With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

At this point, Pei Heng was doomed, even if he didn't die.

Because he openly challenged Ye Jinglan's most cherished dignity.

It can be said that Ye Jinglan's sword strike was incredibly sharp, almost instantly slicing Pei Heng's neck.

Similarly, this very sword strike completely extinguished the pitifully small hope that remained in the royal court for those loyal and devoted men who still held a sliver of expectation for him.

Even Pei Changshi, a veteran of two dynasties who devoted himself to the Northern Frontier until his death, was killed so coldly and ruthlessly by Ye Jinglan. How much more so would they be?

Loyalty to Ye Jinglan will never end well.

Su Wanrou hadn't considered this at all. Instead, she was happy to have eliminated a formidable enemy. She immediately threw herself into Ye Jinglan's arms, "Your Highness, this..."

Ye Jinglan held her tightly and said, "My beloved consort, don't be afraid. Pei Heng brought this upon himself; he has no one else to blame!"

"Guards, take his body and throw it into the wilderness to feed the wolves! My northern border will never tolerate a traitor who defies the king's authority!"

Feeding wolves?

If Ye Jinglan's act of killing Pei Heng caused all the loyal people to completely lose faith in him, then his act of feeding the corpse to wolves was even more terrifying.

When the next guard collected Pei Heng's body, he pretended to throw it into the wilderness, but then escorted the body all the way to the northern border.

At this moment, Han Zhaolie also heard that Pei Heng had left the manor without permission during his confinement and entered the royal court. He felt that something was wrong and wanted to go to the royal court to stop Pei Heng, but he was stopped by guards as soon as he got outside the royal court.

"Lord Han went to the royal court to see Lord Pei, right?"

Han Zhaolie nodded.

The guard's eyes were filled with tears. "Chief Secretary Pei sacrificed his life for righteousness, dying to remonstrate with Su Wanrou about her interference in politics during the harem. He gave his life for the Northern Frontier..."

What!

Prefect Pei...

Han Zhaolie stumbled and fell to the ground, his eyes filled with despair.

The guard immediately helped him up, choking back tears, and said, "The royal court has fallen so low and is clearly on the verge of collapse. But Chief Secretary Pei has already fallen, and Lord Han, you absolutely cannot fall too, otherwise the eldest son will be heartbroken."

Upon hearing this, Han Zhaolie's face turned solemn. Yes, Pei Heng is already dead. He can't be in any more trouble, otherwise who can help the young master?

"Where is Chief Secretary Pei's body?"

"The prince had him thrown into the wilderness to be fed to wolves..."

"!!!" Han Zhaolie was so angry he almost died. "This incompetent king..."

The guard quickly covered his mouth and said, "Lord Han, please be careful with your words. Don't worry, I have observed carefully. The guard who escorted Lord Pei's body away was once the eldest son's man. He will definitely do his best to ensure that Chief Secretary Pei's remains are intact."

"Hmm." Han Zhaolie's mood calmed down a bit. "I understand. Keep an eye on the royal court for me. I have some things to take care of next."

...

Han Zhaolie left the royal court and went to various teahouses. He searched for beggars singing on the streets and spent some money to have them spread the word about everything Ye Jinglan and Su Wanrou had done throughout Bei'an City.

In just one day, news of Consort Su Wanrou's involvement in politics, Ye Jinglan's incompetence and corruption, and his plot to harm loyal officials spread throughout the entire city of Bei'an.

And then there's Pei Heng's death...

The corpse had already been thrown into the wilderness to be fed to wolves.

These incidents greatly enraged the people of Beian City, and in an instant, anger and curses could be seen everywhere.

"Chief Clerk Pei is dead! That foolish king killed Chief Clerk Pei..."

"He listened to the slander of the wicked concubine, plotted against loyal officials, and deserved a terrible death!"

"With such incompetent rulers, the North is doomed!"

"Where is the eldest young master? When will he return? When will he be able to uphold justice for Prefect Pei and us?"

Public resentment quickly arose.

However, faced with these public grievances, the only solution Ye Jinglan could think of was to suppress them by force.

This did achieve some effect in a short period of time, but things always turn around when they reach their extreme, and sooner or later all this resentment will come back against him.

Unfortunately, he was unaware of all this. The royal court continued its lavish lifestyle of singing and dancing, indulging in wine and women. He and Su Wanrou remained deeply in love, oblivious to the situation in the northern border.

The corrupt officials in the court began to plunder the people's wealth, use their power to oppress others, and disregard the law.

Even Ye Jinyu, the heir apparent, led the way in acting tyrannically and oppressing the people.

After some time, Zhuyu finally returned to Beian City.

"Young Master, Chief Secretary Pei is fine. He was just confined by Su Wanrou and Ye Jinglan because his previous revelation that you were about to tell him the three imperial censors that they were coming was discovered." As she spoke, Zhuyu put down the jade pendant that Pei Heng had given her. "By the way, Young Master, this is something Chief Secretary Pei asked me to give you."

Ye Cheng'an took it, glanced at it, and suddenly frowned. "This is my teacher's family heirloom jade pendant!"

"Why would he give me this out of the blue? Zhuyu, are you sure Teacher is alright?"

Zhu Yu nodded, "I'm sure."

She had barely finished speaking when someone came to report, "Young master, a traveler has arrived looking travel-worn. He says he is a guard from the Northern Royal Court and that he received a favor from you before. Therefore, he has brought the body of Chief Secretary Pei here..."

