Chapter 80: part 1

Originally, Yiling had fallen asleep.

It wasn’t until her forehead was gently kissed that she seemed to sense something and woke up suddenly.

But she didn’t dare open her eyes, even holding her breath.

It was only after Xie Hengzhi left that she truly realized she wasn’t dreaming.

What was he doing?

Why would he secretly kiss her while she was asleep?

Had he been doing this all along, and she simply hadn’t noticed?

A flood of questions suddenly filled Yiling’s mind.

She sat up, pulled back the curtains, and looked around the empty room.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

The palace lanterns under the eaves cast a dim, yellowish light, projecting the shadows of the night watchman on the door and window.

The rain had stopped, and the sounds of insects chirping in the spring night were intermittent. 

The wind rustled through the treetops, creating a soothing sound that made one feel at ease.

But Yiling felt an overwhelming sense of unease.

It was already so late—where had Xie Hengzhi gone?

Thinking of this, she hurriedly slid her shoes on and got out of bed.

As she walked, she suddenly realized her hand felt empty.

Where was the bracelet?

Where was the bracelet that Shen Shufang had given her?

Yiling’s thoughts were immediately consumed by this matter.

She turned around and saw no sign of the bracelet on the bed. She then turned back to search.

She bent down to check under the pillow and lifted the blanket, but still couldn’t find it.

Where had it gone?

She had clearly been wearing it when she went to sleep.

The maid outside, hearing the noise, opened the door and poked her head in, asking, “Madam, what is it?”

“My bracelet is missing.”

Yiling said, “Come in and help me look—”

As she spoke, she seemed to see another woman standing outside the door.

Dao Yu?

She wasn’t an ordinary maid, and the task of staying up to watch over Yiling never fell to her.

So why was she here tonight?

A sudden wave of unease surged through Yiling, spreading and overwhelming the room—
Could it be… something major had happened?

After several days of rain, it finally stopped tonight.

The entire capital was as silent as a sleeping giant.

The dark mass of troops marched over the road, making a heavy, muffled sound, only to be swallowed by the night.

Occasionally, beggars and vagrants who had been sleeping by the roadside were startled awake by the sound of horses’ hooves, watching the troops head towards the imperial palace, yet unaware of what was happening.

In this ordinary and quiet deep night, the Yulin Army defending the capital silently surged toward the palace like ghosts.

Their movements were extremely covert, and within half an hour, they had secretly gathered outside the palace gates.

The palace guards hadn’t yet realized what was happening when the fighting suddenly erupted, and the sounds of shouting and clashing weapons tore through the silence of the night.

The imperial city was finally awakened, but it was too late.

The relentless Yulin Army broke through the palace gates one by one and surrounded the palace in the blink of an eye.

The palace guards were caught off guard and began to retreat in a panic.

This palace, which had been peaceful for over a hundred years, had never experienced such a situation.

From a tranquil stillness to a chaotic uproar, the palace underwent a long period of confusion and panic.

In the midst of this turmoil, when everyone finally saw who was leading the troops, they realized— 

The usually gentle and jade-like Crown Prince had staged a coup!

In an instant, the palace servants cried out and fled in all directions, arrows whizzing through the air, echoing across the sky.

As the noise grew louder, the Yulin Army had already surrounded the Taiyi Palace, where Emperor Renle resided.

The Crown Prince stopped his horse in front of the steps, his face obscured by the firelight, only his eyes fixated on the palace that still had its lights on.

No one knew what he was thinking, nor could they predict his next move.

The guards were wounded and retreating in defeat.

The captured palace servants were in a sorry state, scrambling in all directions.

Yet no one understood why the Crown Prince, so close to the throne, would suddenly raise an army to stage a coup.

Until the queen arrived, dressed in her grand attire.

Wearing a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, her face showed no signs of panic, but her eyes were instead gleaming with excitement.

Everyone finally understood— 

The rumors circulating in the palace recently had been true!

But none of this mattered anymore.

The coup went as smoothly as the queen had imagined.

The palace guards could not resist the Yulin Army’ surprise attack, while the old emperor had hidden in his alchemy room, too afraid to show his face.

Looking at the bright lights within the hall, the queen took a deep breath and loudly declared, “Your Majesty, today’s actions were necessary for the people of Great Liang, undertaken by the Crown Prince and myself!”

Seeing the tightly closed doors and windows, with no sound from within, she ascended the steps, her tone now full of arrogance.

“Your Majesty, since you no longer wish to govern the country, it is time for the Crown Prince to inherit the throne.”

With her words falling, the queen’s veins bulged, her lips tightly pressed, her eyes fixed on the hall.

But there was still no response from Emperor Renle. The shadow of his hairbun gradually grew larger as it neared the hall door.

It seemed he nervously raised his hand but still dared not open the door.

Since this was the case—

The queen turned and spoke to the Yulin Army at the foot of the stairs, “Soldiers, the ministers of the court have led the country astray; the Emperor is obsessed with seeking immortality and neglects national affairs, allowing others to form factions and betray the realm! We must raise an army to protect the Emperor, cleanse the court, and restore order!”

With a wave of her hand, the Yulin Army surged forward.

They violently broke open the main door of the Taiyi Palace, and shortly thereafter, the queen watched as one by one the “true immortals” appointed by the Emperor were dragged out by the Yulin Army. Her blood surged to her head, and her entire upper body trembled.

