Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play-Chapter 856 - 832: The Final Outcome
Ying Yi and Ying Er lost their brothers and were extremely grief-stricken. After supporting each other for so many years, sharing life and death together, there was no difference from being real brothers. But no matter how much pain they felt, they were very concerned about Xie Jue’s condition, especially when Fang Chuning was not around. As long as Fang Chuning was by Xie Jue’s side over the years, the pressure on the Shadow Guards was not that great, to be honest. Most of the time, they could muddle through, since Fang Chuning cared more about guarding the master than this group of Shadow Guards, and his combat power was extremely strong. They didn’t need to compete with Fang Chuning for the duty of being the master’s first guardian.
They mostly gathered information for Xie Jue, carried out assassinations, etc. But without Fang Chuning, Ying Yi witnessed Xie Jue going on a killing spree firsthand, thinking these days he must be cautious to avoid the master’s emotional breakdown. Unexpectedly, Xie Jue was too quiet, so quiet that Ying Yi was a bit worried. Yet Xie Jue’s meals were normal, his routine unchanged, as if Fang Chuning was still by his side.
Ying Er worriedly asked, "Is the master really okay? He seems too normal."
They all knew how deep the bond between Fang Chuning and Xie Jue was, and Xie Jue’s normalcy seemed abnormal.
Ying Yi remained silent but worriedly looked at Xie Jue, watching him sit alone at the windowsill playing chess by himself. That was Xie Jue’s favorite pastime; back in the Prince Manor, he liked to play against himself like this.
The Royal Palace was silent, yet Mudan City was in chaos. This was the result of years of overt and covert conflicts between the Royal Family and the priests finally turning into a slaughter, with Han Ziqi having a slight advantage. All the priests in the Priest Court were killed by Xie Jue in this turmoil, whether out of anger or revenge, Xie Jue spared none of them. Although the High Priest had sent out core forces early, indeed creating chaos in the city and inciting the people, Han Ziqi was, after all, the Heir of Sangnan, highly respected in Mudan City. These people weren’t the High Priest and struggled to win over the masses. After Han Ziqi exited the palace, even though he had gathered some public support, it still couldn’t match Han Ziqi’s led City Defense Army. When the City Defense Army was besieged by the Royal Palace, feeling leaderless, they chose to obey the priests. After Han Ziqi exited the palace, their stance began to waver, regardless of the priests claiming Han Ziqi had surrendered to Beining, not being worthy of his position. Han Ziqi was still the legitimate Heir of Sangnan, the successor to King of Sangnan after his passing.
A few days after the incident, although Han Ziqi tried to explain to the people, the public, incited and angry, wouldn’t listen to Han Ziqi’s explanation, even thinking Han Ziqi submitted humbly, forgetting his father’s vengeance. Now with Han Ziqi exiting the palace, recounting what happened again, it was all a priest conspiracy to sabotage the alliance between the two tribes. The people were skeptical, Han Ziqi lost patience, using the City Defense Army to force the people away from the Royal Palace.
Many young Royal Family members were in the palace. Han Ziqi couldn’t ignore their lives. If the palace remained surrounded, who knows what might happen? He only wanted to resolve the Mudan City turmoil swiftly. Xie Jue threw him out to play the villain, and he had to wield the slaughter knife to show loyalty as Xie Jue wished. Han Ziqi was very aware that the peace talks had become a worthless paper. The borders were already ablaze in warfare; perhaps the news hadn’t arrived yet, but the situation was certainly not optimistic. He needed to resolve the unrest quickly; delaying a day meant more casualties.
Mudan City was chaotic again for several days, until the inner court of the palace was about to run out of supplies. Han Ziqi finally dispersed all the people in front of the palace and violently killed the ringleaders who incited the people, informing the public clearly that Sangnan was about to surrender to Beining. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
The people wailed, wept, or felt numb, but Han Ziqi could no longer concern himself with them. After the public dispersed, the entire Mudan City felt empty, not having the prosperity it used to have as a once bustling trading hub. Han Ziqi felt overcome by sadness; back when he received Xie Jue in Shuilan City, he sincerely wanted to secure the best treatment for the people of Sangnan, even if it meant surrender. Sangnan’s people could still live in their homeland, peacefully and prosperously, just changing a master, and life would gradually improve, yet unexpectedly, it was ruined.
Han Ziqi hadn’t slept for two days after leaving the palace; his body had reached the point of exhaustion, but he didn’t dare close his eyes, fearing that all he persisted in would vanish completely.
After the people dispersed, Han Ziqi led the City Defense Army to seek Xie Jue at the palace gate, Lin Xiao went to request instructions.
Princess X staggered forward, tightly gripping Han Ziqi’s hand, "Brother, why do we still need to seek peace? He killed our father, killed the High Priest, he is our Sangnan’s sinner. You have so many City Defense troops, they’re trapped in the palace with no food, you can break in and kill Xie Jue to avenge our father!"
The outstanding maiden no longer had her past grace; she was tear-streaked and in great misery. Han Ziqi always adored this sister but couldn’t help scolding, "Lingling, even if the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry has run out of ammunition with five thousand men, our City Defense Army is no match. The borders are already ablaze in warfare; if you kill Xie Jue, do you want to drag all Sangnan’s people into a funeral?"
"I don’t care, I don’t care! He killed our father, killed the High Priest; he deserves to die!" Princess X shouted angrily, "He also destroyed our sacred temple, how can you tolerate it? How can you tolerate it?"
"What about the soldiers at the borders? Are they not people? Do they deserve to die?" Han Ziqi knew his sister was naive and simple-minded, not well versed with the complex situation and the tensions and barriers between the two tribes. She only saw the matters in front of her but couldn’t understand the price to pay after killing Xie Jue.
"It’s all excuses; the High Priest is right, you are a coward, not deserving to be King of Sangnan, failing a father’s revenge..." Han Ziqi slapped her hard, "Shut up, someone, take the princess away, guard her strictly!"
The pampered Princess X was stunned by the slap, covering her face, looking at Han Ziqi in disbelief, until soldiers came to escort her away, with her unleashing a terrible scream.
Han Ziqi rubbed his weary brows, wishing everything would end quickly; he also prayed that Xie Jue could forgive past grievances and maintain the peace talks, which were all a High Priest conspiracy.
The palace gate, closed for six days, slowly opened, and Xie Jue met Han Ziqi inside.
Ironically, a few days ago, Han Ziqi was the master of the Royal Palace, he and his father had hosted Xie Jue here, with clear differentiation between host and guest. Now the roles were reversed; he seemed like a guest in this Royal City, with Xie Jue turned into the host.
After this upheaval, Xie Jue’s reputation plummeted; in the minds of Sangnan’s people, Han Ziqi held no reputation either. He would be cast aside by Sangnan’s people, becoming the most powerless Heir of Sangnan in their hearts.
In this turmoil, they were both losers, nearly losing everything.
