After Xuan Wang Yunxun crawled out of the secret passage, his hair, cheeks and clothes were covered with a lot of mud.
Even though several hours had passed since the rain, Kyoto was still damp everywhere, with water accumulating even at the exit of the secret passage.
The place was desolate, without any candlelight to illuminate it; only the faint moonlight spilled onto the road, revealing the shallow outlines of everything.
A carriage was parked not far away, and Yun Xun hurried over.
The carriage curtain was lifted from the inside, and the person who appeared before Yun Xun was wearing a veiled hat, making it impossible to discern their face.
Yun Xun boarded the carriage and said, "Miss, you are truly a prophet. Empress Shen and Prince Ding have forced the emperor to abdicate."
The girl wearing the veiled hat remained very calm.
Hearing this, he showed no arrogance.
She said, "As long as things go well, Your Highness Prince Xuan can marry me as we agreed. There are many ways I can help you in the future, and I will definitely not let you down."
Yun Xun sat down beside her, his gaze lingering on her for a moment before he said, "Of course! Since I promised you, I will never go back on my word!"
After the veiled girl gave the order, the carriage slowly drove away.
Prince Xuan went to see Princess Lingyang.
Princess Lingyang had already received word that Empress Shen and Prince Ding Yunchi would be making a move tonight, so she prepared well in advance.
When Prince Xuan arrived, he immediately told her, "Princess, you can bring your men into the palace now. The palace is now full of the Empress and Prince Ding's people. If you go there, you can help them take down my father and Ye Qingxue as soon as possible!"
Princess Lingyang's eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light, and she said in a deep voice, "Very well!"
As long as the Emperor of Great Zhou surrenders, not only will 400,000 shi of grain be available, but the entire Great Zhou will belong to their Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom.
The Emperor of Great Zhou would never have imagined that his Empress would be from their Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom, would he? Even his beloved son is a prince from their Heavenly Eagle Holy Kingdom.
It's a real shame she wasn't in the palace at the time. I really wanted to see the emperor's reaction when he learned the truth; it would have been quite amusing.
With that thought, Princess Lingyang led a group of two hundred people toward the palace.
Prince Xuan and the veiled girl were naturally among them, but no one noticed them.
It's late at night.
The long streets of Kyoto were quiet, with only the accumulated water from the past few days still flowing gently, making a crisp sound.
When Pan Heng, the eldest son of the Minister's family, galloped his horse to the vicinity of the palace, he sensed the cold and tense atmosphere.
From a distance, one could see layers upon layers of guards surrounding the entire imperial city like an iron barrel, making it impossible to enter.
What should we do? His father is in the palace right now; something terrible must have happened there!
These past few days he has been going out to help settle the villagers, and he has witnessed a lot of death and tears, so he has difficulty falling asleep tonight. So he decided to help his father sort out books, letters and other things.
However, he noticed that the servant responsible for cleaning his father's study was trembling with fear, as if he was hiding something. Under Pan Heng's coercion and enticement, the servant handed him a letter.
"The master instructed that it be handed over to the young master after midnight."
Pan Heng immediately opened the letter, which read: "My son Pan Heng, if your father has not yet returned home when you see this letter, take your grandmother, mother, sister, and other family members and leave the capital as soon as possible, the farther the better."
Pan Heng immediately frowned, his heart pounding. So, his unease all night was not only because of the plight of the disaster victims, but also because of his father.
When did your father give you this letter?
The servant replied, "It's been a few days. The master said that if he enters the palace on a certain day and hasn't returned by midnight, he will be handed over to the young master."
"I've been checking the time, thinking that you might return before midnight, since there's been a lot going on in the palace lately."
Yes, there have been many things happening in the palace lately, so it's understandable that Father has been delayed. If he hadn't seen this letter, he might have thought that way.
But now that he has seen this letter, he can't help but think—his father may have met with some trouble, or rather, something may have happened in the palace.
It was almost midnight, and Father had not returned.
Pan Heng made a quick decision, instructing his servant to deliver the letter to his mother and have her lead the family to evacuate. He was determined to go to the palace to check on the situation and ascertain his father's safety.
So, without informing his family, he went to the stables, got his horse, and galloped towards the palace.
But now that he had arrived at the palace gates and saw so many guards, he was certain that something must have happened inside the palace, but he knew he couldn't possibly break in all by himself.
Even if you gave him a team, it would be very difficult to break through.
What should I do? Should I just wait outside for news of my father's death?
Undeterred, Pan Heng spurred his horse toward other palace gates, hoping to find one with slightly weaker guards and find a way to sneak in.
But that won't work; the guards at each palace gate are very strong.
Everyone was fully prepared, and as soon as someone gave the order, they would raise their weapons and charge into battle.
Princess Lingyang's entourage also entered through the side gate. While she was in her carriage, she happened to see Pan Heng pacing anxiously nearby.
She said to Yun Xun, "That man is a subject of your Great Zhou."
This person was also present when the imperial consort was chosen last time.
"He seems to want to enter the palace; there must be someone he cares about there," Princess Lingyang said.
“I’ll send men to kill him right now, bring his head in, and make the people inside surrender without a fight.”
Yun Xun, however, said, "If you ask me, it would be better to let him in. Let the people inside think that reinforcements have arrived, and then we can kill these reinforcements in front of them."
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