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

The fake Lou Yao stammered, "I...I...I don't know if the person you're talking about behind the scenes is my benefactor!"

After the fake Lou Yao finished speaking, Xiao Ce paused for a moment and asked, "Your benefactor?"

Fake Lou Yao nodded.

“That’s right. In the story Xiao Yang told me, a piece of information was omitted. I came here and was noticed by the old king of Uz. However, I am still a stranger in the Western Regions.”

"I was all alone and no match for the women in the harem. I was framed by them and imprisoned. I was originally sentenced to death."

"I met my benefactor in prison. My benefactor, seeing that I was from the State of Xiao, asked me why I had come."

"I was utterly despondent, so I stopped hiding anything. After I told him about my experiences, my benefactor said he could help me... but on one condition."

"Back then, all I wanted was to survive... I didn't even listen to any conditions before agreeing. Later, my benefactor spoke to me. His only request was that I listen to him..."

"I was desperate and had no way to refuse, so I agreed. My benefactor is really capable. With his abilities, he made me impersonate my master Lou Yao. After I escaped using my master Lou Yao's identity, he used many methods to make me a favored concubine and also eliminated those who opposed me."

"Along the way, whenever my benefactor offered me advice, I was always successful. I gradually built up my own power in the Kingdom of Uz, and after the king died, I took the opportunity to become the queen mother who ruled from behind the curtain."

"As the Kingdom of Uz grew stronger, my benefactor asked me if I wanted revenge! Of course I did... What happened next was that she used me to impersonate Lou Yao and contact the King of Zhen, and just as she said, I gained the King's trust... You should know what happened after that!"

"My benefactor, despite all his meticulous planning, failed to foresee you... This oversight led to our complete defeat..."

After this fake Lou Yao got to this point, it was clear that she had revealed everything.

"So, what's your name?" Xiao Ce continued to ask.

The imposter Lou Yao said, "Your Highness, my name is Xiao Die. Both Miss Rui and Miss Yao call me that..."

As she spoke, Xiao Die, who was impersonating Lou Yao, looked at Xiao Ce.

"I must say, Your Highness, you and Miss Rui are practically identical."

Xiao Ce listened with some curiosity.

Although he was a transmigrator, the original owner of this body, Xiao Ce, looks exactly like him.

The girl named Rui that Xiao Die mentioned should be Lou Rui, the mother of the original owner Xiao Ce, who died in childbirth.

Before he transmigrated here, Xiao Ce looked very much like his mother. He wondered if the mother here looked the same as his mother.

Now it seems that the opportunity is gone.

Xiao Ce's thoughts drifted.

Gulimiza noticed that Xiao Ce was distracted, so she coughed lightly.

Xiao Ce finally snapped out of his reverie and continued asking Xiao Die, "What's your benefactor's name?"

Xiaodie shook her head awkwardly, saying she didn't know either.

She couldn't even remember what her benefactor looked like, since she had only met him once.

After that, his benefactor never showed his true face again.

As she spoke, Xiaodie described her benefactor's attire again.

Xiao Ce heard about the monk's robe and the bamboo hat.

The first person that came to mind was Mr. Qianlong.

I've seen him before in the northern desert, then again in Kyoto after returning from the northern desert, and now here he is again.

Moreover, considering both the timeline and the way things were handled...

These three Mr. Qianlong are not the same person at all.

It seems that he had guessed before that Mr. Qianlong was not a single person.

It's an organization, and that guess is absolutely correct...

Xiao Ce didn't even need to ask Xiao Die; he could roughly guess their purpose.

If I'm not mistaken, their goal should be to unify the Xiao Kingdom and this continent.

Seeing that Xiao Ce was lost in thought again, Xiao Die cautiously said, "Your Highness, I have already told you everything I know, and there is nothing I have hidden."

Xiao Ce nodded: "So, when you said you saw Lou Yao and her child die, did you witness it with your own eyes, or did your benefactor tell you?"

