The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 301- 303

Chapter 301: A Rivalry for the Heirship to the Throne

The emperor personally escorted the Crown Prince’s coffin to the imperial mausoleum. He had lost a lot of weight from the grief over the Crown Prince’s death, and his temper was becoming increasingly erratic. There had been several occasions when he’d had a courtier flogged to death at a court meeting. Currently, all courtiers didn’t dare speak during court meetings unless spoken to by the emperor.

Maybe because of the previous relations between the Gu family and the Crown Prince, the emperor seemed to be on even better terms with people of the Gu family after the Crown Prince’s death. The Jiang family, however, didn’t have such luck. The King Duan had several times suggested a couple of members of the Jiang family be reinstated, but the emperor had not only rejected the suggestion but also reprimanded the King Duan.

Also, the couple of courtiers that had been flogged to death were the King Duan’s followers.

It was now widely rumored in the capital city that the King Yu would probably become the next crown prince, because the King Yu had gained the Gu family’s support, and most importantly, the emperor had complimented the King Yu in front of all courtiers several times.

After returning home, the King Duan had several servants beaten to death in succession to vent his anger. “This goddamn Zhou Mingyi! It turns out I underestimated him previously!”

“What should we do now, Your Highness? Judging from His Majesty’s attitude towards the King Yu, it seems that… he really has the intention of designating him as crown prince.”

“A state cannot survive a single leaderless day. Our country is in a situation where a crown prince must be selected. Without a crown prince, both the political and the social stability is in jeopardy. His Majesty would definitely anoint someone as his heir within the next half a year. Your Highness, there’s no time to loose. We’ve brought down a crown prince. We cannot afford to let anyone other than you become the new heir!”

“Of course I know that, but what would you have me do? The Gu family are dominating every court meeting. I tried several times to have my father reinstate the Jiang family but he refused to listen.”

…

The King Yu secretly contacted Yuwen Tong once again, inviting him to meet him. This time Yuwen Tong declined.

“Yuwen Tong actually thinks he’s still the marshal having the whole North-western Army at his command? His Majesty is just in too deep grief to deal with him. Otherwise he wouldn’t be living such a peaceful life.”

Clearly, the King Yu was displeased, a rather sulky look on his face. “Never mind. Yuwen Tong has always been like this. Whether he’s on our side or not no longer matters. Currently we have something more important to attend to.”

“Your Highness, we need to make hay while the sun shines, take advantage of this opportunity and have His Majesty appoint you as crown prince. Otherwise new problems might crop up.”

“That’s true. We should tender our memorials to the throne tomorrow.”

The King Yu was both privately excited and worried. “But although my father has praised me several times lately, he never expressed any intentions of making me his heir. Wouldn’t we be rushing into things if we do that so soon?”

“Your Highness, His Majesty’s praise is a hint big enough. I think he’s made his take on this issue quite clear.”

The King Yu was swayed. “Still, I should consult with Prime Minister Gu about this matter first.”

The next day. At the court meeting.

For the first time, some courtiers suggested that the emperor anoint a crown prince. Directly or indirectly, they all expressed their great regard for the King Yu’s abilities, making it very evident that they wanted the emperor to designate the King Yu as crown prince.

Naturally, the King Duan and his followers raised strong objections to the proposal, but people of the Gu family, who were eloquent and plausible, shot down their opinions, rendering the King Duan’s followers bitter and indignant. The Crown Prince’s faction had been gathering momentum all along, and now after all its members followed the Gu family’s lead and sided with the King Yu, half of the courtiers were in favor of the proposal to designate the King Yu as crown prince. Realizing that they were on the losing side, the King Duan’s followers were grinding their teeth in rage.

But instead of taking a stand, the emperor made an excuse and postpone appointing a crown prince.

In the Ling Mansion.

“The emperor is indeed not sure whether the King Yu is the best choice or not. Otherwise he would at least have dropped a hint or something,” said Ling Zhang.

A gleam flitted across Yuwen Tong’s eyes. “It’s about time we made our move.”

The action Yuwen Tong took was very direct. He tendered a memorial to the emperor, stating his support for the proposal to appoint the King Yu as heir to the throne.

News of it instantly sparked intense discussion both in and out of the imperial court. Nobody could have foreseen that Yuwen Tong would suddenly make a stand.

The King Yu’s aides were all thrilled, but people of the Gu family advised the King Yu to stay calm.

