I had arrived home last night and was indeed very tired. I raised my hands in a salute.
…
…
The Royal Palace was even more thick-skinned than the nobility in Jingdou. One could ride horses up and store goods down. Even the room where the Imperial Army discussed official business was set up between large pieces of stone. In the darkness, there was a sense of sternness. Only a few flickering lights shone on the faces and eyes of everyone in the room, waking them up with a start.
These Imperial Army generals and officers were indeed very tired. Ever since the three riders had returned from the capital and reported what had happened at Dong Mountain, a storm was brewing in Jingdou. The Royal Palace they were responsible for surrounding and protecting had become the eye of the storm that various powers were watching closely. For a number of days, not a single general could leave the Royal Palace. Even when it was their turn, no one returned to their manors to rest.
The flames in the Great Prince's eyes became a burning light. He looked faintly at the dozen generals in the room and said in a cold voice, "Did you all hear what I said clearly?"
The room was completely silent. A general knelt on one knee with a heavy expression. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I am not sure."
"You want me to read the posthumous edict again?" The Great Prince stared into his eyes and said in a cold voice, "The Crown Prince colluded with Northern Qi and Dongyi assassins to assassinate the previous Emperor on Dong Mountain with the intention of usurping the throne. Later, he framed Sir Fan junior. Since I have accepted the previous Emperor's posthumous edict, those who deserve to be executed will be executed! "
The general glanced at the thin piece of paper by the Great Prince's side and narrowed his eyes. "Your Highness, who knows if the so-called posthumous edict is real or fake?"
The Great Prince looked at him coldly. He then slowly took out a box from his clothes and placed it on the table.
The box was opened. Inside was a small seal. It was the Emperor's royal royal seal that had been missing for a number of days and that the Palace's edicts had been unable to comply with.
Once the royal seal appeared, the expressions of all the generals in the room changed dramatically. They all knelt on the ground and bowed toward the royal seal. No one dared to say anything more.
"We solemnly obey Your Highness's military orders."
"Sir Fan junior was ordered to eradicate the rebels and ordered me to help."
The Great Prince's gaze slowly slid across the faces of the generals kneeling on the ground. He saw many people's thoughts. Although he had listened to Fan Xian's advice and placed many trusted aides in the Imperial Army after leading the Imperial Army, there were still many remnants of power left behind by Yan Xiaoyi's control of the Imperial Army. If he wanted to rely on the royal seal and posthumous edict, he would have to make these people wholeheartedly work for him.
The corners of the Great Prince's eyes twitched. He laughed coldly in self-mockery. There had never been such a simple thing in the world.
"Generals who are willing to follow this King to save the country in this time of crisis, please stand up." The Great Prince spoke calmly. The light given off by the oil lamps in the corner of the room enveloped his face, making it seem as if blood was seeping out of his face.
All of the generals in the room stood up. Their power was greater than the people. At this moment, the room was filled with the Great Prince's trusted lieutenants. Even if the generals had other thoughts, they did not dare to make things difficult in front of him.
The general who had come out to speak tasted bitterness in his mouth. He had long maintained contact with the Eldest Princess in the Palace. He had not thought that the Great Prince would suddenly make things difficult tonight and gather all of the generals in the secret room for a meeting. Furthermore, the message had been sent so quickly that he did not have a sliver of time to react.
All of the generals of the Imperial Army were in the room. No one was left out. If the Great Prince chose to kill, no one would be able to resist. Thus, Yan Xiaoyi's former subordinates could only feign civility for now.
…
…
"Zhang Hao, Chen Yijiang …" The Great Prince suddenly opened his mouth and called out the names of five generals.
The expressions of the five generals became cold. They met each other's eyes and felt a glimmer of inauspiciousness. They walked out of the ranks. These five were all subordinates that Yan Xiaoyi had promoted when he was still alive.
The Great Prince looked coldly at these five people. He paused for a moment and then faintly said, "You all know why I have called you out."
A general's face was ashen. With a thud, he knelt before the Great Prince and said, "Your Highness! I will definitely follow Your Highness's lead and will not have any ulterior motives. "
The Great Prince looked at him and nodded. He said warmly, "I'll have to trouble you to stay in this room for half a day. How about that?"
