Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Hehehe, hahahaha..."

When the Jin officials saw the Song emperor and his ministers successively donning bloodstained sheepskins, they couldn't help but let out bursts of mocking laughter.

Wanyan Zongbi and other Jin princes coldly observed the cowardly nature of the "sheep," their faces filled with disdain and contempt.

Cries of pleading, wails, and sobs echoed throughout the hall, only further arousing the bestiality of the Jurchens.

Their gazes lingered on the women, and the sound of their Adam's apples bobbing echoed throughout the hall.

Zhao Jinnu tightly hugged her body with both hands, curling up into a ball under the sheepskin.

Her precious body was being shamelessly groped in public; the humiliation was beyond words.

Zhao Huan was trembling all over, feeling the warm, scalding blood flowing down his back, and it was hard to tell whether the liquid on his face was tears or blood.

Finally, he burst into tears, crying, "No, I don't want this! Let me go! Let me go!"

Emperor Huizong of Song, however, lay prostrate under the sheepskin, weeping incessantly, filled with deep remorse.

If only they had listened to Zhou Xianwu's advice, they wouldn't have ended up like this.

Wanyan Lie watched the scene in the hall with satisfaction. This was not the castrated version of the sheep-leading ceremony that Shen Lang had participated in last time; this was the complete, uncut version.

"let me go!"

Just then, a shrill scream rang out in the hall.

Everyone looked over and discovered that a person had been standing among the "sheep" at some point.

She was a woman, a woman fully clothed.

The woman seemed out of place among the weeping sheep. With a sudden burst of strength, she snatched the knife from the Jin man's hand and held it directly to her own neck.

The woman loudly addressed Zhao Huan, saying, "Your Majesty! You are the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. Even as a ruler of a fallen kingdom, you should still display the spirit of a monarch and uphold the integrity of the Song imperial family!"

Zhao Huan's pupils dilated upon hearing this.

That's his empress, Zhu Lian!

He struggled to turn around and look.

But then he saw a woman of similar age standing alone among the "sheep," looking exceptionally different.

This is Empress Zhu Lian, wife of Emperor Zhao Huan. The two have been married for only three months.

"No, Your Majesty, no!"

Zhao Huan kept pleading with Zhu Lian in a hoarse voice.

But Zhu Lian's face was resolute.

"Your Majesty, since I married you, although I have never enjoyed the treatment of an empress for a single day, I have never regretted it!"

"The Song Dynasty is gone, so be it, but as an emperor, I must never lose my integrity!"

"The Jurchens have so insulted the Song Dynasty royal family. I am powerless to do anything for the Song Dynasty. The only thing I can do is die to preserve my last shred of innocence."

"Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now. Take care!"

As soon as Zhu Lian finished speaking, he was about to commit suicide in the palace.

"No!"

Wanyan Lie roared.

Suddenly, a jade stone rushed in from outside the hall, directly severing the blade that had just sliced ​​through Zhu Lian's neck.

It was the black-robed expert who had arrested Ye Fan in the past.

Seeing that his suicide attempt had failed, Zhu Lian immediately rammed his head against a wall pillar.

"Lou Ao, stop her!"

The next moment, Lou Ao leaped forward and struck Zhu Lian on the back of the neck with a palm, knocking her unconscious.

"Ugh."

Wanyan Lie shook his head, moved by Zhu Lian's chastity and loyalty.

"Truly virtuous and chaste! Even a woman has more backbone than these incompetent and foolish rulers and ministers."

"Very well, Zhu Lian is spared the punishment of being led away like a sheep. Take her away for proper treatment, and no one is allowed to approach her. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

"Yes!"

The ministers responded in unison.

Wanyan Lie glanced at the "flock of sheep" and waved his hand: "Continue the sheep-leading ceremony!"

The atmosphere returned to normal.

Amidst the laughter and merriment of the Jin people, the Song emperor, his ministers, and his concubines were led around the palace, wriggling about.

