He continued, "Furthermore, I cannot trust your promises. The imperial edict is in my hands; only with your death can I rest easy."

Sheathing his longsword and lowering his gaze, Yun Xun looked at his palm, which was covered in blood—blood gushing from the emperor's neck.

He took out the handkerchief that Ji Mingwei had prepared for him from his bosom, put down the long sword, and wiped the bloodstains between his fingers little by little.

"Deputy Commander, lead men to search the entire imperial city, capture all those who have escaped, and kill them without mercy!" Recalling the emperor's dying gaze, Yun Xun guessed that there must still be people loyal to the emperor in the palace, and they absolutely could not be allowed to escape!

The deputy commander should immediately lead his men away.

The night wind was still blowing, and the atmosphere throughout the imperial city was somber.

All the palace staff inside and outside the Zichen Palace have now been captured, including the emperor's secret guards.

Now they were kneeling in a row beside the emperor's body, including nannies, eunuchs, and palace maids, all trembling and weeping softly.

Yun Xun's gaze swept over them one by one, and finally, he raised his chin at Ling Ya. Ling Ya then led his men forward and, with swift strokes, began to slit the throats of the nannies, eunuchs, and palace maids.

"Your Highness, spare my life!"

Overwhelmed by terror, they finally cried out and lunged at Yun Xun, begging for their lives.

But before they could even make a slight movement, the longsword had already caught up and killed them on the spot.

Begging for mercy was useless; some people tried desperately to escape, but died even more tragically.

Before long, only Huaifu and Yu Buyan were left alive, but Yu Buyan was already Yun Xun's man.

Huaifu neither begged for mercy nor fled. He simply knelt on the ground, watching as everyone fell one by one, their bodies lying in disarray, and blood flowing continuously on the ground.

He was the emperor's man. Now that the emperor is dead, how could he possibly escape? He couldn't escape; he was doomed. Why bother?

However, he waited for a long time, and everyone died, but the longsword still did not reach his neck.

A pair of black boots stained with blood came into his line of sight. He looked up and saw Yun Xun.

Yun Xun actually squatted down and looked him straight in the eye: "Eunuch Huaifu, you are an old servant of the Emperor and have taken good care of me in the past. I do not want to kill you."

Huaifu looked at him quietly.

Yun Xun said, "When the court officials enter the palace later, we will need to trouble Eunuch Huaifu and Eunuch Yu to declare to them that the Emperor was killed by Crown Prince Yun Zhuo, whose purpose was to assassinate the Emperor and usurp the throne."

"Because I arrived in time, the Crown Prince was no match for me and fled in disarray. I urge all of you to join me in this effort to capture Crown Prince Yun Zhuo as soon as possible, so that we can give an explanation to the people of the land!"

Huai Fu's pupils contracted sharply, and his lips trembled twice.

The Prince of Xuan demanded that he become an accomplice!

Yun Xun continued to coax him gently: "Eunuch Huaifu, you just saw it too. Father has already given me the edict of succession. You've finally reached an old age, it's time for you to leave the palace and enjoy your old age. It would be such a pity to die at this time. Is there nothing outside the palace that you would miss?"

Huaifu continued to stare at him without responding.

Yun Xun smiled, but the smile was cold and didn't reach his eyes. He stopped urging Huaifu and instead asked Ling Ya, "Father has been dead for so long, haven't those officials started entering the palace yet?"

Ling Ya said, "Your Highness, I'll go out and take a look!"

Yun Xun waved his hand, telling him to hurry up.

"Eunuch Huaifu, you don't have much time to think. Once all the officials enter the palace, everything will be settled, and the entire Great Zhou will be under my control."

Urgent footsteps came from outside, like gusts of wind howling in, blowing away the old and leaving behind a new look.

Yun Xun's eyes and tone darkened as he looked at Huai Fu: "You should know that those who understand the times are the wise ones."

"Your Highness!" Ling Ya, who had just gone out, rushed in, his face pale.

Yun Xun narrowed his eyes and stood up: "What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

Everything was under his control. Yun Zhuo had gone to Tieya Pass, Ye Qingxue had gone to Suolongwu, and the emperor was already dead. Yun Xun didn't think anything unexpected could happen at this time!

He asked in a deep, angry voice, "Why haven't those officials arrived yet?!"

According to his calculations, at this very moment, the ministers should have arrived outside the Zichen Palace, and his men would allow them to enter the palace.

"Here, here they come." Ling Ya stammered nervously, "Those officials have already entered the palace, but, but they were brought into the palace by Crown Prince Yun Zhuo."

"What did you say!" Yun Xun exclaimed. "Didn't Yun Zhuo go to Iron Cliff Pass? Are you sure you saw it clearly?"

"Look closely, the reason those officials took so long to enter the palace is because they were intercepted by the Crown Prince's men. They are now entering the palace with the Crown Prince, and they are only a hundred feet away from the Zichen Hall!"

Yun Xun was incredulous. He ran up to the second floor and looked out. Sure enough, he saw Yun Zhuo's team approaching step by step!