Leng Ruo Li, meanwhile, led the Emperor to a grassy area nearby, where she could only dodge and weave to evade his attacks.
“Father Emperor, please wake up, it’s Li’er!”
Leng Ruo Li also tried to appeal to the Emperor’s reason by calling out to him, but it seemed to have no effect.
It appeared that Leng Ruo Li had no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures. While dodging, she quickly retrieved a tranquilizer gun from her portable space and shot the Emperor in the arm.
After a long while, the Emperor finally collapsed as Leng Ruo Li had intended.
Prince Ning, protected by a group of cronies, saw Leng Ruo Li incapacitate the Emperor. He then blew his small bamboo flute again, but even after blowing for a long time, the old Emperor did not rise again to become his puppet.
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li also noticed the small bamboo flute Prince Ning was playing. Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. She placed the old Emperor against a nearby rock, then swiftly produced a mini handgun and aimed it at Prince Ning’s lackeys and Lin Zhen Fan’s subordinates, headshotting them one by one. She relished the kill.
Meanwhile, at the city gates.
Upon receiving the news last night that Lin Zhen Fan would attack the city, Leng Jin Yu had left the city that very night to rush to the military camp, leading a large army to encamp at the Kyoto city gates.
Before they could even finish setting up their camp, Lin Zhen Fan’s army attacked as dawn was not yet fully broken. However, he did not see Lin Zhen Fan himself, only a small, cute figure leading the army at the front of the war chariots, directing their advance.
Leng Jin Yu recognized this little dwarf. It was Huo Ying, who had repeatedly tried to assassinate his precious daughter. He had encountered her before on his way to the military camp.
That time, she had disguised herself as a child abandoned by her parents by the roadside, crying inconsolably in the middle of the road with injuries. He had wasted half a day helping her find her parents and then sought a doctor to treat her wounds. Later, when he learned she was Huo Ying, the foremost assassin of the Dark Night Pavilion, seeing her made Leng Jin Yu feel utterly disgusted.
Today, they were adversaries, and he had to remain highly vigilant against this dwarf.
According to the minor information he had just received, Lin Zhen Fan had already slipped into Kyoto with two to three hundred elite soldiers ahead of him. He wondered about the current situation of the Cold King and his daughter.
He was deeply worried, but he could not abandon his soldiers to face Huo Ying’s army alone and go to assist his daughter.
At this moment, Leng Jin Yu could only silently pray that his daughter and son-in-law would overcome the disaster.
Just as Leng Jin Yu was worrying about his daughter and son-in-law, those who sought trouble also arrived.
Huo Ying’s army approached to within a few hundred meters. After a brief pause, without even catching their breath, Huo Ying directly ordered her army to attack.
Leng Jin Yu immediately instructed his subordinates to prepare for battle, to meet the assault of Huo Ying’s army.
A moment later, the two armies began to clash. Accompanied by the shouts of charging soldiers, a rain of arrows whistled past their ears. The collision of swords and sabers sparked dazzling flames, and screams were continuous.
Within the time it takes for a cup of tea to steep, the ground outside the city gates was strewn with countless bodies from both armies. At this moment, rivers of blood flowed across the land, and the scent of blood in the air grew increasingly pungent… The battle was incredibly fierce.
But then, Huo Ying flew towards Leng Jin Yu with a strangely sinister smile.
“General Leng, we meet again!”
Within Huo Ying’s clear and adorable eyes, there lay a glint of cunning.
“Huo Ying, you and Lin Zhen Fan colluding will lead to no good. I advise you to commit fewer evil deeds and surrender early, to leave yourself a way out.”
Leng Jin Yu frowned, his face grim, his deep eyes filled with coldness.
“Hahaha…”
“You don’t need to worry about how I die. You should worry about yourself.”
Huo Ying laughed sinisterly upon hearing Leng Jin Yu’s words, a stark contrast to her sweet and obedient appearance.
Leng Jin Yu didn’t want to speak with her any further and immediately launched an attack, wanting to finish the fight with Huo Ying quickly.
Huo Ying’s reaction speed was also very fast. She immediately dodged Leng Jin Yu’s attack and engaged him in combat.
…
Meanwhile, at the Cold King’s mansion, Prince Xian was extremely worried seeing that the Cold King and his consort had not returned all night.
He had repeatedly sent people to the palace to inquire about the situation, but those he sent to gather information could not obtain any news from the palace. Now, Prince Xian was pacing anxiously.
“Ye Ying, take some people into the palace again and see what the situation is with my second brother and second sister-in-law,” Prince Xian said with a distressed expression.
“Your Highness Prince Xian, this morning, this subordinate saw the civil and military officials going to court one after another. The Emperor should not be in any danger. Our Prince and Princess Consort might have been kept at the palace by the Empress Dowager for a while longer.”
Ye Ying, in order to calm Prince Xian down and prevent him from affecting their thinking, found a very flimsy excuse, one he himself did not believe.
“Come on, Ye Ying. I personally experienced what happened in the palace last night. Your comforting excuse cannot fool me,” Prince Xian replied with exasperation.
As they were chatting, the butler led Prince Ji to the Cold King’s mansion.
“Seventh Brother, why are you here with Second Brother? How did you get out of the palace?”
Prince Ji asked curiously upon seeing Prince Xian.
“Have you not heard about what happened in the palace, Sixth Brother? After Third Brother was released from prison by Father Emperor, who knows what methods he used to control Father Emperor and the Empress Grandmother. The palace is now his domain…”
Prince Xian immediately began recounting the events of the palace last night.
“I know about this, which is why I’m asking how you escaped the palace?”
Prince Ji felt it was tiring to talk to this brother whose intelligence was not quite there. (This phrase was incidentally learned by Prince Ji from Leng Ruo Li.)
“Last night, I was clever. Seeing that the situation in the palace was not right, I climbed trees and jumped over walls to escape. Coincidentally, I met my second brother and second sister-in-law who were preparing to enter the palace to gather information. With their help, I successfully escaped the palace and evaded Prince Ning’s lackeys.”
Prince Xian spoke of this with pride.
Although Prince Ji was sometimes exasperated with his brother, he patiently continued to ask him.
“You mean my second brother and second sister-in-law are also in the palace now.”
“Yes, after you entered the palace last night, the two of them haven’t returned yet.”
Speaking of this, Prince Xian became puzzled again.
“Oh no! Fifth Brother also went to morning court this morning. They wouldn’t be…”
Prince Ji suddenly remembered this and his expression changed drastically.
“Ye Ying, arrange for some men to accompany me to the palace immediately. Yin Chen, you and the remaining brothers must stay and protect the Cold King’s mansion and Prince Xian. My second brother and fifth brother are very likely trapped in the palace.”
“What? Fifth Brother went to court this morning too? This is terrible. Sixth Brother, I’ll go with you to the palace to help!”
“You and Yin Chen stay at the Cold King’s mansion and guard Second Brother’s residence properly. Don’t cause me any trouble.”
With that said, Prince Ji quickly left the Cold King’s mansion with Ye Ying and the others.