Chapter 143 Accepting an Order in a Time of Crisis

The emperor looked at the empress's worried eyes, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings. What he had just said was indeed a helpless act. As an emperor, how could he be willing to give up so easily? The emperor pondered for a long time, and slowly spoke: "Zhao Zongquan of Yuzhou is our greatest hope at present. He is closest to the capital and may be able to save us from the water and fire."

After saying this, the emperor looked around, looking for something to write with, but found that there was no paper or pen on the desk. He resolutely walked to the desk, his eyes were firm, and he tore off his brocade clothes without hesitation and spread them on the desk. He did not need others to grind ink. He hardened his heart, bit his finger, and wrote the blood edict.

"Your Majesty, are you going to make Zhao Zongquan the crown prince?" The empress looked at the blood edict written by the emperor.

"Among the royal family members, Zhao Zongquan is mediocre, but he is also tolerant. He is the only one." The emperor said as he blew up the blood edict.

"The ministers in the court quarreled endlessly over the matter of establishing a crown prince. Who could have expected that this crown prince would be appointed with a knife on his neck? It was fate."

The emperor took out the military token from the brocade box and handed it to the empress together with the blood edict. "You, find a way to give this military token to Zhao Zongquan."

The emperor gave the blood edict and the military token to the empress and sat down on the chair weakly.

"Your Majesty and I have been married for many years. Regardless of life or death, I am willing to go with you." The Queen spoke her true feelings to the Emperor, glanced at the concubines beside her, and turned to other people in the hall, "Who is willing to break through the siege and deliver the letter for Your Majesty?"

None of the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall dared to answer, and the Queen looked at the eunuch who came to report the news.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, although I am willing to serve Your Majesty, I have been in the palace since I was young and know nothing about the world outside the palace. Although I am familiar with the Funing Palace, Kunning Palace, Jingfu Palace and other palaces in the imperial city, once I leave the palace, I am completely in the dark. Moreover, I have no idea where Yuzhou is. It is really difficult for me to take on such an important task!"

Upon hearing this, the queen's hand holding the blood edict dropped weakly. Yes, the people in this palace all grew up in the deep palace and have never seen the outside world. How can they send things to Yuzhou?

Just when the atmosphere in the hall was solemn, another eunuch stumbled in and reported in a panic: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something bad has happened! The rebels are unstoppable, the Xuande Gate has been lost, and they are now attacking the Daqing Gate. The Daqing Gate can no longer be defended!"

The emperor was furious when he heard this, but he was powerless to do anything. He could only beat his legs hard and lamented: "God wants to kill me!"

At this moment of despair, Minglan's voice rang out in the hall, and she said firmly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Yuzhou to deliver a letter to help your Majesty and your Majesty out of their predicament!" When

the queen heard this, a glimmer of joy flashed in her eyes. She held Minglan's hand tightly, as if she saw the dawn of hope. Minglan continued, "Your Majesty is wise and brave, diligent in government, loves the people, and is benevolent. You are the backbone of the Song Dynasty. Your Majesty is both virtuous and talented, and has far-sightedness. You are a role model for women all over the world. Your Majesty and Your Majesty have been very kind to Minglan and her family. Both publicly and privately, Minglan is willing to take on this important task and do her best for the Song Dynasty."

The Queen was deeply moved. She held Minglan's hand tightly, "Minglan, good girl, if you succeed in getting reinforcements, you will be a hero in saving the country!"

Minglan bid farewell to the Queen. The emperor and the empress bowed to the kneeling eunuch and said, "Please help me, eunuch. I don't know the way in the palace. I hope you can take me to Gongchen Gate."

The eunuch looked up at the emperor and the empress. They nodded in agreement. Minglan did not dare to delay and quickly hid the blood edict and the military token. She walked out of the back door with the eunuch and ran towards Gongchen Gate. She had only one thought in her mind - she must deliver this hope to Yuzhou as soon as possible.

The eunuch took Minglan all the way to Gongchen Gate. Gongchen Gate was still guarded by the Imperial City Department and the Imperial Guards. Prince Yong must have been a little hasty in gathering the rebels, and the rebels had not yet reached Gongchen Gate.

"Sixth Miss Sheng, I can only take you so far. You have to walk the rest of the way by yourself. I hope you take care of yourself. His Majesty and His Majesty are still waiting for you in the palace to call for reinforcements!"

Minglan said goodbye to the eunuch, took out the token to leave the palace, and left the imperial city from the Gongchen Gate.

After leaving the imperial city, Minglan did not dare to delay and hurried all the way in the direction of Sheng Mansion. However, not long after leaving the imperial city, she met soldiers in armor. Minglan could not distinguish the enemy from the right and dared not take risks. She had to pretend nothing happened and turned around and walked back.

"Stop!" It was not known whether Minglan was too nervous because she was carrying a deadly thing on her body and exposed her hair, or whether the two soldiers coveted Minglan's beauty. Even though Minglan reacted quickly and changed direction, the two soldiers still called Minglan.

Minglan pretended not to hear and continued to walk forward.

"Stop!" Seeing that Minglan not only did not stop but also dared to continue walking forward, they shouted again.

Minglan was a little flustered. Because of the palace coup, the people were very sensitive to the danger and hid at home. There were few pedestrians on the street. Minglan couldn't hide in the crowd. In a panic, Minglan turned into an alley, and the local soldiers followed her.

"Young lady is good at finding a place. It's quiet here. No one will disturb us two brothers from doing things. It seems that young lady is also interested in us." These two people are two veteran soldiers who want to take advantage of the chaos. Seeing Minglan's beauty, they have lustful thoughts.

Minglan's anger is greater than her fear at this time. She hates those who rely on their own brute force to bully women the most. Minglan let them say obscene words that were intolerable to her ears, and when they rushed over to hug her, she took out the wax balls she had hidden and threw them at the two.

The wax balls exploded, and pepper and chili powder sprinkled all over the two people's heads and faces, making them unable to open their eyes and rolling on the ground screaming. Minglan looked coldly at the two people struggling on the ground, walked to their side quietly, drew out the sword of one of them, and without any hesitation, killed him with one knife, blood spurted out, Minglan dodged, not wanting to be contaminated by the dirty blood, and then killed the other man amid his terrified screams.

After doing all this, Minglan took off the hairpin on her head, loosened her bun, and tied her hair up again. Then she carefully wiped the powder on her cheeks with her fingertips, and then wiped it on the wall with her hands, and then rubbed it on her face. After dressing up like this, she took off the phoenix-wing helmet from someone's head and put it on her own head. She also took off the clothes of one of them and put them on herself. Then she dragged the bodies of the two people to the depths of the alley and hid them. Then she put on her own armor and walked out of the alley.