"Lord Fu, you..."
"So you're the person Lu Yuan mentioned, the one hiding in Western Qin?!"
Yi Shangyun stared in shock at the giant dragon phantom slowly disappearing into mid-air, and instantly understood.
Even Fu Zhen had long mistakenly believed that his master's guess back then was probably wrong.
The Guardian race probably no longer exists.
It wasn't until that night, when he led his men to Guanghua Palace with Emperor Jing and overheard his conversation with Xuanyuan Han, that he understood everything.
It turns out that the kind and intelligent woman from back then really was the legendary guardian of Western Qin.
Thinking of this, Fu Zhen raised his head and said, "To be precise, I have been infiltrating the Western Qin court for many years on the orders of my late King Dongning. My mission is to wait here for the appearance of the guardian's descendant, so that one day I can help him achieve Dongning's grand ambition of unifying this Lingkong Continent."
Upon hearing this, even Xuan Yuanhan, who was standing next to Yi Shangyun, was incredulous and stunned.
For so many years, he had always believed that Fu Zhen was Yu Long's prized student, whom he had highly recommended.
"This Vice Minister of War has kept his identity hidden for so many years. It turns out his true identity is like this..."
Recalling the past, Fu Zhen slowly said, "Back then, the old king had already suspected that the Empress was exceptionally gifted. As long as she was around, Dongning was like a withered tree sprouting new life and a place where nothing could be helped. The Empress was very likely the lost guardian of the Western Qin Kingdom who possessed that mysterious power."
After a pause, she carefully examined Yi Shangyun's body before continuing, "Until back then, for some unknown reason, Her Majesty suddenly disregarded the safety of her unborn child and insisted on going to the Western Qin Kingdom. As expected, she met with misfortune. The old king became even more certain of Her Majesty's identity as the Empress, and also determined that Her Majesty's child must still be alive and would appear in the Western Qin Palace sooner or later. Therefore, he appointed me as the last person to wait here patiently for the appearance of the young master."
Nevertheless, Fu Zhen still felt a little regretful: "Indeed, I have lived up to the old king's expectations in this life! It's just that I didn't expect that the Empress would give birth to a girl, which is rather disappointing."
At this moment, Xuan Yuanhan spoke up in defense, saying, "Lord Fu, you are mistaken. So what if she is a woman? Women are no less intelligent than men, and their perseverance is no less than that of men. If one day we are on the battlefield, women in military uniform will be no less determined than men!"
No matter what he said, Fu Zhen could not accept it from the bottom of his heart: "But in this Lingkong Continent, men have always been superior to women. Where is there a precedent for women to be in charge? Women are born to obey the three obediences and four virtues, to guard a house and raise children."
Xuanyuan Han wanted to continue, "You call yourself a military general? You're incredibly pedantic! Do you even want to question the decisions of the old king you've served so loyally all your life? Do you know that the current ruler of Dongning is none other than your late king's own son…"
Before he could finish speaking, Yi Shangyun interrupted him: "Alright, you two, stop arguing. Shouldn't there be more important matters at hand?"
Only then did Fu Zhen come to his senses. He glared fiercely at Emperor Jing and said, "You dog emperor, I've disliked you for a long time. If the person I was waiting for hadn't appeared, I would have taken your life long ago. This time, you're dead!"
Unexpectedly, even in this desperate situation, Emperor Jing seemed completely fearless and worried, and even let out a contemptuous snort.
"You bunch of idiots dare to challenge me? Do you really think I haven't noticed anything? Do you really think I have no other plans?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than he raised his hand and gave the order: "Release the arrows!"
In an instant, countless sharp arrows suddenly shot in from all directions with a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound.
"careful!"
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanhan swiftly pulled Yi Shangyun behind him to shield him, and quickly drew his sword to block the arrows flying towards him.
Everything happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that in the blink of an eye, Fu Zhen's men fell one by one into a pool of blood.
Before anyone could react, thousands of guards rushed in from around the square and surrounded everyone.
Fu Zhen was taken aback: "What's going on?"
"Ha ha……"
"Hahaha……"
"Hahahaha..."
Emperor Jing then unleashed a deranged laugh at the crowd.
"You are all surrounded by my Imperial Guards. I advise you all to surrender. Perhaps I can spare your lives!"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the chief eunuch, holding his hat with one hand, looking disheveled and almost tumbling up the high stone steps.
His voice trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! We are surrounded!"
Emperor Jing, however, remained self-assured and said, "Don't panic. All the rebels in the palace are here. The rest are our men. I want to see what tricks they can pull next."
But the chief eunuch still seemed anxious and frightened, and began to speak incoherently, shaking his head repeatedly.
"No!"
"No!"
"That's not how it is!"
"Not here..."
"yes……"
"It's outside..."
"even……"
"Even the Qiankun Palace..."
