The carriage galloped along and soon arrived near the city gate. The driver said outside: "Princess, the city gate seems to have been closed."

It’s far from time to close the city gates!

Sheng Xiyan opened the car curtain and, sure enough, there were many civilians gathered near the city gate. They were all unable to leave the city and they had blocked the streets tightly.

"Let's go and have a look."

Sheng Xiyan gave an order, and the carriage drove slowly by. The driver took out the token and said, "We are from the Zhenbei Palace. Our princess is inside. She wants to leave the city for a while."

The captain of the city gate glanced at the token in his hand and snorted coldly, "The city gate is closed. No one is allowed to leave the city, including the Zhenbei Palace."

The driver said calmly, "Sir, it is not time to close the city gates yet."

Immediately, some people echoed, "Yes, yes. Why is it closed so early? We still need to leave the city."

"My home is outside the city, please be flexible."

The captain of the city gate said to the driver, "Lord Zheng has ordered that the city gates be closed early today. Princess, please hurry back to the palace and don't hang around outside. It would be bad if you get hit."

He spoke rudely and with such a condescending attitude that it was clear that he did not take the Zhenbei Palace seriously at all.

Without waiting for the driver to say anything, the captain of the city gate raised his hand and said, "Princess, please go back."

"Princess, please don't cause trouble in front of the city gate and force us to personally escort you back to the palace."

He raised his hand, and several gatekeepers around him immediately unsheathed their swords in unison.

The people around were startled and so frightened that they immediately shut up and dared not complain.

Obviously, everyone saw that the carriage from the Zhenbei Palace did not break in without permission, but only asked why the city gate was closed so early.

The city gates were closed more than an hour earlier today. How many people living outside the city were stopped? Couldn't they even ask a question?

Even though they were unhappy, the people were afraid of being implicated and hid behind.

A gentle voice came from the carriage: "What if this princess must leave the city?"

The captain of the city gate sneered and said, "Lord Zheng has ordered that anyone who leaves the city without permission will be treated as a traitor and will be killed without mercy!"

"Princess, please don't be willful, or else the sword will be blind."

After saying this, he took a step forward towards the carriage with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Bold."

The accompanying palace guards shouted at him, dismounted from their horses and stood guard in front of the carriage.

Each of them had a solemn expression, waiting for Sheng Xiyan's order to break out.

The area near the city gate was filled with a tense atmosphere.

The people were all panicked, looking at the scene at a loss, and dared not move.

At this moment, a chaotic sound of horse hooves was heard, and a white horse came galloping from the other end of the street.

"princess!"

The young man on the horse suddenly pulled the reins, clasped his fists and said to Sheng Xiyan: "Princess, the palace is surrounded by the imperial guards."

Sheng Xiyan pulled open the curtain and asked, "Imperial Guards?"

"Yes!" the young man replied, "About four or five hundred people."

Sheng Xiyan glanced at the city gate and said decisively, "Go back to the palace."

At her command, the carriage turned around immediately.

The driver whipped the horse whip and the carriage sped away towards the Zhenbei Palace.

The captain of the city gate snorted coldly and said in front of everyone: "The capital is investigating the traitors. You should disperse immediately. You are making a lot of noise here. Do you want to be the traitor's accomplice?!"

The people were shocked.

Traitor? Are you talking about the King of Zhenbei?

This is impossible! They looked at each other and at this moment, they both realized one thing:

The Zhenbei Palace was surrounded!

There was a commotion in front of the city gate.

Zheng Xintong's carriage had followed all the way and was now parked far away on the side of the street. He did not withdraw his gaze until Sheng Xiyan's carriage disappeared at the intersection.

She was almost fooled by Wei Xiu again.

If she hadn't discovered that the doctor from Baicaotang who went to the Sheng Mansion to treat Sheng Xing'an had a similar background to Sheng Xiyan, she might have really believed Wei Xiu.

The Zhenbei Palace is indeed as airtight as an iron barrel, and no information can be obtained from it, but the Sheng Mansion is not like that!