The general's expression changed. In the end, he still nodded and retreated to the wall.
The other four people felt extremely complicated emotions. If they were guarded by the Great Prince's personal soldiers in this secret room, how could they send a message to the Palace?
The four of them met each other's eyes. It was still the person who had spoken who spoke. His surname was Chen Yijiang. He was a trusted aide that Yan Xiaoyi had personally promoted. He knew that since the Great Prince had rebelled today, he would not be tolerated no matter what. Furthermore, his identity was set. He could not just wait to be tied down.
Chen Yijiang was silent for a moment. He then said, "Your Highness, of the 2,000 Imperial Soldiers on the palace walls, at least 600 or 700 are the subordinates of the five of us. May I ask, if you don't have our help, how will you subdue all of the Imperial Soldiers?"
He abruptly raised his head and smiled coldly. "The Jingdou Garrison can enter the capital at any moment. A third of the Imperial Army has been moved to Dong Mountain. What can we use to oppose those tigers and wolves? I would like to ask you to reconsider to prevent yourself from losing your life. "
Although these words were harsh, the silent officers in the room all knew that this was Chen Yijiang's final struggle to put on a brave front but weak heart.
"I never need to think about things that I have already thought about."
The Great Prince looked coldly at Chen Yijiang. A murderous intent gradually rose in his eyes. It was a cold murderous intent that had been honed while fighting against the Hu people in the West.
Chen Yijiang's heart trembled. Hot blood rushed to his head. With an angry roar, his hand gripped the knife at his waist. With a clang, he pulled it out of its sheath and charged toward the Great Prince.
The angry roar stopped in the middle. The knife also fell to the ground. Three long spears pierced Chen Yijiang's body with unusual coldness and brutality, piercing through his body and leaving him suspended in midair.
Blood sprayed out of Chen Yijiang's mouth. He looked with unwillingness and despair at the Great Prince three feet away. His body twitched a few times on the long spear before he hung his head and died.
At the same time that Chen Yijiang pulled out his knife and charged over, the other three generals Yan Xiaoyi had left behind also pulled out their knives. Bravely and hopelessly, they charged over. However, the room was full of the Great Prince's trusted aides. There were only a few whooshing sounds as the knife flashed a few times under the red light.
The bodies fell to the ground. The smell of blood gradually rose. The four generals of the Imperial Army died sullenly.
The Great Prince looked calmly at the bodies at his feet. Suddenly, he turned his head to glance at the last general. He saw that the man's legs were trembling but did not have the courage to go forward. He couldn't help but shake his head and quietly curse something.
"Watch carefully," the Great Prince ordered his trusted aide. Without turning his head, he walked out of the meeting room.
…
…
Walking up to the top of the Royal Palace walls, the Great Prince stood in a corner tower. His palm gently stroked the city-guarding crossbow that had been locked in place. His gaze followed the large crossbow bolts shining with black light and looked toward the square outside the Royal Palace, as well as the four streets outside the square already controlled by the Imperial Army.
"Following the Commander's orders, those 600 people are all on duty and resting." The officer who had personally arranged for Fan Xian to lead the group into the Palace stood behind the Great Prince and reported in a low voice.
After using a day and a half's time to tamper with the Imperial Army's rotation, the Great Prince finally succeeded in moving the 600 or so Imperial Army soldiers out of the Royal Palace without alerting the four generals who had already died.
The Great Prince faintly said, "Are you ready?"
The officer raised his head and glanced at the Great Prince. Resolutely, he reported, "1,200 people have already surrounded them. We can move at any time."
At this moment, there were already 1,200 subordinates loyal to the First Prince in the resting area of the Imperial Guards. They had snuck in through the night and surrounded the 600 soldiers. With one order, they would raise the butcher's knife and clean out the last of the unstable elements in the Imperial Army.
"Those soldiers should still be sleeping." The Great Prince's expression was complicated. "Dying in their sleep should be pretty good."
