He moved with lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, the soft sword at his waist was already drawn—
A man stood blocking the entrance to the hall, his soft sword, stained with countless drops of blood, gleaming brightly at everyone in the hall.
He seemed to have the air of someone who would kill anyone who dared to take a single step.
The order to summon Huaiyue was given by the Empress Dowager, who was also the most terrified of it. Her fingernails almost broke off in her palms, and her facial features were contorted.
"Lord Song, what are you doing..."
"Your Majesty, I deserve to die ten thousand times." Song Ting's face showed little expression, yet it exuded an overwhelming aura of dominance.
His gaze swept over all the restless people in the hall, finally settling on the Empress Dowager:
"But I will never yield unless the Empress Dowager orders my death immediately."
The Empress Dowager was taken aback by his words.
"How could it have come to this! Such a big incident has happened. I just want to find out the truth. Please don't act rashly, my lord."
“Yes, Commander,” Zhang Bingzhi said in a feigned manner, “the prayer ceremony is of utmost importance to the fate of our Great Yan, to the lives of countless people.”
"Such an incident occurred on the way, so of course we must investigate it thoroughly. Moreover, the Princess is of noble status, so we can't just let her go without a clear explanation."
"This old minister knows that the commander loves you deeply, but no matter how noble that person's status is, can it be more noble than that of the princess?"
"Sir, why don't you call the person over and ask them clearly? Your current behavior only confirms Huaiyue's suspiciousness, don't you think?"
Song Ting knew, of course, how impulsive his actions were; his intention to deliberately favor Huaiyue was all too obvious.
Furthermore, he had brandished weapons in front of the Empress Dowager, which was already a capital offense.
This is not his usual style of doing things; he could have been calmer and come up with a more prudent solution.
It wouldn't put both himself and Huaiyue in danger. Knowing it was a trap, he impulsively jumped in, playing right into the enemy's hands.
But he couldn't control himself. Anything related to Chu Huaixu could easily make him lose all reason.
At that moment, all he knew was that he couldn't reveal Lu Huaiyue's identity; he completely forgot everything else.
He even wondered if he was confident he could lead Chu Huaixu out if things really came to a head.
He wanted to take him away to Huaixu, so that they could live a life of adventure and become two outlaws.
He had thought about this countless times back then, but he didn't have the ability to do so, and he didn't dare to gamble.
After many twists and turns, fate seemed to have coincidentally pushed them to a point similar to that of the past.
But he will not let what happened back then repeat itself.
“I said, no one can touch him,” Song Ting said again.
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, someone slowly approached through the night—
Dressed in red and wearing a silver mask, under the cold moonlight, she resembled a bewitching and alluring ghost.
The beautiful ghost spoke in a clear, crisp voice: "My lord."
At the same time, a hand reached out from behind Song Ting and grasped the hand holding the soft sword.
"Put down the sword."
Song Ting was on guard at this moment. His instincts, honed by years of fighting, would instinctively make him attack anyone who approached him at this time.
But this instinct failed him when facing Huaiyue. He merely stiffened, then slowly turned around to face the silver mask, and spoke in a hoarse voice:
What brings you here?
"If I don't come, would you be asking me to commit a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire family?"
His voice was so gentle, and his eyes were unusually warm and affectionate when he looked at Song Ting. Even though she knew it was fake, Song Ting couldn't help but be captivated by it.
He came out in a hurry, his outer robe was a little disheveled, and his long hair was not tied up and was casually hanging down his back.
Song Tingchao glanced outside the palace and saw Xiao Wu and Qi Zhou who had come with him. The latter shook his head and looked to his side.
Song Ting glanced over and saw two men dressed as guards hurrying away.
Although it was dark and the two men's faces were somewhat blurry, Song Ting remembered them. He had overheard them talking to Zhang Bingzhi that evening.
—Huaiyue was summoned by them.
Song was tempted to kill.
Huaiyue gently pushed away Song Ting, who was still blocking him from entering the hall, and stepped into the main hall.
All eyes involuntarily turned to him, and amidst these gazes filled with various thoughts, he kowtowed to the Empress Dowager.
"This humble subject, Huaiyue, pays respects to the Empress Dowager. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!"
The tense atmosphere in the hall had clearly frightened the Empress Dowager. Faced with the uninvited Huaiyue, she was pale-faced and didn't know how to deal with it. She subconsciously looked at Song Ting.
But the latter still held a sharp sword in his hand. The Empress Dowager was blinded by the cold light and turned to look at Zhang Bingzhi.
The latter, however, remained calm and composed. He gave the Empress Dowager a reassuring look, then walked up to Huaiyue and looked down at her, saying:
“Young Master Huaiyue, it was not our intention to disturb your peaceful sleep so late at night. It was only due to an emergency that we had no choice but to do so. Please forgive us.”
Zhang Bingzhi held a high position and was a key minister of the Dayan Dynasty. Even the young emperor treated him with utmost respect and addressed him as "Teacher."
Now she's being so polite and courteous to a man who's fallen into prostitution; she's really putting herself in a very low position.
Huaiyue was not flattered by this, but replied calmly and respectfully, "I understand."
He remained bowed to the ground the entire time and did not look at Zhang Bingzhi.
Song Ting was not entirely at ease, so she walked over discreetly and stood not far from Huaiyue.
Zhang Bingzhi glanced at Song Ting without making a sound, and Song Ting looked back at him. Their gazes clashed silently.
The old man narrowed his eyes and then asked Huaixu, "Young master, do you know why the Empress summoned you?"
Huaiyue: "I know."
"Good that you understand. Then I won't waste any more words." Zhang Bingzhi turned around, bowed to the Empress Dowager, and suggested, as if considering the overall situation:
"Since they are the Commander's people, why don't we let the Commander ask them, so as to avoid us offending him with our words and displeasing him? What does Your Majesty think?"
"That would be wonderful," the Empress Dowager said, much to her delight. "Then I'll have to trouble the Commander."
Song Ting frowned and did not speak immediately. Everyone in the hall held their breath and waited. For a moment, it was so quiet that even breathing could not be heard.
The guards inside the hall were even more tense, fearing that this King Yama might suddenly turn on them.
But all Song Ting could think was that Chu Huaixu shouldn't kneel before anyone here, and no one was worthy of making him kneel.
Endless hatred and resentment surged in his chest.
He closed his eyes briefly, then took a few steps closer to the person in front of him, gazing down at them intently.
The cold, hard voice suddenly softened, becoming noticeably hoarse:
Have you seen the Princess today?
Following the sound, Huaiyue slightly adjusted her bowing posture, turning it towards Song Ting:
"Your Excellency, I have met you."
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