If a man cannot withstand such humiliation, let alone a woman.

Faced with the ferocious Jurchens surrounding them, these princesses and concubines lacked even a fraction of Zhu Lian's courage to resist, and could only numbly accept their admiration and judgment.

"By my decree, Zhao Ji is hereby granted the title of Duke of Hunde, and Zhao Huan is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Chonghun..."

"Urgent report!"

Just then, a scout, panting heavily, strode into the main hall.

Despite the beautiful scenery inside the palace, the scout couldn't muster the slightest desire to appreciate it.

He knelt directly before Wanyan Lie, almost sobbing, and said, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from Bianjing!"

"Bianjing?"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Lie and Wanyan Zongbi immediately tensed up.

"What happened in Bianjing? Tell me quickly!"

"Zhang Yu reports that 30,000 Song troops are marching straight towards Bianjing. The Song army's firearms are too powerful to resist. Please send troops to reinforce us immediately!"

"what!"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Lie slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"The Song army? How dare they! And where did they get their firearms! Has the State of Chu broken their original agreement?"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Wo immediately said, "Father, please hear what your son has to say."

Even if the firearms were indeed provided to the Song army by the State of Chu, and even if the Chu army themselves came to Song territory, we are still in the wrong!

"What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!"

Wanyan Wo: "When we captured Bianjing, I repeatedly forbade anyone with Chu household registration to be harmed."

But they wouldn't listen, and they even caused several deaths and looted their wealth.

"Given the Regent's temperament, do you think he'll let us off the hook if he finds out?"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Lie immediately cast a sharp glance at Wanyan Zongbi.

Wanyan Zongbi immediately knelt down and explained, "Father, please calm your anger. Bianjing has fallen, and the warriors needed to vent their frustrations, which is why they violated military discipline, but..."

"This is all your doing, what are we going to do now?"

Wanyan Lie interrupted Wanyan Zongbi's subsequent explanation.

"Before we set out, I repeatedly instructed you not to harm a single person of Chu, but you!"

"Father, perhaps things are not as difficult as we think. Let's ask who the commander of the Song army besieging Bianjing is first."

Wanyan Lie immediately shouted at the scouts, "Speak up! Who is the commander of the Song army?"

Scout: "It's the Western Army led by Li Gang and Zhong Lue, but the commander is a man named Yue Fei."

Wanyan Lie: "Then who is Yue Fei?"

The scout replied tremblingly, "Yue Fei's original name was Yue Pengju, and I know nothing else about him."

"waste!"

Wanyan Lie angrily stepped down from the throne, went to Zhao Ji and his son, and grabbed Zhao Huan.

Suddenly, the sheepskin fell off, revealing Zhao Huan naked before everyone.

"Tell me, who is Yue Fei? Why have I never heard of him!"

At first, Zhao Huan didn't know who Yue Fei was. He was still thinking, "Wasn't Li Gang dead? How did he come back to life?"

But upon hearing that Yue Fei was Yue Pengju, he immediately recalled the military captain that Shen Lang had specifically requested to leave.

"All I knew was that he was just a captain in the army, and nothing else."

"You are truly a tyrant!"

After overthrowing Zhao Huan, Wanyan Lie immediately announced: "Order Wanyan Loushi to lead 150,000 troops south to reinforce Bianjing!"

Wanyan Zongbi immediately volunteered: "Father, I am familiar with the terrain of Bianjing and request to accompany General Wanyan Loushi on the expedition."

At this moment, Wanyan Kang also said, "Your subject is also willing to go together."

"Very well, I will allocate another 70,000 troops to you. You must defend Bianjing no matter what!"

"Yes!"

A perfectly good feast of leading sheep was ruined because of Yue Fei.

At this point, Wanyan Lie lost all interest in continuing the banquet and waved his hand, saying, "Take them all away, wash them clean, and put them under guard to await further orders."