Chapter 735: The Imperial Palace Breaks, the Emperor Falls (Ⅷ)

“Eliminate the problem from the root?”

Jiang Pengji tilted her head and gazed at him. She squinted as she gave her explanation.

“You shouldn’t have to ask. You leave the root alive, the problems will thrive. I’m not risking that. We need to do it in a quick and neat way.”

Feng Zhen was about to take Jiang Pengji’s orders and leave when she called him back.

“One more thing. Kill the fourth prince too.”

Feng Zhen looked puzzled. The fourth prince couldn’t even stand up anymore with his useless legs. There was no way he could take the throne.

Despite his questions, Feng Zhen didn’t question Jiang Pengji’s order.

The lord had given him an order, and all he was supposed to do was to follow it.

In for one prince, in for two princes.

If the third prince and the fourth prince could die together, at least that would honor their brotherhood, if they had any.

Jiang Pengji watched Feng Zhen leave and let out a laugh.

Why would she order the fourth prince killed too?

It was because he was the son of the fake Wang Huiyun!

Wang Huiyun wouldn’t die easily with the system’s help. Who knew whether she would come up with some weird trick to fix Wuma Jun’s legs?

By the time Jiang Pengji killed the third prince, Wuma Jun would be the last and only one to inherit the throne.

She didn’t want to risk any unpredictable problems. It was better to be extra cautious.

She didn’t want to see others taking advantage of the result of her actions.

If Wuma Jun’s legs had been fixed, if she had him killed, would the evil time-traveling woman get so mad that she puked blood?

Jiang Pengji was not sure if she would vomit blood. But that woman would certainly be very frustrated.

[A Paguma Larvata]: Wow wow wow! My streamer is as handsome as even the villain! Straight plotting to kill off the successors! Bad*ss!

[Zhuge Liang Poison]: OMG! I feel like my entire value system has been twisted completely by the streamer. Why did I find it so awesome and attractive when she plotted with Feng Zhen? Maybe that’s what they call the glamour of the villain! The streamer rocks, teaching a lesson to those scum!

[I’m Your Neighbor Mr. Wang]: How can you call the streamer the villain? The villain never gets a good ending! Our streamer is the glowing heroine!

[Mr. Song Beats Mr. Song]: Heroine? She’s the hero! She’s so handsome that she’s turned me on!

[My Majesty Has a Sword]: Hello? Pengji, Your Highness? All the other girls have fallen for you. When are you coming to get me?

[Pleasure]: Say no more. Draw your weapon! Rivals in love!

Prince Changshou’s army had been attacked in the middle of the marching and taken a hard hit. They had no choice but to retreat back to the Imperial City in Chenzhou.

They looted and slaughtered like monsters, exposing the worst of humanity.

Amidst the fire and smoke surrounding the city, crying and wailing could be heard.

The once rich and prosperous city had been turned into a hellish realm in smoke and embers.

Confined to military orders, the rebel soldiers and officers couldn’t lay a finger on the noble families. The most they could get away with was taking some money or abducting some maids. As for the mistresses and daughters of the noblemen, they didn’t dare touch them at all. They also left the officials alone. Prince Changshou still needed them to establish his own imperial court. But they didn’t blink when it came to civilians and concubines left behind by the emperor. The imperial city was in chaos.

“General, they came after us! Should we go outside the city to fight them?”

The enemy general looked down and said decisively, “No. We only have six thousand men left. There’s no point in fighting.”

His deputy looked upset.

“General, that’s it? We’re just gonna suck it up like that?”

The general sneered. “Suck it up? It’s never too late for a real man to take his revenge! We will find a chance to get them back. Retreating now is simply the beginning of our plan.”

Patience was a virtue.

Acting on impulse when the situation required endurance was not wise. It made more sense for them to let it go than to worry too much about things.

The circumstances didn’t allow them to keep fighting. That would only destroy them. The best course of action at the moment was to get back to their main force.

The general gave the order to abandon the city and retreat.

Before that, he also ordered them to take all of the imperial officials with them.

Without those people, the imperial court would be nothing but an empty shell. How long could that last?

He had no idea that he had done a huge favor for Jiang Pengji.

One zodiac hour after they had left, Jiang Pengji and Yang Jian’s forces reached the city.

The horrific scenes welcomed them into a place where the palace had used to be splendid and the city busy with its glory. Now it was hell on earth.

On the side of the road, imperial maids’ corpses with torn clothes were everywhere. A lot of eunuchs had also lost their lives. Some had even lost their heads.

“My lord, it’s estimated that there are no enemies left in the city. We might as well get the business taken care of now in case it’s not so convenient later.”

Feng Zhen had figured things out even before they had made it into the imperial city. He whispered to Jiang Pengji with confidence in his eyes. “The opportunity has presented itself. We’d better act quickly.”

If they didn’t take the chance and kill the princes, it might be much more difficult later on.

“Okay. I got it. Distract Yan Lin. Don’t let him find out.”

Feng Zhen smiled lightly. “Yan Lin is no ordinary man. Even if he finds out, he will probably play dumb.”

As long as Yang Jian’s interests didn’t conflict with Jiang Pengji’s, Yan Lin had no reason to interfere with their plans. They were still on the same side.

Under Feng Zhen and Yan Lin’s supervision, the situation in the city stabilized a little. Fires were put out, and people who had been hurt were treated. The leftover enemy force was taken care of.

Yang Si dealt with those imperial officials and led them to follow the main force to buy some time.

The lord was bold. The advisers were no cowards either.

Killing two princes? No big deal.

Yang Si lifted the corners of his lips and formed a content smile. He was enjoying the ride. No sense of urgency could be seen in his expression.

Inside the Imperial City in Chenzhou…

The third prince had lost his royal titles when he was accused of seducing the emperor’s concubine.

But no matter what, his mother was part of the Feng family. So even without a title, he still lived a luxurious life.

When the Imperial City was broken into, he had been playing with his pet bird in his garden.

It was his butler who had told him that everything had changed.

He had wanted to escape, but the enemy had already taken the gates. He’d then put on a commoner’s outfit and hidden himself inside a haystack in the stable.

That was how he had made it in that moment. But all his mistresses, maids, and servants had been killed.

He was furious, but he was too afraid. So even though he had seen his favorite mistress being raped not far from him, he didn’t dare expose himself and fight the enemy.

He waited until all the enemy soldiers had left and the place was a total mess to cautiously crawl out of the haystack.

The situation changed rapidly in Chenzhou. New pieces of information came one after another, leaving him no time to blink.

The alliance was here! The evil empress was dead! The rebel army had been defeated and had retreated! The emperor had died…

Upon hearing the last piece of news, the third prince’s heart started pounding like crazy.

Both of his older brothers had died. The fourth one had no chance. Wasn’t he the last one left?

As for his affair with his father’s concubine, all he needed to do was to blame it on the evil empress. His reputation could be easily recovered.

The third prince felt as if his strength had come back and his whole body was stronger than ever.

By the time he saw a group of armed elite soldiers arrive at his place, he was totally relieved.

“I am the third prince you are looking for.”

The person in front of him eyed on him and lowered his voice. “You are? For real?”

The third prince got offended and started yelling at them.

The third prince didn’t have much talent. But having been raised and spoiled in the royal family, his attitude was not something that others could easily mimic.

“Nice! Come with me, Your Highness.”