QT: The Rescue Of The Miserable Bigshots-Chapter 323 - 10.24

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Shadow One has returned!"

As Xiao Jinan and Jiang Jiamian were walking toward the palace where Jiang Qingshan was temporarily resting, a dark figure suddenly landed before them. He knelt on one knee, head lowered in respect.

Jiang Jiamian raised an eyebrow. "There’s movement?"

If it weren’t for something important, Shadow One would never report in person.

Shadow One nodded, his tone carrying a trace of surprise. "Just as Your Majesty the Empress predicted. Following Your Majesty’s orders, we secretly monitored General Yu’s residence, including the movements of the women within. Today, Miss Yu Miaomiao disguised herself as a maid and quietly left the Yu residence. She went straight to an old temple outside the capital."

He paused, then continued, "I dared not underestimate her and immediately sent men to follow her in secret. They discovered the former Fourth Prince, Chen Tangqing. I left men to continue monitoring and rushed back to report."

"Chen Tangqing?!"

Xiao Jinan’s pupils contracted sharply. "So the Yu family really is connected to him! Jiamian, should we kill Chen Tangqing outright and eliminate future trouble?"

He turned to look at Jiang Jiamian.

Jiang Jiamian tilted his head slightly. "Even a child wouldn’t ask something so simple."

Xiao Jinan: "..."

Xiao Jinan took a breath, his expression turning cold. "Shadow One. Kill him. Bring back his head."

"Yes."

"As for the Yu family..." Xiao Jinan frowned and glanced at Jiang Jiamian. "I didn’t intend to make things difficult for them. They did play a supporting role during our attack on the capital. Without the Yu family’s cooperation, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly."

So far, the Yu family hadn’t committed any obvious crime. Even if Yu Miaomiao truly had ties to Chen Tangqing, there was still no concrete evidence to implicate General Yu.

In everyone’s eyes, he remained a surrendered general who had joined the King of Huainan.

Targeting him now, at the fragile beginning of a new dynasty, would only chill the hearts of others.

Jiang Jiamian smiled faintly. "Not making things difficult doesn’t mean we can’t warn them."

With Gele and Tuojia invading the borders, it wasn’t appropriate to openly suppress a military family like the Yu family.

But once Chen Tangqing, the former Fourth Prince of Great An, was dead, the Yu family would lose their last possible backing.

No matter how unwilling they were, they would have no choice but to sever all remaining ties to Great An.

Chen Tangqing’s death alone would be enough of a warning.

"Miaomiao, you’ve finally come!"

Inside the dilapidated old temple, Chen Tangqing was completely unaware that death was already closing in.

He was eagerly planning with Yu Miaomiao how to rely on the Yu family’s power and his identity as the Fourth Prince of Great An to gather strength, rally supporters, and reclaim the throne while the King of Huainan’s rule was still unstable and border wars raged.

Opportunity waited for no one. The longer they delayed, the firmer Xiao Jinan’s position would become.

Better to gamble now.

"Fourth Prince!"

This was only the second time in this life that Yu Miaomiao had truly looked at the man who, in her previous life, had loved her for a lifetime, and silently protected her until the very end.

Last time, when the King of Huainan seized the capital, she had hurriedly disguised herself and dragged Chen Tangqing out of the city. Everything had been rushed, and she hadn’t even had time to look at him properly.

This time, she wouldn’t let that happen again.

But...

"Ta-Tangqing, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, the Yu family will remain loyal to you."

Yu Miaomiao forced herself to calm down. Looking at the man before her, his face weathered, stubble lining his jaw, her heart ached unbearably.

Where had she gone wrong?

Why?

She had been reborn to change her fate. She had wanted to abandon the scumbag she once loved and instead choose the man who truly loved her, help him ascend the throne, and live a life of happiness.

Then why... why had everything turned out even worse than in her previous life?

The Seventh Prince had died beneath the blade of dynastic upheaval. The King of Huainan had attacked the capital years earlier than before. And the man she had sworn never to fail was now reduced from a noble prince to a fugitive hiding in a ruined temple.

Chen Tangqing knew nothing of her inner turmoil. Seeing her eyes brimming with tears as she gazed at him, warmth surged in his chest.

This was the girl he had loved for years.

Back then, she had only cared for the Seventh Prince. Yet at the moment of life and death, she had suddenly awakened and chosen him.

Unfortunately...

Chen Tangqing smiled bitterly. In his current state, what could he promise her? What could he give her?

If only it had been sooner.

Even so, he couldn’t restrain himself. He raised his hand and gently pulled Yu Miaomiao into his arms.

