Chapter 264 Entering the Great Hall Where the King of the Desolate Kingdom Resides

As he read this passage aloud, Xiao Qidi's voice became choked with emotion.

Many childhood memories also surfaced in my mind.

He continued to examine other bamboo slips, and through the contents of these diary fragments, he gradually confirmed one thing: Jiang Peihuan had been forced to lose her virginity at the beginning.

Xiao Qidi was only four years old at that time.

Jiang Peihuan was young and beautiful, and soon after Xiao Qidi's father fled, she was harassed.

The male nobles, especially those in the royal palace of the desolate kingdom, all coveted her.

One of them is the uncle of the current king of Huangguo – Marquis Xinping of Huangguo.

Marquis Xinping repeatedly tried to persuade her but failed, so he resorted to force. Afterwards, he gave Jiang Peihuan some food that only royalty could enjoy.

Jiang Peihuan felt humiliated and indignant, and wanted to end her life, but when she saw her young child and realized that she was the child's only support, she could only endure it.

She gave the food that Marquis Xinping had given to Xiao Qidi.

At the time, four-year-old Xiao Qidi was sick and could not eat coarse food at all. He only began to get better after eating some refined and nutritious food.

Seeing that she could improve her son's life with her body, Jiang Peihuan became less resistant to the coercion of Marquis Xinping.

In this way, she ensured that Xiao Qidi could eat and dress warmly like a normal child, and that he could receive protection from Marquis Xinping when he was bullied.

Later, as long as it ensured Xiao Qidi's healthy growth, Jiang Peihuan accepted all comers, smiling and cooperating with the nobles and princes of the desolate kingdom who violated her.

If she hadn't yielded, Xiao Qidi might have died before he could return to Xuan Kingdom...

When Xiao Qidi saw these details in the surviving bamboo slip diary, he finally couldn't hold back and knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"Mother... Mother!!" He clutched the fragments of the bamboo slips tightly to his chest, crying and sobbing as he called out.

He would never have known these things if he hadn't seen Jiang Peihuan's diary written in secret back then.

Only then did he truly understand the extent to which his mother had sacrificed herself during his childhood.

Ning Jinli was also feeling very sad at this moment, and silently hugged Xiao Qidi's shoulder from the side.

After a moment, Xiao Qidi calmed down.

He piled all the bamboo slips together and lit them with a lighter from his personal belongings.

"Qidi, what's wrong with you..." Ning Jinli was somewhat taken aback.

Xiao Qidi wiped away his tears and calmly stared at the flickering flames in front of him. "I can't let these things spread. It's to... preserve some face for my mother. During her lifetime, I will never allow this secret to be revealed to the world, so that she can be attacked by those with ulterior motives."

Since Xiao Qidi had decided to do this, Ning Jinli couldn't say anything and just watched as the secret historical documents were completely consumed by the flames.

Once all the bamboo slips had burned to ashes, the walkie-talkies on their waists lit up with indicator lights.

The two turned on their earphones and heard Mu Cheng reporting the situation.

Mu Cheng stated that all the generals and officers of the guards in the royal city had been killed by the Xuanjia soldiers. Apart from the vast majority of the guards who were drunk and unconscious, the rest who were capable of fighting had also been eliminated.

This means that if something happens inside the palace, tens of thousands of guards will be of no use.

It has to be said that Mu Cheng is very efficient.

In addition, Mu Cheng reported that the drones detected that many ministers of the barren kingdom were leaving the palace one after another.

Xiao Qidi immediately ordered him to take the Xuanjia soldiers and secretly deal with these ministers. If necessary, they could all be killed, since they were all mediocre.

Afterwards, Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli left the place.

This is the royal palace.

Hundreds of officials from the desolate kingdom are being escorted out of the palace in batches by the imperial guards.

Here are court officials residing in the capital of the Wasteland Kingdom, as well as some local officials who fled here because the Wasteland Kingdom had repeatedly lost its land in battle. In short, they have all retreated to the royal city.

They accompanied the king of the desolate kingdom in drinking and merrymaking, getting drunk and not leaving until after midnight.

Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli arrived at the roof of the palace where the king of the Desolate Kingdom was located, and quietly moved a few tiles to observe the situation inside the hall.

The officials are gone, but the princes and nobles remain.

A rough estimate puts the number at several hundred.

The eunuchs continued to serve the group even more lavish wines and delicacies, the court musicians sang blush-inducing erotic songs, and the dancers removed their previous dresses, covering their bodies only with thin veils, making their dances even bolder and more explicit.

