Wei Xiong and Ji Dan followed closely behind. One was Left Guard General and the other was Loyalty General—both had strong martial skills.

Before even entering the rear palace, they encountered a crowd of palace maids surging outward in panic. Tuoba Yilu grabbed one maid at random and asked: “Why the panic?”

The maid’s face was pale as she reported: “There’s an assassin, an assassin attempting to kill Lady Xue and the Third Prince.”

Tuoba Yilu flew into a rage. “There’s an assassin trying to kill your masters and you dare abandon them to flee!”

With that, he struck down the maid with one blow.

Blood gushed out. The palace maids and eunuchs rushing out screamed in terror and turned to run in panic, colliding with Tuoba Biyan who was fleeing out while clutching his arm. Those protecting him were immediately scattered by the collision, and he too was knocked backward, falling. Unluckily, he fell right in front of a palace maid holding a short blade.

Her enemy was right before her eyes. Without thinking, she raised her hand and stabbed down viciously. Tuoba Biyan frantically reached up to grab her hands, the blade tip barely suspended above his eye…

Tuoba Biyan had also practiced martial arts since childhood. The palace maid’s strength was far less than his. Feeling her power, the blade tip slowly rose, leaving his face. He smiled wickedly and applied force to pry open her hands, about to seize the blade and kill her in return. But the last wave of palace servants, frightened back by Tuoba Yilu, ran back in panic. With many people fallen on the ground from collisions, two people inadvertently bumped into each other while trying to avoid those on the ground and dodge the two groups fighting…

One person fell heavily backward, their back slamming down hard on the maid’s and Tuoba Biyan’s hands. The four hands locked in struggle were hit by a great force and the blade plunged in with a squelching sound…

Tuoba Biyan first felt his vision go dark, then his nose and mouth were struck painfully. His whole person was stunned by the impact, and only then did he feel bone-deep pain.

Tuoba Yilu saw this scene. He howled and rushed forward, yanking up the maid who had fallen and flinging her aside. Only then did he discover that the maid below still gripped the blade handle firmly, and the entire blade had entered Tuoba Biyan below his collarbone. Whether it had injured his windpipe or not, when he opened his mouth, blood gushed out. He looked at his father helplessly…

Tuoba Yilu, grief and rage mixed, grabbed the maid by the throat. Only then did he recognize her as one who served at Lady Zao’s side. “Lowly servant, who gave you such audacity, who gave you such audacity?”

Wei Xiong rushed forward, reached out to cover Tuoba Biyan’s wound, but gripping the blade handle, he absolutely didn’t dare pull it out. They all knew that once this blade was pulled out, Tuoba Biyan would die immediately.

The maid, being strangled by Tuoba Yilu, her face turning purple, clawed at his fingers intermittently saying: “To, to avenge… the lady…”

“Ah—” Tuoba Yilu cried out, crushed her neck bone and tossed her aside. Looking at the palace maids and eunuchs causing chaos everywhere, he recognized them all as Lady Zao’s people and immediately ordered: “Kill them all, kill them all!”

Guards rushed in. Soon palace servants fled from inside, kneeling before Tuoba Yilu and saying: “Great King, Lady Xue, Lady Xue was assassinated. She’s, she’s not going to make it…”

Tuoba Yilu just looked down at him, gradually calming down.

Wei Xiong looked at him somewhat fearfully, then heard Tuoba Yilu coldly order: “Kill all the palace maids and eunuchs in this palace to accompany Lady Xue and my son in death!”

Hearing this, the palace servants’ faces turned deathly pale as they immediately knelt and begged for mercy.

Wei Xiong and Ji Dan also hurriedly pleaded: “Great King, avoiding danger is human instinct. Please spare their lives and let them atone for their crimes through merit.”

They added: “The Third Prince still needs physicians to treat him, needs these servants to attend him. Lady Xue may be unharmed…”

Tuoba Yilu knelt on one knee on the ground looking at his suffering son, himself in agony, saying hatefully: “They are slaves and servants. Protecting their masters is their proper duty. If they hadn’t fled, how would my Biyan have suffered such severe injury?”

