Zheng Congyuan stepped forward, and with this step, the previously enraged face of Empress Dowager Yan Ping suddenly turned ashen. She suddenly understood what Zheng Congyuan was about to do. The Zheng Congyuan, whom she had always seen as the future hope of Nanzheng State and who had sacrificed so much for Nanzheng State, wearing himself out in the process, had he been nurtured only to this end?
Nurtured with nothing but a sense of public duty, everything for Nanzheng State, for its future. He would not watch Nanzheng State perish, so he was willing to sacrifice himself.
It seed everyone realized Zheng Congyuan’s thoughts. This Crown Prince, who had exhausted himself for Nanzheng State, t such a fate. Everyone felt it was unjust of the heavens.
How unjust the heavens are!
Empress Dowager Yan Ping grabbed Zheng Congyuan’s arm, shook her head slightly, the words of the Marquis of Zhenbei and Old Master Wen Kang were not to be trusted, absolutely not to be trusted. Once you fall into their hands, there are hundreds of ways to die, and definitely not one would involve their own hands.
Zheng Congyuan patted Empress Dowager Yan Ping’s arm, smiled faintly with a calm and detached air, as if he had seen through it all.
"Imperial Grandmother, your grandson has always been selfless for Nanzheng State. If he survives this great disaster, your son has one personal request, hoping the Imperial Grandmother can fulfill it," Zheng Congyuan spoke.
Caught up in her own emotions, Empress Dowager Yan Ping did not understand at first, staring blankly at Zheng Congyuan. How can he survive this calamity? She knew well the nature of the Wen Family.
"Imperial Grandmother—" Zheng Congyuan suddenly softened his voice, and Empress Dowager Yan Ping seed instantly brought back to when he was a child, softly calling her Imperial Grandmother while nestled at her knees.
"Alright, whatever your request, Imperial Grandmother will grant it." Empress Dowager Yan Ping nodded, but Nanzheng State was not hers; it should be his.
"Your grandson bids farewell to the Imperial Grandmother, Mother—" Zheng Congyuan respectfully bowed, and as Pri Minister Lin was about to speak, Zheng Congyuan had already turned faster and walked towards the direction of the Wen Family Army.
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned to Zheng Congyuan, who took each step lightly yet each step resonated with an imnse heaviness.
The Marquis of Zhenbei imdiately glanced at his trusted aides. However, his aides were all looking at Zheng Congyuan in the middle, completely oblivious to their own Marquis’ signals.
"Don’t just stand there, go and fetch him—" Old Master Wen Kang spoke up, suppressing the urgency in his heart to not appear too agitated.
Empress Dowager Yan Ping slumped, faintly guessing that Fu Xun must have known she wouldn’t just survive subserviently, and so had made such a request. Empress Dowager Yan Ping silently made up her mind to accompany Zheng Congyuan, regardless of the swords and fires ahead.
The n of the Wen Family Army finally ca to their senses, but no one dared to move. The Marquis of Zhenbei’s gaze instantly sharpened, and his trusted aide reluctantly stepped forward with soldiers.
Even though Zheng Congyuan was now a defeated subordinate about to beco their prisoner, no one dared to look directly at him.
The trusted aide bolstered his courage and stepped forward, constantly reminding himself that Zheng Congyuan had lost, that they were the victorious side, that the Wen Family was now the future ruler of Nanzheng State.
Step by step the trusted aide moved forward, no one cared how many steps he took. That short distance seed endlessly elongated, step by step.
The soldier assigned to "take" Zheng Congyuan halted. As Zheng Congyuan approached them, just about to extend his hand, suddenly a dark shadow fell. The soldier froze, and in the next mont, black smoke billowed from his entire body. Before the soldier could scream, thick black smoke poured from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. The next instant, under the watchful eyes of all, the soldier turned into burnt charcoal, leaving nothing but a pile of black ash on the ground.
The trusted aide was shocked and without hesitation, imdiately went to grab Zheng Congyuan. But in the next mont, also under the watchful eyes of all, black smoke began billowing from his body as well.
"Ah—ah—" The screams were heart-wrenching, making everyone’s scalp go numb as their bodies turned into heaps of char at a visible speed.
"It’s an ambush—" It was the n from the Wen Family Army who cried out first, yet the people on Zheng Congyuan’s side were just as stunned, standing frozen because this, this seed to have nothing to do with them at all.
Pri Minister Lin barked loudly, seizing the initiative.
"This is a warning from the heavens, a warning from the gods—" Pri Minister Lin barked again, and the Wen Family Army involuntarily stepped back in unison, all looking up at him.
Old Master Wen Kang’s expression was twisted with disdain, "Bullshit heavenly gods, bullshit warning."
"Attack—" Marquis of Zhenbei, seeing the montum shift, the opposition stirring with restlessness, roared lowly, and the dozen people around him simultaneously flew towards Zheng Congyuan, who was still standing in place, erupting instantly like eagles diving towards the ground.
However, just as they closed in to less than a ter from Zheng Congyuan, that dark shadow imdiately enveloped them; just like the previous two, except their movents were quicker. Their charred bodies twisted into different shapes mid-air before reluctantly turning into heaps of coal ash on the ground, scattered everywhere.
Zheng Congyuan’s side erupted into chaos, while the Wen Family Army involuntarily stepped back once more.
This ignorant terror had a deadly effect; people in the Wen Family Army were beginning to believe this was divine punishnt, believing that all of this was preordained by the heavens.
"Damn it, I don’t believe this crap—" Wen Qun imdiately stepped forward, aiming straight for Zheng Congyuan’s face with even greater speed, his armor made of refined steel and silver. Whereas the previous attackers were unprepared, if it were an ambush, they would see if they truly had the capability.
Old Master Wen Kang wanted to stop him, but he simply couldn’t catch him.
"Wen Qun, co back—" the Marquis of Zhenbei bellowed, but it was already too late, as the refined steel and silver armor clanged to the ground, with coal ash flowing out from the holes in the armor.
"It’s true—it really is true—" Pri Minister Lin imdiately shouted about being chosen by fate.
Empress Dowager Yan Ping opened her eyes to all this. Others might not know, but she had lived a long ti and had seen Qiandao Temple before; however confident she was, Zheng Congyuan had just now...
"Mother, mother, did you see? Did you see?" Empress Xiao tightly grasped Empress Dowager Yan Ping’s hand. Over the years, their relationship might not have been very good, but at this mont, their interests aligned, which was what mattered most.
Empress Dowager Yan Ping nodded repeatedly, the joy of revival being more precious only after losing it.
Zheng Congyuan flashed a slight smile, looking at Old Master Wen Kang and the Marquis of Zhenbei.
"Old Master Wen Kang, I also give you a chance. As long as the Wen Family Army surrenders and hands over military power, I can spare your lives too," Zheng Congyuan said slowly.
"Fourth Prince, Fourth Prince, you cannot go in, you must not go in." Amidst the chaos, Zheng Haoyuan squeezed towards the front, unwilling to leave. If he didn’t clarify things with Zheng Congyuan now and cut off his hopes, when would he?
"Fourth Prince—" A few soldiers gasped for air as they chased. They were acting on Old Master Wen Kang’s orders to send the Fourth Prince back, but halfway through, who knew that Zheng Haoyuan would slip away while they weren’t paying attention.
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