sbdcsierra Chapter 282 This Emperor is a Real Scoundrel
Chapter 282 This Emperor is a Real Scoundrel
"I trust Zhiheng." The Chu Emperor raised his hand, his face pale. "Only Zhiheng will not betray me."
This is because the Chu Emperor genuinely wanted to give the throne to Jun Lanjin, while Jun Lanjin genuinely did not want it.
If Jun Lanjin wanted to sit on the throne, why would he have to resort to so many methods?
All he had to do was speak to the Emperor of Chu, and the Emperor could grant him the position of Crown Prince, or even the Emperor.
As soon as the Emperor of Chu said this, everyone turned to look at Jun Lanjin.
For a fleeting moment, Luo Cheng'an's expression turned ferocious.
It's him again! It's him again!
What kind of spell did Jun Lanjin cast on the Emperor to make him value him so highly?!
If it weren't for the fact that the Emperor still favored women in the harem, Luo Cheng'an would have thought that Jun Lanjin and the Emperor had some kind of homosexual relationship.
Thinking of this, Luo Cheng'an gave Jun Lanjin a gloomy look.
In terms of appearance, both men and women would fall in love with such a face. However, because Jun Lanjin's aura is too strong, he is extremely aggressive, and no man would dare to harbor ill intentions.
But women are born to admire the presence of the strong, and their attraction to Jun Lanjin is also part of their affection.
If he wanted, he could use his beauty alone to get many women to do things for him.
Luo Cheng'an considered this possibility.
Luo Cheng'an is deep in thought.
Luo Cheng'an seemed to have realized something.
Finally, Luo Cheng'an's eyes lit up with sudden realization.
His gaze toward Jun Lanjin suddenly took on a strange quality.
Knowing the truth, Luo Hanfeng's eyes narrowed slightly. His smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were filled with a deep darkness.
With the entire Golden Palace in such a state of disrepair, the Chu Emperor naturally had no intention of interrogating these people any further.
He naturally wouldn't easily exterminate the entire Xie family, since not everyone who goes to the battlefield has the strength of the Xie father and son.
On the battlefield, Xie Ansheng and Xie Tongchen indeed possessed talents that were difficult for ordinary people to match.
But it was even more impossible for the Chu Emperor to simply release the Xie family.
If the Xie family knew that he could let bygones be bygones regarding their possession of imperial robes and training of private soldiers simply because the court was short of personnel, it would only further embolden them.
Perhaps the Xie family was truly wronged, or perhaps they were truly loyal subjects.
However, the emperor was most wary of subordinates becoming too powerful and overshadowing him.
In that case, would the Xie family still respect the royal family?
The Chu Emperor rubbed his temples and said coldly, "Take back the Xie family's military power."
"Xie Ansheng, where is your tiger tally?"
The Chu Emperor looked at Xie Ansheng.
Xie Ansheng, who was kneeling there, had a moment to catch his breath because of this unexpected turn of events. Now, when he heard that the emperor wanted to ask about his tiger tally, his expression was somewhat hesitant.
This tiger tally is everything to the Xie family.
If the tiger tally were returned to the emperor, the Xie family would truly become lambs to the slaughter.
Xie Ansheng would not allow such a thing to happen.
However, in the current situation, if they do not hand over the tiger tally, they will likely anger the emperor even more.
Xie Ansheng was extremely conflicted.
He knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to the emperor: "I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's trust in entrusting the tiger tally to my person for safekeeping."
"Regardless of what Your Majesty thinks, I still maintain that my Xie family has no intention of rebellion whatsoever."
"As a military general, I know all too well the harm that war brings to the people and the country. I would never do such a thing."
"Tiger tally..."
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
"Urgent report!"
Just as Xie Ansheng was about to hand over the tiger tally, a panicked and shrill sound came from outside.
The eunuch who came to report stumbled in.
When the eunuch saw the mess in the Golden Palace, his legs went weak with fear.
He knelt down with a thud, his legs trembling.
"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?" The Chu Emperor's voice was icy cold.
The eunuch said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, an urgent report has come from the front lines, saying that the Southern Kingdom has once again mobilized its army to attack our city."
"One city has already fallen to the Southern Kingdom!"
"What?!" The Chu Emperor's expression changed drastically.
As soon as the eunuch spoke, everyone in the Golden Palace turned their gaze toward him.
Sure enough, it came.
Xie Ansheng's eyes darted around in his pupils.
Apart from the minor differences mentioned in the heart's voice, everything is proceeding as the heart's voice predicted.
Xie Ansheng's heart was pounding.
He naturally knew why these subtle differences existed.
It's not surprising that Luo Hanfeng and Jun Lanjin can hear each other's thoughts, and that they can prepare in advance based on what they hear, or even change their own fate.
However, this is a great opportunity for the Xie family to turn things around.
Xie Ansheng immediately knelt down and said loudly, "Your Majesty, my Xie family is willing to atone for our crimes by performing meritorious service. If we do not take the head of the dog emperor of the Southern Kingdom, I will hand over my head to Your Majesty!"
Emperor Chu: "..."
He was absolutely furious.
He felt that nothing was going well for him sitting on the throne.
Since ascending the throne, he has not had many peaceful years. It was one thing for remnants of the previous dynasty to cause trouble, but it was later discovered that few of the officials in the court were easy to deal with.
Compared to these corrupt officials, embezzlement and bribery are actually considered minor crimes.
Not to mention, now a plague is raging and famine has begun.
The people in the south are already suffering terribly, and if this problem is not resolved, it will gradually spread to the capital.
Now, before the plague has been resolved, the court officials have been found to be harboring private armies and hiding imperial robes, causing further trouble.
Just as he was about to retrieve the tiger tally from his subject, he received the devastating news that the Southern Kingdom was about to start another war.
The Chu Emperor was truly at his wit's end.
He rubbed his temples, his voice suddenly sounding weary as he asked, "Has it been confirmed? Is it the Southern Kingdom?"
"Didn't they just send tribute to sue for peace?"
"Their princess and ministers are still in the palace, what are they trying to stir up now?"
The eunuch, his face pale, knelt in the Golden Palace and said, "Your Majesty! News has come from below that the emperor of the Southern Kingdom seems to have obtained something from us and knows everything about our affairs."
"We chose to attack and occupy the city that is weakest in both offense and defense."
"Now, a plague has broken out in the south, and famine has begun. The people are so hungry that they can hardly walk. When the Southern Kingdom attacked, the soldiers had been starving for several days, so they simply gave up resistance, opened the city gates, and allowed the Southern Kingdom to garrison the city."
The Chu Emperor's expression grew even colder.
The eunuch continued, "After these soldiers from the Southern Kingdom captured the city, they did not kill or injure anyone. Instead, they brought their own food and distributed it to every household, which directly solved the immediate crisis."
"Now, not a single person in that city is resisting. Apart from the general, even the soldiers have joined the Southern Kingdom's camp."
"It has completely become a city in the south."
As he finished speaking, the eunuch's voice grew softer and softer.
Because the oppressive atmosphere inside the hall was becoming increasingly terrifying.
After a long silence, the Chu Emperor gritted his teeth and said, "Why did I only find out about this now?"