When Tang Peiyi arrived at the Xie residence with his men, he saw an unknown building in the front courtyard engulfed in flames, the firelight illuminating the sky. The green bricks paving the entrance were already stained crimson with blood, the red hue still creeping outward in winding streams.
The thick snowflakes drifting down from the night sky melted instantly upon touching the scarlet-stained ground.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere. Xie Zheng stood among them, gripping a halberd with one hand. His black armor had long been dyed a dark red by blood, and droplets continued to drip from the ancient qiongqi-patterned blade of his halberd. His head was slightly lowered, obscuring his expression, leaving only the cold, pale half of his jaw visible in the firelight—wild and ruthless.
Behind him stood several hundred guards, their killing intent palpable after the slaughter, appearing like vengeful spirits in the night.
Even Tang Peiyi and his men, seated on horseback, couldn’t help but inhale sharply at the sight.
As the blood slowly consumed the snow, spreading toward the street and reaching beneath their horses’ hooves, the animals seemed to sense the ominous aura, lifting their hooves and stepping back.
Only then did Xie Zheng raise his eyes, casting a cold glance at Tang Peiyi.
Tang Peiyi clasped his fists from atop his horse. "Marquis," he greeted, but found himself at a loss for further words.
Judging by the corpses at the Xie residence’s gate, the forces besieging it had numbered at least five battalions from the Central Army Battalion. A cannon had even been positioned nearby—they had brought firearms—yet all had fallen to the hands of Xie’s few hundred guards.
Hadn’t it been said that the Wu'an Marquis commanded only eight hundred Blood-Clad Cavalry? Fan Changyu had already taken seven or eight hundred with her. Who were these men?
Tang Peiyi was utterly stunned.
The blazing firelight illuminated the varied expressions of the men on horseback.
Xie Zheng kicked aside a corpse at his feet, his blood-smeared face eerily calm. "Bringing just two thousand troops and daring to bombard my family’s gates." He scoffed. "They truly had a death wish."
Among the seventy-two battalions of the Five Armies Garrison, the Central Army Battalion alone boasted eight thousand men. The Li family had dispatched a quarter of that force to besiege the Xie residence, clearly still wary of Xie Zheng—yet they had still underestimated him.
From the other end of the street came the sound of chaotic hoofbeats, torches weaving together like a dragon.
Both Xie’s elite troops, fresh from their bloody battle, and Tang Peiyi’s men turned to look. The unfamiliar commander on horseback wore the armor of the Three Thousand Battalion.
Xie Zheng watched coldly, his expression still unnervingly indifferent. He handed his halberd to a guard behind him and casually picked up a crossbow, taking aim. "Here come those hoping to reap the spoils," he remarked lazily.
The blizzard raged, scattering ancestral paper money across the empty streets, lending an eerie air to what should have been a lively New Year’s Eve.
Outside the Meridian Gate, the scene was ablaze with light. A sea of soldiers stretched across the plaza flanked by the Yanchi Towers, the front ranks holding thick shields overhead to block arrows fired from the towers above. Without a battering ram in the capital, the soldiers below lifted a massive thousand-jin cauldron from the plaza, slamming it repeatedly against the palace gates.
At the rear of the formation, Grand Tutor Li, clad in an official robe embroidered with cranes, watched the surging tide of soldiers. Beside him stood a pale, gloomy man wrapped in a heavy cloak. "We have men among the Golden Guard," Li said. "The palace gates will fall within the time it takes to burn one stick of incense."Qi Min's face bore the clear pallor of illness as he lazily lifted his gaze. "No movement from Wu'an Marquis?"
Grand Tutor Li glanced at him, his expression revealing nothing despite the implicit challenge to the Li family's arrangements. "I have already turned four battalions of the Five Armies Garrison to our side. Wu'an Marquis came to the capital without his army, and his personal guard of eight hundred cavalry was taken away by the Meng family's daughter. Even if Xie Zheng is a peerless strategist, without troops, what waves can he stir?"
