Chapter 496

Following the conclusion of Li Ying Xuan Ling's deployment, the group of people in the hall received their orders and withdrew one after another, leaving only Qiu Peng and a few others in the end.

Of course, Tie Xinchuan, who was in the center of the main hall, was still holding Han Yue's corpse in a daze. Hearing that Li Ying Xuan Ling's deployment had ended, he suddenly reacted, quickly put down Han Yue's corpse, and bowed to Li Ying Xuan Ling above:

"My Lady, this subordinate requests to join the Left Route Army to crusade against Beishuo!"

Tie Xinchuan's volume was not loud, but the monstrous hatred revealed in that low tone made the backs of Qiu Peng and the others feel slightly cold.

Li Ying Xuan Ling did not immediately agree to Tie Xinchuan's request, but first swept a glance at Yuan Bai and the eight commanders of the Dragon Guards behind him, and then said in a deep voice: "My son met with danger tonight, and the culprits are Beishuo along with the two major vassal towns of Chen Cang and Cai Qiu. There is no doubt about this.

But Han Yue did not have to die. You should all know this in your hearts, right?"

As her voice fell, the nine people behind, including Yuan Bai and Lu Dong, were immediately filled with shame. They were already kneeling on the ground, and after hearing these words from Li Ying Xuan Ling, they immediately turned their direction and kept kowtowing to Tie Xinchuan.

"Alright, stop it! Even if you kowtow until your heads break, Han Yue will not come back to life. Since you have made a mistake, you should naturally be punished..."

Li Ying Xuan Ling paused after speaking, and after thinking for a moment, she continued: "The Dragon Guards will set off immediately, head to Dongchuan City, merge into the Left Route Army, and be under the command of Left Route Marshal Xia Chuan. In this Great Xia Northern Expedition, all Long Jinwei soldiers will not be credited with any military merit."

Not to mention Tie Xinchuan—looking at him like this, even if he were told to slaughter the Beishuo town city, he probably wouldn't hesitate. Yuan Bai, Luo An, and the others were even more so; they were currently filled with guilt over Han Yue's death. Right now, taking revenge on Beishuo was probably the only way to slightly compensate Tie Xinchuan.

Therefore, Li Ying Xuan Ling's denial of military merit was less of a punishment and more of an opportunity for them to make up for their mistakes.

Although Yuan Bai, Lu Dong, and the others were filled with shame at this moment, they still bowed respectfully to Li Ying Xuan Ling and said in unison, "Thank you, My Lady!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling waved her hand, turned her head to look behind the high platform, and said in a deep voice: "Bring them both in!"

Han Shuang led Xia Yu Yao and Xia Yu Sheng out from behind the high platform, walked slowly into the hall, and arrived in front of Han Yue's corpse.

Seeing the three of them appear, the people in the hall were not surprised; it was clear they had already known they were standing behind.

"Second Sister..."

Han Shuang's eyes were already red and swollen from crying. Walking to her sister's corpse, she finally couldn't hold it back anymore. Her legs went soft, and she threw herself directly into Han Yue's arms, sobbing as she called out "Second Sister," unable to speak through her tears.

Xia Yu Sheng widened his pupils, staring fixedly at Han Yue's corpse, his body even trembling slightly, not knowing what he was thinking.

Of the three, the one with the least reaction was Xia Yu Yao. She lowered her head and carefully examined Han Yue's corpse, a hint of coldness slightly revealing itself in her eyes. Then, thinking of something, she gently reached out and poked her younger brother.

Xia Yu Sheng was startled out of his trance. He turned his head to look at his sister and immediately reacted. He gritted his teeth and walked to the front of Tie Xinchuan, bent his legs, and was actually planning to kneel down to him.

"Uncle Tie, I'm sorry!"

"Second Prince..."

Seeing Xia Yu Sheng's action, Li Ying Xuan Ling's brows furrowed sharply; Qiu Peng even exclaimed in surprise, leaping forward in an attempt to stop Xia Yu Sheng.

However, there was no need for him to do so.

Seeing Xia Yu Sheng's legs bending, Tie Xinchuan had already realized what he was about to do and directly leaped forward to support him. Hearing Xia Yu Sheng's tearful apology, a look of being moved flashed across his face, and he said in a deep voice: "The Second Prince is of golden body, how could this subordinate dare to accept such a great gift?

