The assassin leader!
Yue Lian suddenly recalled the danger of that day, looking at the burly man with a mixture of shock and anger, her eyes filled with hatred.
They had almost killed her young master!
Liang Xiao said in a deep voice, "No matter how you use the human skin mask, your physique, eyes, and gaze will not lie."
"As expected of the peerless An Guo Hou, no, it's better to call you Young Master Liang Er..."
The burly man forced a wry smile, tore off pieces of the specially made mask from his face, revealing his true appearance, and looked at Liang Xiao.
Liang Xiao said sternly, "There are no ears behind walls, state your purpose directly!"
The burly man finally relaxed, kowtowed to Liang Xiao and Yue Lian, "Your subject, Great General Zuo Wushang, pays respects to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"
Her Royal Highness the Princess?
Liang Xiao's pupils contracted, while Yue Lian looked bewildered.
"Young Master, be careful! He, he's disguised, right?" Yue Lian said in alarm.
The assassin leader who personally led the team to shoot her and Liang Xiao called her Princess? What a joke!
"It was this subject's lack of foresight that almost killed Her Royal Highness the Princess. This subject deserves to die..." Zuo Wushang banged his head on the ground, confessing his guilt with a mournful cry, his forehead already bleeding.
Liang Xiao, holding his sword, walked towards Zuo Wushang.
"Young Master Liang Er, do you intend to kill me to silence me?" Zuo Wushang trembled, accepting his fate.
Liang Xiao stared at Zuo Wushang, then walked back to Yue Lian's side.
He was merely testing Zuo Wushang's attitude, to see if Zuo Wushang was truly fearless of death.
Killing Zuo Wushang would not solve the real problem, and Liang Xiao could not guarantee that Zuo Wushang had no accomplices.
Zuo Wushang's expression was overjoyed, and he said, "Your Royal Highness the Princess! With Young Master Liang Er's wisdom and might, you will surely understand my intentions!"
"My parents both died in the chaos of war. You, you don't think you can fool me by showing me a jade token..." Yue Lian said nervously.
She only thought that Zuo Wushang had seen her jade token fall out that day, gone back and had one carved, and was trying to deceive her.
Hearing this, Zuo Wushang's tears gushed out. He forcefully pushed the jade token in his hand, and it rolled to Liang Xiao's feet.
"Please, Your Highness and Young Master Liang Er, inspect the inner rings and materials of the two jade tokens..."
Liang Xiao stared intently at Zuo Wushang, picked up the jade token, and examined it.
Yue Lian also picked up her jade token to compare. She found that the material and color were the same!
Both of them saw the inner ring of the jade token in Liang Xiao's hand at the same time, and Yue Lian exclaimed, "Mandated by Heaven?"
Yue Lian then looked at the inscription on the inner ring of her jade token in alarm.
Eternal Longevity and Prosperity!
The two jade tokens, each inscribed with four characters, had similar craftsmanship and were in exactly the same position!
Zuo Wushang, with tears streaming down his face, explained, "Your Royal Highness the Princess, the two jade tokens were carved from the shattered Imperial Seal of the Da Heng Kingdom! Mandated by Heaven, Eternal Longevity and Prosperity!"
Liang Xiao's heart sank, and Yue Lian's heart trembled violently!
The Imperial Seal of the Da Heng Kingdom...
"It was this subject's lack of foresight that I accepted the command from the savages and intended to kill Young Master Liang Er, but I failed to notice Her Royal Highness the Princess. Only afterwards did I discover that Her Royal Highness the Princess bore a striking resemblance to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress!"
"We were betrayed by a traitor back then and almost wiped out. In my haste, I substituted my beloved daughter, Zuo Xun, for Her Royal Highness the Princess and sent her into the inferno... But we were ambushed again on the way. My soldiers and I acted as decoys, and my household retainer took you to hide. When we met the retainer again, he had already been beheaded and displayed as a warning!"
"He must have known he could not escape and sent you to be adopted by a kind family beforehand. Eventually, you ended up in the Liang household... Your Royal Highness the Princess, we must avenge this blood feud!"
Upon hearing this, Yue Lian took two steps back and grabbed Liang Xiao's arm, "Young Master..."
Liang Xiao quickly pulled Yue Lian back, holding her in his arms, and stared at Zuo Wushang, saying coldly, "So, you are a remnant of the Da Heng Kingdom, plotting a restoration, aren't you?"
