Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 856 - 853: Trickery

The old woman raised her head and cried bitterly towards Bai Qingyan: "The rich and powerful can find ways to buy their children’s lives, but what about us poor folk? Our children have lives too! How can we send them to the emperor for alchemy? Please, Princess of Zhen, save my two grandsons! I’ll do anything you ask! I’ll be a cow or a horse... or even give up my life! I’m begging you! I’m begging you!"

The old woman kept kowtowing.

The young woman saw the old woman continuously kowtowing to Bai Qingyan and knelt down to kowtow as well, staining the pebbles on the riverbank with red.

"Please, please!" Bai Qingyan hurried to pull up the young woman and old woman.

Lin Kangle, with reddened eyes, quickly stepped forward to support them.

Liu Hong hurriedly explained to the old woman: "You two, His Majesty summons the children to ascend the Nine-Tier Pagoda seeking the Immortal Pill, not... to use the children for alchemy! How can you suspect His Majesty like this?!"

Who would have thought the old woman would spit at Liu Hong upon hearing this: "You’re just the emperor’s loyal dog, using these words to deceive us! If we really handed the children over to you, could they come back alive? If that’s true... why don’t you hand your own children to that dog emperor?"

Liu Hong closed his eyes, straightened up and wiped off the spit with his hand, feeling anxious and worried; now the people actually hate the emperor so much...

The commoners and government officials chasing the old woman, young woman, and two children saw the soldiers arresting them from afar and quickly pointed towards Bai Qingyan and Yang Wuce’s direction, shouting loudly: "Over there! Over there! The soldiers have caught them!"

The old woman and young woman trembled in terror at the sound, grasping Bai Qingyan’s arms firmly as if facing a great enemy...

The young woman once again pleaded with Bai Qingyan: "Princess of Zhen! Please save my children... save my children! I’ll do anything you ask!"

The old woman, desperate and helpless, looked up at Bai Qingyan and cried out hoarsely: "My husband and three sons all died in battle as soldiers! Our family only has these two children left; they are the hope of our entire family! You are a descendant of the Bai family, you will surely protect us commoners, right?! As long as you can protect my grandsons and granddaughter, I... I am willing to die immediately! I’m begging you!"

"Mother! Grandmother!"

"Mom... Grandmother..."

The two children struggled out of the soldiers’ arms holding them, ran to their mother and grandmother, and hugged them, crying out loudly.

The young woman released Bai Qingyan, held her two children tightly in her arms, and turned back to look in terror at the approaching government officials and commoners, feeling desperate and helpless as she stared at Bai Qingyan. The heart-wrenching feeling of wanting to protect her two children but being powerless was deeply moving.

Seeing the soldiers, the commoners gradually slowed their steps, but the government officials with swords, emboldened, walked towards Bai Qingyan and Liu Hong.

Seeing the officials approaching, the young woman tightly held her two children, touched their heads with her hands, not knowing what to do, and could only cover their ears, choking up: "If the Princess of Zhen can’t defy the imperial orders to save us, I beg you to let us die together! Death is better than having my children made into elixirs!"

Lin Kangle clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth and said nothing, thinking how could the emperor be so... so brutal!

Bai Qingyan crouched down in front of the young woman and spoke solemnly: "Not only the Bai family and the Bai family army, but all military forces were established... with the original intention of protecting the people!"

The approaching government officials, with sharp eyes and clear minds, saw the distant military flags showing that the two in front of them were Princess of Zhen and Great General Liu Hong, and quickly saluted: "Thank you, Princess of Zhen and General for your assistance!"

As they spoke, the officials reached out to grab the children from the woman’s arms, but Lin Kangle and Yang Wuce, standing behind Bai Qingyan, drew their swords; two long swords pressed against the officials’ throats.

Lin Kangle and Yang Wuce had grim expressions. frёeωebɳovel.com

Bai Qingyan had said... the original intention of establishing all military forces was to protect the people, indicating she agreed to protect the two children of the woman. Furthermore, these two children were the orphans of fallen soldiers, and as fellow soldiers, how could Yang Wuce and Lin Kangle watch the officials take the children away?

Especially Lin Kangle, whose heart was filled with intense anger, thinking the emperor treats the commoners as worthless; these soldiers have fought and bled... risking their lives, and what’s left of their bloodline is to be made into elixirs for the emperor?!

The emperor treats the soldiers as what! The people as what! The children as what! Are they his livestock to be killed at will!

The officials looked at the gleaming blades of Lin Kangle and Yang Wuce, smiled nervously: "No... you two generals, we are also acting on orders! The imperial edict states... the Nine-Tier Pagoda must be built within ten days, and we must deliver one hundred boys and girls aged five to ten by the fourth of May! We are just short of these two children here! If not... it’s not just us losing our heads, but all the people of Chunmu City will lose their heads too!"

The commoners following the officials knelt down one by one: "General, if we can’t deliver the boys and girls, we will all die! There’s an order from above... any household hiding children will implicate their neighbors! We can’t let all of us lose our lives for these two kids!"

"Su Qin... have mercy, spare our entire family! If you don’t hand over Hudaner and Niuniu, my second uncle’s entire family will die!" another commoner kowtowed to the young woman.

"Why don’t you hand over your own children!" The young woman named Su Qin held her two children tightly, "These two children are my life! Their father died in the southern border... leaving only these two bloodlines! How can you be so cruel to bully a widow and her orphans like this!"

"Whose children aren’t bloodlines! But His Majesty’s decree is issued, what can anyone do? Who let us have bad luck, with our children just aged between five and ten!" A commoner cried to persuade the young woman, "My grandson just turned five yesterday, but he was still taken to the government office by afraid neighbors cooperating! My grandson... just turned five yesterday!"

Hearing this, the commoners chasing the mother and her children all started to cry, as everyone had relatives whose children were sent to the government office!

Bai Qingyan gritted her teeth, her heart roiling with emotion.

"Damn it!" Lin Kangle cursed with reddened eyes, "Princess of Zhen, I don’t care if I lose this general position! The children must not be handed over!"

Seeing this, Liu Hong also panicked.

"This surely isn’t His Majesty’s intention! This... must be King Liang’s scheme! Surely King Liang!" Liu Hong shouted, "King Liang is a traitor and a villain; he must have forced His Majesty to issue this imperial decree!"

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