That gaze was sinister and venomous, like an emaciated, skeletal sick dog baring its yellowed fangs, drool dripping from between its teeth, deliberately intending to tear a chunk of flesh from the person across from it.

The officials below heard this and whispered among themselves, discussing animatedly.

But Wen Yu’s face showed a smile: “This palace monopolized political power and imprisoned the King?”

She turned her eyes and lightly glanced at Tongque standing by the imperial platform. Tongque understood, and while everyone’s attention was on Wen Yu, she silently retreated toward the side room where tea and water were prepared.

Wen Yu’s dark, tranquil eyes looked unhurriedly toward Yan Zhen: “Vice Commander Yan bears the responsibility of guarding the royal palace and has no right to participate in government deliberations. This palace doesn’t blame the Commander for not knowing about changes in the court. But if the Commander wrongly accuses the distinguished ministers present out of ignorance, then this palace must seek justice for these beloved subjects.”

Her voice was cool and distant: “Last year when this palace returned to the royal court from Liang territory, the beloved subjects of the court and the common people of the royal capital respectfully requested at the city gates that this palace continue governing. Only then did this palace continue governing for this past year. According to Vice Commander Yan’s words, it must have been the civil and military officials of the court and the common people of the royal capital who imprisoned the King to allow this palace to govern?”

Last year when the Jiang family blocked Wen Yu at the city gates to create difficulties over Jiang Yu’s death, but was turned against by Wen Yu, finally ending with court officials and onlooking commoners at the city gates jointly requesting Wen Yu to continue governing—this matter had long been spreading like wildfire throughout the royal capital. How could Yan Zhen not know?

Being spoken of like this by Wen Yu now was no different from mockery and humiliation. His face looked extremely ugly.

The court ministers who had originally been discussing in low voices also seemed to remember that incident at the city gates last year, and for a moment they all hunched their backs and dared not make a sound.

Their Chen Kingdom had long honored Wen Yu as sovereign—how could there be any talk of Wen Yu seizing the Chen King’s political power?

Moreover, given the Chen King’s absurd behavior in the past, what good expectations could they, as Chen Kingdom officials, still have of the Chen King?

After Yan Zhen understood this from the reactions of all the officials present, he also abandoned using the Chen King’s imprisonment to make the court ministers take sides. He reluctantly suppressed the anger in his heart and said: “This subordinate knows the Princess is skilled in eloquent debate, but even if the Princess is silver-tongued today, can you rely on a sharp mouth to withstand all the Imperial Guards’ swords and spears?”

Eunuch Li standing beside the King’s table held his whisk and pointed at Yan Zhen, saying: “Is your Yan family openly rebelling?”

“My Yan family is helping our King purge treacherous officials and restore proper court order—what rebellion is there? Do you think everyone is like you, this castrated dog who fawns on outsiders and deceives the master?”

Duke Yan, dressed in civil official robes, appeared at the palace entrance. Though those words were directed at Eunuch Li, his gaze stopped for a moment on Sun Simai and other officials, giving a cold laugh before striding into the palace and bowing once toward the Chen King: “The Imperial Guards in the city all quietly await the King’s command.”

His words undoubtedly told all the ministers present that the Imperial Guards were now also their people.

Many officials in the palace showed panic on their faces again.

Wen Yu’s face held an extremely faint smile, her eyes calm and cool, still maintaining that unperturbed appearance: “So this is the reason Duke Yan claimed illness and took leave from court deliberations today?”

Duke Yan narrowed his eyes looking at Wen Yu, his back straight, no longer even making a show of bowing with clasped hands. But his words sounded high-minded: “You, this Liang woman, have monopolized our Chen Kingdom’s court government for over a year, doing nothing but acting like a hen crowing at dawn, inverting yin and yang. Now you’ve brought such calamity upon our Chen Kingdom. You should return governance to our King, then personally go outside the city to resolve this disaster, clarifying that the grievances of your Liang camp have nothing to do with our Chen Kingdom!”

