However, difficult as it was, it wasn’t impossible to accomplish within ten days!

As long as orders were issued with severe punishments for non-compliance, that would suffice. The common people were like ants—whatever those in power commanded, they had to obey!

Seeing Li Mingrui nod at him, signaling his agreement, Prince Liang finally responded: “Within ten days, your son will certainly handle both matters properly!”

“Good!” The Emperor nodded, gazing at Prince Liang as he called for Gao Demao. “Gao Demao…”

Gao Demao hurried forward: “This slave is here!”

“Issue an edict to capture the Crown Prince who intends treason. From this day forward, state affairs are to be placed in Prince Liang’s hands,” the Emperor declared.

Gao Demao’s brow twitched involuntarily—he hadn’t expected the Emperor to abandon the Crown Prince so decisively.

“Thank you, Father Emperor!” Prince Liang kowtowed to the Emperor.

“Don’t forget—ten days! After ten days, when I have my Nine-Tiered Platform and the thousand virgin boys and girls, I… will abdicate to focus on studying the arts of longevity and pass the imperial throne to you.” After finishing, the Emperor added, “Have Xie Yuchang and Fu Ruoxi come guard my sleeping quarters!”

Seeing the Emperor depart with a flick of his sleeves, Prince Liang respectfully kowtowed: “Yes…”

Li Mingrui followed behind Prince Liang as they stepped out of the great hall, gazing at the multi-tiered palace buildings gleaming gold and brilliant under the sunlight, looking at the red-lacquered wooden pillars carved with lotus-flower pedestals in the distance. His fists, clasped behind his back, clenched tightly.

Soon, as long as Prince Liang ascended to the imperial throne, as long as Prince Liang cleared the Second Prince’s name… then the letters in Princess Zhenguo’s hands would be useless. Moreover, after Prince Liang took the throne, the first person he would deal with would be Princess Zhenguo—he might even exterminate her entire family to avenge the Second Prince.

By that time, the entire Bai family would become nothing more than a few strokes of ink in the history books. The letters in Princess Zhenguo’s hands… would be even more irrelevant. Who would still remember?

Bai Jinxiu had just received news that the Emperor had ordered Xie Yuchang to open Wude Gate and invite Prince Liang into the palace, when immediately afterward, the Emperor’s edict was issued. Chancellor Lu was imprisoned for resisting the edict, and the imperial decree explicitly abolished the positions of Left and Right Chancellor, establishing a cabinet instead.

Another order was issued to capture the Crown Prince, who was accused of intending treason, placing all court affairs under Prince Liang’s administration. Prince Liang then immediately appointed Left Chancellor Li Mao as Chief Cabinet Minister, bestowing favors upon the court officials.

Subsequently, several imperial edicts were issued in quick succession…

The Emperor and Prince Liang commanded the Minister of Works to complete the Nine-Tiered Platform within ten days.

They also sent orders to government offices everywhere, distributing the task of gathering a thousand virgin boys and girls. The children were required to be between five and ten years old, all from families with clean backgrounds, and all had to be delivered to the capital by the thirteenth day of this fifth month. Anyone who failed to surrender eligible boys and girls would face collective punishment along with their neighbors—execution without question.

For the construction site of the Nine-Tiered Platform, all adult males within a hundred-li radius were to be conscripted. All adult males were required to reach the Nine-Tiered Platform within three days of receiving the edict. Those who missed the deadline would die; those who fled… would face collective punishment for their entire families.

Such nearly brutal methods, treating the common people like oxen and horses—this Lin imperial power had indeed reached its end.

Bai Jinxiu sat under the wisteria tree in the back courtyard of the rouge workshop that was part of Liu Shi’s dowry. Upon hearing this news, beyond the pain and hatred in her heart, she also felt the imperial family was reaping what they had sown. Especially when news of Prince Liang’s forcible conscription of a thousand virgin boys and girls within ten days spread, it would certainly cause tremendous upheaval throughout the state of Jin.

Previously, her elder sister had already instructed her to spread the news that the Emperor intended to use these thousand virgin boys and girls to refine immortality elixirs. If local officials, to complete the task Prince Liang had assigned with only a ten-day deadline, created incidents of forcibly seizing common people’s children, that would truly be a case of officials forcing the people to rebel.

