met free Chapter 148 She's a Cheap One
Chapter 148 She's a Cheap One
Lin Yi, clad in silver armor and a bright red cloak, strode in with a troop of fully armed soldiers. They were travel-worn, carrying the rugged and menacing air characteristic of border legions.
The people in the palace hadn't seen a whole border legion in a long time. The exquisitely dressed canaries shrank into quails in front of the simple and brutal eagle.
The scene then fell silent again, locked in a stalemate.
Lin Yi looked around and saw a panicked crowd, soldiers in disarray, a furious and crazed Ren Qing, and two unrecognizable corpses. Finally, he saw Fan Qingyin, who was extremely weak in Jiang Ren's arms, with red hair and blood-red eyes.
His eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched involuntarily.
"What, are you taking advantage of my family's lack of resources?" he said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.
"..." Everyone fell silent. Do you want to see what you're saying? Your family is too powerful. First, there was a divine messenger who publicly set up an array to brutally kill noblewomen, and then there was a general who openly led troops into the royal palace.
But no one dared to refute them, for the fates of Lady Tini and Lord Ren Kecheng were far too tragic, and everyone feared that the fire would spread to their own heads. The divine envoy Fan Qingyin appeared gentle and mild, but her actions were incredibly ruthless, while this young General Lin Yi looked far from being someone to be trifled with.
Still in shock and fear, Xiang Lan briefly explained the whole story to Lin Yi.
"Fine, fine!" Upon hearing that Fan Qingyin had become like this because Jiang Yu was in mortal danger and had no choice but to activate the sacrificial array, Lin Yi felt a surge of anger instantly burn away his reason.
"Arrest everyone in the Ren family, including Lady Tini's servants. I need to know who was involved in the murder of my wife." And the Emperor, Lin Yi thought to himself. He wouldn't let this go, even if the other party was the Emperor!
"This is outrageous! Is your family planning a rebellion?!" Ren Qing shouted angrily. "Do you really think this palace belongs to your family? Jiang Ren, does Lin Yi represent the Lin family or your Jiang family? Jiang Ren, can you bear the consequences of this?"
"Prime Minister, I suggest you stop talking so much nonsense. I don't have the patience of my father-in-law and Qingyin," Lin Yi sneered. "Stop using your despicable political rhetoric to label us. Your daughter was involved in the persecution of the lord first, so why aren't we allowed to retaliate?"
"It's only because our Qingyin is soft-hearted that she risked her own life to kill the two culprits. If I were here, based on your words, none of your Ren family members would escape!"
"You truly are a military leader. So, just because your Jiang and Lin families hold military power, you think you can act arrogantly? What, are you planning a coup next?"
"Ren Qing!" Jiang Ren roared, clearly having reached his limit of patience.
His daughter's fate was unknown, yet his two husbands and father did not rush to her side immediately. Instead, they all endured and waited for the emperor's arrangements and orders. If this is not considered loyalty?
He closed his eyes, unable to suppress the self-loathing that washed over him. He had truly wasted so much of his life, soaking in the cesspool of power for far too long, forgetting the meaning of all his achievements and glory if he couldn't even protect his daughter.
He looked at Fan Qingyin in his arms. His son-in-law had risked his life, sacrificing two lives to save his daughter. He would leave the rest to him, her father.
His face was cold and indifferent. Although he was kneeling on the ground, he no longer restrained his aura. The pressure of an imperial general poured out in an instant, making Ren Qing speechless.
"Ren Qing, this isn't a score you're set up with me, it's a score I'm going to set up with you!"
"Let me see who dares to rebel in my palace!" A booming voice rang out, and the master of the palace, the supreme ruler of this royal palace and even the entire Ocean Empire, finally appeared.
The emperor entered the main hall with a troop of personal guards, followed by several high-ranking ministers. With the addition of Jiang Ren and Ren Qing, the empire's power center was almost complete.
The emperor still wore a warm smile as he strolled in, seemingly oblivious to the chaotic scene before him. He slowly looked around without even raising an eyebrow.
In contrast, his tone was much more exaggerated: "Oh my, isn't this the young man from the Lin family? You're back so soon? My goodness, you haven't rested at all on the way, you must be exhausted!"
"Hey, Jiang Ren, who's this red-haired, red-eyed guy? Wow! Isn't that the divine messenger of the Fan family? I remember he had white hair, what's going on?" the emperor asked exaggeratedly.
"..." An emperor with a strong desire to perform can sometimes feel quite helpless.
"Your Majesty! Oh, Your Majesty!" Ren Qing was the first to plead, wailing and falling to his knees at the emperor's feet: "Your Majesty, you must do justice for me, Your Majesty."
"Isn't this the Left Chancellor? Oh dear, why are you crying like this? My goodness, this is the first time I've ever seen you like this, it's truly rare," the Emperor exclaimed.
"..." Ren Qing choked for a moment, but continued to cry out, "You don't know, the Jiang family is simply outrageous! You don't know what they've done! They are utterly heartless and heinous! You must punish them severely, Your Majesty!"
"Oh? What did they do?" the emperor asked curiously, then accidentally walked up to the two gruesome corpses of Lady Tini and Ren Kecheng, before jumping away in disgust as if he were startled.
"Oh dear, who has committed murder and arson in my palace, making it stink so badly!" the emperor exclaimed dramatically.
"Your Majesty!" Ren Qing crawled on his knees, accusingly saying, "It was General Jiang Ren's son-in-law, the divine messenger of the Fan family, who did it! He killed Lady Tini!" Then, tears streaming down his face, he grieved, "And my daughter, my daughter also died under his magic array."
"Your Majesty, you have no idea how cruel his methods are as a divine messenger. Lady Tinie and my daughter died so tragically! Your Majesty, everyone present can testify to my words, to prove that they have indeed committed heinous crimes!"
"Your Majesty!" Jiang Ren tried to explain in a deep voice, but the emperor did not give him a chance to speak.
"What? You mean, this disgusting corpse on the ground is my wife?" The emperor seemed to have heard something unbelievable, and stood there stunned as if struck by lightning. He stared fixedly at the skeleton, as if trying to recognize what his wife looked like when she was alive.
Ren Qing sneered inwardly. He dared to slap the emperor's wife in public. Jiang Ren would be badly hurt, if not killed, this time. He would not let go of this precious opportunity that his daughter had risked her life for. He and Jiang Ren had always disagreed on politics and he had long disliked Jiang Ren's smugness in commanding a large army. This time, he would make sure that Jiang Ren could no longer be a majestic imperial general and would have to tuck his tail between his legs whenever he saw him.
Before he could even decide on his next plan, he heard the emperor continue, "How could she die like this? It's too easy for her. I haven't even settled accounts with her yet, how could she die so easily?!"