Chapter 78 Ruthless
In mid-August, the army that went to attack the King of Qin returned victoriously.

The Chao army led by Zhou Jing wiped out 70,000 Qin troops, subdued 60,000 Qin troops, seized countless gold, silver, treasures and grains, captured the King of Qin alive, and escorted 418 of the King of Qin's direct descendants to the capital.

The sage was greatly pleased and rewarded the expeditionary army handsomely. He promoted Zhou Jing to the position of Left Envoy of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a first-rank official, and made his eldest son, the Prince of Jin, who had accompanied the army on the expedition, a prince.

He immediately ordered the execution of the King of Qin and his gang, including nine clans of the King. The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. More than a hundred people from the King of Qin's clan were beheaded as a display of public concern. For a time, the outside of the Meridian Gate was flooded with blood.

After settling the victorious soldiers, the sage began to attack King Xuanchen again. He used the evidence collected by the eldest son, Prince Jin, that King Xuanchen secretly sent troops to support King Qin as evidence, and forced King Xuanchen to surrender his military power and cancel his fiefdom.

At this moment, Concubine Chen finally woke up from her dream.

The emperor's favor was just a bait to prevent the vassal kings from joining forces to rebel.

Since Lu Ji recovered the Sixteen Continents of Hexi, the Great Zhou was no longer afraid of being restrained by the alliance of the people of Qi and the vassal kings. The sage made up his mind to withdraw the vassal states. In order to prevent King Xuanchen and King Qin, whose vassal states were connected, from joining forces, the sage paralyzed King Xuanchen by luring him with the throne and the heir position. The King Qin was isolated and helpless, and was successfully eliminated.

Then the next one is King Xuanchen’s turn.

The saint did not intend to let any of the three vassal kings go.

As for the throne of empress and crown prince, she never even thought of giving it to Concubine Chen and her son.

In the Qinzheng Hall, the saint summoned several confidants including Chen Xiuyuan and were plotting how to deal with the remaining Prince Xuanchen and Prince Dongyang.

Old Taifu Chen Xiuyuan said: "The King of Qin and the King of Xuancheng occupy the northwest and northern borders. The two vassal kings form a horn. Although the King of Xuanchen has the greatest power among the three vassal kings, now that the King of Qin has been suppressed, he will no longer have any external support, so he is not to be feared."

Zhongtang Sun Zhengyong said, "Although King Xuanchen has lost the support of King Qin, the northern border is the gateway to the north and is adjacent to the barbarians in the north. I am afraid that if King Xuanchen is pushed to the limit, he will join forces with the barbarians in the north. If so, the north will be in trouble."

"You are worrying too much, Master. The Saint is resourceful and has already made plans." Chen Xiuyuan stroked his gray beard and said with a smile, "Prince Xuanchen now has only one daughter and one young son, but they are all in the hands of the Saint."

As soon as Chen Xiuyuan finished speaking, the old eunuch outside the palace came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Concubine Chen is outside the palace asking to see you."

The saint waved his hand impatiently and replied with two words: "No."

The old eunuch hesitated, and said reluctantly, "Your Majesty, the imperial concubine was pregnant and kneeled outside the palace, her head was broken. She said that if you don't see her, she will kneel and die outside the palace with the dragon child in her belly."

The saint had no expression on his face when he heard this, and ignored the matter altogether, still concentrating on discussing the matter of withdrawing the feudal fiefdom with his two trusted old ministers.

"In your opinion, do you think we should deal with King Xuanchen first, and then deal with King Dongyang in Jiangnan?"

Seeing the Saint being so cold-blooded towards the pregnant imperial concubine, even the old tutor Chen Xiuyuan, who was used to seeing cruel fighting, couldn't help but take a breath. He calmed himself down and replied, "Although Prince Xuanchen is difficult to deal with, his young son is still in the hands of Your Majesty, so he must be restrained. If Prince Xuanchen is killed, Prince Dongyang in the south will naturally surrender without a fight when he sees that the two vassal kings have been defeated."

The saint said "OK" after hearing this, and then told the eunuch beside him: "Draft a letter for me to King Xuanchen and tell him that if he knows how to handle the situation, I will spare his life. If he refuses, I will kill his two children in the palace first."

When the saint said this, he didn't even frown. His calm tone, coupled with the "bang bang" sound of Concubine Chen's kowtow outside the palace, made people feel frightened when they heard it.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to forgive my father, Your Majesty, please"

Outside the Qinzheng Palace, Concubine Chen took off her hairpin and let her hair down. She knelt outside the palace with her six-month-old belly, kowtowed and begged bitterly. Her miserable appearance made even the eunuchs and palace maids outside the palace shed tears. The saint took the letter prepared by the eunuch, read it from beginning to end, and said lightly: "I will order someone to send it to Prince Xuanchen as fast as possible."

When the eunuch took the letter and was about to leave, the sage gave another order: "Prince Xuanchen's son in the palace, as well as Concubine Chen and her son, are all under my watch for the time being."

Concubine Chen knelt from noon until midnight but did not see the emperor. She was carried back alive by the palace servants.

At this time, Concubine Chen was pregnant and had a sudden change. She was very weak and was half unconscious when she was carried back to the bedroom.

"Mother--"

"Eldest sister——"

It was not until she heard her son and younger brother calling her in her ears that Concubine Chen woke up slowly.

"Eldest sister, does His Majesty want to kill me?"

This younger brother is called Ruier, he is just eight years old, and he is the only son of his elderly father. When Concubine Chen saw his younger brother, she felt so guilty that she couldn't help crying: "Brother, it is your sister who has harmed you and your father."

"As a king, how can you be so untrustworthy?" The youngest son of King Xuanchen drew his sword angrily and said, "I will settle accounts with this tyrant."

Seeing this, Concubine Chen's son, Prince Ning, came over and held his hand: "Uncle, don't be impulsive. This matter needs to be considered carefully."

Prince Ning was fourteen this year, with a calm and gentle appearance. He came to his mother's bed and said, "Mother, although father is ruthless, he has always treated us well. I don't believe that father would kill us all."

This son is tolerant and kind, and has always been the most loved by the saint. Glancing at her son's eyes and eyebrows that resemble her emperor husband, Concubine Chen doesn't believe that the saint can be so heartless. She has been in the palace for sixteen years and has always been favored. She can't believe that the man beside her would plot against her like this.

"I don't believe your father would treat us this way, but I heard from mother these past two days that your father has decided to deal with your grandfather. If your grandfather falls, then there will be no chance for us mother and son to turn things around. If so, you will miss out on the position of crown prince completely."

Seeing the disappointment in her son's eyes, Concubine Chen felt heartbroken and tears fell down in strings.

In the deep palace, it is always the case that either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind. When some people are heartbroken, naturally there will be others who are happy.

That night, the saint went to Chonghua Palace, the bedroom of Concubine Duan Jiang.

That night, the lights in Chonghua Palace were as bright as day, with people singing and dancing, and laughing happily until midnight.

In Yilan Palace, Concubine Lu did not sleep all night.

The saint's four concubines, the three concubines Duan, Shu and Chen all came from prominent families and were equally qualified. They saw the once favored Concubine Chen rise high but then fall.

In a blink of an eye, the saint favored Concubine Duan again.

Concubine Shu always felt that the saint's mind was becoming more and more unfathomable.

　The previous chapter (Chapter 53) is locked, you have to wait to find it.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)