Chapter 268

The Great King tossed aside the edict recalling him to the capital, ignored it, and went about his own business. The north had already been given away; holding Shanggu Pass was pointless. At once he summoned the Marquis of the East Capital to lead troops back and withdraw from Youzhou.

The Great King promised that the border troops of Shanggu Pass would come to Youzhou, and they would still be under the Marquis of the East Capital's command; he would not interfere.

This withdrawal doesn't necessarily mean the border troops will immediately move to Youzhou; the old fox and the young fox both understand what that implies.

The Great King has broken with Chang'an; it's time for the Marquis of the East Capital to make his stance clear.

At the same time, on the advice of the Chancellor and the Grand Tutor, he sent Chang'an a memorial in the form of a "protest document".

Its main content was to question the peace talks and the cause of Emperor Ningde's death.

The Great King didn't beat around the bush—he wasn't even hinting indirectly; he straight out asked whether the peace talks overseen by Baili Jin had angered Emperor Ningde to death!

At the end he also declared that he would never abandon Youzhou!

Chang'an has abandoned Youzhou, but as long as Baili Jing lives, he will not surrender the Baili clan's lands to the northern barbarians, so that Chang'an will have less meddling in Youzhou affairs.

In other words, I have declared independence.

By now the Great King knows to be tactful, but being tactful won't help—this memorial will surely infuriate Baili Jin.

The Great King also feared he might not kill the new Crown Prince, so after finishing he added another line: this is his last memorial as a feudal prince of the Great Jin; he asks the entire court and Baili Jin to cherish it, study it carefully, and henceforth reject any interference in Youzhou affairs.

The Grand Tutor looked it over and, for a moment, could find nothing wrong with it.

By now, what does it matter whether we observe formalities or keep up appearances? The next time the two brothers meet, it will likely be on the battlefield. I won't speculate on what the Great King thinks, but once Baili Jin makes a move, he will certainly not let the Great King off.

The Grand Tutor and the Chancellor also only learned these past two days that the grudge between the Great King and Baili Jin runs deeper than a slight; the Great King even went so far as to copy the ancestral home of the Langya Wang clan!

All these troubles taken together, with the Prince of Yu ascending the throne, the Great King is surely in for no good.

That's that.

The Great King sent exactly that wording to Chang'an, relying on his strength to make Baili Jin seethe.

At that time Baili Jin was still personally presiding over Emperor Ningde's funeral rites in the capital, summoning the feudal lords to return for the mourning, but not a single one came back; everyone seemed to be waiting and seeing.

The Great King's "infuriating" memorial was the first reply he received—and sure enough, their hearts were getting bigger and bigger!

After Emperor Ningde's passing, the prince's household and all the soldiers observed a vegetarian diet for three days, then switched back to eating meat.

At this point the Chancellor and the Grand Tutor were no longer anxious; anxiety was useless, the great war was bound to come.

At this point Zhuti, accompanied by the Fifth Princess, finally reached Youzhou; upon meeting, the siblings embraced and burst into tears.

The Fifth Princess was even more heartbroken than the Great King. In fact, Emperor Ningde had treated her decently; when Lady Wei was around she often saw the emperor, and later they developed some father‑daughter affection.

Originally she had just been running after the King like that, feeling rather sorry toward her father emperor. Now the emperor has vanished in an instant, and she is also grateful that her brother pulled her out; now she doesn't have to fall into the King's wife's hands, so she still has her brother and aunt by her side.

Having cried herself tired, the Fifth Princess lifted her head to look around their room, finally remembering what she had forgotten to ask.

"……We always thought you were enduring hardship out in the wind and dew, Prince You; what's going on with your mansion? And the outside streets."

As soon as they entered Secluded Province's territory, their travel speed immediately increased greatly, and the carriage no longer jolted.

All the way along the expressway they went straight to Secluded Province City.

From Ever Peace all the way bumping northwards, they also counted passing through several famous cities, but nowhere had roads as well maintained as in Secluded Province. And this mansion, it's practically a fairy palace. Princesses who had spent the first half of their lives living in the deep palace all felt shocked; you could say the King's mansion in Great Jin is quite extraordinary.

The King pointed at his hand and said, "I'm enduring hardship; living in such a nice house doesn't mean I have money! Older sister, we're about to become rebels, and there are even more places that need money." The King widened his eyes and then blinked occasionally.

The Fifth Princess's attention was immediately diverted, "The eldest imperial brother told you to return to Ever Peace; is it really fine not to go back?"

The King sighed, "Sure there is. But I guess he won't have time to look after me for a while. He's already handed Secluded Province over to the Fresh Humble; now it's not his turn to launch a major attack against me—it'd be fine if the Fresh Humble make a move. I've already received news that the Fierce Slave allied forces have withdrawn, and the three Fresh Humble tribes will soon arrive at Wing Province."

Upon mentioning this, the King became unhappy; hearing that the officials of Wing Province had already fled upon receiving the news.

Then the common folk, hearing about it, also ran southward; nobody thought to organize resistance? Originally the King had thought that if they resisted or asked for help, he would certainly manage this idle matter, wanting to seize either Wing Province or Secluded Province from the Fresh Humble.

Who would have thought that officials and common folk would suddenly be of one mind and run away together!

The Fifth Princess, however, wasn't as calm as him, "Is there going to be another war? Actually, along the way outside it's also chaotic; we often encounter refugees fleeing from Cool Province, and Wing Province and Secluded Province would also..."

"No way! The Wing Province people have almost all fled; if the remaining ones don't resist, the Fresh Humble probably won't massacre innocents, after all only the living can create wealth. And as for our Secluded Province, no one can take it away. But… the Fresh Humble tribes don't know how much silver they've taken from Ever Peace; I, the King, am too poor and am a bit concerned about it."

The King's straightforwardness instantly dispelled the Fifth Princess's tension.

Not only was the King unafraid, he also wanted them to abandon their people as well.

"The Fierce Slave need not rush, especially that Left Virtuous Prince; I, the King, will surely kill him to avenge my father emperor." If it weren't for the Fierce Slave great army heading straight north back the same way, being too far from Secluded Province, the King wouldn't even let them go.

Looking at the King like that, the Fifth Princess suddenly laughed, laughing and unable to hold back tears.

"Jing'er, you yourself have grown up well. Older sister is very proud; mother, watching from heaven, must also be very proud. Older sister and aunt don't understand anything, but you yourself have grown up."

When the King declared he would definitely kill the Fierce Slave Left Virtuous Prince, the Fifth Princess didn't think he was just a child spouting harsh words; at that moment the King's eyes were very bright, and the confidence on his face dazzled her.