"Grandfather!?"
Yi Zhen yanked off her gorgeous red wedding veil embroidered with gold threads. Staring at the man on horseback in disbelief, she stood rooted to the ground, unable to move.
Emperor Zhaohuan fixed his phoenix eyes on the newcomer with a gloomy look. His words, like they were squeezed out between his teeth, were short and cold:
"So it's you!"
Shen Zhai ignored Yi Zhen's cry. Pointing his sword at Emperor Zhaohuan, who was protected by the crowd, he laughed wildly and proudly:
"Of course it's me. Your Majesty, to be honest, it was all my doing that your useless soldiers ended up like this. The nearby military camps are already under my control. The game is over. Do yourself a favor and abdicate."
With a "snap", the bright yellow imperial edict of abdication was thrown at Emperor Zhaohuan's feet, as if deciding his fate.
But Emperor Zhaohuan didn't even glance at it. He shouted at the top of his voice:
"Yun Qing!"
"I'm here!"
The resounding reply came from afar. Yun Qi, in his shiny silver armor and holding a black iron spear, galloped towards them on his horse against the wind.
Behind him, a group of well - ordered spear - wielding soldiers with imposing momentum quickly surrounded everyone.
Shen Zhai frowned and snorted disdainfully:
"So you're not dead yet!"
His words seemed to indicate that he had expected this.
Yun Qi didn't waste any words. Pointing his spear at Shen Zhai, he shouted:
"The traitor is still at large. How could I dare to die first! Men—"
"Kill them all!"
Shen Zhai was not intimidated at all. The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle. Arrows flew everywhere, and weapons clashed.
Yi Zhen was still standing there stunned in front of the palace gate when Concubine Shen grabbed her and pulled her back.
Emperor Zhaohuan sat in the center with a solemn expression, watching the situation in front of him.
No one knew how long the battle had lasted. The number of soldiers on both sides gradually decreased.
Yun Qi's left arm was somehow cut, and blood was oozing out. He was escorted by his loyal subordinates to the corridor.
And for some reason, Shen Zhai's men suddenly showed the same symptoms as those imperial guards before. One by one, they fell to the ground, wailing in pain.
Shen Zhai was shocked. Looking around in a panic, he didn't know what to do for a moment.
Emperor Zhaohuan raised his thick eyebrows, kicked away the so - called "imperial edict" that had been thrown in front of him earlier, walked to the door, and shouted:
"Shen Zhai has committed treason and deserves to be executed! You are only following orders. Lay down your arms and you shall not be killed!"
The remaining one hundred or so soldiers were in a panic. Looking at each other, they slowly put down their weapons.
The situation seemed to be stabilizing. Just as Emperor Zhaohuan was about to speak, there came the sound of orderly footsteps from outside.
However, the number of people was obviously not as large as the troops led by Shen Zhai or Yun Qi at the beginning.
The soldiers who had just relaxed a bit immediately became vigilant again. Even those soldiers under Shen Zhai who had put down their weapons quickly picked them up again.
After all, although the number of the newcomers was small, both sides had suffered heavy losses in the fight. Their arrival would surely change the current situation.
In the tense atmosphere, the Holy Master, in his purple robe, slowly rode his horse into view.
Just then, Zongzheng Fengyi, who had been unnoticed in the corner, flashed out like lightning. He grabbed Emperor Zhaohuan's chin and stuffed a pitch - black pill into his mouth.
"How dare you! How dare you!"
Eunuch Zhang was so frightened that he almost lost his wits. His scolding voice trembled.
"Let go of the Emperor, and you may be spared for now. Otherwise..."
"Get out of here!"
Zongzheng Fengyi didn't have the patience to talk to him. He kicked Eunuch Zhang, and the poor eunuch flew far away with a cry of pain.
The people in the palace finally reacted and screamed, retreating in a hurry.
It was Queen Cao Shu who stepped forward and shouted sternly to stop them, barely calming down the chaotic situation for the time being.
Outside, the Holy Master had already ridden his horse swaggeringly into the courtyard. There was a creepy smile on his ghost - like pale face:
"Prime Minister Shen has worked hard. I'll take over from here."
