Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 867 - 864: Grasshoppers After Autumn

"Originally, I persuaded you to give you a way to protect the entire Li family, but... you and Left Prime Minister Li Mao not only want to protect the entire Li family in this chaos, but you each stand on opposite sides. No matter who wins and who loses, in the end, it will only be the death of one of you two. The entire Li family will not only be preserved because of the merits of the other, but they will also rise to prominence because of that person’s success." Bai Jinxiu looked at Li Mingrui with clear eyes, "Isn’t that so?"

Li Mingrui did not expect Bai Jinxiu to see through his thoughts, but since she had, he candidly admitted: "We are merely trying to find a way for the survival of the entire Li family, and a good way at that! Just like when the men of the Bai family died on the battlefield, both His Majesty and King Xin wanted the entire Bai family dead. The Princess of Zhen tried to find a way to save the Bai family, all of us are merely doing what we must."

Bai Jinxiu, with her hands behind her back, calmly looked at Li Mingrui: "It’s different..."

Both were seeking a way to survive, but how could Li Mingrui compare with her elder sister?

A man like Li Mingrui could never understand the Bai family, much less her elder sister.

Li Mingrui looked up at Bai Jinxiu, not quite understanding what she meant by it being different, but seeing that Bai Jinxiu had no intention of continuing, Li Mingrui only looked at her and did not press for an answer.

Bai Jinxiu smiled and said, "Minister Li is more suited to be a civil official and strategist, not to lead troops in battle."

"Indeed..." Li Mingrui frankly admitted, "Therefore, when the King of Zhen was still alive, he ordered the descendants of the Bai family to study military tactics from a young age, train in the army at the age of ten, and fight on the battlefield. It made sense."

Following Li Mingrui’s suggestion, Bai Jinxiu managed to quietly deliver the message about contacting Pingyang’s army to the Imperial Palace, and King Liang did not disappoint them. He soon took action.

On May 11, the 18th year of Xuanjia, the Emperor of Jin issued an edict, appointing King Liang as the Crown Prince, deposing the previous Crown Prince to the status of a commoner, and sentencing him to death by slicing for plotting rebellion, the date to be chosen.

On May 14, the 18th year of Xuanjia, the deposed Crown Prince attempted to assassinate the Emperor of Jin during an audience, and the imperial physicians were unable to save him. The Emperor died.

On the same day, Li Mao and others knelt and requested King Liang to ascend the throne and take charge. Due to the urgent situation, the enthronement ceremony would be simplified and scheduled for May 16.

Before he had even ascended the throne, King Liang, upon setting the date for the enthronement, issued an edict as the Emperor, stating that he had thoroughly investigated the matter of Consort Tong, and both the testimonies and evidence proved that Consort Tong and her family were wronged. Imperial Censor Jian Congwen was guilty of a capital crime, and the accusation of the Second Prince’s treason was baseless, all fabricated by the late Duke of Zhen, Bai Weiting. Therefore, Consort Tong was posthumously named Empress Dowager Rende, and the Second Prince was posthumously named Prince of Bade.

Prime Minister Lu and a group of senior officials were brought to the hall to hear the edict, but the officials refused to recognize King Liang as the Emperor of Jin, much less accept Consort Tong as the Empress Dowager. Prime Minister Lu, furious, listed the Second Prince’s eight crimes, questioning how he could be called Prince of Bade, and loudly accused Emperor Xuande of being a treacherous murderer and a shameless person who framed his elder brother.

Li Mao and others advised King Liang that upon ascending the throne, he should first determine the posthumous title for the late Emperor and not prioritize posthumously naming Consort Tong and the Second Prince.

The senior officials all opposed, but King Liang declared that whoever opposed would be sent to accompany their late father. Li Mao and the others dared not say anything further, while Prime Minister Lu, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin, and Chief of the Honglu Temple Dong Qingping refused to comply even at the cost of their lives.

King Liang decided that on the day of his enthronement, May 16, he would execute the deposed Crown Prince, Prime Minister Lu, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin, and Chief of the Honglu Temple Dong Qingping, and display their heads outside Wude Gate to intimidate the rebel armies led by Bai Jinxiu from Yuanping and Shuoyang.

Bai Jinxiu received word of the Emperor’s death and King Liang’s imminent succession while discussing siege tactics with the soldiers. She was not surprised but felt that they could no longer delay; they had to attack the Imperial City by May 16 at the latest, or Prime Minister Lu and other important court officials, especially the Minister of Judicial Review Dong Qingping, her elder sister’s uncle, would be in grave danger.

Ensuring that King Liang killed the deposed Crown Prince without harming Prime Minister Lu, Dong Qingping, and the other officials was extremely difficult.

However, several commanders in the Yuanping army, after weeping bitterly, were determined to avenge the Emperor and capture King Liang alive.

Sitting in the shade at Changshou Courtyard teaching Bai Jinse to play chess, the Eldest Princess received the news. The chess piece in her hand fell, her expression calm and unreadable. After a long time, the Eldest Princess let out a long sigh, picked up the chess piece handed to her by Nanny Jiang, and placed it on the board.

Ji Langhua stood by the side, aware that the Eldest Princess had originally intended to keep the Emperor alive for at least another three to five years, not anticipating King Liang becoming such a variable.

Even Ji Langhua could see the steady decline of the dynasty, let alone someone like the Eldest Princess.

At this moment, King Liang was like a grasshopper after autumn, making as much noise as he could, trying to show the entire Jin Kingdom that he had the power to control the wind and rain, to prove to the world that he was the rightful master of Jin.

"Grandmother..." Bai Jinse hesitated to make a move, looking up at the Eldest Princess with worry, "Shall we take a break?"

The Eldest Princess shook her head, took another chess piece from the box, and looked at Bai Jinse with a smile: "We’ll rest soon. If King Liang causes any more trouble, Grandmother will be so angry she might not recover..."

Though King Liang was adept at hiding his ambitions and was ruthless, the Eldest Princess did not see him as a truly wise person. With Li Mingrui, his strategist, captured, King Liang would either follow the self-serving advice of Left Prime Minister Li Mao or act on impulse, and who knew what chaos he might cause next.

On May 16, the first year of Yuanhe, King Liang ascended the throne in the Imperial Palace, establishing the Yuanhe era.

On the same day, Bai Jinxiu led her troops to simultaneously attack Wude Gate from all four directions. freewebnøvel_com

Having just ascended the throne, King Liang stood at the entrance of the main hall, clad in imperial robes, wearing a crown with flowing tassels, and holding the emperor’s sword at his waist. From his elevated position, he looked down at the deposed Crown Prince, Prime Minister Lu, Xie Yuchang, Fan Yuhuai, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin, and Chief of the Honglu Temple Dong Qingping, all bound by the imperial guard and dragged before the hall.

Stripped of their official robes, their hands in shackles, the officials had become prisoners dressed in white.

The deposed Crown Prince, upon seeing King Liang in imperial robes, trembled and cried out, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty... please spare me! You have already taken the throne, just spare your brother’s life!"

The deposed Crown Prince, filthy and disheveled, with straw in his hair and a foul odor emanating from his body, had soiled himself in fear when pushed from the city wall that day. He had not changed his clothes since.

The deposed Crown Prince, who at times was ready to face death, had since regretted letting Bai Jinxiu escape with the Imperial Edict. The more time passed, the more he regretted it, wondering what madness had possessed him to let her escape.

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