Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 691 - 148: Turmoil in the Shang Kingdom

Long Jiuzun has fallen!

The Southern Expedition Army suffered heavy losses, with more than a hundred children of nobles from the Imperial City losing their lives.

The chaos of the Sea Beasts of Fandi Port has been quelled, and the Moon Goddess Tower is up and running again.

Just as the Southern Expedition Army was returning, the grave news broke the long-standing tranquility of the Imperial City structure: the fall of Long Jiuzun, the Dragon Battle God and National Guardian Young General.

Upon receiving the news, Princess Long Xue seemed petrified, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

She held the spy report in silence for half an hour.

Even the most skilled Female Officials in the Imperial City could not guess the Princess’s mood at this time.

"Dismiss yourselves, and carry out my orders: the Imperial City shall observe a seven-day national mourning, cloaked in white banners, to welcome the return of the bones of the soldiers from the Southern Expedition," Princess Long Xue commanded somberly, setting the spy report on her desk, waving her hand for the Female Officials to leave.

After the Female Officials left, Princess Long Xue revealed a meaningful smile.

"Yue Jinghua, you have indeed given me a huge surprise," the death of Long Jiuzun meant far more to Princess Long Xue than the successful suppression of the rebellion by the Southern Expedition Army.

The spy reports showed that Long Jiuzun was reckless, leading over a hundred Southern Expedition soldiers deep into the outer seas and perishing amidst the besieging Sea Beasts.

But Princess Long Xue sensed something in the air, the scent of a conspiracy.

Subconsciously, she speculated that Long Jiuzun’s death must be related to someone.

Trading the lives of more than a hundred noble heirs for Long Jiuzun’s, that would be quite the cost-effective deal.

It should be noted, that before the departure, all Princess Long Xue asked of Yue Jinghua was to monitor Long Jiuzun.

The outcome at hand, however, far exceeded Princess Long Xue’s expectations.

The new dragon knights were unscathed, the real core elite of the Empire remained intact.

Furthermore, according to the spy reports, Yue Minzhi, in the wake of Long Jiuzun’s death, managed to suppress the rebellion in an orderly fashion, clearing out the follow-up issues at Fandi Port, and thus began to show his potential as a General.

Princess Long Xue was extremely satisfied with the results of this Southern Expedition; she decided that once the Yue Family’s siblings returned to the Imperial City, they would definitely be handsomely rewarded.

As for the affairs of the National Guardian General Residence, with Long Ao trapped in Four Symbols Chess Middle Heaven and Long Jiuzun’s death due to his rashness, the Imperial City not pursuing the Long Family’s responsibilities was already a generous mercy, not to mention worrying about them making a fuss.

While Princess Long Xue was secretly rejoicing, the Female Official who had been waiting on the side came in hurriedly, with a panicked expression, her usually steady steps now in disarray.

"Presumptuous, who allowed you to come in without my summon?" Longteng the 72nd was seriously ill, and Princess Long Xue was temporarily handling state affairs in his stead; during these days, all memorials in the Imperial Study Room were reviewed by Princess Long Xue herself.

Princess Long Xue most disliked being disturbed by courtiers while reviewing memorials.

This female official has been serving by her side since childhood, knowing the Princess’s temperament the best. Yet today, she has unexpectedly broken Princess Long Xue’s regulations.

"Princess, your servant knows her fault, but the matter is urgent. An urgent letter has just been sent from the north," the female official kneeled down hastily, her pretty face covered with anxiety, presenting a beast skin letter with trembling hands.

"Setback in the Northern Expedition? Regent King Fa Xiaoyi of Shang Kingdom executed the Empress Dowager and the Emperor; Zhan BeiAo died in battle, Peng Bo. Jin Nuo is trapped in the Mist Canyon," If the death of Long Jiuzun was the most shocking news Princess Long Xue had received these days, then the news from the Northern Expedition Army was undoubtedly a massive blow.

The joy that Princess Long Xue had felt earlier was now replaced by disbelief and astonishment.

Not to mention Princess Long Xue, no one in the entire Eastern Continent could have guessed that the Dragon War Empire, which had not seen warfare for hundreds of years, would suffer heavy losses in two small-scale, sudden rebellions.

If the death of Long Jiuzun was due to the lack of war experience and falling to underestimation, then the death of Zhan BeiAo was completely beyond Princess Long Xue’s expectation.

Though the Empire had no warfare, the experience Zhan BeiAo had in leading the Blood Prison Army to campaign in all directions, exterminating Dark Beasts and killing bandits across regions, was incomparably rich.

Moreover, he was born in Shang Kingdom and had a deep understanding of the local situation. His death was inexplicable both emotionally and logically.

Princess Long Xue had thought that even if the Dragon War Empire lost Long Jiuzun, Dan could check the Long Family, and among the younger generation, there were people like Yue Minzhi, Little Jinuo, and Zhan BeiAo to succeed them, yet who would have known...

"Princess? Should we send troops to reinforce Shang Kingdom?" The female official saw Princess Long Xue’s face changing unpredictably.

"Call for Jian Rider to come here," Upon learning of the Northern Expedition’s setback, Princess Long Xue seemed to have aged five years all at once. Her father the Emperor was frail; knowing of Long Jiuzun’s fall, he had already become depressed, and if he were to learn about the Northern Expedition, it would certainly turn into a serious illness.

Among all the court ministers, Ji Jie, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was a double-dealing character, Old Jinuo was hot-tempered and prone to breaking, and the rest were all mediocre subordinates, all unworthy of her trust to discuss this matter.

Thinking it over and over, Princess Long Xue only felt exhausted in body and mind, with only the name "Zhan Tian" echoing in her head.

After the female official had left, Princess Long Xue felt stifled in the Imperial Study Room. She walked out of the study wanting to get some fresh air.

She had just taken a few steps when suddenly, a fierce surge of Dark Energy attacked, and a dark shadow lunged to kill.

"There’s an assassin," In her shock, several Shadow Guards hiding by her side immediately leaped out.

Under the combined attack of the Shadow Guards, the dark shadow, with an indiscernible figure, seeing that it could not prevail for long, suddenly vanished in a blink.

He came without a trace and left without a shadow, like a ghostly figure, his moves were extraordinarily eerie. Princess Long Xue was so frightened that her face turned pale, but fortunately, at that moment, Zhan Tian, having been summoned by the female official, had already rushed over.

Hearing of the assassination attempt on Princess Long Xue, Zhan Tian’s expression changed drastically. He searched the area where the black shadow had appeared, and his already grim face grew even worse.

"Evil Qi," Zhan Tian discovered that at the location the assassin had been, all the vegetation had withered and decayed as if poisoned.

After further questioning the Shadow Guards who had clashed with the shadow, they all recalled that during the fight with the assassin, a chilling coldness emanated from his body, sending shivers down their spines.

"That was no ordinary assassin, it’s likely to be from the Demon Clan or an Evil Beast. Princess, I am already aware of the issue with the Northern Expedition Army. I suspect that the setback of the Northern Expedition Army has to do with these Evil Beasts. There are rumors that the Regent Prince of Shang Kingdom is a Summoner. It’s his army of Demon Beasts that has trapped the Northern Expedition Army," Zhan Tian had good relations with the mercenaries from Five Saints Town, whose unofficial channels of communication were even faster than the espionage network of the Imperial City.

"Summoner? You mean the Summoners that have long since disappeared from the continent?" Princess Long Xue was shocked; she could not imagine that this Northern Expedition Army would be involved with Summoners, who had long been extinct on the Eastern Continent.