Chapter 40: The Four-Year-Old Princess Awakens and Makes a Powerful Entrance into the Palace!

The weather in Beijing can change in an instant.

Just as the Anguo Princess's mansion was thrown into chaos by Mu Yu's "strange behavior," deep within the palace, a long-brewing conspiracy finally revealed its ferocious fangs.

Late at night, in the Qianqing Palace.

This place, which should have been the most heavily guarded, was now taken over by a completely unfamiliar army.

They wore the uniforms of the Imperial Guard, but the ruthlessness in their actions was far beyond that of the pampered Imperial Guards.

Leading the group was none other than the Third Prince, Chu Huaijin, and beside him stood the newly appointed Imperial Advisor, Xuanjizi.

Consort De, dressed in a magnificent palace gown, slowly walked out of the hall, her face flushed with a sickly pallor.

"Is everything taken care of?" she asked.

"Mother, rest assured." Chu Huaijin bowed and said, "Father's old illness has relapsed, and he is now in a coma. Your son has been ordered to temporarily assume the duties of regent."

All the palace gates are locked; without my warrant, not even a fly can get out.

"Very good." Consort De nodded in satisfaction, then turned her gaze to Xuanjizi. "Imperial Preceptor, what about the Ninth Prince?"

Xuanjizi stroked his long beard and smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I have already sent someone to 'invite' the Ninth Prince. He will stay in the palace tonight to pray for His Majesty's well-being, which saves a lot of trouble."

No sooner had he finished speaking than several guards dragged a blood-covered man to their feet.

It was none other than the Ninth Prince, Chu Chongjin.

One of his legs was twisted at an odd angle, clearly broken, and his body was covered in deep knife wounds that exposed bone. He had long been in a deep coma.

"Jin'er!" A flicker of pity crossed Consort De's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness. "Don't kill him. Lock him in the Imperial Prison first. I want him to see with his own eyes how Huaijin rose to that position step by step!"

"yes."

Chu Huaijin looked at the unconscious Chu Chongjin, his eyes filled with undisguised jealousy.

"Ninth brother, you were born more favored by the Emperor than I was, and you surpassed me in both literary and military talents. It's a pity that no matter how much you planned, you could never have imagined that I would be the one laughing last!"

He kicked Chu Chongjin in the wound, causing the latter to convulse in pain.

"Take him away and keep a close watch on him!"

A palace coup was swiftly and bloodily carried out in the silent darkness.

The news didn't spread throughout the capital until early the next morning.

His Majesty the Emperor suddenly fell seriously ill in the middle of the night and fell into a coma. The Third Prince, Chu Huaijin, was appointed to seal off the imperial city and temporarily take charge of the affairs of state.

The entire capital city was instantly plunged into panic.

The Anguo Princess's residence was shrouded in gloom.

Mu Yu remained unconscious.

Although the scales on her body were no longer as frightening, they had not disappeared; they had simply become translucent and clung tightly to her skin, making her look like a fragile piece of glass art.

Her body was burning hot, she was trapped in a deep nightmare, and kept calling out "Daddy" and "It hurts".

Mu Fang also woke up.

With the Heart-Eating Gu removed, all the hidden dangers in his body were eliminated, but because the purification process was too domineering, he was also severely injured, and his face was as pale as paper.

When he learned from Xiao Beichen that his daughter had become like that to save him, this iron-blooded general, who had never shed a tear even amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, immediately had tears in his eyes.

He rushed to his daughter's bedside, wanting to hug her, but like Chu Chongjin, he was repelled by the remaining power of the dragon scales.

That power seemed to be protecting its master, refusing to let anyone get close.

"How could this happen... how could this happen..." Mu Fang knelt by the bed. This upright and strong man was now like a helpless child, pounding the ground again and again.

"General, please don't do this!" Xiao Beichen and Yan Ziche supported him from both sides. "The young princess is blessed with good fortune; she will surely be alright!"

Just then, the butler rushed in, stumbling and scrambling.

"General! Something terrible has happened! There's been an incident in the palace!"

When he announced the news of the palace coup, everyone present changed their expressions.

"The Third Prince? How dare he!" Xiao Beichen was furious.

Yan Ziche's face was icy cold: "I should have thought of this long ago. Consort De and her son are wolves in sheep's clothing and will never be content to be subservient to others. Their choice to act at this time is probably..."

He glanced at Mu Yu, who was unconscious on the bed, and Mu Fang, who was severely injured.

It seems they had calculated that the strongest "spear" and the strongest "shield" of the Great Chu Kingdom would be unable to strike at this moment!

"Where is the Ninth Prince?" Mu Fang suddenly looked up, his voice hoarse.

The steward shook his head, his face pale: "I heard... I heard that the Ninth Prince tried to break into the palace to save the Emperor last night, but was severely injured and... he was also imprisoned."

"What?!"

This news struck everyone like a heavy blow.

