Do Not Offend the Reborn Wicked Wife-Chapter 399: Overwhelming Public Opinion! Opening the City Gates!

Chapter 399: Chapter 399: Overwhelming Public Opinion! Opening the City Gates!

"Uncle Mu, you really aren’t dead, haha, I knew it, Grandpa wouldn’t really kill you!"

Inside the camp, Qi Jingyu looked at Li Qingmu who had removed his mask and revealed his true face, and laughed heartily.

Honestly, when he first heard that Li Qingmu had been executed publicly, he was upset for quite a while, even harboring some resentment towards Grandpa.

He couldn’t quite explain why, but felt a sense of joy in being with Li Qingmu, and even a slight feeling of closeness.

So when he saw Li Qingmu unharmed, he was genuinely happy.

Li Qingmu smiled faintly and said, "The Emperor is orchestrating a scheme. If I didn’t die, I wouldn’t be able to send information to you all. If things collapse, it would ruin the fortunes of the Dazhou Country."

"Yes, yes! Uncle Mu still speaks in such a humorous manner."

Daring to say the Emperor plays with the court like a game that could break, only Li Qingmu would dare to say it.

Next, Qi Jingyu thought of something and said, "Actually, Uncle Mu, we considered this point too, and plan to use you as part of the strategy."

"Me?"

Li Qingmu looked at him in surprise, curious to hear what strange plans this youngster had come up with.

"Uncle Mu, this is also news pigeon-mailed two days ago. Your wife is quite capable; she has already cleared your name from any false accusations."

Qi Jingyu slightly raised his head, pretending to be proud, with hands behind his back, "We plan to create a narrative. Wasn’t it said earlier that you framed the Seventeenth Prince?

So we’ll build it from his lineage, saying he’s a pawn placed in the Imperial Palace by scheming individuals to seize the throne and usurp the dynasty!

Therefore, they cruelly murdered hundreds in Qingshui Village to frame you! Their purpose is firstly to cover up their crime, and secondly to eliminate you, the one knowing their plot!"

Hmm, the youngster has grown, able to think up such a strategy.

"But previously, my foster parents testified that I’m their biological son and even wanted to kill them! As biological parents, framing their own son seems contradictory."

"Hmph! That’s even simpler!" Qi Jingyu raised his small face, increasingly proud, "Because you are the true Seventeenth Prince!"

Li Qingmu’s expression changed instantly: "Young Prince..."

"Hey, Uncle Mu, why panic? This is just a temporary strategy! Because you are indeed the true Seventeenth Prince, not born of the other side, so they were bought out!"

Li Qingmu blinked his eyes, finding the strategy seemingly quite clever.

"Uncle Mu..." Qi Jingyu suddenly raised his head, eyes full of doubt, "You’re also from Qingshui Village, so is Qian Yi, and Yulong Pavilion tracked the Seventeenth Prince to Qingshui Village. You’re not of the Li family’s blood... ah, could it be you’re truly the Seventeenth Prince?"

Li Qingmu felt his scalp tingling, not wanting to converse with Qi Jingyu anymore.

He pondered for a moment and said, "It’s possible, otherwise why would the Emperor treat me so specially?"

"Indeed, all evidence pointed to you back then, so why didn’t Grandpa really kill you? That’s truly strange! Hey, Uncle Mu, if you are really my Seventeenth Uncle, that would be wonderful, proving I’ve not called ’Uncle’ wrongly!"

Li Qingmu felt awkward: "The Young Prince is jesting. Since we mean to make use of my circumstances, let’s hurry, time isn’t on our side, the Emperor already detected Beirong is assembling an army to march south!"

"Beirong?"

"Right, the Emperor has long known there are various forces within the court secretly watching our dynasty, with Beirong and remnants of the former Chen Country among the most notable. Hence came this grand scheme to seize this opportunity and uproot these forces!"

"Though this move is risky, if not for Dazhou being perilously close to ruin, the enemies wouldn’t take the bait!"

"Ah, no wonder Grandmother told me to lead troops to assist the Emperor. Indeed, Grandmother knows him best!"

Li Qingmu slightly started, smiling lightly: "The Old Princess Consort is insightful! Perhaps some things are mystically connected; through this incident, the Prince’s great deeds can be achieved!"

