That night.
Yun Yang lay in his room, watching the dark night outside through the window. His gaze flickered as he pondered.
After a long, long time, he murmured, "Bao 'er … right now, he can already sit on the position of Crown Prince. He's more than qualified!"
Yun Yang was not the only one who had such thoughts.
The next morning.
Without another word, the Emperor immediately issued an edict, "The Mediocre King is not to remain in the capital any longer. He is to head to his fief immediately!"
This Mediocre King was the title of the former Crown Prince, the current second prince!
Compared to Bao'er's youthful wisdom, the title of the former Crown Prince and the current Mediocre King was also appropriate.
The next imperial edict was to confer the title of the First Prince's son, Yu Qiankun, as the Crown Prince's grandson. The whole nation will celebrate, and the world will be pardoned!
The civil and military officials accepted the decree in unison.
Now that Yutang's conquest was in full swing, it looked like it was about to conquer the world. Conferring the title of national heir at this point in time would remove all future worries.
His Majesty's swift and decisive style was on full display.
That afternoon.
The Mediocre King departed with only eight hundred and eight men in his entourage, leaving Tiantang City, the capital of Yutang.
Wu Ying of the Ministry of Military Affairs had specifically requested that the Mediocre King's ceremonial procession be approved by the Board of Rites, and that the Ministry of Military Affairs had to go through it again to prevent any unruly individuals from sneaking in.
The Ministry of Rites naturally did not dare to delay. After the approval, it was immediately sent to the Ministry of War.
Wu Ying personally took charge of the matter and did not slack in the slightest. He strictly controlled the entire process, eliminating all irrelevant personnel. Including the liangdi, the palace maids, the Mediocre King's concubines, the accompanying eunuchs, and the guards, he only managed to gather a small number of people.
Including the Mediocre King himself, there were exactly 809 of them.
Thus, he immediately ordered them to set out.
Eight hundred and nine!
When the Mediocre King found out about the headcount, he stared blankly for a long while. Only after a long while, as if he had come to a realization, did he throw his head back and let out a bitter laugh. Then, with a sudden 'wah', he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Hahaha … Eight hundred and nine, eight hundred and nine! Was this retribution? Hahaha … "
In front of the gate.
There were only a few officials who came out to send them off. Instead, it was the Minister of Justice, Wu Lie, who had always been at odds with the Mediocre King, who came out to send them off.
The Mediocre King was dressed in green robes as he turned to look at the city gates. His handsome face was filled with desolation and despair as he fell to his knees and kowtowed nine times towards the city gates.
"Imperial Father, I will never be able to see you again after today."
Tears streamed down the Mediocre King's face as he said, "May you take care of yourself and live a long life."
Consort Yong comforted him gently, "Your Highness, although this journey is long, it's not impossible for us to return to the capital in the future. You shouldn't be discouraged and unable to recover from this setback."
The Mediocre King shook his head sadly, unwilling to say another word. He boarded the carriage and headed south.
No one understood better than him why his entourage was so small!
And why were there 809 people?
Even if they were demoted, even if the monkeys would scatter when the tree falls, even if they hit them when they were down, how could they only have a guard of honor of 800 people? Where did the escorting soldiers go? Even if only the people from the original Crown Prince's residence followed him, there would be more than eight hundred of them.
However, these 808 people reminded the former Crown Prince of something that he had not heard of for a long time.
During the battle at Tianxuan Cliff, when the Nine Supremes met with misfortune, there were also 809 people accompanying them!
The Nine Supremes had brought along eight hundred guardians!
Eight hundred and eight people had died in the battle at Tianxuan Cliff; it was almost a complete wipeout. Supreme Cloud was the only survivor. Even though he had stirred up a storm upon his return, the Nine Supremes had remained hidden behind the scenes. Ever since then, the Nine Supremes had remained hidden behind the scenes!
Be it those who had sacrificed themselves or those who had survived!
Now that he had been demoted, the number of people accompanying him, including himself, was coincidentally 809!
What did this mean?
What did it mean?
The Mediocre King knew better than anyone else!
His entourage was doomed. There would be no more fluke; there would never be a survivor like Supreme Cloud!
Since the other party had made such an arrangement, they must have clearly confirmed that he was involved in the incident at Tianxuan Cliff.
Thinking deeper, the number of people accompanying him was the final approval of the Board of Military!
Did this not mean that there were more problems?
This was definitely not an accident or a coincidence. It was a dead end, a path to hell, or perhaps … a path of no return!
These eight hundred people were all his confidants, all of them were his loyal followers. These eight hundred people were his burial objects!
Not a single one of them would survive!
This was a foregone conclusion!
Three days later.
The Mediocre King and his entourage passed by Cang Long Ridge. They set up camp and rested there that night. It was midnight when a strong wind blew, accompanied by thunder and lightning, and a torrential downpour.
The next morning.
No one came out from the campsite; it was unusually quiet.
When the local officials received the news and went to investigate, they saw that there were 809 corpses lying neatly on the ground in the entire campsite; there were no exceptions. They were arranged neatly and clearly.
The one at the front was the Mediocre King himself.
It was as if the eight hundred and nine people had fallen asleep.
In the tent, there were four words written by the Mediocre King himself: "You deserve it!"
On a rock next to the tent, someone had written a few lines of words in blood.
"When a prince breaks the law, he shall be punished the same as the people. Blood for blood, a tooth for a tooth. When the grudge is settled, the debt of blood shall be paid in blood."
…
At this moment, in a roadside inn three hundred miles away from Cang Long Ridge.
A skinny young man had ordered a few jars of wine and a few side dishes, eating and drinking quietly.
After a long, long time, he murmured, "Big brother Supreme Wind, I, Shui Wuyin, am a man of my word. I have avenged you."
He lowered his head quietly, looking at the wine in his bowl and chuckling bitterly, "Lord Supreme Cloud meant to kill only the Mediocre King, not the innocent. But I couldn't hold it in. I didn't want to kill just one person, I only wanted to kill eight hundred and nine people. "
He laughed out loud, "How satisfying!"
He stood up abruptly and threw down two thousand silver taels, buying all the wine in the inn. Then, he poured them all onto the ground, laughing.
He knelt before the fragrant wine stains on the floor and kowtowed a few times. His green robe fluttered as he left.
…
The Board of Military.
Wu Ying's courtyard.
"Sir Wu, your humble servant has failed in his task. I've come to accept my punishment."
"Oh?"
"By the time your humble servant arrived, His Highness the Mediocre King and his entourage of eight hundred and nine people were all dead. No one survived."
"Hmm?"
"It's written on the rock next to the tent. When a prince breaks the law, he shall be punished the same as the people. Blood for blood, a tooth for a tooth. When the grudge is settled, the debt of blood shall be paid in blood. These twenty-four words in blood indicate that someone has made their move in advance. "
"Mm."
"Sir, what should we do?"
"Seal!"
"Your humble servant understands."
"Go."
"Your humble servant shall take his leave."
The man in black retreated out of the tent.
Wu Ying paced slowly to the window. Looking at the moon in the sky, he suddenly heaved a long sigh of relief and murmured, "Dead."
A cloud drifted over, blocking the moonlight.
The sky was filled with a haze.
"I've purposely given the order two hours later. Someone has indeed made their move in advance!"
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