Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1547 - 1542: Mad Words and Ravings

The sound of "Farewell to the Empress Dowager" came from outside the carriage, and the Empress Dowager Yan felt even more sorrowful, burying her entire head in the cushions and unable to stop her cries from rising.

After sending off the Empress Dowager Yan’s carriage, the imperial clan members gathered around the eldest elder and asked, "Uncle, what should we do next?"

"Gather the clan members and come to the Imperial Palace, kneeling in front of the palace gates!" The elder held the letter in his hand. "This letter is the ironproof that Murong Yan is really Xiao Rongyan, and also evidence of Xiao Rongyan’s treason! He has already married the Emperor of Zhou and has a child...his heart is long gone from our Yan Kingdom. We must make His Majesty awaken, kill Murong Yan, and bring the Empress Dowager back!"

At the elder’s command, the rest of the imperial clan members sent their servants to deliver the message.

Outside the palace, whatever the Murong clan and Empress Dowager said, the messages were quickly passed back to Murong Li’s ears. When Murong Li heard that his mother had crazily announced that Uncle Nine was actually Xiao Rongyan, he stood up in shock.

Murong Hai personally begged to be allowed to escort the Empress Dowager to the palace and asked Murong Li to trust him, but how could he betray such trust?

"Where is Murong Hai? Is he dead? How dare he let the imperial clan speak to the Empress Dowager, and then when the Empress Dowager lost her mind and spouted nonsense, he just listened and did nothing. He deserves to die!" Murong Li’s voice rose, "And what about Zhang Guan? Did Zhang Guan also not stop the Empress Dowager’s ravings?"

"Reply...replying to Your Majesty, the Deputy Commander arrived after the Empress Dowager had finished speaking! Also...and the Empress Dowager took out letters written by the Regent Prince to the late emperor. The clan members are now saying they will kneel at the gates to force Your Majesty to kill the Regent Prince!" The imperial guard knelt at Murong Li’s feet, reported the matter, and dared not raise his head again after heavy kowtows.

Murong Li tightened the hands behind his back and said, "If they want to kneel, let them kneel!"

That night, as snow fell heavily, outside the gates of Yan Kingdom’s Imperial Palace, imperial clan members gradually arrived, kneeling in front of the gates, holding letters that Murong Yan once wrote to the late emperor, asking His Majesty to issue an order to capture the traitor Murong Yan.

·

Under the protection of the Anping Army led by Liu Pinggao, Bai Qingyan had already arrived in Anshun City.

The General guarding the city and the local official had been outside the city early to welcome them. Bai Qingyan dismounted and walked into the city with the local official and the city-guarding General. At this time, most of the people were staying indoors with their doors closed, and there were few shops open on the streets. The people kneeling on both sides wore face masks and kept a certain distance, making the streets appear quite deserted. Despite this, Bai Qingyan and the soldiers remained vigilant, and everyone wore face masks soaked in medicine.

"Fortunately, His Majesty sent people with medicine and grain, otherwise the people of Anshun City would have gone out like the people in neighboring Liyi City seeking food, and the epidemic’s human-to-human transmission could have been disastrous!" The Anshun county magistrate spoke from the heart, saying that although he was a Yan man, after they were handed over to Zhou’s governance and faced such an epidemic, the city-guarding General realized that the national strength of Yan Kingdom and Zhou could not be compared to each other.

At least as far as he knew, if it was in Yan Kingdom, there would be no confidence to distribute grain for those whose households had experienced an epidemic without sending them and their neighbors away.

But correspondingly, the laws of Zhou were also very strict. If people who were not permitted to go out did, they would lose their heads. Extraordinary measures were warranted in extraordinary times.

"Indeed, it’s all thanks to His Majesty!" The city-guarding General was originally a Zhou soldier, and upon hearing of the tragic situation in the Yan-governed cities and seeing the city under Zhou governance, he naturally felt some pride.

"Are there people causing a commotion wanting to leave the city?" Bai Qingyan carefully observed which businesses were still open on this long street, noting that grain shops were open, there were small vegetable stalls by the roadside, and the inns and general stores were also open. At this time, whether shopkeepers, waiters, or ordinary people, they all kneeled on both sides, not daring to raise their heads.

The situation in Anshun City was better than Bai Qingyan had expected. She remembered that Anshun City was among the first to be afflicted with the epidemic, so she praised the city-guarding General and the county magistrate.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the city-guarding General and the county magistrate exchanged glances, then the city-guarding General spoke to Bai Qingyan: "Your Majesty... Since the epidemic in Anshun City was discovered early, it wasn’t as serious as in other cities because... At the time, when the epidemic was discovered, the Yan Imperial Court ordered that no medicinal supplies be sent to the Zhou-governed cities. There was a doctor in Liyi City named Doctor Zhu Chengru who secretly sent several batches of medicine to Anshun City and was caught by the local government. He was to be charged with treason. Now Doctor Zhu Chengru’s entire family is imprisoned and said to be awaiting execution. Later, we also lost touch with Liyi City and don’t know if Doctor Zhu Chengru’s family is safe now!"

Bai Qingyan halted her steps and looked deeply into the eyes of the city-guarding General. The General quickly knelt on one knee and clasped his fists: "I once went to ask for this person’s release, but Liyi did not agree! Now that Your Majesty is here... I dare to beg Your Majesty to send an envoy to the Emperor of Yan to bring this doctor’s family under Zhou’s governance. Doctor Zhu saved so many people; he shouldn’t face such a fate."

In fact, the city-guarding General clung to a glimmer of hope, wishing that those foolish sons of Yan hadn’t harmed Doctor Zhu.

Bai Qingyan pursed her lips and said, "You may rise..."

The city-guarding General stood and looked eagerly at Bai Qingyan, who said, "Sending an envoy to Yandu now might take too long, and Doctor Zhu’s life might not be saved. Luckily... the Regent Prince of Yan should have already arrived at Liyi, so I will go personally to bring Doctor Zhu’s family back!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The county magistrate immediately knelt, "On behalf of the people of Anshun City, I thank Your Majesty! On behalf of Doctor Zhu, I thank Your Majesty!"

"Doctor Zhu saved the people from disaster and is a hero; it’s well deserved!" Bai Qingyan said slowly, "There’s no time to lose. Liu Pinggao... send a team ahead to Liyi City to inform them that I wish to meet with the Regent Prince of Yan and ask him, no matter what, to spare this Doctor Zhu’s family. I will arrive shortly."

"Yes!" Liu Pinggao received the order without delay and immediately sent people to Liyi, hoping for a quicker response to save this Doctor Zhu.

Xiao Rongyan had just arrived in Liyi not long ago. Seeing that the epidemic in Liyi City was under control, he heard from the local county magistrate that several imperial clan members, who had been driven out from Yandu by Murong Yan, had provided grain, silver, and manpower in this fight against the epidemic. Xiao Rongyan personally met with these imperial clan members.

These imperial clan members showed a willingness to acknowledge their mistakes and expressed a desire to atone by doing something for the people, asking that they not receive credit but instead wish to redeem themselves.