When Tang Peiyi arrived at the Xie Manor with his men, they witnessed one of the front courtyard buildings engulfed in flames, the fire reaching toward the sky. The cobblestone courtyard was stained crimson with blood that continued to spread outward. The goose-feather snowflakes falling from the night sky melted instantly as they touched the blood-soaked ground.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere. Xie Zheng stood among them, holding a halberd in one hand. His dark armor was dyed deep red with blood, and crimson droplets dripped from his ancient beast-patterned weapon. With his head slightly bowed, his expression was hidden, save for the fire-lit glimpse of his pale jaw, stark against the chaos.
Behind him stood several hundred palace guards, their murderous aura palpable after the massacre. In the darkness, they appeared almost otherworldly. Even Tang Peiyi and his men, seated on horseback, drew sharp breaths at the sight. As the blood slowly consumed the snow and crept toward their horses’ hooves, the steeds seemed to sense the killing intent, stepping backward.
Only then did Xie Zheng raise his eyes to cast a cold glance at Tang Peiyi.
“Marquis,” Tang Peiyi called out with a salute from horseback, finding no other words to speak.
Observing the corpses before the manor, it was clear that at least five battalions from the Central Army had been deployed for the siege. A cannon was positioned nearby—they had even brought artillery—yet all had fallen to Xie’s few hundred guards.
Wasn’t it said that the Marquis of Wu’an only commanded eight hundred Blood Riders? Fan Changyu had already taken seven to eight hundred men with him, so who were these warriors?
Tang Peiyi was utterly astonished.
The blazing fire cast light on the varied expressions of those on horseback.
Xie Zheng kicked aside a corpse at his feet, his blood-stained face showing an almost detached calmness. “They dare bombard the gates of my Xie family with merely two thousand men?” He sneered, “Truly tired of living.”
Among the seventy-two battalions of the Five Military Commands, each varied in strength, but the Central Army alone commanded eight thousand men. Though the Li family had deployed a quarter of the Central Army to surround the Xie Manor—showing their wariness toward Xie Zheng—they had still underestimated him.
The clatter of hooves echoed from the other end of the street, where torches wove like dragons through the night. Both Xie’s blood-soaked elite guards and Tang Peiyi’s men turned to look. An unfamiliar commander sat astride his horse, but his armor marked him as being from the Three Thousand Unit.
Xie Zheng watched coldly, his expression remaining remarkably detached. He handed his halberd to a guard behind him and took up a crossbow, aiming casually. “So the vultures have come to claim their spoils.”
The wind and snow raged, scattering ancestral prayer papers through the empty street. This once-festive New Year’s night had taken on an eerie atmosphere.
Outside the Meridian Gate, amidst blazing torches, troops crowded the official square between the East and West Swallow-Wing Towers. The front ranks held thick shields overhead to block arrows from the tower archers. Without proper siege rams in the capital, soldiers hoisted heavy ceremonial cauldrons from the square, using them to batter the palace gates.
Behind the military formation, Grand Tutor Li, wearing his official crane-patterned robes, observed the surging troops. He spoke to a pale, gloomy-faced man in a cloak beside him: “We have our people among the Palace Guards. The gates will break within the burning of an incense stick.”
Qi Min raised his eyes lazily, illness evident in his features. “No movement from the Marquis of Wu’an?”
Grand Tutor Li glanced at him, maintaining his composure despite the implied doubt of House Li’s preparations. “We have turned four commands of the Five Military Commands to our side. The Marquis of Wu’an entered the capital without an army, and his eight hundred personal guards were led away by the Meng woman. Even with his military genius, what waves can Xie Zheng make without troops?”
Qi Min’s expression softened slightly.
Grand Tutor Li smiled faintly. “The Imperial Observatory has also spread the word that the recent droughts and floods are due to disturbances in the dragon veins and improper succession. The common people have long resented Wei Yan’s control over the court. The Crown Prince of Chengde’s reputation remains strong among the people. Your Highness, as his descendant, ascending the throne would fulfill both the people’s wishes and the officials’ desires.”
Qi Min remained silent, his eyes fixed on the illuminated Swallow-Wing Towers in the distance.
The night pressed heavily, making even the palace with its New Year’s red lanterns seem to bow down, as if ready to submit to him.
After seventeen years, he had finally returned to this place.
Qi Min fingered the jade ring on his thumb, his expression faint, but the feeling of having everything within his grasp inflamed his ambition like the torches burning among the palace halls, expanding wildly at this peak of power.
Heaven and Earth, the vast cosmos…
Even the rise and fall of the sun and moon seemed insignificant now—he would soon be Emperor of all under heaven.
The palace gates finally gave way under the relentless battering, and the Five Military Commands’ troops surged into the palace with battle cries. Blood sprayed across the narrow palace corridors.
As Qi Min followed Grand Tutor Li into the palace, he frowned slightly at the fallen Palace Guards, his tone impossible to read as either mockery or genuine question: “After controlling the court for over a decade, is this all Wei Yan can manage?”
The commander who had rushed ahead to capture the young emperor from Taiqian Palace hurried back: “Grand Tutor! There’s no one in Taiqian Palace!”
Both Qi Min and Grand Tutor Li’s expressions changed.
Grand Tutor Li shouted furiously: “Then search the entire palace! Find them!”
Though the commander obeyed, neither Li nor Qi Min could settle their hearts.
Was the palace’s weak defense intentionally drawing them into a trap?
