Night fell and hung heavily over the imperial city. There were only a few stars and a faint moon, and layers of clouds rolled across the sky. There was none of the refreshing autumn air.
Despite the gloomy weather, Taiyuan Imperial City appeared even more resplendent and magnificent than before. Colorful lanterns and ribbons filled the palace, and silk was tied to the trees. Pots of imperial chrysanthemums in full bloom were placed every three paces, with crimson lanterns hanging from them. The crimson glow of the lanterns accentuated the beauty of the flowers, creating a dazzling sight to behold.
On the water pavilion in front of the Qian 'an Palace was a jade belt pontoon bridge, the blue water rippled and red lotus lanterns floated in the pond. Luminous pearls hung from the roof of the pavilion. Fresh and dried fruits and water delicacies were already prepared on the table. They were only waiting for the Emperor to finish offering incense before the banquet.
The princes had already arrived at Qianan Palace and were waiting for His Majesty's arrival in the side hall. They chatted merrily with one another, creating a harmonious scene.
King Qi leaned back in his chair and picked up a grape to eat slowly. He glanced at the hourglass in the glass bottle as he ate.
It was past five.
The West Sixth Palace was a distance away from Qianan Palace. It was much more deserted than the main hall. There weren't many old imperial concubines, and most of the palaces were empty and dark. Although there were decorations, it still exuded a sense of melancholy and desolation. The colorful lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind, and their crimson glow permeated the dark night, making them look as beautiful as blood.
A pair of dark figures hurried toward Xin Palace. Judging from their attire, they were a pair of eunuchs and palace maids.
They were in a hurry, often ducking into corners when the guards passed by. They were light and nimble, so they didn't alert anyone along the way.
When they arrived at Xuande Hall, the two of them stopped.
Past Xuande Hall, where the old imperial concubine resided, was the Cold Palace, Xin Palace. Past Xin Palace's Yong Alley was the western gate of the imperial city, commonly known as the "Death Gate". The corpses of concubines and palace servants who committed crimes would be dragged out from this gate. Legend had it that Yong Alley never saw the light of day and was filled with chilly winds, so few people passed through it.
But today was different.
In front of the palace wall between the Xuande Hall and the Xin Palace, there were as many soldiers as there was a forest. Their armors shone brightly. Groups of guards were entrenched in the narrow alleys like black snakes, patrolling back and forth in an endless stream. The security was so tight that even a mouse could not get through.
The two of them looked at each other and saw the worry in each other's eyes.
The walls of the Palace of Faith were right in front of them, but this short distance of a few dozen meters had become a heavenly moat. Even flying was impossible.
Yun Hen anxiously raised his head and looked at the cloudy sky. In the south, it was still summer in October. When a storm was about to come, even the wind was low and oppressive. Such a humid wind hit his face, as if he could squeeze water out of it if he clenched it tightly.
There were still three quarters of an hour before the Imperial Family Banquet.
Yun Hen's face was ashen. He stared in front of him. The endless footsteps of the guards gradually turned into illusions in his eyes. Some scenes deep in his memories, after many years, after crossing the River of Forgetfulness, once again rushed in front of him.
… It was also the messy footsteps that flashed across his raised vision. Those hurried footsteps, in front of his eyes. He panted and reached out his hand, trying to grab something to rely on. But he did not know who's shoe stepped on it. He raised his head in pain, but that shoe, slowly, pressed down.
Or that night at the mass grave, the night owl flew over the treetops of Lin Duan, its wings brushing against the rustling leaves, letting out a faint cry that sounded like the wailing of a ghost. He lay on the damp ground and saw the shiny shovel. The bloody mud that was dug up splashed onto his face, blocking his vision. He could not see clearly, he could not see clearly what was in the pit …
Yun Hen's breathing gradually became faster.
Those nightmares that had sunk into the depths of time, when could they find the final redemption?
A spark spun in his eyes like a raging flame. Yun Hen suddenly tightened his grip on the sword at his waist. He was about to take a step forward, but he was suddenly pulled back by someone.
