AUBTN -Chapter 43 Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

That was the legendary object said to command armies across the realm. Even the imperial secret archives contained only a few fragmented records about it—yet she knew of it?

“Miss Su, stop keeping us in suspense.”

Shen Jue suppressed the storm surging in his heart. His face still carried a faint smile as he gently guided her to continue.

“Inside and outside the capital, aside from Prince Ning’s private troops and the Jinyiwei he controls, who else is there?”

Su Hewan turned around and looked toward the direction of the imperial palace.

“Lord Lu, Commander Shen—have you ever heard of the Tiger Tally and Military Register left behind by the founding emperor of the previous dynasty?”

Lu Yan paused, then shook his head.

“Isn’t that just a legend? It’s said that the founding emperor once forged a military tally capable of mobilizing the three great camps around the capital. But after the emperor passed away, the object disappeared long ago.”

“It didn’t disappear.”

Su Hewan’s voice was soft, yet it struck like thunder.

“It’s in the Imperial Ancestral Temple—right behind the spirit tablet of the founding emperor!”

The moment she said this, everyone in the room was stunned.

Lu Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“The Ancestral Temple? H-how is that possible? How do you even know something like that?”

Of course, Su Hewan couldn’t say she had discovered it while researching materials for a thesis in her previous life.

She had already prepared an explanation and calmly fabricated a story.

“I once saw the final letter of that founding meritorious official in a rare ancient manuscript… He feared the tally might fall into the hands of traitors, so he deliberately enshrined it behind the founding emperor’s spirit tablet in the Ancestral Temple, letting it be worshiped for generations. In this way, it would both protect it and stabilize the nation’s fate.”

At this point, Su Hewan suddenly turned to Shen Jue.

“As long as we get that Tiger Tally, we can immediately mobilize the fifty thousand elite soldiers of the three great camps around the capital!”

“No matter how many private troops Prince Ning has, can they outnumber the regular army?”

“As soon as the army surrounds the palace, forget about ‘purging traitors beside the emperor’—even flattening Prince Ning’s residence would be effortless!”

Yu Qing listened with her mouth hanging open.

“Holy shit…”

She couldn’t help blurting out a curse, her eyes instantly sparkling with admiration.

“Wanwan, how exactly is your brain built? This is like having a walking cheat code!”

She suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Su Hewan’s arm, too excited to speak coherently.

“Isn’t this basically that line—‘One arrow shot into the clouds, and thousands of troops will come to answer the call’? That’s so freaking cool!”

Shen Jue looked at the woman before him. Normally calm and composed, she was now practically glowing after finding a way to break the deadlock.

The smile in his eyes finally carried genuine warmth.

This little fox had actually given him a tremendous surprise.

With this Tiger Tally, not only could they resolve today’s crisis, but they might even take this opportunity to completely eliminate Prince Ning—the poisonous tumor—and perhaps even…

Shen Jue lowered his gaze, hiding the fleeting depth that flashed through his eyes.

Lu Yan was equally stunned by this astonishing reversal.

Hope rekindled in his eyes.

“If such a thing truly exists, then what are we waiting for?!”

Seeing the fighting spirit reignite in the three of them, Su Hewan’s lips curled slightly into a confident and sly smile.

Imitating Yu Qing’s usual tone, she snapped her fingers. The crisp sound echoed through the room.

“Let’s go!”

“Your sister here knows exactly where to go call for backup!”

Half an hour later, the four of them rushed toward the area near the Imperial Ancestral Temple, fired up with the hot-blooded determination to summon reinforcements and strike back.

However, reality was like a basin of dirty foot-washing water poured straight over their heads, extinguishing the flames in their hearts.

Sneaking in? Not even close.

Within a five-hundred-meter radius, there were guards every three steps and sentries every five.

Prince Ning’s private soldiers had surrounded the Ancestral Temple like an iron barrel.

