Chapter 61

Yuan Su, as a powerful minister who held absolute power in the Great Yan Kingdom, was an insurmountable mountain in everyone's hearts. He had countless experts around him, and no one ever expected him to die so suddenly, catching the entire Yuan clan off guard.

His death sent shockwaves through the entire Great Yan Dynasty, and the young emperor Yuwen Jing nearly fainted from grief in the Golden Palace.

The Yuan clan was in chaos. The only respected eldest daughter among the younger generation, Yuan Qiong, had died, and none of the others had the decisive means to quell the situation. In their struggle for the position of clan leader, they caused a scene at Yuan Su Hui's funeral, and everyone behaved in an unsightly manner.

It wasn't until Prince Cheng, Yuwen Zhe, produced evidence that the current emperor was not the Empress Dowager's biological son, and accused Yuan Su of treason, bribery, controlling the government, plotting rebellion, and forcing the emperor's birth mother to her death, that Yuwen Jing finally succumbed to this series of blows, vomited blood, and fell into a coma.

"Brother, now that the Emperor is unconscious, all the power in the court has fallen into Yuwen Zhe's hands. While he is wiping out the Yuan clan, he is also suppressing our power... I suggest that we evacuate everyone from the capital to avoid his advance..."

In just a few days, the power distribution in the capital city had drastically changed. It all happened so fast, it seemed as if someone was deliberately helping Yuwen Zhe; it was too bizarre. Something unusual was bound to happen, and Feng Zhi felt it was best to retreat first.

"We can take revenge on Fourth Brother when we have the chance."

Lin Qiang sat down in the main seat with an air of authority, neither objecting nor nodding.

"I'll think about it."

He could roughly guess what the person behind the scenes wanted to do: simply to bring the whole plot back to its original rhythm and put Yuwen Zhe on the throne on time.

Once they leave the capital, it will be a foregone conclusion that Yuwen Zhe will become the next emperor, and this will never be changed.

In the past, Lin Qiang definitely wouldn't have cared about this. Who became emperor was none of his concern; he just wanted to focus on his business. But now, it's different. Anyone can sit on the throne, except Yuwen Zhe! It's not just because the fourth prince might die at his hands; more importantly, if he becomes emperor, all the events could very well revert to their original course!

Whether it's him, Yuan Liuniang, or the little girl, they all inevitably become victims under Yuwen Zhe's protagonist halo.

"Fengzhi, close down all the Fengyun Money Exchange, Fengyun Gambling House, and Fengyun Restaurant in the city. Lay off any employees you have hired, and bring all our own people back to the market. Make arrangements to escort Lao Si's ashes back to the village with everyone. Liu Niang just woke up recently, I'm going to see her."

"promise."

Feng Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. He was quite worried that his leader would stay and fight Yuwen Zhe to the death, which would be detrimental in every way. Now it seemed that he had worried too much. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. Returning to the stronghold, finding the traitor among his own ranks was the most urgent task!

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

"Sixth Sister, open the door."

As soon as Lin Qiang finished speaking, the door opened with a "whoosh." Yuan Liu Niang stood behind the door with her hair down and barefoot. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were slightly red. When she saw him, she rushed over and hugged his slender waist tightly, burying her head in his chest and biting her lip hard until blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

"It's alright, it's okay." Lin Qiang felt her trembling, patted her back reassuringly twice, and whispered, "Trust me, it's alright."

In the entire village, Yuan Liu Niang and Lao Si had the best relationship. When Lao Si passed away, Yuan Liu Niang was the saddest.

"Boss, it was me who killed Little Tiger, it was me..." She slowly loosened her grip, raising her head to look at the tall, handsome man, ignoring the blood trickling from her lips, and retreated step by step: "Yuwen Zhe killed Little Tiger because of me, so I killed him, I'm a jinx..."

Looking at Yuan Liuniang like this, Lin Qiang couldn't help but think of Yuan Qiong. Perhaps the biggest difference between the little girl and Yuan Liuniang is that no matter what happens, the little girl will not wallow in self-pity, nor will she blame herself for all the mistakes. Instead, she can always remain calm and rationally view everything.

How to comfort women has always been Lin Qiang's biggest headache, especially women's tears, which he avoids at all costs.

"Sixth Sister, please sit down. I have something to tell you."

