That night, Lan Tingrong's army stormed into the palace, coordinating with Lan Gan's army from within and without, catching Qian Qiu off guard. He thought of the hostages and hurriedly sent his subordinates to capture the Empress, but unfortunately, the Empress had already disappeared.
Qian Qiu was already wounded. He hid behind the assassins he had trained and asked with a sinister look, "Lan Gan, do you not want your grandson to live?"
At this, Lan Gan's expression also turned ugly. "Chief Qian, if you hand over the antidote, I might spare your life."
"Grandpa, Tingyu has been poisoned?" Lan Tingrong chopped down a soldier who had rushed up to him without knowing what was going on. He was full of surprise. Before this, he did not know that his younger brother had been poisoned. When he first heard the news, he was naturally surprised.
Lan Gan felt a tightness in his chest. He had received a letter an hour earlier, which was why he chose to lead his troops into the palace at this time. The letter was short but clear: if he did not come to the palace, his eldest grandson would die at the hands of Chief Qian. He loved Tingyu, that was true, but if it came to who could truly strengthen the Zhenguo Duke's lineage, it was only Tingrong.
Therefore, he would not let anything happen to Lan Tingrong.
Lan Gan asked Lan Tingrong in a cold voice, "Why did you choose to lead your troops into the palace at this time?"
The chieftain kept the fact that the empress was imprisoned a secret very well.
Lan Tingrong paused for a moment, then said, "I received the letter you gave me, Grandpa, saying that I returned to the capital because we needed to work together from the inside and outside to deal with Chief Qian. Grandpa, that letter..."
Lan Gan's face darkened. He hadn't written a single letter from beginning to end.
Qian Qiu's men were in complete retreat. Seeing that most of his men had died, he forced himself to endure the pain and said, "Lan Gan, you'd better think this through. If I die, I'll take Lan Tingyu with me!"
Lan Tingrong looked at her grandfather, waiting for his response.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lan Gan replied, "Purgeing away treacherous officials is my duty. If sacrificing a grandson can bring peace to the world, what's not to like?"
Lan Tingrong gripped the long sword in her hand tightly.
Qian Qiu gritted his teeth, "Well, the Duke of Zhenguo is indeed the Duke of Zhenguo, his cold-bloodedness has made me look at him in a new light!"
“Listen, don’t hesitate, execute all these traitors on the spot.”
“Yes…” Lan Tingrong said in a deep voice, “Grandpa.”
He raised his hand, and the soldiers behind him swarmed forward.
Lan Gan's face was cold and stern. How could he not want to let Qian Qiu go and save Tingyu? But such a bloody incident had already occurred in the palace, and it was impossible to hide it from the world. If he did not capture Qian Qiu and give the world an explanation, then in a few years or a dozen years... their lineage of the Duke of Zhenguo would be called traitors and rebels. The century-old reputation of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion could not be ruined in his hands.
As for listening to the rain...
The letter writer said there was an antidote. Although he didn't know if it was true or not, Lan Gan told himself that if Tingyu was gone, he still had his brave and resourceful eldest grandson, Lan Tingrong.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Qian Qiu knew that if he continued to fight to the death, he would only face certain death. Now that the palace was under the control of the Duke of Zhenguo's men, he would not be able to escape alone. No... although the Empress was not there, he still had a bargaining chip.
Under the cover of the assassins, Qian Qiu slowly left the battle circle and headed towards the prison. He killed several more people along the way and suffered new wounds. He didn't bother to bandage and stop the bleeding, but he made his way to the prison with great difficulty.
The dimly lit prison, perpetually devoid of sunlight, has become a place where too many people have died. As a result, it has gradually acquired an eerie and resentful atmosphere that everyone can feel. If an ordinary person stays here for a period of time, they will become delirious and confused due to mental oppression, and some may even contemplate suicide. However, there is one person, a man locked in the innermost cell, who is always elegant and composed, no matter what.
For example, right now, he's out of his cell, sitting in a chair leisurely drinking tea. The chairs and tables here were originally for the jailers, but now those jailers are all lying on the ground.
Their eyes were open, their necks were twisted at an odd angle, and there were no other injuries. Anyone with martial arts skills could tell that they had all been killed by being choked.
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