Princess Shu's plan to stay awake for three days without eating or drinking to show her filial piety ultimately failed.
Because she was so hungry on the first night, when she stood up from the mat, her thigh muscles ached, she felt dizzy, and her body fell down.
"If you keep doing this, I'll buy you a coffin tomorrow." Wang Xiaohai said seriously, "You Zhou people have so many bad habits."
"How would I know!" Princess Shu looked towards other places in the Ancestral Hall. The other princes and concubines had servants bringing food to them. After receiving the food, they hid behind the pillars of the hall and ate secretly before sitting back down.
Princess Shu instantly felt like a fool.
"Let's go outside and find some food."
Princess Shu rubbed her sore knees and staggered towards the palace gate.
"It's a bit strange that so many princes have stayed here for a whole day and haven't encountered any assassins." Wang Xiaohai said, "Be careful, no - don't go out, and then go out and test it first!"
Wang Xiaohai felt a dangerous aura, it was murderous!
He slowed down his pace and moved forward cautiously. When he reached the palace gate, he finally saw the situation in front of him clearly - there were at least several thousand archers forming a semicircle, with their bows half-drawn and long arrows nocked on them, facing the palace gate.
The Ancestral Temple has been surrounded!
Behind the archer, the armless Third Prince sat on a pushchair with a look of pain on his face. Lan Ze and Tang Ke stood on his left and right.
"Shoot!"
After seeing Wang Xiaohai show up, the third prince immediately gave orders.
Countless arrows flew towards Wang Xiaohai, almost blocking his vision.
Wang Xiaohai quickly dodged behind the nearby pillar. He was only a mortal now and it was impossible for him to move forward under the rain of arrows.
"Damn, damn, damn--" Arrows hit the walls and pillars of the palace, piercing the area around Wang Xiaohai like a hedgehog.
"Zhou Jian, you're such a jerk!" Wang Xiaohai said, "I spared your life, but you repaid my kindness with hatred!"
"Nonsense, you are the biggest enemy in my palace. I won't be at peace unless I eliminate you first!" The third prince Zhou Jian said gritting his teeth while enduring the phantom pain in front of his arm.
"Lan Ze and Tang Ke, is this how you treat your old friend?" Wang Xiaohai continued to hide behind the pillars and shouted, "You two should kill Zhou Jian right now. You will definitely advance. You don't need to wait for fifteen days."
To be honest, Wang Xiaohai's words were very tempting to Lan Ze and Tang Ke. Tang Ke couldn't help but take action. After all, if the quota could be locked fifteen days in advance, no one wanted to delay any longer, for fear that the situation would change if the night went on!
"Masters, what did Wang Xiaohai say?" The third prince Zhou Jian asked, pretending not to understand.
Tang Ke looked around and calmed down instantly - this was Wang Xiaohai's conspiracy, deceiving him and Lan Ze into taking action. Yes, if the two of them took action, they might be able to kill the third prince Zhou Jian, but they couldn't escape because there were archers all around them. A hundred archers could kill them. They couldn't lose their lives to complete the mission.
"That guy's talking nonsense. He can't be trusted," Lan Ze said. "He's great at deceiving people and sowing discord."
"I think so too. I have absolute trust in the two masters." The third prince Zhou Jian said without hesitation.
Wang Xiaohai leaped forward, and many arrows followed him, falling to the ground with a "ding-dang-dang" sound. He rolled on the spot and re-entered the ancestral temple.
"Wang Xiaohai has hidden back in the palace. Should we send troops in?" The third prince Zhou Jian asked the two masters beside him.
"You're out of luck! We've been to the passage behind the palace gate before, and it's narrow," Lan Ze said. "Wang Xiaohai can definitely hold his own there. One man can hold the pass, and ten thousand can't. Even if you have more men, it's useless."
"Now we just have to guard outside the palace and not let him out. It will be done in fifteen days." Tang Ke said to the third prince.
"We can set fire to the ancestral temple. If he doesn't come out, he will die in the sea of fire!" The third prince Zhou Jian's eyes were filled with gloom, as if a storm was brewing.
"There are most of the late emperor's princes and concubines in there, they are all your brothers. Are you sure you want to set it on fire?" Lan Ze was a little surprised. Even if their true gods were emotionally cold, they rarely did such a thing.
"Then wait three days before setting the fire," said the Third Prince Zhou Jian. "Eunuch Zhang, have the soldiers shout constantly, telling everyone inside to evacuate the ancestral hall immediately! If Wang Xiaohai sides with anyone else, or uses anyone inside as a shield, don't hesitate; shoot them all!"
Inside the ancestral hall.
"What's wrong? I heard the sound of bows and arrows and shouting outside." Princess Zhou Shuyi said with concern.
"It's okay, it's just that your third brother sent thousands of archers to seal the gate of the ancestral temple and won't let me out." Wang Xiaohai said, "I guess in three days, he will summon all the civil and military officials and forcibly ascend the throne!"
"What should we do?" Princess Shu was a little panicked. "If we can't get out, we'll starve to death in the ancestral hall in less than three days."
"Now you finally understand how terrifying it is to act impulsively and without thinking, right?" Wang Xiaohai said. "Only by remaining calm and rational can one survive in the fiercely competitive imperial palace. Waiting for help from others or the emperor's favor only exists in stories and novels. In real life, such people are dead."
"So what do you think we should do now?" asked Princess Shu. She was at a loss.
"Food is easy to solve. These princes and concubines still have food on them. They can go out and just bring it to us." Wang Xiaohai thought for a moment and said, "Is there a secret passage in the Ancestral Hall?"
"No, I don't know." Princess Shu replied.
Wang Xiaohai also felt that there would not be any secret underground passages in the Ancestral Hall. After all, this was the place where the tablets of the Zhou Dynasty ancestors were placed and enshrined. People rarely came here and there was no danger, so there was no need to build a tunnel. Was he still worried that these tablets would grow legs and escape?
"I'll go to the temple wall to see if there are any weak spots." Wang Xiaohai said, "You can either come with me or stay in the temple by yourself." Although he is very strong, even if he has ten times the strength of an ordinary person, it would be difficult to break the thick temple wall. However, he can poke a few holes in the wall and use stress concentration to break it down.
"I'll go with you!" Princess Shu was afraid to stay with these princes and concubines. She felt it was dangerous.
"OK."
Wang Xiaohai walked towards the people in the ancestral hall and asked them to hand over the uneaten food in their hands. Wang Xiaohai would not take the food that had been eaten. He would not make a choice unless he was in a desperate situation.
"Why should I give it to you?" The seventh prince asked stupidly, and then was knocked unconscious by Wang Xiaohai.
When it was the Fourth Prince's turn, Wang Xiaohai did not take his food. Instead, he tore off a little bit of each of the food he had received earlier and gave it to the Fourth Prince to eat. He wanted to confirm whether someone had poisoned him.
After waiting for an hour and seeing that the Fourth Prince did not die from poisoning, Wang Xiaohai took Princess Shu to the side doors on both sides of the palace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
