Inside the palace, just as Wang Fu and the others were discussing how to rescue the emperor, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

One of Wang Fu's trusted confidants stumbled in.

"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

Wang Fu was also startled and frowned as he looked at the man.

"Your Highness, His Majesty summoned Chen Fan, Hu Guang, and Li Ying to the Deyang Palace, and... and..."

This confidant was perhaps too nervous, and by the end he was out of breath and unable to get to the most important part.

"And what? Tell me already!"

Wang Fu was alarmed and rushed forward, grabbing his trusted aide by the collar. His ferocious expression sent chills down one's spine.

The confidant swallowed hard: "Moreover... a large contingent of Imperial Guards and Tiger Guards have been transferred to the palace."

"What?"

Wang Fu's expression changed, and he involuntarily loosened his grip on his confidant's collar. He immediately felt weak all over and couldn't help but take two steps back.

“Your Highness…!”

Hou Lan, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to support Wang Fu and said urgently, "Your Highness, it must be Dou Wu and Chen Fan who have kidnapped His Majesty and are about to attack us. We absolutely cannot stand here and wait to die!"

"Yes...yes...yes, we can't just sit here and wait to die."

Wang Fu muttered a few words before coming to his senses. Then he looked at his trusted aide and said, "Where's Zhang Rang? Quickly, call him to see me."

"promise!"

The trusted aide obeyed the order and ran outside, but as soon as he stepped out the door, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

As everyone looked over, they saw a feathered arrow trembling slightly around his neck.

"Your Highness, no need to look anymore, your servant is here."

Just as everyone was filled with doubt, Zhang Rang led a troop of Imperial Guards slowly over, with Huang Zhong beside him holding a large bow and remaining silent.

"Zhang Rang? I have treated you well, why have you betrayed me?"

Seeing Zhang Rang and the Imperial Guards behind him, Wang Fu finally understood and looked at Zhang Rang with a fierce but weak expression.

"I am deeply grateful for the great kindness shown to me by the Prince, but I am caught between loyalty and righteousness. Now I have no choice but to choose loyalty over righteousness!"

Zhang Rang smiled slightly, completely ignoring Wang Fu's rebuke.

"you..."

Seeing Zhang Rang's utterly despicable face, Wang Fu was instantly speechless with anger.

"Gentlemen, we have been betrayed by this villain today, but we cannot simply sit here and wait to be slaughtered. If we fight with all our might, we may have a chance to survive!"

As Wang Fu finished speaking, a dozen or so people rushed out from the back hall. These were all Wang Fu's trusted confidants who had followed him for many years. They also understood that once Wang Fu died, they would probably not be able to survive either.

Hou Lan, Xiang Rang, and the others immediately understood and gathered around Wang Fu.

"Hmph~ Weapons are hidden within the palace; they are indeed plotting something treacherous. They should all be executed!"

Seeing the eunuchs' posture, Huang Zhong couldn't help but snort coldly.

"By imperial decree, all traitors and rebels must be killed without exception!!"

Huang Zhong waved his hand, and more than thirty Imperial Guards soldiers behind him immediately rushed forward and engaged the enemy in battle.

Although the Imperial Guards were known as the elite of the Han Dynasty, the confidants that Wang Fu had cultivated over the years were also quite capable. Knowing that they were doomed to die, they all fought back fiercely and for a time, they were evenly matched with the Imperial Guards.

"It seems we'll need to give them a good workout when we get back!" Huang Zhong frowned as he watched the stalemate in the battle, then drew his ring-pommel sword and charged forward.

"Die, you thief!!"

Huang Zhong spotted a target and, with a loud roar, a head of a suicide soldier rolled to the feet of the fighting men with a "thud." Both sides were shocked to see how ferocious Huang Zhong was.

"What are you standing there for? Kill them!!"

Seeing the Imperial Guards soldiers standing there dumbfounded, Huang Zhong roared and charged toward his next target.

With Huang Zhong's addition, the morale of the Imperial Guards soared, and the group of assassins was quickly wiped out, with only Wang Fu and a few others spared.

"Take them away!!"

At Huang Zhong's command, Wang Fu and the others were also bound and headed towards Deyang Palace.

Along the way, there were Imperial Guards and Tiger Guards everywhere. As he watched them capture his trusted subordinates whom he had carefully cultivated for many years, Wang Fu felt utterly hopeless. He knew that he had lost, utterly lost.

In Deyang Palace, Liu Hong stared coldly at Wang Fu and the others kneeling on the ground.

"Attendant Wang, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Wang Fu shook his head listlessly: "I only knew that this day might come, but I didn't know it would come so long ago, and I never imagined that I would die at Your Majesty's hands..."

Liu Hong sneered: "You think you're so clever, but you've only made your own mistake! Do you really think I'm young and easy to fool?"

Wang Fu gave a wry smile, then looked at Liu Hong and asked in a deep voice, "Your Majesty is right, but this servant wants to know, were all the messages that Zhang Rang passed on from Your Majesty's hand?"

"Not bad!" Liu Hong nodded.

"Your Majesty's wisdom is as vast as the sea; I admire you greatly!"

At this point, Wang Fu finally understood that everything they had done was part of the emperor's scheme. This included the emperor's relatives, scholars, and even the empress dowager; everyone was being manipulated by the emperor.

They deserved their defeat.

Seeing Wang Fu and the others brought to justice, Hu Guang couldn't help but shed tears.

"Zijian, Shurong, can you see this? Can you see it from heaven?"

Hu Guang cried as he called out the names of his two friends.

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