When all these “true immortals” were pushed to one side, the hall was laid bare. The last one to come out was an Yulin Army.

He ran up to the queen, his eyes wide, his voice trembling.

“Your Majesty, the Emperor is not inside!”

“What?!”

The queen’s face changed dramatically, and she realized something was wrong.

It seemed that she sensed something and, without thinking, looked behind—

Dawn was approaching, and the sky, which should have been darkest, appeared to be illuminated by firelight.

Above, the air was calm and clear, and the Emperor still had not appeared. In this extreme silence, the queen’s eyes gradually widened as if they were about to burst.

But the Crown Prince, who had been silent throughout, suddenly smiled.

From childhood to adulthood, whether as a son or a Crown Prince, he had always failed.

Now even his attempt to usurp the throne had become a self-destructive joke, just like his life, which seemed noble but had always been controlled by others.

Even when he married the woman he loved, he had to hide his feelings, thinking that would protect her.

But in the end, it turned out he never fooled his mother.

Since the sky was about to fall and he was destined to be a rebel, unable to be the Emperor’s son or the heir to the dynasty, only one identity remained for him.

Suddenly, the Crown Prince raised his whip and spurred his horse toward the palace where his wife was imprisoned.

His sudden departure caused chaos, and everyone thought he had fled.

As the Yulin Army hesitated whether to follow him, a wave of another army’s iron-hoofed footsteps came from behind.

—
Far in the southwest corner of the palace, the elderly Emperor stood by the railing, gripping it tightly.

His eyes were clouded and his body frail. He was no longer as sharp as he had been in his youth.

But with such a commotion, there was no need to see it clearly.

The army that had broken into the palace, charging toward Taiyi Palace and surrounding it, could only be a coup.

For over a hundred years since the founding of Great Liang, there had never been an instance of a plot to overthrow the throne.

There had certainly been treacherous ministers, but each emperor had eradicated them, never allowing it to come to an open confrontation.

If not for the return of Xue Shengan, who was secretly bringing soldiers back to the capital in search of the elixir, Emperor Renle might have become the first emperor of the Great Liang dynasty to be usurped.

“Good! Good!”

He watched helplessly as the flames ignited around Taiyi Palace, frantically slapping the railings, shouting, “My dear queen! My dear son!”

Standing high on the tower, looking down at Xue Shengan leading the troops to surround the Yulin Army, the sounds of battle echoed. Emperor Renle was like an enraged lion, his body trembling with fury as he shouted, “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

It wasn’t just because of the queen and the crown prince’s coup.

Their actions had proven the rumors circulating in the palace—

The crown prince was not his son!

If it weren’t for his frail age, Emperor Renle would have rushed to the battlefield to personally slay those who betrayed him.

Seeing the emperor struggling to breathe, Xie Hengzhi stepped forward to support him. “Your Majesty, please be careful.”

At this moment, Emperor Renle could hear no words of comfort. His legs were unsteady, and he was glaring at the battleground.

“Kill!” Before losing consciousness, his anger surged, veins bulging on his forehead, still growling, “I will kill them!”

“Your Majesty!”

The elderly emperor closed his eyes and collapsed, losing consciousness completely.

Xie Hengzhi supported the unconscious emperor, waiting for the palace servants to come and carry him away, his eyes still fixed on the battle below.

Though the Yulin Army had the advantage in numbers, they were clearly no match for the soldiers who had just returned from the border after bloodily fighting the enemy.

As victory became clear and many of the Yulin Army surrendered their weapons, Xie Hengzhi’s eyes turned bloodshot, and his clenched jaw trembled.

He had been waiting for this day.

For his parents, who had died under the butcher’s knife, for his brother and sister, who had perished in the flames, and for the peaceful, prosperous homeland that should have been.

“My Lord!”
Suddenly, a man ran up to the Yue Guard Tower and fell to his knees in front of Xie Hengzhi. 

“Madam is in trouble!”

Half an hour earlier.

It was already the hour of Yin, and Yiling had not slept a moment.

She had asked Dao Yu what had happened, knowing she wouldn’t believe if Dao Yu insisted nothing was wrong. But Dao Yu couldn’t reveal anything and could only comfort Yiling, telling her to rest easy and that everything would be fine once the sun rose.

That was even worse than not comforting her. It was clear that something significant was happening tonight, and Yiling couldn’t bring herself to sleep.

She decided not to lie down and instead sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for dawn.

Though she wasn’t tired, her body was utterly fatigued.

Propping her head up, she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the night dripping away.

In the midst of this turbulent night, she recalled the scene before Xie Hengzhi left.

The mysteriously missing bracelet and the sudden kiss from Xie Hengzhi.

What was going on tonight?

Just as Yiling’s head began to ache, a sharp voice from outside the window cried, “Who’s there?”

Then, in the blink of an eye, someone broke through the window.

She only saw a shadow rush toward her, but before she could get a clear look, Dao Yu and the others stormed in.

In an instant, the once-quiet room was filled with the sounds of a fierce struggle.

The room was so small, and Yiling felt as if the blades were almost striking her several times.

She clearly felt that the intruder was targeting her. Several times, he reached out to grab her and drag her out of the guard’s encirclement.

But Yiling felt as though her body had turned to stone, unable to move or dodge.

Fortunately, though the intruder was highly skilled, he was outnumbered and soon found himself at a disadvantage.