Chapter 508

Let us leave aside the retreat led by Zhu Qi from Ancheng, where the assault had cost over a thousand casualties. Yet they had successfully rescued the Thirteenth Princess, her mother and grandfather, along with the household servants of both families. This could certainly be considered a triumph. Qin Kui had not killed these people not out of mercy, but because of his own hesitations and anxieties. He had assumed that since the Thirteenth Princess was wedded to Zhao Jian, harming Pei Ji and his daughter would naturally drive the Thirteenth Princess to fight Zhao Jian to the death, even though the raw rice had already been cooked into unpolished grain. As for Zhu Lian, the mother of Zhao Lie, Qin Kui dared not touch her at all, for he did not dare provoke Zhao Lie. Furthermore, there was a detachment of five hundred firearm-wielding troops stationed in the Thirteenth Princess’s residence, which was another reason why Qin Kui kept his hands off Zhu Lian.