"Go, kill the Empress!"

At the command of the Prince of Dingbian, several guards from the Prince's Palace walked toward Jian Yang with swords in hand.

The emperor's eyes darkened, and he shouted, "Ziyi, protect me!"

No sooner had the emperor finished speaking than the imperial guards who had been lying in ambush on the roof of the prince's mansion appeared and leaped down, immediately engaging in a fierce battle with the prince's guards.

The scene immediately descended into chaos.

The King of Dingbian also personally drew his sword and went into battle, engaging in combat with Zhao Ziyi.

After dozens of rounds, the King of Dingbian finally succumbed to the disadvantages of age and physical strength and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

Zhao Ziyi seized the opportunity and slashed at Dingbian King's shoulder with his sword. The old man screamed and dropped his sword.

Upon seeing that the Prince of Dingbian was wounded, the guards in the Prince's mansion quickly surrendered as if they had lost their leader.

The farce, which lasted for more than half an hour, finally came to an end.

"Your subject is fortunate to have fulfilled his mission!" Zhao Ziyi walked up to the emperor and said respectfully.

The emperor nodded and said, "I knew it; you've always been reliable in your work."

Jian Yang rushed to Zhou Kun's side to check if he was injured.

"Mother, I am alright," Zhou Kun said, choking back tears. "It's just that the two guards who were protecting me were killed by the Prince of Dingbian."

Jian Yang squatted down, pulled him into her arms, and patted his back, saying, "Don't be afraid, Father and Mother will protect you."

Zhou Kun nodded and said, "Your subject understands."

Jian Yang released him, tapped his nose, and said, "In the future, when others ask you to go out and play, you can't be so foolish as to agree anymore."

Zhou Kun grinned and said, "Your subject agreed to the request of the Prince of Dingbian this time not just to come and have fun."

"What was the reason for that?" Jian Yang asked.

Zhou Kun said mysteriously, "In order to eliminate the King of Dingbian."

Jian Yang couldn't help but pinch his cheek again: "You don't need to worry about this. Leave it to your father..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Kun's eyes suddenly turned terrified.

"Father!" Zhou Kun cried out in anguish.

Jian Yang also subconsciously turned her head.

Then they saw that the Prince of Dingbian, who had just fainted from being stabbed, had somehow stood up and was rushing towards the emperor with a sharp blade in his hand.

Jian Yang made the decision almost without thinking.

She lunged forward, using her body to shield the emperor from the fatal sword strike.

The emperor, who was standing with his back to Jian Yang, suddenly turned around and saw the scene of a sharp sword piercing through her body.

The emperor's eyes widened in fury, and he drew Zhao Ziyi's sword, slashing at the Prince of Dingbian.

The King of Dingbian knew that the situation was hopeless, but he was unwilling to give up.

He pulled the sword from Jian Yang's body to block the emperor's slash aimed at him.

"Snap—"

The blade broke.

Then he saw his right arm, which was holding the sword, spurting blood as it fell straight to the ground.

The emperor actually cut off his entire arm.

Just as the emperor was about to continue chopping off his head, Zhao Ziyi stopped him.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Dingbian must not be killed at this moment!"

Under Zhao Ziyi's anxious gaze, the emperor finally calmed down.

That's right. The King of Dingbian has not yet handed over his military power. If his soldiers are misled by treacherous people in the future and think that he was wronged, they might rebel.

He must expose his crimes to the world and then reclaim his military power in order to put him to death.

The emperor sheathed his weapon, turned and rushed toward Jian Yang, who had already fainted, and carried her away from the palace.

Inside Weiyang Palace.

The imperial physician wiped his forehead and stopped, saying tremblingly, "Your Majesty, the Empress's injury is vital, and I am powerless to save her."

"What have I been doing raising you all?!" The emperor roared in fury, slamming his fist on the table and beating the imperial physicians.

The imperial physician immediately knelt down and stammered, "Your Majesty, the Empress has been wounded in the heart by a sword. I am truly powerless to help."

The emperor ignored him completely, his face darkening as he said, "I'm making this clear today: if the Imperial Hospital can't cure the Empress, I'll have you all buried with her!"

The imperial physicians immediately knelt down.

At this moment, a younger imperial physician stepped forward and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I believe that if we can find the Ganoderma lucidum, it may be possible to save Her Majesty's life."

The emperor immediately issued an order, commanding people to find the Ganoderma lucidum as quickly as possible.

At the same time, Eunuch Zhang quickly walked to the emperor's side and asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, Lord Cen from the Court of Judicial Review has arrived."

The emperor was taken aback, only then remembering that this Lord Cen was Xiahou Riyue's former deputy, and after Xiahou Riyue left, Cen Kang took over the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Cen Kang came to see him at this time, presumably because of the matter of the Prince of Dingbian.

The emperor glanced at Jian Yang again, tucked the blanket around her, and instructed Xi Qiu to take good care of her before getting up and leaving.

Inside the Imperial Study.

After paying his respects to the emperor, Cen Kang said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Your Majesty, according to the laws of our dynasty, the Prince of Dingbian has committed a grave crime that warrants the execution of nine generations of his family by assassinating the emperor and empress and taking the prince hostage."

The emperor nodded and said, "Yes, I am well aware of that."

This time, he was determined to kill the border king.

Cen Kang continued, "However, the Prince of Dingbian has been making a huge fuss in prison, saying that when the emperor ascended the throne, he had granted the Chen family a grace of immunity from death. With this grace, the Chen family could be spared the crime of being executed along with their nine generations of relatives."

The emperor frowned upon hearing this.

What Cen Kang said is indeed true.

This decree of immunity was issued by him when he ascended the throne, partly to appease the Prince of Dingbian, and partly under duress from him.

With civil and military officials as witnesses, there was no way to deny the matter even if one wanted to.

But the emperor had no intention of keeping his promise. He said coldly, "I will immediately draft an imperial edict to declare the death-exemption decree null and void."

"Your Majesty, you must not!" Cen Kang shouted.

The emperor looked at him coldly: "What? Are you here today to act as an advocate for the Prince of Dingbian?"

Cen Kang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, you misunderstand. I am not doing this for the sake of the Prince of Dingbian, but for your sake!"

The emperor looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean by that?"

Cen Kang said, "Has Your Majesty considered that if the ministers find out that you can arbitrarily renege on your promises, who will dare to serve you sincerely in the future?"

The emperor was stunned.

He knew that Cen Kang was right.

If the court officials knew that he was a monarch who did not keep his word, they would surely become estranged from him.

For the sake of the bigger picture, he had to endure it.

The emperor gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "The Chen family is pardoned for the crime of exterminating nine generations of their clan. The Prince of Dingbian is stripped of his hereditary title and exiled to the southern frontier. Consort Yu is stripped of her title and punished by being sent to guard the imperial mausoleum. As for the rest, all men will be sent to the army and exiled to the frontier, and all women will be made government slaves."

"Your Majesty is merciful."

Cen Kang left the imperial study with the emperor's decree.

As expected, after the civil and military officials learned of the emperor's decision, they all submitted memorials praising him as a good monarch.

Persistence pays off, or perhaps Jian Yang was just lucky.

When the King of Dingbian fell from power, and having witnessed the emperor's benevolence, one of the king's henchmen handed over his family's treasured Ganoderma lucidum to save his entire family's lives.