Outside the Sweet Dew Gate, there were four or five gates guarded by imperial guards of different systems. Outside the palace, there were also Jin Wu Guards patrolling throughout the night. The eunuchs at the Sweet Dew Gate would never have thought that an army would be able to quietly kill their way into the Sweet Dew Gate, so the security at the gate was very lax.
It was a sleepless summer night. Old Eunuch Mu led two young eunuchs to spread out a mat in the city gate tower. They lay on it and waved their palm-leaf fans as they chatted. When the claws were thrown up to the city walls, there was a faint "ding ding" sound. Old Eunuch Mu heard it and ordered, "Stool, go take a look and see what's going on."
The stool said, "Hubby, what could possibly happen in this place?"
Old Eunuch Mu stared at him and said, "What, you're not listening to me? If I tell you to go, then go. Or do you want me to go take a look? "
Stool kicked the eunuch next to him and said, "Table, you go."
Table's rank seemed to be lower than Stool's. He stood up unwillingly and walked out, muttering to himself.
Old Eunuch Mu laughed, "You guys, it's the big lazy supporting the small lazy. The small lazy can only stare."
Table put on his shoes and walked out of the city gate tower. He looked around and didn't see anything. He yawned and was about to go back when he suddenly saw a head appear on the city walls. Table was startled. Following that, he saw a group of people appear on the city walls. Table shivered and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Something's wrong! Someone is breaking into the palace! "
The imperial guards who climbed up the city walls saw that they had been discovered and immediately sped up. A few imperial guards with sharp blades in their mouths jumped over the city walls and pounced at Table. Just as Table's front foot stepped into the city gate tower, he was slashed by a knife from behind. The poor fellow who had already lost his small head had his large head separated from his body.
"Who is it? Kill! "
Stool was barefooted. He waved his knife and rushed over. "Keng keng" After a few exchanges, he was slashed to the ground by two imperial guards. At this time, Old Eunuch Mu had already climbed up to the second floor in a panic. He pulled the bell rope and rang the alarm bell. The eunuchs who were guarding the city wall immediately rushed out of their dormitories, their clothes in disarray.
Sounds of killing could be heard from the Sweet Dew Gate.
Hearing the alarm, Wan'er immediately put on her clothes and got out of bed. Although her movements were quick, she was not flustered at all. Seeing that Wan'er was calm, the maids around her also calmed down. One by one, the lanterns lit up. Wan'er stepped out of the palace. Looking at the Gate of Dew, she asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
A moment later, a eunuch with one hand clutching his arm and half of his robe dyed red with blood staggered in. He shouted, "Zhao Rong, it's not good. There's a rebel army charging into the city!"
Wan-Er's face turned cold. She asked in a harsh voice, "Who are you? How many of them? "
She didn't ask if the Gate of Sweet Dew could be defended. Seeing this eunuch with a knife wound, she knew that the rebel army had already reached the city walls.
The eunuch scowled miserably and said: "This servant does not know the identity of the newcomers. Their numbers far exceed the guards at the gate."
As soon as Wan 'er heard this, she immediately ordered, "Hold them off. I'm going to see the king."
"Here!"
The eunuch agreed, turned around, and ran away. Wan'er glanced at the palace maids, who looked shocked but did not panic. She said, "Let's go! To the Son of Heaven's bedroom! "
Wan 'er moved lightly and hurriedly walked less than a hundred steps. She suddenly remembered something. She turned her head and said to a palace maid with a lantern beside her, "Go, bring Princess An Le to the Emperor's bedroom."
Tonight, An Le was staying in the palace, and it was the residence that Shangguan Wan 'er had arranged for her. She suddenly remembered and naturally had to order people to protect her. If anything happened to the princess, she would not be able to escape the blame. The palace maid did not dare to tarry and hurriedly ran to Princess An Le's bedroom.
The inner courtyard of the inner palace was not small. The fighting at the Gate of Sweet Dew could not reach the Emperor's bedroom. As Wan 'er walked, she ordered people to summon all the eunuchs and find suitable people to rush to the Gate of Sweet Dew to help. Although these people could not be a match for the rebel army, the longer they could delay them, the more chances they had.