"Now, the entire palace is surrounded by people."
"Not only that."
"besides……"
"And outside the palace..."
"Soldiers are everywhere in the capital, soldiers are coming from all directions, all rushing towards the palace. It's impossible to tell where they came from. All we know is that there seem to be three groups of people, totaling about a million!"
Upon hearing this...
Yi Shangyun was overjoyed: "Thank goodness, Yan'er has finally brought the Third Young Master!"
Xuanyuan Han sighed inwardly, "Cheng Liang really found the Divine Steed Camp!"
"What did you say?"
"Three teams?"
"million?!"
For a moment, Emperor Jing was completely stunned.
Xuanyuan Han and Yi Shangyun suddenly looked at each other and asked a question.
Yi Shangyun said, "How could there be three groups of men? I only sent Yan'er to ask the Third Young Master for help..."
Xuanyuan Han: "I only found the military tally you hid in the sachet. I ordered Cheng Liang to find the Divine Steed Camp to assist us..."
Immediately afterwards, the two asked in unison, "And who is that other group?"
Just as the two were puzzled by this, in the blink of an eye, the most familiar voices came one after another.
Cheng Liang, Yi Sanshao, and Lu Yuan walked forward together with their heads held high.
First, Cheng Liang clasped his hands and knelt down to pay homage: "Your subordinate has fulfilled his mission and successfully brought back the Divine Steed Camp. Now all the elite cavalry in the camp are outside, fully equipped and ready to go, at Your Highness's command at any time!"
Emperor Jing was shocked upon hearing this: "The Divine Steed Camp! Legend has it that when the Divine Steed Camp of the Northern Fierce Kingdom appears, the entire Lingkong Continent will tremble. How could he...?"
In an instant, he seemed to understand everything: "You, Prince Qin, back then I sent you to attack Beilie, and you actually dared to secretly take over this Divine Steed Camp?"
Xuanyuan Han gripped Yi Shangyun's hand tightly, looked into her eyes, and said, "This Divine Steed Camp, which seems to exist only in legends, if it weren't for my queen, what virtue or ability would I possess to have it?"
Immediately afterwards, Lu Yuan, dressed in full armor, stepped forward and knelt beside Cheng Liang, saying respectfully to the clouds above his robes, "Your Majesty, I, Lu Yuan, have arrived late to rescue Your Majesty with all the soldiers of Dongning. Please punish me!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhen, who was standing nearby, was stunned: "What? She's already..."
After a moment's thought, he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down beside Lu Yuan with a thud, prostrating himself on the ground in repentance: "Your Majesty, this humble subject deserves to die, for I was unaware... Please forgive this humble subject's incoherent ramblings just now!"
At this moment, Young Master Yi also stood up and said, "Girl, it's been a long time. I thought that after our last parting, we would never see each other again in this life. But I couldn't help but want to see you. I happened to meet your little maid on the way and learned that you were in danger in the Western Qin Palace, so I rushed here with my men without stopping. Now, all the troops of Nan'an are outside waiting for your word. I wonder how you plan to grind this dog emperor to dust? Just say the word!"
Looking at the familiar faces before her, Yi Shangyun's eyes welled up with tears. Overwhelmed with emotion, she murmured, "You've all come!"
He then first thanked Young Master Yi, saying, "Young Master, thank you!"
Young Master Yi smiled, maintaining his carefree and unrestrained demeanor even when leading troops, waving the folding fan in his hand.
Then she personally helped Lu Yuan up: "Lu Yuan, what brings you here?"
Lu Yuan said, "I was worried about the Empress, so I personally brought people to follow her. From now on, wherever the Empress is, I, Lu Yuan, will follow her to the death!"
However, Yi Shangyun remained somewhat worried: "How is the Regent's injury? And... you brought all the troops out with you, aren't you afraid..."
Lu Yuandao said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the Regent's condition has stabilized and is improving. As for the rest, I have my own arrangements! Moreover, with the three armies gathered, the forces of the entire Lingkong region are now likely concentrated in the entire Western Qin Imperial City!"
After saying that, Lu Yuan turned to Emperor Jing and angrily rebuked him: "You dog emperor, have you really eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard? How dare you disrespect my emperor? Do you want to die? Now, your entire palace is completely surrounded by us. What, instead of surrendering and bowing down to my emperor, do you still want to resist to the death?"
Yi Shangyun said angrily, "Emperor Jing, things have come to this point. It's all the result of your many unrighteous deeds. You have only yourself to blame. Now, do you really not intend to stop?"
"I……"
Emperor Jing was about to speak.
Xuanyuan Han, who was standing to the side, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"puff……"
Immediately afterwards, he staggered and tried to fall down.
Upon seeing this, Yi Shangyun was greatly alarmed and quickly went to support him, saying, "Your Highness..."
He asked anxiously, "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
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