"Liu Wang, why are you doing this to yourself? If you put down your weapon, His Majesty will surely spare you," Chu Chen said helplessly. "His Majesty still hopes you can unite and defend against foreign enemies."
Li Mengdie couldn't help but laugh at his words. "Defend against foreign enemies? You're overthinking it. In my heart, you are the foreign enemies. What I've prepared is all to deal with you." Li Mengdie roared at Chu Chen, who was high above, as she fought.
Chu Chen watched Li Mengdie kill relentlessly, feeling a pang of unease. After all, Li Mengdie had a history with him, and Chu Chen naturally didn't want anything to happen to her. However, in front of Li Xinyue, if he saved Li Mengdie, wouldn't that be equivalent to telling Li Xinyue that he and Li Mengdie had something going on? Even though Li Xinyue was usually slow to catch on, she should have figured it out at such a critical moment.
Chu Chen thought for a moment and said to Li Xinyue, "You should go down and rest in the warm pavilion. Wait for the outcome."
Li Xinyue said with some difficulty, "I want to watch my second sister and make sure she doesn't get hurt."
Chu Chen smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, Princess, I won't let her get hurt."
Li Xinyue hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed. "Alright, I'll go back and wait for you. Remember, you must not let my second sister get hurt. Mother Emperor must miss her dearly. Capture her alive and bring her to me and Mother to see."
Chu Chen nodded in agreement and took Li Xinyue back to the warm pavilion.
Seeing this, Li Mengdie let out a cold laugh. "Why has Li Xinyue hidden? Is she so fond of being a turtle in a shell?"
Chu Chen shook his head. "Second Princess, Liu Wang, stop being stubborn. What's so good about that position? It's full of bloodshed and turmoil."
Li Mengdie shook her head. "Since the position is so bad, why don't you let Li Xinyue give it to me?"
Chu Chen was speechless. Li Mengdie then continued with a smile, "So, there's nothing more to say, right? This is your hypocrisy. As long as your interests are touched, you'll put on a disguise in private. Everything you're doing now is futile in my eyes. I'm prepared to fight you to the death. At worst, we all die together. If I can't have this position, no one else will either."
As she spoke, Li Mengdie's killing aura intensified significantly compared to before. She was now in a state of rage. If Chu Chen hadn't tried to persuade her, she might have remained calmer. The thought of Chu Chen standing on the side of her opponents made Li Mengdie feel an urge to kill.
"The throne is mine, and you are mine too. Chu Chen, with your abilities, you could remain in power no matter who the emperor is. How about it, don't you want to fall into my embrace?" Li Mengdie's words had a double meaning. Others might find them strange, but they wouldn't know why. However, Chu Chen understood clearly that Li Mengdie was trying to strike at his heart!
Chu Chen took a deep breath. He couldn't let her continue speaking, or Li Xinyue would surely become suspicious. After a moment of hesitation, Chu Chen led his men to charge down.
"Liu Wang, since you want to fight, I'll fight you properly." Chu Chen produced a spear and approached Li Mengdie. They began to fight fiercely, just like they did in Mengdie County. The surrounding subordinates fought their own battles, and the two sides were evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand.
Chu Chen smiled and said, "Liu Wang, your strength has improved again. You can fight me to a draw. It's clear you've had some gains recently."
A hint of pride flashed across Li Mengdie's lips. "You noticed? Yes, I did have another fortuitous encounter. And that's not all. I will continue to grow stronger. As long as I can't defeat you, I will keep getting stronger. Chu Chen, I admit my strategies might not be as good as yours, but I'm not inferior to Li Xinyue. Why can't you stand by my side? If we two join forces, we will surely achieve great things." Li Mengdie spoke with a heart full of pain.
Chu Chen smiled bitterly. "Your Highness, what you said is a bit incorrect. As a subject, I must be loyal to His Majesty. If I am not loyal to His Majesty, how can Your Highness expect me to be loyal to you when I join your ranks?"
Hearing this, Li Mengdie was rendered speechless. Chu Chen was right; she naturally hoped Chu Chen would be loyal to her.
"Regardless, I will recruit you, young man. You will agree whether you want to or not. Don't forget, we've had a history together. When you face me, you can't stand up straight."
Chu Chen was dumbfounded. He felt that Li Mengdie was going mad. If they stayed any longer, Li Mengdie might reveal their past. With a feigned move, Chu Chen tricked Li Mengdie and acupressure-sealed her. Li Mengdie was in the midst of battle and had never expected Chu Chen to resort to such a tactic. Her state was still focused on the fight, and her expression appeared somewhat ferocious.
Chu Chen had intended to order everyone to stop fighting. However, thinking about his past relationship with Li Mengdie, Chu Chen felt a sense of helplessness. If he didn't fight, Li Mengdie would likely fall into the hands of Li Xinyue and His Majesty. How His Majesty would treat Li Mengdie was unknown, and Chu Chen didn't want to take that risk. Therefore, he could only take Li Mengdie away, which might temporarily resolve this conflict. This battle, he thought, would likely result in the complete capture of the rebellious forces in Shuangyue City, leaving no further problems.
With this thought, Chu Chen immediately took Li Mengdie and left. His wings flapped, and in the blink of an eye, he soared over the fighting crowd and rushed into the distance. Although everyone saw Chu Chen leave with someone, most didn't see who it was. The majority of the people present were kept in the dark and continued to fight instinctively. In fact, at this point, even if someone shouted for them to stop, they probably wouldn't be able to. The battlefield was too chaotic. Once a fight started, it was beyond anyone's control whether to fight or stop.
Chu Chen, with Li Mengdie, arrived outside. He shuttled through Shuangyue City, but couldn't find a suitable place to land. Returning to the Prime Minister's mansion might be safe, but it was hard to guarantee His Majesty wouldn't find out. After much deliberation, Chu Chen decided to take Li Mengdie back to the Empress's palace. Outside the palace, a fierce battle was still raging, reaching a fever pitch, seemingly a fight to the death.