Li Xian was woken up from his dream. In a moment, the Empress and Empress Wei also hurried over. The Emperor and Empress were wearing undergarments and blankets. Their hair was disheveled and they looked abnormally wretched. It was Wan 'er who was neatly dressed. The female officials behind her were still holding the imperial seal. They appeared panicked but not disorderly.
"Wan 'er, what has happened?"
Li Xian and his wife hurriedly asked Shanghai Wan 'er. Their faces were full of fear. What happened on the day of the divine dragon coup was not very far in the past for them. That time, they were rebels. They had worried all night about the consequences of what would happen if they failed. Now that they had become the masters of the Royal Palace, they had to worry about the rebel army succeeding.
Wan 'er calmly said, "Saint, there has been a rebellion in the Palace. The rebel army has already attacked the Gate of Sweet Dew and will arrive soon."
"Ah!"
Hearing this, Empress Wei's beautiful face immediately paled. "How could it be? Who are the rebel army? How could they silently attack the Gate of Sweet Dew? "
Wan 'er said, "Saint, Empress, now is not the time to investigate this. There is not a single soldier in the inner court. Just relying on the palace maids and eunuchs will not be able to stop the rebel army. Once they charge in, then the general situation will be gone. We must find a safe place to protect the Saint and Empress."
At this time, Li Xian regretted greatly. After he ascended to the throne, he dismissed all the female guards. The new internal guards were all men, so they did not stay in the Palace. At this time, he realized that the seemingly impregnable Palace was not safe. It was better to have a few more armed guards by his side. He ran around in circles and said helplessly, "Shangguan Zhao's words are reasonable, but … but where is safe?"
Shanghai Wan 'er said, "Saint, why don't we go to the Gate of Black Tortoise? The Gate of Black Tortoise is impregnable, and there are imperial guards loyal to His Majesty guarding it. If the Saint temporarily hides at the Gate of Black Tortoise, he will definitely be able to avoid the attack."
Li Xian's teeth chattered. He fearfully asked, "The guards at the Gate of Black Tortoise … did they not participate in the rebellion?"
Wan 'er calmly said, "Saint, if the guards at the Gate of Black Tortoise also rebelled, why would the rebel army need to attack the Gate of Sweet Dew? They would have long since marched in through the Gate of Black Tortoise."
Li Huang suddenly understood. "Ah! That's right! Then … wife, let's go quickly! "
Li Xian and Empress Wei hurriedly fled the bedroom. Shanghai Wan 'er walked as she looked back.
Empress Wei panicked. "Wan 'er, has the rebel army caught up?"
Wan 'er shook her head. "It's not the rebel army. Wan 'er sent someone to warn Her Highness An Le, but I don't know why Her Highness An Le still hasn't caught up. "
Only now did Li Xian remember An Le. He suddenly stopped and stamped his feet. "That's right, how could we forget An Le? What should we do, what should we do?"
Empress Wei gritted her teeth. Pulling Li Xian up, she said, "Your Majesty's life concerns the world. There cannot be any mishaps. Quickly go to the Gate of Black Tortoise. Just send someone to inform An Le. "
Empress Wei shouted to a senior eunuch at her side. "You, quickly find the Princess and tell her to come to the Gate of Black Tortoise to temporarily hide."
The senior eunuch didn't dare to disobey. He could only brace himself and run.
Li Xian ran all the way to the Gate of Black Tortoise. He was so tired that he couldn't catch his breath. At this time, he saw a group of people hurrying over from another imperial road. In front of them, there were people carrying lanterns. Li Xian turned pale with fright. "Not good! The rebel army is here! "Finishing, he turned and ran.
Shangguan Wan 'er grabbed him. Narrowing her eyes, she looked into the distance. She slowly said, "Saint, don't be alarmed. The people coming shouldn't be the rebel army."
As expected, the group of people ran closer and closer. The ones holding the lanterns were two palace maids in colorful robes. If it was the rebel army, how could the palace maids hold the lanterns? Li Xian understood this logic and immediately calmed down.
The group of people hurried over. The one they were escorting was actually Princess An Le.
After Princess An Le was summoned by the people Wan 'er sent, she heard that the rebel army was attacking the Gate of Sweet Dew. She immediately ran out of the palace and toward the Gate of Black Tortoise. Her mind worked very quickly. When she heard that the rebel army was attacking from the Gate of Sweet Dew, she knew that the guards at the Gate of Black Tortoise were definitely not a problem.
