Chapter 718: 715: Every Bush and Tree Looks Like an Enemy - Part 1

Chapter 718: Chapter 715: Every Bush and Tree Looks Like an Enemy – Part 1

Bai Qingyan grew emotional and burst into a heart-wrenching cough.

The Crown Prince was at a loss and hurriedly called out, “Quan Yu, hot tea!”

Quan Yu brought the hot tea to Bai Qingyan, but she waved it away. After thanking Quan Yu, she turned to gaze at the Crown Prince and continued, “If Your Highness massacres the people of Liang City today, in the future, some will exploit this event. As the ruling Crown Prince, the sin of massacring the plague-ridden people of two cities…no matter what great deeds Your Highness may achieve in the future, it can never be erased.”

As she spoke, Bai Qingyan’s expression grew sorrowful. “Just like Bai Qingyan, who, to win against Xiliang, had no choice but to burn the captured prisoners in Wengshan Canyon, this has become an indelible stain on Bai Qingyan! The ones I killed were enemy soldiers, but the ones Your Highness wants to massacre…are our Jin Kingdom’s people. This sin would be even greater than that of Bai Qingyan’s massacre of the prisoners.”

The Crown Prince’s breath quickened. He had not considered the severe consequences of this matter.

He originally thought that the plague had consumed too much manpower, materials, and financial resources without any cure in sight. Instead, it was worsening daily. The investment of silver coin and grain was like a bottomless pit. The number of plague-ridden people in the Jin Kingdom was increasing daily. Combined with the war with Daliang and the need to build the Nine-Tier Platform for the emperor, the treasury could no longer sustain it, and the lives of the Jin people could no longer be spent. So, after discussing with Old Fang, he thought of this plan.

“Princess of Zhen, you worry too much. When the time comes, the Crown Prince will naturally handle the commanders of the two cities. They will bear the blame for the Crown Prince. The common people are mostly ignorant… After dealing with the commanders, they won’t have time to blame the Crown Prince but will instead be grateful to him,” Old Fang spoke, suppressing his dissatisfaction as he looked at Bai Qingyan.

“This is absolute nonsense, Old Fang!” Bai Qingyan’s eyes turned cold and murderous. She guessed that the idea of massacring the plague-ridden people was mostly Old Fang’s, so she said, “No matter how ignorant the people are, when they see that the people of the two cities have been slaughtered, won’t they guess that this was ordered from above? Won’t they guess that punishing the commanders is just finding scapegoats! Moreover… Those willing to stand up and bear the blame for Your Highness are mostly those who are utterly loyal to him. Pushing such people forward to take the blame will only make those who follow the Crown Prince, and the court officials loyal to him, live in constant fear! Who would then dare to remain loyal to the Crown Prince without reservations!”

Pointed out by Bai Qingyan, the Crown Prince broke out in a cold sweat.

Old Fang was also speechless and could only ask, “I am very curious. How did the Princess of Zhen know about the Crown Prince’s secret order to deal with the plague-ridden people of the two cities?”

Bai Qingyan frowned. “It was someone sent by the Crown Prince who came to Shuoyang to inform me. What do you mean by this question, Old Fang?”

Old Fang stared at Bai Qingyan and cupped his hands toward the Crown Prince. “The Crown Prince has never sent anyone to Shuoyang.”

Bai Qingyan looked at the Crown Prince, her face full of confusion.

Seeing Bai Qingyan’s expression, the Crown Prince nodded. “I…indeed did not send anyone to Shuoyang, but I did not mean to hide it from you. I just…didn’t want you to worry about these things because of your poor health.”

Bai Qingyan’s confusion deepened as she continued to stare at the Crown Prince. “But the person indeed claimed to be from the Crown Prince’s residence. This matter is top secret, and not everyone knows about it. If it wasn’t someone sent by the Crown Prince, who else would impersonate him to deliver the message to me?”