She wouldn’t even need to act as a catalyst from behind—when her elder sister moved to rebel against the Lin imperial power, it could be said to be a matter of natural course…

Even so, Bai Jinxiu still needed to make comprehensive preparations.

She thought of the personally written imperial edict she held in her hands, closing her eyes to consider… If she wanted to use this edict to achieve maximum effect, she needed to throw the capital into complete chaos before her elder sister arrived, causing both the Crown Prince and Prince Liang to suffer mutual destruction.

“Second Miss…” Nanny Luo entered from outside with small steps, and after paying respects to Bai Jinxiu, said, “Now all the Imperial Guards under Commander Xie Yuchang’s command have been taken over by Prince Liang. Prince Liang has sent group after group of Imperial Guards out of the city to capture the Crown Prince, claiming it’s His Majesty’s order. Those squad leaders leading the Imperial Guard teams all carry command flags, and I hear they’ve begun searching the capital for Second Miss and the Crown Prince!”

“I understand. Nanny Luo need not worry—I have my arrangements!” Bai Jinxiu comforted Nanny Luo, then assigned her various tasks. Only when Nanny Luo kept busy would she not overthink things.

Seeing Nanny Luo nod and go busy herself in the kitchen, Bai Jinxiu rose from the stone stool and called out: “Someone come!”

A shadow guard appeared in response.

“After nightfall, take people out through the south gate of the capital. Within a hundred-li radius of the Nine-Tiered Platform, tell as many people as possible about the Qin Dynasty’s tyrannical government that oppressed and harmed the people, and the story of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang raising the banner of rebellion! The wider the coverage, the better… When necessary, you may mix in with the conscripted teams building the Nine-Tiered Platform and call upon the common people to rise and rebel against the Lin imperial power!”

The shadow guard was shocked by Bai Jinxiu’s words, raising her head to look at her.

But she saw Bai Jinxiu’s sharp and solemn eyes gazing at her: “The reason I’m entrusting this matter to you, a Bai family shadow guard, rather than the imperial shadow guards left by your grandmother, is because you are a member of the Bai family. With imperial power corrupted to this extent, the imperial family treats the common people like grass and dogs, but our Bai family has protected the people for generations… we absolutely cannot watch the imperial family abuse the common people like this!”

The shadow guard had been with the Bai family for many years and was not ignorant of the Bai family’s righteousness. She had witnessed firsthand the imperial family’s actions over these years and understood that the Bai family’s rebellion was justified. The shadow guard hesitated no longer, clasping her fists in acknowledgment: “Yes!”

·

The Crown Prince, who was drinking tea in the residence arranged by Ren Shijie, heard that the Emperor had ordered Xie Yuchang to welcome Prince Liang into the palace, followed immediately by an edict to capture him as a traitorous Crown Prince. He was so shocked that he dropped his teacup.

Later, news continued to arrive… saying the Emperor had already dismissed Chancellor Lu, and Prince Liang had taken the opportunity to establish a cabinet, making Li Mao the Chief Cabinet Minister.

Still later came word that the Emperor wanted the Minister of Works to complete the Nine-Tiered Platform within ten days, and had ordered local officials everywhere to gather a thousand virgin boys and girls within ten days.

The Crown Prince immediately understood—he had been abandoned by the Emperor and had become a discarded chess piece.

Having followed the Emperor for so long, the Crown Prince understood his father all too well. He had now gone mad in pursuit of this Nine-Tiered Platform and the quest for immortality.

So the Emperor was probably afraid that dragging out this chaos any longer would affect the completion of his Nine-Tiered Platform and delay his pursuit of immortality, so he had made a deal with Prince Liang using the imperial throne and his life as the Crown Prince.

This time, even if the Crown Prince wanted to find an excuse to comfort himself, he couldn’t find one.

“Your Highness…” Ren Shijie looked at the Crown Prince’s suddenly dejected appearance and said in a low voice to comfort him, “Perhaps… this is His Majesty’s expedient measure to appease Prince Liang.”

“I understand my father…” The Crown Prince’s voice was hoarse. “Master Ren need not console me. I’m very clear in my heart—I… have been abandoned!”