Chapter 502: Getting the greatest gains (2/2)

Rumors had it, Great General Mu had found Emperor Tianhui by the south palace gates and killed him there.

Rumors had it, Emperor Tianhui wasn’t dead at all, but had long fled from the north gates. Instead, it was Great General Mu who was killed by Meng Zhan instead…

After five days and five nights of fire, the capital grew still. Much of the most fantastical rumors were dispelled to reveal the truth. Emperor Tianhui had smoothly escaped from the capital, while Chu Qingge had faced off against Great General Mu until both were wounded in the process. While Emperor Tianhui was heading en route to West Jing, the crown prince had already proclaimed himself emperor in the capital city. He split his time between sending killers after Emperor Tianhui and soliciting military powers and able ministers to his side to expand his influence. Because the capital had been overtaken, various powers across Tianning Country declared their stance. Some denounced the crown prince and pledged their lives to Emperor Tianhui, while others supported the crown prince and turned their backs on the deposed emperor.

However, nobody expected that Tianning’s central and southern regions, including its military and provincial powers, were all in favor of His Highness Duke of Qin! They even pushed out his name and declared the man their emperor!

Emperor Tianhui was in the carriage when he heard the news and violently smashed a teacup.

“Duke of Qin!”

He seemed to have suddenly realized a face and flew into a rage. Because of that, he lost control and spat out a mouthful of blood before losing consciousness.

“Imperial Physician Gu! Quick, find Imperial Physician Gu!” Chu Qingge shouted.

But nobody found the imperial physician named Gu Beiyue, nor did anyone know he was the first to slip away on the night of rebellion.

Meanwhile, Long Tianmo had predicted something like this would happen, but he still couldn’t keep from clenching his fists. His expression was dark for successive days as he digested the implications. Tianning Country only had three prefectures, all of them massive in size. The one with the highest population and Tianning’s southern (Jiangnan) region not only contained the most fertile farmland, but the most wealth as well. It really was a land of fish and rice—a well-watered region where food was plenty!

In brief, it had more people because it had more grain.

He and his father had fought to the death while the Duke of Qin had gotten the greatest gains with barely any effort! Emperor Tianhui condemned Long Tianmo and the Mu Clan for treason and conspiracy against the throne, sinners of a towering crime that was absolutely unforgivable. Long Tianmo immediately retorted by accusing Emperor Tianhui of listening to slanderous talk and unable to distinguish right from wrong, thus framing the innocent and killing the loyal.

The father and son pair were biting each other to death while the Duke of Qin didn’t say a word. He was extremely low-key, yet he had the best reputation and won the most public feeling. One month later, Tianning’s situation stabilized. Emperor Tianhui controlled ten prefectures in the northwest from West Jing, keeping the reigning dynasty name as Tianning. Long Tianmo took over the old capital and seven counties in the northeast, but called his reign Tianan.1 Meanwhile, the central and southern regions maintained their original borders. None of the residents dared to seek refuge with Tianning or Tianan, but neither were they keen to raise rebellions of their own.

More rumors spread claiming that the Duke of Qin would take troops to reclaim the capital, or swallow up the ten prefectures in the northwest. Both Emperor Tianhui and Long Tianmo were made restless by the news while the army in the south and central regions grew restless. But…despite such wild claims, nobody knew where His Highness Duke of Qin had gone. After that night in the capital, he seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth and never appeared in public again.

As for Han Yunxi, she was currently sitting in a carriage. On the night of the insurrection, she had put all the pieces together herself. It wasn’t because of her intelligence, but because she’d stayed long enough with Long Feiye to understand his methods. Long Feiye’s talk with Emperor Tianhui in the imperial study was simply a move on the chessboard. She had been telling Lady Helian to pack up and prepare to leave when the Baili Clan’s mermaid soldiers suddenly appeared to help them escape via the city’s waterways. After leaving the capital behind them, she split up from Seventh Madame and the rest of the Han Clan to board a carriage. The mermaid soldiers had said that His Highness Duke of Qin wanted to see her.

Somehow, her journey lasted an entire month, heading south all the way. The entire time felt like a pleasure trip, filled with beautiful scenery and occasional gossip about Emperor Tianhui and Long Tianmo’s latest news. But Han Yunxi didn’t care much about that. She was in low spirits the entire time. At first, she had kept mum and followed the mermaid soldiers’ arrangements. When she was bored, she’d hide herself in the detox system and sleep away an entire afternoon. But gradually, she couldn’t take it anymore.

If Long Feiye wanted to see me, then where is he?

Where is he?

Where…is he?!

She asked the mermaid soldiers multiple times, but none of them had any idea. They only had orders to take her to South Ning Prefecture.

That bastard, didn’t he say I could go back to the Han Estate? Why is he still looking for me? Fine, he can find me, but what’s with this whole trip south? Why hasn’t he shown up after all this time?

Just what is he thinking?!

Han Yunxi was almost angry enough to poison the soldiers and run away, but she didn’t. She only grew more withdrawn and stopped asking about anything. Finally, her carriage slowed to a stop in front of a residence today.

“Esteemed wangfei, please get off the carriage,” a mermaid soldier murmured.

Han Yunxi had just exited the detox system, so she was feeling drowsy. When she heard ‘get off the carriage,’ she automatically obeyed, only to give a start at the familiar words over the gates…

1. Tianan (天安) – literally “world peace.”