Ye Yubei froze for a moment. "Consort Shu... poisoned herself."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I arrived a moment too late. Consort Shu had already succumbed to the poison," Commander Bai said, his voice growing even heavier.
With the loss of someone who could keep the King of Yue in check, the king would only become more brazen.
"Mm. Keep this from getting out for now." Ye Yubei lowered his eyes, his expression betraying neither joy nor anger.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Prince Yue had been placed in a chair. His legs were bandaged, and his entire body was wrapped like a mummy, leaving only his eyes exposed.
"Ye Yubei, where is Consort Shu?"
"Consort Shu is, of course, resting comfortably in the palace to nurture her pregnancy. If the King of Yue withdraws his troops now, I can still spare her life. Otherwise, all the King of Yue will see of her is her corpse."
The King of Yue hesitated. If not for his concern for Consort Shu, he would have attacked the imperial city long ago. His twenty thousand soldiers could easily overwhelm its three thousand imperial guards. But Consort Shu...
Grand Secretary Lu said, "King of Yue, if we attack now, the entire imperial city will be ours. We will certainly be able to rescue Consort Shu."
"What do you know? Consort Shu is still in Ye Yubei's hands. If I launch a reckless attack, what if he harms her?"
Grand Secretary Lu continued, "He won't. Whatever else may be said, Consort Shu has been by His Majesty's side for twenty years. How could he bring himself to kill her?"
The King of Yue gave Lu Qin a cold look. "That's because you don't understand Ye Yubei. That man was born without much feeling."
Grand Secretary Lu shut his mouth,