Zhu Yu silenced Lu Xiaoyun's words with a kiss. How could she still hear sounds from outside at a time like this? It seems he hasn't been trying hard enough.

Feng Yan, who was waiting outside, was very anxious and could only knock on the door again.

Frustrated, Zhu Yu threw the pillow away.

There was a pause outside. Feng Yan stamped his foot anxiously and, risking a beating from his master, loudly reported, "Master, something has happened in the palace."

Lu Xiaoyun frowned and gasped, "What is it?"

Feng Yan felt a chill run down his spine: "The Duke of Yingguo has taken the Emperor hostage."

There was a moment of silence inside, followed by the sound of clothes being put on.

A moment later, the door was opened.

Feng Yan dared not look at his master, keeping his head extremely low.

As Lu Xiaoyun put on her coat, she asked, "Isn't the Duke of Yingguo in the Northwest?"

“A month ago, Consort De secretly sent a letter from the palace to the Northwest. After receiving the letter, the Duke of Yingguo led more than a hundred of his confidants back to Shengjing.”

"Where's Zhu Chen?" Zhu Yu also came out of the house and asked as he watched Lu Xiaoyun getting dressed.

"They've already been rescued. It wasn't until early this morning that someone discovered the guards in the prison had been poisoned, and all ten-plus of them died."

Lu Xiaoyun: "Then why didn't he run away and instead went to the palace? No, wait, he came to rescue Consort De, didn't he?"

Feng Yan nodded: "At that time, the Emperor was in Consort De's Zichen Palace. The Duke of Yingguo did not expect the Emperor to be there, and the Emperor did not expect that after not seeing him for more than half a year, the Duke of Yingguo, whom he had exiled to the Northwest, would suddenly appear. He immediately shouted for the Imperial Guards to arrest him. Seeing that he could not escape, the Duke of Yingguo took the Emperor hostage."

Lu Xiaoyun frowned: "Where is Qi Shaocheng? How could he have broken into the palace?"

Zhu Yu: "It's not Qi Shaocheng's fault. There is a secret passage in the side hall of Zichen Palace that leads directly outside the palace. The Duke of Ying should have sneaked into the palace from there."

Feng Yan looked at Zhu Yu with suspicion: "How did the Princess Consort know?"

“I heard my father mention it once.”

Feng Yan nodded: "Master, have you forgotten? This secret passage was left behind by the palace servants who escaped during the later period of the previous dynasty. The late emperor ordered the passage to be sealed off, and the Duke of Yingguo was in charge of sealing it off at the time!"

Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu understood without even thinking. So, the reason why Consort De chose to live in Zichen Palace was probably because the Duke of Yingguo had left a way out for his daughter in his early years.

Consort De was always favored by the emperor, and with a few whispers in his ear, it would be easy for her to choose a palace to live in.

When the Duke of England sealed this secret passage, he took precautions. The entrance to the Zichen Palace was indeed sealed off, but the seal outside the palace was not properly closed.

The three of them talked as they hurried toward the gate of the mansion.

Zhu Yu whispered in Lu Xiaoyun's ear, "From now on, no matter how urgent you are, you must not put on clothes in front of men."

Feng Yan, who was walking behind, twitched his brow and took a deep look at the "Princess's" back.

The horses were ready, and the group immediately galloped towards the palace.

Inside the palace, Zhu Dan and Qi Shaocheng had already surrounded the Zichen Palace with thousands of imperial guards, and archers were aimed at every corner of the palace.

Zhu Dan had already sent men to block the exits outside the palace, so if the Duke of Ying wanted to escape, he could only break out through the main gate by taking the old emperor hostage.

When Lu Xiaoyun arrived, the British judge held a sharp dagger to the old emperor's neck, forcing him to walk step by step out of the Zichen Palace.

He was surrounded by more than twenty guards he had brought, who encircled him, the old emperor, Consort De, and Zhu Chen.

The moment the archers made a move, the Duke of England could immediately slit the old emperor's throat with his dagger.

"Get out of the way, or I'll kill him!" The Duke of England was over sixty years old. He was a soldier by trade, and his silver armor was stained with blood. Although his hair was completely white, he did not look old. On the contrary, his voice was loud and his body was robust. He looked much younger than the fifty-six-year-old emperor.

Lu Xiaoyun glanced casually and saw several palace maids and eunuchs lying in pools of blood in the Zichen Palace.

The old emperor was pale and thin, his face filled with terror: "My dear minister, don't, don't be impulsive. Let's talk this out. What do you want? I'll have them give it to you immediately."

The Duke of England tightened his grip on the dagger pressed against the old emperor's neck: "Enough nonsense! Tell them all to get out of the way. You immediately write an edict to abdicate in favor of Zhu Chen, and order the deaths of Zhu Yu and Zhu Dan. Be a good retired emperor, and I can guarantee your survival!"

Lu Xiaoyun surveyed her surroundings. The Zichen Palace was surrounded by archers, but because the Duke of Yingguo's guards had them completely sealed off, even though there were thousands of them, they were helpless.

The Duke of England moved the dagger half an inch closer to the old emperor's neck, and a thin gash was immediately cut open, from which blood gushed out.

The old emperor cried out in pain and said in a panic, "Duke of England, no, no! Swords have no eyes! Put down the knife! I will grant your request. Please don't kill me. I will give you anything you want."

The Duke of Ying scoffed, "Such a useless dog emperor, who used insidious schemes to seize the throne from Zhu Zhen, has left the Great Zhou Dynasty riddled with holes."

They ended up being unable to even defeat the Southern Liang, and were even willing to give their daughter to that treacherous and cunning Crown Prince of Southern Liang, whose concubines never survived more than three years. Aren't they ashamed?

If the Great Zhou continues to allow such a person to remain on the throne, it will sooner or later hand over the vast land conquered by the late emperor to others. It would be better to give it to Zhu Chen; with his maternal grandfather's assistance, the Third Prince will surely become a wise and benevolent ruler.

Qi Shaocheng cried out urgently, "Your Majesty, you mustn't agree to it! The Duke of Ying is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He only wants to support the Third Prince as a puppet emperor so that he can become the regent of the Great Zhou! In that case, the Great Zhou's empire will only be able to follow his Duke of Ying's surname."

Zhu Chen frowned imperceptibly.

The Duke of England glanced at him and said, "No, that's not true. I'm an old man, what do I need the throne for?"

Zhu Chen snorted coldly: "Grandfather, don't worry. I'm not a three-year-old child. How could I not see through such a clumsy trick of sowing discord?"

Lu Xiaoyun's lips curled up slightly. He had Qi Shaocheng say these words not for the future, but to make them start to doubt each other now.

Even the slightest crack between them would be enough.

Sure enough, she noticed Zhu Chen's slight retreat of half an inch and a subtle change in his eyes.

Lu Xiaoyun's lips curled slightly as she looked up at the time. By now, Zhu Yu should be ready, and all she needed to do was delay for a little longer.

Seeing the old emperor in pain, his face pale and his body trembling, Qi Shaocheng hurriedly shouted, "Don't be afraid! Your Majesty, I will go and get the Duke of Ying's dog's head right away!"

He immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to charge forward.

"Get back, all of you!" the Duke of England roared. "Anyone who dares to rush forward, I'll kill him with one stroke right now!"