Chapter 528 Emperor Renxiao is dead!
He hadn’t even settled accounts with Bai Qingling yet, and Bai Qingling was about to be burned to death.
"Your Highness, everything the Princess Consort did was for your sake. You can't just watch her burn to death!" Jiang Wuyai pleaded for Bai Qingling.
Zhou Ruyuan's eyes were cold, and he didn't say a word.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort did this because she saw you were hesitant. That's why she chose to be the villain. Please, Your Highness, consider the Princess Consort's sincerity and her concern for you, and save her!" Jiang Wuyai pleaded repeatedly.
Zhou Ruyuan's eyes flashed, and he sighed helplessly, "Now we have gone from being the Southwest Army to the Southwest Rebels. Bai Qingling has implicated me in this situation, so what can I do?"
Jiang Wuyai: "Your Highness, why don't we take this opportunity and rebel?"
Zhou Ruyuan remained silent.
“Your Highness needs to make plans as soon as possible. Shen Lanxi has brought an army of 400,000 and has also subdued the people left behind in our camp. Once she resolves her conflict with the foreign tribes, the first thing she will do is capture us,” Jiang Wuyai urged.
Zhou Ruyuan was forced by circumstances and eventually gave in.
"We can't stay in the Southwest any longer."
Jiang Wuyai: "Your Highness, why don't we go to Tianjin?"
Zhou Ruyuan's first thought was of Dongchuan, followed by Zhou Qiwu.
"You want me to go and seek refuge with my third aunt?"
Jiang Wuyai analyzed carefully: "The Third Princess's husband's family is very powerful in Tianjin, and her son-in-law is in charge of Tianjin's maritime fleet. Tianjin is a key place to Dongchuan. If we can gain a foothold in Tianjin, we can slowly make our move on Dongchuan!"
Zhou Ruyuan's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Alright, immediately issue the order to break camp and head to Tianjin."
"yes!"
Jiang Wuyai didn't mention Bai Qingling again, nor did Zhou Ruyuan; it was as if the two of them had tacitly forgotten about her.
As dawn broke after a night, Zhou Ruyuan, leading his former Southwest Army, embarked on the journey to Tianjin.
...
Shen Lanxi waited and waited, but Zhou Ruyuan never appeared.
"Bai Qingling, do you see this? This is the man you've schemed and used every means to get!" Shen Lanxi's face was full of sarcasm.
Bai Qingling was locked in a prison cart and refused to admit Shen Lanxi's words.
"The prince will definitely come to save me! Shen Lanxi, you are the traitor!"
Shen Lanxi laughed and said, "No matter what you say, it's useless. No one will believe the words of a dying man!"
Bai Qingling seemed possessed, staring resentfully in Shen Lanxi's direction, repeatedly chanting in her heart, "The prince will definitely come to save me."
"Your Majesty, the wolf clan's escorts have arrived."
Shen Lanxi: "Let's go!"
Today, she not only has to send Bai Qingling there, but also bring forty envoys back to the Great Zhou.
Two hours later, Shen Lanxi arrived at the agreed location.
The forty envoys, except for some who were thin, all stood in place, completely unharmed, waiting.
Shen Lanxi raised her voice: "Today, I, Shen Lanxi, have come to escort the envoy of the Great Zhou home!"
Some of the forty envoys had tears in their eyes, some had red eyes, and some embraced each other and wept bitterly.
After the handover was completed, Shen Lanxi went to talk to the tribes in the southwest.
"If you haven't figured it out yet, you can keep thinking about it."
"After I return to the capital, I will send someone here to make contact with you."
In the past few days, the people of the southwestern tribes have also been busy. In addition to inquiring about news from the outside world, they have also extracted a lot of information about Shen Lanxi from the envoys.
For example, Shen Lanxi traded with the Yue Kingdom for many high-yield grain seeds, and in less than a year, all the people of the Great Zhou were able to have enough to eat.
For example, Shen Lanxi opened a factory, providing many ordinary people with a place to work and earn money.
For example, Shen Lanxi established a women's academy, a medical school, and revised the laws... all of which strengthened the Great Zhou, enriched its people, and earned her praise from all the citizens of the Great Zhou.
The envoys' descriptions were so beautiful that many foreign leaders longed to see them.
However, Shen Lanxi said that they could wait a little longer, as they wanted to investigate further to see if it was really as the envoys had said. Therefore, Meng Xiangka made a request to Shen Lanxi.
“When the Great Zhou sent envoys before, our tribe was not ready. Now that the Great Zhou envoys have come to our tribe, all our tribes also want to send people to the Great Zhou to take a look.”
I thought Shen Lanxi would hesitate, but to my surprise, she agreed immediately.
"Alright, there are still many matters in the court that I need to oversee. I will be returning to the capital tomorrow, so you need to quickly select the people who will go to the capital."
Meng Xiangka's eyes lit up: "Great!"
That afternoon, a group of twenty people, consisting of ten men and ten women, was brought before Shen Lanxi.
They were all young men and women; the men were physically strong, and the women were dashing and spirited.
After Shen Lanxi took the people in, news came from the foreign tribes.
"Bai Qingling is dead. She was burned to death."
Shen Lanxi nodded: "Send the message out."
"yes!"
Three days later, the news that Bai Qingling had been brought to justice was published in the express newspaper and sent to various places.
Shen Lanxi is already on her way back to the capital.
When they were almost at the foot of the capital, the guards protecting Shen Lanxi finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
It wasn't because we were almost in the capital, but because the people who came to welcome Shen Lanxi had arrived.
"Your subordinate has come to welcome the Regent's return!" Wei Dongzhu, travel-worn, knelt on one knee to pay his respects.
Shen Lanxi chuckled and helped Wei Dongzhu up.
"Thanks for your hard work!"
The worry in Wei Dongzhu's eyes had not yet faded, and his eyes were filled with tenderness that could not be softened.
“You are the one who is.” He went to Shu with a large army, while she went to the southwest with only a small number of people. It was more dangerous and more difficult for her than for him.
Shen Lanxi looked towards the capital, her aura suddenly changing: "Back to the capital!"
"yes!"
The guards all breathed a sigh of relief and followed. Heaven knows that from the moment they went to the southwest, until they arrived there, and then on their way back to the capital, their hearts were never at ease.
Four hundred thousand troops? They still don't understand why this lie hasn't been exposed yet.
As soon as Shen Lanxi stepped into the capital, a death knell sounded from the direction of the palace gates.
Emperor Renxiao has passed away.
Shen Lanxi quickened her pace and ran towards the palace.
The sound of the death knell was heard throughout the capital; only the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager were qualified to have the death knell toll in the palace.
The Empress Dowager died long ago, and the Empress was deposed long ago.
Realizing that Emperor Renxiao was dead, the officials hurriedly dressed and entered the palace, where they encountered Shen Lanxi at the palace gate.
"The Regent has returned to the capital."
Shen Lanxi: "My lords."
"What about the palace?" The officials were filled with trepidation.
Shen Lanxi: "I have just returned to the capital and do not know."
The palace gates opened, and the commander of the Imperial Guards came to report.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has passed away!"
Shen Lanxi looked grief-stricken and incredulous.
"Isn't His Majesty better? How could this be?"
The Imperial Guard Commander truthfully reported: "Ever since His Majesty learned of the Prince of Zhennan's rebellion, he has been greatly shocked and unable to eat or sleep, which has aggravated his old illness, and that's why..."
Shen Lanxi clenched her fists in a fit of rage.
"The Prince of Zhennan is a traitor who killed His Majesty. I will never forgive him!"
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