With a bone-deep hatred, Li Yuanshan led the charge, driving the Imperial Guards back step by step, all the way to Qianqing Palace.
Under the portico in front of the palace, the black-clad, stern-faced Blackfeather Guard stood poised, tightly protecting the Longshun Emperor behind them in the great hall.
"You are indeed loyal! But do you know that the person you're protecting is an impostor?"
Li Yuanshan sat astride his horse, his sword still dripping blood. The sharp lines of his face suddenly relaxed, slowly curving into a mocking smile.
He swept his gaze over the civil and military officials from his high perch, then over the sea of Blackfeather Guard. Raising his long arm, he ordered, "Bring in the witnesses!"
At this moment, Aunt Shuang was tied up like a dumpling and unceremoniously thrown in front of the hall, the fall making her head spin.
Right after, like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, several old women were thrown down beside her.
As she was still in shock, Li Yuanshan raised an eyebrow and said in a frigid voice, "Your mistress, Princess Dowager Mei, is dead. It's time for revenge. Speak up if you know anything!"
As his voice rose and fell, all eyes in the hall focused once again on Aunt Shuang and the others.
Aunt Shuang still couldn't quite believe it. Was her mistress really dead just like that?
Wasn't it said that bad people live a thousand years?
While she was lost in thought, the old woman next to her had already jumped in to answer: "This slave was one of the midwives who delivered the Empress Dowager's babies. The Empress Dowager did indeed give birth to twins."
After that, the old women began to speak one after another.
To avenge Princess Dowager Mei and bring down the fake emperor, they spoke in great detail.
"This slave was the palace maid tasked with drowning the second prince. Before sending the second prince on his way, Princess Mei begged for the wet nurse to give him one last feeding. In truth, medicine was applied to her nipple, and the second prince quickly fell into a death-like state. This slave controlled the timing and did not actually drown the second prince to death."
"This slave was a female doctor. Because the second prince was considered to have died young, he couldn't be buried in the imperial tomb. He was buried in Phoenix Valley, and it was this slave who saved him after he was dug up in time."
...
One by one, their words pieced together to form a complete truth.
Back then, Princess Dowager Mei had secretly sent people to save them, originally intending to use them to blackmail the fake emperor and save her own life.
She never expected that this would become her death warrant instead.
Although the Longshun Emperor would indeed spare her life because of this trump card she left behind, Li Shuchen wouldn't.
He decisively assassinated Princess Dowager Mei and swiftly pinned the blame on the Longshun Emperor.
Then he used Li Yuanshan's hand to bring this evidence to light.
From beginning to end, he had always been a pure and innocent good prince, never involved in these intrigues.
At this moment, he was lying on the bed in Qi Huan's boudoir, deliberately furrowing his brow and saying pitifully, "Ah Huan, I'm so cold."
If the Longshun Emperor were to die, he would be the most logical heir. How could Li Yuanshan, after doing so much, end up making the bridal clothes for him? So, while launching the palace coup, he had also sent out a large number of assassins to hunt him down.
But he had already sneaked into Qi Huan's space in advance and was brought back to Qinghuan Court by her.
Hearing him say he was cold, Qi Huan quickly took out another quilt from the cabinet and covered him with it.
Li Shuchen: ......
"This cold poison is too potent, I can't warm up the bed."
"......"
Hearing this, Qi Huan lowered her eyes to look at him, revealing a slight smile, "Doctor Shen has already told me that the cold poison in your body is well under control. You've been hiding in my space all along our escape, and you haven't used your true qi. How could you suddenly have an attack?"
"Stop pretending, if you want me to hug you, just say so."
Qi Huan quickly took off her shoes and socks, crawled into the quilt, wrapped her jade arm around his waist, rested her head in the crook of his arm, and poked his firm chest.
"Ah Shu, after Li Yuanshan kills the fake emperor, what's your next step? Since he could successfully force his way into the palace, his military strength must not be weak. Won't you be in great danger?"
At the mention of these "unimportant" matters, a gleam flashed through Li Shuchen's eyes, and the corner of his cold lips curved into a faint smile.
"Ah Huan, you can't just look at the surface of things."
"This move of mine is not to kill the fake emperor, but rather to deal with Li Yuanshan."
Qi Huan listened, feeling lost in a fog.
In front of Qianqing Palace.
Li Yuanshan's eyes were also filled with disbelief.
He was just one step away from killing the dog emperor, how did he suddenly find himself surrounded?
The Marquis of Xuanping was supposed to be investigating the missing peace negotiation silver, but he had unexpectedly returned to the capital and led his troops into the imperial palace.
The two forces became entangled, with shouts of killing shaking the heavens.
The floor tiles inside the palace were stained crimson, the heavy smell of blood lingering long after.
Although the troops under his command had always been lazy, they had strength in numbers.
Combined with the fact that Li Yuanshan's men had consumed a lot of energy in their earlier confrontation with the Imperial Guards, the two sides were actually fighting to a stalemate.
Until Mo Wangshan suddenly appeared, no longer hiding his skills, but instead fighting as bravely as an alpha wolf, leading his personal troops to shoot an arrow into Li Yuanshan's chest.
"The heir of Prince Shun is dead, will you not surrender?"
"If you stubbornly resist, your entire clan will be executed!"
With a clattering sound of weapons falling to the ground, a large number of rebel troops knelt down.
Seeing this scene from the window, the Longshun Emperor perked up again.
He swaggered out of Qianqing Palace, cleared his throat, and said in the loudest voice:
"The heir of Prince Shun was a traitor and a rebel. In order to usurp the throne, he did not hesitate to fight against his own family, and even fabricated such absurd lies to deceive the people!"
"How could the late emperor, in all his wisdom, be fooled by a mere woman?! Moreover, Princess Dowager Mei was just a remnant of the previous dynasty, how could her words be trusted?! Come, take these women who speak such nonsense, along with the heir of Prince Shun, to the Meridian Gate to be whipped after death, then chop them up and feed them to the dogs!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" The civil and military officials all knelt down.
The Longshun Emperor thought smugly: Fortunately, most of the court officials now are incompetent people he had promoted himself.
Hearing this, Qi Huan's willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and she asked, "Ah Shu, why does it feel like you're helping the fake emperor?"
Li Shuchen narrowed his phoenix eyes, twirling a small lock of her hair around his finger, repeatedly wrapping it around his fingertip and then releasing it, patiently explaining to her:
"Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will only grow, never die. The people in Princess Dowager Mei's hands are of low status and their words carry little weight, not enough to truly overthrow the fake emperor. As long as the Blackfeather Guard is still around, it will be very difficult to kill him. So, we need a stronger medicine to bring the Blackfeather Guard under our control."
"On the other hand, Li Yuanshan has wild ambitions, keeping him alive would be a disaster. Using the Marquis of Xuanping's hand to absorb his troops, and then having Eunuch Feng remind the emperor that it's not good for one person to become too powerful."
"These troops will be assigned to a reliable person, who will become my support in the future."
"Once the military power is in place, we can then gather the Blackfeather Guard. Only then can we be absolutely sure of success."
Li Shuchen lowered his eyes, his lashes hiding the dark circles underneath. He gently placed a kiss on Qi Huan's smooth forehead, his cold voice now tinged with tenderness.
"Ah Huan, you don't need to worry about me. The only thing you need to think about is what style of wedding dress you like."
