Chapter 102: Father, Hurry Back! The Sky Is Falling
For two days straight, the battle reports kept coming, and it was all bad news.
Changlu Pass had fallen. The Xirong army marched straight for Bafang City, breaching its walls overnight. After entering the city, the Xirong forces burned, killed, and plundered, committing every imaginable atrocity.
It all happened so suddenly that the people of Bafang City had no time to escape. Seventy percent of the population died by the sword, and the rest were imprisoned and tortured.
Countless bodies were reportedly carried out of Bafang City as the Xirong army worked through the night, digging mass graves.
The scale of the casualties was horrific, no different from a massacre.
When the news reached the Capital City, it sent shockwaves through the court and the public, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation.
Those Xirong barbarians were utterly depraved.
Everyone pinned their hopes on Li Wei, waiting for him to turn the tide and exact vengeance.
On the third day, a new report arrived: Li Wei had reached the outskirts of Bafang City and quickly rallied the scattered remnants of the army. But just as he was about to launch a counteroffensive, he was ambushed and severely wounded.
BANG!
Prince Jing stormed back to his manor, kicked open the door to the study, and roared, "Was this your doing?"
Xiao Sheng, sitting behind his desk and flipping through a scroll, looked up unhurriedly. "Who has angered my dear Fourth Brother so?"
Prince Jing slammed his hand on the table. "Changlu Pass! Bafang City! Was it your doing?"
"And Li Wei’s assassination—were you involved?"
"Do you have any idea how many people you’ve killed?"
"You’re utterly depraved, completely deranged, devoid of all humanity! You’re worse than an animal!"
Xiao Sheng slowly raised a hand to wipe the spittle from his face, looking speechlessly at the enraged prince who was clearly convinced he was the mastermind.
"You have no proof. What makes you think it was me? This is slander."
Prince Jing roared, "You know damn well whether I’m slandering you or not!"
Xiao Sheng had to step back to avoid the spray. "After all these years, it seems you still hold quite a grudge against me, Fourth Brother, to think I could be so malicious."
Prince Jing didn’t hesitate. "And you’re not?"
Xiao Sheng was speechless. "..."
Realizing that any denial was useless and Prince Jing would only continue his impotent tirade, Xiao Sheng decided to stop arguing. "Yes, it was me. What are you going to do about it?"
He wasn’t pretending anymore. The cards were on the table.
He was just as wicked as he had been in his youth. "Don’t forget, you’re in the same boat as me now. You’re an accomplice to everything I’ve done."
Prince Jing glared at him, his chest heaving violently. He looked like he was about to explode with rage.
Xiao Sheng’s smile grew even more smug as he offered his hypocritical counsel. "He who accomplishes great things can’t be bothered with trivialities. These are just necessary means to an end."
Prince Jing gritted out, "Bafang City... so many lives... Xiao Sheng, are you even human?"
Xiao Sheng sneered. "Fine, I’m not human, you are. Happy? But you, the ’human,’ still chose to work with scum like me. What does that make you?"
Enraged, Prince Jing threw a punch, but Xiao Sheng dodged it with ease. Prince Jing staggered, losing his balance and plunging his hand into a puddle of ink.
"Xiao Sheng, if you want to usurp the throne, then do it openly! Why must you collude with the enemy, betray your country, and slaughter the innocent?"
Prince Jing was genuinely grief-stricken. Each battle report had been a dagger to the heart.
’Why did my brothers in arms have to die, while this monster gets to live?’
"Enough!"
Xiao Sheng snapped in annoyance, "Enough of your hypocrisy! Just help me take the throne, and I’ll put an end to this war and restore peace to the realm."
Prince Jing glared at him, his eyes burning with fury. "Peace? The realm was perfectly peaceful without you. It doesn’t need you to ’restore’ anything."
Xiao Sheng felt it was pointless arguing with this stubborn fool. He pulled out two Jade Pendants. "If you’re willing to sacrifice your two sons, feel free to go to the Emperor and expose me."
The two Jade Pendants belonged to his sons, Xiao Lv and Xiao Hong. Xiao Lv was a favorite of the Little Emperor, so Xiao Sheng had merely planted agents near him, ready to seize him at a moment’s notice. Xiao Hong, however, had suffered a worse fate; Xiao Sheng had abducted him outright, forcing Prince Jing under his thumb.
"See? Between all those lives and your sons, you’d choose your sons too. Everyone’s selfish."
Xiao Sheng looked at Prince Jing as if he’d seen right through him, his own machinations laid bare. "No need to be so angry. This will all be over soon."
As a sense of panic and unease grew among the populace, with still no good news from the border, a rumor began to spread like a plague.
’Years ago, the Empress Dowager gave birth to a girl. To secure her position, she deceived the late Emperor, having her daughter disguise herself as a boy to become the Emperor. The current Emperor is a woman!’
"It has to be fake. How could His Majesty be a woman?"
"A woman as Emperor? That’s ridiculous!"
"So what now? Who would dare question the Emperor?"
Such a shocking piece of news spread rapidly. Within half a day, every minister in the imperial court had heard it.
They wanted to act, but no one knew what to do.
All eyes turned to the most powerful figures at court.
The Regent King said nothing. Prince Jing, too, was silent.
Xu Shikai was frantically writing to his father: ’Dad, you have to come back! The sky is falling!’
The only one left who could take charge was Prime Minister Song, but he had been sidelined ever since the Emperor consolidated power. His word alone no longer carried enough weight.
Of course, most people were shocked and skeptical. Throughout all of history, there had never been a female emperor. This was the throne they were talking about—how could such a mistake have been made?
Song Qingyi was among the most disbelieving. "Rumors! It’s all just rumors! How could His Majesty be a woman? They’re just slandering him on purpose!"
She sought out Song Qinghe. "Father, have you found out where the rumors started? Has His Majesty said what’s to be done?"
Prime Minister Song’s brow was deeply furrowed. He didn’t answer his daughter. "Don’t make a scene. I must go to the palace."
Xie Liuzheng was stunned when she heard the news. ’Where in the world did that rumor come from?’ she wondered, but still decided to check. "System, His Majesty is the male lead, so he must be a man, right?"
The System wanted to say ’yes’, but a red question mark had always hovered after the male lead Xiao Jin’s name. It had previously assumed this was due to the change in the male lead, but now... it wasn’t so sure.
"I’ll go check."
Xie Liuzheng’s heart skipped a beat. For some reason, she had a very bad feeling about this.
The System returned a moment later. "The male lead is also known as the Son of Fortune. Xiao Jin holds the status of a man, the Emperor of the mortal realm. Ever since killing the original male lead, Xiao Lin, ’his’ fortune has become incredibly potent. The Emperor’s Star shines brightly. ’He’ is now the undisputed Son of Fortune. As for gender... her fate isn’t on any astrological chart. I can’t find it. You’ll have to verify it yourself."
Xie Liuzheng scrubbed her face with her hands. "So if ’he’ is a she... do I still have to win her over?"
The System replied, "The conquest target can only be changed once."
Xie Liuzheng, who had already been slacking on her duties, wasn’t particularly disappointed. In fact, she found herself seriously, and strangely, considering the task: ’If His Majesty really is a woman, well... that could work.’
’The Emperor has a ridiculously beautiful face, a soul from back home, and is a sweet, soft girl... Ooh~~~ Suddenly, this whole mission is starting to get interesting.’