Kuzuhun Shun was so frightened that he rolled over repeatedly. The guards behind him immediately went to help block the enemy, but many of them, like him, were killed and knocked off their horses. After they fell, the cavalry behind them were also affected, people and horses were overturned, blades were too short to save in time, and they could only shoot arrows...
As soon as the battle began, three people on Lady Jujube’s side died, three were severely injured, and Lady Jujube herself was heavily wounded, deep enough for the bone in her left arm to be visible. But she merely cut off a piece of clothing, quickly tied it up, then gripped her knife with both hands and shouted, "Kill!"
The remaining people reformed into a formation of three and charged forward with loud shouts.
Lady Jujube decapitated an adjutant with a single swing of her knife, and with a kick, she sent the head rolling in front of Kuzuhun Shun.
Kuzuhun Shun was startled and retreated two steps under the protection of his guards, furious, "Kill her for me!"
"I am the wife of the Great King, the biological mother of the Eldest Prince. Let’s see who dares!" Lady Jujube shouted while holding her knife, "If you want to catch up with my son, you’ll have to step over my corpse!"
The entourage following Lady Jujube also shouted loudly, "Retreat, retreat!"
"Father and son might quarrel, but their bloodline is connected; they’ll reconcile at some point. They’re family. Do you wish to involve yourself in the affairs of the Great King?"
Upon hearing this, the guards discreetly stepped back.
Seeing this, Kuzuhun Shun pushed away the person protecting him, stepped forward, and stood facing Lady Jujube. "The Eldest Prince defied the Great King, unacceptable even to the heavens. The Great King ordered to have the Eldest Prince killed. You are merely a deposed woman. If you step aside, I’ll spare your life; otherwise, consider yourself dead!"
Lady Jujube scoffed repeatedly, "I was personally selected by Amu to be the Great King’s wife. I assisted him in managing Shengle City, followed him from Shengle to Bingzhou, and aided him in conquering Dai County. This Dai Country is half mine!"
Kuzuhun Shun said viciously, "You can tell this to King Yama below."
With that, he initiated the attack, and both sides instantly engaged in battle.
Surrounded in the middle were thirteen people. Even though they were formidable, under the continuous attacks, they gradually became exhausted.
After half an hour, the people beside Lady Jujube fell one by one, and she couldn’t hold on any longer. Failing to dodge in time, she was slashed heavily on the back, another blow landed on her leg. She collapsed to her knees on the ground, surrounded by corpses, some of her people, and more of the others.
A nearby fallen entourage member still had a breath left, slowly crawled towards her, trying to guard her...
Lady Jujube spat out blood with a "Pah," raised her blood-stained face and smiled at Kuzuhun Shun, softly saying, "You think you can catch up to my son? It’s impossible now."
Kuzuhun Shun’s face turned steel blue as he stepped forward, placing his knife against her throat, sneering, "Do you think I’m the only pursuing force? The Great King has sent messages through the falcon; soldiers ahead will block him. He wants to cross the river and return to Xinping City, don’t even think about it."
Fearless, Lady Jujube showed only firm belief in her eyes, "I trust my son. He has two horses."
After she finished speaking, Lady Jujube finally couldn’t hold on any longer. Her eyes slowly closed, but not completely, half-open as she gazed forward.
A military advisor cautiously approached to check her breathing, startled, "General, she’s dead."
On the ground beside her, an entourage member still had a breath left. Upon hearing the words, his moving hands stopped, his head rested upon his arm, then bowed and stopped breathing.
Everyone silently watched the fallen corpse in the center, lowered their eyes in respect.
Even though Kuzuhun Shun was angry about not completing the task, he couldn’t help but admire their courage. After sheathing his knife, he said, "Prepare their corpses, take them back to Ping City."
"Are we not pursuing the Eldest Prince?"
"He’s been running for so long, plus he’s alone with two horses. Can we catch him? Rest assured, there are people blocking them ahead; they won’t escape."
Tuoba Liuxiu desperately ran towards Xinping City. He inherited his father’s talent for military strategy. The wind howled against his cheeks, turning the tears on his face icy cold. He became calmer, his mind clearer. The sudden incident, how were the pursuers so quick to arrive? And they were all cavalry with two horses each.
It was deliberate, deliberately provoking Tuoba Biyan to kill him for a legitimate reason.
Then, is there a checkpoint ahead?
Tuoba Liuxiu instinctively refused to think about his mother, leaving behind his subordinates, turning directly at a fork in the road ahead.
The person following him exclaimed in surprise, "Eldest Prince!"
"There’s a defense up ahead. We’ll take another road!"
Tuoba Liuxiu planned to take the side paths back, avoiding checkpoints.
Did Tuoba Yilu think there was only one route back to Xinping City?
He managed to establish Xinping City in just two years because he gained the approval of the people on that land, whether herdsmen or farmers, all recognized him as a leader.
Tuoba Yilu had grown too arrogant in these years. He forgot that those most familiar with this land must be those who lived there for generations.
Tuoba Liuxiu knew about another road leading back to Xinping City: a path frequently traveled by herdsmen to avoid government troops.