Qi Jingyu nodded instinctively, but then shook his head: "Those matters remain unknown for now, the most crucial thing now is to follow the plan!"

"Alright!"

As expected, just as Qi Jingyu said, they found a scholar among their supporters, who during a tea gathering discussing court affairs, casually brought up Li Qingmu’s supposed death and the newly emerged Seventeenth Prince, thus unveiling a conspiracy theory.

The prior incident of the Emperor facing assassination by remnants of Chen Country was recently forgotten, only to resurface, and by connecting it with these two events, a line of conspiracy emerged.

The grand revenge plot of Chen Country, beginning with the failed assassination of the Emperor which Li Qingmu thwarted, subsequently leveraging the personal grudge between Li Qingmu and Qian Yi, putting him to the position of the Seventeenth Prince, then staging a massacre to pin the crime on Li Qingmu.

Doing so could obscure Qian Yi’s true identity, stabilize his position as Prince, blame Li Qingmu, avenge his rescue of the Emperor, and incite dissatisfaction from General Xiping, entangling Prince Lingjiang and plunging Dazhou into crisis so they might seize the chance to rebel.

This was a triply beneficial plan!

This narrative held great persuasion, rapidly gaining recognition, akin to a spring breeze sweeping across the land.

The slogan "Purify the court, eliminate traitorous ministers" was shouted out, fueled by those with ulterior motives, even leading to calls to open the city gates to welcome noble forces, enter the Capital City, purge traitors, and restore clarity to Dazhou.

At the gates of Jialin City, several thousand scholars assembled, protesting.

"During Imperial Censor Li’s year in office, he impeached over a dozen corrupted officials and rampant aristocratic offspring, stood up for us from humble backgrounds. Now that he’s been wronged, how can we turn a blind eye?"

"Exactly, with traitorous ministers within the court aiming to overthrow the Dazhou Dynasty, the nation’s fate rests upon us all, we cannot fearfully retreat; we must seek justice for him!"

"Imperial Censor Li once personally shielded the Emperor from an attack in the palace, nearly losing his life. How could such a person commit a massacre upon an entire village? The enemy used vile methods to prop up a false Prince, framing the loyal, taking lives recklessly; we must eliminate traitors and reclaim clarity for Dazhou!"

"Purify the court, eliminate traitors!"

"..."

At the city gates, several officials and generals responsible for guarding silently watched the scholars gathered below, frowning but saying nothing.

How could things turn out this way?

Although they were far from Shengjing City, everyone harbored gossipy hearts, these matters naturally reached their ears; initially they felt indignant, perceiving Li Qingmu as cruel and murderous, but upon reflection, the situation seemed odd.

However, due to Li Qingmu’s previous achievement of killing tens of thousands of Xiliang soldiers, this level of ruthlessness seemed explainable, so they didn’t take note.

But after a few days of public opinion fermenting, they noticed things seemed truly amiss.

Then the leading general looked outside at Prince Lingjiang’s army, their armor gleaming, posture straight; just judging by their aggressive momentum, he knew their side couldn’t hold the fort if an attack commenced.

They hadn’t attacked, instead quietly awaiting the opening of the city gates, didn’t this say it all?

There indeed were traitorous ministers within the court!

They were here to purify the court and eliminate traitors!

"Commander, should we open the gates?"

A soldier beside him frowned and asked, his expression also conflicted.

The commander shook his head, "The city gates... we can’t hold them, but if we open them and the Emperor holds us accountable in the future, what then?"

"Commander, my son was on the Xiliang battlefield, nearly slain by enemy forces, it was Imperial Censor Li who shot the general saving him, he devised the forest fire strategy leading us to victory without battle, shouldn’t justice be sought for such a person?"

The speaker was the commander’s close aide, he froze momentarily, unsure what to say.

"Commander, I’ll open the gates, if the Emperor finds fault later, say I did it, I’ll bear the responsibility!"

With that, he went directly to open the city gate.

"Boom boom boom!"

The gates of Jialin City slowly creaked open, Qi Jingyu rode on horseback, slightly nodded to the many officers above, then leading his army, marched steadily forward!