In the fifth year of Jianping, Prince Qi Zhao Meng produced a posthumous edict, claiming that the previous emperor Zhao Yue forced the former crown prince to death before seizing the throne, and that he had found the former crown prince's orphan and needed help to restore the orthodoxy. So he assembled 80,000 troops and proclaimed himself the "bandit-suppressing army". In October, he started an uprising in Qingzhou, and easily broke through the 100,000-strong defense of Yanzhou, and drove straight to the capital.

After conquering Yanzhou, King Qi won a series of great victories. He took advantage of the situation to recruit soldiers and horses along the way. After crossing the river and heading north, the size of his "bandit-hunting army" had reached 100,000 people. Because they conquered too quickly, several cities were unable to defend and their commanders abandoned the cities and fled. In February of the following year, King Qi's army easily attacked the capital. At the same time, Qin Mu, the commander of Yanzhou, led 60,000 elite troops to pursue them from behind, vowing to stop them outside the imperial city.

In February of the sixth year of Jianping, Qin Mu led his elite troops to set up an ambush at the ferry crossing in front of the imperial city. King Qi had never encountered any decent resistance along the way, and was very proud at the moment. He did not expect that he would be attacked suddenly when he was only a few dozen miles away from the capital, and was killed in a moment. The rebels recruited by King Qi were originally a motley crowd. After barely holding out for a few days, some fled and some surrendered. King Qi Zhao Meng was shot dead by an arrow in the chaos. Qin Mu beheaded King Qi, but did not lead his troops back to the station. Instead, he gathered all the troops and continued to march to the imperial city to report the victory.

Although it was the beginning of spring, it was still chilly. Qin Mu ordered his most elite cavalry to clear the way, and together with the surrendered troops of Prince Qi, a total of 80,000 soldiers rushed to the capital without stopping. Along the way, flags were flying, horses were rumbling, and outside the imperial city, there was already a sound of wind and cranes crying.

Inside the palace walls, Zhao Yan heard that Qin Mu had completely wiped out Prince Qi and the rebels, and was immediately overjoyed. He specially summoned Xia Mingyuan, who was still "sick", into the palace, saying that his eldest son-in-law had made great contributions to the suppression of the rebellion, and specially held a banquet to reward him. After the banquet, he ignored Xia Mingyuan's various refusals under the pretext of being seriously ill, and insisted on keeping him in Qianyuan Palace.

It was almost midnight. Inside the Qianyuan Palace, there were red lacquered jade pillars and gold-threaded dragons. In the incense burner, a faint scent of ambergris burned. In the warmth of the room, Zhao Yan calmly put down a white piece, raised his eyes and smiled, "Uncle, it's your turn."

On the other side, Xia Mingyuan couldn't relax at all. His face, which still looked a bit sick, was tightly clenched. He tried hard to act as if nothing had happened, but in vain, sweat broke out all over his forehead.

Tonight is the night they have agreed with Qin Mu to attack the imperial city. According to the plan, Qin Mu will arrive outside the city gate one day earlier than reported in the palace bulletin, and Xia Qing will arrange for his cronies to secretly open the North Gate, which has the weakest defense, and let Qin Mu's army into the imperial city. Then, Xia Qing will command 30,000 Yulin troops to join forces, and in the name of a rebellion by Prince Qi's old subordinates, they will take advantage of the chaos to kill Zhao Yan. Then, the Queen Mother will come forward to quell the rebellion and establish a new king.

He had discussed this plan with Xia Qingche many times, and also informed Qin Mu in detail in a secret letter. Fortunately, Prince Qi could not stand the provocation and decided to rebel, and with Qin Mu's deliberate connivance and assistance, he successfully went to the capital. Now that the most critical step was about to be taken, the emperor suddenly kept him in the palace to play chess. Even though he had experienced many ups and downs in his life, at this moment, he could not calm down anyway.

Xia Mingyuan held a black piece tightly in his right hand, but he couldn't concentrate on the chessboard in front of him. He secretly glanced at Zhao Yan, who seemed to be unaware of anything. He gritted his teeth and was about to place a piece casually, but suddenly felt his wrist tighten. When he looked up again, he found that his right hand was suddenly clamped by Zhao Yan. Xia Mingyuan's heart sank, but he heard Zhao Yan smiling and saying: "If my uncle makes this move, there will be no way out."

