Quick Transmigration: Saving The Crazy Villainess

Chapter 154: Jiang Ying Yue (61)

"Your Highness, you are really daring and unpredictable." Jiang Li irritatedly commented the moment they reached the hidden encampment near the palace. "This Prince can't believe you let yourself be caught in such a stupid situation."

Hai Wang merely smiled and did not explain. Instead of speaking about something the general might have already guessed, he expressed his interest with the flood of mice and roaches in the grand hall, to which Jiang Li only replied with a sneer.

"If I didn't appear there, what will Your Highness do?"

"This Prince didn't intend to struggle. They wouldn't kill me since they would have to execute me in public, with various charges placed on my head. That's why This Prince was not truly worried." Even though he received a cold look from Chen Wang, the man only smiled and even dropped the formalities when he continued, "Anyway, you and the other ministers would definitely come to save me. And if none came to my rescue, then alright. I'd be forced to show my real skills. I don't want that to happen though. Which snakes wanted to be beaten out of the bushes?"

Jiang Li felt a bit of pity in his heart. He should have left this guy alone and waited to see if a male lead could die under the pretext that it was he who courted death by himself.

"Your Highness truly could be foolish at times."

At the general's indifferent remark, Hai Wang snorted. 'Look who's talking.'

The male lead was not truly helpless earlier, he could also easily escape since his accomplishments in martial arts were no worse than the Marshal and a bit higher than Lin Wang.

However, he wanted to see the Emperor die. His hatred for all the mistreatment he suffered since childhood wouldn't let him rest until he witnessed it. The last act was something he did to make the Emperor have more regrets in life.

How would the old man feel once he arrived in the Yellow Spring and realized it was his most hated son who tried everything he could to save him? The Emperor should be feeling deep remorse by now, right? Better if he was feeling like he should not have made countless excuses to postpone passing the throne to him. Who told him to be too biased and unloving?

And about Lin Wang...

The hint of a smile on his lips immediately vanished, replaced by a frown. Knowing he had to do something, the second prince turned to the man who had just tossed down the fatty on the floor of the first barrack.

"This Prince thanks Chen Wang for the help earlier. This Prince will rally my people now and put the order in the capital back in place."

Jiang Li shrugged then walked towards his soldiers, dragging the poor scribe by the scruff of his neck. The male lead also turned around and disappeared into the dark alley nearby. Both of them already knew what they should do. They tacitly agreed with a common goal, to end the rebellion by tonight as to not escalate the matter.

...

Lin Wang managed to regain the palace before nightfall. Unfortunately, the Emperor's crest, seal, and crown were no longer there.

This all made the man's heart raged in anger. Even if he declared tomorrow that he had been decreed as the next heir, who would believe him without at least a document stamped by the royal seal? The royal scribe too had been abducted therefore nobody credible and with enough say about the matter would be able to testify.

"Your Highness. The enemies are Chen Wang and Hai Wang, both tough and crafty. However, both of them were known for being romanticists. This official suggests we..."

Lin Wang and his ministers were at the grand chamber. Seated upon the throne, the prince who was still in a bad mood fiercely looked at the middle-aged guy who spoke then rebuked, "Are you deaf, Minister of Defense? Lady Ping'An is the one behind Rui Wang and his wang fei's downfall. How could you capture someone who employs black magic and give illnesses with just a snap of a finger? Don't think too that Hai Wang is serious about that prime minister's daughter. She's simply a pawn for him to gain the prime minister's support. Chen Wang's only weakness is his clan, yet you fools allowed them to get away!"

Since there was no porcelain or anything he could throw at the man, Lin Wang could only pound his fist on the armrest with extreme fury.

"Your Highness, it's possible to use popular support to condemn Lady Ping'An. She's a gu master. The masses hate people like her due to their evil magic and history of spreading plague in large regions. We can have the people band together against her tomorrow."

Lin Wang thought about it for a moment then nodded. "That's doable. After all, even a martial god could die under the attacks of a million no-name martial artists. She's still a woman. Starting tomorrow, spread rumors about her witchcraft and what she did to Rui Wang Residence and then through the masses' help, capture her and purge her in the fire. We will let the public see her being fried and roasted, screaming as she burns into ashes every passing minute!"

"Your Highness is wise." Everyone below shivered and knelt.

It was after this that one of the wittiest suggested they first pushed forward a coronation tomorrow. The replicas for the sacred items needed for the ceremony could be rushed tonight, then after the simple ceremony, which was just an acknowledgment of who the throne would be passed to, not the actual coronation, they could officially mourn for the passing of the previous Emperor.

Lin Wang could take that as an opportunity to show filial piety so that even if Hai Wang's faction spread rumors about him being the Emperor's true killer, the masses would remember the mourning ritual and doubt the news.

Immediately, the fourth prince's mood got lifted and he began to throw strings of orders one after another. He was about to give instructions on how to defend against Hai Wang's counterattack when one of their soldiers in charge of manning the gate reported that the prince-general was outside. 

"What did you say?" Lin Wang coldly looked at the kneeling guard.

The man lowered his head more, frightened by the prince's glare. "Your Highness, through some sort of means, Chen Wang managed to bring his whole army inside the capital and with torches in hand, they were all camping outside the imperial palace, blocking everyone from entering and leaving!"

"This..." The officials kowtowing at the floor all sucked in a cold breath after they heard their current situation.

"Wait. How did he bring his soldiers in!? Aren't the city gates manned by the Marshal's people?!" hysterically questioned one of them to nobody in particular.

"It could only be a tunnel." The oldest retainer sighed after answering.

Lin Wang's face turned grim as he nodded, and added, "Since the founding of the Empire, it has been forbidden for an army to set foot in the capital. The city walls are equipped with all sorts of things to defend against any intruder. There are many soldiers stationed there too. Chen Wang won't want his force to dwindle by even a fourth so the only way should be to dig a tunnel leading into one of the vacant lots in the capital."

"That rebel!" angrily exclaimed by the Minister of Defense, seemingly forgetting his camp too were rebels, and a lot worse than Chen Wang's side.

Lin Wang was busy thinking of a measure against the enemy so his forehead creased in annoyance due to that shout. However, he didn't rebuke the older man. There was a more important matter to handle. He knew the prince-general would be tougher to deal with this time since he was with his army while their main force, the Marshal was not with them, his life and death unknown.

"How many soldiers do we have on our side?" The prince hurriedly stood up and walked towards the exit, the ministers all rose to follow him.

The one currently in-charge of their forces, the bald general with a bear-like body, stepped forward, "Answering Your Highness, we only have more or less one hundred thousand of ours in the palace, but Chen Wang brought at least five times of our soldiers. We are greatly outnumbered, it's not recommended that we confront the prince-general now. This subordinate suggests we wait for our reinforcements from the Northern and Western regions, and only strike down once their armies attack their flanks and rear."

"Chen Wang won't let that happen." The prince replied in annoyance. "He's a damn gu master! If he wants to, he could even will millions of rats to swarm us inside again. And This Prince doesn't even know where he summons all of those creatures! We have to make sure he doesn't have the opportunity to do that. Otherwise, everyone here will die in some rats' bellies!"

The man took a breath slowly. His mind seemed to have cleared a bit due to that. As a result, he managed to think of a way, which he immediately relayed to the bald general.

The latter showed reluctance but under his master's fierce gaze, he could only grit his teeth and close his eyes. Yet in the end, he still ignored the pain in his chest and the trembling of his body and complied with the orders given.