CMWKSD -Chapter 257 Renegotiating the Terms

Charging down the mountain, screaming like a bandit, she didn’t think anything of it herself.

But why, when she saw others charging and screaming the same way, did it feel so strange?

Jiu Yue awkwardly rubbed her nose.

These people shouldn’t really have anything to do with her, right?

She lifted her eyes, ready to take a good look…

And met Prince Ling’s resentful gaze.

Jiu Yue: …

Ling Yue had always been a girl who liked playing with swords and staffs.

Prince Ling and Princess Ling had spent a long time finally coming to terms with the fact that their daughter liked wielding weapons.

It had nothing to do with gentleness or domestic virtue.

But now…

Prince Ling looked at his daughter, screaming and flying down the slope, and truly felt his world go black.

Forget marrying down. At this rate… could she even get married at all?

He turned his head and saw Jiu Yue.

It should be fine.

He had heard that Ji Yiqing and Jiu Yue were extremely close. Many people in the capital envied, admired, and despised them all at once.

Ling Yue could at least meet someone like him, right?

…

Originally, it had seemed that Ling Yue was carrying a teammate injured in the Special Training Camp. The camp members were just about to step forward to help.

Who would have thought that immediately, more people emerged from the mountains—North Barbarian elite soldiers.

As they ran, they pointed toward the group of Special Training Camp members riding ahead and screamed with all their might: “Release our Fourth Prince!”

At that cry, even the spectators in the stands—including the Emperor Fengyuan—stood up.

Fourth Prince?

Zhuo Zhuo?

Everyone focused their eyes to see.

Heavens above. Several of the Special Training Camp members were carrying people on horseback.

All were prominent bodyguards from this training session.

If the one on Ling Yue’s horse isn’t Zhuo Zhuo, who else could it be?

Prince Ling felt his world go black.

Although he had long known that Ling Yue looked up to Jiu Yue as her idol, not everything had to be copied.

Jiu Yue had people to tidy things up for her. I, her father, do not have the courage for that!

Prince Ling felt as if his life was over. He only hoped the Emperor Fengyuan wouldn’t think Ling Yue was going too far.

He quietly glanced at the Emperor. Seeing the Emperor’s slight smile, he relaxed a little.

But Jiu Yue, never one to avoid trouble, saw Zhuo Zhuo on the horse flipping his eyes from being jostled. She suddenly clapped her hands and shouted: “Good!”

At that shout… oh boy. The young lords and ladies of the Special Training Camp, who had almost quieted down, suddenly went wild, as if pumped full of adrenaline.

Carrying the North Barbarian Fourth Prince and several head guards from other nations, they started circling on the open space where foreign envoys were gathered, taunting and humiliating them.

They were really giving the Emperor Fengyuan a thrill.

Emperor Fengyuan: …

Crown Prince: !!!

Eagle One: Feels so good.

The Emperor Fengyuan was extremely satisfied with this Special Training Camp event.

The only thing he wasn’t satisfied with was that, since all the training followed Jiu Yue, they had produced three hundred little Jiu Yues.

After all, these young lords were already a bit rebellious—not the obedient type.

Now, paired with Jiu Yue, it was like matching stink with stink. Their homes would be turned upside down.

The Emperor Fengyuan felt a strange pang of guilt toward his old ministers.

But after the training, the small nations, already respectful to Daqi, became even more so.

The stubborn North Barbarian envoys were now like little chicks, no longer daring to be arrogant.

It had to be known that after a month of training, Shen Zongsheng and Ji Yiqing had organized Jiu Yue’s training methods and distributed them to the major military camps.

They didn’t expect every foot soldier to reach the Special Training Camp level, but each camp had to have three to five units trained in the same way.

This was the Emperor’s strict requirement.

So if they really collided head-on with Daqi, the outcome would be obvious.

The Emperor Fengyuan gave Zhuo Mu a cold glare. Zhuo Mu met his eyes and cold sweat instantly poured down.

“Your Majesty…”

The Emperor stared at him.

Zhuo Mu knelt sincerely. “I beg Your Majesty to spare my life.”

He wanted to live. He could already imagine the North Barbarian demands coming next.

To appease public anger, he might be demoted to a commoner.

He was the North Barbarian Fourth Prince. How could he endure being a lowly commoner?

The Emperor Fengyuan stared intently at him. “I see you still don’t understand your situation. What qualifications do you have? What terms do you propose? Speak.”

Zhuo Mu lay on the ground, cold sweat dripping onto the tiles.

After blinking several times, he took a deep breath, as if making a final decision.

He straightened up: “Your Majesty, what I said before about the Daqi Imperial Palace having foul matters is not false. All the royal bloodlines… were poisoned.”

He carefully glanced at the Emperor’s expression.

The Emperor was watching him with a faint, half-smile.

Zhuo Mu’s heart sank.

He was about to speak when the side curtain was lifted.

Princess Xuyu, who made Zhuo Mu tremble with fear, slowly stepped out.

She gave him a disdainful glance, then caught the Emperor’s gaze: “Why is he rambling?”

The Emperor and the Crown Prince beside Jiu Yue both stifled laughter.

The Chinese were always subtle. Moreover, this was no trivial matter—royal affairs were state affairs.

But listening to Zhuo Mu ramble like someone with a weak bladder, occasionally spilling nonsense…

Jiu Yue both resented, feared, and hated him, yet he could do nothing against her.

“Princess Xuyu… what you said…”

Jiu Yue quickly drew her surgical knife from her waist.

Zhuo Mu’s eyes went wide. Although he had never personally witnessed Jiu Yue’s martial arts, he still vividly remembered the strike at the city gate.

Jiu Yue toyed with the flickering, cold blade: “Rambling? The poison of the Jueningzi in the Daqi Palace has been neutralized. Before the New Year, the Forty-Fifth birthday of Prince Fu was celebrated in grand style. Didn’t you know?”

Zhuo Mu almost popped his eyes out: “How… how could this be?”

Jiu Yue didn’t bother explaining.

“General Shen and the other key ministers had the curses on them removed as well.”

Zhuo Mu could no longer feel anything. His legs went weak, and he just wanted to collapse to the ground.

“The silver mines in Pingtai County and the five thousand private soldiers were also rounded up.”

His legs went limp, and he knelt heavily. “I… I…”

Jiu Yue approached him, making the knife trace along his face as if inspecting for the right place to strike.

“Stop rambling. Tell me straight: who is behind the Pingtai County situation?”

“It certainly isn’t you. It should be someone from the North Barbarian Emperor’s generation. As for those replaced minor generals, start counting at least fifteen years back. How old were you then?”

“If you want to save your life, fine. But all the lists of replaced generals must be handed over. There’s more than one place like Pingtai County. The others too.”