The Emperor was not so foolish as to let Consort Xian openly kill Empress Xiao…
Long before Consort Xian attempted to usurp the throne, the Emperor had already arranged a way out for Empress Xiao.
Coupled with Eunuch Zhao’s reminder last night, Empress Xiao had likely vanished without a trace by now, so why would she meekly wait to be killed?
As expected, Commander Jiang searched Fengning Palace for a long time but found no sign of Empress Xiao…
“Useless, all of you are useless, you can’t do anything!” Consort Xian stamped her feet in anger, almost biting her lip until it bled. “What should we do now?”
As long as the dog emperor was alive, her son would never ascend the throne…
“Your Highness, why bother getting so upset over this?” Commander Jiang chuckled and advised, “I heard that if a person doesn’t drink water, they’ll die within three days. The Emperor and his people went in to find their own death, so no one else is to blame!”
Since they were all going to die anyway, what was wrong with waiting a few more days?
In any case, all the loyal ministers around the Emperor had fled into the secret chamber. That was good, let them die together, it would be company on the road to the underworld…
“Hmph, that’s true. Since they’ve already gone in, it saves me the trouble of killing them!” Consort Xian’s mood improved slightly, and she ordered everyone, “Listen carefully, no one is allowed to give them water, nor feed them food. I shall wait another three to four days!”
Just as she finished speaking, a sound of clinking cups suddenly came from the small room…
A faint aroma of wine and dishes could be smelled.
Consort Xian was surprised. She lifted her skirt and ran over. Peeking through the observation hole, she saw the Emperor, Prime Minister Yang, and Xue Luhai feasting and drinking…
There was roast chicken, roast duck, spicy kimchi, dried meat, jerky, and shredded potatoes – everything imaginable.
What was even more outrageous was that in a corner of the small room, a large amount of supplies was piled up, at least a dozen sacks, enough for the Emperor and these old men to eat for a year…
Little Xi Tian, fearing that Consort Xian would starve the Emperor to death in the dark room, had prepared supplies and water in advance. If they were frugal, they could even eat for two years.
“Come, come, Prime Minister Yang, let’s drink, don’t get too worked up!”
The Emperor raised his wine cup and drank it all, showing no sign of illness at all?
Prime Minister Yang and Xue Luhai were also carefree, beckoning other ministers to the table to eat and drink together…
“Dog Emperor, you clearly drank the poison, why are you completely fine?” Consort Xian questioned, leaning against the observation hole.
The Emperor put down his wine cup and glanced at her coldly. “I knew long ago that you venomous woman harbored ill intentions. How could the fish soup be fine? If you are allowed to poison me, can’t I secretly take the antidote?”
Consort Xian: “……”
This dog emperor had played her for a fool.
It turned out the Emperor had been toying with her all along.
He pretended to spit blood and fell into a coma. It was a waste for him not to be an actor…
Seeing this, Commander Jiang leaned into Consort Xian’s ear and said sinisterly, “Your Highness, it’s not difficult to get rid of them!”
“Spit it out if you have something to say!” Consort Xian furrowed her brows.
At a time like this, he was still playing coy with her.
Commander Jiang lowered his voice, “Your Highness, we can burn them to death. Look, this observation hole is large enough to throw torches through…”
“Yes!” Consort Xian’s eyes lit up, and she was overjoyed. “How could I not have thought of this? Commander Jiang, immediately have a hundred torches prepared. Today, I will cremate them on the spot…”
Before she could finish speaking, the small iron door installed on the observation hole slammed shut with a ‘clang’…
Commander Jiang brought a large hammer and smashed at it for a long time, but the small iron door only caved inwards, remaining completely undamaged.
It was as sturdy as a turtle shell…
Of course, things designed by Little Xi Tian were of the best quality.
Let alone a hammer, even a chainsaw couldn’t cut through that door.
Consort Xian was completely out of options and collapsed on the ground in a rage. “What should we do, what can we do…”
The dog emperor was too cunning.
Just then, the sound of fighting suddenly erupted from outside the palace.
Consort Xian’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked at Commander Jiang sharply. “What’s going on? Have the Imperial Guards attacked?”
Commander Jiang was also bewildered, not understanding…
The Imperial Guards were the elite personal guards of the Emperor, with senses sharper than a dog’s.
Perhaps they had discovered that something was amiss at Yangxin Hall and had attacked.
“Your Highness, rest assured, the palace inside and out is already surrounded by our men. Those five hundred Imperial Guards are no threat…” Commander Jiang reassured her.
He had over ten thousand men under his command, could he not deal with a mere five hundred Imperial Guards?
But at that moment, a man covered in blood ran in, holding a broken sword.
Upon seeing Commander Jiang, he fell to his knees with a thud, panicking immensely. “Jiang, Jiang, Jiang!”
Commander Jiang: “……”
“Commander Jiang, it’s bad! A large army has suddenly attacked the palace. Our brothers are either dead or wounded, and there are very few left!” the man cried.
Commander Jiang’s face turned pale, as if facing a great enemy. “What, what are you saying? How could an army suddenly appear out of nowhere?”
“It’s more than just one army…” The man wiped the blood from his face and pointed outside. “Before this, we don’t know where over two thousand soldiers came from. Oh, those people were like they were on stimulants. As soon as they saw us, they rushed over and started killing without a word. Their combat power was astonishing. But who knew, as we were fighting, another army arrived, with even more terrifying combat power. Wherever they went, it was like nothing survived!”
Commander Jiang: “……”
Could this also be the dog emperor’s doing from behind the scenes?
Since he knew long ago that Consort Xian was going to usurp the throne, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have prepared two armies in secret.
“Who are the commanders of the two armies?” Consort Xian asked with a trembling voice.
“It’s, it’s General Gu Zhenshan, and Marquis Pingyang, Gu Mingyan…”
As for Gu Zhenshan’s elite force, Xiao Jinheng had long ago instructed him to transfer troops from the northern border to secretly protect the Emperor’s safety.
However, Gu Mingyan had not been idle all these years. He had secretly trained an army of fierce warriors, specifically to deal with matters of imperial security…
The troops that the shepherd boy saw in the fields that day were precisely the troops Gu Mingyan had transferred from elsewhere.
Now, Consort Xian was completely surrounded, with no way to advance or retreat. Even if she grew wings, she wouldn’t be able to fly out of the palace.
“How… how could this happen? Why, why is this happening?” Consort Xian’s face turned ashen, completely devoid of her previous arrogance and excitement.
It turned out that after planning for so many years, she hadn’t killed anyone and had instead brought about her own downfall.
The Emperor opened the observation hole and looked at Consort Xian’s desperate and injured expression, chuckling.
Truly, one reaps what one sows.
A moment later, Xiao Jinheng slowly walked in, with Little Xi Tian and Kong Xingzhu following behind him.
Besides them, an unexpected person had also arrived…