Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 868 - 865: In War, Deception is Essential

At the outset, he should have had the soldiers fight to the death, to escape with him, the little prince, and the Crown Princess Consort first. It didn’t matter if Bai Jinxiu could bring troops to rescue the Emperor.

Prime Minister Lu looked at the deposed prince with complete disappointment and grief, "Your Highness! King Liang, that traitor and parricide, framed his brother. How can you plead for mercy from such a person!"

The deposed prince seemed oblivious to Prime Minister Lu’s cries, continuing to kowtow and beg King Liang for mercy.

Xie Yuchang lowered his eyes, refusing to look. He had lost faith in this Crown Prince and the whole Lin family’s imperial power.

Fu Ruoxi was even more so. Since she learned that the Emperor and Crown Prince traded the throne and sacrificed a thousand children for the Emperor’s immortality, she had lost all faith in the Imperial Family.

Later, when the Crown Prince was captured and held in prison, he worried not about the thousand children’s lives but fretted that King Liang would build the nine-tiered terrace for the Emperor first and collect the thousand boys and girls, thereby earning the Emperor’s favor.

Fu Ruoxi was utterly disgusted, wondering how sickened the Princess of Zhen would be if she heard this.

King Liang’s lips curled up as he gazed at the Crown Prince’s disheveled, dog-like appearance, feeling immense satisfaction. To purposefully humiliate the deposed prince, King Liang beckoned him over.

The deposed prince scrambled on all fours to King Liang, looking up at him with a fawning smile, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please spare your brother for the sake of our kinship!"

Seeing the Crown Prince grovel to the regicidal usurper, Prime Minister Lu and the loyal ministers could no longer hold back their emotions, feeling utterly humiliated and weeping aloud.

King Liang lifted the heavy hem of his ceremonial robe, using his toe to lift the deposed prince’s chin. Seeing the intense fear but sycophantic smile in the prince’s eyes, he laughed loudly and kicked him aside.

King Liang, satisfied, loudly queried Prime Minister Lu and the ministers stripped of their robes and facing death, "Is this the Crown Prince you’ve been longing to enthrone? Prime Minister Lu... you’ve always been the most perceptive in court. I’ll give you one more chance. If you sincerely submit to me and personally behead this treacherous, regicidal deposed prince, you will remain my trusted minister!"

Hearing this, the deposed prince looked at Prime Minister Lu in terror, crawling to King Liang’s feet and clutching his robe, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please spare me! Depose me to a commoner... that’s fine! I swear I’ll never contest the throne with you! Please spare me!"

Prime Minister Lu, unable to bear the Crown Prince’s utter lack of dignity, spat at King Liang, "Ptooey!"

"Good! Prime Minister Lu, such backbone!" King Liang laughed instead of getting angry, "The Pingyang Army is about to reach Dadu City. At that time... with your descendants dying one by one before your eyes, let’s see if you still have this much resolve!"

Just as King Liang finished speaking, a soldier reported, "Report... reporting to Your Majesty, the Pingyang Army has arrived. General Wang Meng is leading the Pingyang Army to attack Dadu City. Half of the rebel forces besieging the palace have retreated to the city walls to confront the Pingyang Army!"

"Good!" King Liang’s spirit surged.

Led by Prime Minister Lu, Shen Jingzhong, Dong Qingping, and Lu Jin, the officials who refused to submit to King Liang felt uneasy but could only pray in their hearts... Bai Jinxiu must win, and pray that Princess of Zhen Bai Qingyan returns quickly.

King Liang’s gaze swept over the ministers, either pressed down by the imperial guards or weeping with their heads lowered, and he turned to instruct Fan Yuhuai, "Fan Yuhuai, you are my greatest contributor in my ascension. Didn’t you plead with me to spare these ministers?"

Fan Yuhuai, with only one eye left, hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on one knee, "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne. Pardoning these ministers would stabilize the governance!"

"Good!" King Liang’s lips curled into a sinister smile. Looking at the deposed prince still kowtowing for mercy, he laughed, "Draw your sword! Let those who once opposed me strike the deposed prince once. Anyone who dares does so will be pardoned, as if nothing happened!"

The deposed prince’s eyes widened in terror, and he looked at the ministers who were imprisoned for supporting him, fearing that someone would take Fan Yuhuai’s sword and stab him. He wept and kowtowed, pleading for mercy.

The ministers kneeling before the hall looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Prime Minister Lu, shocked to the point of standing up to curse, was pressed back by the imperial guards, his chest heaving, "King Liang! Are you still human?!"

Even Li Mao and the Minister of Revenue Chu Zhongxing were somewhat surprised that King Liang cared nothing for future records, only seeking momentary pleasure.

Li Mao’s fists clenched. If the Anping Army couldn’t decisively defeat Bai Jinxiu...

Li Mao shuddered at the possible consequences and hoped that with King Liang on the throne, there would be room to maneuver the governance.

Following Prime Minister Lu’s lead, the Minister of War Shen Jingzhong clenched his fists and shouted, "I will do it!"

Prime Minister Lu turned to see the tightly bound Shen Jingzhong standing up, his face stern, saying, "Untie me! I’ll do it!"

"Good! Master Shen, you are sensible!" King Liang signaled Fan Yuhuai to hand the sword to Shen Jingzhong.

The Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin seemed to understand Shen Jingzhong’s intention. "Master Shen!" he cried, eyes wide.

Shen Jingzhong did not look at him but glanced at Xie Yuchang and Fu Ruoxi, seemingly hinting at something, then calmly walked to Fan Yuhuai, took the sword, and approached the deposed prince.

Fan Yuhuai, eyes vigilant, moved almost simultaneously towards King Liang, signaling the imperial guards to protect him.

The deposed prince, trembling, backed away, tears streaming down his face, looking at Shen Jingzhong with fear, his throat tight and unable to make a sound, shaking his head frantically, pleading with his eyes.

"Report..." A scout rushed up the steps, kneeling on one knee and clasping his fists, "Reporting to Your Majesty! Outside Dadu City... black sails and white pit viper flags have appeared! The Yuanping and Shuoyang rebel armies are shouting that Princess of Zhen has returned! The situation is currently unclear!"

"Ha ha!" Dong Qingping laughed heartily, straightening his back, eyes gleaming with excitement and joy. His niece had returned! He sneered at King Liang, "King Liang! Did you hear that? Princess of Zhen has returned! Let’s see how long you can stay arrogant!"

"What?! How could it be so fast!" Li Mao’s face turned pale, "Impossible! This must be a trick... surely a trick to deceive us! Those Imperial Edicts sent to gather a thousand children and stop military dispatches, Bai Qingyan couldn’t be here so soon!"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