Back then, the Great Prince had personally led tens of thousands of troops on an expedition to the West and achieved great feats by the side of Xi Hu. What was most praised about him, as well as his virtue of having the soldiers die for him, was that he always loved his soldiers like they were his children. However, kindness did not lead an army, particularly when it came to matters concerning the future of the Qing Kingdom. The Great Prince's heart was like stone.
"We await the Commander's orders." The trusted aide did not know what the Great Prince was thinking and felt a bit anxious. He thought to himself that Sir Fan junior had already entered the Palace. If the Great Prince suddenly became soft-hearted, no one knew what would happen in the morning. Thus, he had said such a reminder and carefully urged him.
The Great Prince smiled self-mockingly and pulled his gaze back from the private residences in the dark night. He turned his head to look at the Royal Palace shrouded in darkness.
He looked for a long time and still did not give the order because the rear Palace was still very calm.
"When to act is not up to me to decide." The Great Prince gently patted the heavy city-guarding crossbow under his palm. "If we act first, we'll probably startle the people in the Palace. Fan Xian will decide when to act."
He looked at the quiet depths of the Palace and couldn't help but shake his head. He was actually very similar to the city-guarding crossbows on the Palace walls. Although they were powerful, their hands and feet were bound by something tangible or intangible. They could only point the tips of the arrows outside the Palace and could not bear to point them inside.
… …
The entire Royal Palace was divided into three areas. At the very back was the little building in the Cold Palace, Autumn Garden. There were no nobles living there. It was basically a forgotten corner. The area surrounded by the walls of the Royal Palace in Junlin Square was a group of stately buildings, including Taiji Palace. The Qing Emperor and his officials discussed and decided all of the Qing Kingdom's matters in these buildings.
The place where the nobles lived was behind Taiji Palace. It was made up of countless Palaces. Internal guards and internal court eunuchs were responsible for managing and guarding it. It was commonly referred to as the rear palace.
Many people thought that once they entered the Royal Palace, they would be able to smoothly enter the rear palace. They seemed to have forgotten how much the Emperor, a different kind of male creature, cared about his territory and his female.
The Emperors of each dynasty had always kept a close eye on this matter because they had too many women. No matter how talented they were, it was inevitable that they would be neglected too much. Naturally, they became the most easily cuckolded masters in the world.
In order to not be cuckolded, the Emperors invented eunuchs. They built high walls in the middle of the rear palace and the front palace and scattered a large number of guards they trusted. Thus, in history, the perverts who had something to do with the concubines in the rear palace could not escape the three types of people: guards, doctors, and eunuchs.
Although the high walls of the rear palace could not stop the affairs of the Palace from reaching out, they successfully stopped many people who wanted to rebel.
History had long proven this point. A hundred years ago, during the Wei Kingdom, there was once a civil official who took advantage of the Emperor's inspection tour to deliberately plot a rebellion. Like Fan Xian tonight, he only brought 1,000 people to attack the Royal Palace. Mysteriously, he passed through the Imperial Army's defenses and was about to succeed. However, the empress, who had been left in the back palace, brought a large group of guards, eunuchs, and serving girls and successfully blocked the rebellious soldiers outside the palace doors.
In the end, this daring civil official discovered in despair that the women, women, and eunuchs were even more powerful than the Imperial Army. They sealed him outside the Palace for three days.
In the end, this rebel ended up dead. Other than the empress' calmness and bravery, the unity of the eunuchs, serving girls, and guards in the Palace that successfully stopped this rebellion, the most important reason was that the high walls the Emperor used to keep women were too strong.
…
…
Where there was a wall, there must be a door, unless it was an underground tomb. Additionally, because humans never liked to crawl in and out of a window opened by God, no matter how tightly guarded a building was, there would always be all kinds of doors.
If there was a door, there would be someone who could open it. Thus, determining whether a place was easy to attack or not, the crux was not how thick the door was or whether the bolt inside was made of steel. Rather, it was whether you had control of the person who opened the door.
Mao Zedong and many great people had said that the ultimate truth that determined everything was people.
…
…
Fan Xian dared to attack the rear palace unexpectedly because he had control of the person who opened the door.