Looking back, Yun Hen stared at Meng Fuyao, who was holding him back. He coldly shook off her hand, the spark in his eyes spinning and leaping, as if it would fly out at any time.
Meng Fuyao was also startled by his sudden cold and sharp gaze. She saw that Yun Hen seemed to have the urge to fight one-on-one, so she quickly pulled him back. She did not want him to die, so why was he so angry?
She pursed her lips, not intending to quarrel with him at this time. She quickly gestured for him to turn around.
Doubt flashed in Yun Hen's eyes, but when he saw Meng Fuyao's confident expression, he still did as she said.
Meng Fuyao took a step back and quietly cut off a branch from a flowering tree beside her. Holding it in her hand, she carefully shaved it into a long, round object. She weighed it in her palm and looked at it, before wretchedly putting it in her sleeve.
The sky was dark, but it could not conceal a suspicious blush that suddenly flashed across her face.
The object in her palm was round, thick, and long, and it coarsely rubbed against her fingers. Her face was burning hot, and the corners of her mouth twitched into a helpless smile.
'F * ck, I really got involved in a moment of impulse. My clean reputation is going to be ruined in this damned Taiyuan Imperial Palace.'
*****
Quarter past five in the afternoon.
Inside the Qianan Palace, the candles were burning brightly.
Qi Xunyi was talking about the superb skills of the Huaizuo's number one acrobatic troupe, the Wu Family Troupe.
He smiled and gestured for the crown prince to move his head over. Qi Xunyi said in a low voice, "Crown Prince, there's a beautiful lady in that troupe. She's a virgin with a waist as soft as cotton, and her looks are unparalleled. She's really …"
"Oh?" the crown prince replied. "Since she's a virgin, how did Third Brother know that she has a waist as soft as cotton? Could it be … "
The two brothers looked at each other and laughed.
*****
Quarter past five in the Qianan Palace Guard Room.
Vice Commander Tie was about to head out for an inspection when the curtains were lifted. His superior, Commandant Yan Lie, entered.
"I'll go with you."
The two walked forward arm in arm. Suddenly, they saw a slender shadow in front of them. Commander Tie looked up and saw the princess of the Pei Family standing in the wind, smiling sweetly.
Commander Tie immediately went forward to greet the princess whom he had 'bumped into'. Princess Pei smiled faintly.
A sword suddenly appeared in her hand, and with a flash of light, it pierced into Commander Tie's heart.
Commander Tie instinctively wanted to retaliate, but Marquis Yan, who was beside him, suddenly reached out with a smile. With a flick of his sleeve, he caught Commander Tie's crooked body under his armpit. Commander Tie's head struggled unwillingly under his armpit, rubbing against him until he was covered in blood.
Yan Lie smiled as usual and twisted his arm.
Commander Tie's head immediately tilted to the side in a strange manner. The sound of his neck breaking was drowned out by the cold night.
Throwing the corpse to the ground, Pei Yuan and Yan Lie looked at each other and smiled.
*****
Quarter past five in the afternoon, at the Triple Gate of the palace.
The night wind was like iron, the sound of hooves shattering the pale moonlight in front of the crimson palace gates. The guards at the Triple Gate of Taiyuan Imperial City stood as straight as javelins, faint shadows crisscrossing on the ground, unmoving.
Fast horses broke the silence of the night, galloping in like a gust of wind. The riders wore embroidered robes and carried swords. Their followers were as numerous as the clouds. They were the Yan father and son who were in charge of the palace guards.
"By His Majesty's order, the Changning, Guangan, and Changxin Gates are to be replaced urgently!"
Weapons glinted coldly as armor clanged against each other. Clouds flew across the horizon and piled up like fish scales, pressing down on a corner of the imperial city.
Yan Lie sat high on his horse, coldly waiting for the replacement. The captain of the Changxin Gate guards was Tie Cangmo's trusted aide. He hesitantly reached out for Commander Tie's warrant.
Yan Lie smiled sinisterly. "Yes!"