Yue'er's death has nothing to do with the Second Prince. If one must insist on blaming someone, it is also because this subordinate was lax in governing the army, giving that pack of beasts led by Yang Jian an opportunity. If I couldn't even see this much, I would have lived in vain after receiving the Lord's teachings for so many years."

Seeing Tie Xinchuan take the initiative to stop Xia Yu Sheng and say these words, a look of satisfaction flashed across the faces of Li Ying Xuan Ling, Qiu Peng, and the others.

Tonight, the death of Han Yue, apart from the culprits, the greatest indirect responsibility must lie with Lu Dong and the group of Long Jinwei soldiers. But in the end, they were also unintentional, having suffered from a lack of combat experience.

Xia Yu Sheng actually had some responsibility as well, but compared to Lu Dong and the others, his responsibility was somewhat insignificant.

"It was I who caused Aunt Han Yue's death. If I hadn't kept clamoring to go out of the city, those people wouldn't have found an opportunity, and Aunt Han Yue wouldn't have died protecting me. Uncle Tie, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Unfortunately, the still-childish Xia Yu Sheng was now fixated on this idea, taking all the blame upon himself. His small body struggled continuously in Tie Xinchuan's arms, clearly still wanting to continue kneeling down to apologize.

Seeing her son in this state, Li Ying Xuan Ling frowned slightly and said sternly: "Is it useful for you to kneel down and apologize to him?"

"I..."

Scolded sternly by his mother, Xia Yu Sheng stopped immediately, then turned his head to look at her with teary eyes, his face full of confusion and helplessness.

Seeing Xia Yu Sheng's pitiful appearance and thinking that her son had only just turned nine this year, Li Ying Xuan Ling couldn't help but soften a little. However, her expression did not change in the slightest; she only softened her voice slightly and continued: "If you really feel you were wrong, then cultivate well and become strong. Before you have the strength, don't clamor to go out of the city again. I have said more than once before that your status is different from others. Right now, the Southern Foothills region is about to undergo great changes, and the five northern towns are all eyeing you. This time, I was also at fault; I shouldn't have been soft-hearted and let you go out of the city..."

Li Ying Xuan Ling was truly a bit regretful in her heart at this moment. She knew very well how much risk her son took by going out of the city at this critical juncture. But after all, she had kept her son locked up for more than four years, and she was a mother after all; no matter how hard-hearted she was, she couldn't withstand her son's continuous entreaties.

She had originally thought that with the protection of Meng Ying and the other two, plus several Beast King puppets, and just in the Milk Tiger Forest outside the city, there shouldn't be any danger. She even deliberately moved up the date of her son's trial in the Milk Tiger Forest by two days.

Who could have imagined that Yang Jian's group could lie in wait in the depths of Red Wood Ridge for such a long time? As soon as Xia Yu Sheng's royal carriage moved, they came immediately.

Stealth and cross-border teleportation—the methods of the vassal towns were truly impossible to guard against. If not for Han Yue protecting him with her life, this time...

"Mother, until I break through to the Manifesting Yang level, Sheng'er will never step half a step out of Xia City from now on!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Xia Yu Sheng's firm words.

Qiu Peng and the others nearby had their expressions change slightly upon hearing this. Looking at the firmness on Xia Yu Sheng's still-childish face, their hearts were slightly moved.

The Second Prince seems to have grown up!

Xia Yu Yao also turned her head to look at her younger brother at this moment, her eyes full of amazement.

As his sister, she knew best how much her brother yearned for the world outside Xia City. Being able to say these words in front of his mother showed just how much of an impact this incident had on him.

Hearing her son say such firm words for the first time, a strange look also flashed across Li Ying Xuan Ling's eyes. After thinking for a moment, she said slowly: "With your aptitude, breaking through to the Manifesting Yang level is not difficult. I hope you will keep your word!"

Han Yue's death seemed to have been a great help to her son's growth.

After this thought arose in Li Ying Xuan Ling's mind, she waved her hand and said: "Han Shuang, go with Tie Xinchuan to arrange Han Yue's funeral. Yuan Bai, you go too. Yao'er, Sheng'er, you two go back to the Star-Plucking Hall first."