Chapter 368: Palace Coup
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The face of the commander of the Imperial Guards clouded over when he heard that. “When did this happen? How many people are affected?” As soon as he finished speaking, he said to the person behind him, “Immediately get the three teams patrolling the city to come back. The palace must not be short of guards.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The earlier Imperial Guard continued, “The exact number is still unknown, but there are quite a number affected.”
The commander of the Imperial Guards immediately followed that Imperial Guard to check on the situation.
The ones who fell ill came from Team One which was patrolling the palace. This was the team of Imperial Guards closest to the main hall.
“Where’s the Imperial Physician? Go and look for the Imperial Physician immediately.”
“Commander, there are already people looking for the Imperial Physician.”
The Imperial Physician only served the nobles in the palace originally, but now the situation was special. The problem had to be resolved as soon as possible, so the commander could not be bothered with protocols anymore.
Before the problem here was resolved, the Imperial Guards reported that something had happened outside the city. Some people were causing trouble and fighting with the Imperial Guards. The soldiers guarding the city gate could only go and help. It seemed that the situation was quite serious.
The commander of the Imperial Guards looked extremely grim. He was worried that the situation would worsen, so he had no choice but to report it to the Emperor and request for permission to mobilize the troops stationed outside the city to protect the capital and the Imperial Palace.
The commander of the Imperial Guards turned around and walked toward the palace. As he passed the palace gate leading to the Imperial harem’s palace, two palace maids suddenly appeared and blocked his path.
The commander of the Imperial Guards looked at them warily and took a step back. “What are you two doing?”
One palace maid raised her head and said, “My Lord, it was the Empress who asked us to wait here. She said that she had something important to discuss with you. Please come with us.”
The commander of the Imperial Guards frowned. He was worried that things might happen in the palace, and he didn’t have time to listen to what the Empress had to say. Ever since Xiao Jue’s incident, Emperor Kangze had ordered the Imperial Guards to watch over the Empress. In fact, the commander was the one who assigned the guards to come here.
“I still have matters to attend to. If the Empress has anything to say, it will have to wait until after I have met His Majesty.” The commander of the Imperial Guards was about to leave when the two palace maids suddenly lashed out.
The commander of the Imperial Guards was already prepared for this and quickly retaliated after the palace maids attacked.
The place the two maids chose was relatively desolate and there was no one around. When the three of them fought, no one noticed.
In the main hall, Emperor Kangze was watching the singing and dancing with interest.
A dancer was lifted up by a group of dancers and thrown into the air. Just as everyone raised their heads to look at the dancer, the dancer below suddenly made a move. The hidden weapon in her hand quickly shot out toward Emperor Kangze.
Emperor Kangze got a shock, but it was too late for him to dodge.
Whish! The hidden weapon pierced Emperor Kangze squarely on the chest.
“Argh!”
The sudden turn of events frightened the people in the hall so much that they began screaming.
The dancers, who were still enthralling the audience a moment ago, had now transformed into malevolent demons that sought their target’s life as they charged towards Emperor Kangze.
Xiao Jin and Su Ying immediately picked up the two children and hid behind everyone.
“Protect His Majesty! Protect His Majesty’s safety!” The eunuchs shouted in terror. The hall was in complete chaos.
The Imperial Guards reacted and quickly rushed forward to shield Emperor Kangze while fighting the assassins at the same time.
The courtiers quickly ran out of the hall, but before many of them could escape, more assassins barged in from outside.
“Protect His Majesty! Protect the Empress Dowager!”
As ear-piercing shouts and screams rang out, the palace hall doors were suddenly closed.
Those who wanted to flee pushed against the door frantically, but the assassins did not give them the chance to leave.
Emperor Kangze’s face was as pale as a sheet. As Prince Ma stood at the lower-ranking seats, he looked at the ghastly-looking Emperor Kangze with killing intent in his eyes.
