"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. It turns out that this king has never fallen into just Concubine Rui's trap. It was you who spread a large net behind the scenes, making the self - righteous Concubine Rui think everything was foolproof, right?"
"Not too stupid. However, since you've now fallen into my hands, let's settle the old scores properly."
Soon, the King of the Western Region was tied up tightly. Desperate to save his own life, his attitude softened.
"Empress Dowager, I was just young and ignorant before. Please don't haggle with a junior like me. You can rest assured that from now on, you'll have the final say in the Western Region. Can you let me go?"
Everyone present rolled their eyes in unison. They never expected that the King of the Western Region would become so shameless as to say such things in public.
He was a man in his thirties, yet he still claimed to be young in front of Shi Muyuan.
Shi Muyuan curled her lips. Without any warning, the grape in her hand hit the King of the Western Region right on the head without a bit of deviation.
"What? Do you think I'm old? If so, I can consider whether to let you live for another day or two."
The King of the Western Region turned pale. It felt awful to have his life and death casually discussed and used as a bargaining chip.
"What do you mean? Your Highness, you won't really kill me, will you? Don't forget that no matter what, I'm the only king in the Western Region. Without me, how can you manage such a large country?"
He thought that this was his only bargaining chip and everything would be fine. Unexpectedly, the princess suddenly spoke up.
"On the surface, the Western Region is indeed in your hands. But if it weren't for our Zhao family managing it for you all these years, do you think it would still be peaceful on the surface? So, even without you, this Western Region can still thrive."
The King of the Western Region had always been flattered by the princess. In his eyes, this woman would never go against him and would always be obedient. He even thought that he could take her life if he wanted to.
It was the first time she had spoken to him so harshly. He felt that things were getting out of his control, which made him very uncomfortable.
"Princess! I really let you all down. I've always ignored your feelings. You can rest assured that once I regain the throne, I'll disperse the harem."
He tried to get closer to the princess, but such a man only made the princess loathe him more.
"Don't come near me. I find you filthy and disgusting."
These words hit the King of the Western Region like a thunderbolt.
"You... What did you say? You actually call me filthy! Princess, have you forgotten who pulled you out of the pond?"
Yes, this was the reason why, for so many years, although the King of the Western Region had treated the princess badly, he could still control her.
The princess had been taught since childhood that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. So she always remembered the King of the Western Region's kindness to her and had no complaints for so many years, even when she found that the man had brought countless women back.
But now the princess had woken up. She saw his true face and just wanted him to pay for what he had done.
"You almost took my life. How could you think that I would always be attached to you and obey you? I've already repaid the kindness from that year. You've been using that incident to oppress me for so many years and demand without restraint. Do you really think no one is more suitable for this position than you?"
Hearing her words, the King of the Western Region had a vague guess in his mind but didn't dare to confirm it.
"What are you talking nonsense about? I'm the legitimate king. Without me, who else can truly hold this position firmly?"
"Any one of our Zhao family can. If it weren't for me all these years, do you think you deserve to sit on this throne?"
After the princess finished speaking, she didn't hesitate to strike. The places where she attacked showed how much hatred was in her heart. Each knife didn't hit a vital part, but each one was enough to make the man writhe in pain on the ground, wishing he could just die.
"Kill me. Stop torturing me like this. I know I did wrong before. Please, just give me a quick death."
"Humph, I've said that I won't let you die so easily. You have to pay back everything you've done to me and our family."
The princess's expression was almost crazy. If it weren't for the calmness in her eyes, Shi Muyuan might have already ordered someone to take her away.
"Alright. How to torture him will be up to you later. First, take the man away. We have more important things to do."
"Yes."
Several people temporarily imprisoned all the important court officials of the Western Region in the prison. Shi Muyuan looked at them and slowly said, "What are you going to do next? All the important officials have been imprisoned. The court is now an empty shell. How will you manage it in the future?"
"Empress Dowager, don't worry. Our Zhao family has been here much longer than those people. As long as we want to, we can completely replace them with new people."
"It's best that you have a plan. The diplomatic relations between the two countries remain unchanged. Don't forget our agreement today. Also, since I can lead you back to take back what belongs to you, I can also take it away from you."
When she said this, her eyes were sharp, which made the siblings kneel on the ground involuntarily and agree.
"Empress Dowager, don't worry. We already have a clear idea about these things."
"That's good. I still have to capture that traitor. I don't have the leisure to chat with you here. Remember to draw up a new surrender letter and send it to the emperor."
"Yes."
Just like this, the people from the Great Liang came and left in a hurry, scaring the common people in the capital into a cold sweat.
"Do you know what's going on? We only heard some noises from the direction of the palace, but we didn't even see the people from the Great Liang."
"It's normal that you don't know. I heard that the Empress Dowager of the Great Liang has led the siblings of the Zhao family back. All the important court officials of the Western Region have been arrested and imprisoned. It seems that the situation in the Western Region is finally going to change. You'd better be careful and go out less on weekdays."
"Understood, understood."
Hearing the discussions of the common people in the capital behind her, Shi Muyuan remained calm on the surface. "Leave some people here to keep an eye on them. I'm still a bit worried about them."
"Yes."
The group left the capital of the Western Region in a grand manner. Shi Muyuan chose to find a place for the soldiers to rest first. She stayed in the room, holding the thing she had obtained from the Western Region's imperial palace.
At this time, Cui Qizhou pushed the door open and entered. "The Empress Dowager actually obtained such an important thing today. It means our trip wasn't in vain."