The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 440 - 439 The Crime of Rebellion is Established (Second Update)

Chapter 440: 439 The Crime of Rebellion is Established (Second Update)

Seeing Ji Xueyuan wanting to argue, Li Xianyun didn’t give him an opportunity, continuing to say:

"The Khan is my husband, and he has showered me with love and favor. I have long recognized the Khan as my true partner and am wholeheartedly determined to grow old with him for the rest of my life. No one cares more about the Khan’s safety than I do."

"However, as the art of war states, ’know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be in peril.’ Right now, with the enemy hidden and us exposed, to fall into disorder without understanding the situation is a great taboo in military strategy and is extremely detrimental to the Khan. The Southern Prince only needs to wait half an hour more; if the Khan has not returned after half an hour, then it won’t be too late for the Southern Prince to start investigating."

Next to Ji Xueyuan sat the Great Prince and many innocent ministers; if one were to directly accuse him and stir his rage, he might take a do-or-die stance, resulting in both fish and net being destroyed, with the Great Prince and his ministers as the most likely to be harmed first.

Therefore, Li Xianyun spoke to him kindly, trying to stabilize his emotions first.

Ji Xueyuan hadn’t expected Li Xianyun, who appeared delicate as a wind-beaten willow and seemingly easily broken, to be so sharp-tongued.

Her arguments were reasonable and based on solid evidence, leaving him speechless and instantly putting him in a dilemma.

The Great Prince spoke up, "Southern Prince, what the Princess Consort has said is very sensible. Let’s wait another half-hour as she has suggested."

The other ministers also began to speak, each wanting to owe Li Xianyun a favor.

Li Xianyun was exclusively favored by the Khan and her future was boundless; if not now, when else would they have the chance to curry favor with her?

"Yes, Southern Prince, half an hour will pass quickly."

"The Khan is brave and resourceful and unparalleled in martial arts; how could he be easily injured? There must be some deceit. Let’s follow the Princess Consort’s advice and hold our troops for now."

"Southern Prince, we are all as concerned for the Khan’s safety as you are, but one misstep leads to another. We must proceed with utmost caution; let’s wait another half an hour."

As everyone had their say, Ji Xueyuan knew that to insist on leaving would only arouse suspicion.

He sat in his seat, fidgeting and silent.

However, Ji Xueyuan quickly came to a realization. Now that his plans had been exposed and he would have to rebel sooner or later, why should he care about maintaining a facade of honor?

If Yelu Yan came back, his doom would be sealed.

The situation was dire, not a moment could be spared.

Why not rebel now, capture the Great Prince as a hostage, and take the chance to flee far away?

Just as he was about to order the action, a clear voice came through.

"Southern Prince, seeing your sincere devotion, and since you are so restless, why not lead your troops and go welcome the Khan?"

Ji Xueyuan looked incredulously at Li Xianyun.

First, she didn’t let him go, and now she was suggesting he go—what exactly was she playing at?

Regardless, he couldn’t care less about these trivial matters right now; he just needed to escape.

Ji Xueyuan gave a bow to Yaduo and left the men’s seating area.

The guards he brought with him immediately followed, and they hurried off.

As Ji Xueyuan got far enough away from the men’s area, Li Xianyun stood up, pulled out the token given to her by Yelu Yan from her sleeve, and said in a deep voice, "By the Khan’s Decree, Ji Xueyuan intends to commit treason, arrest him!"

Upon these words, there was an uproar among the crowd.

The Khan’s Decree of the Khitan had only one token; seeing the decree was like seeing the Khan himself.

Whoever held the token had the authority to order all officials and command all troops.

The Khan had entrusted such a precious token to the hands of the Princess Consort, showing an extraordinary level of favor and trust.

The Khan had placed the fate of the Khitan nation and his own life in the hands of the Princess Consort.

As soon as Li Xianyun finished speaking, a swarm of guards poured in from all directions, completely sealing off the viewing area of the hunting ground.

