Chapter 808 The Curtain Falls - Negotiation

Outside the palace, Bai Moqin led her troops to completely surround the city gate.

Upon seeing that the newcomer was the former crown prince, the five thousand imperial guards all showed signs of not wanting to resist.

Everyone has witnessed the Crown Prince's actions over this period of time, and deep down, they do not want such a monarch.

But looking at their superior, the commander who belonged to the Crown Prince's maternal family, the group had no choice but to take up their heavy swords and spears and fight against the soldiers brought by Bai Moqin.

The sounds of fighting and battle slowly spread from outside the imperial city towards the palace. The Imperial Guards, who were supposed to be guarding the imperial city, should have had a hard time breaking through, but because the Imperial Guards deliberately let up, Bai Moqin quickly rushed into the main hall.

"Royal brother, you've finally arrived."

When the eldest prince stood on the high platform and saw Bai Moqin, his face showed no anger, but rather a strange smile.

Bai Moqin narrowed her eyes, feeling a strange sensation as she looked at the eldest prince.

"Bring the person up."

Before Bai Moqin could answer, the eldest prince waved his hand, and immediately several women were brought forward.

"Your Highness, you're familiar with these women, aren't you? They were all maids who accompanied the princess on her marriage. I heard they even call each other sisters in private. If the princess were here, she probably wouldn't want them dead!"

When the princess was sent to a foreign land to help the emperor escape, the empress intended to kill all those involved in the marriage as a warning to others.

But they were delicate young ladies, and the First Prince couldn't bear to see them perish, so he locked them all up. Originally, the First Prince wanted to keep them to lure Ruoxue out, but he never expected that these people would be so useful in the end.

Seeing this, Bai Moqin couldn't help but utter a few words, "Despicable and shameless."

"I never said I wasn't despicable!"

The Crown Prince felt extremely pleased to see Bai Moqin gritting her teeth; it was indeed very satisfying to see him suffer such a setback.

Bai Moqin felt that the current Crown Prince was really unfamiliar. He looked at Ruoxue's maid and hesitated to give the order to launch an attack.

"Your Highness, they are just a few servants. You must not be soft-hearted at this critical moment."

Bai Moqin wasn't truly reluctant to part with the maids, but the little maid who had seen them off was among them. Ruoxue had mentioned that maid to her quite often these past few days, and Bai Moqin worried that Ruoxue would be heartbroken if she knew her beloved sister was dead.

"Although they are just a few maids, they are still human lives. How can we just stand by and watch them die?"

Bai Moqin naturally couldn't say that he was afraid of upsetting the Crown Princess.

But to those present, Bai Moqin instantly seemed like an immortal, radiating dazzling light.

As expected, His Highness the Crown Prince is the heir apparent chosen by His Majesty. His magnanimity and respect for human life far surpass those of the First Prince.

"Your Highness is kind-hearted, but please consider the greater good."

They say to catch the thief by catching the king first, and now that the eldest prince is right in front of them, how can they let a few maids stop them from advancing?

"Your Highness, you don't need to worry about us. We are relieved to see you return safe and sound."

The speaker was none other than Ayu, the maid who had served the Crown Princess that day.

Bai Moqin's gaze shifted back and forth between General Song and Ayu, and she was momentarily undecided.

"Your Highness, give the order!"

General Song looked at Bai Moqin and couldn't help but urge her on.

This scene, witnessed by the eldest prince, made him burst into laughter.

“Brother, I’m not trying to criticize you, but with your indecisive nature, even if you became emperor, you would still be led by the nose by those old scoundrels.”

Clearly, the eldest prince was very proud of his ability to keep the court officials in check.

"Pah, you only know how to solve problems with force. You're a typical example of someone who's all brawn and no brains. You're not even as good as one of His Highness the Crown Prince's fingers, let alone being the emperor."

Ayu's voice stood out among the men, and a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd. Even the royal guards standing next to the eldest prince almost couldn't hold back their laughter.

The eldest prince turned around and glared fiercely at those people, then looked at Ayu.

"If she won't listen to reason, she'll have to drink the penalty cup. Guards, cut out her tongue for me."

As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, the people standing next to him were about to make a move. However, just as they were about to touch Ayu, Ayu somehow found the strength to knock them to the ground.

"Your Highness, please convey to the Crown Princess that I can no longer serve her."

After saying that, Ayu put something in her mouth, and then, in full view of everyone, she clutched her stomach and quickly collapsed to the ground.

The sudden turn of events startled everyone present, and no one reacted in time to stop Ayu.

Seeing this, the other maids followed Ayu and took the poison.

All the chips were gone in an instant. Looking at the corpses lying on the ground, the eldest prince was no longer as smiling as before.

"Useless! You can't even keep an eye on a few women. What use are you to me?"

As the eldest prince spoke, he kicked one of the guards. The guard was in some pain, but he didn't dare to show it on his face.

"Your Highness, it's time for us to make our move."

Upon seeing this, General Song hurriedly said...

"Soldiers, let's capture this traitor together."

At Bai Moqin's command, the soldiers charged forward as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

"stop!"

The eldest prince turned around and looked at the people rushing towards him, and roared.

Bai Moqin looked at the eldest prince, who was already at his last gasp, raised her hand to stop everyone from stepping forward, and asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

The eldest prince's gaze met Bai Moqin's, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips: "You think this is all I have to offer?"

As the eldest prince spoke, he moved his finger, and a group of people immediately pressed down on the officials waiting in the hall to come forward.

They had already heard what was happening outside, and when they learned that it was their turn to be hostages, the group didn't seem as panicked as before.

"Your Highness, Your Highness the Crown Prince, you've finally returned!"

It's unclear who spoke first, but instantly, the crowd erupted into chaos. Some cried out about the Crown Prince's actions, some begged Bai Moqin to save them, and some told Bai Moqin about the Emperor's true edict...

In short, there were all sorts of opinions, but no one seemed to care about the emperor or him.

Looking at this group of familiar people, Bai Moqin felt a strange sensation in her heart.

He wondered, if he and his father had really been killed by the eldest prince along the way, would these people still be the same?

I'm afraid they probably don't even remember that there are two of them!

"Everyone says that the Great Zhou court is corrupt, but I think our Wei Kingdom is even worse than the Great Zhou."

At least the Great Zhou Dynasty has had a Ghost-Faced Yama King all these years, but what does the Wei Kingdom have?