Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess

Under such circumstances, Ye Zhuchan took action herself.

...

Lion Blood Pass.

At the third watch, the sound of the clapper echoed heavily in the silent night sky.

Inside the central tent, the candle flames flickered unsteadily with the gust of wind through the camp.

Li Kuanglan was seated upright in the tent, meticulously polishing the sword in his hand.

This sword, which had been with him for nearly thirty years, seemed just like him; despite its age and wear, it carried an increasingly intense aura of battlefield bloodshed deep in its core.

Five days ago, in front of the envoy sent from the Capital, he had struck this sword on the table and coldly said: "Tell the Empress Dowager, I only recognize the Tiger Talisman bestowed by the late Emperor, not some Nine Golden Volumes!"

These words reached the Capital, angering Luo Wanqing and causing her to fling half a room's worth of memorials.

The Li Family's lineage had been loyal and heroic for generations.

As far as Li Kuanglan was concerned, it didn't matter much to him which Prince of the Zhou Family ascended to the throne in the Capital; his sole bottom line was that the throne must not fall into the hands of an outsider.

Outside Lion Blood Pass, the Yanrong army still lurked with menacing intent.

The brutal stalemates in recent days had left both sides exhausted, unable to engage in large-scale battles for the time being.

Faced with the stubbornly tough Li Kuanglan, Empress Dowager Xiao had no choice but to secretly accept the situation and slow down the pace of her offensive, attempting to find other breakthroughs.

Fortunately, the Snow Domain Divine Soldiers, due to certain special restrictions, did not dare to openly participate in Dazhou's warfare, which undoubtedly gave Li Kuanglan great confidence in defending Lion Blood Pass.

At this moment, a cold wind quietly slipped in.

The weak candlelight flickered violently, almost going out.

Li Kuanglan instinctively tightened his grip on the sword's hilt.

But then he saw inside the tent, at some point, a graceful woman in plain clothes had appeared.

The woman wore a veiled hat, with thin gauze gently waving in the wind, hiding her face and making it impossible to see her expression.

During this period, whether it was Yanrong or other forces, assassins would be sent to try to send this military god to the grave, but they all failed without exception.

After all, Li Kuanglan survived countless life-and-death tests in this chaotic world to live until now and was by no means an ordinary person.

To prevent the assassination of the commander, the command tent was indistinguishable from ordinary military tents in appearance, devoid of flag marks, mixed in with the supply or cooking units, and only the core trusted aide knew its exact location.

Fake command tents were set up in three different places in the camp, with body doubles sitting inside, changing the lights and schedule randomly every day.

The personnel defense was also extremely meticulous, with special-trained mastiffs aside from cross patrols.

The ability to successfully infiltrate the heavily guarded military camp, avoid hidden traps, and find the main tent demonstrated the assassin's formidable skills.

Li Kuanglan maintained a calm demeanor, slowly wiping away the bloodstains left on the blade, and said blandly: "Speak, are you sent by Yanrong, or... by that kid Jiang Shouzhong."

"Does General Li trust his son-in-law so little?"

Ye Zhuchan raised her hand and slowly lifted the veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful face to Li Kuanglan.

The woman smiled brightly and said, "Surely, as a father, you understand Miss Nanshuang's feelings."

Li Kuanglan was surprised at her beauty, but hearing her mention his daughter, he snorted coldly:

"A father's job is to support matters of romance. If that Jiang Shouzhong behaves properly and honestly, I naturally wouldn't play the villain who breaks up a couple.

But now? Since he has chosen to tread the path of a traitor, I, Li Kuanglan, would rather have my daughter remain single for life than let her have any involvement with Jiang Shouzhong!!"

"There are not many in this world who can consistently adhere to their stance. At the crux, it is simply that the benefits are not enticing enough, or that they haven't been presented with terms that could sway them."

Ye Zhuchan's slender fingers gently brushed against the blood-stained armor on the rack beside them, and she smiled as she spoke,

"As for your Li Family's renowned loyalty and heroism, take your ancestor Li Qiusheng, for example. He was also a general during the previous dynasty.

The rank might not have been very high, but he was ultimately a general of the previous dynasty. Back then, how come no one heard of a vow of loyalty unto death from the Li Family?"

"This..."

Li Kuanglan was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to retort.

His face flushed red, and he muttered:

"The decisions of my ancestor, I indeed cannot judge. But there is one undeniable fact: my Li Family now eats Dazhou's grain and receives Dazhou's grace. So, no matter what you say, I will never acknowledge that boy Jiang Shouzhong!"