What?

Is Chief Secretary Pei dead?

Zhu Yu was greatly surprised!

"How could this be? This must be fake!" She strode out of the eldest son's residence and uncovered the corpse covered by burlap on the carriage.

Because it was already winter, and the guard had bought ice along the way to keep the body warm, Pei Heng's body showed no abnormalities.

He still retains a hint of his former glory, but now his entire body is shrouded in an aura of death.

When Ye Cheng'an saw Pei Heng's corpse, his fists clenched tightly, his eyes flashing coldly. "Damn it! What on earth happened?"

The guard said, "Young Master, during his confinement, Prefect Pei suddenly left the manor without permission and went to the palace to request permission to release the Princess Consort, accusing her of interfering in politics in the harem, or he would prove his innocence with his life..."

"In a fit of rage, the prince personally drew his sword and killed Chief Secretary Pei..."

"Afterwards, the prince even told me to throw Pei Changshi's body into the wilderness to feed the wolves, but Pei Changshi was a good man, and the eldest son had also done me a favor, so I brought Pei Changshi's body here."

Upon hearing the whole story, Ye Cheng'an was filled with boundless killing intent.

What a Ye Jinglan!

In the past, he spared the other party because he was the original owner's father, but now, the other party has actually killed Pei Heng!

His respected teacher!

Ye Cheng'an had reached his limit!

"Uncle Zhong, quickly prepare for our teacher's funeral. I must bury his body first, then march back to the Northern Royal Court to avenge him!"

"Ye Jinglan, Su Wanrou, I won't let either of them go!"

"Also, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Li, the three of you should quickly recruit soldiers extensively within Liuzhou! New recruits are fine too; with repeating crossbows, each of them can stand on their own!"

"Yes!" Zhongbo and the three valiant generals all accepted the order.

That night, Ye Cheng'an locked himself in his study, looking at Pei Heng's jade pendant and thinking a lot.

He didn't want to see anyone.

But Zhao Xuefu appeared outside the study with food in her hands.

Zhu Yu shook her head helplessly when she saw Zhao Xuefu. "Princess, it's no use. The eldest young master said he won't see anyone. He hasn't eaten or drunk anything all day. I just went in and was kicked out. You'd better not go in and risk bad luck."

However, Zhao Xuefu smiled and said, "I know, but even so, I still want to go in."

"We are already husband and wife, and husband and wife should share joy and sorrow and stand together through thick and thin."

Upon hearing this, Zhuyu stepped aside.

Zhao Xuefu went inside.

Ye Cheng'an did not look up.

"Some news has come from Beian City. Would you like to know?" Zhao Xuefu asked.

Ye Cheng'an then looked at her, "Did the princess leave spies in Beian City to monitor that area?"

Zhao Xuefu nodded slightly. "Actually, from the day you resigned from the position of Crown Prince and left Bei'an City, I guessed that this day would come sooner or later. So I left some people there to help monitor the movements in Bei'an City."

"Look, they just sent me the latest news about the situation in Bei'an City."

Ye Cheng'an reached out to take Zhao Xuefu's secret letter.

But Zhao Xuefu chuckled and dodged his clutches. "If you want to know the news in Beian City, you'd better listen to me and eat your food properly."

"I know you are angry and resentful. You resent having such a biased and muddle-headed father, and you resent that he actually believed Su Wanrou's lies and killed Pei Changshi. In fact, I am also very heartbroken about Pei Changshi's death."

"Many years ago, my father recognized Pei Changshi's talent and invited him to court many times to be my teacher, eventually making him Grand Tutor."

"But what kind of integrity does Chief Secretary Pei have? He only wants to be loyal to the old King of the Northern Border. When I cried and begged him to be my teacher, he only said that the princess already has everything good in the world and should not fight with the Northern Border anymore. He can do more for the people of the Northern Border if he stays in the Northern Border."

Upon hearing that Zhao Xuefu had once been Pei Heng's student, Ye Cheng'an no longer held much of a grudge against her.

"You're right, Teacher was an excellent person. That day, Su Wanrou held a sword to his neck, trying to force me to release the Su family with his life, but Teacher refused to yield and threw himself into the sword..."

"If it were not a precious gem, the teacher would have sacrificed his life for righteousness that day."

"A person as loyal and righteous as you, teacher, can still display his talents if he encounters an enlightened ruler, but if he encounters a foolish ruler, he can only be reduced to dust."

Zhao Xuefu shook her head. "No, Chief Secretary Pei is not dead!"

"He simply exists in this world in a different form. His spirit will inspire countless righteous people around the world. He paved the way for you with his life!"

"Ye Cheng'an, you actually understand Chief Secretary Pei, right? Even without me saying it."

Ye Cheng'an took a deep breath, took the bowl and chopsticks from Zhao Xuefu's hands, and began to eat heartily.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Xuefu smiled.

Because she knew that Ye Cheng'an wasn't truly despondent; he just needed some time to think about his future path.

It will just take some time to decide how to proceed in the future in order to protect more of the old king's former troops and the loyal men of the North!

"Eat your food properly. Once you've filled your stomach, I'll tell you about the situation in Beian City."

Zhao Xuefu gazed intently at Ye Chengan, realizing that a tacit understanding had gradually formed between them.

And she genuinely wanted this man to be happy.