With a swing of his hand, a head smashed into the captain's skull. Fresh blood mixed with brain matter slowly flowed across the lines on the ground, painting a gruesome scene of carnage.
The rolling head and blood stained the streets, but were instantly wiped away by well-trained guards.
*****
A quarter past five in the afternoon, at the military camp on the outskirts of the capital.
The commander of the capital army, Fang Minghe, gathered all his generals and read out King Qi's warrant, stating that the Crown Prince was rebelling. The capital army had to enter the palace to protect the Emperor. Out of the five generals under him, three immediately followed the order and mobilized the army, while the other two raised objections.
Fang Minghe calmly listened to the other party's opinion that the capital army should not move without the imperial edict. He calmly nodded and then waved his hand.
Dozens of spears suddenly pierced into the main tent made of cowhide, piercing the two generals seventeen or eighteen holes.
Blood splattered onto the tent and danced in the air. The Geomancy Map behind Fang Minghe was stained with blood. That location was right in the imperial city.
*****
At the same time, in a secret residence somewhere in the Yan Capital.
The beaded curtains and pearls glimmered on the green muslin window, reflecting the slender back of a graceful man.
"Kill thirty-one people." He raised a finger and smiled elegantly. "Killing people is not only effective, but also accurate and necessary. That's the real killing."
"Go." He gently raised his palm, and a faint white mark flashed, which was instantly covered by his wide sleeve. "This is my first gift to Qi Xunyi."
As soon as he finished speaking, black shadows shot out from the room like smoke, shooting to every corner of the huge Yan Jing. The places they went to, the people they wanted to kill, might not be eye-catching, or might seem insignificant, but they would really affect the key situation, causing Yan Jing City to fall into a state of paralysis at the first moment after the incident broke out, the government orders were blocked, and information was blocked.
The list of thirty-one people was written in elegant handwriting on the gold-sprinkled paper.
The magistrate of the Yan Capital Prefecture, some of the nobles who had private soldiers, the deputy of the military station and courier station, the guards of the beacon tower, and the officials on duty in the imperial city who were in charge of releasing information and orders …
The death of these people would cause the entire Yan Capital to be in trouble. There would be no one to mobilize, and no information to send.
The bowing man read the list with a look of admiration in his eyes, but he was still a little hesitant. "The imperial guards are still in the hands of the crown prince, but he has secretly expanded them over the years. There are more than eighty thousand of them, do you think …"
"He won't make it," the man said with a smile. "Unless he can escape Qi Xunyi's assassins and reach the camp before the hour of the fifth day."
There was a moment of silence. Everyone knew that it was impossible.
"Actually, I don't mind them fighting. Taiyuan hasn't been too well-behaved these years, and it's time to wash his brains with blood." The man stood in front of the screen, his sleeves fluttering in the wind. His jet-black hair fluttered in the wind, and his smile was like a blooming epiphyllum. There was a hint of loneliness in his tone, as if he was at the top of the four seas, looking down on the world with no opponents.
"It's a pity that Qi Xunyi won't give the crown prince a chance. There's probably no one in the entire Yan Capital who can reverse the crown prince's fate …"
He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze deep and distant, as if he could see through the darkness to some predetermined ending.
He repeated with a smile.
"It's a pity."
= = =
Please guess what that thing Meng Fuyao carved out of a tree branch. I'm too embarrassed to say it out loud, but it'll be useful.
Explain the palace changes to your relatives: Two camps. Qi Xunyi against the crown prince, while Qi Xunyi has the Pei and Yan families under him. The Yan family is in charge of changing the guards at the three palace gates, while the Pei family, Fang Minghe, will lead fifty thousand troops from the outskirts of the capital to force the emperor to abdicate. Other than that, a certain classmate will be helping out in secret. All of this will take place at the same time.
On the crown prince's side: The eighty thousand imperial guards stationed in the city, as well as the Yun family and the East Palace guards guarding the Xin Palace, were still in the dark, waiting to see the show of hidden killing intent.
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