"Young Master Liang Er is indeed a peerless divine being, accomplished in both civil and military arts!" Zuo Wushang kowtowed repeatedly in excitement, finally revealing his true intentions.
"We, the remnants of the Da Heng Kingdom, are spread throughout the country, and we now possess immense wealth. This subject hopes to cooperate with Young Master Liang Er to assist Her Highness in restoring the kingdom! Given the relationship between Young Master Liang Er and Her Royal Highness the Princess, you can certainly become the Emperor's consort, and in the future, the ruler of the Da Heng Kingdom. As long as the subsequent rulers bear the surname Qiu, the other offspring can continue to bear the surname Liang!"
Hearing this, Yue Lian, whose mind had gone blank, blushed, and chided, "Don't talk nonsense! I am not worthy of my young master..."
Before she could finish, Yue Lian felt Liang Xiao grip her hand tighter, and her face flushed even more.
Could it be that her young master...
Zuo Wushang said solemnly, "You are worthy! Her Royal Highness the Princess is the last royal bloodline of the Da Heng Kingdom, a descendant of the King of the East Sea!"
The King of the East Sea!
Liang Xiao and Yue Lian's breathing hitched.
Zuo Wushang crawled forward on his knees, continuing his persuasion.
"The direct line of the royal family was slaughtered by the people of the Da Gan Kingdom back then, leaving only the lineage of the King of the East Sea to inherit the throne... Young Master Liang Er, with your abilities, why worry that the great cause of restoring the kingdom will not succeed! With a little stratagem, you can play the emperor in the palm of your hand. He and Princess Ning Shuang are also the last royal bloodline of the Da Gan Kingdom!"
"Once this brother and sister are dead, the Da Gan Kingdom will naturally fall apart. At that time, we will follow you and raise the banner of revolt, and the world will rally to our call. We will compete for control of the Central Plains, and the Da Heng Kingdom can be restored! You and the Princess will create a great enterprise, surpassing anything you can imagine in glory, status, and wealth compared to today!"
Yue Lian's delicate face turned pale, and her body trembled violently. If she hadn't been leaning in Liang Xiao's arms, she might have collapsed.
She found it hard to accept all of this that had happened so suddenly, especially since it concerned Liang Xiao's life!
This was plotting rebellion, a crime punishable by nine generations of relatives!
Liang Xiao held Yue Lian tightly in his arms and said with a cold face, "Zuo Wushang, how many people have you killed over the years for your so-called great cause of restoration?"
Zuo Wushang replied without hesitation, "Sacrifices are inevitable for the great cause of restoration!"
Liang Xiao said sternly, "I don't know how many people you have killed in the past. This matter will be handled according to the laws of the Da Gan Kingdom. But from today onwards, any remnant of the Da Heng Kingdom, including you, who dares to commit murder for wealth, I, Liang Xiao, will not tolerate it!"
Liang Xiao's words were like a bolt from the blue. Zuo Wushang felt as if his heart was about to shatter!
"Young Master Liang Er, we can still negotiate!" Zuo Wushang said unwillingly.
Liang Xiao's tone returned to its usual calm, "I shouldn't have spared your life, but you are a man. Killing you might make things worse. With you here, you can still restrain your subordinates. Go back. There is no Her Royal Highness the Princess in the Da Heng Kingdom. She is merely my, Liang Xiao's, relative, the young lady of the Liang household, Liang Yue Lian. From now on, the remnants of the Da Heng Kingdom should not appear before me, especially you, Zuo Wushang."
"Don't you have any ambition? Don't you bear to watch Her Royal Highness the Princess fail to avenge her deep hatred? A grand ambition, ascending to the throne as supreme ruler, is it not as satisfying as being a subject?" Zuo Wushang was still unwilling.
Liang Xiao said word by word, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. I don't care who the emperor is, I only care who can make the lives of the common people better. The rulers and ministers of the Da Heng Kingdom were tyrannical and unrighteous back then, and now the people of the Da Gan Kingdom recognize the Da Gan Kingdom, and at least they can live and work in peace. I am not afraid of death, but once the country is in chaos, let alone ordinary commoner families, even my own relatives cannot escape disaster. Whoever causes the country to be in chaos, I will kill!"