Chapter 596: Bringing the Person Up

He raised his hand, and the surroundings gradually quieted down.

Kang An stared intently at Gu Li Han, and whispered in Xiao Ningxun's ear, "He really is like a poisonous snake!"

Xiao Ningxun nodded, and under the gaze of all, he so cleanly killed two loyal ministers of the Great King, his methods indeed vicious.

Xiao Ningyuan whispered, "It looks like today will see rivers of blood."

Tuan Tuan furrowed her small brows, looking at Gu Li Han, "How can this person be so evil!"

Just then, "Boom——"

Not far away, the heavy city gates slammed shut.

Everyone was startled, and they all looked up together.

The several door bolts, as thick as thighs, crashed down with a clang, completely sealing Jiashe City like an iron barrel.

Yuchi Guang said loudly, "Everyone, don't panic."

"The Great King has deceived you for years; today, I will let you see with your own eyes just what this Great King, whom you all love so much, really is!"

The townspeople looked at each other, and whispers arose.

"What does that mean?"

"What has the Great King done?"

The Jade Consort looked around, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks, "Do you know who I am?"

"A few years ago, I was still a maid beside the queen of the Yueshuang Kingdom."

"Our Yueshuang Kingdom is one of the smallest countries in the Western Regions, with only two cities and thirty thousand people."

"Yet such a tiny country, merely because it possessed the richest pastures that Bai Bu Luo desired, suffered his destruction of the nation!"

The Jade Consort's eyes turned red, her voice trembling, "In a single night, the whole country perished; everyone died beneath his butcher's blade!"

"I hid in the haystack of the stables for several days and nights, barely preserving my life!"

"When I crawled out, all I saw were corpses covering the ground."

"All my relatives are gone; many didn't even leave remains to be found! I can't even bury them!"

The Jade Consort slowly scanned the crowd, raising her voice, "You all have families reunited."

"What about us? Why must we suffer this heavenly calamity?"

No one answered, and many silently lowered their heads.

"Let me tell you why," Bai Bu Luo finally spoke, his voice calm, "It was your Great King who ordered an attack on my Qiuci caravan, seizing my goods and killing my people!"

"He thought he had covered his tracks well, so I couldn't find out!"

"In just a short year, nine caravans were robbed, and sixteen people died in your Yueshuang Kingdom!"

"Should I wait until you have completely plundered my Qiuci caravans before I act?"

"Nonsense!" The Jade Consort snapped her head toward him, glaring, "When have we ever raided your caravans?"

"Since you ascended the throne, toward every small neighboring state, isn't it just seize if you want, kill if you want? And it's not just us!"

The townspeople's murmurs rose softly:

"Put that way, the Great King isn't wrong either!"

"Exactly! Who let them raid our caravans?"

Tuan Tuan didn't understand, "Big brother, who exactly is right?"

Xiao Ningyuan whispered, "If the Qiuci caravans were indeed repeatedly robbed in the Yueshuang Kingdom, then Bai Bu Luo's action is not wrong—except he shouldn't have killed everyone."

"After all, innocent people shouldn't be implicated because of this."

Seeing this, Yuchi Guang hurriedly shouted loudly, "Not only that! Do you know how our Great King treats his own biological son?"

Everyone's gaze focused on him.

Yuchi Guang pointed at the Second Prince and said, "The Second Prince is the queen's sole legitimate son! But from childhood to adulthood, has the Great King ever hired a martial arts master for him? Taught him even a day of martial arts?"

"No! None at all!"

"Qiuzi establishes its state through martial prowess, yet the Second Prince can't even lift a broadsword! How is he an heir? He's clearly an abandoned son!"

"He used such methods to drive the fine Second Prince to the brink of suicide!"

The crowd immediately erupted.

"No wonder the Second Prince has never attended a martial arts contest!"

"Yes! If the queen were aware in the afterlife, how heartbroken she would be!"

"What a wonderful person the queen is!"

The Second Prince raised his head, looking at the townspeople, "Exactly! He's speaking the truth!"

His voice hoarse, filled with resentment, "I am the queen's legitimate son!"

He pointed at the Crown Prince and said, "What is he? From childhood, the father king gave him the finest martial arts master, let him follow onto the battlefield! Let him accumulate glorious military achievements!"

