Yin Jin'an has not attended court recently.

When Duke Xun passed away, he submitted a memorial requesting to observe the mourning period, and Emperor Hui granted it without hesitation.

Yin Jin'an would train his troops at the manor during the day and keep vigil at the tomb of Duke Xun at night.

Today, after leaving Wang Badao's place, he went back to his residence to get some clothes to change into, and by sheer coincidence, he ran into Yin Jinzhuo on the street.

Originally, he didn't want to pay attention to Yin Jinzhuo. After his father passed away, he not only didn't smash the basin, but he also refused to keep vigil.

Yin Jinzhuo hated Duke Xun and Yin Jin'an because Duke Xun had submitted a memorial requesting the termination of the Duke's title.

More than anything, it was jealousy. Why didn't this younger brother continue being a loser?

He heard from the clan chief that Yin Jin'an was in mourning, and couldn't help but say sarcastically, "Having received half of the Duke's estate, he naturally has nothing to fear about mourning for three years."

Yin Jin'an retorted, "I earned my title through my own hard work, and my family fortune came from the ground up. Half of your fortune was obtained by feeding you, wasn't it?"

Yin Jinzhuo felt ashamed. He was nothing now, without even a means to make a living, and he was indeed living by pleasing the Song family.

But when Yin Jin'an said it, he lost face.

The two brothers got into a fight over a disagreement.

Would Yin Jin'an be afraid of fighting? He's been holding back for ten years, why would he give in to Yin Jinzhuo? He'd pin Yin Jinzhuo down on the street and beat him so badly he couldn't find his parents.

Li Yunmu and Zhou Lingyin came to the mansion to find him and found the two of them fighting. Good brothers are bound to be in cahoots, so Li Yunmu took sides and kicked Yin Jinzhuo a few times, almost causing Yin Jinzhuo to be impeached by the censor.

Unfortunately, no one has ever dared to mess with these three people, so Yin Jinzhuo's beatings were in vain.

Li Yunmu and Zhou Lingyin threw Yin Jinzhu out and dragged Yin Jin'an back to the Xiaoyao Marquis's residence, saying, "You still have the mind to mourn? Something big has happened in the court."

They told Yin Jin'an about Empress Xie's affair, which greatly surprised her.

In the Northwest, he was unaware of the affairs of the court. Upon his return, he immediately began to handle the funeral arrangements for the Duke of Xun. Before the funeral was even over, he submitted a memorial requesting to observe the mourning period.

He went through all this smoothly and effortlessly, completely unaware of what was happening in the imperial court.

These days, he's in Rexiaoli, so he can't easily go to Qingpuyuan to drink tea and chat.

Since they couldn't have any entertainment, they went to the village every day to train their troops with turtle-like weapons.

"Really, you're a marquis now, yet you don't care about anything in court?"

Yin Jin'an's handsome eyes were filled with incomprehension: "Isn't Empress Xie the living Guanyin's own aunt? Isn't she trying to kill the Xie family by doing this?"

Li Yunmu was extremely worried: "This matter is very troublesome. Xie Zhaozhao will definitely be affected. Now that the Empress has shot and killed His Highness, I don't know if His Highness will retaliate against Xie Zhaozhao?"

"What does he want to do to her? Divorce her? This wasn't Xie Zhaozhao's doing. If it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if a mother wants to remarry, she can't do anything about it. Besides, she's imprisoned; she's a victim too."

Zhou Lingyin said with a bitter face, "The Jing Prince's Mansion and the Xie Mansion are one entity. If something happens to the Xie Mansion, the Jing Prince's Mansion will also be implicated."

Yin Jin'an said nonchalantly, "Empress Xie is courting death, so let's just kill her. It's not easy for Xie Zhaozhao to do it, and it's not easy for His Highness to do it either. It would be best if Lord Xie did it. Hurry up, lead the troops yourself, and kill her."

"How could he possibly harm Lord Xie's own sister?"

"Otherwise what? The emperor takes action? Then it won't just be the empress who gets killed," Yin Jin'an said. "She's about to kill a prince now, what's the point of keeping her alive? To drag everyone down with her?"

This is a very tricky matter.

Yin Jin'an asked, "Is Xie Zhaozhao in the manor?"

Li Yunmu said, "No, after His Highness returned, he snatched her out of the palace and hid her somewhere that no one knows."