Qi Min's expression softened slightly.
Grand Tutor Li smiled faintly. "The Imperial Astronomers have also spread word that the droughts and floods in recent years were caused by the disruption of the dragon veins and an illegitimate succession. The people have long resented Wei Yan's grip on the court. The late Chengde Crown Prince's reputation among the populace remains undiminished. As his descendant, Your Highness' ascension is both the will of the people and the wish of the ministers."
Qi Min remained silent, but his eyes reflected the brightly lit Yanshi Tower in the distance.
The thick night seemed to press down on the imperial city, adorned with festive red lanterns, making it appear to crouch as if bowing at his feet.
Seventeen years. He had finally returned to this place.
Qi Min rubbed the jade thumb ring on his finger, his expression calm. Yet in this moment, the sensation of holding everything in his grasp fueled his ambition like the torches blazing between the palace halls, swelling unchecked at the pinnacle of power.
Heaven and earth, the vast cosmos...
The rising and setting of the sun and moon no longer mattered. He was about to become the emperor of this realm.
The palace gates, unable to withstand the assault, finally gave way under the heavy battering of the great cauldron. The troops of the Five Armies Garrison roared as they stormed into the palace, blood splattering across the narrow palace corridors.
As Qi Min followed Grand Tutor Li into the palace, he frowned slightly at the sight of the fallen Golden Guard corpses. His tone was unreadable, neither mocking nor questioning. "Wei Yan has controlled the court for over a decade, and this is all he could muster?"
The general sent to capture the young emperor at Taiqian Palace returned in haste. "Grand Tutor! Taiqian Palace is empty!"
Both Qi Min and Grand Tutor Li's expressions darkened.
Grand Tutor Li barked, "Then search the entire palace! Find him!"
Though the general obeyed, neither Grand Tutor Li nor Qi Min could ease their unease.
Had the lax palace defenses been a trap to lure them in?
As if confirming their suspicions, the clatter of armor echoed from beyond the palace gates. Climbing Yanshi Tower, they saw nearly two thousand fully armored cavalry assembled in the Meridian Gate square—far superior to ordinary Five Armies Garrison soldiers.
A tall, stern elder strode forward from the cavalry ranks, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over Qi Min and Grand Tutor Li on the tower. "Li Xing has plotted rebellion. These traitorous subjects are to be apprehended at once."
Though Grand Tutor Li's face was grim, he remained composed. Raising his voice, he retorted, "Wei, you old fool! Do you truly believe your meager Three Thousand Battalion can subdue the Five Armies Garrison?"
Wei Yan replied, "Of course not. But you, Grand Tutor, have never commanded troops and thus do not know the stratagem of 'all warfare is based on deception.'"
Before Grand Tutor Li could grasp his meaning, Wei Yan signaled below. The archers on the tower, who had been aiming their arrows downward, instantly turned their bows toward Grand Tutor Li, Qi Min, and their retinue.
Their guards hastily drew their swords, eyeing the archers warily. But arrows were merciless, and the sudden reversal left even the guards visibly shaken.Among the four battalions that had pledged allegiance to him, two were actually Wei Yan's men! The remaining two battalions and the Li family guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Grand Tutor Li gritted his teeth in unwillingness as he glared at Wei Yan: "These two battalions are yours? Since when?"
Wei Yan stood with his hands behind his back before the military formation, his solid and upright frame outlined by the cold wind: "Grand Tutor Li might ask yourself—if you couldn't even protect your own grandson, what ability do you have to earn the trust of outsiders?"
Grand Tutor Li's jaw tightened. No matter how strong-willed he was, his face couldn't help but pale at this moment.
Qi Min, who had remained silent until now, suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "Well said. I just wonder if the Prime Minister can still command the loyalty of his troops after his wife and son have been captured."
Wei Yan lifted his gaze coldly toward Qi Min, who showed no fear despite being targeted by countless arrows, instead curling his lips with amusement.