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was not paying attention, Prince Ma quickly arrived beside Emperor Kangze. Emperor Kangze was seriously injured and was supported by two Imperial Guards. He did not notice the abnormal happening beside him at all.
Su Ying held Ji in her arms and frowned slightly. She could smell smoke.
She turned around and looked toward the back of the hall. It was already on fire.
Su Ying’s eyes narrowed slightly. The other party wanted to burn everyone in this hall to death.
“The place is on fire. We can’t watch this spectacle anymore. Let’s get out first.” Xiao Jin also noticed that the hall was on fire.
Su Ying nodded.
She pulled out the sash around her waist and tied Ji around her body. She then turned around and ran towards the palace entrance.
Xiao Jin came to the door and pushed it. The door was locked from the outside. He took a step back and gave the door a kick. With a thunderous crash, a very big hole was smashed through the door panel.
With the second kick, the hall door was kicked open.
Su Ying carried the child and ran out.
Outside the door, the assassins were fighting with the Imperial Guards. When they saw that the door had been smashed open, one assassin quickly rushed forward to kill the person who had run out.
A look of viciousness flashed across Su Ying’s eyes as she prepared to slay the rebels.
“My good baby, close your eyes and lean against my body.”
Ji obediently closed his eyes and leaned on Su Ying’s shoulder.
Su Ying had no intention of helping Emperor Kangze wipe out the rebels, so after clearing a path, she and Xiao Jin came to the roof of the palace to watch the battle.
The fire in the hall grew bigger and bigger, and the battle became more and more intense.
Prince Ma stood beside Emperor Kangze. While no one was paying attention, Prince Ma suddenly attacked Emperor Kangze.
“Argh!”
Emperor Kangze suddenly cried out in pain and glared at Prince Ma in fury.
Prince Ma quickly pulled out his sword. Just as he was about to stab again, the Imperial Guards realized what was happening and stepped forward to stop him.
Initially, they only needed to deal with the assassins. Now that Prince Ma had joined in, they had to split their attention to deal with Prince Ma too!
“Leave the main hall first. Escort His Majesty out of the main hall first!”
Prince Ma didn’t want to idly watch this opportunity slip past him. He charged forward with all his might with the intention to stab Emperor Kangze to death.
Just as he was about to succeed, a figure suddenly dashed over and blocked Prince Ma’s sword with her own body.
Prince Ma looked at the person lying under his sword in shock and roared angrily, “Are you out of your mind?”
The Empress Dowager collapsed in a pool of blood. She had a determined look on her face. “Quick… Go at once. Leave quickly…”
“Impossible! There’s no turning back!” Prince Ma pulled out his sword and turned around to attack Emperor Kangze again.
While the battle in the palace was getting increasingly more intense, the situation outside the palace was not optimistic either.
The rebel soldiers rushed through the city gate and started fighting with the soldiers guarding the city.
They outnumbered the city guards and were highly skilled in martial arts, and the city guards were somewhat at a disadvantage for a while.
“Quick! Go outside the city and mobilize the reinforcement troops. Be quick!”
On the roof of the palace, Su Ying and Xiao Jin sat cross-legged as they watched the chaotic battle below.
Su Ying gently caressed the back of the older toddler Ji as she said to Xiao Jin, “Don’t you need to do something?”
Xiao Jin’s face was devoid of emotion. “Do what? I’m innocent.”
Su Ying raised her eyebrows. Their family was indeed innocent. They only wanted to come and have a meal, yet the banquet was disrupted before they could even take two bites.
The night gradually darkened, and the rebel army gradually showed signs of defeat.
Xiao Jin observed the situation below before standing up and handing the sleeping Ling to Su Ying.
“It’s about time. I’ll go and wrap up.”
Su Ying took the child and held her in her arms. “Mm-hmm.”
Xiao Jin leaped down swiftly and quickly disappeared into the chaotic crowd.
Xiao Jue was holding a sword in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had almost gone crazy from killing.
He looked at all the corpses on the ground. He could only succeed tonight. He must not fail..