The prince's pointed questions caused Lord Li to instinctively step back. He knew everything.
"I advise you to leave quickly. Once war breaks out, you won't be able to get away," Huangfu Xingchen felt a lot better after saying this, knowing it was what the original host had wanted to say.
Lord Li knew further entanglement was futile. He had to rush back to inform the Emperor and also to be more cautious of Huangfu Xingchen.
By the time he returned to the capital, the heavens were about to change. Apart from the capital itself, almost all other regions belonged to the feudal lords.
However, he still conscientiously reported Huangfu Xingchen's situation, "It is all my fault for not taking good care of him back then, which led to him stabbing me in the back at a critical juncture."
The Emperor waved his hand weakly, dismissing him. He sat alone on the dragon throne.
He meticulously observed everything in the grand hall, wondering how much longer he could remain there.
Initially, he had no feelings of guilt towards Huangfu Xingchen, as in his eyes, they were inconsequential people with no emotional connection.
But now, he regretted it. If he had been a little kinder to him back then, would the situation have changed? Even though he had never met him, he had sent many spies. From their fragmented reports, he knew how brilliant and capable he was, the best possible heir.
He even recalled the unwilling look in that woman's eyes when she died. She had repeatedly questioned, "Do you even have a heart? He is your son, so young, and you sent him to the capital. They say the heart is made of flesh. I thought I could exchange my heart for yours, but I was wrong. You are a heartless person."
Heaven did not give him much time for regret. That very night, the armies of the three kings reached the city gates, as if returning to that night two years ago. Unfortunately, the roles were reversed. Back then, he was the one eagerly wanting to enter the capital; now, he was about to be driven out.
With the experience of two years ago, the Bai mansion handled the situation more easily this time. The main reason was that they had dug secret tunnels in anticipation of this day.
When the great army pressed against the city, the master and the female residents were moved into the secret tunnels.
The men, just like last time, held their ground at various gates, preventing any mishaps within the mansion.
The household retainers of the Bai family were not as terrified as they were two years ago. The primary reason was that shortly after the war broke out, dozens of individuals with extraordinary skills arrived at the mansion. With the tacit approval of the master and the young lady, they even conscripted the able-bodied men from the household for training. They had already undergone numerous drills in such scenarios, so they knew instinctively how to proceed when the time came.
Wu Caiwei felt that with the current setup, the mansion was foolproof. Those dozens of people were sent by Huangfu Xingchen, each one a chosen warrior, having experienced battles and bloodshed. Even if the three kings intended to slaughter everyone, they could hold them off for a while, let alone deal with those insignificant pests.
"Father, please take care of the Lin family members. I'm going out to check," Wu Caiwei grew more anxious by the minute, feeling she couldn't just wait passively.
"It's not safe for a young lady like you to go out. Let's wait here," Master Bai said with concern.
"Have you forgotten how fierce I was when killing people before?" Wu Caiwei said jokingly. Master Bai's heart ached at the reminder.
Wu Caiwei seized the opportunity and slipped out, returning to her room to change into a night suit. Without alerting the guards at the side gate, she scaled the courtyard wall.
The street she climbed over was not far from the main gate. It was quiet, with no one around. As she crossed the intersection and reached another street, she heard the clash of weapons before she even got close. Peeking out cautiously, she saw two groups of people locked in a fierce battle.
She skillfully avoided them and ran towards the imperial city. Along the way, she encountered several groups of people taking advantage of the chaos. Their main targets were wealthy households, especially large merchants, as that was where they could find what they wanted. Commoners were relatively safe; they wouldn't gain much by robbing them for long.
She carefully avoided these groups. As she neared the imperial city, she stealthily knocked out a rebel soldier, donned his uniform, and took his weapon, blending into the crowd.
Soon, she followed them to the main hall of the imperial palace, where the Emperor was already waiting.
"I have written the abdication decree, but I don't know whose name to put on it, as all three of you attacked together." Since it had become a reality, he wanted to trick them one last time before abdicating.
The three men looked at each other, each wary of the others, and none spoke.
The armies that had been united behind them began to slowly drift apart. After all, it concerned everyone's interests, and no one was willing to back down.
"This throne should still be mine to occupy, as I am the eldest," King Bai was the first to stake his claim. He didn't believe that any of the people present didn't want to ascend to the throne.
"No."
"Impossible."
The remaining two feudal kings responded almost in unison. After striving for so long, to become a stepping stone for others was out of the question. Moreover, they both had their trump cards and had made ample preparations for this day.
King Bai appeared confident. He clapped his hands, and immediately, someone from the ranks behind King Wu and King Qin charged forward, intending to abduct or assassinate them.
How could the generals beside them allow such a thing to happen? Chaos erupted, and a fight broke out.
Wu Caiwei cautiously moved towards the periphery, trying not to get involved. However, her not getting involved did not mean others wouldn't attack her. Soldiers blinded by bloodlust attacked anyone they saw. Wu Caiwei felt an urge to curse.
"Stop, all of you!" King Qin roared, but the blood-crazed soldiers couldn't hear him; the fighting continued.
Seeing this, King Bai realized with a shudder that a squad of archers had appeared behind him at some point.
The trump card had appeared. King Qin immediately became smug, "You might be older, but this position goes to the capable."
Seeing that King Wu and King Bai remained silent, King Qin continued, "Thank you all for your magnanimity."
King Wu, looking at his arrogant and overbearing demeanor, felt a surge of annoyance. "How can you be so sure they are all your people?"
"I understand how you feel. I merely made one extra step compared to you. You should lose convincingly and learn to leave yourself more room for maneuver in the future," King Qin said sarcastically, assuming he was unwilling to accept reality.
"Yes, one should always leave oneself room for maneuver. That's why my backup plan was to bribe them and make them my people," King Wu felt that he had indeed grown old in vain, not even realizing that the people by his side had betrayed him.
"What do you mean by that?" King Qin stammered, disbelief evident in his voice.