Sheng Xingan was not ill at all, he was just pretending to be sick.

Since Sheng Xing was faking illness, it meant that Wei Xiu knew Sheng's intention from the beginning, but he still pretended to be greedy and asked for a huge sum of money.

Zheng Xintong simply went along with the situation and agreed to all the conditions proposed by Wei Xiu, asking him to take Sheng Xiyan out of the capital, and told him that she planned to take action at the foot of Qingjing Temple, and asked him to prepare to pick her up.

She had suffered too much at the hands of Wei Xiu and would not trust him so easily again. Fortunately, her precautions were worth it!

By now, the people from the Zhenbei Palace have probably already set up an ambush near the Qingjing Temple, while the palace in the capital is left unguarded.

"Does Xiao Shuo really think that he can make the three thousand troops obey him by using military tokens? It's natural for someone who has never commanded an army to think so."

Zheng Xintong smiled faintly and shook his head.

Daddy has been the governor of the Imperial Guard for ten years, and everyone in the Imperial Guard is his confidant.

Even if the Three Thousand Battalions have taken over the defense of the capital, they still only listen to Daddy!

Zheng Xintong calmly poured himself a glass of water and sat in the carriage waiting patiently.

Soon, someone came and reported:

"Miss, there was a conflict between the guards of Princess Zhenbei and the imperial guards, and they forced their way into the palace."

"When Princess Jingle came to support Princess Zhenbei, she tried to lead her men to break out, but the palace had insufficient guards and was stopped by the imperial guards. They all retreated back to the palace for the time being."

"The imperial guards followed orders and did not force their way through the gate. They have now completely surrounded the palace. Not even a fly can escape."

"Very good!" Zheng Xintong nodded.

When he heard that the people from Zhenbei Palace had failed to break out, Zheng Xintong was completely relieved.

There were no more than 300 guards in the Zhenbei Palace, and at least half of them had been lured out of the city by her using the guards.

At this moment, the Zhenbei Palace was isolated and helpless in the capital.

Zheng Xintong said sternly: "Let the imperial guards surround them for now, don't take any action, and wait for news from father."

"Dad should be arriving at the palace soon."

Tomorrow is the seventh day since the Empress Dowager's death. No matter what, the Emperor must return to Beijing today, otherwise he will not be able to attend the memorial ceremony.

So, Prince Li asked Zheng Zhongming to take them to the palace.

Prince Li had been thinking about Xiao Shuo's unfinished words, and he called Lin Shoufu, the people in the inner cabinet and the important officials in the army, saying that with so many people persuading him together, the emperor should eventually come back.

Zheng Zhongming did not care about this and had a very good attitude, as if he knew what Prince Li was worried about and had a clear conscience.

So, a group of people left the capital and went to the garden together. Xiao Shuo mobilized 500 soldiers from the Northern Army to accompany them as guards, and there were dozens of Dongchang barbarians on the side, making it a very grand and majestic group.

The garden is not far from the outskirts of Beijing, about an hour away from the capital.

When we arrived at the garden, it was just dusk and half of the sky was tinged with a faint red glow by the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Let's go see the emperor first." Prince Li said, "It's getting dark, we have to go back quickly, otherwise the city gates will be closed."

Prince Li was just making up an excuse. If the emperor really wanted to return to Beijing, he could have knocked on the city gates even if they were closed.

Zheng Zhongming didn't take it seriously and just said, "Wait a minute, the emperor might not have woken up from his lunch break yet."

He made a perfunctory remark and asked someone to pass the message on.

When the emperor came to the garden, he did not even bring the chief eunuch Song Yuan with him. Now, all the people serving in the garden were the palace maids and eunuchs in the garden.

After Zheng Zhongming gave the order, everyone went to Chonghua Palace to sit for a while, waiting to be summoned by the emperor.

This wait lasted for more than half an hour.

Xiao Shuo sipped his tea patiently, but it was Prince Li who became impatient first and asked, "Why haven't you come yet?"

He was asking why the servant who went to deliver the message had not come back to report yet.

