RWNEFE -Chapter 528 Emperor Renxiao Has Passed Away!

He hadn’t even settled accounts with Bai Qingling yet, and now she was about to be burned to death?

“Your Highness, everything the Princess Consort did was for your sake. You can’t just watch her be burned alive!” Jiang Wuya pleaded on Bai Qingling’s behalf.

Zhou Ruyuan’s gaze was cold, and he said nothing.

“Your Highness, she acted this way because she saw you hesitating. She chose to play the villain for your sake. Please, for the sincerity of her devotion to you, save her!” Jiang Wuya begged again.

A flicker passed through Zhou Ruyuan’s eyes. With a helpless sigh he said, “We’ve already gone from the Southwest Army to Southwest rebels. Bai Qingling has dragged me into this state—what can I do now?”

Jiang Wuya said, “Your Highness, why not take this chance to rebel outright?”

Zhou Ruyuan remained silent.

“Your Highness must make plans soon. Shen Lanxi has brought four hundred thousand troops and has already taken over the people we left behind in the camp. Once she settles matters with the foreign tribes, the first thing she’ll do is capture us,” Jiang Wuya urged.

Forced by the situation, Zhou Ruyuan finally relented.

“We can’t stay in the Southwest any longer.”

Jiang Wuya said, “Your Highness, why don’t we go to Jinmen?”

Zhou Ruyuan first thought of Dongchuan, and then of Zhou Qiwou.

“You want me to seek refuge with Third Aunt?”

Jiang Wuya analyzed seriously, “The Third Princess’s husband’s family holds great power in Jinmen, and her son-in-law commands the naval forces there. Jinmen is a key gateway to Dongchuan. If we can establish ourselves there, we can gradually make plans for Dongchuan.”

Zhou Ruyuan’s eyes grew brighter.

“Good. Pass down the order immediately—break camp and head to Jinmen.”

“Yes!”

Jiang Wuya said nothing more about Bai Qingling, and Zhou Ruyuan didn’t mention her either. It was as if they had silently agreed to forget her entirely.

After one night, at daybreak, Zhou Ruyuan led what had once been the Southwest Army onto the road to Jinmen.

…

Shen Lanxi waited and waited but saw no sign of Zhou Ruyuan.

“Bai Qingling, do you see now? This is the man you schemed and struggled so hard to obtain!” Shen Lanxi’s face was full of mockery.

Locked inside a prison cart, Bai Qingling refused to admit Shen Lanxi’s words.

“The Prince will definitely come to save me! Shen Lanxi, you are the real traitor!”

Shen Lanxi smiled. “No matter what you say, it’s useless. No one will believe the words of someone about to die.”

Bai Qingling looked almost possessed, staring hatefully in Shen Lanxi’s direction, repeating in her heart: The Prince will definitely come to save me.

“Regent Prince, the people escorted by the Wolf Tribe have arrived.”

Shen Lanxi said, “Set out!”

Today she was not only sending Bai Qingling over, but also bringing forty envoys back to Great Zhou.

Two hours later, Shen Lanxi arrived at the agreed location.

The forty envoys, though somewhat thinner, were all alive and standing there waiting.

Shen Lanxi called out loudly, “Today, I, Shen Lanxi, have come to take the envoys of Great Zhou home!”

Some of the forty envoys burst into tears, some had reddened eyes, and some embraced each other and wept openly.

After the handover was completed, Shen Lanxi went to speak with the various southwestern tribes.

“If you haven’t made up your minds, you may continue to consider.”

“After I return to the capital, I will send someone specifically to negotiate with you.”

In recent days, the southwestern tribes had not been idle. Besides gathering intelligence, they had also drawn much information about Shen Lanxi from the envoys.

For example, Shen Lanxi had exchanged with the Yue Kingdom for many high-yield grain seeds, and in less than a year the people of Great Zhou were all able to eat their fill.

For example, she had established factories, giving many commoners places to work and earn money.

For example, she had opened women’s academies, founded medical schools, revised the laws… all of which strengthened Great Zhou, enriched the people, and earned her the praise of the entire populace.

The scenes described by the envoys were so wonderful that many tribal leaders longed for them.

But since Shen Lanxi said they could take more time, they wished to observe carefully and confirm whether things were truly as the envoys described. Thus Meng Xiangka made a request to Shen Lanxi.

“When Great Zhou sent envoys before, our tribe was not yet prepared. Now that your envoys have visited us, our tribes would also like to send people to Great Zhou to see it for ourselves.”

They had expected Shen Lanxi to hesitate, but she agreed immediately.

“Very well. There are still many affairs in court for me to preside over, and I will return to the capital tomorrow. You should quickly select the people who will go to the capital.”

Meng Xiangka’s eyes lit up. “Good!”

That very afternoon, twenty people—ten men and ten women—were brought before Shen Lanxi.

All were young; the men were strong and well-built, and the women were valiant and spirited.

After Shen Lanxi received them, more news arrived from the foreign tribes.

“Bai Qingling is dead. She was burned to death.”

Shen Lanxi nodded. “Spread the news.”

“Yes!”

Three days later, news that Bai Qingling had been executed was printed in bulletins and sent to various regions.

Shen Lanxi was already on the road back to the capital.

As they neared the capital, the guards escorting Shen Lanxi finally let out long sighs of relief.

It wasn’t because they were almost home, but because the people who had come to receive Shen Lanxi had arrived.

“I have come to welcome the Regent Prince back!” Wei Dongzhu, travel-worn, knelt on one knee in salute.

Shen Lanxi smiled lightly and helped him up.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The worry in Wei Dongzhu’s eyes had not yet faded; they were filled with deep, unspoken tenderness.

“You are the one who has worked hard,” he said. He had gone to Shu with an army, while she had gone to the Southwest with only a small force—far more dangerous and arduous.

Shen Lanxi looked toward the capital, her bearing suddenly turning resolute. “Return to the capital!”

“Yes!”

The guards collectively exhaled and followed. Heaven knew that from the time they went to the Southwest, through their stay there, and all along the road back, they had never once relaxed.

Four hundred thousand troops? Even now they still couldn’t figure out why that lie had not yet been exposed.

The moment Shen Lanxi stepped into the capital, the mourning bell from the palace rang out behind her.

Emperor Renxiao had passed away.

Shen Lanxi quickened her pace toward the imperial palace.

The sound of the mourning bell was heard throughout the capital. Only the Emperor, Empress, or Empress Dowager could warrant the tolling of that bell.

The Empress Dowager had long since died, and the Empress had long since been deposed.

Realizing that Emperor Renxiao was dead, the officials hurriedly dressed and rushed to the palace, meeting Shen Lanxi at the palace gate.

“The Regent Prince has returned to the capital.”

“Gentlemen,” Shen Lanxi greeted.

“What is happening in the palace?” the officials asked anxiously.

“I have only just returned to the capital myself. I do not yet know,” Shen Lanxi replied.

The palace gates opened, and the Commander of the Imperial Guards came to report.

“Your Highness, His Majesty has ascended to heaven!”

Shen Lanxi looked grief-stricken, as if in disbelief.

“Wasn’t His Majesty recovering? How could this happen?”

The commander reported truthfully, “After His Majesty learned of the Prince of Zhennan’s rebellion, he suffered a great shock. Unable to eat or sleep, his old illness relapsed, and thus…”

Fury surged in Shen Lanxi as she clenched her fists.

“The Prince of Zhennan, that traitor, caused His Majesty’s death. I will never spare him!”