quality iron according to her own design, not only was its shape unique, but it could also cut through iron like mud. When it collided with the large knife, sparks flew everywhere, yet it didn't fall behind, leaving a mark on the knife while remaining unscathed and still radiating a cold glow.

  The man in black dodged Ye Li's attack with lightning speed, his gaze at Ye Li becoming even more menacing. Originally, he didn't take this Crown Princess of Ding very seriously, for her internal energy wasn't even worthy of being called a high-level expert, only barely passable. However, after just a brief exchange, the Crown Princess of Ding, who didn't rely on internal energy at all, almost managed to gain the upper hand, making him realize that if this woman had profound internal energy as well, he wouldn't dare consider himself her match.

  Ye Li didn't plan to engage in a fierce battle with the opponent, and quickly retreated to a safe distance. With a faint smile, he looked at the black-clothed man and said, "Night Killer's leader, you're not that impressive. Take him down."

  "Yes." Zhuo Jing nodded and made a few gestures towards the night.

  Several figures emerged silently in the yard, exchanging blows with the black-clad man without a word. Their martial arts moves were somewhat similar to Ye Li's, and although they were no match for the black-clad man, their swift and precise attacks left one speechless. A single knife or palm strike would have caused significant harm to the black-clad man, but they worked in perfect harmony, aided by a hidden archer, taking down all the assassins in the yard within less than a minute, with only two of them sustaining minor injuries.

  The leader of the Night Killers was tied up in a cave, and then bound with ropes in a peculiar way. Ye Li walked over and smiled faintly: "I've heard that the true identity of the Night Killer's leader is extremely mysterious, even the Tianyi Pavilion, which claims to have the most informed news in the world, doesn't know. It seems that today, this princess can solve this riddle?"

  Zhuo Jing reached out to untie the black cloth on the man's face, revealing a resolute face in his forties. Ye Li looked calmly at the stranger in front of her, while Feng Zhiyao, who had been staring at this side from the top of the wall, actually fell down from the wall and stared at the man in black, exclaiming: "Mu Jingcang!"

  Digression

  Cough cough... Does anyone still remember who this person is? Anyway, Feng finally moved to the north. Unfortunately, he tripped on the train and it was a disastrous journey. Finding a new job is the most annoying thing...