Zheng Zhongming smiled and said, "Your Highness, please be patient. The Emperor may not have woken up from his nap yet. As you know, the Emperor has been in a bad mood since he fell ill, so he has been feeling weak for a while. It was the same when he was in the palace, right, Lord Xiao?"

His words seemed normal, but what he meant was that Xiao Shuo was just a servant.

Xiao Shuo put down the teacup and said with a smile: "Master Zheng, I am still relieved to serve the emperor. You even know when the emperor takes a nap. You are really dedicated."

He passed the words over lightly.

Zheng Zhongming narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly: "Master Xiao, no problem."

In an instant, the two men exchanged a round of combat. Everyone around them broke out in cold sweats and did not dare to interrupt.

The hall was even quieter, with only the slight sound of the tea lid hitting the tea bowl.

Finally, someone came in from outside, breaking the silence in the hall. Many ministers breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they would be able to return to Beijing as soon as possible after seeing the emperor.

"The Emperor has issued an order!"

The person who came was a young general in the uniform of the imperial guards, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in his hand.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

They came to bring the emperor back to Beijing, but the emperor hasn't come out yet. How come he suddenly issued an order?

The young general held up the imperial edict in his hand and read directly: "Xiao Shuo colluded with Zhenbei King Chu Yuanchen to commit treason. The evidence is solid. Order the imperial army to arrest Xiao Shuo. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall instantly became quieter.

Zheng Zhongming said, "Master Xiao, kneel down and accept my order."

Xiao Shuo brushed his sleeves, sat still, and said calmly, "Is this imperial edict true or false?"

Zheng Zhongming smiled and said, "Of course it is true. Commander Xiao dared to forge an imperial decree, but I would not."

This imperial edict is of course authentic, it was written by the emperor himself!

Zheng Zhongming raised his hand and took the imperial edict, saying, "If you don't believe it, you can take a look at it."

The imperial edict was passed from person to person. Almost no one in the court was unfamiliar with the emperor's handwriting. However, this imperial edict was stamped with the emperor's private seal instead of the imperial seal.

Zheng Zhong said righteously: "The imperial seal is controlled by the Imperial Household Department." This explained that the emperor only had a private seal.

He said: "That day in the Imperial Temple, the Emperor told me personally that Xiao Shuo had colluded with the imperial physician to drug him and spread the word that he had suffered a stroke so that he could be imprisoned and control the government."

"Xiao Shuo even colluded with Zhenbei King Chu Yuanchen in an attempt to overthrow Darong!"

Zheng Zhongming pointed at Xiao Shuo and said righteously, "The emperor did not return to the palace in order to avoid Xiao Shuo and prevent him from controlling him."

"Now, the emperor has issued an order to punish the treacherous and corrupt officials. It is a clear and bright time!"

"You all are witnesses."

Zheng Zhongming only said that Xiao Shuo was a member of the same party as Chu Yuanchen, and never mentioned that he was Xue Yao.

The generals present here, such as Shi An, are all retired generals from the Lingnan Army. If they knew that Xiao Shuo was Xue Yao, the situation would only get out of control.

Xiao Shuo clapped his hands and smiled, "The decree is here, but what about the emperor? Where is the emperor?"

After everyone recovered from their shock, they thought: Yes, where is the emperor?

Up to now, no one has seen the emperor in person, and no one has heard the emperor speak a word in person.

Is this imperial edict true or false?

"Master Zheng," Prince Li said with a trembling voice, "Is the Emperor in the garden?"

"Of course the emperor is here." Zheng Zhongming answered as a matter of course, "My lords, wait a moment, after Xiao Shuo is killed, I will take you to see the emperor."

Xiao Shuo suppressed his smile and said, "What if I don't surrender?"

Zheng Zhongming said, "The emperor has ordered that he be killed without mercy."

As soon as he raised his hand, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps outside the palace, and nearly a hundred imperial guards surrounded Chonghua Palace.

Seeing this, a young general standing behind Xiao Shuo took half a step forward and stood in front of Xiao Shuo.