“Tsk tsk…they’ve already moved into the second half of the banquet,” Ning Jinli’s beautiful eyes flashed with coldness. “The people outside the palace are starving and freezing, and they are being used as hostages to threaten the Great Xuan Army, while they are indulging in sensual pleasures here. They are truly a bunch of beasts.”

Xiao Qidi said quietly, "Tonight, none of them will escape."

Ning Jinli took out a small remote control and pressed one of the switches.

boom!

An explosion was heard somewhere in the palace, followed by a raging fire.

It was just a small explosion, which Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi casually set up on their way back.

The main hall was bustling with activity. The king of the desolate kingdom and his nobles were unaware of the commotion, but it was enough to alert the royal guards.

Before long, the commander of the Imperial Guards hurriedly entered the main hall.

Before he could speak, the nobles and nobles showed signs of annoyance, all complaining that he had disturbed their fun.

The king of the desolate kingdom was also somewhat displeased. He gestured for the singing and dancing to stop and asked in a cold voice, "I didn't invite you in. What are you doing barging in?"

“Your Majesty, I dare not trespass,” the commander of the Imperial Guards reported. “Just now, there was a strange noise and a fire coming from the direction of the inner palace. I sent the Imperial Guards to investigate and found that a palace had been damaged and was on fire for some unknown reason…”

"If there's a fire, go put it out!" the king of the desolate kingdom glared at him. "Is such a trivial matter worth bothering me with? Go and deal with it!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards said, "Your Majesty... that is the inner palace. Without your permission, we cannot trespass. Right now, only the eunuchs of the inner palace are putting out the fire."

The king of the desolate kingdom slapped his forehead. "Oh... I drank a bit too much and forgot. I now grant you permission to take the imperial guards to the harem. Make sure you protect the queen and the concubines well."

"Yes! Your subject obeys!"

The commander of the Imperial Guards immediately left the main hall and quickly arranged for his subordinates to lead two thousand Imperial Guards to the inner palace.

The king of the desolate kingdom ordered the eunuchs in the main hall to close all the doors tightly, so that the imperial guards would not rashly push open the doors without his summons.

Ning Jinli pressed another remote control switch.

Another explosion and fire occurred at another location, but the commotion was not very large.

The commander of the Imperial Guards found it strange, but he had never seen this situation before. He could only send out another team of about two thousand Imperial Guards, and at the same time mobilize five thousand Imperial Guards to patrol and inspect various places near the palace.

Previously, a thousand imperial guards were deployed to escort hundreds of officials away from the palace. The two explosions diverted another nine thousand imperial guards, bringing the total number of imperial guards to over ten thousand who would be unable to return to the main hall for the time being.

Therefore, only about 10,000 imperial guards remained around the main hall who could react in time.

On the roof, Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli exchanged a glance and then crawled inside through the gaps where the tiles had been lifted.

A few seconds later, Xiao Qidi, wearing a helmet and special forces combat uniform, appeared to descend from the sky and landed directly next to the throne of the king of the desolate kingdom.

The king of the desolate kingdom was startled. "Who are you! Where did you come from!"

The nobles and nobles present looked over upon hearing the sound and noticed a strangely dressed person beside their emperor. Their expressions changed, and the musicians, dancers, and palace maids and eunuchs who were busy serving everyone fell silent.

Xiao Qidi pulled out a dagger and pressed it against the neck of the desolate king. "Don't move! Or I'll kill him!"

Everyone was shocked.

The king of the desolate kingdom was sobered up by the shock.

Immediately, a member of the royal family shouted, "How dare you! You dare to assassinate the king?! Are you courting death?!"

With a flick of his finger, Xiao Qidi instantly slashed the skin on the neck of the king of the desolate kingdom, and the blood was particularly glaring in the bright and clear hall.

"If anyone makes a sound or moves without my permission, I will stab them again. If you don't believe me, try it." The deep voice was full of intimidation.

As expected, no one dared to make a sound.

"Who...who are you..." the king of the desolate kingdom stammered, "How did you get in? What...what do you want!"

Xiao Qidi pushed him aside and plopped down next to him on the spacious throne.

Of course, the knife in his hand never left his neck.

"Pass down the order," Xiao Qidi coldly commanded, "Continue playing the music, continue dancing."

The king of the desolate kingdom was completely baffled by the assassin's situation and had no idea what his purpose was. He could only obey, and after barely managing to compose himself, he shouted, "You... continue playing the music, continue dancing!"

