Chapter 185: Where Did the Emperor Go?

It wasn’t just civil servants and military generals who had arrived from the Capital, but also those who served in the palace. Nanny Yang brought ten palace maids, Liang Sha and Su Sheng brought fifty eunuchs, and Xiao Cheng—who had just seen Xie Liuzheng off—arrived with the Emperor’s carriage and honor guard. They had all come.

Among those who trickled in, two men arrived bound: Xiao Lv’s maternal grand-uncle, He Wenhao, and his eldest maternal cousin, He Xiangyu.

Xiao Lv had specifically written a report explaining that these two had tried to incite his father to rebel and seize the throne, but that he had suppressed them.

He pleaded with Your Majesty to spare their lives, so they could live and learn a harsh lesson or two from the world.

Let them live, but not too comfortably. Otherwise, they would just keep goading his father into suicidal schemes.

Though the pair had been audacious in front of Prince Jing, they cowered at the very sight of Xiao Yang.

This Little Emperor had secured the throne at such a young age and now held all the power. Don’t be fooled by the fact that she was a girl—if there were a list of the most ruthless people in the Capital, she would be at the very top.

With Prince Jing favored by the Emperor and Xiao Lv wielding power, they most likely wouldn’t be killed. As for anything else... that was another story.

The moment the two men saw the Little Emperor, they immediately dropped to their knees.

"Your Majesty, spare our lives! We swear we will never offend again! We will serve Your Majesty with utmost loyalty and would gladly lay down our lives for you!"

After all this turmoil, they had resigned themselves to their fate.

Prince Jing had neither the ambition nor the destiny to be emperor.

Xiao Lv, on the other hand, looked the part, but he had no such aspirations. Besides, the Regent King was waiting in the wings with a drawn sword, and Li Wei was fiercely loyal to the Emperor.

In this situation, there wasn’t a glimmer of hope.

Resignation, compromise... They weren’t going to get the merit for backing a successful usurper. So whatever, let things be as they may.

Watching them, Xiao Yang suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahaha..."

She didn’t scold them. Instead, she had a jug of wine brought over. She sipped her drink while listening to them recount how they had goaded Prince Jing into rebellion, treating their confession as a bar snack.

Seeing that the Emperor wasn’t angry, and having no other choice at this point, the father and son took turns speaking, truly spilling everything they had done.

They had contacted all the kinsmen of the Xiao Family, collectively recommending Prince Jing to become the new Emperor. Their plan was to seize control of the National Treasury and its finances, install He Wenhao as the Minister of Revenue, and get He Xiangyu into the Ministry of War to control military authority. The He Family were Prince Jing’s in-laws, but they had plenty of other relatives who were also eager to support Prince Jing’s cause.

Beyond them, other families were also willing to support Prince Jing. They believed that if everyone pooled their resources, they might even stand a chance against the Regent King.

After listening to their tale, Xiao Yang nodded. "Your reasoning isn’t wrong, but there’s one fatal flaw in your plan."

He Wenhao knew what it was. "The Prince is loyal to Your Majesty and has no intention of usurping the throne."

A whole crowd was putting in the effort, but if the man himself refused to act, it was all for naught.

Xiao Yang nodded. "So you do understand. But that problem is quite easy to solve, you know."

Sipping her wine, Xiao Yang started giving them advice. "You just need to get a Dragon Robe, put it on Prince Jing, and shove him onto the throne. He’d be forced to go along with it then, whether he wanted to or not."

"As for Rong Yin, that’s even simpler. Just go into the Imperial Ancestral Temple, take out the ancestral tablets of Emperor Taizhong and my father, and make Prince Jing hold them. Prince Jing is Emperor Taizhong’s son; Rong Yin wouldn’t dare strike him, and he certainly wouldn’t dare strike Emperor Taizhong’s tablet. Problem solved, isn’t it?"

Xiao Yang spoke with breezy nonchalance, even feigning a look of confusion, as if to say, ’How could you not have thought of something so simple?’

He Wenhao and He Xiangyu stared at her as if she were some kind of demon.

’Does she even hear what she’s saying? Is she not afraid that Emperor Taizhong will crawl out of his grave and give her a beating?’