As if confirming their suspicions, the sound of armored troops came from outside the gate. Climbing the Swallow-Wing Tower, they saw nearly two thousand cavalry in the square before the Meridian Gate, each in full armor—far superior to ordinary Five Military Commands soldiers.
A straight-backed, vigorous elder stepped forward from the cavalry formation, his eagle eyes sweeping toward Qi Min and Li on the tower: “Li Xing plots rebellion. Arrest all these traitors!”
Though Grand Tutor Li’s expression was grave, he remained composed, shouting down with authority: “Old dog Wei, do you think your Three Thousand Unit alone can control the Five Military Commands?”
Wei Yan replied: “Of course not, but Grand Tutor Li has never commanded troops and doesn’t know the military maxim ‘warfare prizes deception.'”
Before Li could grasp his meaning, Wei Yan made a gesture. The archers on the tower walls who had been aiming downward suddenly turned their arrows toward Li and Qi Min’s group.
Their guards quickly drew swords, watching the archers nervously, but arrows were indiscriminate, and the situation had reversed too quickly. Even the guards showed signs of panic.
Of the four commands that had pledged loyalty to him, two were Wei Yan’s men! The remaining two commands and Li’s guards looked at each other in confusion.
Grand Tutor Li ground his teeth, staring at Wei Yan with unwilling rage: “These two commands were your men? Since when?”
Wei Yan stood before his troops with his hands behind his back, the cold wind defining his robust figure: “Grand Tutor Li might ask himself—when you couldn’t even protect your grandson, how could you expect others to trust you?”
Grand Tutor Li’s jaw tightened, and despite his attempts to appear strong, his face paled considerably.
Qi Min, who had been silent until now, suddenly clapped and laughed: “Well said, but I wonder if the Prime Minister can maintain the troops’ loyalty when his wife and children are captive?”
Wei Yan raised his eyes coldly toward Qi Min, who showed no fear despite the countless arrows aimed at him, instead curling his lips in amusement.
Outside the cavalry formation came urgent news as a messenger from Wei Manor arrived on horseback: “Prime Minister, the Wei Manor has been attacked! The Madam and Young Master have been taken!”
The messenger’s arm was bleeding, clearly having just survived a fierce battle.
Wei Yan looked again at Qi Min, knowing from their previous encounters that Qi Min commanded a group of shadow guards left by the Crown Prince of Chengde—all skilled warriors who had received the Crown Prince’s favor years ago and followed only Qi Min’s orders.
Many of his elite guards had fallen to those shadow guards.
Few men were visible around Qi Min now—they had been sent to the Wei Manor.
Hearing this, Grand Tutor Li was overjoyed and immediately berated Wei Yan: “Wei Yan, we’ll see if you care for your wife and son! If you can harden your heart to abandon your only son and grasp power like a eunuch, at least you’ll amuse future historians!”
Before Wei Yan could respond, a casual yet chilling voice carried through the cold wind: “The palace is quite… lively tonight.”
Everyone looked toward the back of the military formation. Wei Yan’s cavalry instantly changed formation, pointing their spears toward the group approaching unhurriedly.
Xie Zheng, in his blood-stained dark armor, led several hundred Xie family elite troops and Tang Peiyi’s men, walking toward the official square outside the Meridian Gate as if taking a stroll.
Qi Min, who had maintained his composure even when Wei Yan appeared with the Three Thousand Unit, finally darkened his expression at the sight of Xie Zheng.
He turned to Grand Tutor Li: “Wasn’t he supposed to be trapped at the Xie Manor?”
Grand Tutor Li noticed Tang Peiyi and the troops from Jizhou, saying angrily: “Tang Peiyi must have gone to break the siege. We underestimated these warriors!”
The darkness prevented him from seeing how Xie Zheng and his several hundred elite troops’ armor seemed to have been bathed in blood, allowing him to make such an assessment.
Seeing Qi Min’s increasingly dark expression, he quickly added: “The Emperor’s great-grandson is in Xie Zheng’s hands. He likely wants to use tonight’s chaos to follow Wei Yan’s example from seventeen years ago and place that child on the throne. The outcome is still uncertain!”
Qi Min’s eyes grew dark with hidden thoughts. Suddenly, he called out to Xie Zheng: “Since the Marquis of Wu’an has joined tonight’s excitement, why not ally with me?”
When Xie Zheng didn’t immediately respond, he continued: “Seventeen years ago, my father and General Xie died in Jinzhou. Surely I’m not the only one who wants revenge?”
Xie Zheng lazily raised his eyes. “Does Your Highness know the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou?”
Qi Min burst into laughter: “How could I not know?”
Pointing at Wei Yan, he declared: “The fall of Jinzhou, the massacre of its citizens, the cession of twelve commanderies in Liaodong to the barbarians—it was all Wei Yan’s scheme to seize the Great Yin throne!”
These words plunged the entire palace into dead silence.
Most present knew nothing of Jinzhou’s true story. Even Grand Tutor Li, who knew bits and pieces, couldn’t help but flinch at Qi Min’s certainty.
The depression that had gripped Great Yin after Jinzhou’s fall had taken over a decade to recover from. If this was truly Wei Yan’s doing, a thousand deaths would be too lenient.
The hatred suppressed in his chest for over a decade finally found its target. Qi Min’s eyes reddened as he sneered at Wei Yan: “Seventeen years ago, you bathed the palace in blood and thought no one would know of your plot to usurp the throne!”
Wei Yan’s face remained impassive, though his eyes turned completely cold. Cutting off Qi Min’s words, he commanded in a deep voice: “Attack.”