Chapter 497: Where There Was Life, There Was Hope
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Niaoniao was overjoyed. Xiao Juan had finally found her!
When she looked at Princess Ni Yang, she saw that the other party was looking at her with an extremely sinister gaze. Her heart skipped a beat.
Yu Niaoniao pretended to be calm and asked, “Don’t tell me Your Highness wants to use me as a hostage to force Xiao Juan to retreat?”
Princess Ni Yang did not deny it.
This was a tacit agreement.
The female general beside her clearly had the same intention. She spoke quickly.
“Lord Yuan Gui has already been killed by Duke Lang, and all his troops have been captured.
With just these people in our hands, we can’t compete with Duke Lang.
“In my opinion, Duke Lang values the Princess Consort so much. Why don’t you threaten him with her life and force him to retreat?”
Before Princess Ni Yang could speak, Yu Niaoniao spoke first.
“So what if Xiao Juan is willing to retreat?”
“The Imperial Court has already discovered your scheme and knows that this is your nest. Even if Xiao Juan does not kill you, the emperor would still send troops to suppress you.”
“If you want to live, you can only escape in panic and hide like a stray dog. You may not be have the next meal after eating. There would be no tomorrow after today.
‘Your Highness, can you stand this grievance?”
Princess Ni Yang’s knuckles turned pale as she gripped the hilt of her sword, and her expression turned even uglier.
The female general hurriedly advised.
“Your Highness, don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s deliberately provoking you.”
“Let’s stall Duke Lang and fight for an opportunity to leave this place.As the saying goes, where there’s life, there’s hope. As long as you’re alive, there will definitely be a day when you make a comeback!”
Yu Niaoniao continued to dampen their spirits.
“That’s easy to say. What can you use to make a comeback? Yuan Gui is dead, his troops have been seized, and even the iron mine hidden in the Chillywind Valley has been discovered. Now, you don’t have money or people. On what basis do they have to work for you? Could it be because of Her Highness’s peerless beauty?”
The female general was exasperated. “Shut up!”
Yu Niaoniao did not even look at the female general as she stared intently at Princess Ni Yang.
“Your Highness prides herself on her peerless talent and wisdom. She wouldn’t bring herself to do such a despicable thing, right?”
Princess Ni Yang suddenly thought of something and laughed.
“You’re right. I really can’t stand this grievance.”
The female general was extremely anxious. ‘Your Highness, as long as you’re alive, there’s still hope. You’re familiar with books. So many big shots in history have made a comeback after experiencing defeat. As long as you survive this, you’ll definitely be lucky in the future!”
Yu Niaoniao said, “Don’t forget that the big shots you’re talking about are all men. They suffered nothing more than starvation, cold, and being looked down upon. ”
“But you’re a woman and a beautiful woman at that. I don’t need to tell you what a beautiful woman who can’t protect herself will encounter. You should know.”
The female general was furious. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. You’re deliberately scaring the princess to make her give up resisting and surrender. Dream on!”
She then said to Princess Ni Yang.
“Ignore this woman. As long as I’m with you, no one can bully you!”
Yu Niaoniao said, “You cant even protect yourself, so how can you protect others?”
The female general gritted her teeth in anger, wishing she could kill Yu Niaoniao now.
However, she still had to use Yu Niaoniao as a hostage. She could only glare fiercely at Yu Niaoniao and warn her not to spout nonsense!
Yu Niaoniao ignored the warning and continued.
“If I were you, I would obediently surrender. After all, Her Highness is the biological mother of Duke Lang and the emperor’s biological sister. As long as Her Highness can sincerely admit her mistake, perhaps the emperor can spare your life.”
Princess Ni Yang slowly lowered her sword.
“Since I chose this path, I can’t turn back, let alone surrender.” Yu Niaoniao’s heart sank.
The persuasion had failed. It seemed she had to prepare for the worst.
The female general hurriedly said, ‘Yes, yes. We won’t surrender. We’ll leave now.”
Princess Ni Yang said, “Go pack your things and wait for me at the back door.”
‘Yes!”
The female general left in a hurry.
Princess Ni Yang asked the guards to bring Yu Niaoniao out of the water prison. Then, they went to the main hall.
The layout of this hall was an imitation of the Zhengde Hall in the palace. The ground was completely paved with smooth white marble. Eight coiling dragon pillars stood around. In the front were nine steps, and above the steps was the dragon chair that represented the supreme royal power.
Yu Niaoniao was thrown to the ground.
She was already dressed thinly. Now that she was drenched, she shivered when her body touched the cold white marble floor. Her face was pale from the cold. Under repeated drowning, her lungs choked on water, causing her entire windpipe to burn. Her head was dizzy and she felt terrible. Princess Ni Yang asked the guards to move all her precious wine over.
Wine jars of all sizes were placed on the ground.
Princess Ni Yang said, “Go to the back door. I’ll be right behind you.” The guards obeyed and left.
Only Princess Ni Yang and Yu Niaoniao were left in the empty hall.
Princess Ni Yang casually picked up a small wine jar.
She lifted the lid, and the rich fragrance of wine spread.
“These are fine wines I specially ordered someone to gather from all over the world. I want to take these fine wines out to celebrate with everyone on the day of the coronation. Now that we can’t celebrate, it’s a waste to leave so much fine wine. Why don’t the two of us have a good drink?”
With that, she poured all the wine in the jar onto Yu Niaoniao.
Yu Niaoniao’s hands were tied behind her back and she could not move.
The rich fragrance of wine entered her nose, waking her up a little.
She raised her head with difficulty and looked at Princess Ni Yang.
“Aren’t you going to escape?”
Princess Ni Yang casually threw away the empty jar. It fell to the ground and shattered.
She turned and picked up another jar of wine.
This time she didn’t pour it out again. Instead, she brought it to her mouth and took a long sip.
She narrowed her eyes in enjoyment.
“It’s indeed good wine!”
She glanced at Yu Niaoniao, who was lying on the ground, and sneered.
“Didn’t you say that even if I could escape for a while, I wouldn’t be able to escape for the rest of my life? Where else would I go after leaving here?”
“I was my father’s only legitimate daughter and the most respected princess of the Dayan Dynasty. I had never lowered my head to anyone since I was young.”
“But if I escape, in order to survive in the future, I have to give up my pride as a princess. I still have to kneel on the ground and pander to the guys I used to look down on.l can’t do that.”
Yu Niaoniao was puzzled. “You don’t want to escape or surrender. Then what do you want?”
Princess Ni Yang took another sip of wine, then slowly walked to the Coiling Dragon Pillar. As she reached out and gently stroked the pattern on the pillar, her eyes seemed a little dazed..
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