Empress Shen's upper body was already soaked in blood. The wound on her neck was too large to stop the bleeding, and she was certain to die.

The chair was covered in her blood, which was still warm and seeping from between her fingers.

She shifted her gaze from Yun Xun to the distance, where the fighting continued. She was thankful that she had quickly sent someone to take Yi Luo away after leaving the Zichen Palace.

She was not allowed to participate in this coup attempt.

Her daughter, Yiluo, will surely be able to return to the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom alive. If she dies, her daughter will no longer be a hostage holding her back, and then her daughter can live the rest of her life freely.

Will the daughter remember her mother then? Will she remember this mother who never accompanied her?

If her spirit were to return to her hometown and be able to see her daughter, how would she introduce herself to her daughter?

"Who am I? What is my name? Why did I leave her after giving birth to her?" Empress Shen pondered these questions.

But there were no answers. She had been gone for too long and had forgotten who she was and what her name was...

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, she was Empress Shen.

Who is she in the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom?

She was merely a beautiful woman who resembled Shen Hongxiu, a pawn used to steal the throne of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Here, she has taken away too many lives and erased too many traces of people's existence. Now, it is finally her turn.

"Yiro, you don't need to remember your mother, you don't need to know that such a difficult and dark life can exist in this world, you don't need to... remember me."

As the commotion and noise gradually subsided, in her last glance, she saw her daughter galloping across the vast grassland, just as depicted in the painting.

Empress Shen's body collapsed completely onto the chair, her head hitting the armrest. Her eyes were wide open, blood was flowing continuously, but she had already stopped breathing.

The veiled girl walked forward, escorted by two guards.

He handed Yunxun a handkerchief, which Yunxun took and used to wipe the blood off his hands.

Empress Shen's death seems to be a signal, a signal that the Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom's years of planning have ultimately ended in a disastrous defeat.

Princess Lingyang's heart pounded wildly, and she was furious. She drew her sword and charged at Yun Xun, shouting, "Yun Xun, you despicable villain! I, the princess, will kill you with my own hands!"

However, before she could get close to Yun Xun, she was blocked by Ling Ya.

Yun Xun said, "Princess Lingyang came to our Great Zhou this time to steal our Great Zhou's throne. She and Empress Shen are both spies. Killing Princess Lingyang will save our Great Zhou's throne."

His tone was calm and even, as if he were stating a fact, without any emotional fluctuations, only coldness towards the enemy.

Princess Lingyang's pupils contracted sharply, her hatred reaching its peak. She charged at Yun Xun again, wishing she could personally kill him with her sword.

Do you still remember—

That day, Yun Chi went to the imperial palace and reached a cooperation agreement with her. At that time, Yun Chi did not know that she was actually in cahoots with Empress Shen. Yun Chi wanted her to help him seize the position of Crown Prince.

Killing Yun Zhuo and helping Yun Chi be made crown prince was originally her mission in coming to the Great Zhou, and she agreed without hesitation.

However, Yun Xun witnessed her meeting with Yun Chi and even guessed what the two of them said in private.

Yun Xun walked up to her and said, "Princess Lingyang, instead of choosing Prince Ding, why not choose to cooperate with me? We are already engaged and destined to be husband and wife. When husband and wife are of one mind, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Moreover, the 'war' between Prince Ding and Prince Jing has already reached a fever pitch. There's a saying in our Great Zhou Dynasty: 'When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.' Another saying is: 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.'"

"Whether it's Prince Ding or Prince Jing, their 'war' is already in the open, but behind the scenes, who knows how many fishermen and orioles are watching? They are the ultimate winners."

“Princess Lingyang’s choice to cooperate with Prince Ding is extremely dangerous. I am the best choice for Princess Lingyang.”

Princess Lingyang sneered inwardly, but outwardly she pretended to agree, intending to bring him into her camp first, so that she would have one less enemy later.

Thus, the current situation between them has come to be.

During the battle, Princess Lingyang couldn't help but wonder whether Yun Xun was deceiving her or if he truly intended to join forces with her to seize the crown prince position and become the fisherman behind the scenes.

Or perhaps Yun Xun has been carefully assessing the situation, intending to be the unseen mantis hiding behind the scenes? If they win, Yun Xun will be one of their men; if they show signs of defeat, Yun Xun will still be the prince of Great Zhou.

Princess Lingyang died before she could find the answer to the question.

In her last moments of consciousness, she saw Yun Xun's chubby, fair face, still very young, his face filled with the expression of "I swear to protect my Great Zhou with my life and never betray my identity as a prince of Great Zhou".

If the people of Da Zhou saw his expression, they would surely be impressed and their respect for him would grow day by day.

Just like when she was nearly killed by the crowd on her way to the palace, he appeared out of nowhere.

"His Highness Prince Xuan killed Empress Shen!"

"His Highness Prince Xuan killed Empress Shen!"

"..."

"Princess Lingyang wanted to avenge Empress Shen, but she was also eliminated by His Highness Prince Xuan!"

"Empress Shen is dead! Princess Lingyang is dead!"

The news spread as quickly as possible, reaching the ears of every guard present.

Following them were tens of thousands of soldiers led by Chu Xianyun, who stormed in from various palace gates and quickly surrounded Empress Shen and Yun Chi's people.

These three pieces of news were like three bolts of lightning striking the Empress Chen's side one after another.

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