Yan Zhen took the opportunity to shout to the court ministers: “Everyone, this Liang woman is viciously jealous. During this past year, using the excuse that the King was obsessed with alchemy, she confined the King under house arrest in his sleeping quarters, forbidding consorts from visiting. She even dismissed all palace maids, solely to ensure that only she would bear the King’s heir. Fortunately Heaven has eyes—she only gave birth to a princess, while the King has already sired a son with Consort Jiang!”

He raised high the silk scroll in his hand—it was the imperial edict by which the Chen King had just elevated the Jiang woman to the rank of Consort.

At the same time, the Jiang woman, who had been brought from the Cold Palace by the Imperial Guards, appeared at the palace entrance holding a child in swaddling clothes, her head slightly lowered.

When the Chen King tried to take the child from the Jiang woman’s hands, she was clearly still trembling with fear. The child was practically snatched away by the Chen King. He discarded the swaddling cloth and held the ceaselessly crying male infant high for the court ministers to see: “This King’s bloodline has been thin for many years. Heaven has taken pity—this King has a son! This is our ancestors protecting our Chen Kingdom from being usurped by that poisonous woman from Liang!”

Some aristocratic families who had suffered losses from Wen Yu’s sweeping court reforms and had secretly colluded with the Yan family no longer cowered at this moment, speaking out: “The common people of our Chen Kingdom suffer! Last year’s autumn grain harvest from a year of hard labor was entirely transported to Liang territory. Liang territory’s war is a war, but is our Chen Kingdom’s not? Now with foreign enemies pressing upon the royal capital, must we still use the lives of our royal capital’s soldiers and common people to fill the gap?”

More brazenly, they pointed directly at Wen Yu: “Liang woman, you have disrupted our Chen Kingdom’s court order for so long. You should bind yourself and go apologize to the Xiao army outside the city!”

“Outrageous!” The Azure Cloud Guards protecting Wen Yu’s left and right immediately drew their swords several inches with a stern shout. The Imperial Guards who had entered with Yan Zhen also raised the spears and halberds in their hands, aiming them at everyone inside the palace.

Seeing that a bloody battle was about to break out in the Golden Throne Hall, Qi Simai, who had remained silent since the Chen King appeared, shouted: “Enough!”

He turned to look at the Chen King and the Yan faction, his eyes containing both the weariness of decades of officialdom and stern righteousness, with pain mixed into his anger.

Duke Yan quickly sneered: “You Qi Simai, this old dog who recognizes outsiders as master—do you also want to use your loose teeth to bark protectively?”

The Chen King also looked at Qi Simai with a face full of malice, clearly resenting him for leading the King’s faction ministers to submit to Wen Yu.

Qi Simai’s disciples all showed anger on their faces, pointing at the Yan faction and about to step forward to retort with scorn, but were stopped by Qi Simai raising his hand.

He didn’t return any sharp words to Duke Yan, only methodically enumerating: “The Princess settled the old grievances between our Chen Kingdom and the Qieji tribe, revised laws and opened trade routes, reduced common people’s corvée labor, severely punished corrupt traitors while rigorously promoting agriculture and sericulture, reversed the treasury deficit trend—these are political achievements often mentioned during this year of governance.”

“Additionally, the Princess overturned cases for many good officials previously framed by the Jiang faction, employed children of humble families to clean up corruption in the court, ordered the digging of irrigation ditches along the Hu marshes to benefit agriculture. Whatever urgently needed goods existed within Chen Kingdom territory, the Princess also ordered them transferred from Great Liang, exchanging goods for goods. The various desert tribes that frequently violated our Chen Kingdom borders have not violated our Chen Kingdom borders again for nearly a year because of the trade routes the Princess opened.”

“May I ask everyone, what court order has been disrupted?”

“Or do you mean that only your financial channels for embezzling the treasury and lining your own pockets have been cut off?”

Once these words were spoken, those aristocratic families who had previously disgorged years of embezzled grain funds to avoid being liquidated like the Liu family in the autumn grain embezzlement case couldn’t help but jump up and shout: “Who embezzled the treasury and lined their own pockets?”

