On the twenty-first day of the fourth month in the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, Yan’s Ninth Prince Murong Yan conducted a nearly a month-long purge of Wei, executing nobles and benefiting the common people. Having completely eradicated Wei’s imperial family and implemented new policies, he used thunderous methods to stabilize Wei’s overall situation. Leaving Grand General Xie Xun with heavy forces in Chang City, Ninth Prince Murong Yan returned to Yan’s capital with Second Prince Murong Ping.

On the twenty-third day of the fourth month in the eighteenth year of Xuanjia, Prince Liang and Fan Yuhuai had already besieged the imperial palace for a full month. Fan Yuhuai’s public stance was that he feared attacking the palace would force the Crown Prince into desperate measures that might harm His Majesty, and because of this concern for collateral damage, he dared not attack.

But in reality, besieging the imperial city was Li Mingrui’s idea…

The imperial palace didn’t have much stored grain, yet the number of emperors, consorts, eunuchs, and palace maids inside was enormous. People had to eat and drink! The soldiers led by Xie Yuchang needed even more sustenance. They only needed to besiege the imperial city—within less than a month, when food was exhausted, the soldiers defending the imperial city would inevitably turn coat, and then they could take the imperial city at minimal cost.

But now a full month had passed, and the soldiers defending the imperial city showed no signs of running out of food. Prince Liang was becoming somewhat impatient, while Li Mingrui felt there must be something suspicious about this—the problem might lie with the soldiers besieging the palace.

This time, Li Mingrui had joined Prince Liang’s rebellion. If they failed, it meant complete family extermination, so he had to give his all. He secretly mobilized the Left Chancellor’s mansion personnel to investigate covertly.

On the twenty-ninth day of the fourth month, they indeed discovered that the general under Fan Yuhuai’s command who guarded the palace’s western gate had been secretly delivering grain to the palace at night. Caught red-handed, upon questioning they learned that general was a sleeper agent the Crown Prince had placed within the Imperial Guards.

Xie Yuchang watched helplessly as Fan Yuhuai beheaded that general outside the imperial city, then heard Fan Yuhuai shout to him: “Xie Yuchang, I respect you as a true man! If you surrender obediently, Prince Liang will not only petition His Majesty to spare your entire family’s lives but will also entrust you with important duties! Otherwise… don’t blame me for not honoring our comradeship!”

The general who had been arranged early by Princess Zhenguo within Fan Yuhuai’s ranks had been extremely careful about the grain deliveries, sending only small amounts of food into the palace each night. Despite Xie Yuchang’s repeated requests to send more grain, the general remained cautious, not daring to send more for fear of being discovered by Prince Liang.

Who would have thought that despite such caution, they were still discovered…

Without food, Xie Yuchang felt he might fail Madam Qin’s trust and be unable to defend the palace or protect the Emperor.

That day when Bai Jinxiu appeared in military attire alongside Xie Yuchang atop Wude Gate to resist the attacking Imperial Guards, it had indeed intimidated Fan Yuhuai and his followers.

After frightening off the Imperial Guards, Bai Jinxiu personally went to the palace’s southern gate to find this general, instructing him to deliver food into the palace nightly. Subsequently, Bai Jinxiu quietly left the palace through the southern gate to contact the personnel Bai Qingyan had previously arranged within the Imperial Guards, planning to control the capital’s city gates before requesting the Emperor to leave the palace…

After all, if Xie Yuchang truly couldn’t defend the palace, the Emperor absolutely could not fall into Prince Liang’s hands.

Who knew that after Bai Jinxiu had finally gained quiet control of the capital’s southern gate, the Emperor refused to leave the palace.

The Emperor said the heavenly master had declared that no place was more suitable for alchemy than the imperial palace, where generations of true dragon energy had gathered. So the Emperor was unwilling to leave, though he did give Xie Yuchang an imperial edict, telling him to find a way to deliver it to the Crown Prince, instructing the Crown Prince to mobilize troops for reinforcement.

