The Empress Kneels in Her Palace to Admit Her Mistakes After Slaying Her Ways in the Female-Oriented

Ren Tianye was naturally interested.

They were even very interested.

He wanted to see what outrageous things Empress Xiao Mingzhao could do to make his head spin.

He nodded immediately.

Wei Shuo was overjoyed and said, "General, please come with me."

Ren Tianye, as always, brought his personal guards and his deputy Wang Ming, and followed Wei Shuo all the way to the northwest of the capital. They soon arrived at a place that was like a secret paradise on earth.

Backed by the rolling mountains of the Imperial Garden, and facing the expansive Mirror Moon Lake, it stands across the lake from the main palace, like a tranquil sanctuary independent of Kyoto.

"This place is really nice."

Wang Ming looked it over and couldn't help but sigh.

"This was personally supervised by Xiao Mingzhao, so of course it's excellent."

Wei Shuo said, his tone still filled with resentment, clearly showing his considerable disgust for this beautiful home.

Immediately, he led the way, passing through a three-mile-long Jade Flower Stream Corridor and around a layered pink plum grove, before finally glimpsing the upturned eaves and corners, as if a private residence hidden in the midst of a prosperous and bustling world.

It was an extremely elegant palace, unlike the magnificent and grand imperial palace, but it exuded a sense of refined gentleness.

Imperial guards stood in front of its gate.

"Who goes there? Dismount at once!"

"This is forbidden territory, why aren't you leaving?"

Amidst the shouts, Ren Tianye and his entourage proceeded forward without hesitation. Deputy General Wang Ming immediately spoke on Ren Tianye's behalf: "This is the Grand Commandant of this dynasty! Who are you? How dare you reprimand him so arbitrarily?"

There were twenty armored soldiers in front of the gate; they quickly knelt down.

"My lord, we are the guards of Weiyang Palace, ordered by His Majesty to guard this place day and night."

"My lord, His Majesty has decreed that no one but her can enter this place. If you do not have His Majesty's decree, please do not make things difficult for us."

"The Grand Commandant will certainly not make things difficult for you!" Fearing Ren Tianye's anger, Wei Shuo immediately dismounted, walked up to the guards, and whispered a rebuke: "Foolish! His Majesty is currently residing in the Imperial Palace, and the Grand Commandant holds sole power over the capital's military forces. How many heads do you have that you dare to obstruct the Grand Commandant?"

"Why aren't you letting them through at once?"

These words, while intended to exonerate the guards, also carried a strong threat. Under normal circumstances, the guards should have admitted their mistake and stepped aside.

Unexpectedly, these people only looked conflicted.

However, he still said emphatically, "No, His Majesty has issued a strict order that no one but her may enter. If you do not have an imperial decree, we will not allow you to enter."

As they spoke, the guards drew their long swords from their waists.

This caused Wei Shuo, who was determined to protect these guards, to feel anxious, but Ren Tianye, who was on horseback, became increasingly interested.

The Empress has given these Weiyang Palace guards a death order!

What exactly is hidden here?

How could there be such a display of power?

"Insolence!" Wei Shuo's mind raced, and he roared, "How dare you be so disrespectful to the Grand Commandant? Hmph, do you think my sword, that of the Marquis of Changping, is ineffective? Today, if you dare to obstruct me again, I will surely cut you down from your horses!"

The title of Marquis of Changping was quite intimidating. At least, before Ren Tianye had been in the capital for a long time and had made any achievements, the title of Marquis of Changping was much more effective than Ren Tianye's.

The soldiers, upon closer inspection, recognized him as none other than the Marquis of Changping, who had once been bedridden. They sheathed their swords, the leader whispering, "Your Excellency, it is not that we dare to obstruct you, but if we are allowed to enter, His Majesty will likely execute our entire clan. We..."

"Rest assured, with the Grand Commandant here, you will be safe and sound."

These were the words the guards wanted to hear, and they immediately knelt down and paid their respects to Ren Tianye again.

Ren Tianye nodded and asked directly, "Who lives inside the hall?"

"Reporting to the Grand Commandant..." the leading guard quickly replied, "We have never seen it either. In recent years, we have only seen His Majesty come in and out, but we have never seen anything come out of there. However, we have heard some rumors, but we do not know if they are true?"

"Please feel free to speak."

"Yes, Grand Commandant. I've heard that the person living in this Mirror Palace is His Majesty's kept gigolo, apparently a stand-in for the young master Tuoba Xiang."

Hey!

Ren Tianye only understood at this moment.

So that's what Wei Shuo wanted him to see!

Shota Takuba's stand-in!

However, this Stand doesn't seem to be strong enough to attack Takuba Shota. He forged many Stands and sent them to Takuba Shota through memorials, but Takuba Shota didn't kill Xiao Mingzhao in anger.

"My lord, this substitute..."

"This is extraordinary!" Wei Shuo walked up to Ren Tianye again and whispered, "After I learned about this from Xiao Ruyi, I sent a trusted confidant to investigate. It took a lot of effort, but we got some clues that surprised me greatly."

"Sir, may I go inside and take a look?"

Ren Tianye nodded, his curiosity growing stronger.

After dismounting, he led Wei Shuo, Wang Ming and other personal guards straight to the Jinghua Palace. The interior was decorated in a magnificent yet elegant style, abandoning bright yellow and vermilion, and instead using moon white, light purple and pearl white as the main colors. Warm jade was laid on the floor, luxurious yet understated, which made people feel happy.

Their movements seemed to be heard by those inside the hall.

In the distance, one could faintly hear human voices.

Just as Ren Tianye was about to walk over, Wei Shuo suddenly asked, "General, have you ever seen the third prince of the barbarian tribe, Tuoba Xiangtai?"

"No, what's wrong?"

"It's a bit of a pity," Wei Shuo said. "However, I have already made preparations."

As he spoke, he took out a scroll and handed it to Ren Tianye with both hands, saying, "When Tuoba Xiangtai came to the capital, someone personally painted a portrait of him. It was painted by a famous artist in the capital and is very lifelike. General, you can get a general impression of Tuoba Xiangtai just by looking at it."

Ren Tianye opened the scroll. The person in the painting was dressed in plain clothes, with a face like carved jade, bright eyes and raised eyebrows. His steps were graceful yet steady. What an image of a handsome young gentleman.

This perfectly matches the information Ren Tianye had previously gathered.

He nodded and was about to return the scroll to Wei Shuo.

Unexpectedly, Wei Shuo said again, "General, don't rush. Take a few more glances, especially at Tuoba Xiangtai's appearance. You must remember his face."

Ren Tianye asked, "Is it important?"

Wei Shuo nodded emphatically: "Extremely important!"

"Good!" Ren Tianye looked at it several more times to make sure he had memorized the appearance of Tuoba Xiangtai in the portrait. Wei Shuo was not satisfied and also had his deputy, Wang Ming, look at it several times.

Only then did they put the scroll away.

Just then, footsteps approached from inside the hall. As they passed behind a screen, a voice rang out: "Luan'er, you haven't come to see me for so long. Have you finally found some free time today?"

The person had arrived, but...

Ren Tianye and his deputy Wang Ming both changed color.

With a clang, Wang Ming drew his sword from his waist, and the guards behind him also drew their longswords in unison, creating a dazzling display of blades.

Even Wei Shuo, who was mentally prepared, instinctively gripped the knife in his hand at this moment.

Then, Wang Ming's incredulous shout was heard.

"Tuoba Xiangtai, weren't you at the Yu Chen Mansion? What are you doing here?"

……