Chapter 849 Rebellion
Prince Hui dropped his previous pretense of gentleness and said sternly, "Before Xiao Yan left the capital, he did give you all the troops there. I was indeed powerless against the Black Armor Guards and Yu Yanfeng. But now, Yongzhao Palace is completely occupied by my men. Not even a mosquito can escape."
Tang Ning sneered: "Shouldn't you have said it earlier? If you want to rebel, then rebel. Why bother with such high-sounding words?"
"you!"
King Hui was furious at the ridicule: "Song Tangning, are you really going to force me?"
"Do you think these people in front of you can protect you? This forbidden palace is already full of me and my family's people. Do you think that before Yu Yanfeng realized something was wrong and rushed over, would I kill you first, or would they capture me first?!"
Tang Ning still stood there, but her voice had also turned cold: "Then you can try, I can't leave Yongzhao Palace, and you can't even take a single step out of the palace!"
"I want to see if you can escape the outer dragnet after killing me. Using my life in exchange for the lives of the entire Xie royal family, as well as all the people in the aristocratic families, is worth it."
As soon as she finished speaking, the secret guards in front of the palace drew their swords and pointed them at Prince Hui and others, as if they were ready to fight them to the death at the Queen's command.
"you……"
King Hui pointed at the queen with a ferocious look on his face.
He never thought that even at this point, the queen would still be so tough.
Listening to her every sarcastic word, he wished he could kill the queen directly.
The people from the nearby noble families were also frightened by the Queen's ruthlessness. Min An quickly reached out to stop Prince Hui and said to the palace as gently as possible, "Your Majesty, why are you like this? Prince Hui was just angry. We have no intention of hurting you."
Tang Ning sneered and scoffed at his words.
Min An seemed to have not heard her sarcasm and continued, "I know that the Queen is not afraid of death. I also know that with what you hold in your hands, if you really fight with us, it will only end in losses for both sides. But the Queen is not afraid of life and death. You will not be so cruel as to force others to die with you, right?"
Tang Ning suddenly said, "What do you mean?"
Min An said, "Before we took action today, we knew that the Queen would not yield easily. You are as proud as Your Majesty and would rather die than surrender, so we had to use some tricks."
"We've sent people to capture the families of the court officials you're friendly with. Besides the Qian and Cao families and the Wenxin Marquis Mansion, we also have Miss Xue from Jiyun Lane and everyone from Rongsheng Academy to us. Even Madam Cui, who helped you a while ago, is in our hands."
"The Empress has always valued friendship above all else. Let's not talk about others for now. Madam Cui betrayed all her noble families for you and persuaded her brother and her mother's family to work for you. Do you want to see her and her son die with you?"
"And Miss Qian, she's so close to you, Marquis Wenxin's wife treats you like her own daughter, and even Miss Xue always puts you first in everything. Now, if you just step aside, you can save their lives. Wouldn't the Empress be willing to do that?"
Tang Ning said angrily: "You are shameless!"
Seeing her angry, King Hui felt he had finally won back a point. He sneered, "So what if he's shameless? When Xiao Yan seized the throne, didn't he also send troops to besiege the imperial city and use this to control the people in the court?"
"Song Tangning, I know you're not afraid of death, but if you don't hand over what I want today, I'll kill those you care about one by one."
"You dare?!"
"See if I dare!"
King Hui's face was grim: "I have even rebelled. There is nothing in this world that I dare not do!"
"If you refuse to hand over the jade seal, I will start with your sister surnamed Xue. After I've skinned everyone outside, I'll kill everyone in Xinde Palace. In the end, we'll all perish together. I'll definitely bring a few more people to accompany the Empress in her burial."
"you!!"
The situation in Yongzhao Palace seemed to have reversed. Prince Hui had a proud look in his eyes, but the Queen in the palace was breathing much heavier because of Prince Hui's words.
Seeing that the two sides were on the verge of a fight, the atmosphere between them was like a taut bowstring that could break at any time.
Wang Huailu, who had remained silent the entire time, said softly, "Empress, why are you so stubborn? Prince Hui is determined to get a result today. If he can't escape unscathed, then we'll all perish together."
"By then, you'll be gone. With Prince Hui dead, the noble families will certainly be in trouble, but a counterattack before their death will surely cause rivers of blood to flow throughout the capital. Even if you don't care about the people you and Prince Hui mentioned, what about His Majesty?"
"He's currently seriously injured and missing in Southern Qi. If no one goes to search for him, what are the chances of him surviving?"
The people in the hall held their breath, and even those who were protecting the queen had changed expressions and tightened their grip on the hilts of their swords.
Wang Huailu said, "And have you ever considered that if we really come to the point of fighting, the capital will be in chaos with both sides suffering losses, the court will be leaderless, and the disaster will inevitably spread to the border."
"You can certainly drag us all to our deaths, but what about the hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the border? What about the people who trust the court, you, and your majesty? And what about those brave generals who risked their lives fighting for you and your majesty? Don't you care about their lives?"
"By then, countless people will have died, bones will be piled up, and wronged souls will be scattered all over the ground. Are you sure you can bear this debt in the afterlife?"
"Shut up!"
Yue Jian supported the Queen, who suddenly swayed, and turned to Wang Huailu and shouted:
"Don't use these things to force the Queen!"
"If there really are wronged souls in this world, they should be looking for people like you. The Empress has done her utmost to stabilize the court, without any selfish motives. It is you traitors who are too ambitious and are plotting rebellion!"
Her eyes were grim.
"Wang Huailu, it's a shame that His Majesty trusted you so much back then. You, a bastard, will surely die a miserable death!"
Wang Huailu pursed his lips when he was scolded. Thinking of Xiao Yan, with whom he had once had a handshake, his expression darkened for a moment, but he regained his composure after a moment.
"I simply wish to advise Your Majesty to consider the overall situation and protect yourself."
"Now that things have come to this, Your Majesty, there's really no need to fight to the death. It won't benefit anyone."
Yue Jian and the others glared at Wang Huailu, but the Queen in the palace fell silent.
Prince Hui and the others were anxious to hurry, but Wang Huailu stopped them. He simply said calmly, "Empress, even if you don't care about anything else, you should at least think about His Majesty. His Majesty has been missing in Southern Qi for more than ten days. Right now, no one can save him except General Cen."
"As long as you agree to King Hui, Cen Guang will do his utmost to find His Majesty, whether for the sake of justice or to appease the people in the court. Or is it for the sake of your power that you don't care whether His Majesty lives or dies?"
Perhaps these words moved Tang Ning, and a voice suddenly came from the hall.
"If I give you the Imperial Seal and the Imperial Decree, how will you treat me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
