Demon Lord Gets Married

Chapter 213 - Let Them Do as They Please

Not long after Teng Yu left the Sky Prison, word of his visit had already reached the Imperial Palace. The Emperor, with his eyes closed, dismissed the Dark Guard with a wave, but he himself could no longer sleep.

It seemed that this good son of his had uncovered the truth. The Emperor wasn't sure when his suspicions were first aroused, but after pretending for so many years, his patience was very much like his own in his youth.

The Emperor couldn't decide whether to feel disappointed or relieved at this moment.

As dawn approached, there was a light, cautious knock at the door. The newly appointed general director reported, “…Your Majesty, an urgent message has arrived from the Second Prince, covering eight hundred kilometers!”

“Bring it in!” The Emperor calmly sat up. A line of palace maids and eunuchs entered, lighting lamps and preparing for the Emperor to change his clothes. They moved in a disciplined manner, producing no sound.

Ever since the Emperor replaced the Bedroom Hall servants, everyone had been serving him with a sense of fear and caution.

The Emperor, now dressed in his dragon robe, sat by the table. He quickly read through the urgent eight-hundred-mile report, scanning ten lines at a time, and his face immediately darkened!

In a sudden burst of anger, he swept the porcelain on the table to the ground, “Incompetents! You can't even handle such a small matter!”

“Summon the Left and Right Prime Ministers and the Six Chiefs of State to the palace immediately!”

It wasn't long before they had all rushed to the palace, each of them forcing themselves to stay alert as they exchanged glances.

“Milords, please enter. His Majesty has been waiting for you.”

As the court officials stepped into the Emperor's Bedroom Hall, they were greeted by chaos. Several palace maids and eunuchs were frantically cleaning up the mess.

“Enough, leave!” The Emperor waved his hand in irritation and hastily threw the eight-hundred-mile report to them.

“I didn't expect the Duke of Qin's influence to have grown this much.” The Inferior Prime Minister's eyelids drooped, and his expression showed a hint of surprise.

“Indeed. In my land, under my watch, you let that traitor gain so much power and win over so many people. Have I raised all of you to be useless?”

As soon as the Emperor's temper flared, the ministers all knelt down, shouting, “This official is guilty!”

Feeling guilty for provoking the Emperor's rage with just one comment, the Inferior Prime Minister hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, at this point, we can only dispatch troops to suppress them once again. We absolutely cannot let the traitors grow stronger.”

The Emperor was beginning to distrust even his own intelligence network. Otherwise, how could he have failed to detect the Duke of Qin's treachery and Teng Yu's disguise for so many years?

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Was there anyone in this world whom he could truly trust?

“Tell me, who should I send to suppress them? How many troops? Think it over carefully. I expect an answer by morning!” The Emperor dismissed them with a wave and, as the ladies helped him back to bed, he felt the need to rest and clear his mind.

When Teng Yu returned to his residence, he also received the contents of the emergency report. He immediately called his aides to discuss countermeasures.

“Your Highness, could there be some trick to this? Qin Wang Ji only has a total of thirty thousand troops, including his relatives and followers. Counting the strength of his forces, he can only muster at most twenty-five thousand, while the Second Prince has brought fifty thousand men to encircle and annihilate them.”

Teng Yu tapped the table thoughtfully, “Ol' Two did train himself out of the Huo Family Army after all; he wouldn't be that weak. Either his opponent is too strong, or there is some secret we don't know about.”

“Secret?” The aides all lowered their heads in thought, considering all sorts of possibilities.

Han Sen, who was standing to the side and serving snacks, casually suggested, “Is it possible that the Second Prince is deliberately faking it to lure the snake out of its cave?”

Teng Yu shook his head, “If that were the case, this urgent information wouldn't have reached us. My second brother isn't foolish enough to report something he isn't sure about.”

“Then is it possible that the Second Prince and the Duke of Qin have reached an agreement to lose without a fight?”

One of the aides shot a glance at Han Sen and retorted, “How is that possible? The Second Prince isn't stupid…not foolish…but actually, it's not entirely impossible…”

“Explain,” Teng Yu thought of a possibility and nodded to the aide, encouraging him to continue.

“We've more or less investigated the Duke of Qin's character. His wisdom and strategy are entirely different from the Second Prince's. Convincing the Second Prince to join forces isn't out of the question.”

