Inside the secret passage, there was only deathly darkness.
Lin Wanwan lifted her skirt and ran frantically forward, using the dim oil lamps that were placed every ten feet along the wall as a guide.
She could still hear Xiao Che's desperate roar and the deafening crash before the stone gate closed. Before her eyes, she kept seeing his back as he was engulfed by flames and enemy forces.
My heart aches as if it's being torn apart.
Tears blurred her vision, mingling with the soot on her face and leaving streaks of disarray.
But her steps did not falter in the slightest.
Hurry up!
Faster!
She knew that every moment she wasted now would increase the danger to Xiao Che in the front hall!
She wasn't running away; she was heading to another battlefield!
After running for an unknown amount of time, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead. It was the exit of the secret passage inside the Kunning Palace's sleeping quarters.
Lin Wanwan used her last bit of strength to push open the hidden door disguised as a bookshelf and rushed out!
However, the scene before her eyes instantly plunged her heart, which had just been ignited with hope, into the abyss!
The entire Kunning Palace is in complete chaos!
The shouts of battle and towering flames coming from the direction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the distance had already spread the news of the palace coup throughout the entire palace. Fear, like the most terrible plague, spread wildly among these palace servants who were used to living in luxury.
"It's terrible! The rebels have broken in!"
"Run! Everyone escape!"
"Waaaaah... I want to go home..."
The palace maids had long since lost their usual composure; their faces were pale with fright, and they screamed and cried as they scattered in all directions like headless flies. The eunuchs also abandoned their work; some tried to climb over the wall, while others hid behind the artificial hill, trembling with fear.
The guards responsible for protecting Kunning Palace were in no better shape. Although they were armed, they did not scatter, but without a leader, their faces were filled with confusion and fear. They gathered helplessly at the palace gate, like a flock of lost lambs.
"Your Majesty!"
A startled cry, tinged with tears, rang out.
Female official Qin Zheng, along with several loyal female officials, rushed out from the chaos. Seeing that Lin Wanwan was safe and sound, they first breathed a sigh of relief, but then their faces showed despair.
"Your Majesty! You must leave quickly! The rebels... the rebels have already charged over! We can't hold this place!" Qin Zheng cried out urgently.
The moment she finished speaking, a series of chaotic and heavy footsteps, accompanied by the clanging of armor, rapidly approached from the front of the palace!
"boom!"
The tightly closed gates of Kunning Palace were slammed hard from the outside by a tremendous force, producing a dull thud, and even several cracks appeared on the door panels!
"Open the door! Open the door now!"
"Listen up, you inside! The Regent has ordered! Those who know what's good for them, open the gates and surrender immediately! Otherwise, when the city falls, not a single one of you will be spared!"
Outside the door, the arrogant shouts of the rebels could be heard.
This sound became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The already terrified palace servants erupted in even more piercing screams. The guards, who were already completely disoriented, turned pale with fright and retreated in panic.
"It's over...we're all finished..."
"We can't beat them... there are too many of them..."
A sense of despair spread rapidly among the crowd.
Just then, the head guard of the gate suddenly threw his long sword to the ground with a loud bang!
He stared at the palace gates, which were being repeatedly struck and were on the verge of collapse. His face was filled with extreme fear, and he shouted towards the outside in a trembling voice:
"Stop...stop ramming! I'll open the door! I surrender! I'm willing to surrender!"
As he spoke, he actually turned around, his hands trembling, to pull the bolt on the door!
At this moment, time seemed to stand still.
Everyone was stunned by his shameless act.
The moment Lin Wanwan saw this scene, two terrifying, almost tangible rages suddenly erupted from her bloodshot eyes, which were filled with grief!
"court death!"
Two cold words escaped her lips.
Her movements were as fast as lightning!
Just as the head guard's hand was about to touch the door bolt, Lin Wanwan suddenly pulled out the black dagger that Xiao Che had given her, which was coated with deadly poison, from her sleeve!
Without the slightest hesitation, she flicked her wrist!
"call out--!"
That deadly dagger transformed into a black streak of light, piercing the air with a sharp, whistling sound, drawing a straight path of death in the sky!
"Pfft!"
A dull thud as a sharp blade pierced flesh!
The head guard's body stiffened abruptly. He looked down in disbelief at the dagger that had pierced his throat, leaving only a small section of the hilt. All the fear in his eyes froze instantly, replaced by endless bewilderment and regret.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but what came out was a stream of black, poisonous blood.
The next moment, his tall body fell straight backward, crashing heavily to the ground with a "bang," and then fell silent.
One fatal blow!
The entire Kunning Palace fell into a deathly silence in an instant!
Everyone was completely stunned by this sudden, bloody, and ruthless scene!
They all stared blankly at the empress standing on the steps, her clothes still covered in soot, her long hair slightly disheveled, and even her face still bearing traces of tears, but her eyes as cold as ice. They didn't dare to breathe.
What just happened?
That seemingly gentle and kind Empress... actually... committed murder?!
Moreover, it was done with such decisive, ruthless, and merciless methods!
Lin Wanwan ignored the horrified looks on everyone's faces. She slowly walked forward and pulled her dagger from the traitor's corpse.
Then, she slowly turned around and faced the palace servants and guards who were already terrified.
She didn't speak immediately, but slowly took something out of her bosom.
It was a jade seal carved from the finest Hetian jade. The seal knob was a phoenix spreading its wings after being reborn from the flames, exquisitely carved and lifelike.
The Empress's Seal of the Great Liang Dynasty - the Phoenix Jade Seal!
This is a symbol of the highest power in the imperial harem!
Lin Wanwan held up the heavy phoenix jade seal in her hand high, making it clear to everyone.
Her voice, no longer gentle as usual, was filled with all her will and anger, like a rolling cold current sweeping through the entire Kunning Palace!
"With the Phoenix Seal here, it's as if I were personally present!"
"His Majesty fought valiantly in the front hall, yet you, as his subjects, instead of serving your country with loyalty, dare to desert your posts and attempt to open the gates to thieves?!"
"I will make my point right here today!"
With the dagger stained with the blood of a traitor, she pointed it at the crowd below, her eyes sharp as knives, each word spoken with a voice as cold as iron!
"Anyone who deserts in the face of battle will be executed without mercy!"
"Those who neglect their duties will be executed without mercy!"
"Those who open the gates and surrender will meet such a despicable end!"
"From this moment on, I will personally take over Kunning Palace!"
"Who dares to disobey?!"
She practically roared out the last four words, with an unquestionable, iron-blooded authority!
"boom!"
Her words struck everyone's hearts like heavy hammer blows!
Those palace servants and guards who were originally in chaos, fear and confusion seemed to find their backbone instantly under the Empress's overwhelming aura and the suppression of the phoenix seal that represented supreme power!
Looking at the delicate yet incredibly powerful figure on the steps, their fear was replaced by a strange sense of awe and fervor!
"Splash!" "Splash!"
I don't know who it was, but the first person knelt down.
Immediately following, as if it were a chain reaction, all the palace servants and guards present, including Qin Zheng, knelt down in unison and performed a full prostration to Lin Wanwan!
They shouted with all their might, their voices filled with the excitement of surviving a catastrophe and absolute submission!
"I will obey Your Majesty's decree!"
"We swear to defend Kunning Palace to the death! We swear to be loyal to Her Majesty to the death!"
"I will obey Your Majesty's decree!"
The thunderous response echoed throughout the Kunning Palace, even drowning out the shouts of the rebels outside!
Lin Wanwan looked down at the kneeling figures below and tightly gripped the Phoenix Seal in her hand.
She knew that the battle to defend Kunning Palace had only just begun!
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