Tuoba Yilu was resolute and directly ordered that all servants in this palace courtyard, whether or not they were Lady Zao’s people, were to be killed.

The maids and eunuchs trembled, kneeling on the ground not daring to move or cry out. Except for Lady Zao’s people, they all trembled waiting for the guards to give them a blade.

And Lady Zao’s people didn’t wait for the guards to act at all. They looked at Tuoba Biyan lying on the ground, alive or dead unknown, believed their goal had been achieved, laughed freely, then calmly went to their deaths, cutting their own throats.

The courtyard was soon filled with the smell of blood. The physician who arrived saw this hellish scene and couldn’t help but fall to his knees, his legs going weak.

Looking again at Tuoba Biyan lying on the ground, he became even more terrified.

He carefully approached to examine him, his heart involuntarily relaxing with the joy of surviving disaster. He prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to raise his head. “Reporting to the Great King, the Third Prince has already, has already died…”

Tuoba Yilu stepped forward to feel him, only then discovering that Tuoba Biyan had already stopped breathing. Only his body was still warm, blood still flowing slowly, his eyes painfully open and staring vacantly.

Tuoba Yilu was overcome with grief. Soon, news also came from the rear palace that Lady Xue had died from severe injuries.

Wei Xiong and Ji Dan exchanged glances. Seeing that Tuoba Yilu was about to order a palace massacre, they quickly said: “Great King, both Lady Xue and the Third Prince had attendants by their sides. The main palace left behind only twenty-some servants, and they were about to be dismissed. How could they gather in the rear palace to kill? The full circumstances of this matter need to be investigated clearly.”

Only then did Tuoba Yilu change his order: “Use any means necessary to investigate this matter thoroughly!”

Wei Xiong complied and immediately pulled Ji Dan away to investigate.

All servants in the rear palace were arrested for questioning. Wei Xiong acted swiftly, wanting to uncover the truth as quickly as possible to calm Tuoba Yilu’s rage. The next step would be finding a way to save the people in this palace.

Today’s events were no secret, and those maids’ and eunuchs’ methods weren’t sophisticated. It was just that Lady Xue and Tuoba Biyan were too overconfident, never imagining they would dare attempt assassination in the rear palace, and thus were lax in their defenses.

As for why Lady Zao’s people could gather together to assassinate Lady Xue and Tuoba Biyan, Wei Xiong could only say that mother and son were too carried away with success and too foolish.

“…The Third Prince accompanied Lady Xue for breakfast. Because they were to follow the Great King to Luoyang tomorrow, they wanted to clear out the main palace to move in. The servants left behind in the main palace also needed to be assigned, so they specifically called them over for instructions.”

Wei Xiong deliberately didn’t mention Lady Zao, only the main palace, to avoid further provoking Tuoba Yilu.

But this was enough for Tuoba Yilu to resent Lady Zao and Tuoba Liuxiu. “Did they order people to assassinate Lady Xue and the Third Prince?”

“All the servants of the main palace are dead, so there are no confessions. But from the evidence found, it wasn’t ordered by Lady Zao or the Eldest Prince. These servants made presumptuous assumptions, wanting to avenge Lady Zao, so they took advantage of Lady Xue and the Third Prince instructing them to carry out the assassination.”

Wei Xiong raised his head to look at him, saying carefully: “Great King, this was an accident.”

“An accident?” Tuoba Yilu sneered. “If not for Tuoba Liuxiu’s disrespect and unfilial behavior, how would so many incidents have arisen? Have the people sent to New Pingcheng returned? Is that rebellious son willing to come see me?”

From Pingcheng to New Pingcheng, traveling the official road wasn’t far—only about a hundred li. A fast horse could make it in a day, leaving at sunrise and arriving before sunset.

He had sent the officials two days ago. They should return today.