“Your Highness, it’s only too obvious that His Majesty is wary and suspicious of Yuwen Tong. There’s really no telling whether him expressing his public support for you is a good thing for you or not.”

While the King Yu was weighing up the pros and cons, the King Duan lost his composure.

“Your Highness, Yuwen Tong has clarified his position, and now the King Yu has both the Gu family and Yuwen Tong at his back. With a top-ranking civil official and a top-ranking military officer supporting him, I’m afraid His Majesty will–”

The King Duan bitterly sprang to his feet. “On no account will I let Zhou Mingyi get heirship to the throne.”

After saying this, he smashed his teacup to pieces.

…

The timing of Yuwen Tong handing in his memorial had been quite subtle. All officials in the city fell silent after the submission of that memorial, as though waiting for the emperor to take a clear-cut stand.

The King Yu was waiting, and so were people of the Gu family.

However, the emperor didn’t make a decision during the next two court meetings. It seemed that he was still hesitating.

Seeing how things were going, the King Duan prepared for the worst. At the same time –

“Your Highness, here’s a letter from Lord Yuwen.”

A secret letter was delivered to the King Duan.

After reading it, the King Duan was first startled and then in raptures. “Terrific!”

“May I ask what makes you so excited, Your Highness?”

The King Duan handed the letter to his aides, all of whom were pleasantly surprised by the contents of it. “Yuwen Zhi actually managed to draw the commander of the Northern City Garrison Battalion over to our side without any of us knowing about it?”

“The commander of that battalion is one of His Majesty’s henchmen. He and Dai Cheng are sect-brothers. The two of them were recruited to the army by His Majesty at the same time. He’s one of the most hard-core members of His Majesty’s faction. How the hell did Yuwen Zhi rope him in?!”

“Your Highness, is Yuwen Zhi trustworthy?”

“No matter what, I’ll go and have a meeting with him, and then we’ll find that out.”

“Well… Yuwen Zhi and Yuwen Tong sided with you and the King Yu respectively. What kind of game are he and his nephew playing?”

“Yuwen Tong and Yuwen Zhi had a falling out a long time ago. Given the ugly end of that incident in the Yuwen family, if I were Yuwen Tong, I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with Yuwen Zhi either.”

“Still, this might be a trap. You’ve got to be careful, Your Highness.”

“I understand.”

…

In the Ling Mansion.

“Marshal, the King Duan had a secret meeting with Second Master. Wang Qi of the Northern City Garrison Battalion was also present.

Currently, everything is going as you planned, Marshal. It seems that Second Master has indeed played the only card he had left – inciting the King Duan to rebel.”

Yao Yi returned, bringing back some big news.

Yuwen Tong, with a calm look on his face, fished out three thin bamboo tubes and handed them to Yao Yi. “Have these delivered to our men. It’s high time we made our move.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

During the next few days, changes of the situation in the imperial court happened so quick that people barely had enough time to figure out what was really going on. The King Duan was held responsible for two consecutive mistakes. The first one had been made by himself, and the second by one of his subordinates. On the emperor’s desk was a large pile of memorials submitted by courtiers impeaching him.

The situation on the King Yu’s side, however, was quite the opposite. As though some kind of divine intervention was at work, the King Yu finished several assignments with flying colors in succession, earning himself quite some commendation and a huge boost in his prestige among the people. Even the emperor was blindsided by such changes. There was widespread support for the King Yu across the country, and the majority of courtiers were petitioning him to bestow the title ‘Crown Prince’ on the King Yu. Even members of the Gu family couldn’t help but wonder whether or not the King Yu was predestined to be an emperor and receiving help from the divine providence. What other explanations were there for such coincidental occurrences? A series of good opportunities seemed to have been delivered right into the hands of the King Yu, increasing his success rate drastically.

In these circumstances, even the King Duan’s followers found their loyalty wavering, and some of them betrayed their master and covertly started working for the King Yu. When the King Duan found out about it, his eyes reddened with fury.

“I must stop waiting. Otherwise I’ll soon be clobbered. Today my father has already shown signs of being swayed. If I keep waiting, Zhou Mingyi, that fool, will really trump me and become crown prince!”

After hearing this, the pillars of the King Duan’s faction also lost their cool and were naturally agreed on the King Duan’s resolution unanimously.

“Are you sure that Wang Qi guy is reliable, Your Highness?” asked an aide uncertainly.

“You’ve seen him with your own eyes recently. I think you’ve made your own judgement on him,” replied the King Duan.

