Reincarnation and Rebirth

"What?" Xiao Yunting stood up, a hint of surprise flashing across his handsome face. "Appeared suddenly?"

"Reporting to the Second Young Master, the army assembled at the city gate at the crack of dawn."

"Is the Crown Prince aware of this matter?"

"unknown."

"Come, follow me to the palace to see the Crown Prince."

As soon as they stepped into the palace gate, they saw the guards beside the crown prince.

"Second Young Master, His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered me to come find you."

"Do you know what it is?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince said that he has already handed over the memorial you submitted to the Emperor, and he hopes that the Second Prince can come to the palace to provide evidence this morning."

Xiao Yunting paused, then nodded to Shunfeng behind him. Shunfeng immediately led the guard away from the palace, while Xiao Yunting followed the palace servants to the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The emperor on the dragon throne had a face as black as if it had been splashed with ink. Below him, Zi Xinghe knelt, his face filled with terror.

"Father, someone must be trying to frame me."

"You mean to frame me? You mean the Crown Prince fabricated this story out of thin air?"

Zi Xingchen immediately knelt down, "Your Majesty, I did not slander my second brother."

Emperor Ziyun looked at Zixinghe, "The evidence is conclusive, do you still want to deny it?"

"Your Majesty, I am innocent."

"What a false accusation! I see you won't shed tears until you see the King of Hell. Guards, seize the Second Prince."

Seeing the situation was not good, the supporter of the second prince hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider. At present, the Ziyan army is at the gates of the city. The most urgent task is to deal with the external threat first."

"Hmph, if it weren't for this traitor, Ziyun wouldn't be in this situation."

"Your Majesty, Lord Bian is absolutely right. The most important thing right now is to figure out how to get Ziyan to withdraw his troops."

Prime Minister Zong was a veteran of two dynasties. He always remained loyal to the emperor and never formed factions. Therefore, the emperor still respected him to some extent. When he heard him say this, he was about to nod when he heard the eunuch outside report that the Second Young Master Xiao had arrived.

Xiao Yunting was originally a tutor to the Crown Prince. Last year, he was assigned a minor official position as the Prefect of the Capital. Normally, he did not need to attend court. Today, the Emperor specially summoned him.

"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

"Yun Ting, is what the Crown Prince said in his memorial accurate?"

Xiao Yunting lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is absolutely no falsehood. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may summon witnesses."

In truth, he was extremely anxious, but at this time, there was no way for him to get close to the Crown Prince to inform him of what was happening outside the city. Moreover, as a minor editor, it would be even more inappropriate for him to bring up this matter in the court.

When Su Yang and the others were brought up, Zi Xinghe's face was as white as paper. He never expected that Xiao Yunting, who was usually inconspicuous, would have secretly kept such a trick up his sleeve.

“Father, the evidence against my second brother for treason is irrefutable, and he should be…”

Suddenly, a guard's voice came from outside, startling everyone. The emperor, already in a bad mood, angrily asked, "What's all this panic about?"

"Your Majesty, hundreds of thousands of Purple Flame soldiers have suddenly gathered outside the city."

"What?!" The emperor was both shocked and furious. "What a terrible country, Ziyan! Where is Xiao Yun Shen? How could he not report such a major event?"

"General Xiao is trapped in Sunset City."

"Useless, a bunch of useless people."

The court officials were trembling like leaves. Was a war really about to break out?

"Order the guards to hold the city gates and not let a single Ziyan person in."

After giving the order, the emperor looked at the second prince with a venomous gaze. "What a second prince! What a Zi Xinghe! Guards, announce my decree: from this moment forward, demote Zi Xinghe to a commoner and imprison him to await further punishment."

"Father, spare me! Father, I really didn't know when the Purple Flame Army was at the city gates!"

The emperor wouldn't listen to a word he said. He kicked Zi Xinghe away, gave him a disgusted look, and had him taken away.

In her past life, because Su Yang died in battle, Zi Xinghe insisted that Xiao Yunting had fabricated the evidence. While the emperor hesitated, he was killed by Zi Yan's spy, and Zi Xinghe's secret was not exposed. However, in this life, because of Su Wan'er's involvement, some things have changed. Of course, the parties involved are unaware of all of this.

Meanwhile, within the royal family, the spies of the Purple Flame Army were also stirring. When the Purple Flame Army started fighting at the slightest disagreement, the palace assassins also launched an attack on the emperor.

Although the guards were numerous, they were not well-trained and were no match for the valiant Purple Flame Army.

Xiao Yunting and the Crown Prince risked their lives to protect the Emperor, while Zi Xinghe, who was being held captive to the side, suddenly picked up a sword from the ground and stabbed at them for no apparent reason.

"Your Majesty and Crown Prince, be careful." Xiao Yunting stepped aside, pulled Zi Xingchen away, and protected the emperor. At the same time, he kicked out and struck Zi Xinghe in the abdomen. The force of the kick sent Zi Xinghe flying more than ten meters away.

The emperor was furious. He grabbed a knife from a guard and slashed Zi Xinghe's hand. "You murdered your emperor and your brother! What else are you incapable of?"

"Hahaha, the victor is king, the loser is villain. Father, do as you please, but Father, are you sure you can all leave here alive today?"

Emperor Ziyun was so angry that his hands were trembling. "You unfilial son, you unfilial son!"

"Father, you clearly favor my mother the most, so why did you make him the crown prince? Just because he's the eldest son of the legitimate wife? He's not as good as me in studies, nor in ability, so why?"

Zi Xinghe seemed possessed, "Why did I, the prince, cooperate with Zi Yan? Wasn't it all for this position? Hahaha, but now look what's happened, no one can have it. Father, you've schemed your whole life, and in the end you've shot yourself in the foot. You wanted to weaken the Xiao family's power, which is why you delayed sending reinforcements to Qingzhou, and you didn't even provide them with military supplies. Now look what's happened, General Xiao, the Xiao family, which has been brave and powerful for generations, will be destroyed by you."

The emperor, realizing his secret had been exposed, was both anxious and furious. "Kill him! Kill him!"

"Father, are you worried? Well, the Xiao family still has Xiao Yunting left, but he's just a good-for-nothing. What's there to fear?"

The guard beside him obeyed the order and pierced Zi Xinghe's chest with a sword. Zi Xinghe looked down in disbelief at the sword hilt in his chest and smiled bitterly, "Father, you are so cruel."

When the Imperial Noble Consort arrived after hearing the news, she only saw her son with a sword stuck in his chest, already lifeless.

She screamed and fainted.

Everything changed so fast that no one had time to react.

Xiao Yunting whispered to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, make plans early." The meaning was self-evident: the mere Imperial Guards probably wouldn't be able to defend the capital.

Emperor Ziyun seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant. He slowly walked back to the dragon throne and said to the people below, "My beloved ministers, the Ziyan Army is now at the city gates. Do you have any good strategies?"

One of the bolder ones replied, "Your Majesty, may I return and think of a solution?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have no good solution at this moment."

The emperor flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table. "Useless! All of you are useless! The enemy has already broken through our defenses, and you still want to go back and think about how to die or how to escape?"

"Your Majesty, rest your anger."

As war broke out outside, the Ziyan spies in the palace also began to emerge, fighting their way from the inner palace to the outer palace. A eunuch from the inner palace ran to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, knelt before the emperor, and cried out, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Empress has been murdered by the Ziyan spies!"

"What?" The emperor slumped onto the dragon throne, his face ashen.