Two hundred imperial soldiers followed their usual route and carried out a silent and nervous patrol. They moved west on the high walls of the Royal Palace. Just as they were about to reach the starlight, a cloud suddenly passed by. The starlight gradually dimmed, and the top of the city walls darkened. The imperial soldiers walked down the stone stairs that went back and forth.
There was not a speck of light in Taiji Palace. Occasionally, a few guards carrying lanterns and eunuchs responsible for keeping the night watch could be seen walking by with hunched backs.
This group of imperial soldiers gathered at the foot of the palace walls closest to the rear palace. Then, they scattered like the wind.
Fan Xian looked coldly at his subordinates. Like countless eagles, they spread out and pounced toward the remaining people and lights in the front palace. In an instant, the lights arrived. A number of guards were silently stabbed to death.
He nodded. These 200 people were a mixed force. 100 of the 500 Black Knights had been transferred. The other 100 were the last batch of assassins that had been taken from the Sixth Bureau. Working in the dark, they were indeed ruthless and powerful.
The Deputy Commander of the Black Knights, Jing Ge, who was following beside him, glanced at him and then at the high walls of the rear palace about a dozen feet away. In a low voice, he asked, "Attack by force?"
Fan Xian's gaze flicked to an inconspicuous door at the bottom of the palace wall. He shook his head and said, "We'll go through the door."
"Go through the door?" Jing Ge glanced at the Commissioner with surprise. He thought, Sir's words were truly wondrous. Had he learned the legendary ability to walk through the walls of the Temple during his trip to Dong Mountain?
Fan Xian ignored him and took off the heavy imperial army armor on his body, revealing the tight-fitting black nocturnal clothing underneath. Using the cover of the trees in front of the palace, he approached the door.
Jing Ge made a hand gesture behind him. The members of the small assault team scattered in the darkness immediately flew back like bats. With Fan Xian as the center, they formed two straight lines and stuck closely to the palace wall of the rear palace.
Jing Ge also followed and stood six feet behind Fan Xian. Raising his head to glance at the wall, he thought that it wasn't too high. At least half of the 200 people could climb over it.
The clouds in the sky parted slightly. A bright moon shone through the light clouds. The silver moonlight shone on Jing Ge's silver mask. It was very beautiful.
Fan Xian stood in front of the door and gently knocked under the moon.
…
…
His knuckles landed gently on the heavy wooden door and made a light buzzing sound. There was no reply from behind the wooden door. Immediately after, there was the sound of the door spring moving.
The faces of the 200 black-clothed people hiding on either side of Fan Xian involuntarily revealed shock. They had followed Sir Fan junior into the Royal Palace on the previous Emperor's posthumous edict. Although these 200 people were courageous and loyal, they had tragically prepared themselves to die.
Unexpectedly, Sir Fan junior had so gently knocked on the door of the rear palace.
In this instant, all of the subordinates who had killed their way into the Royal Palace immediately felt a boundless respect for Fan Xian in their hearts. Their confidence in the success or failure of the night also multiplied.
The wooden door of the rear palace was very thick. It was clear that the traitor inside was struggling to open the door. Fan Xian closed his eyes and pressed his palm against the wooden door. Suddenly, he furrowed his brows. Circulating the zhenqi in his body slightly, the gentle Tianyi Dao zhenqi traveled along his palm to the door and shook it open about the width of two people.
Very gently, he opened the door without making a single sound.
Fan Xian flashed through the door like a gust of wind. He then glanced at the eunuch behind the door who was looking at him with a nervous and frightened gaze. He nodded slightly and said, "You've worked hard."
Eunuch Dai swallowed and glanced at the dense darkness around him with some fear. He didn't say anything.
The Eldest Princess probably had not thought that there would be someone in the present Royal Palace who would risk the danger of having his entire family executed to be a traitor to Fan Xian. No one would have thought that this traitor would be Eunuch Dai, who had long lost his former power and was just a normal and pitiful old eunuch.