The imperial guards on duty outside the main hall noticed that it had suddenly become quiet inside. After waiting patiently for a moment, they thought something unusual had happened and were about to push the door open to take a look. But before their hands could even touch the door, the music inside started playing again, so the guards withdrew their hands.

While Xiao Qidi was holding the king of the desolate kingdom hostage, Ning Jinli took advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to the situation on the throne and quickly used the tools she carried in her equipment to lock the front and back doors of the main hall, as well as the two side doors at the rear.

This ensures that no one inside the hall can sneak away.

If the Imperial Guards outside are alerted, they can hold them off for a while.

The atmosphere inside the hall was very strange at that moment.

The musicians played with trepidation, and the dancers danced with equal trepidation.

Groups of palace maids and eunuchs stood rooted to the spot, afraid to move. Whether they were carrying plates of food or were supposed to be pouring wine for the princes and nobles, they all became wooden figures.

The nobles and nobles, who were sitting cross-legged at the various tables, were extremely nervous. They had no interest in listening to the music or watching the dances; they were all staring intently at the throne.

However, the oldest man, whose hair was mostly white, remained relatively calm.

He even managed to quickly give a few instructions to the eunuchs around him during a brief moment when Xiao Qidi wasn't paying attention.

"What...what exactly do you want to do..." the king of the desolate kingdom asked once again.

Xiao Qidi took out a strap used for binding things and tied both of the king's hands to the armrests of the throne, then removed his helmet.

The king of the desolate kingdom stared wide-eyed at him, "You...who are you?!"

Not only was he curious, but everyone present was also intensely curious, and all eyes were fixed on Xiao Qidi's cold and stern face.

Xiao Qidi said calmly, "When I was born, you had just inherited the throne. I started to remember things when I was three years old. In the following years, I met you very few times. It's normal that you don't recognize me."

Upon hearing this, the king of the desolate kingdom racked his brains, trying hard to recall the situation.

If that's the case, could this person be the child you had with one of your concubines?

wrong……

She only expanded her harem after inheriting the throne.

If the other party claims that he was born to inherit the throne, then that is not the case.

Could it be... the child born to one of the palace maids he had favored before?!

But that doesn't make sense!

Didn't he order all the palace maids he favored before ascending the throne to be killed after he became king...?

Could it be that something was missed?

As the king of the desolate kingdom was deep in thought, Xiao Qidi looked at Marquis Xinping, his thin lips slightly moving as he asked in a low voice, "Do you recognize me?"

The king of the desolate kingdom was startled. Was this mysterious young man who suddenly appeared the illegitimate son of Marquis Xinping?

When the nearly fifty-year-old Marquis of Xinping met Xiao Qidi's deep and cold eyes, his heart trembled inexplicably. He frowned and observed carefully again, vaguely feeling a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't remember it for the time being.

Xiao Qidi's gaze shifted to the others.

As one face after another came into view, they gradually matched up with the men who frequented the place he and his mother lived in during his childhood.

More than ten years have passed; he has grown up, and these people have grown old.

Besides these people, there were also many young nobles present, some of his age and some older.

Although some of the boys had changed a lot in appearance, Xiao Qidi could still recognize them from their eyes and temperament as the ones who had bullied him.

"Very good... Everyone's here." Xiao Qidi's eyes grew even colder. "Among so many people, not a single one recognized me?"

Marquis Xinping roared, "Boy! Stop playing tricks and keeping us in suspense! Such disrespect to the sovereign is a grave offense! You're dead!"

Xiao Qidi sneered, "Marquis Xinping, if I remember correctly, you are not yet fifty years old this year, but you look pale and haggard. You must have been ruined by wine and women. I wonder how many women have fallen victim to your evil deeds over the years?"

It was common knowledge that Marquis Xinping was fond of wine and women, but because of his noble status, no one dared to point it out to him, or even in public.

This made Marquis Xinping lose face, and his eyes instantly turned sinister as he tried to stand up, leaning on the dining table.

Xiao Qidi casually used a dagger to slash the arm of the king of the desolate country.

Blood instantly stained the sleeves of the desolate king's robes. The pain contorted his face as he hurriedly cried out, "Uncle...don't...don't move!"

Marquis Xinping gritted his teeth and sat down angrily.

Just then, two eunuchs who had quietly circled around from both sides of the hall to the throne, holding sharp knives used to cut meat for the princes and nobles, pounced on Xiao Qidi from the left and right.

Xiao Qidi remained unmoved, merely glancing sideways.

The two eunuchs closed in in an instant, and the tips of their two knives pierced Xiao Qidi's chest at the same time!