Having no choice, Xie Yuchang had someone deliver the edict to Bai Jinxiu, saying he would defend the Emperor to the death and asking Bai Jinxiu to rest assured. He only requested that Bai Jinxiu take the edict out of the city to seek aid, and when the time was ripe, they could coordinate from within and without to eliminate Prince Liang’s faction.

Receiving the edict, Bai Jinxiu was almost driven to angry laughter. With someone trying to kill the Crown Prince, commit regicide, and usurp the throne, the Emperor was unwilling to leave the palace for the sake of alchemy—was he insane?

But this was good. The Emperor’s unwillingness to leave the palace could instead draw Fan Yuhuai’s forces around the palace.

Subsequently, Xie Yuchang personally accompanied His Majesty up the city tower, where His Majesty angrily denounced Prince Liang from atop the tower as a treacherous rebel with hidden evil intentions.

But Prince Liang performed his act extremely well, kneeling beneath Wude Gate and crying out his regret to the Emperor, claiming the Emperor was being coerced by the Crown Prince. He said that although the Emperor had told Prince Liang to capture the Crown Prince at any cost, he couldn’t bear to watch his father suffer humiliation—even if it meant death, he had to rescue the Emperor first.

This so enraged the Emperor that he couldn’t catch his breath and fainted. Xie Yuchang had no choice but to order people to carry the Emperor back for treatment. Fan Yuhuai seized this opportunity to shout to the soldiers, claiming the Crown Prince’s rebellious intentions were clear as day—otherwise, why wouldn’t he dare let the Emperor continue speaking?

Prince Liang performed the role of a filial son to perfection, completely changing his usual weak and incompetent image. Pointing at the city wall, he loudly cursed the Crown Prince, saying that if the Crown Prince dared harm even a hair on the Emperor’s head, don’t blame him for not considering brotherly affection.

Thus, the soldiers within the palace became even more convinced that Prince Liang intended to rebel…

While the soldiers outside the palace felt Fan Yuhuai was right, surely the Crown Prince had coerced the Emperor onto the city wall. Otherwise, why would the Emperor have nothing more to say after seeing Prince Liang kneeling and weeping, not even defending the Crown Prince?

Even the Emperor’s fainting from anger was fabricated into being knocked unconscious by Xie Yuchang to prevent the Emperor from saying more.

Xie Yuchang had originally intended to send the Emperor out of the palace, but the Emperor refused… so Xie Yuchang had devised this compromise of having the Emperor ascend the city tower, but unexpectedly, this clever plan had backfired.

Combined with Fan Yuhuai being a hero who had quelled the Wude Gate rebellion, and Prince Liang having always presented himself as timid, weak, and incompetent, the soldiers besieging the palace increasingly believed they were the righteous troops rescuing the monarch.

When Bai Jinxiu learned that the sleeper agent arranged at the palace’s southern gate had been discovered, she understood that the palace would run out of food within days.

She was now outside the palace and had already sent several groups to scout where eldest sister had progressed to. If she could do this, Prince Liang could certainly do the same, but Prince Liang’s people had more convenient access in and out of the capital, so naturally their intelligence was more current than hers.

Bai Jinxiu was currently in hiding and could only watch Prince Liang and Fan Yuhuai’s movements to speculate and make decisions.

Fortunately, she held in her hands an edict personally written by the Emperor, which could command regional governors and military camps to come rescue His Majesty. Bai Jinxiu had not yet given the edict to the Crown Prince, nor had she used it.

The forces currently available for mobilization, besides the Dengzhou army under Dengzhou Prefect Dong Qingyue’s command that defended against the Rong and Di tribes and Xiliang, and the Pingyang army far away in Pingyang City defending against Great Yan, there were also thirty thousand garrison troops in Yuanping that could be deployed.

However, Yuanping was a two-day fast ride from the capital, and with the eldest sister’s location currently unknown, they couldn’t involve Yuanping’s main army too early. If the Imperial Guards couldn’t withstand Yuanping’s army and end the capital’s internal strife prematurely, it would be detrimental to the overall situation.

Therefore, unless Prince Liang was about to ascend the throne and the eldest sister still hadn’t returned, Yuanping’s army must not move.