It is destiny.

Sima Yan's reaction was something no one had expected.

If, under the current circumstances, he initially had time to look around, his eyes occasionally flashing with calculating intent, as if he were nervously assessing the current situation and devising a countermeasure; but when he heard the words "Empress Wen has passed away," he was struck dumb, and his handsome face, which had been indulging in wine and women, instantly turned deathly pale.

He looked completely bewildered.

All the clever and eloquent arguments and pre-prepared excuses seemed to instantly get stuck in his throat, rendering them useless.

His eyes were fixed on the ground, frozen in place, as if petrified, unable to utter another word.

Judging from this situation, even if Shangguan Jin were to take his sword and attack him, he wouldn't resist in the slightest.

Rong Yuexian, the eldest of the four sisters, was the first to come to her senses. Knowing that tonight's matter was of great importance and that she should try her best to minimize the seriousness of the situation, she slowly said, "Empress Wen has been imprisoned in Qiwu Palace for a month, and some of the people in the palace may know about it. But tonight, the Empress's palace caught fire, and someone saw the Empress hang herself in the flames. Is this really not at His Majesty's behest?"

As the Grand Palace Eunuch, Rong Yuexian knew better than anyone whether Sima Yan had ever considered ordering Yanxiu's death.

But after she personally ordered Yanxiu's execution, Sima Yan ultimately came to stop her. She believed that things could not be done twice, and after that experience, Sima Yan should have completely given up the idea of ​​ordering Yanxiu's death. At least she never received a similar imperial edict afterward.

She could have investigated the fire at Qiwu Palace tonight if she had had time, but Shangguan Jin had come with his sword, which had already alerted the palace guards. She had no choice but to rush to Yunlong Palace to protect the emperor. She had only heard about the situation at Qiwu Palace from the eunuchs and palace servants and had not witnessed it herself.

However, the Empress of Qiwu Palace has already passed away, which is undoubtedly a fact.

Despite repeated questioning from Sima Jinyuan, Mo Yibi Shuang, and Rong Yuexian, Sima Yan shook his head blankly, unable to utter a single word.

As a fellow palace servant, Zhongli Wuyan had seen Emperor Wu from afar and had heard of Sima Yan's tyrannical actions. But his reaction at this moment was truly unprecedented.

It's a kind of mental bewilderment, a feeling of not yet being able to accept this matter.

It was more like a reaction of mental blankness after experiencing a huge shock.

The volatile, ruthless, cunning, and stubborn Sima Yan seemed to vanish completely the moment he heard the news of Yan Xiu's death.

What stands here now is nothing more than an empty shell, a walking corpse, a puppet.

Rong Yuexian assessed the situation and then addressed Shangguan Jin, saying, "Your Excellency, Grand Chancellor..."

Before she could finish speaking, a flash of gleaming sword light appeared, and Shangguan Jin leaped past her. "Ice Bamboo" was already positioned against Sima Yan's neck, just a hair's breadth away from his throat.

Apart from Chu Yuanyi, who was already lying on the ground, the remaining three members of the Four Mansions of Heavenly Secrets were all shocked, but it was too late for any of them to stop it from happening.

Shangguan Jin shouted sternly, "Sima Yan!"

Even though he was already disoriented, under the oppressive aura of Binghuang, Sima Yan still trembled uncontrollably, his eyes fixed on the sharp sword tip in front of him, barely daring to breathe, and he stammered, "I... am..."

For a ruler of a nation to react so cowardly at this moment would be a laughing stock in any other situation.

But no one dared to laugh at him at this moment, because the power of Shangguan Yijian's sword, the surge of sword energy, and the killing intent that filled the entire scene had made everyone lose the will to laugh.

Sima Jinyuan, who had just tried to prevent the tragedy from happening, stopped speaking and gave up trying to influence Shangguan Jin.

Even Mo Yi Bi Shuang, who had just spoken so confidently, knelt on the ground and remained silent.