Even a fly trying to enter would probably be checked to see whether it was male or female.

“Damn it, how are we supposed to play this!”

Yu Qing crouched in the shadow of a wall, tugging at the weeds in despair.

“This isn’t an ancestral temple—this is basically the ticket booth to the King of Hell’s palace! The four of us together don’t even outnumber one of their patrol squads. If we rush in, we’re just handing them our heads.”

Lu Yan pressed his lips into a thin line. Concealed by the cover of night, his gaze swept across the distant defenses, his expression dark enough to drip with gloom.

“That old bastard Prince Ning—he even stationed guards at the ancestral temple. Is he afraid the Founding Emperor might crawl out of his grave at midnight to settle accounts with him?”

Shen Jue stood with his hands behind his back. The night wind stirred the crimson hem of his robe, lending him an oddly bewitching air amidst the grim atmosphere.

He let out a cold laugh, his tone indifferent.

“Afraid? He’s guarding against someone making a move under the banner of ‘Heaven’s Mandate.’ Looks like that old fox is even more vigilant than we thought.”

Su Hewan said nothing, her brows tightly furrowed as her mind raced.

A direct assault was impossible.
They could only rely on strategy.

“Let’s return to the villa. Staying here will only get us killed—we need a detailed plan,” Su Hewan said decisively.

Suburban Villa, Outside the Capital

The four of them sat around a square table. Candlelight flickered, illuminating four very different expressions.

“Create a diversion.”

Dipping her finger in tea, Su Hewan sketched a simple defensive map of the capital on the tabletop.

“Right now Prince Ning’s full attention is on capturing Lord Lu and the Director. Especially you, Lord Lu. Even though your command over the Jinyiwei has been stripped, your prestige still remains. What Prince Ning fears most is you escaping the city and contacting your former subordinates.”

Lu Yan frowned. “So?”

“So we give him a grand show—the tiger returning to the mountains.”

Su Hewan looked up, calculation gleaming in her cool eyes.

“If Prince Ning hears that Lu Yan has already escaped the city and is heading toward the military camp outside to gather troops to ‘purge the court,’ what do you think he’ll do?”

“He’ll panic and lose his head,” Shen Jue said, picking up the thread. A flicker of admiration passed through his eyes.

“He’ll mobilize most of the city’s troops to chase him down, trying to snuff out the spark before it can grow.”

“Exactly!” Yu Qing’s eyes lit up instantly.

“I know this script! It’s called luring the tiger away from the mountain! And the rumor has to sound convincing. For example… Lord Lu disguised himself as an old night-soil collector to sneak out of the city. He even stole a fast horse and charged out through the city gates!”

Lu Yan: “…”

A night-soil collector? What kind of nonsense is going on inside this girl’s head? Couldn’t he at least fight his way out instead?

Lu Yan’s mouth twitched. He restrained himself again and again before finally stopping himself from smacking her on the head.

“This plan will work.” Shen Jue’s slender fingers tapped lightly on the table, producing a steady sound.

“I can have people spread some rumors and create a bit of chaos.”

“Then it’s settled.” Su Hewan made the final call.

“When the rumors spread and Prince Ning moves troops out of the city, the defenses inside will inevitably weaken. That will be our best chance to sneak into the ancestral temple.”

One Day Later

The capital truly descended into chaos.

“Have you heard? Commander Lu of the Jinyiwei escaped the city!”

“That’s nothing! I heard he rallied the troops at the camp outside the city—fifty thousand soldiers have already assembled and are preparing to march back to rescue the emperor!”

“My heavens… the capital is about to change rulers!”

The rumors spread like they had wings, sweeping through every street and alley within a single day.

Inside Prince Ning’s residence, the sound of a teacup shattering rang through the hall.

Roaring with fury, Prince Ning mobilized eighty percent of the city’s garrison and rushed them out of the gates to pursue the fugitive—determined to tear that reckless Lu Yan into pieces.