Where is Empress Xie?

“Huiyue Manor. Do you know that place?” Zhou Lingyin said. “I’ve heard these past few days that it’s actually a hidden brothel, and it’s said to be full of beauties, both men and women, and many of them are virgins.”

"I've been in Beijing for so long, and I never even knew about this place."

“You wouldn’t know, but everyone who goes there is an official; ordinary people can’t get in,” Zhou Lingyin said. “Now, Empress Xie is hiding over there.”

Yin Jin'an said, "We're going to the Xie residence now."

He went to Xie Anfeng and asked him to make a decision so as not to drag Xie Zhaozhao down.

Zhou Lingyin was not only a good brother, but also the elder brother of Princess Changping, so he was naturally worried about his sister.

The three of them went to the Xie residence together, only to find out that Xie Anfeng and Madam Xie had already gone to the palace and had been kneeling outside the Imperial Study for a whole day, begging His Majesty for forgiveness.

Xie Yu led five thousand Xuanyi Guards to Huiyue Manor but never returned.

Zhou Lingyin spoke with Princess Changping for a while. Princess Changping was worried that the three of them would cause trouble, so she said that everything was up to His Majesty and they should not interfere or disrupt His Majesty's plans.

It is said that Empress Xie has at least 100,000 men on her side, who are extremely well-equipped, and His Majesty has already dispatched 100,000 men from the Military Command.

Yin Jin'an couldn't find anyone capable of handling things, and he didn't like to worry about anything. Since Xie Zhaozhao and Zhou Shaoyu were both doing well, he couldn't care less about anything else.

Li Yunmu, Zhou Lingyin, and the other two simply rode to the cemetery to keep vigil and observe the mourning period!

Before they even reached the cemetery, the Commander of the Palace Guard personally came after them, bringing with him an urgent imperial edict.

"By imperial decree, the Duke of Xun has passed away. Marquis Xiaoyao should observe three years of mourning, but the military situation is urgent. It is hoped that Marquis Xiaoyao will prioritize the affairs of the country and discontinue his post despite the mourning period."

"What's the urgent matter?"

"Empress Xie has amassed an army of 100,000, which the Military Command is no match for. Vice Minister Xie is seriously injured and unconscious. The rebel army is now less than ten miles outside the capital. If the enemy troops enter the city, the consequences will be unimaginable. Your Majesty requests that Marquis Xiaoyao use the new weapons to quickly repel the enemy."

Upon hearing that Xie Yu was seriously injured, Yin Jin'an's temper flared up: "Has Her Majesty lost her mind? Killing her own nephew and imprisoning her own niece? What exactly is she trying to do?"

"Who knows?" The commander was also completely baffled. "My lord, please come with me quickly. His Highness is injured, His Majesty is seriously ill, and the army is at the city gates. There is no time to lose."

Helpless, Yin Jin'an muttered a few words in front of the Duke of Xun's grave: "Look, you love fighting the most. I broke a basin for you, and I really inherited your mantle. I just came back from the Northwest, and I have to go to war again!"

Without stopping, he went to the Military Equipment Bureau with the Commander-in-Chief.

Chu Zhongtian has now entered the Royal Arsenal, but he has not handed over the formula. He has only promised that the weapons will only be used by the imperial court.

He ordered the men of the Palace Guard to drive a carriage, and from the Ordnance Bureau, he asked Chu Zhongtian to pull up several carriages of earthenware pots and thunderbolts.

The rebels rapidly approached the imperial city, their siege machinery was highly sophisticated, and their advance was swift.

Wheels rolled on, banners fluttered in the wind.

The imposing general at the head of the group had a sharply defined face, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, wore silver armor, and wielded a spear that seemed to soar like a dragon into the clouds and thunder, reaching up to open up the sky for thousands of miles.

Upon seeing Yin Jin'an approaching on horseback with several carriages, the other party immediately reined in their horse and stopped, looking at Yin Jin'an warily.

The horse snorted and circled around. The man slung his gun to one side, looked at Yin Jin'an, and said coldly, "Brother Yin, long time no see! Please make way and let me pass."

Yin Jin'an glanced at the other party and sneered: "Who do we have here? It's you! What's wrong? Guanyin gave you a bright future, and you come to kill her man and brother?"