Wei Xiong lowered his head. “Perhaps they’ll return by sunset.”

Tuoba Yilu said: “Muster the troops. If that rebellious son doesn’t come to beg forgiveness today, immediately send troops to New Pingcheng. Level New Pingcheng for me!”

Wei Xiong knelt and remonstrated: “Great King, you must not! New Pingcheng is also your territory. Brothers fighting amongst themselves—the Third Prince has already died. Must you still force the Eldest Prince?”

“Shut up!” Tuoba Yilu pointed at him and cursed: “Biyan was killed by him, killed by him! Even if he were my only son, I would absolutely never give him this throne! What’s more, I have other sons. Where is Pusgen? Have him come see me, quickly have him come see me!”

Tuoba Yilu’s hand trembled as he gripped the armrest of his seat, his eyes full of hatred, and carrying a trace of fear he himself hadn’t detected. “From the moment he was born, I knew he was a rebellious son, specifically sent to oppose me. Sure enough, the older he grew, the more he went against me, only causing me trouble, showing off his might outside, disrespectful and unfilial, disloyal and unrighteous. Biyan was his own brother, yet he had a group of lowly slaves assassinate him…”

Wei Xiong wanted to reiterate the investigation results. Ji Dan pulled him back and led him away.

Wei Xiong wasn’t very pleased, shaking off Ji Dan’s hand. “Why won’t you let me advise him? Are we just to watch father and son destroy each other?”

“It didn’t just start now,” Ji Dan sighed. “From when the Great King deposed Lady Zao, I already predicted that father and son couldn’t possibly end well. The Great King clearly wants to suppress the Eldest Prince, making him submit not only in status to the Third Prince, but psychologically as well.

“If the Eldest Prince had a different temperament, it might have worked. Perhaps the Great King’s suppression would have made him insecure, weak and submissive. But he’s the type who becomes fiercer when faced with ferocity, more ruthless when faced with ruthlessness. Father and son both with such temperaments—clearly, either you die or I perish.”

Hearing this, Wei Xiong couldn’t help but stamp his feet and sigh deeply, angrily pounding the wall. “Must we truly watch father and son destroy each other? This, this is a great evil…”

Wei Xiong felt utterly humiliated. How would the historical records write about him in the future?

Would they place the blame for father-son fratricide on them as strategists? Would later generations think them incompetent for failing to prevent such great evil?

Most importantly, how could they justify that they had found such a person to assist and had assisted him for so many years?

Ji Dan, however, didn’t care so much about posthumous reputation. He asked Wei Xiong: “Who do you think will win between Pingcheng and New Pingcheng?”

“Is there even a need to guess? Naturally Pingcheng.”

New Pingcheng was just a small city. Tuoba Liuxiu’s power wasn’t great, while Tuoba Yilu controlled the entire Xianbei tribe’s military force.

Ji Dan shook his head. “Not necessarily. Don’t forget, Luoyang’s Zhao Hanzhang has been secretly supporting New Pingcheng all along and cares deeply for this nephew. Luoyang has the secret treasure of thousand-mile communication. Military orders can reach Bingzhou in an instant. If Beigong Chun sends troops to assist…”

In reality, they underestimated Tuoba Liuxiu. Historically, without Zhao Hanzhang’s help, he had killed both his attacking brother and father.

What’s more, now he had Zhao Hanzhang as a vague backer?

Ji Dan was hinting that Wei Xiong should make a new choice.

Wei Xiong’s face darkened and he directly refused. “Father-son fratricide is already a great evil. If I also assist a son in opposing his father, that would be even more intolerable by natural law. No!”

At this point, Wei Xiong’s heart stirred. “Perhaps we can go the other way and advise the Eldest Prince. As long as he takes one step back and offers a sincere apology…”

“That’s impossible,” Ji Dan said. “Setting aside the matter of the Great King humiliating the Eldest Prince with the ceremonial carriage, don’t forget that Lady Zao just died in battle protecting him.”