Xia Mingyuan laughed dryly to cover up his inner panic, then withdrew his right hand that was about to make a move, and pretended to be in deep thought. Zhao Yan picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip, saying, "Is there something on my uncle's mind?"

Xia Mingyuan lowered his eyes and thought quickly. He felt that Zhao Yan must not be completely ignorant. At this point, he could no longer underestimate the man in front of him. But since he had come to this point, there was no turning back. No matter why he kept him here, as long as the plan could be implemented smoothly and Qin Mu could successfully lead his troops into the capital, for the honor of the entire Xia family, his life would be nothing. Thinking of this, he suddenly felt relieved, exhaled a long breath, and said, "My uncle is old and can no longer play with you young people."

Zhao Yan's eyes were somewhat amused. He played with the chess piece in his hand and said, "Uncle, why should you be so modest? If you hadn't been absent-minded and messed up your position, how could I have gotten the upper hand?"

At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the palace. Xia Mingyuan's heart jumped. It was not yet the time they agreed on. Could it be that something had happened to Xia Qing? He could not control himself, and his hand holding the chess piece began to tremble. Zhao Yan's eyes circled around his hand, put down the chess piece, stood up and looked outside the palace gate, saying, "Uncle, did you hear anything? It seems that tonight will be an unusual night."

Xia Mingyuan raised his head in suspicion, unable to discern the deep meaning of his words. At this moment, the commotion outside the palace suddenly stopped, replaced by an even more disturbing silence. Then, the sound of "thump thump" of footsteps echoed on the white jade slabs, and a guard wearing a sword and armor ran in and whispered a few words in Zhao Yan's ear. Zhao Yan slightly raised the corners of his lips, suddenly turned to Xia Mingyuan and said, "It's a bit stuffy here, uncle, can you come with me to the city wall for a walk."

Xia Mingyuan's heart turned cold a little at this smile. This was the smile of a victor, looking at the prey in his hand with pity. The alertness accumulated over many years made him suddenly realize that tonight, he was afraid that he would lose!

But why did they fail! Where are Xia Qing's Yulin Army? How could they be subdued without making any noise! ​​And where are the tens of thousands of people led by Qin Mu? Will they have a chance to fight a last battle? While Xia Mingyuan was frightened and hesitant, two guards stood behind him and stretched out their hands and said, "Prime Minister, please come in."

The threat in these words was extremely strong. Xia Mingyuan finally realized that he had no way out at this moment. He could only lift his weak legs and reluctantly follow Zhao Yan to walk towards the city wall. The night was dark and boundless. Xia Mingyuan walked out without wearing a fur coat. The biting cold wind made his whole body ache. Xia Mingyuan stared blankly at the back of the person walking in front of him. He felt that this short distance seemed like a lifetime.

Who knew that when he reached the top of the city wall, he would understand what it meant to be truly despaired. In a dark alley under the city wall, flames were blazing, and wailing and cries for help were heard. Tens of thousands of soldiers wearing "Qin" military uniforms were trapped in a dead end, and boiling hot oil was pouring down from the city wall, crushing countless flesh and blood bodies with huge rocks. Corpses were everywhere, and soldiers whose skin had been burned off by the hot oil and whose faces could not be seen were crowded together, struggling hard with broken limbs and corpses, calling for help, and the miserable moonlight shone on the blood splashing on the wall. This was a real hell on earth!

Xia Mingyuan's face was distorted, he bent over and vomited continuously, then his legs went limp and he actually knelt down on the city wall. He looked up with horrified eyes and saw the young emperor beside him, who was looking down at the brutal battle with his head held high and his hands behind his back. The blazing fire flickered in his eyes, with a domineering momentum and majesty.

Finally, Zhao Yan's eyes searched for a familiar figure, and he said loudly: "Qin Mu deliberately allowed the rebels to go north, and led troops into the city with the intention of rebellion. Whoever takes his head tonight will be rewarded handsomely."

