Chapter 354: The Most Deeply Hidden Person
Countless black-clad assassins swarmed into the grand hall.
Simultaneously, the Imperial Guards arrived, and the two sides engaged in a fierce, bloody battle.
Many innocent eunuchs and palace maids were killed with a single strike, while numerous officials lay dead or wounded. The marble floor was completely stained with blood.
The Emperor and Crown Prince were protected in the center by several dozen Imperial Guards. Li Jingshu trembled as she hid behind the Emperor, with military officials forming the outer perimeter. Chu Yi, gripping a blade, fought with frenzied determination, his body splattered with blood.
The Empress stood nearby, also guarded by a group of Imperial Guards.
She gazed toward the eastern sky. By all reasoning, her people should have already taken control of the four main gates—why had there been no signal yet?
But she remained confident that failure was impossible.
She had arranged for a thousand death warriors to assassinate the Emperor, while another four thousand surrounded the palace from outside, seizing the four main gates—controlling them meant controlling the entire palace.
As for the Imperial Guards, more than half had long been bribed by her; the remaining half posed little threat.
Although the military camps stationed outside the city were numerous, she had sent large quantities of strong liquor under the pretext of the Emperor’s birthday banquet early that morning, leaving those guards thoroughly drunk.
Her only concern was the eight thousand elite troops under Chu Yi’s command, tasked with suppressing bandits. However, a few days prior, she had stirred up chaos in Jizhou, and those eight thousand troops had been dispatched there.
She had calculated every detail—there was no room for error.
The Empress had absolute faith in herself.
Yet, as she waited and waited, until the death warriors were nearly wiped out, she finally realized something was amiss.
Why were there so many Imperial Guards inside the palace?
Why was there still no news from outside?
Which part of the plan had gone wrong?
“Your Highness, a fire has been set at the East Gate—it’s under control!”
“Your Highness, agitators at the West Gate have been subdued—their leader has been executed!”
“Your Highness…”
Numerous Imperial Guards came to report.
The Empress’s pupils contracted sharply—these were not Imperial Guards at all, but clearly Chu Yi’s own soldiers!
In other words, Chu Yi had anticipated all her moves, deliberately leading her to believe the eight thousand elite troops had gone to Jizhou when they were actually hidden within the palace!
Chu Yi was even more deeply concealed than Chu Mo!
Chu Yi was the one most difficult to deal with!
But by the time she realized this, it was already too late!
“Your Majesty…”
Granny Yin supported the Empress’s faltering figure.
Observing the situation in the hall, the Empress felt her heart slowly sink into despair.
The Emperor would not die—instead, she would perish, along with the Crown Prince and his children!
But the Crown Prince knew nothing…
“What shall we do, Your Majesty…” Granny Yin’s voice was also filled with despair. “This old servant… this old servant is willing to confess to all crimes. Your Majesty, please take care of yourself…”
The Empress shook her head.
How could a mere granny be capable of assassinating the Emperor and staging a coup to seize the throne?
If she wished to protect the Crown Prince, there was only one way left.
She looked toward the hall—the situation was clear. Chu Yi was leading a group to search for hidden assassins in the shadows outside the hall, preventing any surprise attacks.
Now was the moment!
“Save the Emperor!”
The Empress suddenly shouted.
Instantly, the previously scattered death warriors swiftly regrouped in an orderly manner, fearlessly charging toward the Emperor’s position.
The military officials guarding the Emperor were exhausted, struggling to hold their ground and retreating step by step.
“Erlang, I’m scared…”
Li Jingshu hid behind the Emperor, her face pale with terror, her steps unsteady.The Emperor shielded her and reassured, "A mere ragtag group is nothing to fear. Don't be afraid, we'll be safe soon."
No sooner had he spoken than the lead black-clad assailant suddenly broke through the encirclement, his longsword aimed directly at the Emperor's brow.
The Emperor's personal guard immediately moved to block with his long blade.
He was fully confident in deflecting this strike.
To him, it was hardly a challenge at all.
Yet before his long blade could intercept, a woman's figure rushed from the side, charging straight toward the sword.
Thud.
The sound of a sharp weapon piercing through flesh.
The Emperor's pupils contracted violently as he uttered in disbelief, "...Empress?"
"Your Majesty... as long as you're unharmed," the Empress murmured with a faint smile, slowly collapsing, "then my life... was not in vain."
"Empress!" The Emperor reached out and caught her falling body, sinking to the ground with her. "How could you... why would you..."
They had married in their youth, husband and wife for thirty years. On the surface, they appeared respectful and harmonious, yet in truth, he never shared the Empress's bed throughout the year—only making a symbolic visit to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility on the fifteenth of each month, never staying overnight. In his view, any marital affection between them had long since faded.
He never dreamed that at this life-or-death moment, it would be the Empress who stepped in front of him.
The one he loved hid behind him.
The one he had wounded stood before him.
"Guards! Quickly, summon the imperial physicians!"
The Emperor shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.
But in such chaos, how could any imperial physician arrive?
He watched as the Empress slowly closed her eyes, a surge of immense panic rising within him.
Just then, a voice cried out from behind him—Li Jingshu screaming in terror, "Your Majesty, be careful!"
Another black-clad assailant emerged from nowhere.
Li Jingshu, who had been hiding behind the Emperor, immediately released him and fled into the shrubbery.
The assailant's blade swept directly toward the Emperor's face.
"Imperial Uncle!"
A frail figure threw itself in front of the Emperor.
Once again, the Emperor was struck with disbelief.
Shielding him was Chu Rui, whom he had always regarded with deep suspicion.
For the Emperor's grand birthday, Chu Rui, long stripped of nobility and reduced to commoner status, had specially entered the palace to present a gift.
The assailant's blade plunged into Chu Rui's body, then withdrew, continuing its thrust toward the Emperor.
"Audacious villain!"
Chu Yi's spear pierced through the assailant's body, saving the Emperor.
With this assailant dead, the remaining ones, seeing their cause lost, bit off their own tongues.
Thus, all the black-clad assailants lay dead within the hall.
The hall was strewn with countless casualties—palace maids, eunuchs, consorts, noblewomen, ministers, guards... a river of blood flowed.
Though physically unharmed, the Emperor was deeply shaken, his voice weary and weak. "Send for imperial physicians to treat the wounded, quickly! Save them!"
The survivors immediately began managing the aftermath—tending to injuries, carrying away the dead, cleansing the hall...
Though utterly exhausted, the Emperor had no mind for rest. He ordered the Imperial Guards and the Court of Judicial Review to conduct a thorough investigation.
Under such circumstances, their efficiency was remarkably high. By that very night, the findings were delivered to the Emperor's desk.
"Your Majesty, most of the Imperial Guards in the palace were bribed—by the Empress!"
"Those death warriors were nurtured for over twenty years. Traces indicate connections with the Gongsun family!"
"Your Majesty, the one who orchestrated the assassination was most likely the Empress!"As soon as these words were spoken, they were immediately opposed by the Crown Prince's faction.
"This is utter nonsense! Her Majesty the Empress has already breathed her last and died protecting His Majesty. How can we cast aspersions on a dead person!"
"The Emperor and Empress were deeply devoted to each other. The Empress would never have done such a thing!"
The Crown Prince, his face streaked with tears, pleaded: "Father, Mother cannot have died in vain. Consort Fang and the child in her womb have also died. I beg Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate who is responsible for this and avenge Mother and the child..."
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