Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Looking at Xiao Yang, Xiao Ce didn't seem to be joking.

But seriously.

This guy is not only stupid, he has no moral bottom line!

Seeing that Xiao Ce remained silent, Xiao Yang continued, "Brother, I have the ability. My mother is His Majesty's favored concubine; poisoning the Emperor would be as easy as turning her hand..."

"Alright, shut up." Xiao Ce snapped coldly.

Xiao Yang looked at Xiao Ce awkwardly, seemingly unaware of what he had done wrong.

She looked at Xiao Ce pitifully and said, "Brother, my method should be a permanent solution. You don't need to get involved; we'll handle it!"

Xiao Ce had no doubt that Xiao Yang was trying to outsmart him; he was just being a little too simplistic.

He overestimated his and Consort Hui's abilities; their current status is entirely due to the emperor's favor.

Judging from Xing Daorong and his ilk's abilities, it's clear that the entire Hui Guifei clan are like Bao An and Xing Daorong—all show and no substance.

The emperor had thirteen princes, and each prince's maternal family had influence in various regions. In particular, several princes were always low-key, but their maternal families were far more powerful than Xiao Yang and his group.

If they really poisoned the emperor, not only would their clan be punished, but Xiao Ce would definitely be implicated as well.

Without a doubt, if the matter comes to light, Consort Hui and her associates will try to smear him. Moreover, it could very easily cause the Great Xiao Kingdom to split apart again!

In the end, after all the fighting, it will be the ordinary people who suffer!

If Xiao Ce uses such a foolish method, he will truly become just like Xiao Yang, that idiot.

Furthermore, Xiao Ce never wanted to be emperor; being an emperor in ancient times was no easy job.

He didn't transmigrate here to suffer the hardships of being an emperor.

"If you want to kill, go and kill with your men, but don't drag me into it. You idiot, killing that dog emperor Xiao Dingbang will only benefit your good brothers, not me."

Xiao Ce gave a calm reply.

Xiao Yang's expression was uncertain, and he looked distressed as if he was deep in thought.

Seeing that Xiao Yang was such a fool, Xiao Ce couldn't offer any effective advice, so he simply got up and left.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yang kept kowtowing, begging Xiao Ce not to let Gui Jianchou take him to the King of Hell's palace.

Seeing Xiao Yang's mental state, Xiao Ce told Gui Jianchou not to take him there, but that his usual 'discipline' would continue as before.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Yin Pan'er rushing over.

"Your Highness, we've finally found you... Something terrible has happened!"

"Don't rush, speak slowly, the sky won't fall!" Xiao Ce said, seeing Yin Pan'er panting heavily.

Yin Pan'er nodded, calming herself down.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is about to make a move against the King of Zhen!"

Xiao Ce nodded, not too surprised, after all, Yin Pan'er's father, Yin Weiyong, was also the prime minister of the court.

What happened in Kyoto naturally did not escape his notice.

Seeing Xiao Ce's calm expression.

"Your Highness, do you know that the King of Zhen has been imprisoned?" Yin Pan'er asked Xiao Ce with her big, bright eyes wide open.

Xiao Ce panicked at this moment: "What? The King of Zhen has been imprisoned?"

Yin Pan'er nodded: "That's right. My father's carrier pigeon delivered it to Maoming City and then transferred it here. There's no mistake. According to the time on my father's letter, it should have happened the day before yesterday!"

Xiao Ce frowned slightly: "For what crime?"

Yin Pan'er, her expression equally grim, said, "It seems to be because of a rebellion!"

"rebel?"

Yin Pan'er nodded with a grim expression: "That's right. According to the information in my father's letter, those small foreign countries outside Yumen Pass have united and suddenly launched an attack on our western territory! More than 100,000 troops were defeated and captured within a few days. The three prefectures and twenty-four cities near Yumen Pass have all been occupied by the foreign tribes outside Yumen Pass!"

Xiao Ce frowned slightly: "What does that have to do with the King of Zhen? Didn't he retire from the army and return to his hometown long ago?"

Yin Pan'er said, "The troops guarding Yumen Pass are the Nine Kings Army, formerly under the King of Zhen. Although the King of Zhen has been retired for many years, many generals in the Nine Kings Army still write letters to the King of Zhen during festivals."

"The emperor had always wanted to eliminate the King of Zhen, but he had never had the opportunity. Now that Yumen Pass has fallen and suffered a crushing defeat, some people with ulterior motives have found an opportunity. They impeached the King of Zhen, and some even swore that the King of Zhen had betrayed the country and had been in cahoots with the foreign tribes outside Yumen Pass."

"They brought in some foreigners from who-knows-where, accusing the King of Zhen of treason and colluding with the enemy, ordering the Nine Princes' Army to release the water and surrender to the enemy. They're just looking for a pretext! His Majesty was furious and had the King of Zhen arrested and imprisoned!"

Xiao Ce said with a gloomy expression, "Did Prime Minister Yin say who was in charge of this matter?"

Yin Pan'er shook her head and said, "The letter didn't say anything. Father only told me about this and asked me to inform you. He wanted you to be prepared. If he really messes with the King of Zhen, you will definitely be implicated!"

As she spoke, Yin Pan'er suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Your Highness, why did you seem so calm just now?"

Xiao Ce handed the letter in his hand to Yin Pan'er.

After reading it, Yin Pan'er was somewhat surprised: "This..."

"Clearly, the information given by Prime Minister Yin is the most up-to-date. As for their letter to Xiao Yang, to be on the safe side, it was sent overland via a pre-arranged method, which is why it took a little longer!" Xiao Ce explained.

Seeing that Xiao Ce had gone from being nervous at first to being calm now, Yin Pan couldn't help but worry again: "Your Highness, are you alright?"

Xiao Ce gently stroked Yin Pan'er's pretty face and smiled at her: "It's alright! I couldn't make up my mind before, but now it seems I have no choice but to do it! It's just that you'll have to work hard again!"

When Yin Pan'er heard Xiao Ce say this, she guessed what was going on.

Then, looking nervous, he asked, "Your Highness, are you going back to the capital?"

Xiao Ce nodded: "Actually, I had this idea as soon as I saw Xiao Dingbang's letter. It's just that I wasn't so determined before. But now that Uncle Jiu has been imprisoned by that dog emperor Xiao Dingbang! I have to go this time!"

"Moreover, it is obvious that the Emperor was just going with the flow by putting Uncle Nine in prison. There must be someone else behind it."

Yin Pan'er asked in confusion, "Your Highness, why do you say that?"

"Think about it, if the emperor had already come up with this method, how could he have allowed Xiao Yang to break through from my side?! There must be someone else behind this, so I have to go on this trip. Otherwise, Uncle Jiu will definitely be dead!" Xiao Ce said with a determined look in his eyes.

Yin Pan'er nodded first, then shook her head: "Your Highness, if that's really the case, the capital is now a vast net. If you go back now, wouldn't you be walking into it? My father and some old friends of the King of Zhen are in the capital to help. There might be some room for maneuver. Your Highness, please think it over!"