Saying that, he tilted his head towards two strong men beside him:
"Men, please go and rest."
"You..."
Shen Zhai obviously didn't expect that he would end up losing everything and doing all the hard work for others. He was so angry that he started to curse.
However, his situation was hopeless. No matter how unwilling he was, he was still dragged away.
After all, he was her father. Concubine Shen in the palace couldn't help but take a few steps forward, but the next moment, she was pulled back by Yi Zhen.
"Mother, did he ever mention this to you? At this critical moment, we can hardly protect ourselves. Do you still care about father - daughter affection?"
Concubine Shen stopped in her tracks and didn't say a word.
Yun Qi's men quickly retreated and huddled together. Back to back, they blocked the palace door, holding their weapons and watching warily the people inside, including Zongzheng Fengyi and the Holy Master, who were holding Emperor Zhaohuan hostage.
"Don't struggle in vain,"
The Holy Master said in a chilling voice:
"General Yun. Now your king of the Great Yin is in my hands, and the lives of the people in the capital are also in my hands. No matter how hard you try, you'll just sacrifice more lives..."
Spreading his hands slowly to the left and right, indicating Yun Qi's soldiers, the Holy Master continued:
"These lives."
"Instead of that, you might as well surrender quickly. I can still let you die with an intact body."
Yun Qi spat fiercely. Gripping his spear tightly, he straightened his back and thundered:
"We men of the Great Yin are men of iron and bone. We would rather die... than surrender!"
His soldiers were all fired up and shouted in unison:
"We would rather die than surrender!"
"So you're going to watch your king die with your own eyes?"
Zongzheng Fengyi suddenly interjected coldly.
"The pill I gave him just now is the Intestine - Piercing Gu. If it's not neutralized within half an hour, his intestines will burst!"
"Yun Qi, do you think you can solve this within half an hour..."
"Shing—"
Before Zongzheng Fengyi could finish his words, there was a soft sound of a sword being unsheathed from the right - rear. A dazzling white light flashed towards his neck.
Without time to say the rest, Zongzheng Fengyi instinctively leaned back, barely avoiding the sharp sword. Then he heard several flying darts whizzing towards his right eye, hand, and heart.
Reacting instinctively, Zongzheng Fengyi quickly let go, turned around, crouched down, and slid several feet backward until he reached the bronze tripod behind him before he stopped.
Everything happened in an instant. Emperor Zhaohuan, who had just been in Zongzheng Fengyi's hands, was now in Yi Yuan's arms.
Mian Xiao and Lin An stood on either side, holding their swords and protecting the two men.
"Prince Yu'an! It's Prince Yu'an!"
Someone shouted happily. The people who had been in despair just now seemed to have grabbed a glimmer of hope. One after another, they cheered, as if they had seen the dawn of victory.
"It's you!?"
Zongzheng Fengyi exclaimed in surprise:
"Why aren't you dead? I saw Yi Zhen give you that medicine yesterday! How could you still be alive?"
Hearing this, everyone in the palace looked at Yi Zhen in disdain.
With a rustle, they all moved away from Yi Zhen and Concubine Shen, the two people with the Shen family's bloodline, isolating them from the rest.
Those from the family of traitors were indeed all traitors!
But Yi Yuan didn't answer him. Nor did he care about the commotion behind him. With a cold and fierce look in his eyes, he looked at Zongzheng Fengyi as if he were looking at a dead man. Then he flipped his long sword and attacked like the wind.
Zongzheng Fengyi's martial arts skills were far inferior to Yi Yuan's, and he was well aware of this.
Seeing Yi Yuan coming at him, he couldn't help but feel panicked. He was quickly on the defensive. After just a few moves, Yi Yuan's sword pierced his left shoulder, and he was kicked in the chest and flew out.
Seeing that Yi Yuan's next sword was about to pierce Zongzheng Fengyi's heart, the Holy Master finally couldn't help but shout:
"Stop! Otherwise, I'll kill Yun Xi!"