All the others immediately fell silent.

“Send a message to Lord Yuwen. Tell him I’d like a meeting with him tonight to consult him about our big plan.”

…

In the Ling Mansion.

“Marshal, the King Duan took action.”

“Keep a close watch on him.”

“Yes, Marshal.”

There had been too many events in the capital city recently. The spate of upheavals had thrown a lot of people into confusion and fear, as though a tempest loomed up ahead of them overnight.

Nobody remembered that farce in the residential compound of the Yuwen family a few months ago.

Everybody’s attention was fixed on the rivalry for the heirship to the throne.

Even if there were some people having their eye on Yuwen Tong as well, it would be because of the King Yu. Everybody was conjecturing that the King Yu’s victory was almost certain.

In the imperial palace.

The emperor hurled his writing brush, ink stick, paper and inkstone to the ground, his face dark with rage.

“Your Majesty,” said his personal eunuch in a tremulous voice, “Please turn from your anger.”

“And how would you suggest I do that?! Zhou Mingyi is really not bad. It turns out I’ve underestimated him!” The emperor’s chest was heaving violently with ire. “First the Gu family, and then Yuwen Tong. My most capable civil official and most competent military officer have both taken his side. Do them still remember who the emperor is?! I’m not dead yet!”

His personal eunuch hurriedly slumped to his kneels, prostrating himself, not daring utter another word.

The emperor was still in a temper. “Originally I wanted to take Zhou Mingyuan, that brat, down a peg, and warn him not to play any tricks, but I never expected that he would be going downhill ever since. I couldn’t bring him back into the game even if I want to. Now the balance in the imperial court has been thoroughly broken. More than half of the courtiers are trying to pressure me into anoint Zhou Mingyi as crown prince. They are trampling on my dignity as the emperor!”

The personal eunuch wished the ground could have swallowed him up, shuddering all over, pretending he didn’t exist.

“The Gu family. Those flip-floppers! They switched their allegiance to someone else before my son is cold in his grave. A bunch of scum! I haven’t found the time to deal with Yuwen Tong, but he has already got himself an out. He thinks the King Yu would protect him? In his dream!”

The emperor kept shouting all kinds of abuse. If it weren’t for the excellent sound insulation of the imperial study, people outside would have heard him and then word would get out and cause yet another ruckus.

…

A quite weird situation had come into being – there had been signs of what the emperor’s final choice might be, but it’d been a long time and he still hadn’t officially made the King Yu crown prince. The King Yu and his supporters were all running out of patience.

At this time, someone suddenly suggested the emperor shelve the issue of appointing a new crown prince and go to the imperial manor in the southern suburb to get out of the heat.

“Given that the Crown Prince has just passed away, Your Majesty must still be broken-hearted. Moreover, the weather is scalding hot, so I think Your Majesty might as well go to the manor in the southern suburb to have a short holiday.” The speaker was the Right Prime Minister who was one of the emperor’s henchmen and not on any prince’s side.

His words temporarily lightened the subdued mood at the court meeting, and the emperor conveniently took this opportunity to extricate oneself from this awkward position and declared that he was going to the suburban manor for the cool and shade, thinking he could finally rid himself of these pushy courtiers.

Chapter 302: A Midnight Siege of the Manor in the Southern Suburb

The imperial manor in the southern suburb was not really far away from the capital city. It was about a two-hour carriage ride from the palace to the manor.

This time around the emperor brought only some courtiers on his trip to the manor, as though planning to make a final decision. Almost everybody in the city had a wait-and-see attitude towards this matter.

…

“We’ve got this far already, but now it turns out the Right Prime Minister is on the King Duan’s side. He’s such a consummate master of disguise,” observed Ling Zhang.

After all, all courtiers and city officials had believed that he was a firm neutralist. Who could’ve thought that he had secretly sided with the King Duan and been in cahoots with him all along?

“I wonder what the King Duan will do next. Will he directly lay siege to the imperial manor in the southern suburb or…”

Yuwen Tong said, “If he is to ascend the throne, the emperor must die. There will undoubtedly be an upheaval in that imperial manor. Things in the capital city are going to get rough as well.”

…

Two days later, as though there was something dangerous lurking in the city, many citizens felt rather uneasy but had no idea what was causing it.

There was a meeting in the King Yu’s residential compound, people of the Gu family present. “Prime Minister Gu, I keep feeling disturbed, as if something big is about to happen.”

