"Peony, why did you do this? Why did you betray me?"
Like a trapped beast, He Cheng's neck veins bulged as he roared in anger and shame, staring intently at Mudan.
If it weren't for Peony's sudden betrayal, he wouldn't have failed at the last minute!
He was unwilling to accept it!
"Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's wrath?!"
Upon hearing this, Peony's face twitched slightly, clearly showing that she was also afraid of dying.
She wouldn't want to do this if she could, but...
"You forced me into this! I only wanted to live, so I was forced to obey your orders, but you've gone too far..."
At this point, Mudan's face showed anger, and her eyes looked at him with daggers of disgust.
"You shouldn't have done this in the first place! You shouldn't have made me poison the well and harm the local people just for the sake of power and profit!"
What?
Su An stared in shock, her eyes wide. He Cheng was truly insane! To harm her and Fu Zhun, he was actually willing to poison the entire city's inhabitants?!
"So what? They're just a bunch of lowly commoners. It's their honor to die for His Majesty!" He Cheng didn't think he was wrong at all, and even thought that the reason for Mudan's betrayal was simply incomprehensible.
Upon hearing this, Peony was enraged. She raised her longsword in a flash and shouted angrily, "You think they are lowly people, but I don't. In my heart, there is no distinction between noble and lowly. The lives of ordinary people are lives too! Why should they die for that tyrannical ruler?"
"Well said!" Su An, who had just come to his senses, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement upon hearing Mudan's words, despite his anger.
The peony is absolutely divine right now!
It is incredible that an ancient person living under a feudal system already had the concept of equality for all in their mind.
"He Cheng, it seems you've forgotten that you were once just a lowly commoner, as you call yourself!" Fu Zhun's deep pupils were icy cold, his expression filled with sarcasm.
"Of course! You ungrateful wretch!" Su An spat out with a look of utter contempt, but his intense curiosity quickly took over.
She wanted to know what was going on.
Then he turned to look at Fu Zhun.
“When Mudan came to me, she told me about He Cheng’s plot to poison all the people in the city. Just then, He Cheng arrested your family. So I decided to play along. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you would worry.”
Fu Zhun explained with a slight smile, speaking with confidence.
Hearing him say it seemed very simple, but Su An could imagine the dangers involved, and felt a surge of emotion.
Bang!
Upon seeing He Cheng being taken away, Mudan suddenly knelt down at Fu Zhun's feet.
Su An was taken aback.
Fu Zhun raised his eyebrows slightly: "What are you doing?"
"Your Highness, Peony is guilty! Peony should not have obeyed He Cheng's orders to poison the well and harm the people! I beg Your Highness to punish her severely!"
“Peony, this has nothing to do with you. It’s all He Cheng’s fault. You were forced into it.”
As Su An spoke, he stood up and reached out to pull Mudan, his expression serious and earnest. "In my opinion, you are innocent! Don't try to pin other people's mistakes on yourself!"
Seeing that Fu Zhun didn't seem to be accusing her, Mudan stood up as Su An did.
"Su An, you may think I'm innocent, but that tyrant won't think so. Now that I've betrayed him, he will definitely not let me off!"
Su An fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said hatefully, "That dog emperor will get what's coming to him sooner or later!"
But Peony could only manage a bitter smile.
"You can rest assured, from now on you are under my command. With me here, no one in this vast world dares to touch you."
Fu Zhun leaned back in his chair casually, his eyes extremely calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.
Upon hearing this, Mudan was overjoyed, for he knew that Fu Zhun possessed the ability.
She immediately knelt on one knee again, and said solemnly and seriously, "Thank you for protecting me, Prince Zhenbei. I am deeply grateful!"
Another day or two passed, during which time Fu Zhun had people search for the crimes committed by He Cheng.
He Cheng was already riddled with sins, and the crimes he committed under deliberate searching and investigation were too numerous to count.
After reading it, Su An felt both angry and disgusted. So he helped Fu Zhun's men post notices to inform the people that they would publicly deal with He Cheng.
When that day came, He Cheng was forced onto the punishment platform, which was packed with people.
They all whispered among themselves, wondering what crime He Cheng had committed.
Fu Zhun directly had someone read the indictment aloud.
"After He Cheng passed the high school entrance exam, he abandoned Miss Su, who had helped him for many years. Later, fearing that his story of abandoning someone after starting a relationship would spread further, he did not hesitate to kill Miss Su."
"Now, in their struggle for power and profit, they have kidnapped Miss Su's family and forced the Prince of Zhenbei to commit suicide in public. Their various evil deeds are outrageous..."
What?
The people were outraged when they heard this.
"He Cheng?! What a bastard! I've heard about his past deeds before, but now I see he's utterly inhuman!"
"If I had a son like that, I'd rather drown him in a chamber pot!"
"That's right! I've lived half my life and never seen such an ungrateful, treacherous, and vicious person! I'll smash you to death, you bastard!" An aunt excitedly took out some vegetable leaves from her basket.
"Smash him to death! Smash that bastard to death!"
As soon as the auntie spoke, many people started reaching for things and smashing whatever they could find.
In an instant, rotten vegetable leaves, broken bowls, and even small stones were all thrown hard at He Cheng.
He Cheng was bruised and battered, with a large gash on his forehead. He screamed in pain and angrily cursed the people.
Looking at this familiar scene, Su An couldn't help but recall the scene of Fu Zhun being smashed on the high platform, and felt an overwhelming sense of irony.
The common people are ignorant and their minds are not yet enlightened, making them extremely easy to manipulate.
The task of educating the people in the future is arduous and has a long way to go!
By the time the indictment was read aloud, the sun was high in the sky. Fu Zhun calmly looked at the disheveled He Cheng.
"His crime is unforgivable; he shall be executed in public according to the laws of this dynasty!"
The executioner immediately raised his long sword and walked to He Cheng's side.
The people cheered when they saw this, and some even shouted excitedly.
"Kill! Kill! Kill this beast!"
"Hahaha!"
Unexpectedly, at this moment, He Cheng not only felt no fear, but suddenly raised his head high and laughed loudly with an arrogant expression.
"Fu Zhun, you want to kill me, but you have no right to! You are just a prince, but I am the emperor's envoy, and I represent the emperor!"
Upon hearing his words, the crowd below erupted in uproar.
Such a villain is actually the emperor's envoy! That's terrifying!
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