But Chu Yi felt no remorse whatsoever; instead, he said in a deep voice:
"Who said I killed the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager refused to be threatened by the assassin and committed suicide for the country. All generals, listen to my command: fire arrows and fire! We must capture the assassin who killed the Empress Dowager, regardless of whether he lives or dies!"
The person behind him hesitated for a moment, and refused to make a move for a long time.
Chu Yi glanced at them with a gloomy expression, then slapped the leader of the Imperial Guard across the face, his eyes bloodshot with urgency.
"What are you all standing there for? Set it on fire!"
Hearing this, they had no choice but to shoot the arrows that were soaked in oil.
In an instant, a fire broke out in the Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager fled in a disheveled state, only to be met with several arrows.
Just when she thought she was going to die, Fu Zhun appeared in time and pulled her away, which allowed her to narrowly escape death.
As the fire grew larger, Su An was temporarily safe, but the thick smoke released by the fire was extremely pungent. She couldn't help but raise her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose and cough violently.
If this continues, they will all be burned to death here.
Fu Zhun was extremely anxious.
But Chu Yi was still guarding outside with his men, so going out now would be tantamount to walking into a trap.
The Empress Dowager's eyes were misty as she shook her head and sighed sadly.
"It's all my fault. I failed to teach him properly all these years, which is why he has become such a cold-blooded and ruthless person. It's all my own fault."
Just as she was blaming herself, a series of crackling sounds came from around her.
Immediately afterwards, the beams overhead crashed down to the ground.
Fu Zhun had no time to think, so he grabbed Su An's arm with one hand and the Empress Dowager's arm with the other, and led them all out of the room before the beam fell.
Before Chu Yi could give any instructions, Fu Zhun threw away his sword, resigned to his fate.
"Alright, I concede defeat. As for punishment, you may do as you please."
Having narrowly escaped death, the Empress Dowager felt a surge of anger rising within her when she saw Chu Yi again. She couldn't help but raise her hand and slap Chu Yi, cursing him angrily.
"How could I have raised such a heartless and ungrateful wretch like you?"
Chu Yi's face turned to the side from the slap, and five finger marks immediately appeared on his fair face, with some bright red blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
It is clear that the Empress Dowager was truly angry.
He gently rubbed the blood from the corner of his mouth with the pad of his thumb, turned his head, and chuckled softly.
"I am the emperor, and emperors are inherently ruthless. In order to consolidate the empire, it is inevitable that some lives will be sacrificed."
"Moreover, it was my mother who taught me that if I want to get what I want, I must learn to use any means necessary. Everything I am doing now is for the sake of the Great Chu Kingdom. What wrong have I done?"
Hearing this, the Empress Dowager was also stunned.
Speechless after being rebuked by his words, the Empress Dowager could only turn her head away and silently process her anger.
"The Empress Dowager has escaped death. Take her downstairs to recuperate properly."
"Furthermore, arrest both of them!"
As Chu Yi raised his hand, the imperial guards behind him surged forward and seized Fu Zhun and Su An.
Su An twisted her arms defiantly, glared at Chu Yi angrily, and spat out: "Pah! You despicable man, what exactly do you want? Either let me go, or just give me a quick death, stop trying to outsmart me."
"Insolence! How dare you be disrespectful to His Majesty? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?"
The leader of the Imperial Guard drew his sword and roared, but Chu Yi blocked it with his hand.
He strolled over to Su An, chuckled, lifted Su An's chin, raised an eyebrow, and clicked his tongue.
"Miss Su's temperament is as fiery as ever, but I like it. Miss Su is so intelligent and open-minded. I still need Miss Su to do things for me, so how could I bear to kill her?"
As he watched his hand land on Su An's face, Fu Zhun's eyes darkened as if he wanted to kill someone.
However, after only a moment, Chu Yi released his grip, turned his gaze to Fu Zhun, and with a cold snort, drew a dagger from his waist and brandished it in his hand.
"If only you had listened to me earlier and attacked the Northern Barbarians properly, why did things have to come to this?"
"I see that Your Majesty is very adept at dealing with your own people. It must be a piece of cake for Your Majesty to defeat the Northern Hu. Why don't you go yourself?"
Su An scoffed, glanced at him sideways, and gave him a sarcastic look.
Upon hearing this, Chu Yi walked up to her and traced the dagger across her face, seemingly considering where to strike.
The icy touch sent a chill down her spine.
However, she felt no fear; on the contrary, she couldn't help but want to retort.
But Fu Zhun was afraid that Chu Yi might really hurt Su An if he went crazy, so he frowned, narrowed his eyes, and asked in a deep voice.
What exactly do you want?
"I have already said that as long as you conquer the ten cities of the Northern Hu, I will release her. Why won't you listen, Imperial Uncle? Fine, for the sake of our past kinship, I will give you another chance. Go and prepare a fast horse for you."
Chu Yi was somewhat impatient and immediately frowned in response before giving orders to the leader of the Imperial Guard.
Things have come to this point, and you still want Fu Zhun to risk his life for him? No way!
Su An was about to speak and tell Fu Zhun not to agree.
Then Chu Yi chuckled contemptuously and said, "Of course, Imperial Uncle can also refuse. For every time Imperial Uncle refuses, I will cut a piece of flesh off Miss Su's face. I am also very curious how many pieces of flesh can be cut off from Miss Su's beautiful face."
As he spoke, Chu Yi's eyes gleamed with excitement.
It was as if a wolf had spotted meat.
Damn it, just kill me if you want to, why torture people like this? Isn't this pure perversion?
Su An was filled with rage, her teeth grinding together.
Fu Zhun took a deep breath and pursed his lips in agreement.
"Very well, I will go. But you must remember what you said today: if anything happens to her before I return, I will avenge her even if it means my death!"
Although Fu Zhun knew that Chu Yi wouldn't hurt Su An, he was just deliberately provoking him.
Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance that Su An would get injured, he was unwilling to take that risk.
"Rest assured, I keep my word. Before my uncle returns, I will definitely send people to protect Miss Su properly."
Chu Yi did not hesitate, raised an eyebrow, and agreed immediately.
Turning his head to look at Su An, Fu Zhun frowned unhappily and made his request.
"You may all leave. Before you go, I have something to say to her."
After all, this trip might be a one-way journey, so wanting to leave some last words is a reasonable request.
Chu Yi sheathed the dagger, put his hands behind his back, chuckled, and took a few steps back, dismissing the crowd.
"Didn't you hear what the Imperial Uncle said? Everyone, retreat outside the palace and wait!"
The crowd dispersed.
Upon gaining his freedom, Su An felt a pang of anxiety and quickly grabbed Fu Zhun's arm, shaking his head to persuade him.
"You can't go. He's already colluded with the Northern Hu. If you go, you'll face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. I can't let you take that risk!"
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