Xiao Die was stunned for a moment, then said to Xiao Ce, "It was my benefactor who told me. I also asked him to do this... Although I didn't see the young lady and young master's bodies, I saw their graves..."

As she spoke, Xiaodie seemed to realize something and said to Xiao Ce, "Of course, it's also possible that he's lying to me..."

Xiao Ce nodded and said, "Do you have any way of contacting each other? And do you know what he did when he left last time?"

Xiaodie shook her head and said, "I don't know either. My benefactor had never left me before. Only last time did he suddenly leave. I spent a lot of time looking for them, but there was no news. Later, he appeared out of thin air and gave me the way to find Xiao Yang. Then, I was captured and brought here."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Alright! You don't need to be so nervous. From what you've said, it seems you were also being used... Since you were used, I won't blame you. I can only repeat what you said, my Ninth Uncle..."

Seeing Xiao Die's confused expression, Xiao Ce said, "It's the King of Zhen! The King of Zhen was sent to the battlefield by the Emperor, but he kept sending people to look for him... Until he committed suicide, he was thinking about protecting his beloved."

Xiaodie nodded and said, "Then he didn't find it either..."

Xiao Ce said, "Do you think it's possible that someone is sabotaging us...?"

Xiao Die's eyes twitched, then she looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"

Xiao Ce said, "It doesn't mean anything, it's just my personal guess!"

Xiao Ce did not continue speaking.

"Alright, I won't waste any more words with you about what comes next. Just stay with us obediently, and if your benefactor ever comes looking for you... tell me immediately, and I'll make sure you can live out your old age in peace... Of course, if you dare to try anything funny, I'll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death."

After making his threats, Xiao Ce left without saying another word.

Xiaodie nodded vigorously, agreeing readily without any unnecessary words.

"Your Highness, I have a request..."

Xiao Ce said to Xiao Die, "That little king of Uz? Is he your child?"

Xiaodie nodded: "That's right... he's innocent."

Xiao Ce nodded: "Don't worry, I'll have someone bring him back."

Xiao Ce verbally agreed.

However, he was actually unsure of himself, given his understanding of the methods used by Mr. Qianlong's team.

Having heard some rumors, he may very well have kidnapped the ruler of the small kingdom...

However, Xiao Ce would not tell these things.

...

Xiao Ce's guess was absolutely correct.

Meanwhile, in a caravan in the Western Regions, a man dressed in a monk's robe, carrying a child, was leisurely leaving.

This child was none other than Kim Ja-eul, the young emperor of Uzbekistan.

The young prince, Jin Ziwu, asked the man in the monk's robe, "Master, where are we going?"

The monk in the robes said to the young emperor Jin Ziwu, "Your Majesty, our land has been occupied by these traitors from the Xiao Kingdom... The people of the Western Regions have betrayed their faith and surrendered to the Xiao Kingdom... Our country has fallen, and I must take you to a safe place."

The young emperor, Jin Ziwu, asked with a grim expression, "Then, Master, where is my mother?"

The man in the monk's robe said, "Your mother wanted to negotiate with them, but they were unreasonable and simply captured her..."

"Then we must go and save my mother!" the young emperor Jin Ziwu said anxiously.

After hearing the young prince Jin Ziwu's words, the man in the monk's robe said, "That's right, we must go to rescue her... but you don't have the ability right now... You must remember, only as long as you live, will you have a chance! From now on, you must listen to me even more... Only by becoming stronger can you rescue your mother..."

The young prince, Jin Ziwu, had a burning glint in his eyes: "Master, I...I'll listen to you..."

...

In the following days, the king disappeared.

The Empress Dowager has also disappeared.

Diliti, who was originally the puppet, was overjoyed to see this.

He thought he would be able to seize power and become the ruler.

As it turned out, he wasn't happy for even two days.

Xiao Yang's army, as if possessed, launched a frenzied attack on him.

