As they spoke, the palace maid was done cooking. The meal was served on the table, and nobody spoke anymore.
At this time, a eunuch brought over a wine jar. "This jar of wine was buried when Your Highness joined the army two years ago. I originally planned for Your Highness to enjoy it after he won his first battle. However, today, we will all drink and cheer for Your Highness. When Your Highness returns triumphantly, we will all drink the remaining half."
As he said this, he poured everyone a glass. Wu Ning stood up with the glass in his hand. "This glass of wine is a toast to everyone here. Thank you for taking care of us, mother and son, all these years."
With that, he finished the wine in the cup in one gulp. Everyone looked at Wu Ning. The palace maid and eunuch were so moved that tears fell. They had watched Wu Ning grow up since he was young.
In their hearts, they had already treated Wu Ning as their own son. It was just that their statuses were different.
Over the years, the palace maid and the guard became husband and wife.
They had a daughter and raised her under the imperial consort. She named her Huang Ying'er. Ying'er was mischievous and often made everyone laugh with her antics.
At this point, Ying'er imitated Wu Ning in raising his glass and said in a childish voice, "Brother, brother, Ying'er will also toast to you."
Everyone was laughing at Ying'er's actions. The worries and anxiety about Wu Ning going to the battlefield the next day dissipated a lot.
The family ate and drank together. Because Wu Ning was going to the battlefield the next day, he was stopped from drinking further after he drank the first glass of wine in a toast.
Everybody else but him was drunk. They were extremely contented that the little prince had finally grown up but also worried about their little prince's war expedition.
But more than that, they were happy and hopeful for the future.
Wu Ning carried everyone into the room to sleep, then cleaned up the table. He sat in the courtyard and made himself a pot of tea while drinking and admiring the moon.
When the sky was slightly brighter, he rushed back to the barracks and began his expedition with the troops.
On the battlefield, Wu Ning fought bravely and was promoted to deputy lieutenant by the general. Actually, it was not because Wu Ning was bloodthirsty, but every time he killed someone, the voice of the system would ring in his ear.
"Ding! Congratulations Master for killing one enemy. You gained 50 Comprehension Points."
As Wu Ning killed more enemies, his comprehension points also increased.
The general looked at Wu Ning's battle results and nodded his head in satisfaction. It seemed that they were not supporting the wrong person and were not on the wrong side. This little prince indeed had the demeanor of their former emperor.
Ten years passed and because of Wu Ning's meritorious service, he was already a great general of the cavalry. The current emperor also gave Wu Ning many rewards.
However, he did not know that the great general of the cavalry that he had personally conferred was the little prince that had escaped back then. If he knew, he would've sentenced the general to death immediately.
It had already been twenty-five years since he had descended into the Otherworld. Wu Ning's prestige in the military reached its peak.
Now, it was time to fulfill his mother's wish, avenge his father, and seize the throne.
Wu Ning gathered the generals who had supported him in the past and discussed how to break into the imperial city.
In the end, they decided that Wu Ning would go to the imperial palace to assassinate the emperor, then open the city gates and cooperate with the army outside to invade the imperial city.
The next day, late at night.
The emperor was sleeping soundly with a concubine in his arms. Wu Ning came to his bedroom but was not in a hurry to make a move. Instead, he sat at the table and brewed himself a cup of tea.
He sat there quietly watching the emperor, waiting to see when he would discover him.
Suddenly, the emperor opened his eyes. He turned his head and saw Wu Ning sitting opposite him, looking at him with a faint smile.
The emperor immediately put on a dignified look. "My great general, did you come here late at night? Are you planning to rebel?"
Wu Ning took a sip of tea and answered slowly, "Your Majesty is smart. I came here exactly to take your pathetic life."
Hearing this, the monarch flew into a rage. "How dare you? Who gave you the guts to be so disrespectful? Men, drag him down and throw him into the royal prison!"
When the emperor saw that nobody answered his orders, he pointed at Wu Ning and said, "You, did you kill all the people around the palace?"
Wu Ning slowly put down the teacup. "They were too much of a hindrance, so I took care of them. Your Majesty, you can shout as you please. Don't worry, no one will come for you."
"I don't understand. You're the general of the cavalry, why are you rebelling? Is the throne really that tempting?" the emperor asked.
Wu Ning sat there and slowly replied, "Aren't you the best at knowing whether it's tempting or not? Weren't you also tempted by the throne back then before you attempted to usurp the throne?"
The emperor looked at Wu Ning in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Wu Ning smiled at the emperor. "Don't you understand what I mean? If I call you Your Majesty now, you will soon cease to be one."
"Who are you? Who exactly are you?"The emperor asked as if he had gone mad.
Wu Ning replied, as slow as ever, "I am the prince who was forced to escape the Imperial City with my mother back then. Your Majesty, how could you forget me so quickly?"
"It's you. You're that little b*stard who slipped through the cracks back then. I didn't think that you would dare to come back." The emperor was shocked and doubtful.
Wu Ning said, "Why wouldn't I return? This was originally my home, but you took it away from me. I'm taking it back now."
The emperor wanted to say something, but Wu Ning's Laws of Reincarnation enveloped him. In the next second, the emperor died.
Wu Ning did not even look at the monarch's corpse as he walked out of the palace. As for the concubine, Wu Ning only knocked her out, sparing her.
Along the way, Wu Ning finished the guards and came to the city gate. With a wave of his hand, the latch broke and the city gate was slowly opened.
Wu Ning took out a signal flare and released it. Following this, the troops outside the city gate swarmed in.
Very quickly, the two armies met and started to fight. However, Wu Ning's troops were carefully selected and trained, while the Imperial City guards faced the enemy in a panic.
Very quickly, the situation became one-sided. Wu Ning went and started killing as the system voice sounded in his ears.
"Ding! Congratulations Master for obtaining 50 Comprehension Points for killing one enemy."
When Wu Ning heard this voice, he waved his hands even faster. Very quickly, the enemy's blood dyed Wu Ning's green clothes red.
Wu Ning's army became more and more courageous as they fought. The imperial guards' morale became weaker. When they heard that their emperor had been assassinated, many people raised their hands and surrendered.
The generals looked for Wu Ning and asked him what he should do. Wu Ning thought about it and decided to go to the palace first. The palace was the core of the country. As long as they captured the palace, they would be halfway to success.
Wu Ning led the army towards the palace. In front of the palace gate, civil and military officials were all dressed neatly and lined up to welcome him.
Wu Ning got off his horse and entered the palace. The civil and military officials followed behind him.
When he walked into the palace, Wu Ning stood at a high place and looked down. Blood was flowing all over the ground and there were corpses everywhere.
When the civil and military officials saw Wu Ning stop, they all knelt and shouted, "Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
The noise was getting louder and louder. Wu Ning turned around and looked at the throne. He looked at the corpse below and sighed with emotion.
Wu Ning was expressionless. He waved his hand, motioning everybody to return to their feet.