Chapter 1020 – Surrender, Perhaps? (Part 7)
If we’re talking about poison, no one can rival Jiang Pengji.
Not just with her venomous tongue, but her ability to twist the truth until it’s unrecognizable leaves everyone else in the dust.
It was obviously the Third Prince who intercepted the Right Prime Minister’s confidant, using a clever ploy to sneak in an assassination attempt on her.
Yet, in her retelling, it morphed completely into a tale where the Right Prime Minister and the Third Prince each sent envoys.
She welcomed the Third Prince’s submission, promised to help him with an inside job to take the royal city, and spared his life.
Just as the deal was about to be sealed, the Right Prime Minister also sent someone to pledge his loyalty.
Little did she know, that pledge was a ruse, while an assassination plot was truly afoot.
After narrowly escaping, furious and humiliated, she opted to eliminate both of them—one turned to dust, the other hanged outside the camp.
The Third Prince could never have imagined Jiang Pengji would come up with such baseless lies, aiming to drive him into a corner!
The Sixth Prince’s eyes widened in fury, glaring daggers at the Third Prince, looking as if he wanted to devour him whole.
Seeing this, the Eldest Prince quickly stepped in to mediate.
Every soul present was capable of betrayal, except the Third Prince!
“Eldest, please calm down. You and the Third have such a deep brotherly bond, it’s clear that he would never betray the country!”
The Sixth Prince scoffed, “Isn’t the hanging body in Liu Thief’s camp one of the Third’s confidants?”
The Eldest Prince fell silent and quickly turned his gaze to the Right Prime Minister.
Right Prime Minister Su Hasa paled at the implication, feeling a chill run down his spine and a slick of cold sweat trickling down his hefty cheeks.
He understood full well—if he corroborated that the Third Prince hadn’t betrayed the Northern Border, wouldn’t that mean he, himself, had?
To protect his own life, he could only maintain that the Third Prince was sending his confidants to defect, while his own envoy was merely hunting Liu Xi for a chance to assassinate.
The Eldest Prince threatened, “Right Prime Minister, think carefully before you speak—”
Although he didn’t have the strongest bond with the Third Prince, he couldn’t let him be falsely accused to death.
Right Prime Minister Su Hasa secretly clenched his back teeth, but he indirectly signed the Third Prince’s death warrant, “Old Minister did send a confidant to assassinate Liu Thief last night, but alas, Liu Thief is cunning and surrounded by numerous skilled guards, that’s why it failed. As for anything else, Old Minister is unaware.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Third Prince turned as white as a sheet, the world around him spinning and his legs almost giving way beneath him.
“Great—truly my good brother—” The Sixth Prince laughed with anger, pointing at the Third Prince, “Someone—”
“Now, faced with a great enemy, we brothers should unite against Liu Thief. How can we turn on each other and hurt ourselves?” the Eldest Prince interjected, “Dai Wang, we cannot easily trust Liu Thief. That witch’s scheme is just to make you kill the Third!”
The Sixth Prince’s anger peaked, turning his face a shade of deep crimson.
“Impudent—who’s the Dai Wang here, you or I? You’re not to speak here, step back—”
With no choice, the Eldest Prince resigned with frustration.
Though the Third Prince wasn’t killed on the spot, he was captured and imprisoned.
“Old Three, I’ll find a way to protect you—Old Six can’t be relied upon anymore; he’s lost his mind—”
The Eldest Prince snuck into the dungeon to comfort the Third Prince.
The Third Prince sneered, offering no response.
Once the Eldest Prince left, the Third Prince’s smile gradually broadened, laughter bubbling from his throat, shifting from low to a hysterical pitch.
“The Northern Border is doomed—it’s truly doomed—Master, I can’t protect the Northern Border—I’m powerless—”
After laughing enough, the Third Prince’s bloodshot eyes welled up with murky tears, his strength fading like it was siphoned away, collapsing weakly to the ground.
He pulled a dagger from his bosom and drew its blade.
He foresaw the fate of the Northern Border but didn’t want to witness its decline at the hands of the enemy; ending his own life before that seemed preferable.
At least before he died, Liu Thief hadn’t succeeded, and the Northern Border hadn’t changed hands.
In the underworld, he would still have some face to show his master.
The dagger sliced through the air, the sharp edge piercing his chest, a surge of agony spreading through his limbs.
Veins bulged on his forehead, his bloodshot eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, filled with hatred and regret.
Life drained quickly from his body.
“Report—His Highness the Third has committed suicide in prison!”
Upon hearing the news, the Eldest Prince was left stunned, his mind blank.
Old Three… took his own life?
The Sixth Prince had a similar reaction but managed to ask, “Did Old Three really… take his own life out of fear?”
The Third Prince had a younger biological brother, the Fifth Prince, who, despite being a bit dim and often hindering his elder brother, rushed to the palace in a rage upon hearing of his death.
The royal court descended into chaos, with the Right Prime Minister in a panic, while the true mastermind merely smiled at the unfolding drama.
Feng Zhen and the others felt they had enough ruthlessness, but compared to their lord, they realized they were still lacking.
Removing a thorn from one’s side without shedding blood—who else could dare to do that?
Such a lord truly wasted as nothing more than a strategist.
Sun Wen sighed reflectively, “With our lord on the scene, the Northern Border’s fate has been sealed—”
Though victors write history, there’s still a sense of empathy for the fallen—the Northern Border had rare intelligence, all of whom perished under their lord’s scheming.
Wei Ci added, “Our lord is the child of destiny; opposing her is sure death for the Northern Border.”
Sun Wen glanced at Wei Ci, who bore a calm expression, devoid of flattery.
“Child of destiny?”
“To unify the realm and dominate the nine provinces,” Wei Ci stated, “Do you doubt our mandate?”
Sun Wen chuckled, stroking his beard, “If that’s so, I’ve hit the jackpot, backing a real treasure.”
No matter how tragic the Third Prince’s death was, he was merely an enemy; Sun Wen and the others had no time for pity.
The troops took two days to rest, sharpening their blades once more for the assault on the Northern Border.
When the clarion sounded, an army numbering over a hundred thousand surrounded the royal city, leaving its residents in a state of sheer panic.
“Weren’t the Seventh and Eighth Princes still alive—what is Liu Thief up to?”
The Sixth Prince, sporting dark circles under his eyes, impatiently interrogated the officials.
The ministers trembled, taking a long while before one stepped forward.
The trembling official stammered, “Dai Wang—Liu Thief ordered us to cut the ropes binding the two princes—”
The Sixth Prince’s face turned ashen.
Three days had passed, yet the Seventh and Eighth Princes held onto life tenaciously, showing no signs of death, almost retaining some consciousness.
“Feng, those two are still alive—”
Feng Zhen kept his hands in his sleeves, eyes slightly shut, as he coldly sneered, “Alive? Cut their ropes, and they won’t be for long.”
The soldiers felt a chill down their spines and swiftly climbed the arrow tower.
The Seventh and Eighth Princes, in a haze, brightened as they heard their ropes were to be cut.
The Eighth Prince coughed up blood, his voice hoarse, “Liu Thief—you’ve betrayed your word—”
The Seventh Prince’s expression mirrored madness but remained silent.
Ignoring their plight, the soldiers wielded their blades and severed the ropes binding them.
The tower was so high that even jumping down would likely be lethal; what of the Seventh and Eighth Princes clinging to life with barely a breath?
When their lifeless bodies hit the ground, Jiang Pengji swiftly drew her waist blade and pointed it at the Northern Border royal city.
“Kill—”