"Qiuzi displays its martial might across the Western Regions, yet I am not even qualified to enter the martial arts arena!"

"That's because you were born weak!" The Crown Prince looked at him: "The father king said, the martial arts master personally told him, you simply cannot practice martial arts!"

"Shut up!" The Second Prince let out a fierce shout, the veins on his neck bulging, "You are just his dog! Whatever he says, you just learn!"

"Where am I weak? I'm perfectly fine! Say I'm weak—what illness do I have? Can you name it?"

The Crown Prince froze.

The Second Prince's eye sockets turned red, "You know nothing! You only know to follow the father king into battle to earn merit, waiting for the day he passes the throne to you!"

He turned to Bai Bu Luo, "You always claim you're protecting me; as a child I believed your nonsense, but now I am already an adult!"

"I know why you treat me this way—isn't it because you dislike my mother? You hate her, so you also despise and discard me, her legitimate son!"

"Not letting me practice martial arts, not letting me attend court—you just want me to have no hope of inheriting the throne at all!"

As his words fell, the surroundings fell deathly silent.

Bai Boluo looked at him, his voice low and deep: "You lost your mother from a young age; I have taught you many times, yet your nature has always been gloomy and obstinate."

"The martial arts master said your disposition is unstable; practicing martial arts will only harm others and yourself."

"I won't let you practice martial arts, nor let you participate in state affairs; I only wish to keep you safe all your life, raising you in luxury within the palace."

"What does this have to do with your mother?"

"As for the throne," he paused, "look at what you've become!"

He glanced at Yuchi Guang and Gelihan: "Being stirred up by a few words from treacherous men makes you unable to sit still—how could you ever sit firmly on the throne?"

"If Qiuci were to fall into your hands, that would truly be a disaster!"

Yuchi Guang's voice rose: "You all have seen it with your own eyes and heard it with your own ears!"

"As the king of Qiuci, Bai Boluo wages war abroad, slaughtering neighboring countries; at home he is cold-blooded and ruthless, even harming his own children!"

"Such a person—does he even deserve to sit on the throne?"

In the crowd, someone suddenly shouted:

"Tyrant! It turns out the king is a tyrant!"

"Bai Boluo is unfit to be our king!"

Immediately afterward, people from all directions began to shout:

"Qiuci needs a new king!"

"Please let the Second Prince ascend the throne!"

Scattered shouts rose and fell in different directions.

Xiao Ningxun frowned: "It's obvious this was arranged long ago."

Xiao Ningyuan nodded: "It seems they have been plotting for a long time!"

Xiao Er gave a cold snort: "Such tricks only fool the ignorant populace."

Lu Qi, however, said: "But how would the common folk know who is right or wrong? Often, whichever side has more people echoing its words is deemed to be in the right."

Yuchi Guang listened satisfied to these shouts; after they subsided a little, he spoke again:

"Bai Boluo, look! The people of Qiuci will no longer be deceived by you!"

"The Second Prince ought to inherit the throne! Before all the people, stop making excuses—just issue the royal decree and abdicate at once!"

Bai Boluo looked at him, gave a faint smile: "You have stayed by my side like a dog for years, constantly urging me to send troops against Yutian."

"Can't wait any longer?" He looked at the Second Prince: "Didn't he tell you that if you take the throne, he will help you seize Yutian, making you the ruler of the Western Regions?"

The Second Prince startled, blurted out: "How do you know?"

"Heh," Bai Boluo sneered, "he has said those words to me until I've grown calluses on my ears."

Yuchi Guang showed no panic: "Second Prince, he's speaking the truth."

"These past years, I have been utterly loyal to him, always wanting to present Yutian to Qiuci with both hands, yet he has always hesitated and wavered."

"Your father king may look mighty, but he is nothing but a bully who preys on the weak! Right, Jade Consort?"

Jade Consort's face filled with hatred; she shoved the dagger in her hand further in.

A large patch of Bai Boluo's chest robe had been soaked through with his own blood.

"Second Prince, don't entangle yourself with him—today is the time for you to inherit the throne!" Yuchi Guang waved his hand: "Bring them up!"

"Yes!"