Jinwu and his men guarded the women’s seating, while another group firmly protected the men’s area.

"Prince, we are outnumbered; what should we do now?"

Ji Xueyuan, seeing that their plot had been completely exposed, commanded, "Send one team to capture the Great Prince, and another to capture the Princess Consort! The rest, follow me and break out of the encirclement!"

No sooner had he finished speaking, than over a dozen men turned and leapt towards the male guest area, while another dozen charged towards the female guest area.

It seemed that Ji Xueyuan had already prepared for various possibilities, including this worst-case scenario.

Capturing either the Great Prince or Li Xianyun would serve as a bargaining chip to threaten Yelu Yan.

Of course, capturing Li Xianyun would be ideal, with the Great Prince being a secondary plan.

Ji Xueyuan had not discounted the idea of taking Yaduo hostage.

However, with her martial skills, Yaduo was difficult to control in a short time, so they had to target the weakest two individuals.

It was now clear that Ji Xueyuan’s betrayal was a done deal.

The male guests, who had seen their share of the world, quietly withdrew to one side, protecting the Great Prince behind them.

Panic ensued among the female guests; although these Khitan women were adept at horsemanship and archery, and some even had military merits, most of the noblewomen and high-born ladies had lived lives of luxury and were unaccustomed to scenes of bloodshed.

The crowd was filled with piercing screams, adding to the chaos of the scene.

Li Xianyun, watching the crowd, loudly said, "Everyone, retreat to the rear hall. Those who do not comply, or cry and make noise, regardless of rank, will be executed on the spot!"

Her words had an effect, and the women stopped crying, instead following the guards’ instructions to retreat towards the house behind the long pavilion.

When the guard reported that Yelu Yan was injured, Yelu Xuan had left Li Xianyun’s embrace and returned to his mother’s arms.

At this moment, Li Xianyun, supporting Yaduo, walked toward the house with the other ladies.

Seeing this, Ji Xueyuan said, "We cannot let the Princess Consort escape. If we capture her, we still have a glimmer of hope!"

More men surged towards the position of the female guests, and at that moment, a rustling sound of secret arrows being fired was heard; many of Ji Xueyuan’s tribesmen were struck down and killed.

But now was the time for a desperate fight with their backs against the wall. It was a matter of life and death for them, so Ji Xueyuan’s tribesmen fought bitterly.

They say that even the most thorough plans can have a fatal flaw, and Ji Xueyuan found a weak point, personally leading his soldiers to break through the encirclement.

Jinwu anxiously watched as Ji Xueyuan and his men broke through the ranks and headed straight for Li Xianyun.

If anything happened to the Princess Consort, how would he explain it to the Khan?

But he was entangled by several men and couldn’t break free. He could only shout loudly, "Protect the Princess Consort!"

Li Xianyun saw Ji Xueyuan catching up, and at the same time, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl was tripped by her clothing and fell to the ground.

Her companion tried to pull her up but ran off, leaving the girl sitting on the ground, clutching her ankle.

A sorrowful cry echoed out, "My granddaughter, my poor granddaughter!"

The speaker was an elderly noblewoman who had said her granddaughter was very fond of Li Xianyun, and always went to Xuanyi Pavilion to catch a glimpse of her with her young friends.

At that time, Li Xianyun was playing with Yelu Xuan and was unaware of this information.

But Li Xianyun knew that Ji Xueyuan was seeing red, and the young girl was just in his path. The odds were not in her favor.

The noblewoman wanted to save her granddaughter, but the people around her firmly held her back.

Knowing it was a path to certain death, how could the others watch her willingly walk into it?

Li Xianyun took the Khan’s Decree from her sleeve and put it in Yaduo’s hand, saying, "Grandmother, I leave this to you."

Yaduo knew what she was about to do and grabbed her wrist, "Xianxian, you must not go. If something happens to you, I cannot answer to Ayan."