Commotion arose beyond the cavalry formation as a messenger from Wei Mansion arrived on horseback, reporting urgently: "Prime Minister, Wei Mansion has been attacked! The Lady and the young master have been taken!"
The messenger's arm was stained with blood, clearly fresh from a fierce battle.
Wei Yan looked at Qi Min again. The two had clashed before, and Wei Yan knew well that Qi Min commanded a unit of royal Shadow Guards left behind by the late Chengde Crown Prince—Martial Assassins who had once received the Crown Prince's favor, skilled beyond measure and loyal only to Qi Min.
Many of Wei Yan's own top-tier Martial Assassins had fallen to those Shadow Guards.
Qi Min had few men around him—evidently, he had sent them to Wei Mansion.
Grand Tutor Li was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately taunted Wei Yan: "Wei Yan, let's see if you still care for your wife and child. If you're heartless enough to abandon your only son and cling to power like a eunuch, history will surely mock you for centuries to come."
Before Wei Yan could respond, a languid yet icy voice cut through the cold wind: "The palace tonight is truly... quite lively."
All eyes turned toward the rear of the military formation. The ranks of Wei Yan's cavalry swiftly shifted formation, leveling their spears at a group approaching unhurriedly from the front.
Xie Zheng, clad in bloodstained black armor, led several hundred elite soldiers of the Xie Family Army from the capital, along with Tang Peiyi and others, strolling leisurely toward the official grounds outside the Meridian Gate.
Qi Min had remained composed when Wei Yan appeared outside the palace with the Three Thousand Battalion, but at the sight of Xie Zheng, his expression darkened completely.
He turned to Grand Tutor Li: "Wasn't he supposed to be trapped in Xie Manor?"
Grand Tutor Li, noticing Tang Peiyi and the troops from Jizhou, fumed: "It must be Tang Peiyi who broke the siege! I underestimated those brutes!"
The night was too dark for him to see clearly that Xie Zheng and his elite soldiers seemed drenched in blood, or he might not have been so confident.
Seeing Qi Min's grim expression, he quickly added: "The imperial great-grandson is in Xie Zheng's hands. He likely aims to emulate Wei Yan from seventeen years ago, using tonight's chaos to install that child on the throne. The outcome is still uncertain!"
Qi Min's eyes darkened, his thoughts inscrutable. Suddenly, he called out to Xie Zheng: "Since Wu'an Marquis has joined tonight's festivities, why not ally with me?"
Xie Zheng didn't answer immediately. Qi Min continued: "Seventeen years ago, my father and General Xie fell in battle at Jinzhou. Surely you, too, seek vengeance for that?"
Xie Zheng lifted his gaze lazily. "Your Highness seems to know the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou?"Qi Min burst into laughter. "How could I not know?"
He pointed at Wei Yan and declared, "The fall of Jinzhou, the massacre of its citizens, and the cession of the twelve eastern provinces to the barbarians—all were orchestrated by Wei Yan himself in his scheme to seize the Great Yin throne!"
His words plunged the palace into dead silence.
Most of those present knew nothing of the truth behind Jinzhou's tragedy. Even Grand Tutor Li, who had only partial knowledge, felt his eyelids twitch violently at Qi Min's unwavering tone.
The devastation that the fall of Jinzhou had brought upon Great Yin had taken over a decade to recover from. If all of it had truly been Wei Yan's design, then even ten thousand deaths would not suffice to atone for his crimes.
The hatred that had festered in Qi Min's chest for more than a decade finally found its outlet. A hint of crimson tinged the corners of his eyes as he sneered at Wei Yan. "Seventeen years ago, you bathed the imperial palace in blood and thought no one would remember your debauchery and treachery within these walls?"
Wei Yan's expression remained unmoved, but his gaze turned icy. Cutting off Qi Min's words, he issued a cold command: "Storm the city."
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