Another aide added, “Without support from the motherland, it's difficult for the Duke of Qin to build his power. Those who stand by his side are mostly martial generals, many of whom lack substantial military power and come from lowly origins. He's the one with the least hope of ascending the throne.”

“Given the current circumstances, the Duke of Qin cannot win. Not only would the Huo Family Army in the northwest oppose him, but even the Yun Family in the northeast wouldn't stand by and let him grow stronger. Second Prince, surely you have thought this through, right?”

“The Northern barbarians are watching us with greedy eyes, and we won't be able to move without manpower throughout the entire winter. The Yun Family in the Northeast would likely prefer to see the Emperor and the Duke of Qin weaken each other through conflict.” Otherwise, how would they find an opportunity to intervene?

If he could seize the right moment, there might be a chance for victory under the banner of “loyal to the monarch, eradicating the traitors.”

On the other hand, the Third Prince, who lacked military power, saw no opportunity for success in this situation.

Teng Yu understood this well and explained, “We can recall the people we sent out earlier; let them do as they please. Starting today, retract your claws and stay peacefully at home.”

They exchanged glances and smiles before agreeing.

The morning assembly was, as expected, a bloody mess, with some suspecting that the Second Prince had turned the tables. But did anyone dare voice such thoughts in front of the Emperor? Who would believe it?

Although the Emperor knew that his three sons were ambitious, he had never suspected that they would ally with others.

The final decision made by the remaining ministers was to send a military general with 20,000 troops to reinforce the army. Additionally, the southwestern provinces would dispatch 5,000 troops to assist the Second Prince.

The southwest border had always been an area the imperial government was reluctant to engage with. Surrounded by mountains and difficult to access, it was isolated.

Moreover, many unknown tribes lived in the mountains. These tribes were traditionally xenophobic, neither resisting nor cooperating with the officials sent by the imperial government, ignoring the imperial court's decrees.

However, it was precisely because of this isolation that the southwest served as a natural barrier, making it difficult for neighboring countries to launch attacks.

Kun City was the largest city on the Southwest border and represented the greatest achievement of the Duke of Qin's years of planning and deployment. The civil and military officers there were all his people.

As a result, when the Duke of Qin's army arrived, they took control of the city without even a fight.

In the early hours of the morning, the city gate opened just as the first light appeared. A carriage quietly entered the city, heading toward the yamen.

The driver's expression was stern as he watched the surroundings vigilantly. Inside the carriage, two young men sat facing each other, one nervously clenching his fist.

“Your Highness, are we really going through with this? There aren't many military officers willing to surrender, and if things go wrong… How will we explain this to the Emperor?”

The other youth leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, saying, “Why call it surrender? I only wish to cooperate with my royal uncle.”

“But Your Majesty, that…”

“Enough, I have already made up my mind. Even if I return, how long do you think I will survive? On one side is my father's constant suspicion, on the other are my brothers, watching me like tigers eyeing prey. When my two good brothers succeed, I won't even be able to save my life!”

“But Your Highness, His Majesty is in his prime; it could be twenty or thirty years before anything happens… Isn't it suicidal to cooperate with the Duke of Qin?”

The Second Prince opened his eyes and looked at the other angrily, “I know you mean well, but it's not your place to question my decision!”

“Yes… I have overstepped my bounds.”

The Second Prince's expression darkened, not because of the place they were passing through, but because of what had been said. He knew he was walking on a precipice—one step forward could lead to death, but stepping back would also mean death.

In any case, this was a gamble with his life. He should at least have the right to choose his path, shouldn't he?

He wasn't sure if this decision was made in a moment of impulse or out of hatred for the Emperor. Ever since he and his mother were framed by that wretched Imperial Consort Yun, he had been completely disillusioned with the Emperor.

His mother was innocent, yet she was executed by his father. The Emperor had personally severed the bond between them. In that case, he couldn't blame me for taking such drastic actions.

The carriage came to a stop, and the driver knocked on the door, saying, “Your Highness, we've arrived.”

The Second Prince took a deep breath and led his trusted aide out of the carriage.

He had come here today to negotiate with the Duke of Qin about how to bring the fifty thousand men he had brought under his command. After all, the false news he had sent to the capital would soon be exposed.