After a moment’s silence, Prime Minister Gu remarked, “You’re not the only one feeling this way, Your Highness. I’m afraid the situation may take an unfavorable turn during His Majesty’s stay in that suburban manor.”

“Then we must stop it,” said the King Yu immediately.

Prime Minister Gu agreed, “This time His Majesty brought neither me nor any of the King Duan’s men on his trip. Clearly he didn’t want us to know anything about his consultation with his henchmen. Your Highness, it’s indeed high time we stopped waiting and did something.”

“What do you have in mind, Prime Minister Gu?”

“We kill the King Duan.”

The King Yu widened his eyes. After a while, with a cold look in his eyes, he said, “You’ve had it all planned out, I suppose?”

Prime Minister Gu confided his plan. The King Yu inclined his head repeatedly while listening. Eventually, he rose to his feet and said, “Okay. We’ll follow your plan, Prime Minister Gu. Zhou Mingyuan will never get out of my way unless he’s dead. Do you think I should tell Marshal Yuwen about this, Prime Minister Gu?”

After a few moments’ silence, Prime Minister Gu shook his head. “The fewer people aware of this matter, the better. Besides, there’s a reason why His Majesty is wary of Yuwen Tong at all times, Your Highness. In the future, after you’re enthroned, Yuwen Tong will remain the gravest threat to you, and you’ll still have to eliminate him some day, so there’s no need for you to tell him everything.”

The King Yu walked once up the living room, back again, and then said, “Let’s do it your way, Prime Minister Gu.”

…

One day later. In the Ling Mansion.

“We have a bit of a situation, Marshal.” Yao Yi entered the room in haste.

Yuwen Tong looked at him. “What is it?”

“The King Yu has decided to make an attempt on the King Duan. They’re going to do it tonight,” answered Yao Yi.

Yuwen Tong knitted his brows and kept silent for a while.

This night was the time when the King Duan would take action in the imperial manor in the southern suburb. The King Yu’s making his move at this point would cause disruptions and, without doubt, upset Yuwen Tong’s plans.

Ling Zhang’s eyes suddenly lit up. He said, “I have an idea.”

Yuwen Tong looked at him. Ling Zhang craned over and whispered something in his ear. Eyes gradually brightening, Yuwen Tong bobbed his head and said, “This idea is pretty good, but if we do that, my men in the north-west would have to work faster.”

Yao Yi was somewhat befuddled. “Marshal, Childe Ling?”

“There are two things I need you to do. Remember, tell them they must not blow their cover,” said Yuwen Tong.

Yao Yi immediately threw his chest out. “At your service, Marshal!”

After he heard Yuwen Tong’s plan, Yao Yi’s eyes also started glistening. “I’ll do it right away!”

The moment Yao Yi left, Ling Zhang shifted his gaze to Yuwen Tong. “Just now you mentioned there was something going on in the north-west. What’s the plan?”

“Um. That’s just a precaution. We might not actually need it,” said Yuwen Tong.

He leaned over and breathed something in his ear. Ling Zhang’s mouth fell open in amazement.

“Now that I’ve decided to take it, I’ll do it in a way that will make all of them sincerely convinced and have no reason to judge me,” said Yuwen Tong, a flinty expression in his eyes.

After a long moment, Ling Zhang commented, “That’s very impressive.”

Yuwen Tong immediately beamed, “I supposed I deserve a kiss for that.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

…

On that very night. In the King Yu’s residential compound.

“Your Highness, everything’s in readiness.” A man walked into the King Yu’s study late at night.

The King Yu replied, “Do it.”

“Yes, Marshal.”

At the same time. In the barracks of the Northern City Garrison Battalion.

Unseen by any outsiders, countless soldiers hiding in the shadows quietly left the barracks, heading south.

In the imperial manor located in the southern suburb.

“Your Majesty, at the risk of showing my lack of discernment, have you made a decision about the issue they argued over at today’s court meeting?”

It was very late, but there were lamps still ablaze in the imperial study in the manor. Apart from the emperor, two old courtiers were also inside it, both of whom were very much in the emperor’s confidence. One of them was the Right Prime Minister.

“I’m keeping watch on how the situation in the capital city develops. I know what you two are worried about. There’s still time. Don’t worry,” said the emperor.

The two old courtiers exchanged looks in dismay. Eventually, feeling rather resigned, the two of them rose from their seats and took their leave.

The emperor’s brows were furrowed. Innately prone to suspicion, he couldn’t entirely trust anybody, not even his henchmen, which was why he hadn’t confided his decision to any of them.

