Yue Jiang slowly walked out from behind the Imperial Guards. She calmly stared at Jing Lu, whose expression was urgent, and said unhurriedly.
"King Li, you've returned without giving me any prior notice. You've come uninvited to visit your sister-in-law first, and it's been very impolite of you not to treat me well!"
Jing Lu looked around at the massive Imperial Guards, a number far exceeding the usual number used to guard the Eastern Palace. He then realized that there was a special gathering waiting for him tonight.
He squinted at Yue Jiang and suddenly realized: "You deliberately sent the Empress Dowager out of the palace to deceive me, waiting for me to walk into your trap."
Yue Jiang didn't deny it, but Jing Lu's angry words and his attempt to shift the blame inexplicably made her laugh.
“What nonsense is King Li talking about? It’s true that Grandmother Zheng is worried about you. Don’t you know that yourself? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you seek an open and aboveboard opportunity to visit Grandmother Zheng?”
"What's the reason for you to go secretly? And what were you thinking when you heard that Zhang'er and I were both sick?"
“It’s your own fault for having ulterior motives. Instead of paying respects to the Emperor upon returning to the capital, you broke into the Eastern Palace in the dead of night,” she said sarcastically, glancing at the men in black protecting Jing Lu.
"It's as if I've lived long enough and am waiting for you to come and kill me."
"You left the camp without orders. I'd like to ask if it was you who caused His Highness's food shortage and prevented him from returning to Jing in time."
Upon hearing that Yue Jiang had learned about the food shortage, Jing Lu's murderous intent intensified. He gripped his weapon tightly and quickly glanced at those around him.
The next moment, the men in black around Jing Lu jumped up and pounced on the Imperial Guards, trying to fight their way out.
Some people rushed towards Yue Jiang, intending to take her hostage.
Fortunately, Yue Jiang had anticipated Jing Lu's ambition. When the men in black rushed over, she retreated behind the Imperial Guards, with shields protecting her.
Jing Lu had few men, and Yue Jiang's Imperial Guards were not to be underestimated. Although Jing Lu's men could fight ten against one, it would still be difficult for them to break through.
Before long, the entire Eastern Palace was filled with the glint of swords and the sounds of slashing and thrusting.
As Yue Jiang retreated to a safe place, she observed the situation of Jing Lu fighting with the Imperial Guards.
Suddenly, flames roared in several places in the palace, including various parts of the inner palace and the direction of Jing Huaixu's bedroom.
The shouts in the vast palace were deafening, indicating a serious situation. Yue Jiang instinctively assumed that Jing Lu was behind it.
On second thought, it only started after the Crown Prince and Jinglu started fighting. If it was just a small-scale palace disturbance in the Crown Prince's palace, it would be difficult for the entire palace guards to be alarmed in a short time.
If chaos erupts in several places within the palace at the same time, the entire palace will be surrounded like a water bucket, and Ren Jinglu will have nowhere to escape.
Yue Jiang immediately guessed that it was Jing Shuo. He must have arranged spies outside the East Palace beforehand so that if things got chaotic here, he could create an even bigger palace upheaval there.
Jing Shuo was clearly telling Jing Huaixu on purpose that there would be assassins tonight, so that Jing Lu would be completely exposed to the public.
After Yue Jiang finished her analysis, she considered that all of Jing Lu's men were arranged in the East Palace. Even if there were people to meet them, they should be hidden outside the palace. It would be troublesome to have all the corpses in the East Palace when the inventory was taken tomorrow.
She immediately ordered Wei You's cousin beside her: "Xu Bing, have someone secretly open a path for Jing Lu so that he can fight his way out and burn down a few more rooms in the East Palace."
"Yes," Xu Bing replied, and hurried to make the arrangements.
Yue Jiang also took a knife and told Shan Yi to run with her to the outside of the East Palace: "Jing Lu sneaked into the palace to assassinate me and Zhang'er. I will protect Zhang'er and lure Jing Lu out. Shan Yi, you come with me to the inner palace. We will report to His Majesty."
"Yes," Shan Yi bowed and hurriedly escorted Yue Jiang out of the East Palace.
At the same time, Jing Lu finally broke free, having been chased all the way.
His entourage tried to help him escape, but the Imperial Guards kept coming, and Jing Lu had nowhere to run.
The only conspicuous thing was that Yue Jiang was running for her life in front of him. Jing Lu knew that he was in grave danger tonight, so he had no choice but to grab Yue Jiang and fight to the death.
He mustered all his strength to lead his men in pursuit of Yue Jiang, unaware that as he raced along the tunnel with Yue Jiang, Jing Lu had already been exposed to others.
Jing Huaixu had just been rescued from the fire by Jing Shuo when he heard that the Crown Prince had suffered an even more serious assassination attempt.
He was worried that with the Crown Prince away, something terrible might happen to Lian Yue and her son in the Eastern Palace, so he sent Jing Shuo with the Imperial Guards to provide support, while he himself went up to the highest point in the palace, the Lanxing Tower, to observe the situation in the palace.
As Jing Huaixu looked down through the binoculars, he saw the Crown Princess being protected and fleeing for her life in a passageway where the fire was at its fiercest.
After the Imperial Guards, the ruthless and deadly assassin turned out to be his good son, Jing Lu.
Jing Huaixu felt a sudden pain in his chest, and he gripped his clothes tightly, gritting his teeth.
"You unfilial son!"
Jing Huaixu was still furious. He turned his head and urged, "Send more people. If anything happens to the Crown Princess and the little prince, I will not let you off the hook."
"Yes," the Imperial Guard leader bowed and accepted the order to make arrangements.
At the end of the passageway, Yue Jiang was about to reach the end when Jing Lu chased even closer.
Just as she was about to leap into the archway, Jing Shuo and his men emerged from the opposite side. He bypassed Yue Jiang and ordered the men behind him to meet the enemy.
Because Jing Shuo had a leg injury, it was difficult for him to personally join the fight, but he did have a crossbow in his hand.
As soon as Jing Shuo saw Jing Lu, he pointed a crossbow at him and let out a satisfied laugh.
"Jing Lu, how dare you! You've asked for your own death this time."
Jing Lu was chasing Yue Jiang when suddenly an arrow flew past his face, and only then did he see Jing Shuo coming over.
He raised his hand to wipe the blood off his face, gazing at the lingering smoke around him. His dark pupils held a ferocity he had never shown before, and he gave a knowing, cold laugh.
"Second Brother has become quite capable; he's learned to fish in troubled waters and use others to kill people."
Jing Shuo also smiled gloomily, his eyes filled with sinister arrogance, and he slapped his thigh in a gesture of greeting.
"This is all thanks to Third Brother's excellent teaching. Second Brother paid for his tuition with his own two legs. In a little while, Third Brother will see if Second Brother has learned it well enough."
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