The Eighth Princess had a cloth gagged in her mouth. She shook her head desperately at the imperial guards, signaling them not to believe Yuan Zhen.
She knew that a sly villain like Yuan Zhen would never keep his promise!
Once he was let out of the capital, there would be endless troubles, and she would never end up well!
Just as all the imperial guards were hesitating, the Empress Dowager had led a group of people and rushed over in a hurry.
"Has Wan'er been found? Is she all right?!"
The Empress Dowager looked extremely anxious. She walked so fast that her steps were unsteady.
When she saw the Eighth Princess being held hostage with a knife, her heart skipped a beat. She stumbled and almost fell.
She glared angrily at the masked Yuan Zhen and sternly questioned him:
"Who on earth are you? What's your purpose?!"
"If you turn back from the precipice now and let go of the Eighth Princess, I can spare your life! But if you dare to harm a single hair on the Eighth Princess, I will exterminate your entire clan!"
The Empress Dowager was fierce and her anger was overwhelming.
But even so, she couldn't do anything to the other party, and her body couldn't stop trembling.
Seeing that the fight in the front had stopped, the Emperor and the Empress, who had been waiting quietly in the distance, couldn't help but rush over when they heard the Empress Dowager's voice.
"Mother, are you all right?"
The Emperor walked straight up to the Empress Dowager, sized her up, and asked with great concern.
Seeing that the Emperor had also come, the Empress Dowager seemed to gain a lot of confidence instantly. She quickly reached out and grabbed the Emperor's sleeve, anxiously saying:
"Son, your sister has been taken hostage by the thief. Hurry up and save her!"
The Eighth Princess was the apple of the Empress Dowager's eye. If anything happened to her daughter, the Empress Dowager wasn't sure if she could still go on living!
Looking at the blade pressed tightly against the Eighth Princess's neck, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but tremble with fear. She completely lost her usual calmness.
The Emperor patted the Empress Dowager's hand on the back to comfort her, then slowly turned his gaze to Yuan Zhen.
In the moonlight, he wanted to see the other person's face clearly, but Yuan Zhen subconsciously turned his head slightly and remained as tough as before:
"I'll repeat it one more time. If you want the Eighth Princess to live, do as I say immediately! Otherwise, we'll all die together!"
For now, he didn't want the Emperor to know his identity.
Kidnapping the Eighth Princess was already his last resort. If he confronted the Emperor head - on and created a feud, even if he tamed the Eighth Princess in the future and saved his own life.
He would have no hope of ever becoming the Khan!
Yuan Zhen was too greedy. He was carefully calculating in his mind, and his attention was always focused on the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. As a result, he ignored the fact that two imperial guards were quietly approaching from behind. When he least expected it, one of them stabbed him in the back!
And the other one, taking advantage of his hesitation, snatched the Eighth Princess away in a flash.
The situation reversed in an instant!
Yuan Zhen quickly turned around to fight back, and all the imperial guards swarmed forward. In an instant, two of Yuan Zhen's subordinates were beheaded, and Yuan Zhen himself was seriously injured.
He fell to the ground, only having his last breath left.
"So it's you?!"
An imperial guard removed Yuan Zhen's mask, and everyone was shocked.
The Empress Dowager was extremely angry. She stared coldly at Yuan Zhen:
"How dare you! Not only did you escape from prison, but you also sneaked into my Kunning Palace in the middle of the night and kidnapped the Eighth Princess? Yuan Zhen, do you not want to live anymore?!"
She had no idea that just a few hours ago, she had pleaded with the Emperor on Yuan Zhen's behalf, trying to get him transferred out of the death - row prison. And in such a short time, he actually repaid her kindness with enmity?
The Empress Dowager's scolding only earned her a look of hatred from Yuan Zhen.
"I do want to live. Did you give me a chance? Isn't my current situation all thanks to you?!"
As he spoke, Yuan Zhen spat out another mouthful of blood. Knowing that his life was coming to an end, he stared coldly at the Empress Dowager and said sarcastically:
"You old hag are really despicable. On one hand, you used me to kill Qi Rong, and on the other hand, you poisoned my men's weapons to frame me! You openly pleaded for me in front of the Emperor, but secretly you wanted me to die quietly in prison, just because you were afraid that I would expose your hypocrisy in front of the Emperor! You have such a deep scheme!"
"What are you talking nonsense about? When did I ever order anyone to kill you in prison?"
Being called an old hag in public had already made the Empress Dowager extremely angry. Being wrongly accused of something she had never done, the Empress Dowager naturally refuted instinctively.
But Yuan Zhen took advantage of her words and coldly questioned:
"So, you admit that you ordered someone to secretly tamper with my men's weapons? And you didn't even care about the Crown Prince's life just to frame me?!"
Realizing that she had fallen into Yuan Zhen's language trap, the Empress Dowager angrily retorted:
"How could I ever do such a thing?!"
Seeing the solemn expressions on the Emperor's and the Empress's faces, the Empress Dowager quickly explained:
"Son, Empress, don't believe this villain's nonsense! He just resents me for not betrothing the Eighth Princess to him. That's why he deliberately tries to drive a wedge between us!"
"Yu'er is my eldest grandson. How could I ever do anything to harm him?"
Seeing the usually high - and - mighty Empress Dowager looking so nervous at the moment, Yuan Zhen felt very relieved.
The Empress Dowager was eager to clear up the misunderstanding, but Yuan Zhen spat out a mouthful of blood and suddenly said:
"Don't you have another grandson? And he's the son of Concubine Li."
These words were like a thunderbolt. Instantly, the Empress Dowager's face changed, and the Empress's face turned extremely ugly.
The Eighth Princess's face turned deathly pale. She quickly tried to excuse the Empress Dowager:
"Brother Emperor, Sister - in - law, don't listen to him. Mother loves Yu'er the most. Don't be deceived by him!"
Yuan Zhen felt his strength gradually fading away. Seizing the last opportunity, he didn't refute the Eighth Princess's words. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Emperor and said:
"Your Majesty, a dying man's words are sincere. It's true that I, Yuan Zhen of Kokchin, wanted to be the Khan. But I shouldn't have been deceived by this poisonous woman and ended up like this. I hope Your Majesty will take this as a warning and don't be like me!"
Knowing the Emperor's suspicious nature, the Empress Dowager was enraged when she heard this. She suddenly shouted:
"Shut up! Someone, quickly kill this assassin who is full of nonsense! Kill him!"
Being called an old hag and a poisonous woman by Yuan Zhen one after another, when had the Empress Dowager ever suffered such insults?
Moreover, it was in front of everyone!
The Empress Dowager's patience had reached its limit, but she didn't know that her loss of composure now seemed like a sign of guilt in the eyes of the Emperor and the Empress.
"Kill him."
After a moment of silence, the Emperor coldly gave the order.
The imperial guard swung his sword, and Yuan Zhen lost his breath. Seeing this, the Empress Dowager didn't feel relieved. She quickly stepped forward and walked in front of the Emperor, softly saying:
"Son, don't believe this thief's words..."
The Empress Dowager was just about to explain, but the Emperor abruptly interrupted her. Looking tired, he said:
"Mother, I know what I'm doing. Since the fire in the Kunning Palace has been extinguished and the thief has been executed on the spot, you should rest early."
After saying that, he immediately turned around. Without even giving the Empress Dowager and the Eighth Princess a chance to speak, he led the Empress out of the Kunning Palace.
"Sister - in - law..."
The Eighth Princess called out anxiously, but the Empress ignored her. Without following the proper etiquette to bid farewell to the Empress Dowager, she followed the Emperor and left.