The sadness and depression in his heart made Lin Qiang clearly understand Yuan Liuniang's thoughts and feelings, but he was not a savior and could not save everyone. If she couldn't let go of this herself, no one could help her.

"Your fourth brother is closest to you and has always treated you like a younger sister. Do you remember how he taught you? You can't cry when things happen; tears are the most useless thing!"

Lin Qiang's words startled Yuan Liuniang, bringing back those deeply buried memories.

At first, the fourth brother particularly disliked her. He loved to set traps for her, then laugh at her with a smirk. Crying was useless, getting angry was useless, no one would help her, and they would even mock her behind her back for being pretentious.

So, she gradually understood that crying was useless when she was taken advantage of; she had to retaliate. Crying was useless when she was tricked; she had to get revenge. Later, she cried less and laughed more, and the little tiger disliked her less.

After regaining her memories of her past life, it seemed like she hadn't truly laughed in a long time...

"The boss's..."

"Don't cry anymore. Fourth Brother is watching over you from heaven. He likes to see you happy, so he can go in peace."

Lin Qiang's gentle, deep voice had a reassuring magic, and Yuan Liu Niang's anxious and depressed heart seemed to be illuminated by a ray of light, and she began to calm down slowly.

"All forces in the capital will be withdrawing in the next couple of days, but I hope you can stay. There are still things I need you to do. Are you afraid?"

Are you scared? What are you scared of? Yuwen Zhe?

Yuan Liuniang gave a sarcastic smile: "I'm not even afraid of death, so what else is there to be afraid of?"

"Who told you that the fourth brother was killed by Yuwen Zhe? Why did you suddenly rush to the Prince Cheng's mansion alone?" After Lin Qiang asked, Yuan Liu Niang was silent for a while and then said, "I don't know why. It's like someone in my head told me that Yuwen Zhe killed the little tiger and told me to go to the Prince Cheng's mansion."

how so?

"You should rest well today and recharge your energy before returning to the palace to resume your duties tomorrow. The Yuan family is in complete chaos because of Yuwen Zhe, and Yuan Zhen in the palace needs someone to appease her. She is a valuable pawn, so keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens to her."

"Boss, actually Yuanzhen is pregnant..."

Pregnant? !

Lin Qiang was startled. His first reaction was that it was impossible! The book didn't mention that Yuwen Jing had any offspring!

"Yes. But she doesn't know it herself yet. She's still very far along in her pregnancy, so I kept it from her."

The implications of this are self-evident: as long as Yuwen Jing has offspring, even if he dies in the end, the throne will not fall to Yuwen Zhe!

Lin Qiang's first reaction was to tell the young girl about it and discuss how to handle it. But then he realized that she was no longer the Empress, and even if Yuan Zhen gave birth to a prince, it would have nothing to do with her anymore...

"Sixth Sister, this matter is of utmost importance. Tomorrow, you should go to the palace first to appease Yuanzhen and prevent her from causing trouble. I will handle the rest."

"promise."

**

Meanwhile, Yuan Qiong, far away in the provincial capital of Jiangbei, was still unaware of Yuan Su's death.

She used her reputation among the refugees to make a deal with Fengyunxu, learned about Hong Xin's background, and promised that as long as Lin Jiangzhi could protect her safety during the impending turmoil in Jiangbei Province, she would give Fengyunxu ten million taels of silver after this incident.

"good!"

After the two made a pact, Lin Jiangzhi had a legitimate reason to protect Yuan Qiong, and thus he went completely unrestrained. On the one hand, he spread the fame of Yuan Qiong as the "Fairy of Yaochi" more and more like a myth, and on the other hand, he incited the refugees' discontent with the imperial court even more vigorously.

The members of the Hongmen also took advantage of the chaos, exposing the corruption of officials in Shandong and Jiangbei who embezzled taxes. The refugees, who were well-fed and watered, were "inflamed with great energy," and they all clamored to obey the will of Heaven and overthrow the court!

It wasn't until several other rebel armies arrived, bringing news of the death of the treacherous minister Yuan Su, that refugees outside Jiangbei City joined the uprising and rose up in rebellion!

Our first stop is to capture this provincial capital of Jiangbei!

Standing atop the city gate, Yuan Qiong gazed at the dense crowd of people waving rebellious banners, still finding it hard to believe: "My grandfather... he's dead?!"

Author's Note: Bonus Chapter