The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Chapter 393: Chapter 395: You’re Finally Back

Hua Manman committed the layout of Chaoyang Palace’s surroundings to memory. Then, gathering a pile of apricots in the hem of her robes, she leaped down from the apricot tree and returned to her room in the Left Attendant Hall.

When Hua Qingqing saw her younger sister return, she said anxiously.

"Xianfei sent someone over just now. They said they wanted to see if the Seventh Prince had recovered from his illness."

Hua Manman placed the apricots on the table and asked casually, "And then?"

Hua Qingqing replied, "The person saw that the Seventh Prince was already well. They didn’t say a word and just left."

Recalling the expression on the person’s face as they left, she couldn’t help but add.

"They seemed very disappointed."

Hua Manman could guess what Xianfei was trying to do.

She was just trying to use the Seventh Prince’s life to force her into submission.

But now that the Seventh Prince had unexpectedly recovered, Xianfei’s plan had fallen through, so of course she would be incredibly disappointed.

But Hua Manman didn’t feel relieved by this.

She knew Xianfei wouldn’t let it go. If one plan failed, a second and third would be waiting for her.

The system proposed in her mind.

"Why don’t you run away with Hua Qingqing and the Seventh Prince? You know Qinggong, so you can carry the mother and son over the wall and escape Chaoyang Palace."

Hua Manman mercilessly shattered its illusion.

"My Qinggong isn’t skilled enough to carry people while flying."

She could only get over the wall by herself; she couldn’t carry Hua Qingqing and the Seventh Prince.

Hua Manman continued to pour cold water on its idea.

"Even if I could get them out of Chaoyang Palace, we couldn’t escape the Imperial Palace. We’d just have to find a place to hide inside.

Hua Qingqing and I would be fine, but the Seventh Prince is just a baby. He cries at the drop of a hat.

The moment he starts crying, our hiding spot will be immediately exposed.

At that point, we’d be walking right into a trap."

The system silently shut up, pretending it hadn’t said anything.

...

Li Ji and the Flying Dragon Cavalry rushed to the vicinity of the South City Gate.

Of the four city gates—east, south, west, and north—only the South City Gate had not yet been taken by Prince Dongyang.

Bian Ziming stood atop the city wall, pacing back and forth anxiously.

He noticed movement outside the city. Peeking over the edge, he saw it was Prince Zhao and was instantly overjoyed, shouting.

"Quick! Open the gate!"

The heavy city gate was slowly lowered.

Li Ji led two thousand Flying Dragon Cavalry smoothly through the gate.

Bian Ziming scrambled down the city wall, dropped into a sliding kneel on the spot, and skidded to a stop right in front of Prince Zhao, crying out.

"Prince Zhao, you’re finally back! Something terrible has happened at the Imperial Palace!"

Li Ji said expressionlessly, "Cut the crap. What’s the situation at the palace?"

Bian Ziming wiped away his tears and spoke quickly.

"I’ve been guarding this post and haven’t entered the Imperial Palace, so I don’t know the specifics of the situation there.

But I heard that the concubines, princes, and princesses in the palace have all been put under house arrest, with no exception for the Empress Dowager.

The Yulin Guards have also been turned by Prince Dongyang.

The entire Imperial Palace is now in Prince Dongyang’s hands."

Li Ji asked, "What about my Princess Consort?"

Bian Ziming replied, "The Princess Consort hasn’t been seen since she was taken away by people from the palace. I don’t know how she is now."

Li Ji rode his horse toward the city.

But after just a few steps, he was forced to stop.

The once-wide road was blocked by sand and rubble, on top of which defensive barricades had been erected.

Bian Ziming hurried to catch up and explained.

"Prince Dongyang had all this set up to prevent us from entering the city."

Knowing Bian Ziming wouldn’t surrender anytime soon, Prince Dongyang had ordered the construction of these defenses to block the road from the South City Gate into the city proper.

Bian Ziming then pointed to the buildings on both sides of the street.

"These buildings have all been sealed off, too."

Li Ji said coldly, "You and your men tear down these houses. I will take my men into the city to have a look."

Bian Ziming was just about to ask how he planned to get into the city.

When he saw Prince Zhao leap into the air, using his Qinggong to fly onto the roofs of the buildings.

Immediately after, Chen Wangbei and the two thousand Flying Dragon Cavalry also flew up in unison.

In the blink of an eye, they had flown over the buildings and successfully entered Shangjing City.

Bian Ziming silently closed his mouth, got up from the ground, patted the dust off his robes, and said to the deputy commander beside him.

"You heard the Prince, didn’t you? Send men to tear down those houses."

"Yes, sir!"

Bian Ziming stroked his chin and chuckled.

’Did he really think a petty trick like this could stop Prince Zhao from entering the city? Prince Dongyang really underestimates people.’

The city was now under martial law. There wasn’t a single civilian on the streets, only soldiers patrolling everywhere.

Needless to say, all these patrolling soldiers had already sided with Prince Dongyang.

Li Ji made a hand signal.

The Flying Dragon Cavalry understood and immediately scattered.

In an instant, their figures all vanished.

「In the Imperial Palace.」

Li Hao paced back and forth restlessly inside the room, his expression anxious. His eyes were bloodshot from a long time without sleep.

Xu Jiwu strode in.

He was Xianfei’s paternal cousin and the former second-in-command of the Patrol Department. After Xianfei turned him, he killed his superior and seized control of the entire department. He also took command of the Yulin Guards and all military forces in the Capital City.

Even so, he still felt they were short on manpower.

"Your Highness, I have made the arrangements as you commanded. But to be honest, if the Saint truly decides to storm the city, our numbers are simply not enough to resist."

Li Hao naturally knew this as well.

He said with a pained expression, "I want more men too, but this is all the military strength we have in the city. Where else am I supposed to find people?"

Xu Jiwu said, "I do have an idea... though it’s hardly a proper solution..."

Li Hao said hurriedly, "Quick, tell me!"

Xu Jiwu’s method was actually very simple: using prisoners as soldiers.

"We can promise the prisoners that for every enemy they kill, one of their crimes will be pardoned. If they kill enough, we will even reward them based on their merit."

Li Hao hesitated. "But those are all prisoners. Some of them are even vicious murderers. If we release them, I’m afraid it will cause turmoil in the city."

’Most importantly, if this were recorded in the history books, my name would be infamous for all time.’

Xu Jiwu was helpless.

"That’s why I said it’s hardly a proper solution.

If there were any other way, I wouldn’t want to choose this path.

If Your Highness finds this plan unacceptable, then you’ll have to think of something else.

I must remind you, we don’t have much time."

Li Hao gritted his teeth.

’Things have already come to this; I have no other choice. Even if doing this means my name will be infamous for eternity, I have to accept it.’

"Do as you say."

Xu Jiwu reassured him, "Rest assured, Your Highness. We won’t release those prisoners unless it’s the last resort."

Under Li Ji’s command, the Flying Dragon Cavalry silently took out several groups of patrolling soldiers.

Li Ji and the Flying Dragon Cavalry all changed into the uniforms of the patrolling soldiers and wandered around the city, pretending to be on patrol.

「As night fell.」

A squad of patrolmen, impersonated by the Flying Dragon Cavalry, appeared near the palace gates.