Chapter 2629: Trapped with No Way Out

As they spoke, an old man in white robes arrived, seemingly walking on air. With his refined, handsome face and flowing white robes, one could easily imagine how many young women he must have been the dream lover of in his youth.

"Brother Yu!" Seeing him arrive, the three who were in the thick of battle simultaneously ceased their attacks.

As his stance was unclear, everyone feared he might launch a sneak attack from behind at a crucial moment.

The newcomer was none other than Grand Guardian Yu Rui, one of the Eight Dukes.

Had she seen his arrival earlier, Bi Linglong would have been very pleased. Given the relationship between Yu Yanluo and Zu An, Yu Rui was theoretically a natural ally.

But now, she felt no joy at all, because the words he had just spoken revealed too much.

Sure enough, the other three looked at Yu Rui in confusion. "Brother Yu, what did you mean by what you just said?"

"The literal meaning, of course," Yu Rui snapped. "You are clearly on the same side, yet she incited you into infighting with just a few words. You've truly wasted your advanced age!"

Given the status of the Eight Dukes, if they had been scolded like this on a normal day, they would have instantly turned hostile. But now, they were more concerned about the hidden meaning behind his words. They exchanged glances, each thinking, "Could it be..."

Yu Rui, fearing these idiots would start fighting again if he continued to speak in riddles, decided to speak plainly: "I have learned from the Prince of Guangling that you have secretly pledged allegiance to different vassal kings. You are now actually on the same side. Fighting like this is truly a joke."

"What!" Their hearts trembled. Their first reaction was that Yu Rui might be trying to lure them out.

To avoid further complications, Yu Rui directly stated which vassal kings had contacted each of them. With this, the three had no more doubts.

Having been known as the Eight Dukes together for so many years, they had considerable camaraderie in private. Exchanging glances, they all understood the unspoken message:

"I can't believe even you, with your honest-looking face, have defected?"

Zhuang He couldn't help but curse, "Old scoundrel Du, you just had such a righteous expression; you almost fooled me!"

Du Jian's face felt a little hot. "I was just worried you weren't on the same side."

Cheng Yuan also laughed. "Brother Du, to be honest, I never expected you to defect to the Prince of Yan. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been fooled by you just now."

Whether in Bi Linglong's eyes or theirs, Du Jian indeed had no reason to betray.

"A wise man submits to circumstances," Du Jian said, a little embarrassed. After all, such an act could be considered selling out his master for glory and was certainly not an honorable thing. So he changed the subject, saying, "I didn't expect Brother Yu to also 'abandon darkness for light'."

This was not only Du Jian's confusion but also Bi Linglong's. She asked in a cold voice, "Grand Guardian Yu, why?"

Yu Rui was silent for a while and did not explain the reason. Instead, he said calmly, "Crown Princess, the general situation is lost now. It's time to surrender. I, Yu, will guarantee your personal safety."

He did not address her as 'Your Majesty,' nor even 'Empress.' Instead, he called her 'Crown Princess,' clearly indicating he did not recognize her recent status.

Bi Linglong held her sword horizontally in front of her, her expression solemn. "The soldiers below are fighting to the death; how can I surrender first?"

Zhuang He laughed. "Do you really think you can defeat the few of us alone?"

The others also showed a hint of a smile on their faces. After all, before Zu An's sudden rise, the Eight Dukes were the world's most powerful experts. Any one of them was a legendary figure to ordinary people, let alone having four of them now.

"Someone once told me," Bi Linglong said, "no matter what difficulties you encounter, never give up. If you persevere, there will always be a day when things turn around." A gentle expression appeared on her originally serious face. The beauty of that moment greatly impressed the four old men.

"Such words are merely hollow consolation. What's the point of persisting now that things have come to this?"

A long laugh echoed, and a contingent of people surged up from a small side path.

Leading them was none other than the Prince of Yan.

Bi Linglong truly smiled sweetly. "Prince of Yan, you are too cunning. I did all this to finally lure you out successfully. Grand Guardian Yu, Minister Du, you deserve the greatest credit."

The Prince of Yan's expression changed upon hearing this. He quickly recoiled, and at the same time, ordered his trusted experts to protect him.

Zhuang He and Cheng Yuan were furious. "Yu Rui, Du Jian, you two truly are treacherous!"

They had actually never quite believed how these two could betray Yu Yanluo. Now, seeing the Prince of Yan's reaction, they suddenly understood.

To prove their worth to their new master, the two immediately launched an attack.

Yu Rui and Du Jian were both startled and enraged. While defending, they explained, "Don't listen to that demoness's nonsense!"

Bi Linglong then changed her words to match the flow: "That's right, I was indeed just speaking nonsense."

Zhuang He and Cheng Yuan had initially been somewhat skeptical. Seeing her act this way, they instead believed that she, seeing the situation had completely collapsed, was settling for keeping Yu Rui and Du Jian as viable forces so that the two could seize opportunities in the future.

Especially when they thought that these two would be formidable rivals in the future, it would be better to eliminate them now and have two fewer competitors later.

So their attacks became even more ferocious.

Yu Rui and Du Jian saw that their explanations were useless and that they were in precarious situations. They couldn't help but get angry and also began to counterattack. In an instant, the surrounding houses were destroyed and trees were pulverized.

Fortunately, experts from the Prince of Yan's side came forward to block the aftermath of their battle, preventing it from affecting the Prince of Yan and Bi Linglong.

The Prince of Yan clapped his hands. "That little girl is indeed full of tricks. She made them fight among themselves with just a couple of sentences. However, no matter how many schemes you have, you are at the end of your rope now."

Bi Linglong was silent. Although the four were now fighting each other, the Prince of Yan had a multitude of experts on his side, while she only had a few guards left by her.

Those few guards, however, were resolute. They drew their waist knives and stood in front of her, crying, "We swear to defend Your Majesty to the death!"

Murong Qinghe and Zhang Zitong, on the hillside, also noticed the disturbance here. They wanted to bring people back to rescue her, but the rebel soldiers had already received orders to firmly hold them back, making it impossible for them to break free.

Bi Linglong also saw all of this clearly. She secretly sighed in her heart, "A'Zu, I have persevered to the very end as you said, but unfortunately, I still cannot see any glimmer of hope."

She looked at the Prince of Yan, who was not far away. "I have one last question, which I hope the Prince of Yan can answer. What conditions did you use to persuade them to betray me?"

Given the current situation in the city, the betrayers were definitely not just these four.

The Prince of Yan sneered. "Demoness, do you think stalling for time will be effective? Considering you are just a woman, I'll give you a chance to end your own life with dignity. If you don't want to do it honorably, don't blame me for having someone do it for you."

Bi Linglong was indeed very beautiful, and it would be a great pity for her to die like this. However, her status was too special. He was the one about to ascend the throne, and he was also her elder. If he didn't handle this well, it could easily damage his reputation.

Her suicide would be the best outcome. Once news of her death spread, how could the imperial forces still resisting maintain their morale?

Bi Linglong silently raised the sword in her hand. As an empress and a woman, if she were to die, it could only be by her own hand.

"A'Zu, I'm sorry." A clear tear fell from the corner of her eye as the sword in her hand moved directly towards her neck.

In that instant between life and death, she seemed to see a beautiful rainbow.

So beautiful. How wonderful it would be to sit with A'Zu and watch a rainbow.

A doubt also crossed her mind: How could there be a rainbow at night?

"Didn't I tell you never to give up, no matter what?" A warm voice suddenly sounded, with a tone that was both reproachful and tender.