Chapter 556 Pacifying the Civil War

At the same time, Meng Yao and Jiang Jinyan, disguised as guards, easily entered the Southern King's bedchamber. Before the guards could even shout, Jiang Jinyan dealt with them directly.

At this time, the palace of the Southern King was filled with smoke and chaos. Most of the servants in the palace had been replaced by the people of the eldest prince and the queen. However, because the banquet hall had become a place of singing and dancing, it also attracted many servants to watch.

Meng Yao entered the palace, where no one was guarding. He saw the Prince of Nan lying paralyzed on the bed. The moment he saw his youngest son, he was overcome with emotion and burst into tears, saying with great difficulty, "Yao... Yao'er..."

Meng Yao grasped his hand, noticing his white hair and haggard face. "Father, what happened to you? How did you become like this? How could they be so cruel? You are their father too!"

The Prince of the South was unable to make a sound, and his entire body was paralyzed. He had been tortured to the point of being unrecognizable as human, and he had only managed to hold on until now in order to see Meng Yao one last time.

“Yao… Yao’er.” He pointed to his throat.

Jiang Jinyan then noticed a needle inserted under the Southern King's throat.

He mustered his courage and helped him remove the needles. The Prince of Nan was able to catch his breath and said, "Yao'er."

"Father, your son is here." Meng Yao shed tears. "I'm sorry, Father, it's all my fault, I was wrong."

The Prince of Nan shook his head, and with his last breath said, "Meng Ang is not my prince, but an illegitimate child born from the affair between the Grand Consort and another man..."

It was the Grand Queen and the eldest prince who made the Southern King into this state.

The Prince of Nan stared at Jiang Jinyan, his face full of doubt. "Who are you?"

Jiang Jinyan took the initiative to explain, "Don't worry, Prince Nan, we are here to help you. I am an official of the Great Zhou Kingdom. The official you sent to Great Zhou to ask for help has been assassinated by Meng Ang. However, the murderer has also been captured by Great Zhou. We will wait for the right opportunity to bring the murderer to your ministers to expose Meng Ang."

The Prince of the South's eyes lit up with excitement, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips, which were trembling. "On my behalf, pay respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou. The Meng family has guarded the border for a hundred years and has not failed in his mission."

"Rest assured, Prince Nan, His Majesty knows of your invaluable contributions and has specially dispatched us to assist the Southern Kingdom in overcoming this crisis." Jiang Jinyan had not expected that the Meng clan had always been determined to submit to the Great Zhou.

-

In the banquet hall.

Jiang Fenghua performed a dance, then picked up the pipa and played a tune. Next, she challenged herself to play various musical instruments all by herself. The spectacle was so spectacular that everyone in the Southern Kingdom's palace came to watch.

People were talking about it, saying, "This woman not only has a stunningly beautiful face, but her talents are also extraordinary. She can play all kinds of musical instruments."

Jiang Fenghua was dumbfounded. She had no skills, but when she touched a musical instrument, she would unconsciously know how to use it. The scenes in her mind unfolded like surging waves with her every move.

Xie Shang was also dumbfounded. He only knew that Jiang Fenghua could dance and martial arts. In her previous life, she was indeed skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs, but she had very little knowledge of dance and musical instruments. It was clear that she had spent ten years learning these skills.

She made countless efforts and endured countless hardships in order to get revenge and win his affection.

Jiang Fenghua was intelligent, but her status as Empress required her to follow the rules. At this moment, she was completely different from the dignified and gentle woman in Xie Shang's mind. She had an extraordinary temperament, was confident and radiant, and was so dazzling that she was captivating.

As more and more people watched, Meng Li almost knelt down; he even desperately wanted to snatch her away.

He had been thinking about her ever since they met that day.

Just then, a soldier squeezed through the crowd and rushed in: "Your Highness, Your Highness, Prince Yun has led his men into the palace."

However, it is unclear whether the soldier's voice was not loud enough or Jiang Fenghua's music was too captivating, causing the eldest prince to completely miss it.

The Queen Dowager heard the soldier's voice clearly and said coldly, "Stop playing."

Jiang Fenghua seemed engrossed in her work, her fingers moving incessantly. The Grand Consort, furious, threw a teacup in Jiang Fenghua's direction and shouted, "Stop!"

Suddenly, all the strings on Jiang Fenghua's zither snapped, and the sound stopped abruptly. A fierce glint flashed in her eyes as she drew a large knife hidden beneath the zither and held it directly to Meng Li's neck. She smiled and said, "Since the Fourth Prince is so captivated by my music, he must appreciate my zither playing!"

The knife was secretly placed there by Lin Yu when she disguised herself as a maid and followed them to get the musical instruments. Fortunately, Meng Yao was not stupid. He told them that Consort Chen had his personal knife in her palace, which was their only weapon at the moment.

Meng Li was stunned. He hadn't realized that the beautiful woman in front of him would put a knife to his neck. By the time he reacted, it was too late.

At the same time, Xie Shang suddenly slammed the table in front of him away and rushed towards Meng Ang.

His lightness skill was extraordinary, so fast that it was dazzling. Meng Ang also fell into Xie Shang's hands. Now that the Prince of Yun had brought his men into the palace, it was time to make a move.

The Meng brothers were suddenly put in a life-or-death situation, and the whole process was as dramatic and unbelievable.

Meng Ang even asked, "Who are you people?"

Meng Li almost cried out, "Yes, who exactly are you people?"

At this moment, the eldest prince's men also attacked with weapons.

Meng Ang added, "You can't escape. The entire palace is under our control. The two of you alone cannot get out of the palace..."

“Who said there were only the two of them? Meng Ang, Meng Li, you plotted to murder the King, what is your crime?” Meng Yao, Jiang Jinyan, and Lin Yu also appeared outside the hall.

Meng Ang then realized, "No wonder I searched the whole city and couldn't find you. It turns out they were your helpers. That idiot Meng Li actually sent you to the inn for protection herself."

He didn't want to ask Meng Yao right now, but instead asked Xie Shang, "Who exactly are you?"

"I was just an ordinary merchant. My wife happened to want to meddle in the affairs of the Southern Kingdom, so I cooperated with her to do a good deed of eliminating evil and upholding justice." Xie Shang was now also captivated by Jiang Fenghua. "I only follow my wife's orders and it has nothing to do with me."

The people who went to rescue King Yun and helped him storm the palace were all Xie Shang's men.

They were just waiting for Meng Ang's men to surround and attack them, and they didn't know what to do then, because their master's life was in someone else's hands.

Meng Ang said, "The entire palace is under my control, and my father is still in my hands. Meng Yao, if you want my father to die, then let them do it."

"Hmph, do you think I would be standing here if I hadn't rescued my father?" Meng Yao said again, "I am here to capture you, you traitor, on my father's orders."

Meng Yaochao said to the besieging soldiers, "Meng Ang is not a prince at all. He is the illegitimate child of the Grand Consort and Yan Jun. Do you still want to help him rebel? Lay down your weapons, and I will spare your lives."

He produced his father's decree of abdication, saying, "My father has already abdicated the throne to me."

The group looked at each other, still unsure what to do.

The war ended before it even began.

Once everything had settled down, Jiang Fenghua asked, "Where did that jeweler named Song Peng go?"

By this time, Song Peng had already changed his clothes and left the palace.