Fan Xian had once done Eunuch Dai a favor, at least three times. However, this eunuch was willing to take such a great risk to help Fan Xian not just to repay the favor. For one, he wanted to help Fan Xian regain the power he had lost and particularly missed. For another, he had a deep connection to Fan Xian these years. If the Crown Prince truly became Emperor, he probably wouldn't even be able to think about his position in the laundry office. He would just be waiting for death.
Most importantly, Eunuch Dai knew that his nephew had always been under Fan Xian's surveillance. Eunuch Dai was still counting on his nephew to take care of him when he died.
Eunuch Dai looked around in fear. He was actually a bit confused. Why had he opened the door so smoothly? Why had the guards watching all around not noticed him?
"Sir, I will lead the way for you …"
Opening the Palace door that was wide enough for two people, black-clothed people occasionally floated in. These black-clothed people moved very quickly. In a moment, they had all charged into the rear palace and each chose a place to hide themselves. Eunuch Dai looked at this scene and felt his heart tremble. He knew that these were the subordinates Sir Fan junior was using to cause chaos in the Palace. However, it seemed that there were too few people.
"Find a place to pretend to be dead," Fan Xian said quietly to Eunuch Dai.
The determination in his eyes gradually grew stronger. His familiarity with the geography of the Royal Palace was something no one could imagine. From the first time he had entered Hanguang Palace to steal the key, he had calculated countless times in his manor about the sudden attack and retreat routes in the Palace.
Opportunities were always given to those who were prepared.
Hearing this, Eunuch Dai quickly bent his body and disappeared into the darkness. Listening to Sir Fan junior's words, he found a place that would not attract attention and pretended to be dead.
On this side, the 200 nightwalkers had already made their final preparations. Fan Xian glanced at Jing Ge. His thin lips opened slightly and spat out an incomparably cold word, "Attack!"
…
…
The mission had long been arranged before they entered the Palace. He had spies in the Palace that no one could guess. He also had all sorts of channels to help Fan Xian understand. He was very clear about the arrangements in the Palace. He had divided these 200 people into four small groups. The most important were the two groups he and Jing Ge would lead.
Fan Xian would lead the Sixth Bureau assassins and swordsmen straight into Hanguang Palace. They had to rescue Lady Ning, Yi Guipin, and the Third Prince from the empress dowager's personal watch before the people in the Palace could react.
This was the most important thing. The Great Prince dared to lead the Imperial Army in rebellion because he believed Fan Xian could rescue his mother. Fan Xian could not disappoint his brother, who trusted him so much.
Jing Ge mainly led the lone aces of the Black Knights. They had to charge straight for Guangxin Palace with the momentum of a sudden attack, hoping to strike in one blow.
Because the Eldest Princess was in Guangxin Palace, if he didn't kill this woman, Fan Xian would always feel that there was a poisonous snake watching him.
Fan Xian had already found out that Wan 'er and Da Bao were in Guangxin Palace. However, he didn't personally go to Guangxin Palace. For one, Hanguang Palace was more important. For another, perhaps he was unconsciously afraid of facing that kind of situation, so he had Jing Ge lead the army?
…
…
The 200 black-clothed people were like 200 ghosts. Under the faint moonlight, they split into countless lines and followed the arrowhead as they headed toward various places in the rear palace.
Fan Xian headed quickly in the direction of Hanguang Palace. As he passed by flowers, trees, lakes, and pavilions, he met a few guards.
"Third duty armed guards."
Fan Xian didn't even glance at the guards standing to the side. He only said in his heart that the guards responsible for patrolling this area were Third duty guards. It looked like that little guy hadn't failed.
The reason he didn't look at these guards was because the guards along the way could no longer move.
Perhaps it was because they had been poisoned or cursed, but the eyes of the guards closest to the palace doors Eunuch Dai had opened spun wildly. They couldn't make a sound. Their entire bodies were stiff. No wonder Eunuch Dai had opened the palace doors for Fan Xian so smoothly.
This scene was very strange. The guards responsible for guarding the rear palace looked at the black-clothed people floating in front of their eyes and were unable to react.
With a number of swishing sounds, the last two Sixth Bureau swordsmen in Fan Xian's group pulled out metal drills and cleanly slit the throats of these guards, killing them. It also allowed them to finally escape this nightmarish emotional disturbance.