“We rely on our ancestors’ residual glory to hold such minor official positions. How can we compare to Minister Qi, who is the Princess’s right and left arm with overwhelming power and influence, able to pin such baseless accusations on us minor officials with just a word?”

“Our Chen Kingdom treasury has some surplus—hasn’t it all been emptied out for Great Liang!”

Qi Simai’s disciples were so angry their faces turned red, pointing at them and cursing: “You’re slandering!”

Before the Azure Cloud Guards and Imperial Guards could fight, the civil officials in the court had already rolled up their sleeves and were pointing at each other’s faces and noses in accusation. When the scolding became intense, some even pushed and shoved each other.

Wen Yu, sitting above, clapped her hands amidst this chaotic situation and dropped two words: “Splendid.”

The arguing voices below paused. She looked at the Yan faction and the aristocratic family ministers who had long been dissatisfied with her, saying with slight mockery: “Aside from the three million shi of rice grain that the King and Empress Dowager promised this palace two years ago as betrothal gifts, this palace asks you all—what else has your Chen Kingdom given to my Great Liang?”

“When common folk arrange marriages and send betrothal gifts, they still observe proper protocol, absolutely unable to lose face over betrothal gifts not matching the gift list. Do you think Chen Kingdom no longer needs this dignity?”

To try to renege on betrothal gifts in a marriage alliance between two kingdoms—this was truly something never heard of since ancient times.

Many court ministers felt their faces burning hot.

Some aristocratic family officials tried to argue: “But the treasury has to be able to produce it. The common people below…”

Wen Yu calmly asked: “Did last year’s corvée labor increase? Or are the common people suffering unbearably? The autumn grain collected afterward—wasn’t it levied according to that year’s grain tax based on per-acre production? Or does Vice Minister Xu want to tell this palace that the grain registers submitted by the Ministry of Revenue are incorrect?”

That official immediately fell silent. Just as he was stammering “I,” he received a man-eating glare from his clan elders and instantly chose to lower his head and shut his mouth.

Last year when Wen Yu used Remonstrance Official Liu Guangling’s family to make an example and frighten the chickens, she scared other aristocratic families into disgorging their embezzled grain funds. But how this batch of grain came needed to be recorded when local prefectures collected tax grain.

In previous years, after they embezzled one shi from grain fields producing two shi per acre, they had local government offices record that only one shi was produced.

To fill that deficit, they could only assign the grain they disgorged to prefectures where autumn grain harvest was later, causing the per-acre production recorded by government offices to reach as high as four or five shi at one point.

If this were thoroughly investigated, problems would definitely arise. Wen Yu finally chose to turn a blind eye, but only because they were somewhat sensible.

Now if they themselves brought up the tax grain matter, and Wen Yu chose to thoroughly investigate, following the grain registers’ abnormalities in several major prefectures and sending a round of people to the imperial prison, she could quickly ferret out the several major aristocratic families behind the authorization.

The Yan father and son and several major aristocratic families all looked extremely ugly.

Today they wanted to overthrow Wen Yu, but among the many crimes they listed, not one could incite the neutral ministers to stand on the same boat with them.

Duke Yan quickly said: “This Liang woman is most skilled in eloquent debate. Don’t waste any more words with her!”

The Chen King also seemed to have reached the extreme of anger, facing the ministers and raising his arms high in appeal: “This King stands right before you all. Would you still honor such a poisonous woman as sovereign? In the future under the Nine Springs, will you have the face to meet the previous kings of our Chen Kingdom through the ages?”

Though some neutral faction and King’s faction ministers showed hesitation on their faces, in the end none of them made a sound.

Officials with Qieji bloodline forcefully suppressed their resentment, placing their right arms across their left chests in a fist, saying to Wen Yu: “We pledge to loyally serve the Princess unto death!”

Wen Yu sitting above didn’t speak again. She had said those things earlier to delay time.

The Chen King absolutely wouldn’t have children with anyone. The Yan father and son bringing out a “royal heir” definitely wouldn’t let A’Li go.

The look she had given Tongque earlier was to have her rush back to Zhaohua Palace as quickly as possible.

