Chapter 1041: First Volume, Chapter 1041: The Last Dignity of Northern Di

First Volume, Chapter 1041: The Last Dignity of Northern Di

Li Yu suddenly stopped walking but did not turn around; instead, he asked casually, "I wonder, Prince, what else do you wish to say?"

Li Zhang did not waste words with him, stating bluntly: "Since we arrived in the Hou Gong, we've killed only one person."

"Including the concubine before you, five imperial pins have voluntarily sacrificed their lives for the nation."

"Is it because Northern Di women are inherently fierce, or did Grand Secretary Li, before leaving the palace, spread rumors that Lord Qin would slaughter indiscriminately, hinting they should hang themselves in advance?"

In response to Li Zhang's accusation, Li Yu merely shrugged and said lightly, "They were imperial consorts—shouldn't they have done exactly this?"

Li Zhang released his grip and snorted, "Should have? On what grounds?"

Li Yu slowly turned, meeting Li Zhang's sharp gaze, and asked, "If this had happened in your country, do you think your imperial pins would have had the courage to die for their nation?"

"Northern Di may have lost, but shouldn't they still possess this much resolve?"

Li Zhang understood: Li Yu had subtly urged these concubines to kill themselves to grant Northern Di its final shred of dignity, so all of Heaven would know Northern Di was not merely composed of cowards—it had simply been defeated by Old Heaven.

Without this harsh winter, the victor might still have been uncertain.

Though now it seemed absurd, for an official like Li Yu, Northern Di's dignity was paramount—more important than human lives.

The fact that so many imperial pins voluntarily died for their nation proved Northern Di's integrity.

Li Zhang immediately realized something and demanded, "How many more secrets do you still hold?"

Li Yu knew Li Zhang was intelligent—though not as monstrous as Qin Feng, he was far from harmless.

Since Li Zhang had asked, he must have already sensed something amiss.

So Li Yu did not conceal everything, only replied solemnly: "This was His Majesty's final wish. Though I betrayed him, before leaving the palace, he entrusted this matter to me."

"As a subject, isn't it permissible to fulfill this final duty for His Majesty?"

Seeing Li Yu's desolate gaze, Li Zhang did not press further. He left Li Yu behind and hurried with his men toward the Imperial Study where the Northern Di King was under soft detention.

When they arrived, the Northern Di King sat behind the Dragon Case, holding a stick in his hand.

To the east of the Imperial Study lay a broken stool.

Clearly, the stick in the Northern Di King's hand was one of the stool's legs.

The Northern Di King had sharpened the stool leg with shards of porcelain from a tea cup; seeing Li Zhang enter, he let out a bitter smile.

"Before I depart, am I still not permitted to see Lord Qin even once?"

"From the moment the National War began, I've been locked in a duel with Lord Qin. Now, at the brink of failure, I don't even know what my enemy looks like—how laughable."

Since Qin Feng arrived in Northern Di, he had never met the Northern Di King.

Now that the war was over and Northern Di had fallen, the Northern Di King and Qin Feng, the Liang diplomatic envoy, had still never laid eyes on each other—no one would believe it if told.

But it was true.

Li Zhang frowned deeply and urged solemnly, "You could have lived—why choose this path?"

Since he was too far from the Dragon Case, even Ning Hu could not have seized the stick before the Northern Di King killed himself.

So Li Zhang had no hope left—only tried to dissuade him as best he could.

The Northern Di King's eyes showed no change; he stared at the stick in his hand and shook his head with a bitter smile: "I lost. I lost with full acceptance."

"A man I never even met has overturned everything I built—what reason do I have to resist?"

"How could a man like me rule Heaven? It was I who led the mighty Northern Di into this ruin. I have no face left to live."

Saying this, the Northern Di King looked up at Li Zhang, his voice weak, as if making a plea.

"Go and tell Qin Feng for me."

"If he truly can govern Northern Di well, then even if this nation falls into his hands, it matters little…"

Li Zhang frowned tightly: "This nation still belongs to the Jing Imperial Clan!"

The Northern Di King laughed bitterly: "No! Jing Yushu is a woman. When she bears Qin Feng's child, that child will be Liang, and bear the surname Qin—not Jing."

"Even if the child takes the mother's surname, it still differs from a true Jing bloodline heir."

"The Jing Imperial Clan… already exists only in name."

Li Zhang said nothing further, for what the Northern Di King said was a cruel truth.

Those civil officials despised Jing Qianying's succession not merely because she was a woman, but because she would end the Jing Imperial Clan.

Unless one day Jing Qianying abdicates and bestows the throne upon a Jing descendant, with the Northern Di King's fall, Northern Di had already ceased to exist in substance.

On this same land, in this same country, whether it would still be called "Northern Di" was clear to everyone's mind.

Under Li Zhang's gaze, the Northern Di King slowly rose, gripping the sharpened stick in both hands, aiming it at his heart.

"Qin Feng! You don't truly believe I'd become a prisoner, do you?"

"You're too naive! I am the Northern Di King—the Emperor of Great Di!"

As his words ended, the Northern Di King thrust forward with all his strength—the spear pierced his chest, blood spraying instantly.

Suicide demanded the greatest courage, yet the Northern Di King showed no hesitation—not even a flicker of instinctive resistance—his body was cleanly pierced through.

Thud!

The Northern Di King collapsed heavily back onto the throne, staring blankly toward the Door, his eyes dimming bit by bit.

Li Zhang closed his eyes, silently mourning: a mighty hero had fallen…

After a moment of silence, Li Zhang shut the door of the Imperial Study and turned away.

Qin Feng had given the Northern Di King a chance—but the Northern Di King had done what he must.

When Li Zhang returned to Qin Feng and recounted everything that had transpired in the palace, Qin Feng too sighed deeply.

"I always knew the Northern Di King wouldn't beg for life—but now that my old rival is truly gone, I can't help feeling strangely unsettled."

"As for the imperial pins in the Hou Gong, who died under Li Yu's implication, Jing Qianying will posthumously honor them."

"Let Li Yu stay with them—no need for him to leave the palace."

Hearing this, Li Zhang nodded. Even if Qin Feng had not spoken, Li Zhang would have stationed men at the Palace Gate to wait for Li Yu.

As soon as Li Yu shows his face, cut him down with swords immediately.

Such a person must not be left alive.

But given Li Yu's nature, he certainly won't wait for us to act—he'll end his own life in the palace, following the Northern Di King.

With things at this point, the palace's "cleanup work" is now fully complete.