Ten years… would be enough time for her to turn the tables again!

Bai Qingyu slowly leaned back against the palanquin, no longer pretending to be sickly. His lips curved in a cold smile as he lifted the hem of his robes, crossed his legs, and sat casually. Even his voice carried undisguised contempt: “And why… should I intercede for Xi Liang? The Xi Liang Emperor seems to have forgotten what my elder sister once said to Yun Poxing after the southern border battle three years ago – that three years later… would be the time for our Bai family army’s revenge! Your Majesty must remember this day well. Today… Great Zhou will destroy Xi Liang, without any quarter!”

Li Tianjiao’s pupils suddenly contracted, but before she could get angry, heart-stopping screams and the clash of armor and swords suddenly came from outside the vast hall.

“Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor! There are assassins!” Xi Liang Imperial Guards outside the hall shouted.

Li Tianjiao’s face turned deathly pale. She reacted quickly, drawing the dagger from her waist and reaching to grab Bai Qingyu to use him as a hostage.

But before her hand could grasp Bai Qingyu’s shoulder, he caught her wrist. His eyes were deep and dark as he forcefully twisted…

“Ah!” Li Tianjiao let out a scream of pain, dropping to one knee on the ground.

Outside the hall doors, a man dressed in Li Tianjiao’s personal guard uniform staggered and crashed through the doors, falling to the ground… his head rolling far away, blood splattering three feet, thick hot blood spraying across the mirror-bright bluestone floor.

The palace maids and eunuchs in the great hall, seeing the head with eyes still open, screamed and fled in all directions looking for places to hide. For a moment, not one person went to help Li Tianjiao.

“Charge in! Save the Fifth Young Master!”

The first group of Bai family soldiers had already entered the palace using the map Xiao Ruohai had drawn. They were all Bai family troops – no matter what, they had to protect their commanding general!

Even though the Fifth Young Master’s orders were to focus all efforts on opening the city gates and not to enter the palace to rescue him, they couldn’t leave the Fifth Young Master alone in the palace!

Even if it meant death, they had to rescue their commanding general.

Bai Qingyu sat steadily on the palanquin, his deep, dark eyes looking toward Li Tianjiao kneeling on one knee, without the slightest emotion.

The two hall doors opened wide, cold wind rushing into the hall, violently lifting the golden curtains inside. The already dim lamplight suddenly extinguished, then swayed fiercely in the wind, flickering bright and dark, illuminating Bai Qingyu’s face covered with grotesque burn scars, making him look like a terrifying demon from hell.

Li Tianjiao felt as if her wrist, gripped by Bai Qingyu, was about to break. She gritted her teeth, raised the dagger high in her hand, and stabbed viciously toward Bai Qingyu. Without moving his eyes, Bai Qingyu tilted his head to dodge the dagger and grabbed a golden curtain floating past him, yanking it down forcefully…

Before Li Tianjiao could react, Bai Qingyu had already used the golden brocade fabric with auspicious cloud patterns to bind her hand gripping the dagger thrust into the palanquin, then immediately her other hand and neck.

Bai Qingyu’s speed was extremely fast. Li Tianjiao had never practiced martial arts since childhood – how could she be a match for Bai Qingyu? Her guards were all outside, resisting the attacking enemies.

“Someone come! Save the Emperor!” Li Tianjiao shouted.

As soon as Li Tianjiao’s words fell, Bai Qingyu tightened his grip on the fabric. Li Tianjiao suddenly opened her mouth wide, desperately trying to breathe, but her heart and lungs couldn’t get any air.

A man fighting with Yue Shi outside the hall suddenly turned his head, dodged Yue Shi’s long sword, and rushed ghost-like toward the great hall, shouting: “Send people to urge reinforcements to come protect the Emperor! Quickly!”

The Imperial Guards, who would normally rush over immediately at any disturbance in the great hall, were inexplicably slow today. The fighting outside had been going on for so long, yet only a few had arrived.

Bai Qingyu’s face was as grim as water. He had just used the curtain to bind Li Tianjiao’s neck when the guard had already rushed in, his blood-dripping sword radiating cold menace. Before he even arrived, his killing intent was already upon them.

Bai Qingyu wrapped the fabric around Li Tianjiao several more times, suddenly tightened it, stood up, and yanked Li Tianjiao in front of him as a shield while rising, casually tying a dead knot. Seeing this, the guard didn’t withdraw his sword momentum. Bai Qingyu could only endure the pain from his injuries and quickly retreat backward with Li Tianjiao.

Li Tianjiao’s hands and neck were suddenly bound. Bai Qingyu’s movements showed no mercy whatsoever, nearly strangling Li Tianjiao unconscious.

The blood-stained sword blade penetrated the auspicious cloud fabric binding Li Tianjiao’s hands and was about to lift to tear the fabric and rescue Li Tianjiao when Bai Qingyu tensed his face and forcefully pulled Li Tianjiao back, then flung her backward. Li Tianjiao crashed hard onto the high platform, her waist feeling as if it had broken, her face pale with pain, lacking even the strength to cry out.

Bai Qingyu didn’t give the guard a chance to cut through the fabric. He threw the dagger Li Tianjiao had just used against him. The dagger came with urgent and vicious speed. The guard’s eyes tightened as he quickly stepped back two paces and immediately raised his sword to block.

Taking advantage of this gap, Bai Qingyu leaped up, grabbed a decorative sword hanging in the great hall, and cold light slid from the sheath, radiating deadly chill.

Li Tianjiao couldn’t care about much else and tried to free her hands from the fabric, but the more her hands struggled, the tighter her neck became, almost making her unable to breathe.

The guard blocked the dagger and looked toward his master, rushing over desperately to grab her. Bai Qingyu’s sword energy had already arrived…

In the dim lamplight, shadows flickered as sword blades collided and sparked. The guard protected Li Tianjiao as they retreated in desperate straits.

Bai Qingyu… used his sword extremely well.

Holding the long sword, Bai Qingyu’s entire aura was different – his whole body radiated an air of proud, sharp killing intent. The guard had already sensed this the moment he grabbed Li Tianjiao, so he instinctively protected Li Tianjiao behind him.

“Capture him! Alive!” Li Tianjiao shouted.

The guard whistled.

Hearing the signal, guards outside the hall all rushed toward the great hall.

Xiao Rongyan, who had already led his guards up the high platform of the great hall, was completely soaked, dripping with either blood or water. He sheathed his sword and looked up. Behind his mask spattered with dots of blood mist, his eyes were like bottomless abysses. He commanded loudly: “Block these guards and protectors – don’t let a single one enter!”

Yue Shi acknowledged the order. Seeing that Xi Liang’s guards resisting them had already rushed into the great hall, he immediately led his men charging toward the palace without another word.

But this was Xi Liang’s imperial palace after all, filled everywhere with Xi Liang’s Imperial Guards and secret guards. Even though some Imperial Guards suffered from severe abdominal pain, some were drowsy, they still had the advantage of numbers. No matter how skilled Xiao Rongyan’s men and the Bai family troops were, fighting dozens of enemies each was still somewhat difficult.

The guard squad inside the hall, led by Li Tianjiao, slowed down their movements and couldn’t avoid Bai Qingyu’s sword at all. They could only passively receive attacks, occasionally using long swords to block Bai Qingyu’s sword momentum. Because they were protecting Li Tianjiao, they took several sword wounds from Bai Qingyu, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and nearly staggered and fell.