This young general is wearing a black armor, which is the armor issued to the Zhenbei Army.

Xiao Shuo brought five hundred northern troops with him, and when they entered the garden, all of them were left in Chonghua Palace.

However, when they saw this young general, they remembered the King of Zhenbei and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

There is no doubt that no matter how high-sounding Zheng Zhongming's words were, they still made them uneasy, especially since these imperial guards were eyeing them covetously and might want to take not only Xiao Shuo's life, but theirs as well!

If all these important officials in the court were cleared out, Zheng Zhongming would be able to take their place openly.

Zheng Zhongming saw through their thoughts, but he was not upset. Instead, he laughed wildly and said, "Xiao Shuo, Xiao Shuo, your trump card is indeed the Zhenbei Army."

Zheng Zhongming was not surprised that Xiao Shuo dared to come, as this man always liked to take risks.

Otherwise, after escaping from Zhan Ancient City with great difficulty, if he were an ordinary person, he would have completely hidden away. However, he went to the palace instead, walked step by step to his current position, and subverted the Darong Dynasty step by step.

Xiao Shuo dared to make this trip because he had the Zhenbei Army under his control.

Zheng Zhongming said slowly, "When the emperor travels, he is accompanied by five military camps with five thousand men, and there are seven thousand imperial guards in the garden, a total of more than ten thousand people. Commander Xiao, do you think that the five hundred men you brought with you are capable of defeating ten enemies with one?"

"Master Zheng." Xiao Shuo said leisurely, "The Zhenbei Army has more than 500 people."

"Master Xiao, do you think the Zhenbei Army will rescue you, or will they rescue Princess Jingle and Princess Zhenbei?"

Zhou Jianli, who was holding a sword in front of Xiao Shuo, looked at Xiao Shuo subconsciously.

The expression on his face could not be faked, and his eyes were full of shock.

"Commander-in-chief!"

At this moment, a young general of the imperial guards came hurriedly and said, "Report to the commander-in-chief, the imperial guards have surrounded the Zhenbei Palace. All the people in the Zhenbei Palace are trapped in the palace. Waiting for the commander-in-chief's order!"

Zheng Zhongming deliberately looked at Zhou Jianli, whose face changed drastically.

He remembered him. When the Zhenbei Army first came to Beijing, he had gone to the Zhenbei Palace with Chu Yuanchen and was Chu Yuanchen's confidant.

Zheng Zhongming curled his lips and said, "Very good. If anyone from the Zhenbei Palace disobeys, they will be killed without mercy!"

He surrounded the Zhenbei Palace but did not attack it in order to disintegrate Xiao Shuo and the Zhenbei Army.

Zheng Zhongming knew that Xiao Shuo's trump card was the 10,000 Zhenbei Kings in the capital.

He also knew that the two of them had gone to great lengths to get him to transfer the 105,000-man Army Battalion and take away the 3,000-man Battalion and the Divine Shu Battalion from him just to attack him.

He certainly would not be passive again.

"Will the Zhenbei Army rescue you, or will they rescue the Zhenbei Palace?"

No matter how good the relationship between Chu Yuanchen and Xiao Shuo is, Chu Yuanchen would never entrust him with military power.

The Zhenbei Army is Chu Yuanchen's confidant, and it is obvious who they will prioritize.

Moreover, he deliberately let go of the palace guards who went out to ask for help.

Zheng Zhongming curled his lips with a malicious smile and said to the young general who came to report: "If the Zhenbei Palace refuses to surrender, at three quarters of an hour, light a fire and burn it!"

Zhou Jianli's eyes widened and he blurted out, "How dare you!"

"Captain Zhou," Zheng Zhongming said slowly, "You still have time to take your men back to the capital."

Zhou Jianli: "..."

Now it is less than an hour away from the Chief's Three Quarters.

The only way for him to save people is to lead his troops back to the capital immediately. Otherwise, the entire Zhenbei Palace will be engulfed in flames!

To the Zhenbei Army, who is more important, the Zhenbei Palace or Xiao Shuo?

