Evil of all ages

Chapter 207 Internal Response
They all headed towards the palace.
The First Prince's forces and the Third Prince's forces did not encounter each other.

Because one of them headed towards the east gate of the palace, and the other headed towards the west gate.

By the time the eldest prince's men reached the east gate, it was already dawn.

"Your Highness, the Third Prince has arrived at the West Gate with his troops."

Shen Zhonghe reported.

"Hmph, the palace isn't a place he can just walk into whenever he wants. He's definitely not as fast as me."

"Have someone send a signal"

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhonghe immediately ordered the people behind him to set off signal fireworks.

As a firework burst in the sky, sounds of battle erupted from inside the tightly closed east gate of the imperial palace.

The moment the sun rises from the horizon.

The east gate of the palace was opened by people inside.

The Imperial Guards were clad in armor, and the leader was Ye Huaming, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards.

"Your Highness, I apologize for keeping you waiting."

Covered in blood, Ye Huaming walked up to the eldest prince, knelt on one knee, and said...

"Commander Ye, I will remember your merits."

Li Wukong wanted to pat Ye Huaming on the shoulder, but seeing that Ye Huaming was covered in blood, he stopped himself.

Upon hearing this, Ye Huaming became excited.

Who wouldn't want to gain merit by supporting the emperor? As long as the eldest prince sits on that throne, the reward for opening the palace gates for the eldest prince will be immense.

"I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness."

Li Wukong told Ye Huaming to get up and asked which palace the Demon Queen was hiding in.

"The wicked empress and Nie Yang, who aided and abetted the tyrant, are both in the Hall of Supreme Harmony."

Ye Huaming replied.

Hearing that they were all in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Li Wukong thought that the Empress Dowager was really bold.

Is this a plot to seize power?

Or should we prepare to seize control of the government?
Whatever the empress dowager wants to do, it's best if she's in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, so he won't have to send people to look for her.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where all officials hold court. His first stop is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and he must sit on the dragon throne there before ascending the throne.

Try it out and see what it feels like.

In addition, the Empress is only twenty-nine years old and very charming.

He never dared to think about it before, but now he does.

Once he sits on that throne, he will make the empress submit to him.

Immediately, he led his men towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

at the same time
The west gate was also opened by an inside agent, and the third prince led his troops toward the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Hall of Supreme Harmony

"Your Majesty, the First Prince has led his troops in through the East Gate, and the Third Prince's troops have also entered through the West Gate."

Fan Hongyan strode into the hall and knelt on one knee before the Empress, who was seated on the phoenix throne, to report.

"So fast, how did they get in?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yunxue, who was reviewing memorials, looked up and raised her eyebrows at Fan Hongyan.

She planned to bring the eldest and third princes into the palace to resolve the issue.

But the palace gate guards were just putting on a show; it was impossible for the eldest and third princes to break through the palace gates and enter so quickly.

"The Third Prince had a group of eunuchs from the Shangwu Bureau as his inside agents, while the First Prince had the palace gates opened for him by the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards."

As Fan Hongyan spoke, he glanced briefly at Nie Yang, who was standing on either side of the Empress with Zhu Duo'er.

"I have misjudged people and deserve to die. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Upon hearing this, Nie Yang immediately rolled down and knelt down, begging for punishment.

"No need."

"Get up. It's not your fault. At times like these, you never know who the people around you are, whether they're human or ghosts."

When Xu Yunxue heard that the eunuchs from the Martial Arts Bureau had also joined in, she felt that it was really difficult for a woman to subdue others, unlike the princes.

Having pure blood, one doesn't need to do anything special; the power of following the dragon is irresistible.

However, she remained calm, because none of these things were beyond her control.

Xu Yunxue stopped reviewing the memorials and allowed Nie Yang and the other man to rise. She then led the people from inside the hall out of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and stood at the top of the steps in front of the hall's entrance.

Waiting for the First Prince and the Third Prince's troops to enter the Taihe Hall Square.

Bathed in the gentle light of the rising sun, everything appeared so soft and serene.

Xu Yunxue raised her hand. It was her first time standing in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, enjoying the morning sun. She was quite enjoying this moment.

But she knew that this clean and tidy Taihe Hall square would soon be awash in blood.

She didn't have to wait long.
The Taihe Hall square has two gates, one on the left and one on the right. The eldest prince led his troops in through the left gate, while the third prince's troops entered through the right gate.

This created a conflict.

The eldest prince and the third prince saw that their respective forces had quickly arrived at the Taihe Hall Square.

Everyone was surprised and curious as to how the other side had breached the palace gates and rushed in so quickly.
It wasn't until they saw that one side had eunuchs from the Shangwu Bureau and the other side had the Imperial Guards led by Ye Huaming that they realized the other side also had an inside agent.

In a short while
Besides the long central walkway, their troops were stationed on both sides of the Taihe Hall Square.

At this moment, everyone watched their respective masters in silence.

They awaited their master's order to fight.

The eldest prince and the third prince saw each other in their respective camps.

The eldest prince noticed that the third prince's forces were fewer than theirs.

They felt that the White Lotus Sect's plan was exposed just in time, allowing the capital's gates to be closed and preventing some of the Third Prince's troops from entering.

However, when he saw that most of the Third Prince's men were wearing armor and carrying military weapons, he abandoned his contempt.

Overall, they are evenly matched.

After sizing each other up, they were both unusually silent, and simultaneously turned to look at the Demon Queen on the steps.

Seeing that there were only five thousand Imperial Guards and two thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards guarding the steps, and no other forces, they felt relieved.

Of the three forces present, the Queen poses the least threat.

"Your Majesty, as long as you support me."

"I guarantee that the Xu family will remain untouched and will be kept as it is. In return, you will become the most honored Empress Dowager of our Great An."

Li Wukong was confident he could defeat the Third Prince, but if he could win over the Empress as an ally, things would be much easier.

As for the promises made, the Xu family's decisions depend entirely on his mood.

However, the Empress Dowager's reputation was too great, and the people believed that she was responsible for both natural disasters and man-made calamities, so it was definitely inappropriate for her to become the Empress Dowager.

Let him punish her on behalf of the people, and lock her in a dark room to torture her.

Xu Yunxue's eyes turned cold because she saw lust in the Crown Prince's eyes.

This person is trying to make a move on her.

She made up her mind: she wouldn't let the eldest prince die; death would be too easy for him.

Let him live.

Let him go to the purification room.

Every day, cut off an inch, no more, no less, until it's all gone, turning him into a eunuch.

"Your Majesty, don't listen to him. Many of the officials who supported him were brought down by the Minister of Revenue."

"He wishes he could kill the Empress and your elder brother. If you support him, he will not hesitate to use his knife on you."

"Compared to him, you support me, and I swear to the heavens that I will ensure peace for your Xu family for three generations. Otherwise, may I be struck by lightning."

Li Yanliang felt somewhat pressured when he saw that their numbers were smaller than the Crown Prince's forces.

To ensure everything went smoothly, he pleaded with the Queen for her help.

After the deed is done, he will become emperor, and while he won't touch the Xu family, he will strip them of their power and treat them like shrimp.

"Humph"

Li Wukong snorted coldly at Li Yanliang.

"There is some unpleasantness between Your Highness and Minister Xu, but Minister Xu's abilities are obvious to all."

"The court needs Minister Xu, but I am not so short-sighted as to cut off my own arm to attack him."

Li Wukong did not want the Empress to side with the Third Prince, so he retorted.

"That sounds nice, but why don't you dare swear a solemn oath to heaven?"

"you……"

(End of this chapter)