Chapter 311 The Great Battle Begins

Shen Qingci's eyes lit up as she spotted Chu Jichen walking towards them from the opposite direction.

"Chu Jichen!"

Shen Qingci rushed forward and threw herself into Chu Jichen's arms: "Are you alright?"

Chu Jichen lowered his head, carefully examining her, his eyes full of concern: "I should be asking you that."

"I've been in the palace the whole time, what could have happened to me? But you, are you safe outside the city?"

Shen Qingci's lips curved slightly, but she was also very clear that this was definitely not the time for romance or idle chatter. She immediately said, "My original plan was for me to enter the palace first, and then have the soldiers outside the city enter the city in batches to encircle the rebels from behind."

"But I've been thinking about this the whole way here..."

"The late emperor and Huo Yunting are still in your hands, in the palace. The rebels' target must be the palace."

"If that's the case, why should we defend the palace to the death and waste our time with them?"

"Why don't you, Your Majesty, take all the men you can muster and leave the palace first? Then we can circle around and eliminate them completely?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Jichen's lips curved into a smile, and a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes: "Qingqing and I thought of the same thing."

That's exactly what I'm planning to do.

"I want to take the late emperor and Huo Yunting out of the city together and put on a show for their people, the Empty City Stratagem."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same light and understanding in each other's eyes.

"Then I'll stay in the secret passage for now? I'll wait for you? Shall we go back together?" Shen Qingci asked.

Chu Jichen shook his head, his gaze firm: "No, you stay in the city, but not in the palace."

"The Shen family's men are still entering the city in batches as you previously arranged, lying in wait for orders."

"Let's switch positions and coordinate an attack from the inside and outside!"

Shen Qingci frowned. Chu Jichen still wanted to separate from her? Why?

Chu Jichen knew and paid close attention to her every word and action, and immediately guessed what she was thinking. He simply raised his hand to smooth out Shen Qingci's furrowed brows: "We have to separate now."

"Because we don't know what the situation is on the other side, if we stay together and get surrounded, then there will really be no hope at all."

"But if we separate, even if one of us gets into trouble, falls into danger, is captured, or is surrounded, the other can still try to rescue us."

“I discussed military strategy with Qingqing when we were young, and I know her abilities very well. I believe that the two of us can each be kings on our own. When the time is right, I will come to join you, and then we will naturally be… invincible.”

The dissatisfaction that had just welled up in Shen Qingci was almost immediately and completely dispelled by Chu Jichen's patient explanation.

She nodded, her eyes dark and unfathomable: "Okay."

What Chu Jichen said did indeed make some sense.

Being together makes them too conspicuous and actually more dangerous.

After Shen Qingci and Chu Jichen finished their discussion, she couldn't help but glance behind Chu Jichen and ask, "But you didn't bring anyone with you either? Where are your people?"

Chu Jichen smiled and said, "I've only come to meet you first and tell you my plan."

“My men aren’t here. I’ll go and leave with them through another secret passage later, and we’ll regroup at another secret location.”

After Chu Jichen finished speaking, he hugged Shen Qingci tightly, with such force that it seemed he wanted to knead her into his very bones.

Shen Qingci's eyelashes trembled slightly, her throat tightened a little, and she hugged him back, whispering, "We... will be safe, right?"

Without any hesitation, Chu Jichen nodded immediately, his tone firm: "Of course, we will all be safe."

Shen Qingci took a deep breath and stepped back slightly: "Then... let's cheer each other on."

Chu Jichen gave Shen Qingci a deep look, and the corners of his mouth curved into a smile: "It's almost over. From now on, we won't have to be apart anymore. I'll be going now."

Shen Qingci nodded, watching Chu Jichen turn and leave, disappearing into the darkness of the secret passage, before her eyes gradually dimmed.

After a long silence, she turned around, her tone no longer calm and collected, and ordered, "Then we will enter the city, not return to the palace, but go back to the small courtyard where we lived before, and wait for news."

"Then Yuanbao continued out of the city and brought back the remaining two teams."

Shen Qingci led her people back to the small courtyard where they had stayed before.

By this time, it was already bright outside, and there were more and more pedestrians on the street.