Prince Jing, who had gotten word and hurried over, arrived just in time to hear the Emperor’s latter suggestion. His knees nearly buckled. He scrambled over, trying to cover Xiao Yang’s mouth. "A child’s words mean nothing! A child’s words mean nothing!"

Prince Jing hastily clasped his hands and bowed in every direction. "You mustn’t say such things! Your grandfather and your father, the late Emperor, are watching over you. Be careful, or they’ll come to haunt your dreams and give you a beating tonight."

Xiao Yang wasn’t scared. ’If they were going to come for me,’ she thought, ’they should have done it when I first became Emperor.’

Xiao Yang glanced at the two men. "Uncle, since you’re here, send these two over to Xiao Lv. Jinzhou is short a governor. You two, father and son, can be stationed there from now on."

Although the territory of Beimeng now belonged to Da Wei, it would take time and manpower to pacify and suppress the populace, and win over their hearts.

He Wenhao and He Xiangyu were from good families and had seen their share of grand affairs, so they had the presence to manage the situation. On the other hand, the Beimeng people would surely resist and make their lives a living hell.

Perhaps the Beimeng people would even try to kill them. Xiao Yang would assign some extra men to them, just enough to save their lives when absolutely necessary.

It perfectly satisfied their dream of wielding power, while also fulfilling her own goal for them: a life where they couldn’t eat or sleep well, a life they couldn’t fully live, and a death they couldn’t easily find.

When the He father and son heard they were to become governors of a whole prefecture, they even felt a little fortunate. "We thank Your Majesty for this immense grace!"

But they would later realize they had celebrated too soon.

The people of Beimeng were fierce and aggressive. Once they arrived in Jinzhou, they could kiss their peaceful days goodbye.

Xiao Yang’s philosophy: ’There are no useless chess pieces in this world, only pieces placed on the wrong square.’

A pest on your own side becomes a valuable asset when you send them to go be a pest on someone else’s turf.

------

On a dark and windy night, perfect for murder.

Countless dark shadows crept forward, their objective clear. They made a beeline for the main courtyard, locked onto their target, and struck.

"Your Majesty!"

"Someone, assassins!"

A piercing cry shattered the night, jolting everyone awake as the sounds of battle erupted.

Amidst the killing, fires were set, and flames began to spread everywhere.

The vast residence was soon illuminated as bright as day.

"Catch the assassins! Protect Her Majesty! Protect Her Majesty! Quickly!"

"Fire! We need to put out the fire!"

The residence descended into a noisy, chaotic mess. The assassins, however, were starting to panic. They had stormed the main courtyard but couldn’t find the Emperor anywhere.

Amidst the chaos, ghostly shadows flickered through the compound. Any assassin who became separated from the group had their throat slit before they could react, their body then dragged away into the darkness.

The assassins were so focused on finding the Emperor that they paid no mind to their comrades. By the time they were forced to abandon their mission, they realized that their group of more than thirty had been whittled down to less than ten.

The lead assassin frowned. "Where are the others?"

"I don’t know. They were here just a moment ago."

The lead assassin frowned. "Something’s not right. We’re not killing the Emperor tonight. Retreat!"

The assassins retreated in the confusion. It was so chaotic that they didn’t notice they were being tailed, much less that someone had infiltrated their ranks.

The assassins’ plan was thorough. After the attempt, they were to retreat to a pre-arranged courtyard containing a secret passage. The two-hundred-meter tunnel led directly outside the city walls.

From the hidden exit of the tunnel, they would head into the mountains, where horses had been prepared for them.

They cautiously glanced back. From their vantage point, they could still faintly see the Empress’s residence, the sky above it aglow with fire. Everyone seemed to be fighting the blaze; no one was giving chase.

The lead assassin frowned. The defenses had been on high alert, which meant the Empress was surely there. So why hadn’t they been able to find any trace of her after searching the entire area?

His instincts screamed at him not to linger; otherwise, he feared they would all have died there.

"Let’s go!"

The group mounted their horses and quickly departed.

In the residence next door to the one that was on fire, Prince Jing clutched a letter, his hand trembling with rage. "That little bastard! That damned brat!"