Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 646 - 643: Desperate Fight_1

Chapter 646: Chapter 643: Desperate Fight_1

Li Mao also hurriedly walked to Prime Minister Lu’s side. He bowed deeply towards the Eldest Princess’s carriage and, taking advantage of the moment when he was bent over with his eyes lowered, said softly, "The Eldest Princess has come out unscathed. It seems that the situation in the palace has been settled."

Prime Minister Lu did not respond, but Li Mao quietly speculated in his heart; he wondered whether this time the Princess of Zhen had succeeded in protecting the emperor or had gained merit by supporting the dragon throne.

Wei Zhong, who was driving the carriage, turned back and spoke to the Eldest Princess inside the carriage.

The Eldest Princess, with her eyes closed, moved the Buddha Beads hidden in her sleeves. Her voice could not hide her exhaustion. "No need to stop. Master Tan’s carriage is right behind us. Let Master Tan explain to the officials. We are going back to the mansion."

The Eldest Princess was indeed tired. Perhaps it was due to her old age and physical weakness, but her heart was even more utterly exhausted.

Master Tan’s carriage followed closely behind. The eunuchs in the palace held umbrellas and helped Master Tan down from the carriage. Prime Minister Lu hurried forward. "Master Tan, how is His Majesty?"

"Master Tan! How is His Majesty?" Li Mao also anxiously approached, wanting to know if the Emperor was still alive.

In the blink of an eye, the officials gathered outside the Wude Gate surrounded Master Tan.

"Everyone! Everyone..." Master Tan’s aged voice was powerful as he exclaimed loudly, "Everyone relax. Thanks to the timely rescue by the Princess of Zhen and General Fu, His Majesty and the Crown Prince are safe and sound! Today’s chaos at Wude Gate has been quelled. His Majesty requests that you all return to your mansions and attend the morning court session tomorrow."

Fu Ruoxi?! Li Mao’s eyebrows twitched.

"Yes!" Prime Minister Lu earnestly responded with a deep bow.

"Prime Minister Lu, Prime Minister Li, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, Master Lu of the Court of Judicial Review, His Majesty is unwell and starting today will entrust the affairs of state to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince has decreed... that the four of you proceed to the Crown Prince’s mansion. After the palace matter is concluded, His Highness will return to the Crown Prince’s mansion immediately to discuss the aftermath with the four of you..." Master Tan continued.

"I accept the order!" Prime Minister Lu responded promptly.

"I accept the order..."

As soon as Li Mao, Minister of War Shen Jingzhong, and Lu Jin finished speaking, the prisoner cart containing the main traitors of the rebellion was escorted out of Wude Gate under heavy guard.

Some of the commanders of the imperial guard shouted at Bi Heng, not understanding why their effort to protect the throne had turned into a rebellion. Bi Heng, however, remained silent. He tightly clutched his bleeding chest, leaning against the inside of the prisoner cart with a defeated look on his face.

The commanders of Nandu had mixed reactions—some faced death with dignity, while others seemed as lifeless as eggplants beaten by frost, hoping that their Nine Clans would not be implicated this time.

King Liang was also thrown into the cart, crying and claiming he had been deceived by King Xian and knew nothing.

As soon as the prisoner cart emerged from Wude Gate, King Liang saw Li Mingrui, who was closely following Li Mao.

King Liang quickly reached out from the cart and shouted Mingrui’s name: "Mingrui! Mingrui, save me! Please go and talk to Father. Tell him I really knew nothing. I thought I was going to the palace to save Father and the Crown Prince! Mingrui, you believe me! I wouldn’t dare commit treason and patricide, no matter how bold I am! Mingrui... we’ve been close friends. You know what kind of person I am!"

Li Mingrui clenched his fists. In public, no matter what was said, King Liang was still a prince. With the Emperor’s temperament, if he ignored King Liang in public, the Emperor would undoubtedly make Li Mao suffer.

Li Mingrui bowed deeply towards King Liang: "Your Highness, rest assured. His Majesty is wise and heroic. If Your Highness is truly innocent, His Majesty will certainly return justice to you!"

After he finished speaking, Li Mingrui bowed deeply to King Liang again.

"Spit!" One of the Nandu generals, who faced death with dignity, spat toward King Liang. "Coward! When King Xian raised troops to enter the palace to support you on the throne, weren’t you in full agreement? Weren’t you the one who feared the Princess of Zhen would bring the Anping Army back to the capital and instructed King Xian to split the forces to capture the women of the Bai Mansion to threaten the Princess of Zhen? Now that King Xian is dead for you, you put all the blame on him?! Dream on! Don’t you see if us Nandu soldiers will agree! Coward!"

"Brothers!" The Nandu general gritted his teeth and looked at the generals of Nandu. "Even if we die, we should die like men! When we followed King Xian to rise in rebellion, we knew it was a gamble where victory meant nobility and defeat meant death. We gambled... and lost. But let’s lose with dignity! Don’t be like King Liang, the real coward!"

General Xiao Wang was also in the prisoner cart. He looked at King Liang, who was still crying and claiming he knew nothing, and couldn’t help but think of Ruofu. He could not believe that their Commandery Princess was to marry such a coward!

Although their rebellion had failed, he hoped that those loyal to King Xian had already smuggled Liu Ruofu out of the capital to safety!

If not...

General Xiao Wang glanced at the tearful King Liang. If King Liang was truly unaware of King Xian’s rebellion, the Emperor might spare his life because Liu Ruofu was carrying the blood of the Imperial Family.

Otherwise, Liu Ruofu and her unborn child might not survive.

Inside the large prisoner cart, besides General Xiao Wang, the other commanders were filled with righteous indignation. Knowing they were about to face death, they no longer cared that King Liang was a prince and vented their anger at his hypocrisy and lies.

It was not until the sound of King Liang’s cries and the Nandu general’s curses had faded into the distance that Li Mingrui finally straightened his body, clenching his hands hidden within his official robes.

King Liang had said they were close friends; it was a threat...

It meant that he had in his possession the letters written by Li Mao and the Second Prince years ago.

Li Mingrui gritted his teeth. The fire in King Liang’s mansion years ago had failed to destroy those letters completely.

To this day, both the Princess of Zhen and King Liang claimed to have the letters.

It seemed now that he couldn’t rely on luck to find the letters slowly. Li Mingrui decided he needed to personally meet with the Princess of Zhen, Bai Qingyan. As long as he could confirm that his father’s autograph was indeed in the hands of the Princess of Zhen, aligning his family with the Crown Prince wouldn’t be a bad move.

Li Mingrui looked towards Wude Gate. He decided to wait for the situation to settle.

Their family’s counselor, Cai Ziyuan, had gone to Shuoyang to apologize but had since disappeared without a trace. It was unknown where Cai Ziyuan had gone.

·

Yongding Gate.

Liu Hong stood atop the high walls. The archers beside him were ready. He watched the rebel captives below, looking around and waiting for Yongding Gate to open. His hands were clenched tightly.

The Emperor had ordered Liu Hong to silently execute over ten thousand rebels within the palace gates and then discreetly dispose of their bodies.

Liu Hong had pleaded for mercy. But the Emperor had declared that those who were disloyal once could not be trusted again, and keeping such soldiers alive would only waste the kingdom’s resources.

Originally, Liu Hong had wanted to plead again. Yet, the Emperor was resolute and shouted orders to kill harshly. The Crown Prince supported him by urging Liu Hong not to defy His Majesty any further. Liu Hong could only leave the great hall.

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