The palace servants, who had been silently facing the wall in the sleeping quarters, turned around and knelt down heavily with a thud. But instead of begging for mercy, they said solemnly, "We understand, Grand Steward, rest assured, we know what to do."
These people were all Li Gang's own men, whom he had arranged in advance. Otherwise, the moment His Highness appeared, they would have all been annihilated without a single survivor.
Hearing hurried, chaotic footsteps approaching from outside, Li Gang lowered his voice and said, "For the sake of Ye Kingdom, for the sake of our families, this operation must succeed; failure is not an option. Do you understand?"
"yes."
——
When Empress Ye directed the palace guards to push open the door to her bedchamber, she immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The various posts, which should have been heavily guarded, are now deserted, and when the wind blows, you can inadvertently smell a metallic, metallic odor.
When she rushed into the Ye King's bedchamber, carrying her wide skirt, it was too late. The Ye King had already been killed instantly, his throat slit with a single sword stroke.
The guards and imperial soldiers inside and outside the palace were also killed.
Her face changed drastically, and her heart leaped into her throat: "Your Majesty—"
Her tone of voice changed involuntarily.
Although Queen Ye didn't have much affection left for King Ye, she never expected him to die so unexpectedly. Looking at the entire palace, she really couldn't guess who else could break in and kill him tonight, except for her.
She walked to the bedside, staring at the Prince of Ye, whose eyes were wide open in death. Her expression changed repeatedly, finally settling on a mocking and sarcastic look: "You're really dead. I've been hoping and hoping for your death, but now that you're really dead, I find it hard to believe. A scourge like you died too easily. You harmed my sister, you harmed me, and you harmed my Qi'er..."
While Queen Ye was still mourning the death of King Ye, she was unaware that a conspiracy targeting her was silently unfolding.
Suddenly, a group of palace servants outside the palace cried out in panic, "Help!...The Queen has killed the Emperor—"
"The Queen has rebelled—"
These sharp shouts shattered the silence of the palace, startling all those who slept through the night, as well as the royal guards and sentries patrolling the palace.
Empress Ye turned her head in surprise, only to see flames outside the palace directly approaching the palace. The palace servants who had served the King of Ye were deliberately creating chaos outside, shouting shrilly. Empress Ye was not stupid; she realized in an instant that she had been tricked and that there was a conspiracy involved!
Someone deliberately lured her here and then framed her for the matter concerning the Prince of Ye.
No, although Empress Ye couldn't guess who wanted to harm her for the time being, she absolutely couldn't swallow this damned rat!
"Grab them and shut them up!" Empress Ye shouted coldly.
The Empress Ye brought only her trusted confidants with her this time. These people were loyal to her alone, so they would act immediately once the Empress Ye gave the order.
But before they could decide how to deal with the palace servants who were talking nonsense, the servants suddenly became agitated and rushed forward, stabbing themselves in the abdomen with the sharp knives they were facing.
"Murder! The Queen of Ye has killed someone to cover her up!"
With a long, drawn-out scream, Empress Ye didn't even know what had happened before her face turned pale as she watched as more than a dozen palace servants died on the spot at the hands of her trusted confidants.
"Your Majesty, no, it wasn't us, they ran right into us!"
"Yes, they went to their deaths on their own; we didn't intend to kill them."
The Empress's confidants were also stunned, and they hurriedly explained the current situation.
Empress Ye's legs went weak, and she took a step back, powerless: "...It's too late."
The imperial guards and soldiers rushed over in a swarm, carrying torches. They saw that the King of Ye was dead, and palace servants lay dead on the ground outside the palace. The Queen of Ye and her trusted confidants with knives were standing inside the palace, their knives still dripping with blood.
They were all shocked: "Queen, you..."
Empress Ye felt utterly speechless. Li Gang, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, cried out to the commander of the Imperial Guards, panting and pleading, "Quick, quick, save the Emperor! The Queen has rebelled! Quick, quick, seize her!"
Li Gang was the chief eunuch and the most trusted eunuch of the Prince of Ye. His public testimony against the Empress Ye brought the biggest drama of the night to a climax, giving the Empress Ye a sure-fire charge.
Empress Ye's face turned deathly pale. She wanted to refute that she hadn't killed the Prince of Ye, but now... who would believe her?
——
Sweat beaded on Zheng Quchi's forehead, her eyelids twitching constantly. The next second, she woke up from her unsettling nightmare.
She stared upwards, breathing softly.
She felt like she had just had a dream, but after such a short while, she couldn't quite remember what she dreamt about.
It's still dark, but she can't sleep. Even the slightest movement makes her hands and feet ache. In this day and age, painkillers and numbing agents are not widely available or used. If someone is injured, they usually just have to endure the most painful period.
She still didn't want to lie down, so she slowly moved her body and sat up. Just as she lit the oil lamp, someone lifted the curtain and came in.
When Zheng Quchi looked up, she saw that the man seemed to be one of Yuan Xingzhou's men. She didn't know his name, but he had been sent back by Yuan Xingzhou to deliver game to her twice before, so she remembered his face.
"Lieutenant Zheng, you're finally awake?" He poured her a bowl of warm water.
Zheng Quchi thanked her and accepted the bowl. After drinking half a bowl, she put it down.
“Lieutenant Zheng, my name is Gong Jinniu. His Highness the Crown Prince asked me to stay here and wait for you to wake up. Please feel free to give me any instructions.”
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