Old Fang suddenly thought of Qin Shangzhi…

Back then, when Old Fang and the Crown Prince discussed this, Qin Shangzhi was strongly against it, accusing the Crown Prince of having no conscience, which enraged the Crown Prince to the point of storming off.

The Crown Prince furrowed his brows, thinking first of the two commanders who reluctantly accepted the order. Could it be that they did not want to carry out the order, so they sent someone to inform Bai Qingyan in his name?

Quan Yu also thought of Qin Shangzhi. Eager to clear Bai Qingyan of the suspicion of planting spies around the Crown Prince, he looked at the Crown Prince and said, “Your Highness, the day when the Crown Prince and Old Fang discussed killing the plague-ridden to prevent the spread to other people, Mr. Qin Shangzhi strongly opposed it. Could it be that Mr. Qin, seeing he couldn’t stop the Crown Prince, informed the Princess of Zhen in the Crown Prince’s name, hoping the Princess could persuade Your Highness to stop?”

Old Fang furrowed his brows. If Qin Shangzhi really sent someone to impersonate the Crown Prince and inform the Princess of Zhen, causing her to come and stop the Crown Prince from killing the plague-ridden people, and if the Princess of Zhen has clearly persuaded the Crown Prince, then this proves he was wrong!

However, on second thought, Old Fang felt that if Qin Shangzhi informed the Princess of Zhen, he could use this against Qin Shangzhi’s loyalty. Perhaps he could even remove Qin Shangzhi from the Crown Prince’s residence.

Thinking of this, Old Fang bowed toward the Crown Prince and asked, “Your Highness, should we summon Mr. Qin Shangzhi?”

Bai Qingyan turned to look at Quan Yu. “Among the guards who came with me from Shuoyang, some have seen the person who claimed to be sent by the Crown Prince to deliver the message. Would you, Master Quan Yu, please send someone to summon the Bai family guard who has seen that person?”

Quan Yu looked at the Crown Prince. Seeing the Crown Prince nod, he went out to summon the guard.

“Your Highness… Bai Qingyan rushed here not only because of the issue with the plague-ridden people but also because Xiliang has dispatched troops to attack Nanrong. I sent Lu Ping to deliver the message. Has Your Highness seen Lu Ping?” Bai Qingyan asked.

“Rest assured, Lu Ping has already delivered the message. Xiliang has dispatched troops but remains inactive, clearly eyeing our Jin Kingdom. I have already ordered Governor Dong Qingyue of Dengzhou to defend with the Anping Camp and the Dengzhou Army, deploying forces at the Xiliang border to deter Xiliang…,” the Crown Prince said.

“Speaking of this… I have another question. How did the Princess of Zhen know that Xiliang dispatched troops to attack Nanrong?” Old Fang stared at Bai Qingyan.

“What do you mean by this question, Old Fang?” Bai Qingyan frowned.

Old Fang wore a pleased smile but remained wary. “Surely, no one from the Crown Prince’s residence went to Shuoyang to inform the Princess of Zhen again?”

“Old Fang, are you implying that I have spies around the Crown Prince, or are you accusing me of monitoring Xiliang’s military movements?” Bai Qingyan’s eyes were clear and bright.

“Old Fang!” The Crown Prince turned and frowned at Old Fang.

Old Fang hurriedly bowed deeply to the Crown Prince. “Your Highness, calm down. I just feel that the Princess of Zhen’s information is too timely. Perhaps there are connections with the Bai family army in the southern region.”

Saying this, Old Fang looked at the pale and deep-eyed Bai Qingyan again. “Also, the Princess of Zhen should be taking care of her health after the grave injuries she suffered to save Your Highness.”

“Old Fang, I know you are narrow-minded, but I also respect you for being meticulous and always considering the Crown Prince. Bai Qingyan knows her life won’t last much longer and only hopes to pave a more stable path for the Crown Prince. I bear no intentions of competing with you before the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince still needs your support, Old Fang. There’s no need for you to be so paranoid.”

“Old Fang didn’t mean it that way!” The Crown Prince quickly intervened.