Sitting on his high seat, Wu Yaohui watched all this with a gloomy face, offering no reply. Instead, he looked at Tian Yu and smiled, saying, "This is the surprise you prepared for me?!"

"Doesn't the Emperor like it?" Tian Yu asked, looking at him.

"Even if everything you said is true, so what? I am the Emperor, and I call the shots here. Originally, I only intended to imprison them, but do you know that because of you, they will all die today! Not one of them will leave this palace alive!" Wu Yaohui said with a smile.

Everyone was instantly terrified. Tian Yu looked at the emperor in disbelief, never expecting him to be so ruthless. Even at the end, he showed no remorse and actually wanted to kill everyone!

With a loud shout from Wu Yaohui, a large number of soldiers rushed in and closed the palace gates. The ministers were terrified and in chaos; some had already begun to kneel and beg for mercy. Wu Yaohui stood up and walked down the steps, looking down at everyone's terrified expressions and laughing wildly.

Prince Wu quickly stood up and blocked Tian Yu's path, saying, "Brother, are you really planning to kill someone to silence them today?"

"I've wanted to do this for a long time! You bunch of old fogies, always pointing fingers at me, what use are you?!"

"Brother! You've forgotten what you promised Father!"

"Father! It's Father again! He used me to suppress me when I was alive, and he still uses me to suppress me now that I'm dead! What am I? I am now the Emperor of Wu! I call the shots here!"

"You're really crazy!"

"Yes! So what? Give her to me!"

"Impossible! I promised Zhao Moyan I would protect her!"

"Get out of my way! I want her, don't blame me for not showing any brotherly affection!"

"I'm afraid that won't work. My brother must take her away today!"

"You still want to protect her! You fell out with your father for her and swore you would never inherit the throne. How come you still can't forget her now that she's my empress?"

"That's my business, it has nothing to do with her," said Prince Wu, glancing at Tian Yu behind him.

Although Tian Yu had already guessed it, she was still surprised when she heard it. She could never repay such a debt, but she would never let him die here.

"Good! Very good! What are you standing there for! Make your move!"

"Wait a minute!" Tian Yu took out the jade pendant that the late emperor had given her and shouted to the soldiers!

Upon seeing this, all the ministers knelt down, and the soldiers were dumbfounded, standing still and not daring to move. Tian Yu said loudly, "This is the late emperor's jade pendant. I promised the late emperor that I would assist the current emperor in governing the Wu Kingdom, but the current emperor is incompetent and tyrannical, and now he even wants to kill me to silence me. Even if you have broken your oath, I, Tian Yu, will never submit again today!"

Amidst the ministers' pleas and rebukes, Wu Yaohui glared angrily at Tian Yu, and after a long while shouted at the soldiers, "What she has is fake! All Imperial Guards, listen to my command! The one who kills the most people today will be tomorrow's general or marquis! Kill them all for me!"

Instantly, the soldiers began slaughtering everyone in the hall. Consort Li, seated on her throne, burst into laughter. Prince Wu shielded Tian Yu, pulling her back. The late emperor's jade pendant was rendered useless. Tang Wenli and Fang Jue arrived at their side, while Qiu Xue drew her sword and blocked their path. Tian Yu told them, "When you have a chance, quickly protect the prince and help him escape. Don't worry about me."

“How can that be! We didn’t know the reason before and even misunderstood Mr. Tian. Now that things are clear, the Tang family will not stand idly by,” Tang Wenli said. He had previously impeached Tian Yu in court, advising the emperor not to make her empress.

“You bunch of bookworms are no match for them. I’ll find a way to distract them in a bit. You protect the prince and make sure we escape.”

“I will not leave unless you leave. I promised Zhao Moyan that I would take good care of you, and I cannot break my promise this time.”

Tian Yu didn't have time to explain and said to Qiu Xue, "If you feel sorry for me, then help me take Prince Wu away today!"

"I promise you! But you have to come with us too!"

"No! I can't leave!"

"Tian Yu, you must come with us," the princess said.

"Princess, I'm sorry. I've caused you and my brother to be unable to be happy together. You must be happy in the future."

"Tianyu! Let's leave together, no one can stay behind. Brother Xingyun will come back to pick us up," the princess cried.

Seeing the soldiers rushing forward, Tian Yu pushed through the crowd, pulled open her outer robe, and, holding a tinderbox in her hand, revealed the explosives strapped to her waist, shouting, "Stop! If I light it, this place will be razed to the ground!"

Upon seeing this, Wu Yaohui shouted, "Wait! All of you, stop!"

At this moment, Tian Yu gestured for the people behind her to step back, and said to Wu Yaohui, "Let them go! Otherwise, you'll never get this explosive!"

"Release them? Do you think that's possible?" Wu Yao asked.

"Alright! With just a light touch, I should be able to blow up this entire palace. Then we can all die together, and I'll have avenged the Zhao family!" Tian Yu brought the tinderbox close to the fuse.

"Your Majesty, please calm down! Let's talk this out!" Wu Yaohui said, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the explosives. He still wanted to use this thing to take revenge and blow up those hateful people. How could he bear to see Tian Yu die like this?

"Tell them all to step back!" Tian Yu said as she backed away. Wu Yaohui waved his hand, and the soldiers made way for her.

Under Tian Yu's protection, everyone retreated from the palace, all the way to the palace gate. Wu Yaohui tried several times to control Tian Yu, but Tian Yu had prepared in advance, taking all the medicine Li Xingyun had given her at once. She was now perfectly lucid, and the pain in her other hand, constantly reminding her that she wouldn't give up, was a constant reminder. Blood slowly dripped down her sleeve. No matter how Wu Yaohui tried to persuade her, Tian Yu wouldn't believe him, insisting that he open the palace gate and let everyone leave. Wu Yaohui, with a grim face, gave orders to the guards.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!