DLERB -Chapter 28 Tyrant? No — He Only Wanted Us to Survive!

“Smack!”

A loud, crisp slap landed hard across Chunyu Yue’s old face.

“Give me back my son’s life!”

The woman lunged at him like a crazed beast, opening her mouth and biting viciously into his shoulder.

“AAAHHH—!”

Chunyu Yue let out a shrill scream as a chunk of flesh was literally torn from his body.

“Beat him to death! Beat this old monster to death!”

“It was him! He’s the one who got Master Qian’s family killed!”

“My third uncle’s leg was broken by the thugs he hired!”

The crowd completely exploded.

Countless citizens, eyes bloodshot, charged forward like madmen.

Fists!

Stones!

Rotten vegetables!

They rained down on Chunyu Yue without mercy.

“Stop! You filthy peasants!”

Several of Chunyu Yue’s students tried to rush forward to protect their teacher.

“Get lost! You’re accomplices too!”

The furious crowd shoved the scholars to the ground, and countless feet trampled over them.

Chunyu Yue disappeared beneath the mob.

Curled up on the ground, clutching his head, he screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

His official robes were ripped to shreds.

His Confucian hat was crushed into pieces beneath countless feet.

The “will of the people” he had always been so proud of was now devouring him in the most primitive and brutal way possible.

Li Si watched the scene with a pale face and icy limbs.

Subconsciously, he looked toward the dragon throne—

No.

Toward the ridge beside the field.

That tiny figure merely stood there quietly, expressionless.

Just as Chunyu Yue was about to be beaten to death—

A childish voice rang out once more.

“Stop.”

The voice was soft.

Yet it was like an invisible imperial decree.

The raging crowd instantly froze.

Everyone stopped and looked at Ying Ziye with reverence.

Ying Ziye walked forward on his little legs.

The citizens automatically parted to make way for him.

He looked at Chunyu Yue, twitching on the ground like a dying dog, and tilted his head slightly.

“Don’t beat him to death.”

An innocent smile appeared on his face.

“Death would be too merciful for him.”

Ying Ziye lifted a small finger and pointed toward the three hundred mu experimental field.

“Tie him to the wooden stake beside the field.”

“I want him to watch with his own eyes how the common people he despised survive because of this divine crop.”

“I want him to live in endless regret.”

Dead silence filled the crowd.

Everyone felt a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to their skulls.

Killing someone only ends their life.

But this little ancestor…

He wanted to destroy the man’s soul.

“Take him away!”

Qinglong waved his hand.

Two Jinyiwei stepped forward and dragged the half-dead Chunyu Yue away like a dead dog toward the edge of the fields.

With Chunyu Yue dealt with, the crazed woman collapsed onto the ground, as though all strength had left her body.

She looked at Ying Ziye with complicated emotions in her eyes.

Then suddenly, she bowed deeply and slammed her forehead against the ground before him.

“Your Highness… this old woman was blind and wrongly accused you!”

“You killed that old beast and avenged my son! You are this old woman’s great benefactor!”

She cried uncontrollably.

Ying Ziye walked over and stretched out his small hand, trying to help her up.

“Please rise.”

“You didn’t know the truth. I do not blame you.”

The woman looked at that tiny pale hand, tears pouring down her face, yet she dared not touch it.

She only continued kowtowing repeatedly.

Ying Ziye sighed softly and withdrew his hand.

Then he turned toward the countless citizens gathered there.

“Everyone, listen carefully!”

His childish voice echoed across the southern outskirts.

“I am not a tyrant!”

“The people I kill are those who deserve to die!”

“And everything I do…”

He spread his arms wide, as though embracing the land itself.

“…is for one thing only!”

“To let the people of Xianyang—”

“To let the people of Great Qin—”

“Survive!”

“So that everyone can have food to eat!”

The crowd fell silent.

But this time, there was no fear in that silence.

No suspicion.

Only an indescribable emotion called hope quietly spreading through the people.

“And now!”

Ying Ziye struck while the iron was hot.

“Anyone willing to follow me—”

“To plant this divine crop and never go hungry again—”

“Go register with the Chancellor!”

The moment his words fell—

“Me!”

The one-armed Commandant Zhang Han was the first to rush forward, kneeling before Li Si.

“I’ll be the first!”

Old Farmer Sun hurried after him.

“And me! Count this old man in too!”

Once someone took the lead, the entire crowd exploded into motion.

“I’ll join too!”

“Count me in! All eight people in my family can work the fields!”

“Blessings upon the Young Lord! We’re all willing!”

Countless citizens surged toward Li Si like a tidal wave.

They fought to get ahead, terrified of being left behind.

The line instantly stretched for miles.

Li Si stood beside the carriage, staring at the overwhelming reversal of public sentiment before him. Even the bamboo slips in his hands trembled.

He looked at the tiny figure surrounded by countless citizens.

In his heart, only boundless awe remained.

This eight-year-old child had truly done it.

Using the bloodiest methods…to carry out the most benevolent deed.

Over the next three days, the southern outskirts of Xianyang became a scene of feverish activity.

Ying Ziye removed his luxurious black robes and changed into ordinary short work clothes.

He took off his boots and walked barefoot through the soft soil.

He personally picked up a hoe and awkwardly copied the movements of the old farmers, digging holes in the ground.

One by one, he carefully placed the potato seeds into the earth.

By the end of the day, he was covered head to toe in mud, his little face looking like a messy painted cat.

The citizens were stunned by the sight.

When had they ever seen a prince so close to the common people?

“Is… is that really the Regent Prince?”

“Look at him—covered in mud. How’s he any different from the kids in our village?”

“Yeah… he doesn’t put on any airs at all.”

The last trace of wariness in their hearts completely disappeared.

An old farmer with white hair and beard watched Ying Ziye chasing and playing in the fields with several village children and let out a long sigh.

“This child…”

“Even though he kills without blinking…”

“…his heart is good.”

Three days later.

All three hundred mu of experimental fields had been planted with potato seeds.

Ying Ziye stood atop a high ridge overlooking the land.

Behind him stood a sea of countless citizens.

He gazed at the fields carrying everyone’s hopes, then raised a small hand and pointed toward the sky.

“I promise all of you!”

“Three months!”

“In three months, this place will produce enough food to feed all of Xianyang for an entire year!”

“WOOOAH—!”

Thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd.

Hope, like the light of dawn breaking through darkness, shone across every face.

But just as the entire city celebrated—

“HYAH! HYAH!!”

Urgent hoofbeats sounded from the distance like rolling thunder.

Everyone turned at once.

A messenger dressed in Jinyiwei uniform came galloping toward them at full speed.

The horse beneath him frothed at the mouth, clearly on the verge of collapse.

When he was still ten zhang away from Ying Ziye, the messenger violently pulled the reins.

He rolled off the horse before it had fully stopped and scrambled frantically toward the ridge.

With a loud thud, he dropped to one knee.

“Your Highness!”

“An eight-hundred-li emergency dispatch from the Eastern Imperial Tour!”

The messenger pulled out a wax-sealed confidential letter soaked with sweat and raised it high above his head.

“The surviving remnants of the Xiang clan from Chu have gathered several hundred elite assassins and infiltrated Xianyang!”

“Their target…”

The messenger raised his head, his eyes filled with terror.

“…is you!”