Currently the Yan father and son and the Chen King were still here in this great hall maneuvering with her, trying to incite the court ministers to defect to the Chen King on one hand, while also fearing the Azure Cloud Guards in her hands and wanting to capture A’Li first before forcing her to surrender.

Wen Yu’s face was cold as ice and snow. Though she appeared to be calmly seated here in a composed posture, beneath her wide sleeves, her fingernails had actually long since dug into her palms.

—

After Tongque used blow darts coated with anesthetic powder that she carried with her to knock out the Imperial Guards stationed outside the window of the side room of the Council Hall, she immediately led people to jump out the window and rush toward Zhaohua Palace.

Along the way, the group tried as much as possible to avoid the Imperial Guards as they rushed urgently. When they truly couldn’t avoid meeting them head-on, they gave the other side absolutely no chance to transmit messages—raising their blades, they simply cut them down. Advancing through blood all the way, when they finally reached Zhaohua Palace, Zhaohua Palace had indeed also been under siege by a squad of Imperial Guards for some time.

Tongque and the others raised their blades and joined this entirely blood-colored slaughter. They were like the arrowhead of a sharp arrow, killing their way inward all along. The Azure Cloud Guards inside the palace protected A’Li while breaking outward. The two groups finally killed through the human wall the Imperial Guards had formed.

In the brief moment of meeting, the Azure Cloud Guard who had A’Li wrapped in cloth against her bosom urgently called Tongque’s name, then asked: “Where is the Princess?”

Tongque shook her head in distress, swinging her sword to cut down another attacking Imperial Guard, blood splattered on her face as she said: “First get the Young Princess out of here!”

Although court officials all believed that Xiao Li demanding Wen Yu must be to avenge that arrow from before.

Tongque worried about Wen Yu, but she also knew all too clearly that even if Wen Yu were truly sent to Xiao Li’s side, Xiao Li probably wouldn’t harm her.

After all, if he truly resented Wen Yu, back then in the Wei camp he wouldn’t have helped conceal Wen Yu’s identity, and in the end wouldn’t have betrayed Wei Qishan and insisted on abducting Wen Yu.

Right now the most dangerous one was A’Li.

That mad dog Chen King had regained power. His hatred toward the Jiang family and Wen Yu would probably all be retaliated upon A’Li.

After killing their way out of Zhaohua Palace, several other Azure Cloud Guards also held swaddling bundles against their chests, splitting up with Tongque and the others to run and draw away the pursuing soldiers.

Tongque led the remaining Azure Cloud Guards to hide in a passage within the palace walls. After the Imperial Guards were drawn away, she looked at A’Li in the swaddling cloth—after experiencing such slaughter, not only did A’Li not cry, but rather she was clutching the sachet Wen Yu usually wore, as if finding such jostling and commotion quite interesting, smiling at Tongque to reveal four short baby teeth.

The panic and chaos in Tongque’s heart were somewhat smoothed away. Using the back of her blood-free hand, she gently touched A’Li’s cheek and promised: “This servant will definitely bring Your Highness out safely.”

As she and the accompanying seven or eight Azure Cloud Guards continued protecting A’Li while fighting their way out of the palace, walking through a long, narrow palace wall corridor, they came face to face with an old nanny from beside the Empress Dowager. Tongque thought nothing of it—raising her blade and pressing close, she was about to slash the other’s throat. Fortunately the old nanny said in time: “The Empress Dowager commanded me to assist you!”

Tongque’s blood-stained blade edge stopped just a hair’s breadth from the old nanny’s neck. She reeked heavily of blood—some her own, some the Imperial Guards’—and coldly asked: “Why should I trust you?”

The old nanny was indeed an old hand from beside the Empress Dowager. Compared to the two accompanying little eunuchs shaking like sieves, though being held hostage like this frightened her, she didn’t lose her composure too much. Instead she said with clear reasoning: “The Young Princess is also General Piaoji’s bloodline. General Piaoji was a nephew the Empress Dowager personally watched grow up. Though the King cannot tolerate the Young Princess, no matter what, the Empress Dowager must still preserve this bloodline for General Piaoji.”