His personal eunuch walked in and said, “It’s late, Your Majesty. You should turn in. Staying up is bad for your health.”

The emperor opened the window of the imperial study to look outside. “I feel rather disturbed. Take some men and check the perimeter again. Increase the security in this manor.”

The personal eunuch was astounded. After a fleeting eye contact with the emperor, he immediately left to carry out the orders.

The emperor vexedly tossed the book aside. Somewhat fidgety, he kept getting this inkling that something big was going to happen.

…

The assassin that had infiltrated into the King Duan’s residential compound was very inconspicuous. Posed as a eunuch working for the King Duan, he’d been let into the compound through a side door by a mole. Along a winding path, the two of them made it to a spot near the King Duan’s courtyard house. Hanging from the assassin’s belt was an ID plate of the King Duan’s personal eunuch. Of course, the true owner of it had been killed already.

They were just about to approach the courtyard house when the assassin’s countenance suddenly changed, and with that he drew the mole into a dark corner and breathed, “Something doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?” The mole was taken aback.

“There are quite some kung fu experts on guard duty in the King Duan’s courtyard house…” The assassin told the mole about the several groups of guards that he was sensing, and then asked, “Is the security always like this?”

The mole shook his head in horror. “This can’t be happening. Ordinarily, even if they have to tighten the security for some reason, they would never post so many guards in there.”

“Then there must be something going on here tonight. If I enter this courtyard house right now, I would no doubt be spotted. You weren’t given any particular orders tonight?” queried the assassin angrily.

That man thought for a while and then answered, “Chief told us that we didn’t have to be on night duty tonight, that he’d do it personally. He’s never been on night duty before.”

“Then why did you still bring me in? You want to get us both killed?!” hissed the assassin.

The mole raised the meal box in his hand. “Here are some snacks I took from the kitchen. The King Duan has been having trouble sleeping these days. Sometimes he needs to eat some food before he could get to sleep, and I’m always the one delivering it to him. Chief didn’t forbid me to send snacks here anyway, and our master’s commands were so urgent, which was why I had no alternative but to risk bringing you in!”

The assassin gave it some thought. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do – you take this meal box there and see if they’ll let you in.”

“Of course they’ll let me in. I’m very much in the King Duan’s confidence,” observed the man.

“Cut the nonsense and just do what you’re told to do. If they let you in, you deliver the snacks to the King Duan; if they don’t, you come back here,” instructed the assassin.

“You’re not going with me?”

The assassin whipped out a dagger to press the edge of it against the man’s neck and hissed coldly, “Are you going or not?”

Feeling the iciness of the blade, the man hastily said, “I’ll go!”

The assassin released him and the mole walked away with the meal box.

…

“Identify yourself!”

He had just approached the front gates of the courtyard house when someone stopped him.

The eunuch holding the meal box gave a start. “What are you doing? I’m here to deliver snacks to His Highness.”

“Today that won’t be necessary. Walk away right now. You don’t want to disturb His Highness’ rest,” reprimanded a guard at the front gates.

“What are you talking about? His Highness is suffering from insomnia these days and wouldn’t be able to sleep without having some snacks first. If I leave and His Highness gets angry later, will you accept responsibility for it?!”

“Shut up. You’re not allowed to speak aloud here. If you don’t leave straight away, I’ll kill you.” A guard drew his saber.

“You–!”

“Stop.”

The chief eunuch walked out, his eyebrows furrowing at the sight of the young eunuch holding a meal box. “Didn’t I tell you that you were exempted from night duty?”

“Ah? But you didn’t say that I didn’t have to bring snacks here either, Master Shifu,” replied the young eunuch in an aggrieved tone of voice.

“Take it away right now. His Highness is sleeping already. He gave orders nobody enter the house to disturb him.”

“Yes, Marshal.”

Carrying the meal box containing snacks, the young eunuch hurried off. Watching his receding back, the chief eunuch knitted his brows.

…

“How did it go?”

“I couldn’t get in. Those people have suddenly become so scary. We are well acquainted with each other, but tonight they seem to be totally different people and are guarding the front gates with malice written all over their faces. They wouldn’t let me take a single step inside.”

“There’s indeed something going on. There’s an eighty-percent chance that the King Duan has left this place. I need to return and report this to His Highness immediately.”

…

In the King Yu’s residential compound.

The King Yu was shocked to learn what had happened in the King Duan’s residential compound. “The King Duan is not in there?”

