Zong Jiu was completely stunned upon hearing this. He looked at Su Xuening in disbelief: "The Princess Consort's mother? You mean that general's wife, is the Empress of Western Liang?"
Bai nodded: "Yes, the girl General Su brought back from the battlefield back then was not an orphan, but the Empress of Xiliang."
Zong Jiu was so shocked that his mouth dropped open.
The general's wife was not an orphan, but the empress of Western Liang.
What kind of unbelievable thing is this?
But considering the lady's demeanor, she really didn't seem like some kind of orphaned country girl.
She was so beautiful, and together with the Empress Dowager, they were known as the two beauties of the capital. No beauty in the entire capital could compare to their looks and temperament. How could an orphan girl have achieved this?
Zong Jiu stared intently at Su Xuening once again.
No wonder he thought the princess's attire was strange today; it must be clothing from Xiliang.
The princess looks exactly like that general's wife. Who would have thought that the princess could go from being the legitimate daughter of a marquis's family to becoming the crown princess of Xiliang?
Xiliang is still a matriarchal society. In the future, the princess will have to return to Xiliang to inherit the throne. What will the prince do then?
Just as Zong Jiu was thinking, there was another loud commotion outside.
Zong Jiu hurriedly got up and went out to check. When he saw Xuan Yuanzhan being stopped outside by the Imperial Guards, Zong Jiu immediately woke up and shouted, "Your Highness!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Shi and Su Xuening in the inner palace immediately exchanged a glance.
"No way, that fast!"
It hasn't been long, and Xuanyuan Zhan has already won. That's too fast!
The two ran out together and saw Xuan Yuanzhan being blocked outside by the Imperial Guards.
It really is Xuanyuan Zhan; Xuanyuan Zhan has indeed entered the palace.
"How dare you! You dare to block the Prince! Get out of the way!" Zong Jiu was furious when he saw the Imperial Guards blocking Xuan Yuanzhan and shouted angrily.
The Imperial Guards had no idea what was happening outside, nor did they know that their commander had already defected to the Holy King's side. At this moment, they thought the Holy King was plotting a rebellion and were doing their best to stop him.
However, the Holy King's martial arts skills were too high, and they couldn't stop him at all. In no time, he fought his way from the palace gate to the gate of Chengqian Palace.
Xuanyuan Zhan knew that these Imperial Guards knew nothing, so he didn't go all out; otherwise, these people wouldn't have been enough for him to sharpen his knife.
Upon seeing Bai Shi and Su Xuening in Chengqian Palace, Xuan Yuanzhan no longer cared about holding back. He channeled his inner strength and sent all the Imperial Guards blocking his way flying.
With a loud "boom," the Imperial Guards lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.
Xuanyuan Zhan stepped directly over his body and entered Chengqian Palace.
"Ning'er." Xuan Yuanzhan ran straight to Su Xuening's side, looking at her anxiously: "Are you alright?"
Su Xuening looked at his nervous expression and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was as if he was the one fighting the war, not her. What could possibly happen to her?
"fine."
Xuan Yuanzhan carefully examined Su Xuening's body and, seeing that she was not injured, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
These imperial guards probably didn't harm Ning'er or her mother.
"This old servant greets Your Highness." Upon seeing Xuan Yuanzhan return, Zong Jiu's eyes reddened again.
The Empress Dowager has returned, and so has the Prince. The two people the Emperor had been longing for have finally returned to his side.
Upon seeing Zong Jiu, Xuan Yuanzhan remembered Xuan Yuanpeng and immediately asked, "How is he now?"
Zong Jiu knew he was asking about Xuan Yuanpeng, so he quickly replied, "His Majesty is in the inner palace."
Xuanyuan Zhan immediately followed Zong Jiu into the hall.
When the Imperial Guards outside saw Xuan Yuanzhan enter the inner palace, they were also at a loss for what to do.
"What do we do now?"
Shouldn't the prince be attacking the city? How did he suddenly end up in the palace? He caught them completely off guard!
The key issue is that their martial arts skills are inferior to the prince's; they simply cannot stop him.
"Go quickly and inform the commander that the Holy King has entered the palace."
They certainly can't defeat the Holy King on their own; they can only go to the commander.
"yes."
The Imperial Guard responded and ran out of the palace to find Jin Lu.
Upon entering the inner hall, Xuan Yuanzhan's eyes immediately reddened when he saw Xuan Yuanpeng's unrecognizable body on the bed.
After a long silence, he finally spoke stiffly, "How did he become like this?"
If I didn't know he was still alive, I would have thought he had been dead for a long time just by seeing him lying there.
His face was ashen, he was emaciated and withered, and there was no trace of yang energy left in his body.
He used to be so full of vigor, how come he's become like this after such a short time?
Zong Jiu, his eyes also red, said, "On the day His Majesty saw you off from the capital, the Third Prince came to see His Majesty. The two seemed to have argued in the room. At that time, the Third Prince scratched His Majesty's arm. His Majesty, out of consideration for his father-son relationship, didn't even blame him. As a result, it was that Third Prince who used the puppet curse on His Majesty. At first, His Majesty was still conscious. In order to protect the Dowager Consort, His Majesty deliberately blamed the concubines. He not only imprisoned Consort Liang and Consort Su, but also detained the Dowager Consort in the Prince's Mansion. His Majesty was worried, so he sent the Imperial Guards to guard the Prince's Mansion to prevent anyone from making things difficult for the Dowager Consort and the Princess Consort."
Zong Jiu looked at Bai Shi, which could be considered an explanation on behalf of Xuan Yuanpeng.
Lady Bai wiped away her tears and nodded: "I know, how could I not know his good intentions?"
She knew he couldn't really put her in solitary confinement; everything he did was to protect her.
Although they weren't a real couple, they had been together for so many years, and she had long understood that he was sincere towards her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have put herself through so much hardship and stayed with him in this ambiguous relationship for so many years!
Because she knows everything, she feels even more sorry for him!
Knowing that the Dowager Consort understood the Emperor's intentions, Zong Jiu felt gratified for the Emperor: "To appease the Third Prince, the Emperor entrusted state affairs to the Second and Third Princes for joint management, and also handed over the city guards to the First Prince. However, in reality, the Emperor had already issued separate imperial edicts to General Cao and the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies. Although this old servant does not know the contents of the edicts, this old servant knows that the Emperor's heart is with the Dowager Consort and the Prince, and the Emperor's preferred candidate for Crown Prince has always been the Prince. The people the Emperor truly cares about are only the Dowager Consort and the Prince, and the Emperor would never allow the three princes to harm the Dowager Consort and the Prince."
After hearing this, Bai couldn't stop her tears. With red eyes, she asked Xuan Yuanzhan, "So you were able to enter the palace so quickly because of his imperial decree."
Bai was an extremely intelligent person, and he immediately understood the pros and cons involved.
Xuanyuan Zhan nodded: "Yes, he issued an imperial edict to Cao Qi and the commander of the three armies, saying that no matter what happens, the capital reserve army and the three armies must stand on my side unconditionally. Furthermore, even if he speaks in the future, Cao Qi and the three armies can ignore him and only listen to me."
The contents of the imperial edict left Bai Shi and Su Xuening stunned.
The Emperor actually foresaw so much, and he didn't even listen to him. At that time, he must have known that he had been put into a puppet trap by Xuan Yuan Yu!
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