However, at that time, she had only cared about her own life. She had thrown her own father and mother beyond the nine heavens. Now that she had run into them, An Le couldn't help feeling awkward. Her mind turned quickly. She hurriedly threw herself forward. With concern and joy, she said, "Father, mother, thank the heavens and earth. You have finally arrived. Quick, let's go up the city walls. Huh? Why isn't the person daughter sent to deliver the letter to you here? "
Li Xian asked in shock, "What messenger?"
An Le said, "Since the rebel army is attacking from the Gate of Sweet Dew, then the Gate of Black Tortoise must be safe. Daughter specially sent someone to tell father and mother to come here to temporarily hide. Our family is gathering here. What? Didn't you come because you received the message from the person daughter sent? "
Li Xian did not doubt his daughter's words. Although Empress Wei was smart, in her panic, she didn't know if her daughter's words were true or false. Thinking about how her daughter had sent someone to tell her to hide, but she didn't care about her daughter's life or death, Empress Wei felt ashamed. Afraid that Li Xian would slip up, she quickly interrupted, "The situation is urgent. Don't say more. Let's go up the walls first."
The guards at the top of the walls had already discovered the chaos below the walls. They had also heard the warning bell from the Gate of Sweet Dew. The walls were heavily guarded. Maqiao was fully armored, his hand holding a steel knife. He alertly rushed to the entrance of the troop transport road. He shouted down the walls, "Who is below the walls? Stop immediately!"
Wan 'er hurriedly motioned for Li Xian and Empress Wei to stop. She shouted up the walls, "Is it General Ma on duty tonight?"
Maqiao recognized Wan 'er's voice and exclaimed, "It is me. Is the one below the walls … Shangguan Zhaorong?"
Wan 'er took a lantern from a palace maid and raised it to look at her appearance. She also looked at the Emperor and Empress beside her. In a loud voice, she said to Maqiao, "Rebel soldiers have broken into the inner court. Wan' er has escorted the Emperor, Empress, and Prince An Le here. General Ma, please escort them."
Maqiao jumped in fright and thought, "Why is there another rebel? Who is it? In any case, it's not one of us. If Erlang rebelled, he would definitely know about me. Also, he wouldn't let Miss Wan 'er be in danger. "
But he had been in the army for many years and his mind was much more alert. Just now, he had seen Wan 'er's appearance clearly. It was probably because he had heard Wan' er's voice first and had a preconceived impression of her. But the Emperor and Empress' hair was disheveled. He was worried that someone wanted to break into the gate and kidnap Shanghai Wan 'er, then have someone pretend to be the Emperor and Empress.
Maqiao cautiously said, "Would Shangguan Zhaorong accompany His Majesty, Empress, and Princess An Le up the walls first so that this general can identify them."
Only four people came up, and two of them were women. Even if they really were rebel soldiers in disguise, Maqiao didn't believe they could overturn the heavens, so he had made this request. Hearing this, Wan 'er immediately ordered everyone to stop. She alone led Li Xian, Empress Wei, and Princess An Le up the gate tower.
Li Xian's body was already exhausted from running all the way up. When he climbed up the gate tower, he could only breathe heavily and couldn't say a word. Although Maqiao was guarding the Xuanwu Gate and was very close to the Emperor and Empress, he wasn't familiar with the Emperor and Empress. It wasn't so easy to see the Emperor and Empress.
But he knew Princess An Le. Now that he saw that the Duke of An Le was indeed here, and that Wan 'er had already climbed up the gate tower without anyone holding her hostage, there was no doubt about the identity of these people. Maqiao immediately crossed his arms and bowed to the Emperor and Empress, saying, "Subject Maqiao has come late to protect Your Majesty, please forgive me, Saints."
Empress Wei climbed up the gate tower and her heart was at ease. At this time, she was already in a state of panic. She didn't feel that Maqiao's cautiousness was disrespectful. On the contrary, she felt that the more careful he was, the safer he would be. She was just about to say a few words of comfort when she saw two rows of torches rolling in from the two imperial roads like fire dragons.
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