Huo Wei slowly lifted his eyelids. "That fatuous king, Murong Min, has dug out old matters again.
It seems that he has never truly gotten over some things. He's still afraid that the Xie family will come after him."
Over three thousand heads were chopped off without Murong Min even blinking an eye back then. This bloody incident that shook the entire Northern Yan Kingdom involved the killing of generations of loyal and good people.
Not only the court officials but also most of the common people in the world refused to believe it.
Shen Guilan walked in, smoothed his washed - out cloth robe, and sat down beside Huo Wei.
"This matter was not initiated by His Majesty but is related to the Queen, Duchess Duguhuan.
For no reason, why did the Queen bring this up? Did she discuss it with you?"
Huo Wei also found it rather sudden. He shook his head. "She didn't say anything to me about this."
Murong Jue rushed into the Prince of Yuzhang's Mansion, gasping for breath.
"Brother, something terrible has happened in the palace!
Father is going to behead all young men who have reached the age of twenty, claiming that they are the descendants of the traitorous officials to prevent any chaos in the Northern Yan Kingdom.
The Queen has tried to stop Father for several days, urging him to calm down. But Father told the court officials that it was the Queen's idea and that it was a divine oracle from heaven for him to get rid of these descendants."
Huo Wei's black eyes trembled slightly, and he looked at Murong Jue strangely.
"Isn't your father overreacting?
It's just some superstitious nonsense, yet he wants to carry out a massacre and even shift the blame onto the Queen?"
Murong Jue nodded vigorously. "Yes, the Queen is now being condemned by the court officials. They call her a demonic queen who has made Father carry out massacres everywhere."
Huo Wei frowned and immediately got up, went to the stable to get his horse, and rode straight into the palace. Murong Jue followed closely behind.
Just as they left, the master of Huo Wei and Shen Guilan had already arrived in the imperial capital.
Seeing this, Shen Guilan felt a sense of unease.
Murong Jue went to the Zichen Hall to persuade his father not to do such a foolish thing, while Huo Wei headed straight for the Fengluan Palace and quietly climbed over the back - wall.
He saw Duchess Duguhuan standing under a lychee tree, looking gloomy.
Aunt Mei Jiang knew martial arts and immediately noticed the visitor. "Your Highness, why did you come in through the back door?"
Duchess Duguhuan turned to look over, her eyebrows full of worry. "Huo Wei, you're here."
Huo Wei rushed over and grabbed her arm. "What did you say to Murong Min? How could such an old matter be dug out all of a sudden, and you were the one who started it?"
Duchess Duguhuan sighed and explained to him.
"My mother told me about the past in Danyang City. Knowing that this has always been a knot in Murong Min's heart, I planned to use it to prepare for the Taoist master from the Dongning Kingdom to hold a ceremony in the Northern Yan Kingdom.
Unexpectedly, Murong Min's reaction was too strong. I didn't even anticipate that a massacre case that happened so many years ago could make Murong Min lose control like this.
I've been trying to persuade him these days, but Murong Min won't listen to anything. He even shifted the blame onto me.
But the young men who have reached the age of twenty in the Northern Yan Kingdom are such an important force for a country. You're also twenty. It's just incredible that he wants to kill them all."
Her eyes were full of shock. As a person who understood the importance of a country's young men, she thought Murong Min was truly a tyrant.
Huo Wei stared at her intently. "Who told you to get involved in this? Do you know that the name Xie Jinyang is a taboo in the Northern Yan Kingdom!
Duchess Duguhuan, you're taking too many risks. If this matter isn't well - planned, you might even lose your own life.
Tell me, was what was on that stone something you made up?"
Duchess Duguhuan's bright red eyes showed a hint of playfulness. "Yes. I wanted to expose this bloody incident and shake the ground under Murong Min's feet.
As an emperor, misjudging such a major case is definitely the biggest stain on his political achievements. But Murong Min's reaction has far exceeded my expectations."
There was a complex look in Huo Wei's deep black eyes. "I didn't expect that you would be the first one to uncover this."
Duchess Duguhuan held his slightly cold hand and looked at him tenderly.
"Huo Wei, what's wrong? Do you know something about this case?"
She read a strong sense of grief and indignation from Huo Wei's expression, as if he knew something.
Huo Wei hesitated, not knowing how to tell her.
Duchess Duguhuan rushed to uncover this matter this time just to leave the Northern Yan Kingdom as soon as possible.
He shouldn't involve her in his own affairs. He would bear what he had to alone.
Once this shocking bloody incident was exposed, it was bound to show the world an emperor who was muddle - headed and killed loyal officials.
After the commotion got bigger, Murong Min would most likely shift his focus, choose a crown prince, and order the crown prince to temporarily supervise the country to avoid the public outcry.
Although Duchess Duguhuan didn't tell him everything, Huo Wei already understood her underlying meaning.
"I can add fuel to the fire of this bloody incident and expose a bit more of the old wound in Murong Min's heart." Huo Wei said in a low voice, with a sneer.
Duchess Duguhuan looked at him. "Huo Wei, I need to finish these things quickly and return to the Southern Chu Kingdom.
If you're not convenient to participate in this, you don't have to get involved. I'm from the Southern Chu Kingdom. I don't care about my reputation in the Northern Yan Kingdom at all.
If they call me a demonic queen, so be it.
Moreover, I'm doing this to pave the way for the Third Prince.
It's also for you to have a good life in the Northern Yan Kingdom in the future. You can rely on a powerful backer and do whatever you want."
Huo Wei kissed her forehead with his thin lips. He didn't continue the conversation but took out several packets of medicinal powder from his sleeve and handed them to her.
"Find a way to pour this into Murong Min's wine. Remember, it must be in the wine."
Duchess Duguhuan took the things without asking too many questions. "Okay."
After Huo Wei left, Aunt Mei Jiang walked over.
"Your Majesty, our people have been arranged both inside and outside the palace.
Those rumors will surely spread quickly, and we'll make the superstitious stories sound even more miraculous. Your Majesty can rest assured."
Duchess Duguhuan's eyes became sharp. "Good."
A few days passed. Murong Min was advised by the court officials not to start slaughtering the young men of the Northern Yan Kingdom just because of a few words from the so - called demonic queen. They suggested that they could send people to look for the descendants of Jinyang, but they shouldn't kill innocent people.
Just as Duchess Duguhuan had predicted, although Murong Min had a strong reaction at first, he would eventually calm down under the advice of the court officials. It was just that the situation in the previous few days was a bit terrifying.
But by this time, Murong Min had already taken it seriously and sent a large number of imperial guards to track down the whereabouts of the descendants of Jinyang.
At this moment, the rumors in the imperial capital had begun to ferment. People said that the descendants of Jinyang had come back for revenge and were going to take the lives of their enemies.
Some also said that the Jinyang massacre was a wrongful case, and all the heads of the nine clans were wrongly chopped off by the emperor.
So, some uninformed court officials memorialized the emperor, asking him to retry this case to calm down the rumor storm. Murong Min flew into a rage.
During the evening meal, Murong Min and Duchess Duguhuan returned to the Fengluan Palace for dinner.
Yu Zan specifically wore a green dress that showed her figure slightly. When she was serving her master during the meal, if one looked closely, they could actually see her slightly bulging belly.