Inside Fengqi Palace, twelve gilded coiled dragon palace lanterns illuminate the room as bright as day.
Outside the hall came the sound of uniform armor colliding, coming from far away and getting closer.
Su Qinghuang looked up suddenly and saw his trusted commander of the imperial guards walking in quickly.
"Your Majesty!"
Xiao Yan's voice was filled with suppressed excitement.
"The Xuanwu, Suzaku, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger gates have completed their rotation. The 3,000 elite Jinwu Guards have taken control of the nine inner gates, and the Shen Ce Army has taken over the twelve outer gates. Not even a sparrow can fly out of the Imperial City!"
Su Qinghuang's fingers trembled slightly under her wide sleeves. The hem of Xiao Yan's black cloak was stained with fresh blood, appearing a strange purple-black color under the light of the palace lanterns.
That was the blood of the rebels, and she knew that someone was bound to lose their head tonight.
"Very good." Su Qinghuang's voice was terrifyingly calm. "Immediately send the Imperial Guards with my golden order to summon His Majesty the Third Prince to the palace for an audience. Quickly!"
Xiao Yan took the token with both hands: "I obey your order."
When the palace door closed again, she finally loosened her tightly clenched hands.
"Either the phoenix ascends to the ninth heaven, or there is no return."
…
The night was as dark as ink. Teams of imperial guards in black armor, holding torches, passed through the palace gates like a fire dragon and headed straight for Kunning Palace.
"Quick! Block all the exits!"
The commander of the imperial guards, Zhao Wuji, waved his hand, and hundreds of imperial guards immediately dispersed and surrounded the Kunning Palace.
The sound of armor colliding woke up the sleeping palace, and the palace maids and eunuchs on duty fled in panic.
"How dare you! What are you doing?"
The eunuch in charge of Kunning Palace rushed out with a lantern, but was held by two imperial guards on the left and right.
"This is the Queen's bedroom!"
Xiao Yan's stern face looked even more sinister in the firelight.
"By the Imperial Concubine's decree, Kunning Palace is under immediate martial law. No one is allowed to enter or leave." He suddenly drew the sword from his waist. "Anyone who disobeys this order will be killed without mercy!"
Inside the palace, the Queen was taking a nap on the phoenix couch when she suddenly heard a loud noise outside.
She frowned and opened her eyes, and was about to call someone to ask when her personal maid stumbled in.
"Your Majesty, something bad has happened! The Imperial Guards have surrounded our Kunning Palace!"
"What?"
The queen stood up suddenly, and the pearls and jade on the phoenix crown shook violently.
She walked quickly to the window and pushed open the carved window frame.
There were torches like a forest under the palace wall, and weapons flashing with cold light surrounded the entire palace like an iron barrel.
"It's a rebellion! It's a rebellion!" The Queen trembled all over, digging her nails into the window frame. "I am the mistress of the six palaces, how dare they--"
Before he could finish his words, a scream suddenly came from the distance, followed by the dull thud of a heavy object falling to the ground.
The young palace maid's face turned pale. "Yes, it was Chief Steward Li! They killed him!"
The queen's eyes went dark and she staggered, holding onto the table.
She suddenly remembered something and said sternly, "Your Majesty, I want to see Your Majesty!"
Xiao Yan's cold voice came from outside the hall.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. His Majesty is unconscious in your palace, and the Imperial Hospital is doing its best to treat him.
The Imperial Concubine has ordered that you remain in Kunning Palace until the truth is revealed."
"Nonsense! How dare you put the blame on me!"
The queen's voice stopped abruptly, and a terrible thought flashed through her mind.
She turned and rushed to the secret door inside the bedroom, but found that the secret door had already been nailed shut from the outside.
"Su Qinghuang, you have such vicious methods!"
The queen was trembling all over, and suddenly she grabbed the blue and white teacup on the table and smashed it hard against the palace door.
The teacup shattered against the vermilion lacquered door, sending porcelain shards flying everywhere.
There was no response from outside the hall, only the cold sound of iron armor rubbing against each other.
The queen's body beneath her phoenix robe began to tremble violently; the incident happened too suddenly.
It was clearly Su Qinghuang who committed the crime, but His Majesty fainted when he wanted to question Su Qinghuang.
This is definitely not a coincidence, it's a conspiracy, just think about it.
Su Qinghuang had unknowingly taken control of the Imperial Guards and even bribed the Imperial Medical Service!
"Go and fetch me my Phoenix Seal!"
A last glimmer of hope ignited in the Queen's eyes. As long as she had the Phoenix Seal in her hand, she could—
The little palace maid cried even harder.
"Just now, Xiao Yan said that the Imperial Concubine had taken the Phoenix Seal away in the name of acting as the head of the Six Palaces."
The Queen stumbled back, knocking over the candlestick behind her.
The flames instantly shot up the gauze curtain, illuminating her paper-white face.
At this moment, she finally saw her situation clearly.
"Su Qinghuang, that bitch! When His Majesty wakes up, I will kill her entire clan!"
The commander sneered. His Majesty was unconscious in Kunning Palace. Now the news that the Queen was plotting to murder His Majesty had spread throughout the capital. Even if His Majesty woke up, the Queen would not be able to turn over.
What's more, can His Majesty really wake up?
…
It was dark at the eldest prince’s mansion.
Zhao Lingyin stood up suddenly, and the secret report in his hand fell to the ground. As the papers fell, the candlelight illuminated his suddenly gloomy face.
"The Emperor is in a coma? Kunning Palace is under siege?!"
His voice was low and cold. As the eldest prince, he knew better than anyone what this meant - a palace coup!
"No, this king must enter the palace!"
He grabbed the secret letter on the table, and a red flame ignited in his palm, burning the letter to ashes.
As the ashes drifted, he strode towards the secret door of the study, but was stopped by the housekeeper who hurried over.
"Your Highness!" The butler said in a low voice, looking troubled. "The entire palace is now sealed off. The imperial guards have taken over all the gates. Not even a fly can get in!"
Zhao Lingyin sneered, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
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