"Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang pay their respects to Your Majesty the Empress!" The two immediately bowed to Bi Linglong upon arrival, directly expressing their stance. Their men then subtly surrounded Li Guanshi's Tiger Army.
When the strange event occurred in the palace, the two men immediately awoke and summoned their troops.
The two discussed it privately and quickly figured out the situation.
Something seems to have happened at Yunlong Gate, and there are assassins at the Empress Dowager's palace. At the same time, the movements of the various armies in the palace are extremely strange.
Wang Bolin's first instinct was to lead people to rescue the Empress Dowager, since Zu'an and the Empress Dowager had always had a good relationship.
But Zhang Zijiang stopped him: "Brother Wang, don't you think about who in the capital would dare to touch the Empress Dowager?"
"You mean the Empress?" Wang Bolin's expression also changed.
"Besides the Empress and the Bi family, who else would have the guts?" Zhang Zijiang said with a wry smile.
Wang Bolin was immediately enraged. Zu'an and the Empress Dowager were political allies, but Zu'an was also close to the Empress, and they were both from the Eastern Palace lineage. Their relationship was even closer than that of the Empress Dowager.
Whom do you expect them to help?
Zhang Zijiang had an idea: "The situation in the palace is unclear right now. Why don't we go to the Empress's palace to ask her for instructions and see what the situation is like?"
Wang Bolin agreed with this assessment, and the two quickly brought the Imperial Guards over. However, they saw from afar that another army seemed to be besieging the Empress's palace. This was outrageous!
So they immediately sent men to surround the enemy.
"Please rise, both of you!" Bi Linglong was overjoyed to see the two of them. With their help, the situation in the palace might be able to stabilize.
At this moment, Li Guanshi shouted loudly, "Wang Bolin, Zhang Zijiang, do you want to rebel?"
Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang sneered, "Li Guanshi, you led men to besiege the Empress's palace. Isn't that rebellion?"
Li Guanshi held up a gold plaque: "I was ordered by the Emperor to lead my troops to protect the Empress. What crime have I committed!"
Upon seeing the gold token, the Imperial Guards all paled, for it was indeed the emperor's personal token; to see this token was to see the emperor himself.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" Everyone could only bow in greeting. Although they knew that the Emperor was usually a foolish puppet, they could not offend him with these formalities.
Li Guanshi then said, "Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang, you shall lead your troops to strictly guard your posts. Without the Emperor's order, no one shall move without authorization, otherwise it shall be treated as treason."
Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang's expressions changed. If they weren't allowed to go anywhere at this crucial moment, wouldn't that mean...?
They looked to Bi Linglong for help, hoping she could give them instructions.
Bi Linglong's face turned pale and then red. She knew that this incident was mostly her father's doing. Did she really have to ruin his plan?
If we let them act recklessly like this, and they anger Ah Zu, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Why is Father so confused? Has he forgotten how the Meng family and the Prince of Dai came to be?
But Father was always the kind of person who planned things out before acting, so he must have taken Azu's strength into account.
Could it be that he still has some kind of trump card? But looking around the world, there are almost no ones who can be considered a match for Azu nowadays.
Her expression shifted between light and dark, but thinking of what had happened with Zu'an a few days ago, and the vow she had made at that time, she made up her mind. She took a deep breath and coldly shouted, "Imperial Guards, listen to my command!"
Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang's hearts skipped a beat, and they both stood up straight and replied, "We will obey Your Majesty's decree!"
The situation in the palace is too chaotic right now, and they can't figure out what's wrong. However, they remember one thing: they are the Regent's soldiers and will only obey the orders of the Regent's close associates.
In everyone's eyes, the Empress is the closest person to the Regent in the entire palace, followed by the Empress Dowager. Following the Empress now is definitely the right thing to do.
Li Guanshi's expression changed: "Your Majesty, what are you going to do?"
Bi Linglong ignored him and said directly to Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang, "Escort me to see the Emperor. I suspect that the Emperor has been misled by treacherous people and is now in danger."
This is where her brilliance lies; instead of directly saying she was going to rescue the Empress Dowager, she went to see the Emperor.
Everyone in the capital knew that she and the emperor shared the same fate. For so many years, she had managed the Eastern Palace single-handedly, so in the eyes of the world, she was the embodiment of Zhao Ruizhi.
Now that she is going to see the emperor, it is perfectly natural for her, and no one would suspect that she has any ill intentions.
Once she sees Zhao Ruizhi, she can completely control him. The two of them can issue orders at the same time. Unless the imperial guards in the palace really want to rebel, who would dare to disobey?
As expected, Li Guanshi's expression changed upon hearing her words, and his Tiger Guards exchanged bewildered glances.
In fact, apart from a few of his close confidants, most of the soldiers were also unaware of what had happened that day.
People are just used to obeying the generals' orders. Before, they had the emperor's orders as a formality, so they could obey. Now, how can they stop the empress?
The Imperial Guards, however, were in high spirits and shouted, "Yes, sir!"
Sensing the unrest among his men, Li Guanshi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty's order is for you to stay in the palace. We will protect your safety, so please do not put yourself in danger."
Bi Linglong walked forward with a cold laugh: "What, do I need your permission to see the Emperor? You've been making excuses to prevent me from seeing the Emperor. Did you do something to him?"
She was extremely dignified when she was the Crown Princess, let alone now that she is the mother of the nation.
Furthermore, many in the Tiger Legion had their doubts, so no one dared to stop her as she walked straight ahead.
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