Chapter 525 The Demoness Bai Qingling!
"Think about your family members, think about your parents, wife, and children. Are you really willing to abandon your parents, wife, children, and brothers for the sake of a single sentence from this morally corrupt person?"
"Even if you don't have parents, wives, or children at home, do you not even care about your own lives?"
"Do I really want to ruin my whole life for this woman?"
Bai Qingling struggled to get up, but every movement caused excruciating pain.
"Don't listen to her nonsense! You are the Southwest Army, you can only listen to the Prince of Zhennan!" Bai Qingling shouted, pressing one hand against her collarbone.
Shen Lanxi raised her voice to block out, "Wrong! First and foremost, you are people of the Great Zhou, the army of the Great Zhou, and only secondly the Southwest Army. You receive salaries from the imperial court; you are not loyal to just one person, but to the Great Zhou court. By saying this, Bai Qingling is disregarding your lives and sending the Southwest Army to its doom!"
Bai Qingling let out a heart-wrenching scream: "You're talking nonsense! Don't listen to her... She's a treacherous villain! The Prince will definitely kill her and eliminate traitors! You are the rightful heirs by following the Prince. In the future, you will all be ministers who have rendered great service to the Prince. Don't listen to her lies and mislead the public..."
Shen Lanxi sneered and gestured to the guards to open the imperial edict and read it aloud.
"By the mandate of Heaven... if my son, after the Regent arrives in the Southwest, works diligently to defend against the foreign tribes, then he will be pardoned. If he continues to listen to the sorceress's words, then the Regent shall, in place of the true one, kill the sorceress and restore peace to my son's side!"
The imperial edict was put away; Emperor Renxiao's meaning was already quite clear.
They want to kill Bai Qingling.
Shen Lanxi looked coldly at Bai Qingling: "His Majesty spared you time and again out of consideration for our father-son relationship. Unfortunately, you, this vixen, have actually bewitched the Regent and disrupted the stability of our Southwest. Don't blame His Majesty for not showing any regard for our father-son bond."
Bai Qingling screamed in agony, "No, the imperial edict is fake! Don't listen to her! Kill her!"
The Southwest Army had already been intimidated by Shen Lanxi. They hesitated for a moment, but quickly became convinced of the imperial power and obeyed the imperial edict.
No matter how powerful Bai Qingling or the Prince of Zhennan are, can they be as powerful as His Majesty?
Shen Lanxi smiled inwardly as she looked at the soldiers who dared not step forward.
"Obey my command! Quickly cut down a path to block the fire. We must protect this heartland and prevent the fire from spreading to the southwest city!"
"yes!"
Half the people responded, while the other half remained silent. Those who had been silent, seeing that the other half obeyed, also readily followed suit.
Bai Qingling looked around at the empty space in disbelief. These snobbish people—she had clearly given them instructions beforehand, yet they still changed their minds.
He's a complete opportunist, utterly useless!
"Shen Lanxi, if you have the guts, then kill me!" Bai Qingling said through gritted teeth.
Shen Lanxi sneered: "Kill you? It's easier than crushing an ant. Compared to crushing an ant, I'd much rather that this ant bring me greater benefits!"
What greater benefit could there be? The only person in the world who cares about her is the prince, and Shen Lanxi wants to use her to threaten the prince.
"Shen Lanxi, kill me!" Bai Qingling screamed.
Shen Lanxi glanced at Bai Qingling and coldly ordered, "Find someone to take a look at her, make sure she's not dead!"
"yes!"
Bai Qingling's vision blurred intermittently due to excessive blood loss.
Why is she always inferior to Shen Lanxi? Isn't it just that she comes from a slightly lower social class than Shen Lanxi? Apart from her background, in what way is she inferior to Shen Lanxi?
The uncontrollable dizziness filled Bai Qingling with panic.
She cannot die. If she dies here, the prince will be devastated. Her child will lose his mother and be bullied in the future. The thought of her child calling someone else "mother" is heart-wrenching, more painful than having her collarbone pierced!
...
"Your Highness, there's a fire in the southwest! It's the direction of the Wolf Clan! It's the direction of the Wolf Clan! This time, we can wipe out the southwestern barbarians without lifting a finger!"
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Ruyuan was initially pleased, but then immediately began to inquire, "Who set the fire?"
"I was unaware of this, but I have already sent people to investigate."
"Send the order to break camp immediately and return to the camp. The wind is blowing from the north now. No matter who started the fire, we cannot allow it to spread to the territory of our Great Zhou!"
"yes!"
Just as they finished packing up and were preparing to break camp, Jiang Wuyai came running over in a panic.
"It's terrible, Your Highness! While Your Highness was away leading troops for training, the Princess Consort ordered people to set fire to the forests where the wolf clan lives. Shen Lanxi found out about this and is currently torturing the Princess Consort."
Zhou Ruyuan's head felt like it had been hit hard by a rock; it went blank for a moment, and a constant buzzing sound filled the air.
"Who gave her the order to set the fire?"
Didn't I tell her not to act rashly?
Zhou Ruyuan was furious. His chest was pounding, his blood was rushing to his head, and he could taste the salty, metallic taste in his mouth.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort told Shen Lanxi that it was your order." Jiang Wuyai also looked furious.
Zhou Ruyuan's vision went black again. Why did Bai Qingling want to harm him?
"Your Highness, the fire has spread towards our Great Zhou. Shen Lanxi has already ordered people to go up the mountain to cut down trees and create a firebreak. Please make a decision quickly!"
After a moment of hesitation, Zhou Ruyuan immediately and decisively ordered: "All personnel must go up the mountain to cut down trees. We must clear a path to isolate the fire before it spreads!"
"yes!"
Jiang Wuyai quickly gave the orders.
Zhou Ruyuan's feelings for Bai Qingling had changed, turning from love to hate. He was eager to return to the army and explain things to Shen Lanxi.
"Your Highness, you can't go back!" Jiang Wuyai knelt down to stop Zhou Ruyuan when he learned that Zhou Ruyuan wanted to go back.
"Shen Lanxi found witnesses from who-knows-where, claiming that the Princess Consort colluded with the wolf clan. Now, the Prince has ordered a fire attack. In the eyes of outsiders, this means that the Prince has already colluded with the wolf clan, and the fire attack is just to clear his name. If the Prince goes back now, it will be because the evidence is conclusive, and he will be sent back to his death!"
Zhou Ruyuan was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he looked at the southwest direction with hatred.
how so?
He was indeed secretly accumulating power, and was indeed fighting under the guise of a righteous army, unlike now where he was colluding with foreign tribes and committing treason.
Bai Qingling, what a waste of his trust in her. For her sake, he did not hesitate to ruin his own wedding, disobey his father's orders, and even used his military achievements to save her life after she committed evil deeds.
So, this is how she repaid him?
She was practically driving him to the brink of despair.
He was wrong, so wrong. He shouldn't have ruined his wedding for her, and he shouldn't have disappointed his father and mother time and time again. Perhaps it was then that his father began to dislike him.
He gradually fell into being criticized by the world and was forced to flee to the southwest, all thanks to Bai Qingling.
"Your Highness, there is no other way now!" Jiang Wuyai said with a do-or-die attitude.
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