Chapter 119 Breaking Through the Meridian Gate
The changes came too quickly, and the guards who had been keeping an eye on the Second Prince's residence rushed back to the Eldest Princess's residence.
The palace has 300 imperial guards and 1,000 guards; if it's just for defense, they can hold off the second prince for a while.
Unfortunately, the guards at Chengming Gate were Zhou Ao's men. Without needing to say more, they exchanged words, and the gates of Chengming Gate were wide open, giving the palace guards no time to react.
Zhou Ao did not want to say anything more to the guards blocking his way, so he ordered his men to arrest them.
Before they even reached the Meridian Gate, half of the guards who rushed over in small groups after hearing the commotion had already been killed. The head guard realized something was wrong and ordered his men to stop, thus halting the continuous stream of deaths among the guards.
A patrol guard team has no more than twenty men. Without them assembled, how could they possibly fight against three thousand fully equipped soldiers?
Furthermore, there were informants within the imperial city; otherwise, how could they have entered so easily?
Because the morning court session is suspended, the main gate of the imperial city will not be opened without a valid reason!
By the time the shadow guards informed the emperor, Zhou Ao had already stormed the Meridian Gate. Once the gate was breached, the imperial palace would be within reach.
All the imperial guards were sent to stop him. Beside the emperor stood a kind-faced old eunuch, holding a golden dragon-patterned whisk, a gift from the emperor for saving the emperor's life.
Shadow One remained hidden in the shadows. After a couple of quarters of an hour, Shadow Guard relayed a message: "Beside Zhou Ao is the Poison Saint of the Jianghu, wielding the Myriad Poisons Smoke technique to restrain the Imperial Guards; he also possesses the Ruthless Palm technique, which severs all meridians of anyone struck by it!"
The emperor gripped the sandalwood armrest tightly, his anger turning into a cruel laugh: "Very well, Shadow One, you go and meet him too. I want to see just how much he can do!"
The Shadow Guards are few in number, but each one is no less skilled than the masters of the martial arts world. If they are to be defeated, they will surely be ensured that their enemies never return.
Upon receiving the order, Yingyi responded and vanished from the hall in the blink of an eye.
An itch rose in his throat, and the emperor suddenly bowed, coughing repeatedly that echoed throughout the empty hall. The old eunuch stepped forward but was stopped by him: "Don't worry about me. Zhou Yun hasn't shown up yet. You need to stay in good shape."
After taking the pills prepared by the imperial physician, his coughing stopped. He leaned weakly against the back of the stool, feeling both indignant and bewildered: "Why would this unfilial son treat me like this? I have always treated him the best!"
The old eunuch bowed his head and said meekly, "People often say that a small favor is appreciated, but a large favor breeds resentment. It is because the Second Prince takes His Majesty's favors for granted that his greed has grown, like an insatiable abyss, and he has instead become resentful towards His Majesty."
Regardless of the real reason, simply give the emperor the answer he wants.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Sometimes the truth doesn't matter. The emperor is like heaven, and heaven is absolutely infallible.
Hearing his words, the emperor's resentment subsided slightly, and he asked again, "Has the person who poisoned me been found?"
The old eunuch repeatedly apologized: "Even if I killed her relatives in front of Consort Zhao, she still wouldn't confess."
The emperor scoffed dismissively: "But she's loyal to the master behind her!"
The old eunuch responded with two lines.
The tense situation at the Meridian Gate clearly tilted in favor of the Emperor's faction after the appearance of the Shadow Guards, until a strange, both stiff and agile, man in black joined the fray.
Ordinary swords and blades could hardly wound him; only the sharpest sword in the hands of the Shadow Guard could leave a mark on him.
He was tough and resilient, and also highly skilled in martial arts. However, getting close to him would cause one to be contaminated with a strange toxin. For a time, it was impossible to break through his defenses, and one could not get too close to him, lest the toxins come onto one's body without being noticed. In this way, the three shadow guards were restrained by him.
What's even more troublesome is that occasionally a few thin, silk-like yet incredibly strong threads will dart out to interfere with their movements. At high speeds, an invisible thread can be as sharp as the sharpest blade in the world. If one is not careful, it can split one's body in two in an instant, taking one's life instantly.
Not only did he have to pay attention to the strange man in black, but he also had to keep an eye on the elusive threads. Without making a move, Shadow One quickly scanned the crowd in the open space of the Meridian Gate.
To prevent assassins from hiding, the palace has very few obstructions, leaving no opportunity for them to conceal themselves. Since the operator of the fine wires can see their movements, it means that the controller must also be nearby.
Is it in a remote corner, or right among... three thousand soldiers?
...Found it.
·
The Cold Palace.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" A little maid rushed in, not even catching her breath, and said in a panic, "Your Majesty, thieves have broken into the palace! We must hide quickly!"
Consort Shu, or rather, Consort Min, looked out into the depths of the palace and said softly, "I am no longer Consort Shu. Do not call me Your Highness anymore, or you will be punished if someone hears you."
The maidservant had misused the form of address in her haste, and after apologizing, she changed the subject: "Master, a fight has broken out outside, let's find a place to hide!"
The sounds of battle outside were deafening, and even those of them in the cold palace could hear them, enough to guess the bloodshed that was taking place.
Min Meiren chuckled lightly, seemingly unfazed by the impending crisis. Her eyebrows curved into a smile, and she appeared relaxed and at ease: "Isn't chaos a good thing? Don't they all want things to be as chaotic as possible?"
"Master!" The maidservant, fearing that her mistress was terrified, quickly said, "War is not a good thing; it can cost you your head, it's very dangerous."
Min Meiren didn't try to persuade her, but instead tried a different approach: "If the thieves want to raid the palace and dig up the treasures, they'll find us no matter where we hide. Besides, there's nowhere to hide in the Cold Palace."
