Chapter 247 Rebellion

She pointed at Shen Jue: “This one—the Chief of the Eastern Depot, the eunuch in charge of the seals—holds power over the entire court. Except for the emperor, he is the closest thing to heaven. Your so-called titles of king or chancellor—do they carry the same weight he wields now?”

Then she pointed at Lu Yan: “This one—the Commander of the Embroidered Guards, the emperor’s personal troops—acts first and reports later. If he decides someone should die at midnight, who would dare survive until dawn? Your so-called Grand Marshal of the army—is he even half as decisive in killing as he is?”

Yu Qing blinked innocently at Lin Shu and asked a question that struck straight at her core:

“Could it be… that you can make them the emperor?”

Pfft—

Su Hewan couldn’t hold back a laugh. She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

【Qingqing is amazing! That’s exactly what I was thinking! She’s speaking for me!】

“You… you’re twisting logic!” Lin Shu’s face flushed red at Yu Qing’s words, her body trembling with anger.

Negotiations between the two sides had completely reached an impasse.

Inside the bamboo tower, the tension thickened, every corner sharpened like a drawn sword.

Qin Feng and the others gripped their weapons, their eyes fierce and vigilant.

Lu Yan’s embroidered spring sabers remained unsheathed, his gaze cold as ice.

Shen Jue, meanwhile, maintained that faint, playful smile, keeping Su Hewan behind him as if everything were under control.

Seeing that she could neither persuade Shen Jue nor Lu Yan, and knowing that force would not work either, Lin Shu pinned her last hope on Su Hewan.

With a thud, she knelt once again on the ground.

“Your Highness, Princess!”

Lin Shu’s voice choked with tears as she began to recount the blood-soaked, long-buried history.

“Do you know how utterly tragic the fall of Great Yan was?”

“The capital was besieged for three months. Children were exchanged for food, corpses lay everywhere! On the day the city fell, the Great Wei army poured in like wolves—burning, killing, looting, committing every atrocity imaginable!”

“Your father, in order to preserve the last honor of the royal family, self-immolated atop the Golden Throne! Your mother, to protect you, was pierced through the heart by the enemy’s sword!”

“Every one of us who barely escaped—our families destroyed, our lives filled with blood debts!”

She pointed behind her at Qin Feng and the others, her voice hoarse with grief: “Qin Feng’s father was the commander of the Forbidden Army, and he fell at the palace gates! Of his entire family of thirty-six, only he survived!”

“And them! Each of them carries dozens, even hundreds, of blood debts owed by the Great Wei court!”

“All these years, we’ve been like rats in the streets, hiding east and west, barely surviving! How many loyal ministers and generals died protecting you, the only bloodline left, under the slaughter of Great Wei’s hounds!”

Lin Shu lifted her head, her eyes locked onto Su Hewan.

“All our suffering, all our sacrifices—they are for you!”

“You are our only hope! The sole trust for restoring our nation!”

“You are the legitimate bloodline of Great Yan. Reviving Great Yan is your birthright responsibility! How can you… how could you ally with these enemies?”

Inside the bamboo tower, Lin Shu’s cries of despair echoed.

The men of the Xunlong Guard were all visibly moved, their eyes red. One by one, they fell to their knees, their gazes fanatical as they looked at Su Hewan.

If the original Su Hewan had been here, perhaps she would have been stirred to a passionate fury, taken the tiger tally, and raised her arm to rally them all.

Yet Su Hewan simply watched in silence.

Inside her, there was not the slightest ripple of emotion—if anything… she felt a bit like laughing.

What kind of international joke is this?

Besides, this “restoration of the kingdom” is your obsession. Why should I pay the price? Use my life to fulfill your dream? Am I some kind of angel investor?

“You guys are basically morally blackmailing me!”

Yu Qing shouted back fiercely. “What do you mean by her being born with this responsibility? Did anyone ask her when she was born if she wanted to be this princess? All this talk about doing it for her—isn’t it really just to satisfy your own selfish desire to restore the kingdom?”

“If you want to restore the kingdom, what does it have to do with Wanwan? She—”

“Yu Qing!”

Su Hewan snapped sharply, cutting her off in time.

She gave her a warning look.

Leaning close to Yu Qing’s ear, she whispered, “If you keep going, the fact that we’re both transmigrators will be exposed! What if these fanatical young men find out the princess they swear loyalty to is a fake? Who knows if they’ll chop us up on the spot to make an offering?”

Yu Qing instantly realized this, shrinking back in fear and quickly closing her mouth.

Her face, however, was still full of resentment.

The bamboo tower was deathly silent, except for the heavy, suppressed breathing of the men kneeling on the ground!

Countless eyes stared at Su Hewan with expectation!

They were all waiting for their princess to obediently lead them in reclaiming their homeland!

Su Hewan slowly withdrew her gaze from the tiger tally.

She looked at the kneeling men, her eyes clear, without a flicker of emotion!

She slowly asked, “You want me to lead you to restore the kingdom?”

Lin Shu’s eyes immediately lit up, nodding vigorously!

Su Hewan smiled gently and asked again, “Then answer me first—how many lives will be sacrificed for this so-called restoration?”

Lin Shu was stunned, unable to speak a word!

Su Hewan’s tone suddenly grew severe, giving them no chance to catch their breath. She continued, “The capital is well-defended. You may want to fight your way back, but have you considered how many corpses you’d have to pave the way from the southern mountains to the Central Plains?”

“One general’s achievement comes at the cost of ten thousand bones. Even if you succeed, even if you push me to that high position, what’s the essential difference between a dynasty built on countless corpses and rivers of blood, and that so-called tyrannical, cruel Great Wei you complain about?”

Her rhetorical question pierced their ears mercilessly!

As a history student, I’ve read too many chronicles of dynastic changes—when a kingdom rises, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer. This is never just an empty phrase.

Standing behind her, Shen Jue squinted his eyes!

Listening to Su Hewan’s resolute inner voice, a smile curved at the corner of his lips. He hadn’t expected that his Wanwan still carried such a sense of national duty!

Lu Yan, equally shocked, looked at Su Hewan, his grip on the sword loosening unconsciously!

He hadn’t expected her to see things so clearly!

“The common people of this world have never really wanted any noble royal bloodline. All they want is enough food to eat, a roof to shelter them from wind and rain, a stable life. They couldn’t care less if the person on the throne is surnamed Li or anyone else. They just don’t want to kneel and bow, bleeding, under a new emperor every time!” Su Hewan said in one breath.

The Xunlong Guard stared at her, dumbfounded, as if they were looking at some incomprehensible creature!

Suddenly, a roar of extreme anger shattered the silence!

“Utterly absurd!” A company commander among the Xunlong Guard stood up, pointing at Su Hewan.

“This is just feminine compassion trying to accomplish great deeds! How can it be done without blood and sacrifice? The dog traitors of Great Wei are slaughtering our people, and you actually sympathize with them?”