Tongque didn’t lower her blade, only asking: “How will the Empress Dowager help?”

The old nanny handed over a palace exit waist token from the Empress Dowager’s palace.

—

A carriage rushed urgently toward the palace gates through the solemn royal palace. The guards at the palace gates stopped the carriage for routine inspection. The carriage curtain slightly lifted. The old nanny held the waist token for the guard captain to see, her face showing neither anger nor emotion: “Going out of the palace to procure some items on the Empress Dowager’s orders.”

The guard captain wanted to peek inside the carriage, but was blocked completely by the old nanny. She raised her eyelids—having served beside her mistress for many years, she also had an imposing air of authority without anger when facing these royal capital servants: “Finished looking?”

The guard captain could only smile apologetically: “Finished looking.”

“Little Shuangzi.”

After the old nanny collected the token, no longer showing joy or anger with that single call, the little eunuch driving the carriage was about to crack the whip when the guard captain knew he absolutely couldn’t allow passage. Just as he was about to harden his resolve and risk offending the Empress Dowager to stop the carriage, fortunately an urgent shout came from behind: “Cannot allow passage!”

The guard captain saw a squad of Imperial Guards galloping over and immediately felt relieved.

In moments that group rushed to the front, surrounding the carriage completely.

The old nanny opened a crack in the carriage curtain, her expression unfriendly: “What’s happening today? You lot dare to stop even the Empress Dowager’s palace carriage?”

A junior officer among the Imperial Guards who appeared to hold a position of some status ignored the old nanny’s overt and covert threats, saying: “An assassin entered the palace today. This subordinate and others are ordered to apprehend the assassin. Nanny, please be accommodating.”

Saying this, he gestured toward the carriage: “Search the carriage!”

The old nanny shouted sternly: “Outrageous! Do you lot not have the Empress Dowager in your eyes at all!”

Seeing her so nervous, the corners of the junior officer’s lips had already curved up, thinking the person they sought must be inside the carriage.

However, when his subordinates forcibly pulled open the carriage curtain, inside the carriage was only the old nanny alone.

The junior officer’s expression changed instantly. After the Imperial Guards searching the carriage bottom also stood up and shook their heads at him, he himself also crouched down to look, even unwilling to give up and knocked on the carriage’s base, as if to see if there was a hidden compartment.

But that thickness clearly showed there was no hidden compartment.

The old nanny’s face was full of frost as she shouted: “Are you searching this old woman as if I’m an assassin? Very well, this old woman will return to the palace right now to report to the Empress Dowager!”

Saying this, she ordered the little eunuch to turn the carriage around and drive back.

The junior officer’s expression was extremely ugly. Although the Chen King and Empress Dowager were at odds, that was still a mother and son relationship. Having failed his mission while also offending someone from the Empress Dowager’s palace, the junior officer knew this matter probably wouldn’t end well. He could only suppress his temper and humble himself to first apologize to the old nanny.

At the same time, at the western corner gate of the Chen King’s palace where slop water was usually transported, a little eunuch was driving a cart of slop water toward the palace gate.

When the guards at the gate conducted their routine inspection, they lifted the lid of each slop bucket to look inside. Only after confirming there were no abnormalities did they allow passage.

After the slop cart left the palace gates, it proceeded into the streets. Driving to a secluded alley, the little eunuch finally picked up the bucket at the very edge.

It turned out that enormous slop bucket had a hidden compartment—only the top three inches of the compartment held slop water, while below was hollow, without even a bucket bottom.

After Tongque and the Azure Cloud Guards moved the bucket aside and emerged one by one, Tongque hurriedly looked at A’Li in her arms. Fortunately A’Li’s breathing was long and even—she was still sound asleep.

When leaving the palace, fearing some accident, she had used an extremely small dose of knockout drug to put A’Li to sleep.

That little eunuch very politely said to Tongque and the others: “This humble one can only escort you ladies this far.”

Tongque said with complex emotions: “On behalf of my Princess, thank the Empress Dowager.”

