Chapter 344: Restoring Order

Chapter 344: Setting Things Right

As Lu Mingchao had predicted, on the seventh day after Gu Huai took control of the Western Border Army, every member of the Gu family from the Duke's household and the Wu Xing Shen clan—regardless of age or gender—was imprisoned.

Their crime? Treason.

The Emperor dispatched envoys to negotiate with Gu Huai, declaring that if Gu Huai were willing to swear loyalty to the throne again, all past crimes would be forgiven, and both the Gu and Shen clans would be spared.

Gu Huai was given three days to consider. If no response came by then, his mother would be executed first.

Gu Huai laughed off the empty promise of mercy.

If the Emperor had ever kept his word, Gu Huai wouldn’t have rebelled time and again.

Thus, Gu Huai dropped the act and threw his lot in with Crown Prince Heng.

Among the four frontier armies of Daqian, the Northern Frontier Army was the strongest in combat, followed by the Western Border Army. Now, with the two forces united, their advance was unstoppable.

Daily deliveries of rations—polished rice, steamed bread, beef, mutton, and fresh vegetables—arrived, boosting the army's morale higher with each passing day.

The capital.

The Emperor was in a panic.

They couldn’t hold the line.

They simply couldn’t hold the line.

The Yongning Marquis, upon whom he had bet everything, had been captured by Xiao Heng.

As for the man known as Qiao Song—his true identity was Xie Yan, the fourth son of the Xie family.

Lu Mingchao wasn’t dead.

She survived a fall from a thousand-zhang cliff.

Xiao Yao even believed that the reason Xie Yan and Xiao Heng had succeeded was due to the immense influence of Lu Mingchao's unnatural luck.

Had he known earlier of her strange nature, had he discovered the hiding place of Xiao Heng and the Xie fugitives he had long sought, he wouldn’t be in this mess.

Yes—rebirth.

If only he could be reborn like Lu Minghui, keeping his memories, he would have the power to wipe out every traitor, leaving no loose ends.

When the army reached the gates of the capital, Xiao Yao once again tortured barely alive Lu Minghui.

"Speak!"

"What is the method of rebirth?"

At times, Lu Minghui would stare blankly at Xiao Yao, muttering names like Xie Yan, Gu Huai, or Lu Mingchao—as if these three were the only people left in her world.

Other times, she would grab her tangled hair and shriek wildly, "Please, spare me!"

Despite every tactic Xiao Yao employed, he couldn't get a straight answer from her.

"Your Majesty, we must go—*now.*"

"As long as the mountains stand, we’ll never lack for firewood."

"This humble servant begs to escort Your Majesty away from Shangjing to Jiangnan. With the Yangtze River as a natural barrier, Your Majesty can regroup there and prepare for the future."

Xiao Yao’s temples had grayed without him noticing.

"Cross the river?"

"Xiao Hang is the rightful heir, and I am the rebel. Why would the people of Jiangnan rally to a rebel like me?"

"Then this river need not be crossed."

"Grand Tutor Qin, your counsel?"

Xiao Yao shifted his gaze to the haggard Grand Tutor Qin.

Since personally beheading Qin Yuanqing, Grand Tutor Qin had been tormented by nightmares night after night, witnessing illusions day after day, unable to distinguish reality from delusion. It was as if his vitality had been drained, aging and withering at a visible pace.

"This old servant defers to Your Majesty’s judgment."

"Your Majesty’s path is this unworthy one’s path."

From the instant he raised his hand against the Xies, there was no turning back.

The Qin family and His Majesty stood bound—in life or death.

There was no other way.

"Then let us meet our end in a blaze of glory."

"If Heaven wills my fall, so be it—the fault lies not in battle."

"Qin Qing, grant me leave to put my house in order."

Xiao Yao gripped the Imperial Sword, the very sigil of the Mandate, and flung open gate after gilded gate.

His shadow guards closed ranks around him tightly, protecting him from all sides.

The Imperial Sword drank deep, crimsoned inch by inch.

He put every consort to the sword—his empress, who’d placed him above all; Consort Chu, still fresh from the birthing chamber.

His to claim, and his alone. Let them never kneel to Xiao Hang or the Xies.

In the end, of all the palace’s masters, only these remained: Empress Dowager Xie in Changning Palace, Princess Qingyu, and the Second Prince, Xiao Fu.

