Chapter 160: The Curtain Falls

The Capital is under martial law; numerous Forbidden Army troops are rushing about the streets, beginning to arrest those officials who colluded with the Prince of Pingxi.

Unlike the Border Army, most of these officials were coerced; they truly supported the Prince of Pingxi.

Although the Forbidden Army's combat strength is not as great as the Border Army's, they have the advantage of sheer numbers, and among them are many powerful individuals.

Furthermore, other Imperial Court officials have also taken action; those officials who colluded with and defected to the Prince of Pingxi have nowhere to run, even if they wanted to escape now.

The Prince of Pingxi plotted to usurp the throne and committed treason; their collusion with him is naturally also treason, and in such cases, the lightest punishment is execution of the entire clan.

The slaughter outside the city has also basically ended; the vast majority of the Border Army troops who resisted stubbornly have been beheaded, and the rest have already surrendered.

"I must return to the city first to maintain order; Godfather, you lead the men to watch over these Border Army troops and ensure they do not cause any trouble.

I will only take three thousand of the Yulin Guard; the remaining soldiers are all left to your command."

Chen Mo looked at Sun Shouren and gave him these instructions.

"Very well." Sun Shouren did not hesitate and nodded decisively in agreement.

Among the many generals outside the Capital, he holds the highest rank, and he is also Chen Mo's godfather; these matters are most appropriate for him to handle.

After giving his instructions in haste, Chen Mo gathered three thousand Yulin Guard and charged back into the Capital.

Compared to outside the city, the situation inside is clearly more chaotic.

Many Martial Artists who were originally confidants of the Prince of Pingxi are now using every possible means to try and escape the city, or are temporarily lying low to find an opportunity to flee later.

With their status and strength, as long as they can escape the Capital, they can hide and survive wherever they go.

The Forbidden Army, the Yulin Guard, and other Imperial Court officials will naturally not watch such a situation happen; every person who escapes may become a hidden danger in the future.

Chen Mo does not show any mercy when killing; as long as he discovers someone, he kills them with a single strike.

In this process, he naturally also harvests many spoils of war.

In fact, when Chen Mo killed the Prince of Pingxi earlier, he also found a Storage Bag on him, but he had not yet had time to examine it closely.

Now, these spoils are also temporarily put away; he will examine them carefully after the matters here are settled.

Chen Mo's pace is not particularly fast; even though killing those Post-Heaven Martial Artists only requires a casual strike from him, it still takes a little bit of time.

Walking all the way to Changye Workshop, the Wang Fu Bie Yuan is guarded by layers of Forbidden Army, yet no one dares to step inside.

This is not because there are any powerful individuals inside; the powerful individuals who were guarding it have long since scattered and fled.

Now, inside the entire residence, there are only some servants and maids left, as well as the Third Prince and his birth mother, Consort Wen.

The reason the layers of Forbidden Army guards have not stepped into this residence is precisely because of this.

Although the Third Prince and his birth mother were coerced by the Prince of Pingxi, they were after all involved in this matter, and regardless, the Third Prince is also royalty.

Ordinary Forbidden Army soldiers naturally dare not rashly resolve this matter, and they do not even dare to step into this residence.

Otherwise, if something were to truly happen, they would inevitably be punished.

It could even go so far that if the Third Prince or his mother were to die, no matter how they died, these Forbidden Army soldiers who rashly broke in would certainly be buried with them.

When it comes down to it, it was the Prince of Pingxi who plotted treason and rebellion, not the Third Prince and his mother, Wen.

Chen Mo walked to the front of the residence, pushed the door open, and entered; many maids and servants with no cultivation base were hiding everywhere in the residence.

There were also some bolder ones trying to find a way to see if they could get some gold or silver from their masters.

They are servants, but not born into the household; they are just ordinary servants hired to do chores, so even if the nine clans were executed, it would never reach them.

The residence is very large; calling it a residence is more like calling it a small manor.

Chen Mo projected his True Qi to inspect the situation in the courtyard with his vision, and he soon found the Third Prince's trail in a side courtyard.