The answer is no doubt.

"Xiao Shuo, you lose."

Zheng Zhongming smiled. He was finally able to say the words "You lose". Since returning to Beijing, he had been suppressed by Xiao Shuo, unable to turn over and constantly being suppressed. But now, he won.

Zheng Zhongming winked.

The imperial guards blocking outside Chonghua Palace moved aside to allow Zhou Jian to leave.

Once Zhou Jianli left, he would take away the 500 Zhenbei troops that came with him, and Xiao Shuo would have no choice but to sit and wait for death.

He didn't care about these five hundred people, he just wanted to see Xiao Shuo's despair and shock.

Zhou Jianli hesitated for a moment, then grasped the long sword and ran out quickly.

Everyone in the hall was in a panic. Once the Zhenbei Army left, they had no hope for life or death. They could only depend on Zheng Zhongming's expression and mood.

Despair was shown on everyone's face.

Zhou Jianli ran out of the hall. He suddenly raised his hand and an arrow shot out from his sleeve and soared into the sky.

The arrows made a sharp and penetrating sound.

This is an external signal.

Zheng Zhongming's face changed. The sound of arrows was definitely not a signal to retreat, but an attack!

After Zhou Jianli shot out the arrow, before the imperial guards could react, he ran towards the hall at an even faster speed and stabbed Zheng Zhongming's chest with his long sword.

Bang!

Zheng Zhongming's personal soldiers drew their swords to fight back, and the two swords clashed once in an instant. Zhou Jianli decisively gave up, retreated to Xiao Shuo's side, and blocked him.

"How could that be?!"

Zheng Zhongming muttered to himself in disbelief.

What methods did Xiao Shuo use to make the Zhenbei Army loyal to him? !

Zheng Zhongming said angrily: "Send a letter via flying pigeons to the capital, and immediately kill everyone in the Zhenbei Palace!"

Zhou Jianli's hand holding the long sword trembled a little, but he remained unmoved.

He believed that Governor Xiao would never ignore the palace and must have other arrangements.

Just like that sandbox debate!

He doesn't need to doubt, he just needs to believe.

Zhou Jianli's eyes became more determined.

There was a commotion outside the hall, followed by the sounds of fighting and weapons clashing.

These are the five hundred northern troops brought by Xiao Shuo, and they are storming in.

Zheng Zhongming's face became even uglier.

The Zhenbei royal army actually abandoned the palace and obeyed Xiao Shuo's orders?

"Commander-in-chief!"

Another young general with blood all over his head rushed into the hall and clasped his fists, saying, "The garden is surrounded! It's the Zhenbei Army, about 10,000 people, I can't stop them!"

This garden was not built for defense. It is difficult to defend but easy to attack. The Zhenbei Army is good at fighting, and the Imperial Guards are no match for them.

"Master Zheng," Xiao Shuo said calmly, "Why do you think I would take the risk alone without making any arrangements?"

Zheng Zhongming's expression was subtle.

He realized that the arrow Zhou Jianli had just shot was not only to encourage the five hundred Zhenbei kings guarding outside the palace to attack, but also a signal to attack those people outside the garden.

Chu Yuanchen actually handed over full authority over the 10,000 people remaining in Beijing to Xiao Shuo.

Zheng Zhongming naturally thought of the fact that Xiao Shuo would have made arrangements in advance. He first used the guards to transfer the guards of the palace, and deliberately released the people who came to the Zhenbei Palace for help. He also ordered to close the city gates early in order to attract the Zhenbei Army to rescue.

He even delayed the time of leaving the palace and taking action, so that the Zhenbei Military Office could receive the news from the Zhenbei Palace in time.

But why? !

He had calculated everything, but he never imagined that Chu Yuanchen would actually entrust all military power to him, and that the Zhenbei Army's loyalty and trust in Xiao Shuo was no less than that in Chu Yuanchen.

How could these two people do this?

This is military power!

"Chu Yuanchen will regret it, he will definitely regret it!" Zheng Zhongming gritted his teeth.