Because everyone can see that Shangguan Jin is currently facing Sima Yan with intense hatred, and it is definitely not a good time to reason with him.

Shangguan Jin said sternly, enunciating each word clearly: "It was my fault that Yanxiu married you! It's too late to regret it! It was my foolishness to entrust the country with your care! The great regret has been made!"

Sima Yan raised his head, staring blankly at Shangguan Jin, seemingly not understanding what he was saying at all.

The three constellations of Tianji were on edge, constantly on guard against Shangguan Jin's sudden assassination of the emperor, yet they were powerless to do anything about it.

Shangguan Jin roared to the sky, while Sima Yan, overwhelmed by Binghuang's imposing presence, suddenly collapsed to his knees. Thus, the situation became the bizarre one where Shangguan Jin stood while Sima Yan knelt.

Everyone present paled, but no one could stop Shangguan Jin.

After Shangguan Jin finished his long roar, he exerted his strength in his wrist and violently shook the ice bamboo, which flew out of his hand and shot straight to a distance of four zhang (approximately 13 meters), where it suddenly pierced the ground with a resounding clang.

Sima Yan, having lost the pressure of the sword's imposing force, immediately collapsed to the ground.

Shangguan Jin said fiercely, "I will not kill you, not because I dare not, but because it is fate!" The light in his eyes finally dimmed, and he said heavily, "For the sake of peace thirty years from now, I can only give up taking your dog's life today. But the Shangguan family and the Sima family are now completely severed!"

When Sima Jinyuan, who was standing behind him, heard the last sentence, his face turned deathly pale.

After Shangguan Jin finished speaking, he seemed unable to contain his grief any longer. Suddenly, he pressed his hand to his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

A Qiu listened intently and said, "So that night, the Grand Secretary ultimately let Emperor Wu go."

Zhongli Wuyan said with a wry smile, "He had no choice but to let him go!"

Aqiu asked curiously, "Can't he just not let him go? Just as Lady Huachi said, if he kills Sima Yan and becomes emperor himself, with his reputation and achievements, he can't possibly do a worse job than Sima Yan, right? In any case, he's the one handling the government affairs; it's just a matter of having another title."

Zhongli Wuyan smiled bitterly: "He cannot kill Sima Yan precisely because he cannot receive the Nine Bestowments and become emperor himself."

A Qiu asked in surprise, "Is it because of the duty between ruler and subject, or the loyalty of a subject? But if Lord Shangguan were such a blindly loyal and pedantic person, he wouldn't have come with a sword to avenge Empress Wen."

Zhongli Wuyan said, "Do you remember what I said before, that if he were to come out of seclusion, there would be a prophecy that he would not live past fifty?"

A Qiu immediately nodded and said, "I remember. At that time, both his uncle and he were dismissive, because they couldn't imagine what could cause a sword immortal to die at the age of fifty."

Zhongli Wuyan said, "That very night, the prophecy came true."

She sighed, "Shangguan Jin suffered a blow from my senior sister's all-out, all-or-nothing attack, 'Heavenly Secrets Unleashed.' The shock that my senior sister suffered was largely mitigated by Madam Huachi's vine whip, but Shangguan Jin was not so lucky. The 'Heavenly Secrets' energy penetrated his internal organs, and he suffered serious internal injuries."

She looked up at the sky, her expression blank, and said, "Before Shangguan Jin came out of the mountain, the patriarch of his Shangguan family said that there was no master in the martial arts world of the north and south who could hurt Shangguan Jin, but that was only a comment on people of Shangguan Jin's time. Our Four Mansions are of much higher seniority than Shangguan Jin. Our eldest sister was the leader of the righteous path back then, and her skills have become even more refined and profound over the decades. Under her full-force attack, even Shangguan Jin, who has the ability of a sword immortal, would not be able to withstand her edge without being harmed."

