Overwhelmed with grief, Li Zhu suddenly looked towards the palace. He still had his mother; so many men in black were rushing towards the palace, and it was very likely that his mother would be caught in the crossfire…
He had to return to the palace, even if it had become a battlefield. He had to ensure his mother's survival; he couldn't afford to lose her again…
Li Zhu carefully laid out the bodies of Consort Ming and Eunuch Wei, then used a knife to support his own body...
Li Zhu took a deep breath, composing himself. Now was not the time to grieve. In that final moment, he understood Consort Ming; she had resolutely faced death for his sake…
He promised Consort Ming that he would make the Second Prince and the Cui family kneel before him, and he would do it…
If he didn't have a strong desire for the throne before, now he desperately wants to sit on that throne, because only by sitting on that throne can he control his own destiny and have the ability to fulfill his promises...
"General Wang..."
Li Zhu called out, startling Wang Yanzhang, who was lost in grief. He could understand Li Zhu's feelings at this moment, after all, he was also going through the pain of losing his daughter...
"Your Highness..."
While I could understand, the underlying sadness in Wang Yanzhang's heart was undeniable, so even when the Crown Prince called him, he could only respond with a dejected utterance…
Li Zhu turned to look at Wang Yanzhang, understanding why the other man was acting this way. This time, he didn't try to provoke Wang Yanzhang further, but instead spoke the truth.
"Don't worry, Qingqing is fine. He's in a safe place..."
"How could anyone survive such a huge fire? Your Highness, please don't..."
At this point, Wang Yanzhang seemed to realize something, and immediately uttered a puzzled sound, saying with a hint of confusion.
"Huh? What did you say? What safe place?"
Li Zhu continued speaking
"That's exactly what I meant. Mingfei sacrificed herself to cover their escape, so they are safe. You don't need to worry..."
This time, Wang Yanzhang understood Li Zhu's words. He gaped in astonishment, never imagining that his daughter was still alive...
Seeing Wang Yanzhang's incredulous expression, Li Zhu couldn't help but frown and say...
"If I told Qingqing about your reaction to hearing that your daughter wasn't dead, I wonder what her reaction would be..."
"Oh...really? My daughter isn't dead...my daughter isn't dead...haha..."
Wang Yanzhang spoke somewhat incoherently, but this performance made Li Zhu frown. He felt that this scoundrel was doing it on purpose. Didn't he see how heartbroken he was by the deaths of Consort Ming and Eunuch Wei? Even if he was happy, did he have to express it now? Wasn't this just rubbing salt into his wounds?
"What are you getting so excited about? Go and get the Imperial Guards organized. I'm leading them to storm the palace..."
"What? You want to rebel?"
Wang Yanzhang stared at Li Zhu in disbelief. After learning that his daughter was still alive, his mind began to race again, wondering what the consequences would be if he joined Li Zhu in rebellion…
Li Zhu's face darkened. He wanted to crack open Wang Yanzhang's head to see what was inside this bastard's brain. Misunderstanding that he was lustful was one thing, but to misunderstand that he wanted to rebel was another? Wasn't this a joke? How could such an upright and pure person like him possibly rebel?
"This Luoyang belongs to the new Tang Dynasty. How can we allow those petty villains to cause trouble? I will lead troops to quell the rebellion..."
Upon hearing that Li Zhu was not rebelling but rather trying to quell the unrest, General Wang Yanzhang immediately became excited. This was a great opportunity for a man to make a name for himself, how could he possibly miss it?
"Yes, I will arrange it immediately..."
Wang Yanzhang immediately began to integrate the Imperial Guards and brainwash them, while Li Zhu knelt on the ground, protecting Consort Ming and Eunuch Wei…
"Kill them..."
Just then, Shi Le led the Jie people and Zhu Wen's soldiers in...
"Brothers, I'm here to help you attack the Eastern Palace..."
Shi Le, brandishing his sword, roared excitedly. He felt this opportunity was too rare to come; someone was actually attacking the Eastern Palace, and the guards accompanying them recognized these people as members of the Imperial Guard—old acquaintances…
After observing for a while, he decided to lead his men in, under the guise of helping, to rescue his nephew Shi Hu from the dungeon...
But the welcoming scene I had imagined didn't happen. Instead, it was unusually quiet, and the whole scene was so awkward it was almost dripping with embarrassment!
"Brothers, I'm here to help you..."
Shi Hu thought the Imperial Guards hadn't understood him, so he repeated himself...
But still no one responded to him, which made Shi Hu vaguely realize that something was wrong...
"Hehe... Since you don't need any help, we'll be leaving now. You can continue..."
Shi Le chuckled and then gestured for his men to follow him out!
But the next moment he found that the road behind him had been surrounded, and more and more Imperial Guards appeared all around, each of them glaring at them with murderous intent…
These Imperial Guards, abandoned here by the Second Prince and nearly accused of treason, were just trying to redeem themselves when this opportunity presented itself. It felt like a godsend, with the Jie people providing them with exceptional service…
"Brothers, you've come to attack the Eastern Palace, and so have we. Since you don't want us to interfere, then we'll leave. We'll go now..."
Shi Le turned to leave, but the road he had come from was blocked by the Imperial Guards, making it impossible to pass...
"Hey bro, move aside..."
Shi Le said politely, "We can't be impolite at this point. After all, the Imperial Guards number about five thousand, while they only have a few dozen. It's not shameful to back down a bit..."
"Who is your brother?"
The soldier said it without giving him any face at all!
"I am Shi Le, the leader of the Jie tribe. I am friends with many of your Imperial Guards. Since this is interfering with your business, I will leave with my men now, and I will not reveal a single word about what is happening here..."
Shi Le thought he had disturbed the other party's business and was worried that they would leak the secret, so he quickly and solemnly promised to come!
"It doesn't matter who you know. Who gave you the courage to attack the Eastern Palace? Do you think this is a place you can come to?"
The soldier spoke with absolute confidence; never before had he considered killing a group of people with his knife…
"I know we shouldn't be here, brothers, please make way, we'll leave right away..."
"You think you're so great? You dare call us brothers? Since you're here, you're not leaving today. Come and have some fun with us..."
The soldier brandished his knife and arrogantly retorted; it was incredibly satisfying…
Shi Le suppressed his anger. He felt that these soldiers had gone too far. If he hadn't brought so few men today, he would never have been so humble...
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