Miss Jun hadn't seen Lu Yunqi for two days.
Upon hearing her words, a smile appeared on Lu Yunqi's indifferent face.
"I know I'm not back," he said.
If he returned, he would definitely come to her instead of being at home and not showing up.
This was inevitable for him, and she was also very sure of it.
Being sure can also be a form of understanding.
And understanding only exists between familiar people.
So, she was indeed familiar with him.
"Familiarity has many forms," Miss Jun said indifferently.
"It's all the same, doesn't matter," Lu Yunqi said, sitting down before her without dwelling on the matter, "What's the matter?"
"I've thought about it, the choice you mentioned before," Miss Jun said, "Take me to see Princess Jiuli."
No matter if she was unable to hold on here anymore or had other plans, Lu Yunqi shook his head.
"It's not possible now," he said, "I need to take you out of the capital now."
Out of the capital?
"Why?" Miss Jun asked.
Lu Yunqi looked at her.
"The Jurchen people have attacked the capital," he said.
Miss Jun stood up abruptly, her expression incredulous.
She knew that punishing the Duke of Chengguo would inevitably cause chaos in the northern lands, and the Jurchen people would take the opportunity to create trouble.
But she never expected it to escalate to this extent.
"The capital?" she looked at Lu Yunqi, wanting to say, "Are you joking?" or "Who are you fooling?" but she knew this man wouldn't joke or lie, "How did they reach the capital?"
Lu Yunqi's expression remained calm, as if he was discussing today's weather rather than the concern of national ruin.
"The Jurchen people set a trap for Uncle Qinghe, posing as if they were consolidating for a massive attack, prompting Uncle Qinghe to mobilize large reinforcements, especially troops from Jingdong Road," he said.
"With Jingdong Road's forces depleted, the Jurchen people launched a surprise attack straight through," Miss Jun said, "Is it that simple?"
Lu Yunqi nodded.
"That simple," he said.
Miss Jun sat down again.
"That simple," she murmured.
Yes, it sounded unbelievable. With so many troops stationed in the northern lands at such a distance, the Jurchen people could just appear at their doorstep?
But it wasn't impossible; despite winning battles, they would kneel down to negotiate peace, giving the Jurchen people a chance to recover, and sought fame by submitting. They ceded three territories, allowing the Jurchen to step into the heartland, marshaling troops that gathered at the gates, and stripped generals of power, replaced them with new ones, throwing the northern troops into chaos.
The doors of the northern lands swung wide open, so naturally, the Jurchen people kicked them in, unstoppable and unyielding.
Thus, the efforts of ten years could collapse overnight, from impregnable to vulnerable, just as easily, all due to a momentary notion.
"Even so, it doesn't mean we can't hold, there are Imperial Guards near the capital," she said, lifting her head again, "Reinforcements will definitely come from the north too."
She stood and paced two steps while thinking.
"Even if they reach the capital gates, the city's fortifications are solid, and as long as everyone is united, it's not something that can fall in a day or two."
Since relocating the capital here, with the shadow of Kaifeng City's fall looming, the city's fortifications have been continually maintained and reinforced over the years.
"Perhaps," Lu Yunqi said, clearly unconcerned, "But the emperor is leaving."
The emperor is leaving…
Miss Jun looked at him in stunned shock once more.
What does it mean?
"Does this leave mean he's personally going to fight the enemy?" she asked.
Lu Yunqi chuckled.
"Of course not," he said.
Then it means…. running.
Miss Jun stepped forward and kicked over the stool Lu Yunqi was sitting on.
"Useless," she cursed angrily, "How can we flee at a time like this? Once we flee, morale will collapse, and the capital truly won't be defendable."
Lu Yunqi's expression remained placid.
"Let's go," he said.
If the emperor was fleeing, Lu Yunqi would undoubtedly follow, so he was bound to take her as well.
"Don't worry about Jiurong and Princess Jiuli, the emperor certainly won't take them, but I'll have someone make arrangements," he added.
