Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 148 - 147: Worthless Person_1

Chapter 148: Chapter 147: Worthless Person_1

“Your Highness! Are you still going to protect him?! He wants to harm you like this?!” Tongji finished speaking, as if recalling something, hurriedly turned to kowtow to the Emperor. “Your Majesty! It must be Gao Sheng who harmed our Highness! He was previously…”

“Tongji, shut your mouth for me!”

The usually timid King Liang’s harsh voice was filled with overwhelming gloom and anger, causing great alarm. Even the emperor, who was sitting high, was startled.

Bai Qingyan looked at King Liang and coldly sneered in her heart. King Liang had always performed extreme timidity so flawlessly that it was more vivid than the actors in the Xiyuan Theater in the south of the city. He never imagined he would lose composure in such a way.

“Your Highness?!” Tongji was also frightened by King Liang’s rage, with tears frozen in her eyes.

In an instant, the violent aura on King Liang disappeared as if it had never existed. He kneeled and crawled towards the Emperor. “Father Emperor! Father Emperor, no one knows better than you how timid your son is! Even if I had a thousand guts, I wouldn’t dare to collude with an enemy nation! I was just trying to save my brother, King Xin! Please, Father Emperor, see the truth!”

...

Bai Qingyan raised her eyebrows but wasn’t too surprised.

King Liang had always outwardly supported King Xin’s faction. Shifting all the blame to King Xin was not impossible after all… As both with Qin Dezhao and with Liu Huanzhang, he issued orders in King Xin’s name.

She bowed with respect to the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty, since King Liang has admitted to writing the letter, may I and my grandmother have a look at the contents of King Liang’s letter?”

The Emperor grew irritated as soon as he heard Bai Qingyan’s voice. He casually threw the letter over.

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The white paper floated to the ground. She was not annoyed, picked it up, briefly scanned it, then presented it to the Eldest Princess, so that the Eldest Princess could see how King Liang plotted to destroy the Bai family.

The Emperor, who had been startled by his son’s aggressive aura, reconsidered Liang’s words. Thinking of the term “son” in his words, he considered the father-son bond. Though extremely angry, he merely slammed his palm on the table and shouted, “You wretch! What have you done? Speak the truth!”

“Father Emperor, you know that my brother King Xin, is the legitimate son, so I have always been close to him. Over the years, I have been under his care! When King Xin was demoted to a commoner by Father Emperor, I was exceedingly anxious! At that time, King Xin’s advisor came to me!”

King Liang used his sleeve to wipe his nose and tears. “King Xin’s advisor came to me, begging me to save my brother. Earlier, I told my brother I liked the eldest daughter of the Bai family and had interactions with the maid of the Bai family’s eldest daughter. Somehow the advisor knew and gave me the idea to save my brother!”

“At first, I thought it inappropriate!” King Liang cautiously glanced in the direction of the Eldest Princess and lowered his voice. “The advisor said King Zhen was dead, but my brother was still alive. Saving my brother was crucial! Otherwise, he would suffer in the frigid exile. My brother, raised in luxury, wouldn’t survive! Father Emperor, he’s my blood brother! He’s Father Emperor’s most cherished legitimate son! I would do anything to save his life, so I… agreed!”

The Emperor’s grip on the armrest relaxed slightly. If it was to save King Xin, the Emperor thought it somewhat justifiable. “Where is that advisor?!”

“Replying to Father Emperor… The advisor told me he left the capital after seeing Qin Dezhao, but…” King Liang trembled as if recalling something terrifying. “Later, Qin Dezhao was killed, and the advisor disappeared. Father… Father, I was really scared!”

King Liang’s tears and snot flowed together, making him look like a cowardly and incompetent rat.

This act of playing dumb was nothing more than an attempt to pin everything on King Xin, deliberately involving Qin Dezhao… and linking the grain transport investigation by Lu Jin to King Xin, clearing King Liang’s own involvement.

“What about Liu Huanzhang?!” The Emperor pointed at Gao Sheng and Tian Weijun. “These two came from your residence, right? This letter was written by you, correct?!”

“Liu Huanzhang in Dadu City was also pointed out to me by King Xin’s advisor. The advisor told me to send someone to keep an eye on Liu Huanzhang. Before he left, he instructed me to have someone take Liu Huanzhang to the Court of Judicial Review after ensuring those letters were placed in King Zhen’s study. He advised accusing King of Zhen of treason to extract King Xin from the whole situation. That’s why I sent Gao Sheng to monitor Liu Huanzhang.”

King Liang cautiously looked up at the Emperor’s grim face and then fearfully lowered his head. “Initially, I planned to take Liu Huanzhang to see Father Emperor after placing the letters in King Zhen’s residence, then plead for the Bai family before Father Emperor. In any case, the sons of the Duke of Zhen were dead, and Father Emperor has always been kind-hearted; he wouldn’t take the lives of the Bai family’s widows. I… I could also save my brother.”

“Until today, when these letters were publicly read by the Bai family’s fourth daughter, I realized that it was impossible to resolve the matter quietly. I had to escalate it to save my brother, King Xin. Father Emperor, I just wanted to save my brother!” King Liang turned tearfully towards the Eldest Princess, crying bitterly like a child. “Aunt Grandmother, the sons of the Bai family are dead. The dead cannot come back to life. Do you really… want my brother to pay with his life too? We… are a family!”

The Emperor’s grip on the armrest slightly twitched. Even though… this son was foolish and cowardly, he had a childlike and earnest heart, only wanting to save his brother. What could he blame him for?!

The Eldest Princess pressed her lips tightly together for a long time before she slowly spoke, her voice revealing deep fatigue: “Your Highness, matters of the royal family… cannot be judged solely based on familial ties. Even the Emperor, when breaking the law, must be punished as an ordinary citizen. Moreover… from your previous words, it seems like King Xin is also involved in this grain matter?”

Speaking of this, the Eldest Princess choked and cried out, “My seventeenth grandson was disemboweled by the enemy, his belly filled with dirt and tree roots. Had there been grain, would he have died so miserably?! For the sake of meritorious service, forcing Bai Weiting to fight, I could still understand King Xin’s desire to build his career! But why cut off the army’s grain supply? For what reason? Is it also for achievements, so he would harm his own soldiers?”

The Eldest Princess trembled as she held the letter. “There’s one more thing I don’t understand. In His Highness’s letter, it says… if Liu Huanzhang refused or intended to reveal the collaboration with Your Highness, you would ensure the entire Liu family joined Liu Huanzhang in the Netherworld! With what did Liu Huanzhang collaborate with Your Highness?!”