Wei Xiong fell silent.

“And do you really think the Great King will spare him just because the Eldest Prince offers a sincere apology?” Ji Dan said quietly. “The Great King is old, while the Eldest Prince is in his prime. His martial skills and strategic abilities are both good. He fears the Eldest Prince too. Among the Xianbei… their power transitions are more brutal than in the Central Plains.”

Not to mention the Wei-Jin period—so far there hadn’t been cases of father-son fratricide over the throne. But was Emperor Wu of Han’s wrongful killing of the Crown Prince solely due to slander?

Or rather, why didn’t he personally ask the Crown Prince but instead directly believed the slander?

Because he was old, while the Crown Prince was young. He feared the Crown Prince would replace him.

If the Han state with its ritual civilization was like this, what of the uncivilized Xianbei?

In competing for the position of chieftain, fathers killing sons and brothers killing each other were common. Naturally there were also cases of sons killing fathers, even wives killing husbands.

That’s right—Xianbei women, due to their customs, could rule in place of husbands or sons, or even directly replace husbands and sons. So their struggles were only more brutal.

Under these circumstances, let alone with Tuoba Yilu still having another son, even without one, he would choose to kill the son who threatened him and then adopt a foster son.

The priority was not continuing the bloodline but living happily himself.

Ji Dan had followed Tuoba Yilu for many years and had long since understood the Xianbei tribes thoroughly.

Wei Xiong was lost.

Seeing his dazed expression, Ji Dan lowered his voice. “Besides these two paths, there’s one more.”

Wei Xiong’s temple vein twitched slightly, his gaze slowly settling on Ji Dan’s face.

Ji Dan silently met his eyes and said softly: “Dai Kingdom has over thirty thousand households of Han people, Di people, and lower-class Xianbei. They live lives of constant danger, at risk of tribal extinction at any moment for violating laws. You oversee military and government affairs—you should know how many people have quietly fled conscription with their families these past two years, and how many families have committed mass suicide to cover for one person’s escape. Where have they all fled to?”

“You,” Wei Xiong’s voice was hoarse, “when did you develop such ideas?”

Ji Dan said: “From the day the Great King had the Third Prince sit in his ceremonial carriage and parade through the streets pretending to be him, deceiving the Eldest Prince into kneeling.”

Wei Xiong didn’t believe it. “You decided so quickly to take away so many people?”

Ji Dan said quietly: “Of course not. You should know that Zhao Hanzhang’s intelligence network is everywhere. They contacted me three years ago.”

Three years ago, the great Xiongnu war hadn’t even begun yet. At that time, the Xiongnu state was still claiming kingship.

Wei Xiong said: “At that time, when you strongly urged the Great King to send troops to help Great Jin, was it also because…”

Ji Dan said: “Although they did give me some money, I wasn’t doing it for that money. I am a Jin person, a Han person. I have always remembered this.”

Wei Xiong had nothing more to say.

Ji Dan urged him: “What do you think? Give me an answer. Looking at this situation, the Great King definitely won’t depart tomorrow. Whether this trip to Luoyang can even happen is uncertain. If he really sends troops, we must quickly formulate a response strategy.”

Wei Xiong held his forehead in thought. After a long while, he asked: “Are you certain you can take all thirty thousand households?”

“I’m certain. These people have assured me of this. The people will be relocated directly to Taiyuan, Jinyang, and the Pingyang area. They can even go to the Luoyang region.”

Everywhere now lacked people. Let alone thirty thousand households—even three hundred thousand households, if given to Zhao Hanzhang, she could arrange placements for them.

However, in the current realm there weren’t three hundred thousand scattered households for her to arrange.

Wei Xiong gritted his teeth. “Alright!”

Ji Dan was overjoyed. Wei Xiong was Tuoba Yilu’s Left Guard General. With his agreement, the success of this matter was much greater.

Wei Xiong said: “Let’s go back and discuss. This matter requires long-term planning.”

Ji Dan nodded repeatedly.