In fact, the Patrol Heaven Guard had long since investigated the general situation of the Third Prince and his mother within the Wang Fu.

This is something that cannot be hidden; as long as one arranges for someone to climb high and look into the distance, they can discover it with careful observation.

However, as long as the Prince of Pingxi was still alive, no one dared to storm into this residence and lay a hand on the two of them.

Now that the Prince of Pingxi is dead, there is of course no need to kill the two of them; after all, they were only coerced.

Chen Mo stepped through the air and arrived in a side courtyard.

The Third Prince is younger and is hiding in the warm room on the right; he is completely unaware of everything around him and is looking at Chen Mo, who descended from the sky, with curious eyes.

His mother, Wen, is wearing a plain-colored dress and looks slightly haggard, but it must be said that she is truly beautiful.

Her skin is as white and warm as mutton-fat jade, and her figure is exquisite, graceful, and as soft as water; seeing Chen Mo fly here from the sky, she does not dare to say a word.

"The Prince of Pingxi is dead. This subject knows that everything was done because the Prince of Pingxi coerced you and the Third Prince; Your Ladyship may wait here in peace. Someone will come shortly to take you and the Third Prince to keep vigil for His Majesty."

Chen Mo bowed and gave his instructions slowly.

Now that the country is still in mourning, since the Third Prince and his mother are no longer being coerced, they should go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to keep vigil for the Son of Heaven.

The mother and son will not die; with the Prince of Pingxi dead, letting them live can instead prove that the current Crown Prince is brotherly and benevolent.

"Many thanks, General." Consort Wen thanked him; Chen Mo nodded slightly to acknowledge her, then turned and left.

The overall situation in the Capital is settled; the officials who colluded with the Prince of Pingxi have either been killed or are temporarily detained, ready to be killed later.

It is logically improper to wield weapons during the vigil, but this rule cannot be cared about now.

After dealing with the situation here, Chen Mo walked into the Wanfa Tower in the Inner City; Empress Xu and the Crown Prince, Zhao Renmin, had been waiting for his return on the first floor for a long time.

Although the Prince of Pingxi is dead, Empress Xu does not dare to trust others rashly; to her, only Chen Mo is the most trustworthy person at present.

Therefore, she still has not left the Wanfa Tower, choosing instead to continue waiting here until she caught sight of Chen Mo.

"This subject has fortunately not failed his mission; the traitor to the country has now been executed." Chen Mo bowed and saluted.

"Beloved official, you have returned in triumph; please, rise quickly!" Zhao Renmin had clearly just been instructed by Empress Xu; he now walked to Chen Mo in two or three steps and reached out to help him up.

"Now that matters here are settled, I ask that the Empress and the Crown Prince move back to the Palace." Chen Mo spoke again.

"Very well." Empress Xu smiled, her expression quite bright and charming; seeing Chen Mo now, she even speaks with more confidence.

Although only two court ladies and the Crown Prince followed her, her posture remained quite elegant and proper as she walked, and that touch of grace and luxury unique to an Empress radiated out unconsciously.

"You also go home and wait for me first." Chen Mo walked to Zhao Yu's side, lowered his voice to give instructions, and at the same time handed the Mysterious Ice Bead to her.

The Palace City has the dragon Qi of the nation's destiny lying dormant; Wei Xia is not human after all, so it is still not good to go there rashly.

"Good, once these matters are resolved, you won't need to continue staying in the Palace City, right?" Zhao Yu accepted the Mysterious Ice Bead and asked softly.

She remembered that when Chen Mo set off for Great Li, he had said he wanted to go home to eat the food he cooked himself.

It was just that this time, upon returning to the city, he had no free time at all and had been busy the whole while.

Zhao Yu knew he was busy with major affairs and had never urged him; now that the Prince of Pingxi was dead, Chen Mo could be more relaxed, which was why she asked this.

"I should be able to, though I still have to wait two more days." Chen Mo responded warmly and pulled her into his Huai.

The husband and wife did not share intimacy for long before Zhao Yu spoke up to urge him, "You should go quickly; Empress Xu and the others are still waiting for you."

