The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 619: Chapter 619 Grand Finale (4): So That’s How It Is_1

Chu Lan then turned to Wei Jinyi and asked, “How long can the Imperial Army hold up against the siege from the five Troop Commanders?”

“Are you sure it’s five?” Wei Jinyi asked.

Chu Lan’s eyes darkened at the question.

Old Master Lu then said, “Commander Yu Dongshan of the Western City is an old trainee of mine. Before I entered the palace, I saw him and he agreed to support the rightful heir once he learned of the authenticity of the edict. He will not help a tyrant.”

After finishing his words, Old Master Lu subconsciously glanced at Wei Jinyi.

Seeking out Yu Dongshan was a suggestion from Rui Prince. It seemed that Rui Prince had long foreseen everything would come to this.

With one fewer city involved out of the five, the remaining four stand.

In this scenario, Chu Lan’s chances of winning appear even more promising.

At this moment, Tan Ruyuan, a young man with a slender figure, stepped forward from the crowd, “My Tan family is willing to serve Rui Prince, as a way to repay Queen Rui’s lifesaving favor on our family head.”

The speaker was Tan Ruyuan, the elder cousin to the South City Troop Commander, Tan Rufeng. Both men were among the Tan family members who were rewarded by the Emperor three years ago as thanks for a loan given to the court.

His words, it seemed, also stood for Tan Rufeng.

What everyone didn’t know was when interactions between Queen Rui and the rarely seen head of the Tan Family happened.

Chu Lan looked at Wei Ruo. He had expected her to be a hindrance.

However, what he didn’t expect was that a woman from the inner palace would have such an impact on the army of the previous dynasty.

Two out of the five Troop Commanders now supported Rui Prince, with the Imperial Army also under his control.

The situation now had two sides with almost equal military power. But with the advantage of being the garrison inside the Imperial City, the Imperial Army had the geographical advantage.

Upon calculation, it seemed that Rui Prince’s chances of winning were even slightly higher.

Inside Qianqing Hall, the expressions on the minister’s faces varied.

From outside, the sound of intermittent shouts and fighting could be heard, making it hard to tell which side was gaining the upper hand.

For a while, everyone was hesitant about who to side with, afraid to make any wrong decisions that would cost them their prospects and life.

At this moment, Minister Fan Shuyi unexpectedly spoke, “The Fan family has always been loyal to the Emperor. We initially thought King Jing was the chosen one, hence, we complied with his orders. Now that we know the truth, we can no longer stand with him. I believe that once we explain this fake edict and King Jing’s usurping ambitions to Commander Fan Xiu of the Northern City, he would not continue to aid in King Jing’s tyranny!”

Fan Shuyi spoke passionately, declaring his own position while explaining the reason for the Fan family’s support of King Jing.

Fan Shuyi’s words undoubtedly were the last straw that overwhelmed Chu Lan.

If the commander of the Northern City flipped sides, the scales of victory would tip in favor of Rui Prince.

This old fox Fan Shuyi, as expected…n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Always opportunistic, steering himself according to the wind.

Chu Lan knew from the beginning that Fan Shuyi was this kind of person. He had assumed that the Fan family would have no opportunity to betray him since he had all the power. Unexpectedly, his situation deteriorated so quickly.

Wei Jinyi seemed to have already anticipated that the Fan family would flip sides, he said, “In that case, I’ll have to trouble Minister Fan to make a trip to the commander of the Northern City.”

Zhang Yi and Fan Chengxu walked in from outside the hall to stand before Fan Shuyi. They had been waiting for a while for Fan Shuyi to declare his position.

“My uncle, please, the horses are ready, and the path to leave the palace has been cleared.” Fan Chengxu said to Fan Shuyi.

Seeing Fan Chengxu, Fan Shuyi was visibly taken aback and then looked at Wei Jinyi.

It was evident that Fan Chengxu being present today was part of a plan to persuade Fan Shuyi, and if Fan Shuyi didnt figure it out himself, Fan Chengxu would persuade him.

All this is within Rui Prince’s calculations!

“Minister Fan, please proceed,” Zhang Yi said.

Fan Shuyi no longer hesitated and left with Zhang Yi and Fan Chengxu.

Seeing this, Chu Lan knew his situation was hopeless.

He had lost. He had lost thoroughly.

Perhaps he never stood a chance from the start. His father, the Xiu family and Chu Yi – they all set the stage. All the pieces are in position, waiting just for him to make his move.

Chu Lan looked at Wei Jinyi, smiled and said, “I really underestimated you, my younger ninth brother. When you first appeared before me with the edict, I thought you simply received it and in a moment of impulse, decided to seize the throne. I didn’t expect your preparations to be so thorough.”

“It’s not that I underestimate the enemy, but you disguised too well, so well that everybody believed you truly lacked the ability to fight for the throne.”

With those words, Chu Lan suddenly made his move, attacking Wei Ruo like an arrow leaving a bow.

Everyone thought that Chu Lan’s target would be Rui Prince, but, unexpectedly his target was Rui Queen, who was standing to one side of the hall.

Chu Lan’s attack was sudden, Wei Ruo could only manage to step back. Chu Lan aiming his dagger straight at Wei Ruo.

In the split second, a white figure arrived like lightning, kicking Chu Lan’s dagger from his hand.

Wei Jinyi acted very timely, kicking away Chu Lan while standing in front of Wei Ruo.

Although occupied with confronting Chu Lan, Wei Jinyi was always mindful of Wei Ruo’s safety, so he immediately reacted when Chu Lan made his move.

Immediately after, he shifted from defensive to offensive, using his lightweight skill to approach Chu Lan further.

Wei Jinyi was weaponless. His offense was with just his fists and feet, but every punch and kick were as dangerous as weapons, each one with killing intent.

Chu Lan dodged quickly, being forced on the defensive while looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

The two commenced their fight from the eastern side to the western side of the hall, all in the presence of all the civil and military officials, even in front of their father’s spirit tablet.

The fight between these two was not uncommon to Wei Ruo. They had fiercely fought each other back in Taizhou. Back then, Chu Lan was also unable to beat Wei Jinyi.

Everyone was stunned to witness the fight, even General Lu, a war veteran, witnessed such a scene for the first time.

Both of their martial arts skills were among the best of that era. Their speed was so fast that they could barely keep their eyes on it, and the power was enormous, causing massive damage to the pillars and ground in the vicinity.

What puzzled everyone was how Rui Prince’s martial arts skills were so high, wasn’t he just recovering from a serious illness?

The fight continued for a while, and the outcome started to emerge slowly.

Wei Jinyi’s attack was fierce, like a wild beast in a raging river, unpredictable. Chu Lan had no way to avoid it and nowhere to hide.

In his panic, Chu Lan failed to dodge Wei Jinyi’s full-force kick in time, got hit right in the chest, was sent flying in midair before heavily falling to the ground.

Chu Lan cradled his chest with one hand and propped up his upper body with the other.

He looked at Wei Jinyi, shocked for a moment before breaking into a laugh.

“So that’s it, that’s it… Chu Yi, Chu Yi, what a massive set-up you have made,” upper body propped up, he painfully and bitterly muttered.

This latest exchange and the familiar tactics had made Chu Lan realize that Chu Yi was none other than Wang Jin, Wei Ruo’s guard all those times ago.