Miss Jun bit her lip, stepping in front of him in a single step, nearly tripping over the stool she kicked due to her agitation.
Lu Yunqi reached out to steady her.
"Take me to see the emperor, we absolutely cannot run now," Miss Jun said hastily, not shaking him off.
"You still want to persuade him?" Lu Yunqi said, as he leaned down to pick up the stool and place it aside, "Don't be naive….."
His voice halted here, his body stiffened, he slowly raised his head, looking at the woman in front of him.
Miss Jun's hands were still bound, but at this moment, they landed on his neck as he leaned down.
Her hands were strong, but they couldn't possibly knock him out.
However...
The prick in his neck grew more pronounced.
"Jiuling, stop fooling around," Lu Yunqi said, looking at her slowly.
Miss Jun said nothing, her expression calm as she looked at him, devoid of the prior anger and impatience upon hearing of the emperor's flight.
"Truly impressive," Lu Yunqi said, looking at her with a smile.
This praise bore no irony, it was a sincere commendation, his gaze was even bright with admiration and joy.
Even under such circumstances, she still hid something for self-defense and could wait this long.
"What is it?" Lu Yunqi asked, "A poison needle? Where was it hidden?"
He was curious about where it was hidden, not the poison needle despite it already piercing his neck.
"On you? In your flesh?" he quickly figured out the answer himself.
To hide a poison needle on one's body, one must first become a poison needle, to avoid being harmed by it.
It's like that saying, to kill others, first kill oneself.
Lu Yunqi frowned as he looked at Miss Jun.
"That must hurt," he said.
With that, he shut his eyes and fell to the ground with a thud.
Only at that moment did Miss Jun let out a heavy sigh of relief and thankful prayer.
If it was as the master said, needles hidden in flesh had to be nurtured for a long time with drugs to be deadly in one strike. But Jun Zhenzhen's body hadn't had enough time, she could only refine it to the point of being intoxicating and numbing.
Still, she wasn't sure of its effectiveness, though it seemed to work fine.
But as she hesitated, Lu Yunqi, lying on the ground, already started moving his hand.
The drug wasn't potent enough, time was pressing, Miss Jun dismissed her wild thoughts and stepped over him to rush out.
The servant would've left after Lu Yunqi entered. However, during mealtime, she would definitely wait outside to hear instructions about clearing the food box, but it wasn't mealtime now, so she must have left.
She had been to this dungeon before, quickly sprinting up the stairs, reaching for the wooden panel covering the exit with her tiptoes and pushing it.
With a crash, the panel didn't budge but instead emitted the sound of chains clanging.
Miss Jun's face turned pale.
It was locked?
Locked from the outside?
To imprison her, did he not even trust himself? Did someone even hold the key to lock him inside too?!
This madman!
Miss Jun pushed against the wooden panel with her bound hands, but only the sound of chains responded to her.
She didn't know how Lu Yunqi usually ordered the people outside to open the door, nor did she care to think now. If anyone outside inquired, she would simply say that Lu Yunqi was killed by her and see if they'd open the door.
Still, no one inquired from the outside, while the sound of a chair clattering came from within.
Miss Jun turned to see Lu Yunqi still lying on the ground with eyes closed, but his hand jerked, knocking against the chair.
Lu Yunqi was already resisting the effects of the drug, and with his skills, he would soon move again.
If she couldn't escape this time, with Lu Yunqi's madness, she might never have another chance in this life.
Having lost her bearings, Miss Jun contemplated whether to continue assaulting the door or turn back and use the chair to kill Lu Yunqi first. As she stood there blankly, the wooden panel atop made a rattling sound, immediately followed by its lift, letting sunlight pour in, bright and dazzling. Yet Miss Jun dared not squint, wanting to see who it was clearly to respond appropriately, she gazed upwards intently, only to see a woman's face intrude her view.
Miss Jun stood frozen.
The woman looking in was also frozen.
"Sister," Miss Jun murmured instinctively.