The emperor was imprisoned, the ninth prince was seriously injured, and Prince Lie, Chu Hengyuan, was far away in his fiefdom and would not be able to return for the time being.

Mu Fang was seriously injured and couldn't even lift his daughter.

The entire capital city seemed to have fallen into the hands of Consort De and her son.

In the midst of a desperate silence, a faint voice suddenly rang out.

"Ninth... Ninth Prince, brother..."

It's Mu Yu!

She's awake!

The crowd quickly gathered around.

Mu Yu slowly opened her eyes. Her amber pupils no longer held the clarity of a child, but rather a deep, unfathomable abyss, like an ancient well.

The scales on her body miraculously disappeared beneath her skin the moment she awoke.

However, her face was still frighteningly pale.

"Little Yu'er! How are you?" Mu Fang asked anxiously.

Mu Yu did not answer. She simply struggled to sit up, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on the butler.

"Say it again, what happened to Ninth Prince?"

The butler repeated the message again.

Mu Yu listened in silence.

She lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping down, concealing all the emotions in her eyes.

She recalled the scene before she lost consciousness.

Chu Chongjin pressed a small seal, identical to his own and radiating golden light, onto her forehead.

A gentle dragon aura flowed into her body through the seal, calming the rampaging dragon scale power within her and saving her from the fate of her origin collapsing.

That was the Ninth Prince's birthmark.

It is his most fundamental power.

To save her, he did not hesitate to deplete his own life force.

But now, because he saved the emperor, his leg was broken and he was imprisoned in the imperial jail.

no.

She couldn't let anything happen to him.

Even the Emperor can't be harmed.

"I want to go to the palace." Mu Yu threw off the covers and was about to get out of bed.

"No way!" Mu Fang refused without even thinking. "Little Yu'er, you're not fully recovered yet! The area outside is full of the Third Prince's men. Going there would be like walking into a trap!"

“Father,” Mu Yu raised her head and looked at him earnestly, “If I don’t go, Grandfather the Emperor and Ninth Prince will both die.”

"That won't do! Even if it costs me my life, I will protect you!"

"But they got hurt trying to save me!" Mu Yu's voice suddenly rose, carrying a hint of authority that she herself hadn't even noticed. "Grandpa Emperor doted on me so much that he gave the Third Prince an opportunity! Ninth Prince lost his Dragon Seal trying to save me, otherwise how could he have been injured by those guards!"

"This is what I owe them, and I need to repay it."

Her words stunned everyone present.

Is it really possible for a four-and-a-half-year-old child to say such a reasonable, well-reasoned, and logical statement?

Mu Yu ignored them and walked straight into the courtyard.

The naivety and innocence of the past were gone from her small face, replaced by a cold and hard determination that was not appropriate for her age.

In the courtyard, the tiger king, bestowed upon it by the emperor, was lazily dozing under a tree.

It seemed to sense its young master's presence, opened its single eye, and let out a low roar.

Mu Yu walked up to it, reached out her small hand, and touched its huge head.

"Big Cat, would you like to come with me and venture into that dangerous place?"

The Tiger King seemed to understand her words. It rubbed its huge head against her palm, then stood up and let out a roar that shook the entire capital!

"roar--!!!"

That roar carried a hint of ancient majesty, belonging to the king of beasts!

"Little Yu'er!"

Mu Fang and the others chased after them, and this is what they saw.

The four-and-a-half-year-old princess, dressed in a thin nightgown, stood before a massive tiger. The two, one human and one tiger, shared an equally imposing aura... disdain.

“Brother Xiao,” Mu Yu turned around and looked at Xiao Beichen, “can I borrow your gun?”

Xiao Beichen instinctively handed over his spear.

The spear, which was more than three times taller than Mu Yu, seemed to have no weight in her small hands.

Holding a gun in one hand and supporting the tiger king's mane with the other, she deftly flipped over and mounted the tiger's back.

"drive!"

She tapped the tiger's back lightly with the barrel of her gun and shouted in a childish voice.

With a powerful leap, the tiger king charged towards the gate of the princess's mansion like a streak of yellow lightning!

"Stop her!" Mu Fang shouted hoarsely.

But who dares to stop them?

Who can stop them?

"Boom—!"

The two heavy vermilion gates of the Princess's mansion shattered instantly, as if made of paper, under the Tiger King's onslaught!

The man and the tiger, bathed in the morning sunlight, rushed onto the deserted street and sped away towards the heavily guarded palace!

"They've gone mad...they've all gone mad..." Mu Fang collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself.

A strange light flickered in Yan Ziche's eyes.

“No, General.” He looked at the small, receding figure and said softly, “Perhaps… she can create a miracle.”

"Pass on my order!" Yan Ziche turned around abruptly and ordered Xiao Beichen, "Summon all former Xuanjia Army troops in the capital and surround the imperial city! Without my order, no one is allowed to enter but not leave!"

Although he was young, he exuded the air of a general with strategic vision.

"Yes!" Xiao Beichen accepted the order and turned to leave.