Xiao Shuo had clearly given up on the Zhenbei Palace, which was why he used all his trump cards on himself.

He was watching the Zhenbei Palace die!

The sound of fighting outside became louder. Zheng Zhongming collected his thoughts and said decisively, "The emperor has ordered that Xiao Shuo colluded with Chu Yuanchen to plot against the emperor and conspired to commit crimes. He must be killed without mercy."

The imperial guards outside the palace were controlled by the people brought by Xiao Shuo, while the other imperial guards in the garden were also struggling to resist the Zhenbei Army.

The good situation suddenly reversed.

"Zheng Zhongming has placed the emperor under house arrest, deceived the emperor, and falsely conveyed the imperial edict. Did all the lords see it?"

Everyone had already been stunned by what was happening, and they nodded dumbly after hearing what was said.

Xiao Shuo raised his hand and said, "Kill without mercy!"

There were only a few dozen people on both sides in the hall. Xiao Shuo gave an order, and Zhou Jianli raised his hand and shot a sleeve arrow, which pierced the chest of the imperial guard. The imperial guard came here to take Xiao Shuo down.

This arrow was like a signal, and the two sides with swords started fighting.

Others were already dumbfounded.

They thought Zheng Zhongming would be the better one, but it turned out that Xiao Shuo was the better one to counterattack. They looked at each other in bewilderment. At this time, Lin Shoufu suddenly shouted, "Go, the water is flowing!"

Looking out from the window of Chonghua Palace, one could see that a fire had started in the side hall of Chonghua Palace at some point in time, and most of the side hall was engulfed in flames.

"Master Zheng!" Xiao Shuo asked, "You set the fire?"

Zheng Zhongming was stunned for a moment, then looked over.

Xiao Shuo said: "You want to burn everyone here to death, and then control the emperor. No one in the court will question you anymore, and you can control the court, preside over government affairs, and even change the dynasty."

Xiao Shuo tapped his palms lightly a few times and chuckled, "Master Zheng, you are really calculating."

Zheng Zhongming calmed down and said, "It's you..."

Xiao Shuo smiled and said, "Master Zheng, everyone in this garden is yours."

yes……

Everyone nodded secretly.

Zheng Zhongming just said he wanted to set fire to the Zhenbei Palace, so setting fire to them as well would be nothing out of the ordinary.

Chief Assistant Lin looked towards the side hall again. It seemed that kerosene was lit in the side hall. The fire was burning more fiercely and was about to affect the main hall...

"Master."

Everyone looked at Xiao Shuo.

No matter how much awe-inspiring Xiao Shuo was in normal times, at this critical moment of life and death, they would rather believe Xiao Shuo than Zheng Chongming.

"Zhou Jianli." Xiao Shuo lived up to their expectations and said, "Lead them to break out."

Zhou Jianli clasped his fists and responded.

"Kill!"

At Zhou Jianli's command, the Zhenbei Army rushed towards the enemy like a sharp knife, and was invincible wherever it went.

"Commander-in-chief, the Zhenbei Army has already captured the main gate and is heading towards Jiuhua Palace!"

Fire, smoke, and fighting!

The sound of chaotic footsteps and the clashing of weapons filled the surroundings.

The sky was getting darker.

No one noticed that in the midst of the chaos, Zhou Jianli protected Xiao Shuo and left the main hall.

He did not walk far, but went to the back hall of Chonghua Palace and pushed open the door.

The emperor was sitting in a four-wheeled carriage with his back to the outside. All the windows in the palace were closed, blocking out the noisy sounds outside.

As soon as the door opened, the emperor suddenly heard the sound of fighting and seemed startled. Then he asked, "Zhongming, has Xiao Shuo been captured?"

There was a hint of excitement in the voice, thinking that the sound of fighting was the imperial army encircling and suppressing the enemy.

Xiao Shuo smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "Your Majesty. No."

The emperor's shoulders immediately stiffened, and then he slowly turned his head. When he saw Xiao Shuo, his eyes widened with shock and fear.