Chen Mo nodded with a smile and turned to follow Empress Xu.

The group walked toward the Palace City; the fragments of flesh and blood in front of the Palace City gate had already been cleaned up by others, though there was still some splattered blood and a lingering stench of blood that had not yet dissipated.

Empress Xu used her wide sleeves to cover Zhao Renmin's face, trying her best not to let him see these things.

Although it was inevitable that he would be stained with slaughter once he became the Son of Heaven, she always felt her child was still too young.

It was still somewhat inappropriate to let him see these things now.

"Your Majesty, the Third Prince and his birth mother are still at the villa in the Outer City. In this subject's opinion, we should send people to bring them back to keep vigil for the Son of Heaven," Chen Mo said as he walked to Empress Xu's side.

"Very well, this Palace will arrange it immediately." Empress Xu nodded; although there were no Yulin Guard in the palace now, there were still many ordinary female officials and servants who could be used.

In the following days, Chen Mo continued to clean up the loose ends.

Rewards could not be issued during the state funeral, but in Chen Mo's view, people could be killed first to save any further trouble.

In urgent times, one must act according to the situation; since weapons had already been drawn, they could continue to kill.

In the following days, heads rolled throughout the entire city; the Prince of Pingxi's confidants, children, and grandchildren, as well as all officials who had colluded with him, were all exterminated and rooted out.

The bailiffs responsible for beheading could earn half a year's worth of extra pay in a single day.

Rewards for the officials could not be given now, but people could still be promoted to temporarily fill the vacant positions.

Once the state funeral period passed, the actual appointments and rewards would be made.

There was no difficulty in resolving these matters; the Prince of Pingxi was already dead, and with Chen Mo, an Innate Expert, sitting in command, even if some had different opinions, they had to endure it for now.

After dealing with these matters roughly, Chen Mo finally became free and could peacefully return home to rest for two days.

Stepping into his own front gate, the numerous maids and servants bowed and saluted one after another.

Zhao Yu knew he was returning today and was currently busy in the kitchen, personally preparing soup for him.

"Prepare hot water, I want to wash up," Chen Mo said casually, only to learn from a servant that Zhao Yu had already ordered it to be prepared in advance.

Inside the bathhouse, there was not only hot water now, but the heating stove was also burning fiercely.

After enjoying a hot bath, he changed into a set of clean clothes.

Just as he stepped out of the bathhouse, Chen Mo smelled a wave of sour and fragrant scents; he took a light sniff, and while it was a bit pungent to the nose, it was very appetizing.

Other dishes were also placed on the table one after another; some were made by Zhao Yu herself, while others were made with the help of the household cook.

"Come, hurry and taste it!" Zhao Yu was quite excited; she carefully placed the fish platter on the table and handed Chen Mo a pair of chopsticks.

"Delicious." He picked up a piece of sweet and sour fish and savored it carefully; it was the same taste as it had been back then.

"As long as it's delicious; I was afraid my skills had grown rusty since I hadn't made it in a long time, so I practiced it twice yesterday."

Zhao Yu chuckled, feeling very happy to hear Chen Mo's praise.

Usually, she only cooked for Chen Mo, so when Chen Mo was away, she naturally became idle.

Worried that her skills had grown rusty from not entering the kitchen during this time, she had tried making it twice yesterday to ensure the taste was as good as it was back then.

"Come, try this red-braised lamb chop; I made this myself too." Zhao Yu picked up a fat, large lamb chop and brought it to Chen Mo's mouth.

She didn't know how to make any delicacies from mountain or sea; she was only slightly skilled at these home-cooked meat dishes.

The husband and wife had not eaten a meal like this for a long time, so this meal naturally took longer to finish.

After the meal, Chen Mo accompanied Zhao Yu for two more days, then announced that he would go into seclusion for a period of time to cultivate.

Although the Imperial Court's rewards had not yet been issued, he had to organize the spoils of war he had obtained this time first.

There was also the matter of carefully researching that dark red aura to see which Ruins Realm it pointed to.

(End of chapter)