"Crown Prince, Crown Prince!"
The Emperor seemed to have completely panicked, shouting for the Crown Prince, yet he was still helplessly pulled away.
In the Guande Hall, silence descended like never before.
The Crown Prince closed his eyes, then sighed and looked at Mu Changxi, "Let's focus on what's in front of us. Everything else... is not important."
Yes, what the Emperor thought now was not important.
Outside the Guande Hall, there were tens of thousands of troops.
Even if they had captured Mu Hansu, they still had to handle it with caution.
Mu Changxi nodded, then took Song Chaoyu's hand and walked towards Mu Hansu, "Indeed, it's time to end all this!"
Mu Hansu wanted to move his body but was completely unable to.
Only his eyeballs were constantly rolling, "What do you want to do? I'm telling you, don't even think about it! Even if you catch me, the people outside won't stop attacking!"
Mu Changxi didn't care much. He picked Mu Hansu up from the ground, "Let's go. There are many things we need to deal with properly!"
—
As Mu Changxi and the Crown Prince led Mu Hansu away, everything in the Guande Hall was left to Song Chaoyu.
Song Chaoyu had not experienced Mu Hansu's palace coup with everyone in Guande Hall, so she naturally didn't know what had happened.
She only saw fear and confusion in everyone's eyes. Even when they saw her, it seemed no one held any hope in their gaze.
Those who were once the most noble people in this imperial city were now hugging their knees, curled up, and lost in thought.
When people lose their spirit, that is the most terrifying thing.
And this place felt like an abyss of despair.
It made Song Chaoyu want to comfort and encourage them, but she didn't know where to start.
It was Princess Anyang who stepped forward and took Song Chaoyu's hand.
She, who had always been spoiled and willful, gently rested her head on Song Chaoyu's shoulder, her voice tinged with tears, "You have no idea what we've been through these past few days!"
Song Chaoyu reached out and gently stroked Anyang's head, "It's alright, aren't we here now? If you're willing, I'd be happy to hear about your experiences these past few days. I also want to know what exactly happened in the capital!"
Anyang nodded, "Okay, I'll tell you what happened!"
—
In fact, Mu Hansu's palace coup was never without a trace.
Ever since the Emperor stripped him of his title, the idea had probably taken root and sprouted in his heart.
And Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu's departure from the capital gave Mu Hansu an opportunity.
Or rather, from the very beginning, Mu Hansu had intended to use the Consort's poison to make Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu leave the capital.
His plan was to lure Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu to Tanzhou City and use his influence there to resolve Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi directly in Tanzhou.
Moreover, the Crown Prince had also used his own methods to have the Crown Princess's mother carry out the poisoning of the Consort. At that time, Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi had not suspected Mu Hansu at all!
Even if it didn't work out, it didn't matter. Without them in the capital, the Crown Prince would be like a left and right arm missing.
Coupled with Ti Le's agreement to lend a Southern Kingdom army to Mu Hansu, wouldn't the capital then be Mu Hansu's domain?
Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu, for the sake of the Consort, did not think much and indeed "fell into the trap."
After they left the capital, Mu Hansu used the influence he had cultivated over the years to actually have Ti Le secretly infiltrate the capital with the nearly twenty thousand troops from the Southern Kingdom!
In fact, even now, no one knows how he managed it.
Those twenty thousand men entered the capital and lay dormant.
On the surface, the capital remained peaceful, but Mu Hansu had already transported weapons and armor into the city.
Let alone Anyang, even Song Chaoyu had not thought of a thorough search. In fact, Mu Hansu had already contacted many court officials to help him with this matter in the capital.
It was precisely because the Crown Prince had appeared too benevolent over the years that these people had such audacious thoughts.
Anyang said that Mu Hansu's "uprising" occurred in the early hours before dawn.
This time was usually when everyone was most exhausted, and even the guards changing shifts in the palace often dozed off in the early morning.
The beginning of it all was when Mu Hansu's men breached the southern gate of the imperial city.
With a deafening explosion, everyone in the imperial city was awakened!
Mu Hansu's army seemed to appear out of nowhere, suddenly encircling from all directions.
Anyang was also awakened from her sleep. As soon as she sat up, her maids rushed in with clothes, telling her that the palace gate had been breached!
Before Anyang could even react, she was pulled up.
The capital had fallen into chaos. After Mu Hansu's troops entered the city, they shouted throughout the city, ordering all residents to stay in their homes and not to leave.
If any of the capital's guards discovered anyone wandering on the streets, they were to be executed on the spot without question, suspected of being informants!
Who knew how many commoners had died under Mu Hansu's butcher's knife.
Who would have thought that the capital's guards, responsible for the defense of the capital, would at this moment become Mu Hansu's "executioners"?
The maids told Anyang that the capital was now the most dangerous place.
They had to rush into the palace before Mu Hansu's army completely occupied the imperial city. Someone in the palace would surely protect the Emperor's safety, and by extension, their safety.
Thus, Anyang, after witnessing countless tragic scenes of people being killed, became increasingly panicked. Only one thought remained in her mind: she had to get into the palace as quickly as possible!
However, when they finally reached the palace, they discovered that the situation inside was no better than outside.
Mu Hansu's men entered the palace from the south gate and had already occupied half of the palace city.
If Anyang and the others had not entered the palace from the east, they would have had no way to safely reach the Guande Hall.
Throughout the palace city, there were corpses of eunuchs and palace maids everywhere, with blood flowing like rivers, resembling a living hell.
Anyang had to force herself not to look at the corpses scattered everywhere, only then could her legs stop feeling weak.
She knew that only the Guande Hall was left for them to go to!
As for where everyone else was, or what their situation was, Anyang could no longer care.
She just kept running towards the Guande Hall, enduring and dodging countless things along the way.
When they reached the entrance of the Guande Hall, even two of her maids had gotten separated.
Only she, with one personal maid, encountered many ministers and royal relatives also running towards the Guande Hall.