Aqiu suddenly understood and said in shock, "This is why... the Grand Secretary cannot kill Sima Yan. If Sima Yan were killed by him, even if he were to receive the Nine Bestowments and ascend the throne, he would not be able to sit on the throne for more than a few years. Moreover, he would never marry and would have no heir."

Zhongli Wuyan sighed, "Yes, and the Shangguan family has no other suitable successor. It would only ruin the reputation of the Qingliu clan for a hundred years and leave them with the infamy of usurping the throne in history books. In reality, they could not hold the throne for more than a few years. After he passed away, the Shangguan family would have no strong men left, and the Southern Dynasty would eventually fall into division and internal strife, which would only benefit the northern barbarians."

What A Qiu was thinking about was that after Shangguan Jin, the only rising star in the Shangguan family was Shangguan Yuqi. If Shangguan Jin really murdered the emperor and usurped the throne, would Shangguan Yuqi inherit the throne after his death? Not to mention that having a female lead was unprecedented in previous generations, even if it were possible, Shangguan Yuqi wouldn't be interested.

A Qiu said, "That's why the Grand Secretary let Sima Yan off the hook. But he must have been deeply resented by Sima Yan afterward. So after he managed to finish the battle of crossing the Yangtze River, he retired on his own and never served in office again during the reign of Emperor Huan."

Zhongli Wuyan said deeply, "That's exactly right."

Ah Qiu suddenly remembered and said, "Is this why you owe Madam Huachi a favor?" Then he suddenly realized and said, "Presumably, this is the reason why the Shangguan family owes Madam Huachi a favor."

Zhongli Wuyan asked in surprise, "Does the Shangguan family, from which the Grand Secretary comes, also owe Lady Huachi a favor?"

A Qiu then explained to Zhongli Wuyan what Shangguan Yuqi had told her that day about the Frost Vine also existing in the forbidden area of ​​the Shangguan family. The Four Constellations of Tianji were all renowned seniors of the righteous path, and Zhongli Wuyan was practically A Qiu's mentor, so A Qiu trusted her implicitly and had no intention of revealing the information to outsiders.

Upon hearing this, Zhongli Wuyan said, "Lady Huachi rarely took action in the later period of the Great Huan Dynasty. The night she protected the emperor at Yunlong Palace was the most obvious time she influenced the situation. If Shangguan Jin owes her a favor and is willing to accept the Shuanghua Teng contract, it can only be for that one time."

She sighed, “This woman is truly extraordinary. My eldest sister saw through the situation with remarkable insight, pointing out that the Empress had passed away, the Grand Chancellor had stormed the palace with his sword in the dead of night, and the Emperor Emeritus had arrived so promptly, carrying a nine-dragon staff. It was clear that they had made preparations beforehand, and this must have been orchestrated by a master. Looking around the Emperor Emeritus’s entourage and the entire court, it’s hard to find someone like her who could defuse a conflict. We underestimated Lady Huachi before.”

She continued, "Think back to that night, if Lady Huachi hadn't accompanied the Emperor Emeritus to appear in time, it would have been a desperate battle between the four of us and the Grand Secretary, resulting in mutual destruction. Our lives would certainly not have been spared, and Sima Yan's life would not have been spared either. That night, Shangguan Jin was determined to kill, but the Emperor Emeritus's arrival restored some of his rationality for the sake of the Great Huan. For this alone, we four of us have to remember her favor."

Ah Qiu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then, seniors, haven't you ever thought of investigating Madam Hua Chi's identity?"

Zhongli Wuyan sighed, "During that time, Lady Huachi's identity and background were crystal clear. She was the daughter of the Mo Yi clan of Luoyang, the Eastern Capital. Everyone in the Southern Dynasty knew this, so what was there to investigate? Besides, the Four Constellations of Tianji were only responsible for the safety of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. Investigating spies was neither our business nor our concern. Lady Huachi may have extensive connections and clever methods, but she must have done many things extremely discreetly, leaving room for maneuver. Now it seems that even if we wanted to investigate in this regard, we would not be her match."