Passing the trees, flowers, lakes, and pavilions, Hanguang Palace was right in front of them.
Fan Xian swung his hand and a hidden crossbow shot out. It nailed to death a night guard eunuch who had discovered him and opened his mouth to scream.
…
…
Fan Xian needed speed. He needed the feeling of sudden attack and killing that speed brought. He needed this feeling to shock everyone in the Palace. Thus, he didn't care if his figure was exposed.
The medicine could only be used on a group of guards. It could only ensure that the guards would discover him a bit later. He had never had the extravagant hope that he would lead 200 people into the Royal Palace and stand in front of the empress dowager's bed without a single guard discovering him.
It was only a matter of time before he was discovered.
Hanguang Palace was less than 300 feet away from this group of assassins in the night who had shot out like arrows from a bow.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from a distant place behind him. The sound of a number of weapons clashing rang out. Fan Xian didn't turn his head, but he could tell that it wasn't in the direction of Guangxin Palace. It should be the other two groups of subordinates preparing to find their way into the palace to confuse the guards.
His heart tightened. A drop of cold sweat seeped out of his forehead. He knew his whereabouts had finally been discovered.
"Release, disperse!"
Fan Xian's figure did not stop. His right hand tightened into a fist and then quickly dispersed. Seeing this order, the well-trained swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council immediately spread out behind him. Following the curved lake to the side of Hanguang Palace, they turned into countless curved lines. Circling around the path, they used the cover of the trees to head toward the cold and quiet Palace.
The Overwatch Council swordsman at the very back suddenly stopped his figure. His metal drill pierced into the ground. From his clothes, he took out a small tube. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the bright moon in the sky and pulled forcefully.
The fireworks shot straight into the sky. In an instant, it clearly illuminated the quiet and dark Royal Palace. It also sent the clearest signal to the people hidden in all directions in Jingdou.
The concealment had come to an end. They had officially entered the ambush.
…
…
A knife flew over and sliced into the Overwatch Council swordsman's right shoulder. The swordsman was still holding the fireworks and did not dodge. Fresh blood flowed out. After he gave a muffled grunt, his left hand pulled back the metal drill from the ground and fought with the two guards leaping toward him from the side.
Fan Xian was only 30 meters away from Hanguang Palace. He didn't go to see the fireworks. He didn't have time to worry about the life or death of his loyal subordinate. He only stared coldly at Hanguang Palace and discovered there was already movement inside. Involuntarily, his heart gradually grew cold. The reaction speed of the defense in the rear palace was truly much faster than he had estimated.
Faster, faster!
There seemed to be guards coming to their senses everywhere. Fan Xian was facing Hanguang Palace. His eyes narrowed slightly and his killing intent was released. The Tyrannical zhenqi in his body instantly rose to the limit his meridians could hold. He then stepped onto the stone railing on the side of the Palace.
The stone railing shattered.
Using this powerful counterforce, Fan Xian flew up like a large black bird. Under the moonlight, he used a crude and arrogant posture to descend above Hanguang Palace, revealing his determination.
At the highest point, his zhenqi gradually slowed. His body showed signs of falling. He gave a muffled grunt and slammed his right hand down. Using the power of the coffin in the wall, he moved his body a few centimeters to the side and slammed it into the glazed tiles of Hanguang Palace.
With one slap, the tiles flew wildly in the moonlight. It gave one the feeling that in this instant, the entire Hanguang Palace was shaking from the slap.
No one could match Fan Xian's current speed. No one dared to block such an indomitable aura. Under the moonlight, he used the power of one slap to fly up again. Like a large bird spreading its wings, he landed on the roof of the Palace. Then, he circulated his qi throughout his body and fell.
With a loud crash, he smashed a large hole in Hanguang Palace with all the Tyrannical zhenqi in his body.
Just as the serving girl in Hanguang Palace lit the first lantern in fear, the black-clothed Fan Xian landed like a stone on the floor in the back of Hanguang Palace. Beside him were shattered tiles and dust. Under his feet was the cracked stone floor that had been stepped on.
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