It seemed that Xie Huaiyue was truly enraged. As soon as he finished speaking, his sword flashed. With a “shing,” he parried Yi Yuan's long sword and attacked.
But this time, Yi Yuan didn't hold back. Soon, he struck Xie Huaiyue in the chest with a palm, sending him flying. Xie Huaiyue spat out a mouthful of fresh blood with a “pu.”
The long sword was once again pointed at Xie Huaiyue. A trace of sorrow flashed across Yi Yuan's eyes.
“Do you really have to be so obstinate?”
“His Majesty is not a fatuous king, and he has never treated you badly. What on earth are you dissatisfied with that you have to plot to usurp the throne? An unjustly - obtained throne will bring eternal infamy...”
“You don't understand anything!”
The corners of Xie Huaiyue's eyes were blood - red. He roared angrily, interrupting Yi Yuan.
“You've been raised in luxury since childhood. Do you know what it's like to hide a bowl of moldy rice like a precious treasure and eat it in three days!?”
“I may be usurping the throne unjustly, but what about him!”
Suddenly pointing at Emperor Zhaohuan, Xie Huaiyue said hatefully:
“Is his accession to the throne just! He got to where he is today through deception!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around was shocked.
Emperor Zhaohuan's face darkened. Before he could say anything, Empress Cao Shu beside him angrily spoke up:
“His Majesty was publicly appointed as the crown prince by the late emperor's imperial edict and oral decree. The edict and witnesses are still here. You, a traitor, dare to slander the current emperor wantonly!”
Knowing that the past was about to be revealed, Yun Xi secretly thought it was bad. She quickly shouted:
“A Yuan, capture him first! Don't let him disrupt your mind!”
Startled, Yi Yuan secretly thought that he was really becoming more and more unreliable. He had been so easily shaken.
Without saying more, he raised his sword and rushed towards Xie Huaiyue.
“Yixing!”
Xie Huaiyue was not panicked at all. While drawing his sword to resist, he shouted loudly:
“Attack!”
In an instant, most of the people protecting Emperor Zhaohuan suddenly turned against him. They quickly killed the guards and eunuchs around them who hadn't had time to react and tried to capture Emperor Zhaohuan, whose face was full of unease.
Fortunately, Mian Xiao and Lin An reacted quickly. One on the left and one on the right, they desperately protected Emperor Zhaohuan, preventing them from succeeding for the time being.
However, the disparity in numbers was too great. No matter how high their martial arts skills were, Mian Xiao and Lin An were a bit overwhelmed in the face of so many people.
Moreover, there was Yixing, whose martial arts skills were no less than either of them. It was even more difficult to fight.
It seemed that he felt confident of victory. Xie Huaiyue gave a smug smile. While resisting Yi Yuan's attack, he still had the time to shout at Yun Xi, who had just spoken:
“What are you so anxious about!?”
“Afraid that I'll expose the secrets of your impostor emperor?”
A sense of foreboding rose in Yun Xi's heart. Before she could interrupt, Xie Huaiyue shouted loudly:
“The late emperor knew all about his affair with Concubine Qing, his defilement of the harem, and his conspiracy to seize the throne before he died. At that time, the late emperor managed to issue an imperial edict to appoint a new crown prince on his last breath! I should have been the one...”
“Shut up!”
Yi Yuan roared angrily, interrupting Xie Huaiyue and not letting him say any more.
Because he knew very well that what Xie Huaiyue said was 99% true.
But now, under the governance of Emperor Zhaohuan, the Great Yin Dynasty was thriving and the people were living in peace. If the people's hearts were shaken because of Xie Huaiyue's words today, and wars broke out everywhere, leading to unrest in the country and the people living in misery.
The Great Yin Dynasty would really be destroyed.
There was no more time to wait...
Yi Yuan shouted sharply:
“Shen Zhou, what are you waiting for!? Attack!”
Suddenly, dozens of figures “swished” down from the beams and landed right around Emperor Zhaohuan. The situation instantly reversed. The assassins who had been so arrogant just now were quickly killed. Yixing's arm was also cut by Shen Zhou's long sword and he was kicked flying.