Ye Zhuchan smiled gently: "Miss Nanshuang is currently in the Capital, with your Li Family; you should know this news."

"I have already received the letter sent by Nanshuang."

Li Kuanglan nodded with a heavy expression.

After Zhou Yin's death, Li Nanshuang, who had been under surveillance in the Medicine Valley, was also rescued and sent to the Capital.

In Li Kuanglan's eyes, Jiang Shouzhong's actions were essentially no different from what Zhou Yin had done before; they were all using his family to threaten him.

The only difference was that Li Nanshuang might have gone to the Capital voluntarily.

But although his daughter was willing, he, as her father, would not compromise!

Ye Zhuchan's face bloomed into a breathtakingly beautiful smile, instantly illuminating the somewhat dim tent.

The woman's tone was gentle: "I plan to give your daughter a gift, likewise, this gift is also for the Li Family. Or rather, it is a chip you cannot refuse."

"Hmph!"

Li Kuanglan snorted coldly and said, "No matter what gift it is, I, Li Kuanglan, will not accept it. You better take it back as soon as possible."

Ye Zhuchan did not waste any more words, she just raised her hand and slowly took an object from her bosom, gently placing it on the table.

"What about this?"

Ye Zhuchan smiled brightly at him.

Li Kuanglan initially did not pay attention, but when he saw clearly the object on the table, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, a look of disbelief on his face.

...

Two days later, Dazhou's number one war god, Li Kuanglan, suddenly announced high-profile cooperation with the Jiang Family Army to resist the enemy.

This news, as soon as it spread, stirred up a storm across the entire Dazhou.

Immediately following that, Li Kuanglan sharply criticized the former Crown Prince Zhou Yin publicly, stating that he had the "heart of a jackal and fox, causing chaos in the court," and was a scourge to Dazhou.

Not only that, he openly revealed the shocking secret of the Qingzhou massacre, exposing the former Emperor Zhou Chang's crime of city slaughter that year.

It is said that when the old general said these words, his eyes were bloodshot, and he forcefully broke the steel knife at his waist.

Initially, people were skeptical, but soon, the citizens and even the soldiers who had survived and escaped from Qingzhou to the Ten Thousand Mountains came forward to testify one after another.

For a time, Dazhou's people's impression of the Royal Family reached an extreme low.

In every street and alley, people talked about these matters with intense indignation.

Soon, a group of so-called "passionate youths" emerged in the populace, speaking fervently and demanding strongly that the current Emperor abdicate the throne in compliance with public opinion.

The Empress Dowager was "furious" and immediately dispatched a large number of troops to execute cruel suppression and arrest. She even indiscriminately arrested some ordinary people and families who originally supported the Zhou Royal Family.

For a time, people were in a state of panic.

At this time, various rumors spread like a plague across Dazhou.

There were rumors that the court was preparing to discard Jiang Shouzhong after achieving its goal, planning to strike him down and suppress the Jiang Family Army.

Others vividly claimed that the Jiang Family Army had already been purposely cut off from supplies by the court, suffering heavy losses, with soldiers in great distress.

And as the Empress Dowager, Luo Wanqing, in her "anger," even uttered wild words, frankly saying that the former emperor did nothing wrong in the Qingzhou massacre, and the commoners were not worth saving in the first place.

Such rebellious remarks drove the people's anger to its peak.

As the Empress Dowager, Luo Wanqing, in her "anger," further declared that the former emperor did nothing wrong in the Qingzhou massacre, and those commoners were not worth saving, among other rebellious remarks.

Many officers and soldiers also indiscriminately arrested people.

In such a situation, the situation spiraled further out of control, things escalated increasingly, and public resentment burned like a raging fire.

The calls for the Emperor to abdicate became increasingly louder.

Moreover, with Li Kuanglan's public statement, originally vacillating, indecisive forces, also chose to respond one after another.

However, few people knew that after Li Kuanglan spat out those angry words, when he returned to his tent, this previously agitated old general instead looked up and burst into hearty laughter, drinking three jars of strong liquor in a row.

Li Kuanglan's gaze remained fixed on that shining Treasure Seal on the table.

It was the Empress Dowager's seal left by Ye Zhuchan.

Unique in the world.

Just like the Imperial Jade Seal.

The stake Ye Zhuchan offered was—

Once Jiang Shouzhong becomes Emperor, then Li Kuanglan's beloved daughter, Li Nanshuang, will become the Empress, mother of the nation.