Reborn to Become A Queen: The Real Heiress's Comeback
Chapter 509: You Are Unworthy of Being an Emperor!

Chapter 509: Chapter 509: You Are Unworthy of Being an Emperor!

The common people couldn’t understand Si Yun’s words.

Could it be that all this was Mu Yan’s slander against Emperor Qingwu just to ascend to power?

"Nonsense!" Zhan Lan couldn’t stand Si Yun’s performance any longer, "If the Regent King had such intentions, you would have long been dead at Si Jun’s hands!"

The ministers began to discuss, "Indeed, it was the Regent King who personally saved His Majesty from Si Jun!"

"Yes, the Regent King also wholeheartedly supported the Crown Prince’s ascension, alas..."

Si Yun glanced guiltily at Zhan Lan and Mu Yan, knowing that without Mu Yan’s protection back then, he might have died already.

But perhaps Mu Yan did it to cover up his ambition to usurp the throne!

Thinking of this, Si Yun felt at ease.

Zhan Lan’s expression had turned completely cold, and she signaled to the messenger behind her, "Bring them over!"

"Yes, Main General!"

Emperor Qingwu straightened slightly, looking distantly towards who Zhan Lan was bringing over.

Mu Yan’s lips curled; Zhan Lan, who had remained silent when he was slandered by Si Yun, actually stood up to speak for him, indeed Lan’er cared about him the most.

Before long, the Zhan Family Army brought over three people.

Along the way, Zhan Lan had them placed at the end of the convoy’s prison cart as evidence.

Seeing these three, Si Yun’s face immediately changed drastically.

Zhan Lan looked at one of them coldly, "Grain Transport Officer, you speak first!"

The Grain Transport Officer knelt on the ground and said, "I acted on the Emperor’s orders; the Emperor ordered the army provisions for General Zhan to be withheld, and as an official, I had no choice but to comply!"

Now he realized who was truly untouchable in Nanjin, and he added to the people, "I saw our Main General, Great General Zhan Lan, digging wild vegetables with the soldiers when there were no provisions. They fought fiercely for the people of Nanjin, while I followed the Emperor’s orders to withhold the army’s provisions. I am guilty and unworthy of being an official!"

The ministers were present, and upon hearing the Grain Transport Officer’s words, the usually kind-hearted scholar Lu Zhong burned with anger.

Zhong Xuanliang was so angry that he wanted to immediately express his remonstrance, but Lu Zhong shook his head at him, indicating that the matter was not yet clear and to wait and see.

Zhong Xuanliang temporarily suppressed his inner fury.

The common people wept silently; the Zhan Family Army risked their lives for the people, yet could not even have a meal!

This was the "good deeds" of their "good Emperor"!

Si Yun broke into a cold sweat; he was already unhealthy, and the ministers and the people’s angry gaze made him a bit fearful, his face growing pale from tension.

Zhan Lan looked at another person, "Deputy General Pang An, tell us, what decree did the Emperor give you?"

Pang An, with manacles on his hands, admitted his faults under the people’s scrutiny and said, "The Emperor once wrote me a secret letter, instructing that Lianbian City and Shili City were not affluent, that for the long-term safety of Nanjin, both small cities and their residents could be abandoned to the Western Rong!"

The people’s anger reached its peak upon hearing this!

Pang An stood straight and declared, "Had it not been for the timely arrival of the Zhan Family Army, not only Shili City, but the fifty thousand people of Lianbian City, too, would have been massacred by the Western Rong cavalry!"

His voice choked as he looked towards the coffin of the Old General Zhan, "Old General Zhan protected the people of Lianbian City with his life, and General Zhan Lan led troops through a secret passage into Lianbian City, rescuing fifty thousand people!"

Pang An dared not meet the people’s gaze, knowing the disappointment they surely felt.

Those who never dared to look directly at the Emperor now all turned to Emperor Qingwu, stunned that he indeed had done such a thing!

Emperor Qingwu had truly abandoned the people of Nanjin!

Upon discovering the truth, the people’s gaze pierced Emperor Qingwu like needles; they loathed him.

Emperor Qingwu, shaken by their hateful stares, used his imperial authority to reprimand, "Revolt, all of you! Even you, Pang An, dare to slander Us!"

The ministers looked at this cowardly and unaccountable Emperor who was worse than his father, Emperor Xuanwu; at least Emperor Xuanwu knew to discard the donkey after it had done its work.

But he, incompetent as he was, sought only to stabilize his throne quickly, sacrificing loyal ministers and good generals and sacrificing the people of Nanjin.

They were deeply disappointed with Emperor Qingwu!

"Slander?" Zhan Lan sneered, kicking Muer Hong to the ground, who dared not lift his head as he knelt.

Zhan Lan was terrifying; despite all he had done for her, she kept her promise to provide the antidote but shamelessly said that she had only promised the antidote, not his release.

Zhan Lan not only refused to let him go but also brought him back to Ding’an City!

He now lay helpless, under Zhan Lan’s control, awaiting whatever timing her blade would fall.

Muer Hong was bruised and battered, his once burly figure now emaciated beyond recognition, kneeling before Zhan Lan in plea, "Spare me, General Zhan, I’ll tell you everything, everything!"

Zhan Lan spoke coldly, "This person is Muer Hong, and it was his brother, Muer Han, who led the Western Rong cavalry in the massacre of Shili City."

Trembling, Muer Hong faced the people of Nanjin, "Your Emperor, when still the Crown Prince, promised us Lianbian City and Shili City, hoping to trade them with the Western Rong King for peace in Nanjin."

Enraged, the people shouted, "So it’s true, the Emperor abandoned the people of those two cities!"

Disappointed, the courtiers lamented, "With evidence so irrefutable, how could the Emperor do this!"

Hearing the condemnations around him, Emperor Qingwu shouted, "Abandoning two small cities was also to ensure your safety, was it not worth it? I considered the bigger picture; you are not emperors, you don’t understand the difficulties of a nation’s ruler!"

Zhan Lan replied coldly, "Si Yun, you are unfit to be an Emperor, stop using the greater good as an excuse; those are merely your pretexts for self-serving desires and securing your throne! If you truly cared for the people and the greater good, you wouldn’t have cut off our provisions during the Zhan Family Army’s critical assault on the Western Rong. If not for my father risking his life to bring supplies, the Zhan Family Army, including myself, would be dead!"

Zhan Lan’s voice was firm and powerful, if Emperor Qingwu’s acting was exaggerated, she could embellish the truth too!

"You are unfit to be an Emperor!" Suddenly, an aged voice floated from the crowd.