As for Prince Duan, he had vanished like winter geese on Xiao Yao’s orders.

A viper nurtured at his own breast.

"Spare me, Father!"

"I’ll plead with Gu Huai to bend the knee!"

"Though his heart rejects me, even he must fear the weight of scorn. Your blood will flow in our heir’s veins."

"Spare me, Father!"

Princess Qingyu dashed her brow against stone until blood slicked the floor.

"Qing Yu, Gu Huai will not marry you." The Imperial Sword scraped across the ground, emitting a grating sound as sparks flew from the friction.

"By Heaven's will, Gu Huai's wife is Lu Mingchao."

Empress Dowager Xie turned her prayer beads, cast a leisurely glance at Xiao Yao, and said, "By Heaven's will, Lu Mingchao's husband is Xie Yan."

When she learned that Lu Mingchao was still alive, Empress Dowager Xie let out a long sigh of relief, like a drowning person gasping for air.

"Empress Dowager, please save Qing Yu."

Princess Qingyu kowtowed to Empress Dowager Xie. "Save Qing Yu—Qing Yu doesn’t want to die."

"Qing Yu promises to behave," she added.

"I beg Your Grace."

"Qing Yu hasn’t done anything truly evil—she merely kept some consorts, but she never mistreated them, providing them with fine clothes and food."

"This Dowager cannot even save herself, let alone you," Empress Dowager Xie's voice remained calm.

Suddenly, Xiao Yao broke into crazed laughter. "Royal Sister-in-Law, I will not kill you."

"Elder brother loved you so dearly, and you once doted on me so much. I’d sooner slaughter the world than harm you."

"If elder brother were alive, I would never have seized the throne."

Then he turned to Qing Yu. "Qing Yu, rescuing you would soil the Xie family’s hands."

"What do you mean by 'merely kept some consorts'?"

"How many of those men were scholars dragged off against their will? You should know the answer."

"Why not die with your father?"

"No more delays. Your father still must lead the last of his army into a desperate battle."

The Imperial Sword pierced Qing Yu’s chest.

The begging stopped short.

As for the Second Prince, Xiao Fu, he had already passed out in fright.

Another sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.

Blood soaked the hall’s floor crimson.

Xiao Yao threw the Imperial Sword aside and threw himself down on the ground. "Royal Sister-in-Law, Yao'er has one request."

"A shared tomb? Never!" Empress Dowager Xie stated bluntly.

In the book’s original plot, the protagonist naturally did not die by collision.

*Winter Lu*—if he had held absolute power, he would have countless ways to achieve his desires.

But now, he was a beaten dog.

"Yao'er has betrayed the nurturing kindness of elder brother and sister-in-law, murdered his nephew to seize the throne, butchered loyal subjects, treated lives as worthless, embraced sycophants, spurned the worthy—each act is a crime that will bring everlasting shame."

"Therefore, after Yao'er’s death, I ask that a stone statue of me kneeling be cast and placed before my elder brother’s grave."

"Just this one wish."

"This one wish in exchange for me not burning down the palace."

"Sister-in-law Empress, it's a fair deal."

Xiao Yao kowtowed with a heavy thud.

"So be it."

Xiao Yao rose and waved at the shadow guards. "Come, follow me into our last battle."

In his youth, he had followed his imperial elder brother to the battlefield as well.

Yet, Xiao Yao never fought that last battle.

Standing at the city gates, gazing at the young man astride the black horse, his thoughts grew distant.

How had he never noticed before how much Xiao Hang stood silent and stern-faced like his imperial elder brother?

Better not to fight.

The die was already cast.

A dignified death mattered little now.

Xiao Yao threw himself from the battlements.

And so perished the nephew-slaying usurper Emperor Zhenning.

Emperor Jingxiang's only son, Xiao Hang, took his rightful place on the throne.

He ordered new investigations into the injustices following the palace coup, delivering justice to the dead and hope to the living.

He reorganized northern border defenses, safeguarding the frontier people.

The dwindling Xie family was restored to the rank of first-class dukes.

Lu Mingchao was granted the title of highest-rank noblewoman.

In winter, amid swirling snow, Lu Mingchao gave birth to a precious, jade-skinned baby girl. The child had skin white as snow, lips red as plum blossoms.

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