The sound broke through the darkness and the wailing under the city, making people's ears buzz. Then Xia Mingyuan saw a man walking out from the shadow of the city tower. He was wearing red armor and a white feather on his helmet. He knelt down and saluted Zhao Yan, "I will not fail you!" Then he raised the longbow in his hand and shot at Qin Mu without hesitation. The arrow pierced Qin Mu's chest. Xia Mingyuan felt that everything was dark in front of his eyes. He finally understood everything. It was Xia Qing! He was finally defeated by Xia Qing!

At this time, Zhao Yan turned his head and said to him coldly: "Prime Minister Xia, what else do you have to say?"

Xia Mingyuan fell to the ground, trembling. He no longer had the rebellious look he had in the past. He knew that it was useless to argue any further at this moment, so he could only tremble and say, "My sins are not redeemable even by death, but this matter was planned by me alone. I hope Your Majesty will spare the rest of the Xia family for the sake of our kinship!"

Zhao Yan looked down at this powerful official who had dominated two dynasties, and was now crawling at his feet and begging. Father, did you see this? This is the world that belongs to our Zhao family!

At this moment, the sky was already turning pale. The ordinary streets in the capital were unaware of the thrilling scene that night and were beginning to revive little by little.

Inside the palace, however, the lights were still dim and cold, illuminating the desolate ground. Empress Dowager Xia looked at the bronze mirror in front of her with a sluggish look, combing her long-grayed hair. The face in front of her was once bright and glamorous, and had also attracted a stunning glance at the candlelight in the bridal chamber. But in the blink of an eye, her beauty had aged, and her lover had long since become her enemy. Her pride and ambition were all buried within the boundless palace walls, waiting hopelessly for the final withering.

Suddenly, a deep hatred flashed in her eyes. She raised the wooden comb in her hand and threw it hard at the bronze mirror. At this time, a palace maid ran in hurriedly and whispered something to her in her ear. Empress Dowager Xia widened her eyes in horror, and hot tears kept pouring out of her eye sockets. Then, as if all her vitality was drained away, she completely collapsed.

When Zhao Yan arrived at Chonghua Palace, Queen Mother Xia had already had someone dress her up again. Although she was no longer wearing a phoenix crown, her posture and appearance still seemed to be the queen of the six palaces who once dominated the world. She glanced at Zhao Yan coming in, but did not stand up. She just turned her eyes and said in a sharp voice: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, you finally got what you wished for!"

Zhao Yan sighed, walked over to her and squatted down, saying: "Mother, I know you are sad. But I have my own ambitions, and I don't want to be an emperor who is constrained by others. Don't worry, you will always be my mother, and this place will be arranged according to Changle Palace, and everyone will treat you as the queen mother."

Queen Mother Xia smiled, but her smile was filled with endless sadness. "You are indeed my good son. In the end, you even arranged a way out for me. It's a pity that my last name is Xia. If I were still alive, how could you eradicate the Xia family?"

Zhao Yan's face changed, and he realized that Queen Mother Xia's lips, which were covered with thick lipstick, had turned blue. She swayed and a stream of dirty blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. Zhao Yan held Queen Mother Xia's body, which was constantly sliding down, and shouted anxiously, "Where is the imperial physician? Call the imperial physician in for me!"

There was a flurry of activity outside the palace, but Queen Mother Xia grabbed his wrist and smiled weakly, "It's useless. I took the Hundred Poison Grass, and no one can save me." Her eyes suddenly softened, and she stroked Zhao Yan's cheek with her cold palm, saying, "Yan'er, do you remember when you were five years old, you had a nightmare and ran to me, hugged me tightly, and cried and asked your mother to accompany you for the rest of your life."

Zhao Yan held her hand tightly, as if he wanted to pull her out of the abyss of death, and painful sobs kept coming out of his throat. Queen Mother Xia's eyes gradually dimmed, and her hands slowly dropped down. With the last bit of strength, she said: "I'm sorry, mother broke her promise. Mother can no longer accompany you. The throne is finally yours alone."

Zhao Yan tightly hugged the body in his arms that was gradually getting colder. The rising morning light shone on the glazed tiles, stinging his eyes. Today, he finally fulfilled his lifelong wish and defeated the extremely powerful enemy. Today, he finally became a real lonely man.