Hearing her words, the maid became even more anxious, but Consort Min's attention had already shifted.
The sounds of battle rose up everywhere, like a sharp blade hanging over the emperor's head.
I wonder if their supreme emperor will be able to weather this calamity safely?
I wonder if His Highness Prince Qi, who always relies on others and remains hidden behind the scenes, realizes that he is being used by her?
As for that child born out of mistake? If he's used to death, so be it. If he survives... consider him lucky.
However, judging from those two old foxes, he would most likely be devoured without a trace. After all, these two old foxes were able to outwit even her, so finally, she had found an opportunity to scheme against them.
The silk cloth she sent out was intentional; if she didn't push Zhou Yun a little, how could she stir up the waters even more?
Wildflowers bloomed on the overgrown ground of the Cold Palace, and an ordinary butterfly landed on a purple flower, causing Consort Min's gaze to soften.
A group of crude江湖人 (jianghu people) do not need to use force to kill people like Prince Qi and the emperor. They can simply manipulate things and use their power to make them fight each other to the death.
All you need to do is give her some time.
·
Upon receiving the news, the Princess's residence did not rush to the palace to rescue the Emperor.
It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.
The palace is not yet in the most critical moment. Going there now will not highlight their importance. They should wait until the two sides fight each other to the death, and then they can step in and reap the benefits.
Of course, there were excuses: it would take time to assemble the troops, and they were afraid they would be no match for the rebels; it would take time for them to urgently summon people from the Five Armies Camp; and even when the people arrived, the process of entering the city was complicated, and even in special times, it would take some time... In short, the process was too fragmented and there wasn't enough time.
It would be strange if they could bring troops into the palace to help immediately. Isn't that just like Zhou Ao, who openly said that he was preparing troops and training horses in the capital? He had ulterior motives.
Moreover, they must strike decisively and decisively, giving neither side a chance to breathe. Otherwise, the two of them will stop fighting and join forces to kick the Princess's residence out of the struggle for the throne.
Having finally managed to get the two to point fingers at each other, Zhou Chaoyun was unwilling to accept that all her previous efforts would be in vain.
The battle didn't last long because Zhou Yun left the fray, along with five experts from the Qi Prince's mansion and over a hundred personal guards trained within the mansion.
They finally broke through the defenses of the Meridian Gate and headed straight for the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Tick-tock.
Rain fell from the thick, dark clouds.
Fine, thread-like raindrops hit the ground, soaking a patch, which was then absorbed by the floor tiles, leaving no water stains.
The light rain did not deter the traveler. Zhou Yun rode his horse behind Zhou Ao. Before him stood the Zhengqing Hall, the center of power in Da'an, which he had not seen for nearly twenty years since he was driven to Hebei Province.
Standing below the hall was a man, none other than his long-missed elder brother, the Emperor of Da'an, Zhou Yin.
·
If it weren't for the presence of the Three Gu, Shang Yuji would have originally intended to keep his distance from such a momentous event as seizing the throne.
Even if it's beautiful, you still have to be alive to see it.
Once the masters on the field start fighting, they don't care whether the passersby A, B, or C are on the same side. When they get into the heat of the fight, they don't pay attention to their surroundings at all, and naturally they don't notice whether any unfortunate people will die under their swords.
But things are different now. In order to watch a grand show, she is now fully armed, wearing the latest soft armor, with a powerful crossbow hidden in her sleeve, and two deadly Gu worms on her hair.
With this outfit, perhaps even Zhou Ao couldn't compare to her.
Using the river to practice their lightness skills, the two quietly hid among the panicked eunuchs and palace maids while they were fighting.
Since they didn't need to worry about the Jiang family recognizing them, the two changed back into their original clothes. When the princess heard that she wanted to come to the palace to watch a play, she even offered up the costumes of palace maids and eunuchs to help them successfully infiltrate the palace.
Fortunately, they arrived early, before the rain became too heavy, and their clothes didn't get wet.
And so, like a river flowing into the sea, the two blended smoothly into the crowd, securing the best viewing spots and waiting for the princess to make her appearance.
The experts beside Zhou Yun had already started fighting with the old eunuch, and it was time for the eldest princess to make her appearance.
Heading north along Tai'an Street, thanks to the hard work of pioneer Zhou Ao, the journey was smooth and unobstructed.
When the people in the palace saw that the leader was the eldest princess, Zhou Chaoyun announced that she was going to rescue the emperor, and no one stopped her. They were powerless to stop her anyway, and could only hope that the eldest princess could capture the traitor and restore peace to the palace.
At the most critical moment, it was a matter of life or death, and both sides had already played all their cards.
Many masters hidden deep within the palace emerged, and the scales of victory instantly tipped in Zhou Yin's favor.
He was able to defeat Zhou Yun twenty years ago, and now that he has become emperor, he will surely be able to defeat Zhou Yun as well.
The situation on the battlefield was constantly changing, and the sparse rain gradually intensified.
Zhou Yin stood under the eaves of Zhengqing Hall. Raindrops pounded on the ground and bounced off, splashing onto him and wetting his bright yellow robes, but he was no longer concerned.
monster……
A monster jumped down from outside the wall. It was more than ten feet tall. It was hard to describe. It was a huge monster that could barely be identified as human!
Even a fall from a great height could shake the earth, startling the horses on the field and causing many soldiers to fall off their horses.
Zhou Yin, who was fifty paces away, felt the tremor. If the eunuch behind him hadn't supported him in time, he would have almost lost his balance. At this moment, showing weakness would be no different from losing face!
After the monster appeared on the field, it charged around wildly, wielding two giant axes, and used its brute force to tear open a piece of land, which made Zhou Yin feel shocked.
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