The old lady next door happened to be sweeping in front of the door. Seeing Shen Qingci bring back such a group of people, all of them looking travel-worn, she looked at her with curiosity: "Oh, young lady, so early? What are you doing with so many people so early in the morning?"

Shen Qingci twitched the corners of her mouth, trying to make her smile look natural, and replied in fluent Northern Shuo accent, "Go check out the goods. Some goods have to be picked up early, otherwise they'll be taken by someone else."

The old woman nodded, though she found it a bit strange, but couldn't find fault with it: "That's true, when doing business, it's always good to be diligent."

After Shen Qingci led her people into the courtyard, the old woman frowned and muttered under her breath, "This young girl looks so gentle and kind, why is she leading a bunch of fierce-looking people? They don't look like they're doing legitimate business, they look more like the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) from those storybooks, or... murderers and robbers."

But she also knew that the world was not peaceful these days, and the capital had just gone through turmoil. It was better to avoid trouble, so she shook her head, picked up the basket of tofu and walked out, preparing to set up a stall at the market.

She hadn't gone far when a man rushed over in a panic, nearly knocking over her basket.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the old woman complained.

The man, ignoring his apology, grabbed her and cried out urgently, "Still selling tofu! Go back quickly, something's happened! Something terrible has happened!"

The old woman looked bewildered and was startled by his appearance: "What happened? What happened?"

"I don't know the specifics either, but the city gates are tightly shut, and no one is allowed in or out! I heard there are a large number of troops stockpiled outside the city, and it seems that... the Empress has rebelled?"

The old woman's eyes widened in disbelief: "The Empress? A rebellion? How is that possible? Didn't Her Majesty just marry the Regent... oh no, His Majesty?"

"Yes, but I also heard that the troops outside the city were the Shen family army that the Empress summoned a few days ago. But I don't know what happened, it seems that there are also troops surrounding the palace, shouting that the late Emperor is the rightful heir of the Chu family of the Great Zhou Dynasty and is not dead! They want the Regent to return the throne."

"Your Excellency, this capital city is about to descend into chaos. Let's hurry back and stop wandering around here, or we'll lose our lives!"

The old woman was terrified. She responded and quickly grabbed her basket, forgetting all about business, and ran back to her courtyard, closing the gate tightly behind her.

Next door, Shen Qingci stood behind the courtyard gate and heard the conversation outside clearly.

She couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

She was wronged to death; she was accused of treason?

These are probably all rumors spread by the late emperor's men to muddy the waters and confuse the public.

But the person who spoke just now was right about one thing: the imperial city is about to descend into chaos.

Shen Qingci ate something and then went straight back to her room.

Yuanbao would have to make two more trips to bring all of Shen's troops outside the city into the city.

This process takes time and is full of variables.

All she can do now is wait for news.

She should take advantage of this time to rest and recharge.

Next, there's still a tough battle ahead.

Shen Qingci had just gone back to her room and dozed off for a while when hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Your Majesty!" It was the voice of the guard, carrying a hint of barely suppressed joy.

The guard reported in a low voice, "Yuanbao has brought all of the Shen family's troops into the city. Everything went smoothly, and there were no unexpected incidents. Everyone is now assembled at the secret stronghold and is awaiting Her Majesty's command."

Shen Qingci finally let out a long breath, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed a little.

"That's good."

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to faintly hear shouts coming from afar.

The sound was extremely loud, deafening, and seemed to be shouts of killing.

Shen Qingci immediately stood up and opened the door, his expression grave: "The rebels have begun attacking the palace gates?"

The guard was also somewhat bewildered, and listened for a while before saying, "I will send someone to check the situation at the palace gate. However, I think it is also possible that Commander Yuanbao led the Shen family to the rear of the rebel army besieging the palace, and the two armies may have engaged in battle."

"Yuanbao, along with Commander Qingming, headed straight for the palace gate."

Shen Qingci frowned. She hadn't given the order yet, so Qingming shouldn't have taken the initiative to attack.

Something must have happened.

About half an hour later, the news spread.

The scout ran back, panting, his face filled with shock and awe: "Your Majesty! It's His Majesty!"

"His Majesty ordered the palace gates to be opened, and... and had the heads of the late Emperor and Huo Yunting hung high above the palace gates!"