Chapter 422: This Is the Worst Strategy
Duo Bao's eyes turned gloomy as he made a hand signal.
The black-clad figures behind him simultaneously drew their crossbows. With several whooshing sounds, the garrison soldiers shielding Yun Ze fell to the ground.
Duo Bao drew a long sword from his waist and pointed it at Yun Ze: "Lord Yun, blame yourself for being the Empress Dowager's brother."
As the sword gradually approached, Yun Ze drew the bamboo flute hanging at his waist and blocked Duo Bao's attack.
Duo Bao knew Yun Ze possessed martial skills, but they were slightly inferior to his own. He pressed forward aggressively with a fierce assault.
Confident in his ability to kill Yun Ze, he didn't order the twenty black-clad figures behind him to intervene, only stationing them to block the mountain path to prevent Yun Ze's escape.
Yun Ze retreated step by step, forced against an ancient tree.
His bamboo flute holding off the sword, he spoke calmly: "Eunuch Duo Bao, how about we make a deal? If you pledge loyalty to the Empress Dowager, then my Yun family..."
"Enough nonsense." Duo Bao's eyes darkened. "Take this!"
"I gave you a chance, but you refused it."
Instead of engaging, Yun Ze dodged the attack.
At that moment, dozens of guards in dark clothing emerged from the shadows, each radiating killing intent.
The Yun family had long cultivated a group of one thousand death warriors. When Yun Silin left the capital, he entrusted all thousand to Yun Chu and Yun Ze.
Knowing this mission involved a trap, Yun Ze hadn't underestimated the danger and brought two hundred death warriors.
Two hundred death warriors against twenty mere assassins was child's play.
In the blink of an eye, all twenty opponents were dead.
"Lord Yun's strategy is indeed brilliant!" Duo Bao gripped his sword tightly. "Our Prince truly underestimated you!"
Night had fallen, and the group's black clothing made them nearly invisible in the dense forest.
Surrounded on all sides with no escape, Duo Bao stood trapped in the middle.
Yun Ze wiped his bamboo flute and reattached it to his waist, speaking gently: "Eunuch Duo Bao, would you care to hear my terms again?"
Duo Bao raised his sword and, before Yun Ze could react, plunged it into his own abdomen.
He spat blood and collapsed to the ground.
Yun Ze approached: "Loyal to the end, but to the wrong master."
He bent down and closed the dead Duo Bao's unseeing eyes.
His guards assumed he would arrange a proper burial, as their young master was always compassionate and gentle toward everyone.
"Wrap him in a straw mat." Yun Ze stood up. "Throw him at the entrance of the Regent's Residence."
He glanced at the slain capital garrison soldiers: "Bury them with dignity."
That night, the moon was full.
Chu Rui lay awake, finding sleep increasingly elusive. He often stayed awake until dawn, endlessly pondering various matters.
A manor soldier came to report: "Your Highness, someone dumped a corpse at the residence's entrance."
Chu Rui froze, then abruptly stood up.
He hurried toward the entrance.
In his haste, he stumbled and nearly fell.
Reaching the entrance, he saw the straw-wrapped body in the lantern light. Kneeling, he personally uncovered the mat to reveal a familiar face.
"Duo Bao..."
Chu Rui's voice trembled.
Duo Bao hadn't been with him since childhood. He was a pitiful soul Chu Rui encountered during a secret escape from the palace.He was a pitiable man himself, which made him especially unable to bear seeing others suffer. He rescued Duo Bao from a group of thugs.
Duo Bao had no parents, no siblings, not a single relative in this world. Despite possessing exceptional martial skills, he refused to fight back against the thugs, having already resolved himself to die.
Seeing how similar Duo Bao was to himself, he kept Duo Bao by his side as a eunuch, though in reality, Duo Bao was never actually castrated.
He thought to himself that once he ascended the throne someday, he would appoint Duo Bao as an official, find him a wife, and help him have children of his own. With blood relatives, a person would naturally develop the will to live.
Everything had just begun—how could Duo Bao already be...
"It's all my fault..."
Chu Rui's voice was extremely hoarse.
He had underestimated Yun Ze, thinking that sending just twenty men would be enough to take Yun Ze’s life.
How could he have been so careless?
It was his carelessness that had caused Duo Bao’s death.
"Yun... Ze!" He clenched his fists tightly. "I will make you pay with your life!"
The night passed silently.
The next morning, the court session proceeded as usual, with the same old discussions.
News came from Yun Ze’s side that the bandits had been eliminated, and a doctor and medicinal herbs had been found in a cave and sent to Ningzhou.
Yun Chu breathed a sigh of relief.
However,
even with the herbs and the doctor dispatched, the plague showed no signs of improvement. Instead, the main city of Ningzhou had also been affected.
The officials sent by the court tried to manage the situation by isolating the sick, but there were simply too many people to handle. Infected individuals roamed freely, causing tens of thousands of civilians to contract the plague. Many died tragically every day, and it was said that the stench of burning corpses had lingered over Ningzhou during this period.
Since those who died were infected, failing to burn the bodies would allow the disease to seep into the rivers, infecting even more people...
The situation grew increasingly severe, and the court officials no longer dared to take it lightly.
"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, at this rate, the plague will reach the capital in half a month."
"Even the doctors are helpless. This plague is too severe. If we cannot save them, we should abandon the effort—otherwise, who knows how many more will die?"
"Lord Qiu, what do you mean by 'abandon'? Please elaborate."
"If it weren’t for the infected roaming everywhere, the plague wouldn’t have worsened so much. I propose we gather all the infected and burn them..."
"Gasp! These people are merely sick, not heinous criminals. This is inappropriate, utterly inappropriate!"
"If we don’t do this, they will bring the plague to the capital. Then even we court officials will fall ill, with grave consequences."
"Though it is the worst option, given the current situation, we have no choice. The court is not acting recklessly; on the contrary, we must do this to protect more civilians."
"This... Alas..."
Those who opposed could offer no alternative, and the hall buzzed with hushed arguments.
"Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, please decide quickly. This matter cannot be delayed!"
The pressure mounted.
Though Chu Hongyu was intelligent, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he could think of no viable strategy.
Still, he had his own judgment and declared, "No matter what, we cannot sacrifice the common people. I do not agree.""Your Majesty, even a gecko knows to sever its own tail to protect itself when in danger. Humans should do the same," Minister Qiu advised. "If a person is poisoned, cutting away the infected flesh in time can save their life. This may be the worst option, but it is also the most secure one."
"Since you know it is the worst option, there is no need to say more," Yun Chu's voice came softly from behind the beaded curtain. "This grieving one has another method."
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