The Princess's Plot

Lin Baichuan was no ordinary man. He didn't immediately believe Ye Kang.

Ye Kang didn't need his trust. He simply produced his Imperial City Department Waist Token and said calmly, "Ye Kang of the Imperial City Department. I've been ordered to protect the Ninth Princess. As long as the Ninth Princess isn't involved, I won't interfere in anything."

Lin Baichuan furrowed his brow and nodded. "The Ninth Princess's safety is of the utmost importance. We can't afford to be careless. My lord, you may stay at my residence for now. Hanzhi, come with me to invite the Ninth Princess."

"Yes, Father."

Lin Hanzhi didn't even have time to wash off the dust from the road. She immediately arranged a room for Ye Kang, then hurried to the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

All along the way, Lin Baichuan never let down his guard.

"Daughter, this Lord Ye's strength is unfathomable. If he really is with the Imperial City Department, then fine. But if he isn't..."

Lin Hanzhi shook her head.

"Father, you needn't worry. Lord Ye killed a host of Golden Saber Sect masters, including Elder Fire, the sect's second-strongest fighter. If he were an impostor, he would have paid far too great a price."

"That's true, but nothing must happen to the Ninth Princess. We'd better not let them meet just yet."

"What do you mean, Father?"

"Let's see the Ninth Princess first."

The two said nothing more and soon reached the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

As Prefect, Lin Baichuan had visited the Ninth Princess many times before, so he was quickly granted an audience.

When he explained why he had come, the Ninth Princess and Old Wu behind her exchanged glances and smiled wryly.

"As expected, that fellow has thrown my plans into disarray. After killing Elder Fire, the Golden Saber Sect is bound to lose patience."

Old Wu nodded as well. "No wonder their operation has been brought forward by so many days. General Sikong's troops haven't finished deploying yet. Mengzhou City will surely be plunged into a bitter battle."

"I'd planned to draw all these traitors out and wipe them out in one fell swoop. But it seems we'll have to close the net early. Guards!"

At the Ninth Princess's shout, an Imperial Guard immediately entered and bowed respectfully.

"Pass on my verbal order: tell General Sikong to prepare his troops to march. As soon as fighting breaks out in Mengzhou City, have him rush to our aid."

"Yes, Highness."

The Imperial Guard quickly withdrew.

The Ninth Princess continued, "I wonder how many other restless sects we'll flush out this time, besides the Golden Saber Sect and the Sword Worship Sect—and that Mysterious Person secretly rallying the Rebel Faction."

"Your Highness, rest assured. Though that person never shows himself, once the fighting begins, he won't be able to avoid leaving traces. Leave him to me. I'll surely draw out the forces behind him!"

"Thank you for your efforts, Old Wu. But since Lord Ye has arrived, we can't leave him idle either. Lord Lin, take my warrant and tell him I'm ordering him to guard the city gates and do his part for Mengzhou City."

"Your Highness, that Lord Ye is quite headstrong. I'm afraid he won't simply obey."

"True. Innate Masters are such a nuisance. If he refuses, you can tell him this..."

"This..."

Lin Baichuan and his daughter were both dumbfounded.

How could the Ninth Princess before them be so different from the innocent, mischievous little girl they'd known before?

But they were both clever enough not to ask.

Only after they left the Grand Tutor's Mansion did Lin Hanzhi let out a breath of relief.

"Father, judging by the Ninth Princess's words, does she already know the Rebel Faction is going to cause trouble?"

"Royal folk are never simple. She's stayed in Mengzhou for over half a year without leaving. She's probably been waiting for the Rebel Faction to show itself. I just don't know how many of my prefectural troops will be left after this..."

Lin Baichuan sighed, his face etched with weariness.

After returning to the residence, they relayed the princess's orders to Ye Kang.

Ye Kang was completely dumbfounded.

"What is this supposed to mean? They're sending me to watch the city gates?"

"Lord Ye, Her Highness means for you to help me defend the city."

"Isn't that just watching the gates? That Little Girl really doesn't know what she's doing. I might as well knock her out and drag her back."

Lin Baichuan was startled by his words and hurriedly said, "Lord Ye, you mustn't! Her Highness has her own arrangements. She must have prepared for this rebellion in advance. You absolutely mustn't disrupt her plans!"

Lin Hanzhi also immediately called out, "Her Highness said that if you can keep Mengzhou City safe, it wouldn't be impossible to add another Deputy Commander to the Imperial City Department!"

"Absurd! Do I look like someone who craves power?"

"I'm doing this for the people of Mengzhou City."

Ye Kang put on a righteous expression and immediately abandoned the idea of tying up the princess and taking her back to the capital.

As if!

Consort Jing had only promised to turn him from a provisional Tongzhi Lang into a full-fledged one. The princess was far more generous—she was offering him the Deputy Commander's post!

A promotion and a fortune, all in one day!

No wonder Ye Kang had sat the civil service exam eleven times. His love of government employment surpassed everything else.

Seeing him like this, Lin Hanzhi and Lin Baichuan were at a loss for words.

Mystery solved. This man was definitely part of the imperial court.

First arrogant, then deferential—thinking about it was laughable.

A classic.

Though Lin Hanzhi felt a little disdainful, she still hurried after Ye Kang, and they quickly reached the city wall.

With Lin Hanzhi's warning, the city's defenses had been greatly reinforced. Rows of soldiers stood ready for battle.

But to Ye Kang, they were far too weak.

"The prefectural troops are much too weak. Most of the soldiers aren't even third-rate fighters, and there are barely any third-rate masters among them."

Lin Hanzhi looked a little embarrassed.

"The prefectural army's budget is limited. My father has already cut costs wherever possible, and even then, he could only scrape together a two-thousand-man city guard. There was nothing else he could do."

"Only two thousand? Do you know how many people the Rebel Faction has?"

"As far as I know, the bandits on Liuhe Mountain number as many as twenty thousand. If you add the bandits from the other hills, large and small, there are at least thirty thousand."

As Lin Hanzhi spoke, her voice grew quieter.

She knew that without reinforcements, this would be a completely uneven battle.

The two sides were worlds apart in strength.

"Wasn't there also a barracks in Mengzhou? Where are they?" Ye Kang continued.

Lin Hanzhi again looked embarrassed. "The Ninth Princess said General Sikong's troops are responsible for intercepting the Allied Army of the Golden Saber Sect and the Sword Worship Sect. Compared to the bandits, those people are the hardest to deal with."

"She's not wrong. Then this is going to be troublesome."

"Lord Ye, there are plenty of martial artists in the city too. My father has already gone to rally them. They've settled here, so surely they'll do their part to defend the city!"

"That's a drop in the ocean."

Ye Kang furrowed his brow.

Just then, the System Sound suddenly rang out.

[Ding]

[Mission Released: Pre-battle Dance (The host must use an overwhelming presence to intimidate the bandit coalition and raise his reputation)]

[Mission Reward: Awarded according to reputation gained]

A mission!

Raise his reputation?

Wasn't this just a chance to show off before the battle?

Ye Kang was suddenly thrilled.

Showing off was right up his alley!

Since the Ninth Princess had promised to make him Deputy Commander, he might as well seize this opportunity to make a huge splash and earn a great merit. Then his promotion would be perfectly justified!

With that thought, Ye Kang immediately put on a righteous expression.

"The enemy outnumbers us, but there's no need to worry. Two thousand against thirty thousand—the advantage is ours!"