“The security there was insanely tight, as though they were very afraid of anybody finding out about it. When our contact distracted the guards attention at the front gates, I crept up to the outer wall and listened only to find that there was nobody else’s breathing inside the main chamber of that courtyard house!”

Where could Zhou Mingyuan have gone to in these circumstances? Having an intuition that there was a huge conspiracy involved in this matter, the King Yu quickly had all his aides woken up and gathered and at the same time sent someone to inform the Gu family.

…

At Chou Hour (1:00 a.m.), soldiers quietly congregated at all entrances and exits of the imperial manor in the southern suburb.

All troops of the Northern City Garrison Battalion had been dispatched to this place and ringed the manor.

First there was a volley of arrows with flaming arrowheads, which whizzed across the night sky into the manor, sending all guards inside running for shelter in alarm.

“Assassins!” A scream of panic was abruptly heard.

Very soon, all guards on duty at the entrances and exits were killed, and groups of soldiers took over.

The emperor, who was still in the imperial study, vaguely heard some unusual noises. His insides did a horrible somersault and with that he immediately bawled, “Guards! What’s going on?!”

Soon someone rushed inside, looking flustered and panic-stricken. “An army surrounded this manor, Your Majesty!”

After a fleeting blackout, the emperor demanded through clenched teeth, “Under whose command?!”

“The–The King Duan!”

The emperor puffed for a few moments. “How dare this unfilial creature!!”

“Please leave this place with me straight away, Your Majesty. They used flame arrows and a lot of houses are on fire. It won’t be long before they break in!”

Chapter 303: A Fierce Fight

“Father, as long as you write an edict of abdication, I promise nobody will hurt a hair of your head; also, I’ll confer the title ‘Taishang Huang’ (a title assumed by an emperor’s father who abdicated in favour of his son) on you and make sure you spend your remaining years in comfort.”

The large army had encircled the whole manor in the southern suburb, soldiers swarming inside it. The emperor on the run was intercepted by Zhou Mingyuan the King Duan and his men. Zhou Mingyuan didn’t want to become a patricide unless he had to, so he requested the emperor to write an imperial edict of abdication to let him lawfully ascend the throne.

“Outrageous! You treacherous, traitorous creature actually have the nerve to ask me to write an edict of abdication? I would rather abdicate the throne in favor of a beggar than you!” railed the emperor, pointing a shaking finger at Zhou Mingyuan, almost fainting from rage.

“Father.” Zhou Mingyuan looked at the emperor resentfully. “You think you still have a choice?”

“You unfilial son. Kill me if you really have the balls. I doubt you could sit on the throne for long after that!”

This was a confrontation between a father and a son. Zhou Mingyuan had an army at his back, while the emperor had only a team of palace guards at his command.

There had been a lot of loud noises and fire during the operation. Although Zhou Mingyuan had sealed all entrances and exits of this manor, he still worried that someone might manage to escape and get reinforcements. Once people in the capital city or the Eastern City Garrison Battalion were alarmed, he would be in grave peril, so he must force the emperor into writing an edict of abdication as soon as possible.

The emperor’s refusal to do it was also a delaying tactic. He wanted to buy himself more time to wait for the reinforcements to arrive.

“Don’t test me, Father, or I WILL be the unfilial son you said I was,” huffed Zhou Mingyuan menacingly.

The emperor sneered, “I’d like to see how far you’re willing to go!”

The palace guards immediately clustered around the emperor. Zhou Mingyuan clenched his teeth. “Then you leave me no choice!”

“Kill the palace guards. Bring the Taishang Huang to me!”

“Yes, Marshal!”

All people that had joined the King Duan in this usurpation were tempted by the rewards attached to the meritorious service of assisting a prince to become the emperor, so although they were fully aware that participation in a rebellion was punishable by extermination of their families, they still unhesitatingly charged forward.

…

In the capital city.

The whole southern gate tower was well lit by flaming torches. Within the pool of torchlight was a horrible, messy sight. Bodies and blood could be seen everywhere on the ground. At the same time, the city gates were wide open, through which chill night winds were blowing from outside, lending an eerie, grim air to this gate tower.

An hour ago, there had been an intense fight in this place. The two opposing sides of it had been the gate guards bought by the King Duan and a large number of soldiers of the City Patrol led by the King Yu who’d intended to get out of the city.

In the end, the Eastern City Garrison Battalion had arrived and joined forces with the King Yu from the outside. Together, they’d successfully opened the city gates and galloped straight southwards.

