Chapter 652 - 200: Like
In the following days, outside the city gates of Huangzhou, Prince Cheng’s troops launched several attacks. However, Huangzhou’s terrain was naturally easy to defend and hard to attack, so it wasn’t an easy task for those men. Moreover, since the city defense army successfully defended the city several times, the morale of Prince Cheng’s soldiers was greatly damaged and was not as fierce as it was during the night raid on the first day.
The citizens of Huangzhou were still living their lives in trepidation, but the city defense army’s successful defense gradually gave them confidence. Apart from repairing the houses that had been burned that night, they were also working hard to return to their normal lives. The City Garrison Army still patrolled the streets every day, searching for any assassins who might have slipped through the net, to prevent any disturbances that might cause chaos among the citizens.
When military tensions were not as high, Jih Heng and Lu Jiu would not be away from the family residence with their grandfather absent. This morning, after several days of rain, the sun shone warmly. Wen Renyao was in the courtyard, teaching Lin Yao the characters on his divination board. Lin Yao’s parents, brothers, and sisters had already been buried, handled by Wen Renyao and Jiang Li. Without any other place to go, Lin Yao stayed here. Of course, even if he didn’t say it, Jiang Li would not leave him alone in his former house.
Lu Jiu entered from outside and said, "Empress Dowager Liu has been sentenced to death."
Jiang Li had just gotten up and walked into the hall when she heard this sentence. Jih Heng was sitting in a chair, drinking tea.
"Is she already dead?" Jiang Li came out and sat down as well, asking, "Didn’t Prince Cheng send someone to rescue her?"
"No," Lu Jiu shrugged.
"Then the Emperor’s ’luring the snake out of its hole’ ploy has fallen through," said Jiang Li.
At this, Jih Heng laughed lightly, "Not necessarily."
Jiang Li looked at him, and Lu Jiu explained, "Prince Cheng is inherently selfish, and the Emperor must have known this. Going to the palace to rescue Empress Dowager Liu would have been too dangerous and would have disrupted his original plans. Once this incident occurred, Empress Dowager Liu’s death was inevitable. If the Emperor really wanted to lure the snake out of its hole, he must have other methods. It’s precisely because the Emperor understands Prince Cheng’s nature that he directly sentenced Empress Dowager Liu to death. Empress Dowager Liu couldn’t avoid death anyway, so it was better to give an explanation to the people sooner."