Subsequently, the allied forces from the Western Regions also launched a full-scale offensive.

Adhering to the principle of not killing prisoners, a large army saw that the Kingdom of Uzbekistan was doomed.

Moreover, upon hearing of the king's disappearance, they lost all will to fight.

For them, who leads is not important.

As long as it's led by someone from the Western Regions, that's fine, and the new Western Regions Alliance sounds pretty good too.

They will not change their nationality; they will remain Uzbekistan, only with a different leader.

Under such circumstances, their army suffered a crushing defeat.

A large number of troops began to rebel, and Diliti was captured by his own men.

In less than a week, the entire country of Uzbekistan was occupied.

At the gates of the capital of Uzbekistan.

Xiao Ce was pushed to the front, but he didn't want to steal the limelight.

Xiao Ce then said to Nanxi of Shanshan Kingdom, "Nanxi, are you trying to make me the scapegoat? What will those people from the Western Regions think if you put me at the forefront? You people from the Western Regions are the most xenophobic..."

"I don't want to be assassinated."

Seeing that Xiao Ce's words made sense, Nan Xi took the lead.

After they entered the city, they were surrounded by many people.

Nanxi then had someone announce new policies, such as tax reductions and exemptions, and a series of policies to benefit the people.

This has further increased the public's enthusiasm for Nanxi.

Once inside the palace, Nanxi insisted that Xiao Ce sit in the seat reserved for the emperor.

This left Xiao Ce seemingly helpless: "Nan Xi, it seems you still don't believe what I'm saying?"

Nanxi was taken aback: "Your Highness, do you believe me?"

Xiao Ce then said to Nan Xi, "Since you trust me, why did you let me sit on this throne? I told you I came here to help you!"

Nanxi came to her senses when she heard Xiao Ce say this, and said with a smile, "Your Highness, I didn't mean anything by it. I just felt that if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to unify the Western Regions so quickly... It's only been almost a year since you arrived... and we've already unified the Western Regions."

"Looking back now, it feels like a dream!"

The other Western Region people standing nearby nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right, I feel like I'm dreaming."

Byrdah said, "Yes, and I think this form of unification is more secure than having one of us as ruler..."

"You not only helped us unify the country, but you also spared no effort in helping our reforms... Your Highness, no one will object to you taking this position!"

"Not bad...not bad, Your Highness, there are no outsiders here...they're all our own people, so you're rightfully sitting in that position..."

Xiao Ce and his group were all staring intently at them.

"Alright, I can't refuse everyone's requests, so I'll sit down for a bit."

Without any hesitation, Xiao Ce sat down.

As soon as he sat down, Nanxi asked Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, should we bring that Diliti along?"

Xiao Ce naturally understood Nan Xi's meaning.

After all, when Xiao Ce arrived, Dilit had given him no shortage of trouble and made things difficult for him...

"Sure...it's not a bad thing to use him for amusement!"

As they were talking, Nanxi ordered someone to bring Diliti over.

Diliti, who was bound hand and foot, was brought over, still begging for mercy.

However, he saw Xiao Ce sitting high on the throne of the king.

His face immediately turned ugly.

What started as pleas for mercy has now turned into insults.

"Nanxi, Bairda! You actually serve as dogs for a man from the Xiao Kingdom!"

"You traitors from the Western Regions...you've been dogs for the Xiao people, you've betrayed our country..."

"You have deceived the people... You actually allowed such a useless person to..."

Looking at Dilit's hysterical state, Xiao Ce honestly felt it was utterly noisy...

His brows furrowed slightly.

Without saying a word, Nanxi understood and said, "Someone, gag him."

"You dare?! Ugh... ugh... ugh..."

Xiao Ce rubbed his ears and gave Nan Xi a thumbs up.

He then ignored Dilit, saying that the greatest insult is simply to disregard him.

Xiao Ce then began to prepare to divide up the territory here.