What with such loud noises of the fighting and the strong smell of blood carried by night winds, all residents in the capital city were cowering beneath their quilts, trembling all over, their doors and windows shut tight.

“I wonder whether the King Duan would be able to finish the job quick enough.” Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, under the cover of night, had been following the King Yu and his men all along and could distantly see the light from the imperial manor now.

As the two of them were very fast and moving in the dark, nobody had noticed them.

Their noses caught the rank scent of blood from the imperial manor in the distance. Suddenly, the burning torches inside and outside the manor started moving quickly. It was an emergency deployment. Manifestly, people there had perceived the movement in this direction.

As expected, when the two of them in the wake of the King Yu’s men approached the manor, the Western City Garrison Battalion led by the King Duan charged over and then both sides came to a halt in front of the manor.

“You’re so heartless, Third Elder Brother. I never thought you were capable of such traitorous deeds. You detached the Western City Garrison Battalion to lay siege to an imperial manor without authorization. This is rebellion!” spat the King Yu, pointing at the King Duan.

Zhou Mingyuan cast him an icy, dismissive look and then fished a bright yellow imperial edict out of his bosom. “Father has abdicated in favor of me. From now on, I’m the monarch, and you’re my servant, Fifth Little Brother, and whenever you meet me on a street, you will dismount from your horse and kneel before me to pay your respects to me. This time around, I’ll forgive you and your men for blocking my path. Now get out of my way!”

The King Yu was astounded, staring fixedly at the imperial edict in Zhou Mingyuan’s hand. “I don’t believe it. This must be fake. Where is our father? What did you do to him?!”

Zhou Mingyuan replied, “Father is fine. He’s just resting in the carriage. Now step aside. I’m not going to say it again!”

The King Yu shifted his gaze to the horse-drawn carriage behind Zhou Mingyuan and yelled, “Father, it’s me! I’d like an audience with you!”

There was no reply from inside the carriage.

The King Yu’s face changed. Gazing at the carriage unblinkingly, he yelled once again, “Father! I request an audience with you!”

There was still no response.

The King Yu’s eyes immediately flashed at Zhou Mingyuan. “What did you do to our father?! He would never ignore me if he’s able to answer. You must have done something to him. Zhou Mingyuan, you monster actually dared abduct our father? Under no circumstances will I let you get away with it! Soldiers and officers of the Great Yue, don’t let a single one of them get through us! Follow me and rescue His Majesty!”

With this shout of the King Yu, the army behind him immediately charged towards the enemies.

Zhou Mingyuan looked at the King Yu with frosty eyes. “The King Yu committed defiance of an imperial edict. I hereby sentence him to death. Everybody advance! Show them no mercy!”

“Yes, Marshal!”

The two sides soon engaged, roaring battle cry bursting forth.

“Did the emperor really write an edict of abdication? If that’s the case, he would be able to lawfully succeed to the throne.” Ling Zhang eyed the written imperial edict in Zhou Mingyuan’s bosom.

Yuwen Tong replied, “I don’t know for sure. We’ll have to get it to find out about its authenticity.”

Yuwen Tong was more inclined to believe that that edict of abdication was a forgery. Also, they had to figure out without more ado whether the emperor was in that carriage, and whether he was still alive.

“You stay here. I’ll take advantage of this chaotic situation and get over there to check.” Yuwen Tong covered his face with a piece of black cloth.

Ling Zhang grabbed his arm. “Wait.”

“No matter whether the imperial edict is real or not, on no account will the King Yu let the King Duan get through. I’ve already had Wang Dashan and the others disguise themselves and lay a misguidance formation in the woods behind us. Even if the King Duan manages to break through the cordon of the King Yu’s men, he wouldn’t be able to get through the woods, and that’s when we make our move.”

Yuwen Tong looked at him. “When did you instruct them to do that?”

Ling Zhang answered, “Right before we set out to come here.”

Yuwen Tong thought hard back to the time when they were leaving the residence, but couldn’t recall what Ling Zhang had said back then.

Ling Zhang raised his hands and made a gesticulation. “We agreed on this sign language when they were receiving training in the new manor. All of them could understand it.”

Yuwen Tong glanced at the woods behind them. The deafening noises of the battle in front of them made it impossible for him to hear sounds from the distance, so he couldn’t hear any movements in the woods.