The little eunuch gave a slight nod.

This place also wasn’t suitable for lingering. Tongque said nothing more, leading A’Li and several Azure Cloud Guards to depart first from the alley.

—

The atmosphere in the Council Hall remained tense as drawn swords.

After that official spoke those words, the Chen King seemed unable to accept such betrayal. He directly drew a sword from an Imperial Guard and walked toward that official of Qieji bloodline, the gloom in his eyes nearly solidifying, a ferocious cold smile at the corners of his lips: “What did you, this traitorous official, say?”

Before that official could repeat with determination what he had said before, the Chen King directly thrust the sword fiercely into his chest. Blood splattered all over his face, but he paid no attention. After pulling out the sword, he turned to look at the other court ministers, nearly maniacally shouting sternly: “This is the fate of betraying this King!”

His sword pointed at the masses: “Who else dares to say they will loyally follow that poisonous woman unto death? This King will fulfill your wish!”

The King’s faction ministers led by Qi Simai all closed their eyes in sorrow, unwilling to see the kind of sovereign they had once served loyalty become like this.

The neutral faction ministers showed fear on their faces, but regarding the Chen King’s actions, they were clearly mostly disappointed.

The Yan father and son seemed not to care how the Chen King threw tantrums in the court hall. They had restrained themselves until now only to wait for some news.

Wen Yu looked at that official collapsed in the center of the great hall, the fresh blood surging from his body soaking a large area of the carpet red. Her gaze was contemplative and icy cold as she lightly tapped once on the armrest of the throne.

The Azure Cloud Guards standing before the imperial steps immediately drew their swords and charged toward the Chen King.

“Protect the King! Protect the King!” Seeing this, the Chen King shouted sternly, continuously pulling old officials in front of himself as shields. When he pulled Duke Yan over, only then did the Imperial Guards with halberds in the palace also charge toward the Azure Cloud Guards.

The civil officials all dodged toward both sides of the great hall in panic. Among the military officials, some joined the melee with the Imperial Guards, while others, uncertain how to take sides given the current situation, chose to hide to the side along with the civil officials.

Outside the palace, Imperial Guards came rushing in. One whispered something in Yan Zhen’s ear. In that instant, Yan Zhen’s expression could no longer be described as merely ugly. He raised his eyes to look at Wen Yu on the throne.

After dismissing that Imperial Guard, Yan Zhen directly ordered: “Crossbowmen prepare!”

Crossbowmen who had been waiting outside on standby entered with their crossbows in orderly fashion. Because they first shot arrows at empty spaces to intimidate everyone in the palace, the Imperial Guards and Azure Cloud Guards who had originally been in melee quickly separated.

A court minister shouted: “Yan Zhen, do you want to kill us all too!”

Yan Zhen seized the crossbow from an Imperial Guard’s hands and directly shot an arrow at that court minister’s leg.

That court minister immediately clutched his leg and wailed in pain in the great hall. The other ministers watching were all frightened.

Yan Zhen said ruthlessly: “Since you lot want to be loyal to that Liang woman, you’re no different from traitorous officials. This General is eliminating treacherous subjects for the King!”

Being aimed at by countless arrows, many King’s faction ministers and neutral faction ministers were clearly intimidated and no longer dared to speak easily.

The Azure Cloud Guards protected back to Wen Yu’s side, blocking her tightly behind them.

Officials loyal unto death to Wen Yu, though frightened in their hearts, still moved on trembling legs to block in front of Wen Yu’s throne. Before they could finish saying “Princess, don’t be afraid,” they too died under Yan Zhen’s arrows.

Wen Yu stared coldly at Yan Zhen, her five fingers gripping the wide sleeves creating deep creases in that smooth fabric. What Liang officials, what Chen officials—at this moment to her there was no difference. They were all her subjects.

She said: “Enough.”

Yan Zhen sneered coldly: “This subordinate thought the Princess would wait until all those maidservants protecting her were dead before saying these words.”

“The Princess calculates beyond others—sending the Young Princess away beforehand. But this subordinate feels that what can be used to threaten the Princess is not limited to the Young Princess alone.”

