“Sir, if you kill Cai Liuyang, that is rebellion!”
The Ninth Princess shouted from behind. “Have you considered the consequences? Rebellion means losing your head!”
“What, does Your Highness want to kill me?”
Jin Feng sneered coldly. “Then why did Your Highness not bring Qin’er along? Or does Your Highness plan to do it herself?”
Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess were deep in the woods. Qin’er and the escorts could not hear clearly what the two were saying.
But Qin’er had trained since childhood and had sharp senses. She vaguely heard the Ninth Princess shouting.
The Ninth Princess had received palace education from a young age. Whether happy or angry, she almost never raised her voice.
Realising something was wrong, she exchanged a glance with Zhu’er. The two of them leaped toward the woods together.
But before they could rush over, Da Liu led a group of escorts to block their path.
“Miss Qin’er, the masters are discussing matters. It is not appropriate for you to go over, is it?”
“Da Liu, I do not want to hurt you. Get out of the way!”
Qin’er said coldly.
“Miss Qin’er, that is exactly what I wanted to say.”
Da Liu drew his crossbow behind his back and refused to budge an inch. “I do not want to hurt you either!”
“You can try!”
Qin’er narrowed her eyes and stared fixedly at Da Liu.
“Try then!”
Da Liu pulled the trigger. An arrow struck the ground between the two women. “Anyone who crosses this arrow will be killed without mercy!”
Click! Click! Click! …
All around came the sound of crossbows being cocked.
Every escort raised their crossbow and aimed at Qin’er and Zhu’er.
Bei Qianxun drew the black blade at her waist and stood beside Da Liu, looking provocatively at Qin’er.
On the other side, Houzi and Da Zhuang led the remaining escorts and surrounded the Ninth Princess’s other guards.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
“What are you all doing? Is it not chaotic enough already?”
The Ninth Princess saw the commotion outside the woods. When she came out and saw the two sides facing off with weapons drawn, her face looked even worse.
She walked to the edge of the woods and shouted coldly, “Qin’er, fall back!”
Qin’er hesitated for a moment but finally retreated.
Da Liu saw Jin Feng wave his hand and signalled the escorts to lower their crossbows.
The Ninth Princess returned to the woods. Her expression had returned to normal. “Sir, you saw it yourself. Once Cai Liuyang is killed, we will become enemies. Qin’er and Da Liu and the others will have to fight each other with blades. Is this what you want to see?
With Sir’s ability and vision, if you really rebel, this palace believes it will not be limited to Jinchuan alone.
When that time comes, the whole of Sichuan, even the entire Dakang, will be engulfed in endless war. The common people will suffer far worse than they do now. Is this what Sir wants to see?”
“Your Highness truly has a sharp tongue. You can turn black into white! Why do I want to kill Cai Liuyang? Why do I want to rebel? Does Your Highness really not understand?”
Jin Feng’s voice rose several degrees. “Is it not because your father is muddle-headed and the powerful families are greedy? Is it not because you people forced me!
If only your father had some backbone and gave the common people a way to live, if only I did not have to witness the tragedy of people eating each other’s children, if only I did not have nightmares every night, would I rebel?”
“Sir, are you determined to kill Cai Liuyang?”
The Ninth Princess leaned against a tree. Her eyes were full of exhaustion and sorrow.
She knew Jin Feng was right.
The current situation was not Jin Feng’s fault. It was the court’s fault. It was her father the emperor’s fault.
“Yes!” Jin Feng answered without hesitation. “Cai Liuyang must die. No one can protect him!”
“This palace understands!”
The Ninth Princess tilted her head back against the tree trunk and forced herself to calm down. “Sir, take your men back to the village. This palace will go and kill Cai Liuyang! And Xu Pangzi in western Sichuan, the chief eunuch sent by my father, every single one of them, this palace will kill them all!
Sir’s granaries will soon be unsealed. The grain that Xu Pangzi and the others embezzled, this palace will make them return double to Sir. Will Sir be satisfied with that?”
“I said, there is no need for Your Highness to trouble yourself…”
“This palace is willing to trouble myself!”
The Ninth Princess, who had been forcing herself to stay calm, could no longer hold on. Her eyes turned red as she glared at Jin Feng and roared hysterically. “This palace said it! This palace will handle it and give you a satisfactory explanation!
Do you really have to rebel? Do you really have to fight this palace with blades until one of us dies before you are satisfied?”
This was the first time Jin Feng had seen the Ninth Princess lose control like this. For a moment he was stunned.
“And you are always so impulsive. The moment your blood rushes to your head, you shout about fighting and killing. This palace begs you, please think clearly before you act, alright?”
The Ninth Princess’s suppressed emotions finally erupted. She continued to roar at Jin Feng. “With you acting like this, you still want to go kill Xu Pangzi? Do you think Xu Pangzi and his people are made of stone and will just wait obediently in western Sichuan for you to come and kill them?
Do you believe that as soon as you kill Cai Liuyang, within five hours an army will surround Jinchuan so tightly that not even water can leak through? You will not even be able to kill Xie Xiguang in Guangyuan!
And your merchant associations and escort agencies in the capital and Jiangnan will all be wiped out in one go. Everyone will be executed immediately!
Whether your rebellion succeeds or not, Jinchuan will run with rivers of blood! The common people all over Sichuan will suffer along with it!
Have you thought about any of this?
To let so many people die for the sake of one Cai Liuyang, is that really the result that satisfies you?”
“I…”
Jin Feng felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The anger in his heart quickly faded.
He really had been overwhelmed by rage earlier and had not thought things through properly.
The Ninth Princess was right. If he killed Cai Liuyang, the news would definitely spread.
The powerful families would immediately gather an army to suppress Jinchuan. At that time, he truly would not be able to leave the battle in Jinchuan to go kill Xie Xiguang in Guangyuan, let alone rush hundreds of li to western Sichuan to kill Xu Pangzi.
Even if he were willing, Xu Pangzi would not just sit obediently in western Sichuan waiting for him to come and kill him.
And the merchant associations and escort agency outposts scattered across Sichuan and Jiangnan would surely be purged.
Sichuan was already suffering from disaster. Once fighting broke out, the powerful families would definitely conscript civilians to join the campaign against Jinchuan. The common people all over Sichuan would suffer even more!
This went completely against Jin Feng’s original intentions and once again showed him his own shortcomings.
He really was too impulsive. He was not a politician at all and had not thought clearly about the consequences of rebelling in haste.
Seeing Jin Feng calm down, the Ninth Princess actually reached out and took Jin Feng’s hand. “Sir, Wen’er really does not want to become your enemy. Believe me, Wen’er will definitely give you a satisfactory answer!”
Only then did Jin Feng notice that the Ninth Princess had been trembling slightly all along. Her hand was ice-cold, as if it had just been pulled out of icy water.
“Your father must have saved the entire galaxy in his previous life. In this life, not only does he get to be emperor and enjoy all the wealth and honour in the world, he even has a daughter like you…”
“So does that mean Sir agrees?”
Although the Ninth Princess did not understand what “galaxy” meant, she could tell from Jin Feng’s tone that he had softened.
Jin Feng did not answer. He simply reached out to untie his cloak, intending to drape it over the Ninth Princess.
But who would have thought the Ninth Princess would suddenly wrap her arms around his waist and throw herself into his embrace.
Her tears finally could not be held back any longer and flowed freely…
Jin Feng hesitated for a moment but finally pulled his cloak over and wrapped the Ninth Princess inside it with him, helping to warm her body.
The Ninth Princess cried for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before she finally stopped sobbing.
She rubbed her tears clean against Jin Feng’s chest, then stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck…