Kuzuhun Shun brought back the corpses of Lady Jujube and others without capturing Tuoba Liuxiu. This infuriated Tuoba Yilu, who immediately convened all advisors and tribal representatives, angrily reprimanding Tuoba Liuxiu for being disrespectful, unfilial, and harming his brothers, pointing out two people by name, "You must go to Xinping City and order him to come to Ping City to see me immediately."
Two officials were about to agree when Sun Yan, the clan leader of the Sun Clan, objected. He was puzzled and dissatisfied with Tuoba Yilu’s actions. "Great King, you are leaving for Luoyang the day after tomorrow. It’s too late to summon the Eldest Prince now."
"Let him stay in Ping City to reflect behind closed doors. I will punish him when I return."
Sun Yan frowned, "His mother has died, and he might resent the Third Prince. You should not summon him when you are not in Ping City."
Tuoba Yilu was well aware of this, but he also knew that at this moment, Tuoba Liuxiu wouldn’t dare to come.
He had already decided that this trip to Luoyang would be the excuse to completely depose this son and then establish his youngest son as the Princely Heir.
Wei Xiong clearly understood his intention. He sighed and stepped forward, saying, "Great King, although Lady Jujube has been deposed, she was the mother of the Eldest Prince and has accompanied you for many years. Now that she has met with misfortune, she should be given a proper burial."
His Great King had decided to be biased to the end. Since he couldn’t be swayed, he could only try to manage the aftermath to prevent Tuoba Yilu from attracting more resentment.
Lady Jujube came from the Yinalu Clan. After the Tuoba’s Sinicization, it was called the Lou Clan. Thus, Lady Jujube’s full name was Lou Zao, also known as Yinalu Zao. Their tribe suffered a huge loss and dwindled in power due to Tuoba Yilu’s unification efforts, but even then, the Lou Clan was deeply rooted within the Xianbei Clan.
Xianbei women were more likely to be involved in politics, one reason Tuoba Yilu never questioned Zhao Hanzhang’s claim to the throne.
Therefore, Lady Jujube held considerable prestige within the Lou Clan. Even many Xianbei tribes respected and admired her as Tuoba Yilu’s first wife and the mother of his first child.
If Tuoba Yilu mishandled this matter, the Xianbei tribes he had painstakingly unified might collapse again.
Understand that from his first western expedition to subdue various tribal states, Lady Jujube had accompanied him. Over thirty tribal states recognized Lady Jujube.
He had deposed her, but the news had yet to reach all the tribes.
Wei Xiong hoped to use this as a warning to Tuoba Yilu, urging him to temporarily abandon his plans against Tuoba Liuxiu.
But Tuoba Yilu wouldn’t even heed Sun Yan’s straightforward admonishments at this moment, let alone Wei Xiong’s subtle hints.
This time, he planned to leave his next son, Tuoba Pusuge, in Ping City for defense. With his capable aides, even if Tuoba Liuxiu intended to rebel, it would be in vain.
And he intended to take Tuoba Biyan to Luoyang.
As for his two counselors, after some thought, Tuoba Yilu decided to take Ji Dan to Luoyang and leave Wei Xiong in Ping City.
If a battle broke out, with the courage of his next son and the wisdom of Wei Xiong, Tuoba Liuxiu was not to be feared.
In the end, Tuoba Yilu didn’t specify how Lady Jujube should be buried. He just had her remains sent to her former residence.
Her servants were still in the courtyard, waiting for arrangements.
Her deposition happened so suddenly that the servants hadn’t been dealt with.
After Tuoba Yilu deposed her, she was immediately driven out, and these people had no time to follow.
In just one day, though she was only deposed yesterday, how could she have died today?
The servants who followed Lady Jujube wept bitterly. When preparing her body, they found eighteen knife wounds on her, filling them with anger and hatred.
The servants dressed her in the most beautiful clothes, adorned her with her favorite jewelry, pooled money to buy her a better coffin, and brought along the objects she used frequently.
Tuoba Yilu forbade them from wailing loudly, so they had to suppress their cries and quietly carry the coffin and burial objects out of the city.
The Xianbei clans buried their dead by clan units, but Lady Jujube, having been deposed, could no longer be buried with the Tuoba family. Hence, they had to find a place outside the city for her burial.
The servants sold their belongings and collected enough money to buy fifteen thin coffins to bury the fifteen warriors around Lady Jujube.
They placed the burial goods in the grave pit and then set fire to all the clothing, porcelain, wooden basins, and other offerings before covering them with soil.
Looking at the sixteen small mounds, the servants glanced at each other, their gazes gradually becoming determined as they silently headed back to the palace together.
The palace administrators received them calmly, not thinking for a moment that letting them out of the city meant they would dare to escape.
Because Tuoba Yilu ruled with strict severity and harsh governance.
How harsh was it?
Sometimes, upon seeing someone walking with their family and very few belongings on the plain, asking them where they were going, they would respond to the questioner, "To our death!"
His strict laws would sentence an entire family to death, and no one dared to escape, instead voluntarily heading to the execution ground to meet their end.
Sometimes, when transporting supplies for battle, if one person delayed the deadline, the entire tribe would be executed.
The servants quietly returned to the palace. The palace stewards certainly did not know that their families and tribe were not in Ping City but at the Eldest Prince’s place in Xinping City.

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