Chapter 411: The Army at the Gates (Part 1)
Originally, a strong inner self can only grow through such long and dark trials.
An Chuxue couldn’t even say a word. She used to envy Han Jing, envy her for always being so beautiful and charming, envy her for having so much. Yet, behind all this, there were things she endured that none of them could ever imagine.
"Hey, are you scared stiff or scared stiff?" Han Jing teased, poking the corner of An Chuxue’s reddened eye.
"Mirror, in this lifetime, we are best friends, good sisters, and close confidantes!" An Chuxue said with sudden determination.
Han Jing smiled and nodded.
Throughout the morning, news from outside the city came sporadically. Due to last night’s events, not only did rumors spread throughout the Capital City, but even in the enemy camp there was unease. They wondered if their actions truly defied the will of heaven, thus bringing divine retribution.
The enemy army, originally planning an all-out attack to seize the city in the morning, was completely demoralized.
In the tent, the Crown Prince’s face was dark as thunder: "Have we found out what exactly happened?"
Prince An’s expression was also grim. To win this battle, he hadn’t even taken care of his daughter. A few days ago, he received news that He Yanxin hadn’t touched a drop of water and might not last a few days. He planned for a swift victory; as soon as the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he would order renowned physicians to treat He Yanxin. But now...
He had been on campaigns for so many years and had never encountered such a strange event!
"Crown Prince, you have resided in the Capital City for long, have you ever encountered anything so outrageous? Not to mention, hail never falls in the Southern Land—when has it ever hailed in the Capital City? Moreover, I’ve already dispatched people to investigate. Within a radius of several miles, only our camp had hail above it, while other places enjoyed clear weather last night. This is simply bizarre!"
The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed tightly: "In the Capital City, even in the coldest times, the river never freezes, let alone hail. In all my life, I’ve neither seen nor heard of such a thing!"
Utterly absurd!
The two tacitly avoided mentioning divine retribution. Throughout the ages, how many rebels have there been trying to seize the throne? What does their attempt compare to those who massacred cities? No one ever heard of divine retribution for those actions, so such talk is mere nonsense!
Yet, they couldn’t fathom any reason for such an illogical event!
They hadn’t considered the possibility of human involvement lightly. But who could possess such power, especially since last night’s patrolling soldiers didn’t see a soul—let alone a ghostly figure!
"Do you think... it could be the work of someone from the Spirit Cultivation Realm?" the Crown Prince suddenly asked Prince An.
Prince An shook his head: "Definitely not. I have been in the Southern Land for many years and have had contact with the Spirit Cultivation Realm. They wouldn’t dare act so recklessly. If they dared to interfere, we wouldn’t be alive today..."
There were things Prince An couldn’t say outright. Truthfully, he dared to conspire with the Crown Prince not because he was unaware that the Fourth Prince had the support of Prince Yu and the Eldest Princess, but because he was certain they wouldn’t act recklessly. Otherwise, if they wanted to kill the Crown Prince, everything would be over, wouldn’t it? Yet, they didn’t dare. Whether or not the Crown Prince could become Emperor was for the heavens to decide. If those Spirit Cultivators intervened in such matters, they would truly face divine retribution!
The Crown Prince’s face darkened further. Prince An didn’t spell it out, but that didn’t mean he didn’t understand his implication.