Pin Shanhe

But his status and position did not allow him to continue pleading.

Therefore, he could only place his hopes on Shen Fu.

After all, they used to be so close, they couldn't just stand by and watch Meng Wan die, could they?

In his eyes, how could a child who is not yet fully formed be worth a living human life?

At the crucial moment, Shen Fu fainted again.

After all, she had just lost her child and suffered betrayal from her best friend. Her body was already weak, and it was normal that she couldn't hold on.

But for Jun Qiyuan, even the last hope was gone.

"You dog emperor, prepare to die!"

Just then, a loud "boom" came from above.

A masked man in black burst through the roof and swooped down, heading straight for Emperor Yong.

The imperial guards immediately stepped in front of the emperor to protect him, but the man in black was highly skilled in martial arts, and they were no match for him. Soon, many of them were injured.

Just as they were about to reach the emperor, Xiao Xuanjin intervened at the crucial moment.

He easily knocked the weapon out of the man's hand and struck the man's chest with a powerful palm strike.

The man in black was instantly sent flying, crashing heavily into a pillar before falling heavily to the ground.

The guards rushed up and surrounded him, holding a large knife to his neck.

Everyone was stunned by this scene.

No one expected that not long ago they had just experienced a giant bear attack, and then a man in black came to assassinate them.

It's true that good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.

Emperor Yong was completely enraged.

"Who are you, daring to attempt to assassinate me!"

The man in black spat out a mouthful of blood, his voice filled with gritted teeth: "You dog emperor, you really are lucky to have survived, you weren't torn to pieces by the giant bear."

"What? You orchestrated what happened today?"

"Hahaha, so what? All my painstaking planning, stealing the cubs while the mother bear was out hunting and placing them on your hunting route, and setting up dozens of beehives along the path from the mountain to the palace, was all to lure the enraged mother bear to the palace and kill you all! With such a meticulous plan, you still managed to survive. Heaven is truly blind."

Seeing him explain all the plans in such detail, everyone's hearts sank.

They were just now suspecting the Fourth Prince, believing that he was the one who hunted the bear cub and that he couldn't escape responsibility for it.

Unexpectedly, it was a carefully orchestrated scheme, and the Fourth Prince's mistake was unintentional.

Jun Qiyuan finally relaxed his clenched fist.

He knew that his "suspicion" had been cleared.

Emperor Yong coldly demanded, "Speak! Who sent you?"

The man in black sneered, "I failed to kill you today, betraying my master's orders. I have no face to return to him. I will atone with my death!"

After saying this, a trickle of black blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, his head lolled to the side, and he died.

After examining the body, the guards immediately reported, "Your Majesty, the assassin has bitten open the poison sac in his mouth and committed suicide."

This was clearly a premeditated act, not even giving them a chance to interrogate.

Emperor Yong was radiating thunderous fury, and he almost roared, "Investigate for me! Find out who he and the person behind it are!"

After searching the assassin's body, they quickly found a token.

Behind the token was actually the totem of the Northern Kingdom's royal family!

The nobles and dignitaries present began to murmur amongst themselves.

"What? This assassin was actually sent by the Northern Dynasty?"

"Didn't they already make peace with us? Why would they resort to such underhanded assassination tactics? It's truly insidious!"

"This absolutely cannot be left like this; we must beat them until they beg for mercy on their knees!"

The Northern Dynasty was strong and well-equipped. The Great Yong Dynasty fought against them for many years and was always at a disadvantage, and even lost many cities and territories.

If it weren't for the appearance of the "God of War" Xuan Wang, even Yongdu might not have been able to be saved.

Even if war breaks out again, as long as the Xuan King is there, they are not afraid.

Emperor Yong also had a solemn expression on his face.

Just a month ago, he received news from the North that they had agreed to a ceasefire and seek peace, expressing their desire to establish friendly relations between the two countries.

Could it be merely a stopgap measure, a facade of harmony masking underlying discord, intended to lull them into a false sense of security so that an assassination can be carried out?

The words of the others reminded him that the Great Yong Dynasty still had to rely on the Xuan King.

Now that his queen is in trouble, and her unborn child has been miscarried due to a frame-up, if this is not handled properly, it will displease the Xuan King, and I fear...

He finally made his stance clear.

"Consort Meng is narrow-minded and jealous by nature, but her crimes do not warrant death. How about this, I will increase her punishment from fifty strokes of the cane to eighty, and also strip her of her status as a consort, demoting her to a commoner. What does Prince Xuan think?"

Xiao Xuanjin also knew that everything had to be done in accordance with the law, and as the emperor, he had to set an example.

If we can't take Meng Wan's life today, then we should make her pay some other "price".

"Shouldn't the Marquis of Dingyuan's family bear responsibility for raising such a vicious daughter?"

Emperor Yong understood that he still felt it was not enough, so after careful consideration, he added another clause.

"The Marquis of Dingyuan's family has failed in their duty to educate their daughter and should bear joint responsibility. Their title is hereby revoked, effective immediately, as a warning to others!"

If the previous punishments were merely a matter of physical pain for Meng Wan, then this one was like tearing her apart!

Although the Marquis's mansion is now just an empty shell, it is the only remaining "respectability" for the entire Meng family.

They valued this storefront sign more than their own lives, and now they're about to lose it?

Meng Wan completely broke down and knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately.

"Your Majesty, it's all my fault. Punish me if you must. Even kill me if you want, just don't implicate the Marquis's family. They really don't know anything."

Emperor Yong, of course, paid no attention to it.

Although the ancestors of the Marquis of Dingyuan had some merits, by this generation no one had taken up an official post in the court, leaving only a few good-for-nothings who still had to receive salaries from the court.

He had wanted to do it for a long time, but he just hadn't found the opportunity. This time, he was just going with the flow.

Meng Wan continued to beg for mercy, kowtowing until her head bled.

He found it noisy and had her dragged away.

Jun Qiyuan wanted to plead for mercy several times, but he held back the words he was about to say.

No, I can't lose my composure.

The overall situation should always be the priority!

When he ascends to that position in the future, they will become the emperor's fathers-in-law, instantly joining the ranks of imperial relatives.

What is a small marquis's mansion worth?

Although Shen Fu was "dizzy", she could hear everything around her.

I thought I could take this opportunity to expose Jun Qiyuan's true colors, but the sudden appearance of an "assassin" ruined everything.

This must have been planned in advance!

Although we failed to bring down Jun Qiyuan today, we made Meng Wan pay a price, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Speaking of which, I have to give a shout-out to her husband, whom she married by chance.

She only wanted Meng Wan's life, but he wanted to make her wish she were dead!

I thought of Meng Wan's desperate cries as she was taken away.

One word—awesome!