More Imperial Guards surged into the palace from outside, escorting exactly the female officials from Zhaoyun Pavilion and Wen Yu’s maternal aunt and her party.

Chen territory female officials seeing their own fathers in the palace had some crying out loud on the spot. Liang territory female officials didn’t even dare cry. Yang Baolin and her mother both sorrowfully called “Princess” once, then tearfully shouted not to mind them.

Wen Yu looked at Yan Zhen: “Is Vice Commander Yan planning to kill half the court hall?”

Yan Zhen’s expression was ugly. He knew the formidability of those Azure Cloud Guards in Wen Yu’s hands. Originally he and his father had been maneuvering here in the great hall, waiting for the Imperial Guards to capture A’Li before coming to threaten her.

But who could have expected they didn’t capture anyone? After his subordinates even dared to search the Empress Dowager’s Lingxi Palace completely and still couldn’t find anyone, only then did they turn to arrest the female officials from Zhaoyun Pavilion. Who could have expected the Azure Cloud Guards stationed at Zhaoyun Pavilion were also very difficult to deal with, and escorting people over wasted quite a bit more time.

Using arrows to threaten all the court ministers—though it might make Wen Yu submit, it would also offend all the King’s faction ministers and neutral faction officials.

He was forced into desperation to resort to this lowest strategy.

But at this moment being pressed by Wen Yu’s questioning, he could still only continue using the Chen King as an excuse: “This subordinate is clearing out traitorous officials for the King!”

“Traitorous officials?” Wen Yu stared coldly at Yan Zhen, but then seemed unwilling to say more to him. She closed her eyes: “Release them. Don’t you lot want to bind this palace and send me outside the city to apologize? Then do it.”

The Azure Cloud Guards protecting Wen Yu hurriedly shouted: “Princess!”

Wen Yu seemed determined, saying: “All of you stand down.”

The Chen Kingdom officials all stared at Wen Yu in a daze. At the Chen King’s side, they had been slandered as traitorous officials to be purged, yet Wen Yu was willing to voluntarily be bound and offered up to the Xiao camp for their sake. Old officials, tears streaming down their faces, called out to Wen Yu, “Princess ah.”

The Liang territory female officials also all wept uncontrollably.

After the Azure Cloud Guards withdrew under Wen Yu’s command, when Imperial Guards tried to approach and bind them, they directly seized Imperial Guards as human shields in front to block the arrows shooting at them, quickly retreated to the side room, threw away the shields and broke through the windows to escape.

Yan Zhen glared at Wen Yu with angry eyes.

Wen Yu said calmly: “This palace goes to face death. They seek their own survival—not something this palace can interfere with.”

Yan Zhen was both angry and stumped speechless. He could only make a gesture, ordering people to come forward and bind Wen Yu.

The Chen King seemed to feel that since Wen Yu had now fallen into his hands, he could arbitrarily avenge past grievances. His expression was both sinister and unable to conceal his excitement as he walked toward Wen Yu.

Wen Yu’s eyes seemed tempered with ice, only coldly dropping one sentence: “Have you all thought it through? This palace has already ordered people to send my daughter to Great Liang. What this palace can accomplish, the officials of my Great Liang can also assist her in completing. When the Liang army besieges the city and settles accounts with your Chen Kingdom in the future, if you say you were forced to hand this palace over to the Xiao camp, there’s still room for negotiation. If this palace has any mishap before being sent to the Xiao camp, do you think the Xiao camp will acknowledge fault for your Chen Kingdom?”

The Yan father and son’s expressions were ugly. Chen Kingdom’s western border was already being bitten to death by Xiling. Currently with Xiao Li also besieging the city, they had only borrowed the opportunity to say they would bind Wen Yu and present her to Xiao Li in order to seize power.

If the Liang army later also marched south to demand accountability, they truly would have no way to account for anything.

Duke Yan shook his head at his son.

Yan Zhen also stepped aside to block the Chen King, saying: “Your Majesty, the greater situation is paramount.”