"Wait for me, Miaomiao." He whispered. "If I reclaim the throne, you will be my empress, my only empress, for life, one and only..."

His words cut off abruptly.

Yu Miaomiao, leaning against his chest, suddenly looked up...

"Ah, Tangqing?! Tangqing?!"

Her scream tore through the temple.

A dart was embedded deep in Chen Tangqing’s temple. His eyes were still open, his mouth slightly parted in frozen disbelief.

Blood slowly seeped out.

His body swayed once... twice... then collapsed heavily to the ground.

"Tang..."

Yu Miaomiao’s vision went black, her body going numb as the world spun violently.

Thud.

She fainted, falling to the ground beside Chen Tangqing.

Shadow One landed soundlessly. He crouched, checked Yu Miaomiao’s breathing, confirmed she was only unconscious, and ignored her.

He then turned to Chen Tangqing, drew a boning knife from his waist, and cleanly severed the head from the neck.

Not long after, within the Imperial Palace.

"Yu Miaomiao?"

Jiang Jiamian paused. "You killed Chen Tangqing right in front of her?"

Wow... that was a little too cruel.

That was the man she had been determined to love again after her rebirth.

Good heavens, she had only been reborn for a few days, and the Fourth Prince was killed right under her nose?

How heartbroken the female lead must be!

Shadow One froze, clearly unsure what Jiang Jiamian was getting at. Still holding Chen Tangqing’s head, he replied awkwardly, "Y-yes."

Had he done something wrong?

But His Majesty had ordered Chen Tangqing’s immediate execution. There was no room for delay. As for whether Yu Miaomiao was present... he hadn’t considered it.

After all, no one had ever said Yu Miaomiao couldn’t be killed just because she happened to be there.

"Good riddance."

Xiao Jinan, of course, knew nothing about protagonists or rebirth. After hearing Shadow One’s report, he not only saw no issue with what had been done, but actually felt it had worked out perfectly.

"It serves as a warning to the Yu family. Since Yu Miaomiao was there, all the better. Let them understand that I’m fully aware of their underhanded schemes."

He let out a soft scoff.

"We’ve long known about their secret dealings with Chen Tangqing. Now that Chen Tangqing is dead, the Yu family should think very carefully about which path they intend to take next."

Jiang Jiamian nodded. "You’re right. Shadow One, where is Yu Miaomiao now?"

Of course, he didn’t truly think Shadow One had done anything wrong. Still, knowing that Yu Miaomiao was the female lead and that the male lead had died so abruptly, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Shadow One replied, "She fainted from fright and is still at the temple. I ordered someone to stay behind and keep watch over her, but I haven’t laid a hand on her."

"Well done."

Jiang Jiamian praised him without reservation. "Here’s what you’ll do: send her back to the Yu family, openly and properly. Tell them that His Majesty ordered you to escort Miss Yu home, and convey His Majesty’s message as well."

He continued calmly, every word edged with meaning.

"General Yu should keep a closer watch on his daughter in the future, lest she faint outside again one day. A young lady like her may not always be fortunate enough to be discovered and returned safely by His Majesty’s men. Who knows, next time, she might fall into the hands of villains."

Xiao Jinan: "..."

His Empress’s tongue was truly lethal.

Even so, Shadow One’s years of training allowed him to maintain a perfectly blank expression despite the thinly veiled mockery. "Yes."

When Yu Miaomiao was sent back, she was still unconscious.

Chen Tangqing’s sudden death had clearly dealt her a devastating blow.

However, the manner in which she was returned, openly escorted, along with Ying Yi’s carefully worded message, was what truly frightened General Yu. Cold sweat soaked his back, and he didn’t dare utter a single word.

His Majesty knows.

He knows everything about the Yu family’s schemes.

And yet His Majesty remained silent, not because he was unaware, but because he was waiting. Waiting for his daughter to make contact with the Fourth Prince... and then strike with a decisive blow.

This was a warning.

A clear message that their plans were never hidden from the throne.

If the Fourth Prince could be killed so effortlessly, then what chance did the Yu family have of resisting His Majesty?

"Father..."

General Yu’s three sons, each of them generals in their own right and pillars of one of the most powerful military families, second only to the Jiang clan, stood nearby.

"What should we do?"

All three were drenched in cold sweat.

They had warned her before: the Fourth Prince’s influence was already in decline. If she intended to submit to Xiao Jinan, then she should do so sincerely and without reservation.

But Yu Miaomiao was, after all, their younger sister.

No matter how clear-headed they tried to be, they could never bring themselves to refuse her too harshly.