"You go ahead, I'll guard this place," Han Xi Xia said.
Hua Yun Jin followed Li Si Nian and Feng Yu to the back.
Li Si Nian did not rush in. Instead, he opened the back door, and many masked men in black appeared outside.
Hua Yun Jin was stunned. Who were these people?
"Your Majesty, keep going, we can see the prince's head," Xue Yan said nervously.
Xue Zi Ning bit her handkerchief, feeling her strength being slowly absorbed.
Qing Yi frowned, "This won't do. His Majesty needs internal energy."
Xue Yan heard this and said, "I'll do it."
As she spoke, she slowly inputted her internal energy, and Li Yao Qin took her place.
Suddenly, a shadow broke through the wall and rolled several times. Qing Yi was stunned by the person who entered. The sword in the person's hand was stuck in the ground, and they could only stand up with difficulty.
Then several men in black also walked in. Li Si Nian, who was at the forefront, said coldly, "King Hua, this matter originally had nothing to do with you, but unfortunately, you insisted on getting involved, so I had no choice but to act."
Hua Yun Jin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled brilliantly, "I didn't want to get involved either, but I cannot give the Empress's life to you. She is the one I must protect."
"Then we can only send King Hua to hell," Li Si Nian said angrily.
"Miss Li, focus," Xue Yan reminded from the side.
Li Yao Qin withdrew her gaze and suddenly saw the Empress's body beginning to fade. She exclaimed in surprise, "What... what is happening?"
Xue Yan was also shocked, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Qing Yi's heart sank, "This is bad. The child is taking too long to come out and is already starting to absorb His Majesty's strength."
"What do we do? Qing Yi, hurry and think of a solution!" Xue Yan said anxiously.
Qing Yi stepped forward and injected his internal energy.
"Miss Li, quickly help His Majesty pull the prince out. His Majesty doesn't have the strength to give birth herself," Qing Yi urged.
Li Yao Qin nodded. Suddenly, a stream of warm liquid sprayed onto her face. She slowly turned her head and saw a figure blocking her. The warm liquid, no... it was blood, dripping onto her forehead little by little, sliding down.
She saw the face that was once as warm as jade, a handsome face, now covered in blood. "Hua... Hua Yun Jin."
"Pro... protect His Majesty," he managed to say.
Tears flowed down her face. She gritted her teeth and said, "I will use my life to protect the person you want to protect."
He smiled, laughing heartily. Suddenly, his gaze turned cold. With a strong twist, the sword piercing his chest snapped. He laughed, "Come on, is that all you've got?"
"King Hua, you can't hold on much longer," Li Si Nian said coldly.
"Is that so? Then let's see how long Lord Li can hold on, shall we?"
As he spoke, he engaged with the men in black again.
Li Yao Qin wiped away her tears, suddenly climbed onto the bed, and grabbed the unconscious Empress, roaring,
"Open your eyes and see what the people protecting you are doing! They are risking their lives for you, and we are all trying. What about you? Shouldn't you try too?"
"Miss... Miss Li..." Qing Yi was dumbfounded.
Li Yao Qin ignored Qing Yi's gaze and yelled, "They are all going to die. Is this the ending you want to see? Do you want to watch all your people die?"
Qing Yi suddenly noticed that the Empress's eyelids seemed to have moved. Qing Yi exclaimed in surprise, "It's working! Miss Li, continue!"
Li Yao Qin cried, "I know I've made many mistakes in the past. I fought with you for His Majesty Yun Huang, and I even made storytellers speak ill of you. Don't you want to punish me?"
"Do you know? I'm very jealous of you. Ever since I learned that this country is ruled by a woman, I've often wondered how wonderful it would be if I could be like that one day."
"Later, I realized I couldn't. I don't have your intelligence or your imperial aura. There's a huge gap between us. Now, I truly admire you. You've set an example for all women. I heard Officer Yun say that in the future, you will allow women to hold official positions. I want to be an official too, a good official."
"King Hua, you've lost." Li Si Nian kicked the struggling Hua Yun Jin away and walked towards the bed.
However, what he saw was not the Empress, but Li Yao Qin holding a sword.
"Yao'er, are you going to kill your father?" Li Si Nian stepped forward and asked word by word.
Li Yao Qin smiled, "Father, put down your sword. Even if you take it, what of it?"
"Yao'er, move aside," Li Si Nian said.
"I won't. I cannot let you, Father," Li Yao Qin said word by word.
"My Lord..." Feng Yu said from behind.
Li Si Nian closed his eyes and then opened them again. "Yao'er, if you don't move aside, I won't show any mercy."
Li Yao Qin laughed loudly, "Fine, kill me then. You killed Mother too, didn't you?"
Li Si Nian trembled all over. Li Yao Qin continued, "Because Mother accidentally discovered your plot to rebel, you personally set the fire for the sake of your great cause."
"A great undertaking cannot be bogged down by trivialities," Li Si Nian replied with only these words.
Li Yao Qin laughed, "Trivialities? Well said. If that's the case, then step over my dead body!"
Li Si Nian frowned, "Yao'er, why are you against me? You know I didn't want your mother to die."
"Is that so? Killing one is still killing, and killing two is still killing. Might as well kill them all!" Li Yao Qin said to him, word by word.
Feng Yu, standing beside them, became anxious. "Lord Li, you cannot let our plan fail because of one person."
Li Si Nian closed his eyes and asked, "Are you determined to be my enemy?"
"It's not that I want to be your enemy, Father, but what you are doing is wrong. I am only stopping you from continuing down the wrong path."
"If that's the case, I can't keep you alive," Li Si Nian said, opening his eyes and looking at her.
His gaze was extremely unfamiliar.
Li Yao Qin smiled, tears in her eyes, "Is that so?"
"Lord Li, if you can't bear to do it, let me," Feng Yu said.
Li Si Nian pushed Feng Yu away, "No need."
Saying that, he lunged at Li Yao Qin with his sword. She slowly closed her eyes.
"You were just telling me not to give up, and now you're giving up yourself? Li Yao Qin, you're not keeping your word."
A clear, cold voice came, and Li Yao Qin's eyes snapped open. She saw a figure standing in front of her.
"Your... Your Majesty, shouldn't you have left?" Li Yao Qin was extremely surprised.
Xue Yan came to her and said, "This is just how His Majesty is. Whoever she recognizes, she will protect."
"You've come at the perfect time. I don't have to go find you," Li Si Nian said.
"So, you think you can kill me?" Xue Zi Ning said coldly.
Li Si Nian said, "Your entourage is either injured or crippled. Who else do you have to help you?"
Xue Zi Ning gave a sinister smile, "Lord Li, you know nothing about me, yet you dare to launch this rebellion. You are wrong."