The Holy Master, who had been fully focused on Xie Huaiyue's side, didn't escape either.
Taking advantage of their distraction, Ling Yan appeared silently. With a “whoosh,” she struck at the Holy Master's arm with her sword.
Completely unprepared, the Holy Master instinctively let go. Yun Xi had been waiting for this moment. She immediately turned around and ran towards Yun Qi.
Xie Huaiyue, who was entangled with Yi Yuan, didn't expect that Yi Yuan had made preparations in advance and that Shen Zhou had “rebelled” so thoroughly.
Under the sudden change of the situation, distracted for a moment, his shoulder was pierced by Yi Yuan's sword. The pain made the veins on his forehead bulge. He roared and actually cut off Yi Yuan's precious sword. He took several steps back before barely stabilizing his figure.
The Holy Master and Zongzheng Fengyi were also surrounded by dozens of people who emerged following Ling Yan. Although they were extremely angry, they didn't dare to act rashly.
The situation was clear.
Yi Yuan didn't chase after him. He just said:
“Surrender, A Yue. Don't make useless struggles.”
It seemed that he didn't hear Yi Yuan's words. Xie Huaiyue looked around and suddenly laughed maniacally. His blood - shot eyes stared fixedly at Shen Zhou, who was standing with his sword in hand:
“Hahaha... Good! Good Shen Zhou!”
“Do you think that just because you help her...” He waved his hand and pointed at Yun Xi. “She'll appreciate you!?”
“You're just a lowly gigolo who has been ridden by thousands and slept with by ten thousands!”
Shen Zhou's face instantly turned pale.
And Xie Huaiyue continued:
“Don't you think about your own identity! She's a noble young lady. You're the son of a prostitute, with a broken body. Who would even look at you twice! If it weren't for the Shen family remembering your bloodline and covering for you, how could you have achieved what you have today!”
“But is this how you repay the Shen family!”
The sound of the fight outside had died down at some point.
Xie Huaiyue's words echoed in the main hall, especially clearly.
The color drained from Shen Zhou's face. His eyes were stiff and he didn't dare to look at anyone's expression.
“A Zhou is not!”
Yun Xi's clear voice suddenly rang out.
It resounded through the main hall.
It went straight to Shen Zhou's heart.
“A Zhou was born to Shen Liangji of the eldest branch of the Shen family, who had affairs with prostitutes. But he disliked A Zhou's identity and didn't raise him after his birth, which made A Zhou grow up in a brothel without any support!”
“But just because he grew up in a brothel doesn't mean he belongs there! He protected himself well and worked his way up to where he is today. A Zhou has worked a hundred times harder than others!”
“He's never a lowly person! He has a kind heart and knows to put the overall situation first. He's much more honest and upright than someone like you who only dares to hide behind and wrap himself up in layer upon layer of identities and never dares to show his true face until the end!”
“Tsk—”
Xie Huaiyue laughed extremely mockingly and disdainfully:
“I'm not honest and upright?”
“What about you? Are you honest and upright!?”
“Yi Yuan is the bastard son born from Emperor Zhaohuan's affair with Concubine Qing. Have you told him!?”
“What did you say!?”
“You, how could you...”
Yun Xi and Yi Yuan's voices sounded at the same time.
Everyone had been shocked again and again. Their eyes darted back and forth. For a moment, they had different thoughts and didn't know what to say.
But Xie Huaiyue seemed to have grasped some handle. His expression was crazy:
“What? Speechless?”
“Yi Yuan! He's the son of Concubine Qing! Just because he once did a favor to the old prince Yi Fu, Yi Fu helped them hide it from the late emperor and raised Yi Yuan under his knees!”
“And the late emperor, before he died, learned about this. He summoned Yi Fu into the palace to question him and confirmed that their affair was true. In a fit of rage, he managed to change the imperial edict on his last breath and appointed me as the crown prince. Then he died of anger!”