My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

The dark and damp underground was only illuminated by a few candles lit on the walls, which vaguely indicated that it was a prison cell. The cell was airtight, and there was not a sound, let alone any light.

In such a place, one cannot even perceive the passage of time, nor can one distinguish between spring and summer, or day and night.

Every mealtime, an old eunuch with a hunched back would carry a food box down the steps, place the food outside the cell door, and come back to collect the bowls and chopsticks at the next meal.

Pei Yuyan watched as the old eunuch put down the food box day after day, bowed to him, and then pushed the food box away.

He gazed at the dimly lit staircase, which had only a dozen or so steps and wasn't very high, and murmured unconsciously, "Today is the summer solstice."

The ground was covered with straw, which covered countless characters of varying shades, the last one of which had only three strokes.

There are no seasons or days and nights in the dungeon; he can only tell how long he has been there by the daily meals delivered to him.

He remembered that he had been imprisoned here for two years and five months...

His response was a long, deathly silence.

How could he forget that, in case someone spoke to him, his good father had specially chosen a deaf-mute person who could neither speak nor hear anything?

This so-called food delivery person was nothing more than a moving puppet.

She's no different from him.

Pei Yuyan lost to Pei Ji when he was only one step away from the throne. When he was first captured, he really wanted to die.

But he was unwilling to die like this; he wanted to watch his good father fight Pei Ji to the death.

He didn't believe Pei Ji didn't want to be emperor. In his eyes, Pei Ji was a hypocrite, even more disgusting than him, a charlatan.

What right does a good-for-nothing who doesn't even dare to admit he wants to be emperor have to sit on the throne?

It was this will that sustained him, allowing him to survive in this endless loneliness.

Soon, the old eunuch, hunched over, slowly climbed the stairs again. Pei Ji watched helplessly as the only glimmer of light on the steps was about to disappear as the stone door closed.

Just as his gaze was about to dim completely, the sound of swords piercing his body echoed in the dark, secluded room.

Pei Yuyan's eyes, which were like deep pools, suddenly lit up. He slowly got up and walked to the cell door.

They watched helplessly as the old eunuch's body rolled down the steps, and then a group of people went inside and cut the chains on his cell door.

When he stepped out of that cage and the sunlight shone on him, he felt alive for the first time.

"Your Highness, I am the deputy general of Lord Gong Hui. His Majesty has been bewitched by the evil concubine, deposed the virtuous concubine and the second prince, and wants to establish the infant seventh prince as the crown prince."

"Minister Wen advised His Majesty to release you, but His Majesty confiscated your entire family's property. He then committed suicide by crashing his head into the Golden Palace. Now, you are the only one who can save Great Yan."

Before them was a small squad of Imperial Guards, led by a man surnamed Feng who claimed to be Gong Hui's deputy general and had been waiting for an opportunity to rescue him for over two years.

They managed to break into the dungeon and rescue the emperor while he was at the Summer Palace.

Pei Yuyan didn't care at all whether this man surnamed Feng was loyal or not. He was originally a thin man, and after being imprisoned for two years without seeing the sun, he looked particularly pale and weak, as if a gust of wind would blow him over.

He calmly straightened his sleeves, even though he was only wearing prison clothes and hadn't been able to wash himself for years, which made him smell bad. He still managed to show composure.

"How many men do you have under your command?"

"Your Highness, the Imperial Guards number three thousand and are all at your disposal."

He clicked his tongue softly. What can three thousand people do?

Perhaps sensing the dissatisfaction in his words, Deputy General Feng whispered, "But these three thousand men are all elites. His Majesty only took two thousand men with him to the Summer Palace, half of whom are ours. We can take advantage of their unpreparedness and capture the wicked concubine by His Majesty's side and the seventh prince whose background is unknown."

Pei Yuyan forced a smile, but his face was so pale it was almost transparent, making the smile appear exceptionally eerie.

He smiled and said lightly, "Very good, we'll do as you say."

"However, kill them all, leave no one alive."

Deputy General Feng was stunned for a moment. He had been considering this move for more than two years. He had originally joined Gong Hui in the rebellion, but he was lucky enough to break his leg and was recuperating at home.

He thought he was going to miss the opportunity to make a name for himself, but unexpectedly Pei Yuyan was brought down and Gong Hui was beheaded, while he escaped a disaster.

However, another deputy general who was originally subordinate to him was promoted to commander for his meritorious service in capturing Gong Hui.

The people who used to have to be mindful of his mood are now behaving arrogantly and domineeringly towards him. How could Deputy General Feng possibly swallow this insult?

Moreover, that person somehow managed to get close to the currently favored Consort Chun, and seeing that there was no chance to bring her down, he turned his attention to Pei Yuyan.

He hadn't taken the deposed crown prince seriously, but Wen Xiang's bump woke him up.

The emperor's great purge did not manage to arrest all the civil officials. There were still so many veteran officials in the court who supported the crown prince. As long as the deposed crown prince was rescued, he would be the greatest contributor.

For this purpose, he planned for a long time, bowing and scraping to the commander to lower his guard, and then tricked his men into going to the summer palace, where he took the opportunity to rescue the deposed crown prince.

It was only because the emperor had been indulging in sensual pleasures and hadn't paid much attention to court affairs that he had the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

But he didn't expect it to be so simple, which allowed him to rescue the person.

"Then, what about His Majesty?"

Pei Yuyan raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight and coldly uttered a single word: "Kill."

-

Before having a heart-to-heart talk with Wei Nanxun, Pei Ji had already made up his mind. He just didn't expect that the couple would be so in sync, and her thoughts were exactly what he was thinking.