“My grandfather taught them this formation, a large-scale misguidance formation. The darkness of the night will make the formation more effective,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “Okay, then. Let’s wait for a while.”

That horse-drawn carriage, driven by the driver, was swerving and dodging constantly, hiding among the soldiers all the time. There had still been no movement inside the carriage. Yuwen Tong thought for a moment and then gave a strange whistle that sounded like the squawk of some kind of bird. Before long, a man in black emerged from the woods and called, “Marshal!”

“Go there and check to see if our men keeping watch on the entrances and exits of the manor have found anything. Don’t let the emperor escape.”

“Yes, Marshal.”

…

The King Yu’s army, consisting of not only the Eastern City Garrison Battalion but also the City Patrol, outnumbered the King Duan’s army. The longer the battle lasted, the greater the probability that the Northern City Garrison Battalion would come. Seeing that the battlefield was in a stalemate, Zhou Mingyuan who hated to be stuck in this place got anxious.

He also had a contingency plan – the Gu family had taken command of half of the palace guards and would lead them outside to come to his help and then seal all the city gates if the occasion arose.

“Your Highness, you need to take the imperial edict back to the city as soon as possible. If things keep going this way, the situation will get very unfavorable for us!” observed one of Zhou Mingyuan’s henchmen.

Zhou Mingyuan’s eyes moved to the carriage behind him. The henchman continued through gritted teeth, “We cannot afford to let His Majesty fall into the King Yu’s hands, Your Highness. Given the circumstances, we have but one choice – kill him.”

An pained expression twisted Zhou Mingyuan’s face. He was hesitating.

“Stop dithering, Your Highness. You need to make a decision right now!” shouted his henchman.

Eventually, with a murderous countenance, Zhou Mingyuan instructed through clenched teeth, “Kill him.”

Having convinced his master, the henchman heaved a sigh of relief. “I’ll do it, Your Highness.”

With his hand laid on the hilt of his saber, he made towards the carriage.

In the distance, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong both saw this. The former knitted his brows and said, “Is the emperor really in that carriage, by any chance? What do we do? Do we let him die here or do we save him?”

Yuwen Tong pondered for a few moments. “We can’t let him die here, but we can’t let him return to the city unharmed either. Stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

After saying this, Yuwen Tong took a flying leap and disappeared into the darkness in the twinkling of an eye like a ghost.

At first Ling Zhang could follow Yuwen Tong’s back with his eyes, but after Yuwen Tong blended in with the crowds of fighting soldiers, he lost sight of him completely and could only stare fixedly in the direction of the carriage.

Holding a saber, the military officer walked to the carriage, jumped onto the footboard, lifted the curtain and went inside.

At the same time, Yuwen Tong reached the carriage, ducked his head to get beneath the carriage, easily detached the carriage floorboard and with that two men instantly dropped to the ground.

Inside the carriage, the military officer raised his saber and ferociously slashed at the emperor when suddenly he lost his footing and started dropping, his saber missing its target. Startled, he bellowed, “Who is it?!”

On hearing the voice, Zhou Mingyuan immediately looked in the direction of the carriage, his countenance changing drastically. “Surround the carriage!”

However, at this moment, Yuwen Tong had already dragged the unconscious emperor out from under the carriage. With a gleam of the saber in his hand, all soldiers around him were downed. Taken aback, Zhou Mingyuan failed to notice a silver needle rapidly shoot into his chest. After a short while, he paled visibly, clapped his hands over his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood, tottering on his carriage.

“Your Highness?”

“Your Highness!”

At this time, what was happening near the carriage caught the King Yu’s attention. He looked over in time to see that Zhou Mingyuan was teetering and about to fall off the carriage. He was stunned at first and then rejoiced and erupted, “The King Duan has been grievously wounded! Surrender yourselves right now, you rebels!”

With this yell of his, soldiers on both sides paused for a moment, and then the King Yu’s men’s morale was boosted significantly, and they started gaining ground on the rebels who were beginning to panic.

Watching the fight in the distance, Ling Zhang saw the whole thing, and at the same time his eyes were searching for Yuwen Tong.

Suddenly, he sensed some unusual movements in the shadows and with that another large group of men came out of nowhere, quickly ringed the whole battleground and quietly started shooting flaming arrows at the troops in the middle of it, pungent smell of black oil filling the air…

To everybody’s shock, the battlefield was rapidly turning into a blazing inferno. Meanwhile, soldiers were being hit by arrows and going down constantly, the King Duan’s and the King Yu’s alike.