Wei Qingyi had not only died in his place—he had been sent to his death by Bei Ye himself. The guilt and remorse he carried needed someone to bear the consequences, and they also needed blood to wash away his own guilt.
Someone also had to take the blame for him and Wei Qingyi.
“Then what happened? Did Bei Ye commit suicide immediately out of love, or did he take revenge first and then kill himself?” Given what she knew of Bei Ye, the Eighth Prince probably had not survived either.
The system’s next words confirmed Yue Fuguang’s guess, while going far beyond it.
【Bei Ye did not act immediately. Although he was not sure who had done it, the culprit could not have been anyone outside his brothers and sisters.】
Yue Fuguang nodded. That was true. Although Bei Li had perished, and this was not a matter of mortal enmity, no subject would attack their former ruler while they were all prisoners.
“What the Eighth Prince did is truly baffling.” The system had not explained why he had suddenly attacked Bei Ye, which meant it had not found out either.
Ignoring the remark, the system continued with its revelations.
【When night came and everyone had fallen asleep, Bei Ye began to act.
The first was the Eighth Prince. He was the person Bei Ye suspected most. Over the past few months, Bei Ye had been trying to find a way to save Wei Qingyi while also using the connections at his disposal to deal with the officials who had openly or secretly sided with the Eighth Prince. Quite a few people had been brought down by him during that time.
After that came Bei Ji’s remaining children. Before his death, Bei Ji certainly never imagined that the son he had once regarded as a spare pawn would wipe out all the children he had left in this world—all because of one man’s death.】
This time, the bright red cherry in Yue Fuguang’s hand really did fall straight to the floor. Eunuch Qian, standing nearby, immediately replaced it with another.
Every cherry had been carefully selected by him—large and fresh.
All of Bei Ji’s children were dead. It was not only Yue Fuguang who was shocked; Emperor Mingxi and his assembled officials were also taken aback. They exchanged a knowing glance and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good that they were dead. With them gone, Dayan no longer had to consider how to deal with them. To be honest, keeping them alive would ultimately have been a hidden danger. But for Emperor Mingxi, who wanted to be remembered as an enlightened ruler, it would have been impossible to kill them all so decisively while worrying about his reputation and the judgment of the historians.
More importantly, this era had not yet developed the custom of eradicating every last member of a defeated imperial family.
At this time, dynasties did not generally believe that one had to eliminate the roots to prevent future trouble. Most former royal families were simply confined for life and deprived of their freedom.
Had the Tong family's descendants not been bent on restoring their kingdom and causing trouble everywhere, thereby posing a serious threat to the Dayan dynasty, Emperor Mingxi would not have exterminated them either.
Of course, Yue Fuguang had no intention of being the one to set such a precedent and plant that poisonous seed.
Thus, Emperor Mingxi and his officials secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and Yue Fuguang did the same. If she had not known that Bei Ye had died as well, Emperor Mingxi would certainly have awarded him a merit for this.
“They’re all dead? Bei Ye is certainly ruthless. He wasn’t even sure who was responsible, yet he wiped them all out without exception! Bei Ji must never have imagined that the moment he went below, all his children would follow him one after another.”
Yue Fuguang paused, then said, “Wait, there’s still one person alive—Beiyue! Beiyue is still alive and well at the hostel of the Court of State Ceremonies!”
That was right. Only after Yue Fuguang reminded them did Emperor Mingxi and his officials remember that they still had a prince of Bei Li among them.
It had to be said that Beiyue had been far too well-behaved over the past year or so. His presence had faded day by day, and apart from You Mingmin, Director of the Court of State Ceremonies, nearly everyone had almost forgotten that he even existed.
【The Bei Li imperial family has only one member left, Beiyue. Nan Zhao has only Lan Xuan'er, Nan Yue has only Gan Tang, and Dong Yi has no one left at all.】
Each time the system mentioned another country, another measure of awkwardness appeared on the faces of Dayan’s officials. It was true that they had not caused these things deliberately, but no one could honestly claim that it would have happened without their tacit approval.
【Now, of the five kingdoms, only Xiqiang remains. Master, guess who will be the last person from Xiqiang to survive?】
Without giving it a thought, Yue Fuguang replied, “Little Zhu, is there really any need to guess? As long as Xi Ling doesn’t go looking for death, he definitely won’t die.
“After all, although he bears the title of the Xiqiang prince, everyone knows that he is not Xi Yan’s biological son.”
No one knew who had spread the story, but it had become common gossip—not only in the court, but among the people of both countries as well. Countless versions of Xi Yan’s amorous escapades and the tale of the true and false princes were circulating everywhere.
“However…” Yue Fuguang changed the subject. “Shouldn’t we be more concerned with how long it will take Dayan to conquer Xiqiang?”
The system did not seem particularly concerned about the question.
【Setting aside Dayan’s own generals, the surrendered commanders from Nan Zhao, Nan Yue, and Bei Li alone would be more than enough to defeat Xiqiang. As for how long it will take, surely it won’t drag on past the tenth year of Yuankang?】
At those words, Emperor Mingxi and Huo Ying felt the weight on their shoulders increase, and the pressure suddenly became immense.
The earlier kingdoms had been easy enough to deal with. As for Xiqiang, the problem was not that its soldiers and generals were especially formidable, but that the roads within the country were terribly difficult to traverse—more troublesome even than the mountainous terrain of Nan Zhao and Nan Yue.
War was a matter of logistics. In a campaign against Xiqiang, the greatest difficulty lay in transporting provisions.
In the past, they could have chosen to sustain the army through the war itself by collecting or seizing supplies from the areas they occupied in Xiqiang. But with the military code personally revised by the Grand Preceptor, Emperor Mingxi and his officials would rather proceed more slowly than cross the line.
The emperor and his officials exchanged glances. Although they worried that failing to conquer Xiqiang before the New Year might earn them a reprimand from the Divine Artifact, compared with violating the military code established by the Grand Preceptor, they could only resign themselves to being scolded.
Yue Fuguang raised an eyebrow. She was extremely satisfied that the system was openly urging Dayan’s officials to march westward, and she joined in, saying, “Conquer new territories, win noble titles, and rise to high office. Dayan is offering more than enough. There’s no need to worry that the soldiers at the front won’t fight desperately for the chance to advance their station.”
In the society of this era, there was no faster way to rise through the social ranks.
【Master, why did you refuse when the emperor wanted to make Yu Boming a Duke of State?】
“Because I think Marquis of Anguo is quite good enough. The higher one’s position, the greater the responsibility—and the greater the risks. It’s perfectly fine for the Yu family’s descendants to inherit a stable legacy. They don’t need to occupy too lofty a position, lest they attract unwanted attention one day and bring disaster upon themselves.”
【I’d like to see who would dare!】
When the system said this, everyone in the great hall felt as though they had been locked onto by an invisible killing intent.