The sandstorms here are too strong, and the winters are too cold. His wife has already explored the surrounding area and there's nothing left to do. So they decided to go back and stay at the Empress's Kunning Palace to see if the dragon bed and phoenix couch are comfortable.

Almost as soon as he raised his hand, people from all directions who heard the commotion immediately rushed towards him.

Before Pei Ji could formulate a strategy, the sixth imperial edict arrived, along with news of Wei Rongde's imprisonment.

The charge was accepting bribes and embezzling silver.

Wei Rongde is Prince Su's father-in-law. Even if he really accepted bribes, so what? Who would be so blind as to arrest him? In the end, it's just a pretext to force Pei Ji to come to the capital.

The imperial edict was delivered directly to the Prince's residence, so Wei Nanxun naturally knew about it. If Pei Ji hadn't caught her in time, she would have almost fainted from fright.

Once Wei Nanxun had recovered somewhat, she tugged at Pei Ji's sleeve and shook her head: "Aji, it's a trap."

He knew, of course, that it was a trap, just as everyone else did.

But he had no choice but to go. If Wei Rongde were to be injured because of them, how could they, as his children, be at ease?

In fact, the couple had wanted to transfer Wei Rongde to the border, but the emperor was very wary and there were always people monitoring Wei Rongde.

"You can rest assured and take care of your pregnancy at home. I'll go and bring your father back."

Wei Nanxun's fingers were tightly intertwined with his. They had been through life and death together and had been married for many years, so they had a tacit understanding. There was no need for any more words.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back. I'll be here in the city and in the mansion."

"I will stay behind to protect the Prince's Palace. He will then coordinate with the general guarding outside the city."

Wei Nanxun's pregnancy is already quite advanced, and she will be giving birth in two months. She shouldn't be subjected to too much fright. If possible, Pei Ji doesn't want any internal strife to break out at this time.

But even though he doesn't offend anyone, people still come to bully him. So he has no choice but to wipe them all out and clear the way for them.

-

Wei Nanxun personally escorted Pei Ji and five thousand soldiers out of the city gate, watching until the yellow sand kicked up by the horses' hooves dissipated and their figures could no longer be seen, before withdrawing his gaze from the distance.

Princess Li supported her and comforted her softly, "I may not have any other skills, but I'm always good at judging people."

"Although my prince was seen by others as incompetent, powerless, and without status, and died as a leisurely prince who never accomplished anything significant, he treated me extremely well. When I was pregnant with my first child, I injured my body and barely managed to raise the child to the age of three before he died."

"So I thought of finding him a few more concubines, since he has to have children to carry on the family line."

“But he still got angry with me, saying that I didn’t like him anymore. He was angry with me for half a month because of this. Many people said behind his back that he was afraid of his wife and me. He didn’t feel ashamed at all. He was always happy. Where can you find a person like that?”

When Princess Li spoke of the late Prince Li, her eyes were filled with tenderness. No wonder the princess, who had lived a lonely life without children, was willing to guard the palace for the prince.

"I've watched Pei Ji grow up. Among all the emperor's brothers and his children, Pei Ji is the most capable."

"This country should belong to the capable. You're in luck."

Wei Nanxun still trusted Pei Ji on this point; if he could survive such a dangerous situation, nothing could defeat him.

She was just afraid that if her father became a hostage, it would affect his judgment, and she would be in great pain no matter who got hurt.

But Princess Li is right. What she can do now is to protect herself and the child in her womb so that Pei Ji has no worries.

She then stayed at home to rest during her pregnancy, keeping a close eye on news from the capital.

Half a month later, instead of receiving a letter from Pei Ji, she learned that there had been unusual activity at the border.

In the northwest, an unknown tribe destroyed the Rouran Khanate and silently approached the nearest town on their border, looting it completely and setting it on fire, burning the entire town to the ground.

It was only when Yun came to report that he mentioned that several unusual incidents had recently occurred in the city, which were different from ordinary fights and brawls, and were all committed by outsiders.

Since the incidents weren't very serious—just snatching things and arguing with people—he didn't take them to heart.

Looking back now, those foreigners weren't there to cause trouble, but rather to gather information in the city.

They were clearly prepared; they knew Pei Ji wasn't in the camp and that he had taken many people with him.

The Great Yan Dynasty had a total military force of about 500,000, of which Pei Ji had 150,000. However, not all of them were stationed in this camp, but were distributed throughout the northwestern frontier.

There are about 50,000 soldiers in the camp outside the city. 30,000 were taken away that day, so there are only 20,000 left. It is definitely enough for defense. After all, the banners of the Prince of Su alone are enough to intimidate the surrounding small countries.

But this unknown tribe came with overwhelming force and wiped out the Rouran in one fell swoop. They must have taken in many prisoners. If they really take this opportunity to attack, without Pei Ji, the border city will definitely not be able to withstand it.

Wei Nanxun's expression instantly turned serious. Xiang Lüfu and the others did not understand the crux of the matter, but Princess Li understood it.

He quickly supported her waist from behind: "At this moment, you must not panic. If you lose your composure first, everyone else will follow suit."

Wei Nanxun glanced sideways and gave Princess Li a grateful look. Although it was the Empress Dowager who introduced them as godparents, after spending many days together, Wei Nanxun genuinely regarded her as an elder.

"But I've never encountered anything like this before... I don't know if I'm right."

"Trust your own judgment. Pei Ji dared to entrust a city to you because he trusts you, and you should trust yourself as well."

Wei Nanxun was trembling all over. She tried her best to calm herself down and gently placed her hand on her swollen belly. After a while, she heard her own voice, which was slightly trembling, say: "Ji Yun, tell the border general and the deputy general in the camp to come to my residence to see me immediately."