As the golden-armored guards approached, before Beichen Yuan could even give an order, Ning Huai’an and Xuan Tian stepped in front of him, shielding him.

Over a dozen shadow guards appeared like phantoms in the banquet hall.

Just when Murong Ye thought Beichen Yuan had brought only a small force, hidden archers suddenly revealed themselves from higher ground.

In an instant, countless small arrows rained down.

Murong Ye was completely caught off guard.

By the time he reacted, more than half of his elite golden-armored guards — whom he had trained at great expense — were already dead.

Murong Ye was in utter disbelief.

Fortunately, this wasn’t all he had prepared.

Elder Liu had also readied three thousand private soldiers.

Today, they were determined to take these people down.

In addition to those inside the banquet hall, thirty thousand troops waited outside the city, ready to strike.

This time, the throne would belong to the Liu family — no one else.

As long as Xiao Ruiye ascended the throne, the entire Great Xia would bow to the will of the Liu family.

If Xiao Ruiye obeyed, he could remain on the throne indefinitely.

If not, the Liu family would groom someone else more suitable for it.

As the fighting broke out, the scene turned chaotic.

Some were even injured by mistake.

Shen Qingwan focused only on protecting Ye Minglan and didn’t concern herself with others.

Ye Minglan was unharmed now.

Though Shen Qingwan hadn’t explained everything that had happened, Ye Minglan wasn’t foolish — she could guess the truth.

Perhaps she once felt guilty toward her sister, but now, aside from her daughter, she would no longer easily trust anyone.

Shen Qingwan had thought this would be a brutal battle with heavy casualties.

Yet to her surprise, it was over almost as soon as it began — the disparity in strength was simply too great.

When the repeating crossbows appeared, Shen Qingwan knew the outcome was sealed.

Those attackers were doomed.

The Third Prince stood no chance.

The War King lived up to his reputation as the War God of Great Xia — decisive and unstoppable.

His enemies were no match for him.

Just after the Third Prince’s men were wiped out, Imperial Consort Liu suddenly stepped forward. “War King,” she declared, “I hold a secret imperial edict from the late emperor. He decreed that if the Crown Prince was found unfit for the throne, I could use this edict to support the Third Prince’s ascension. The edict is here. Do you dare defy it?”

She held up a bright yellow scroll, and the princes’ gazes immediately locked onto it.

Prime Minister Su and Elder Liu exchanged glances, then stepped forward to inspect the edict.

After a quick glance, they handed it over to the other princes and the War King, Beichen Yuan.

Beichen Yuan only gave it a brief glance.

He didn’t need to look closely to know it was a forgery. If the late emperor had truly intended to pass the throne to the Third Prince, he would have done so long ago.

That the late emperor was too afraid to name a crown prince for so long said much about the Liu family’s influence.

After the emperor’s death, the Third Prince had even ambushed Beichen Yuan multiple times — yet Beichen had survived and returned to the capital.

As long as he, Beichen Yuan, stood here today, Xiao Ruiye would never sit on that throne.

“This edict is fake,” Beichen Yuan said with certainty.

He tossed it to the ground and stepped on it. His firm tone and commanding presence left everyone stunned.

“Father only named the Crown Prince and left no other edict. Even if Consort Liu wishes to raise the Third Prince, she should at least come up with a better excuse.”

Xiao Ruci stepped forward to stand beside Beichen Yuan.

Since the War King was helping him, he would seize the moment.

“Your Grace was the emperor’s favored consort, and the Third Prince was his most beloved son. It’s not impossible he left you a private edict. But to trample it underfoot — that’s high disrespect,” said an elderly minister, his beard white, pointing accusingly at Beichen Yuan.

Beichen Yuan gave the man a glance but said nothing.

The disdain in his eyes was enough to chill the room.

“According to Lord Li, then, the other princes were unloved? Father always treated us equally. But now you claim favoritism?” Xiao Ruci’s tone was gentle, but his words struck like thunder.

Lord Li was speechless, while the Beichen Yuan looked at Xiao Ruci with growing approval — perhaps this prince wasn’t as mild as he seemed.

“No matter what you say, the late emperor passed the throne to the Third Prince. If you defy him, you defy the imperial will,” Consort Liu snapped, impatient.

She signaled Elder Liu and Prime Minister Su, and Elder Liu smashed his teacup, expecting his men to seize control — but nothing happened.

Beichen Yuan smirked. “Waiting for your thirty thousand troops outside the city? Or the death squads?”

Elder Liu froze.

He looked at Beichen Yuan, then at the hidden posts he had carefully arranged — but they were all gone.

His people had already been captured.

“How could this be? I had already diverted most of the city guards and imperial troops! How did you regain control so quickly?”

He couldn’t believe it.

Beichen Yuan hadn’t brought an army — how had he overcome thirty thousand men?

The Third Prince was equally shocked.

Everything his grandfather had planned had failed.

Before the banquet, he had been told the palace was already under their control.

The female guests would ensure the officials’ cooperation.

He had orchestrated this spring banquet precisely to lure the officials and their families in and force their allegiance.

After today, the throne would be his.

But now that the plan had failed, he knew what awaited him — unless, by some miracle, their forces could still prevail.

“The commander of the imperial guard, Shi Mingwei, is one of my eight shadow guards,” Beichen Yuan said calmly. “The late emperor gave me the tiger tally in secret — I can command the three armies. Your thirty thousand troops outside the capital have already been stopped. What else do you have?”

Elder Liu collapsed to the ground.

So it was Shi Mingwei — his most trusted ally — who had been Beichen Yuan’s man all along.

He had invested years of effort into winning Shi over, and now realized he’d been played like a pawn.

Worse still, Shi had played a crucial role in the plan.

Without inside help to open the city gates, the army outside couldn’t enter.

And that tiger tally — Prince Liang had assured him Beichen Yuan didn’t have it.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gambled everything today.

It was over.

Completely over.

“They say the War King commands eight shadow guards — unseen and unmatched. I never thought… the commander of the imperial guard was one of them.”

Xiao Ruiye looked like a man facing death, terrified of Beichen Yuan.

“It ends here,” Beichen Yuan said, as if declaring the end of a farce.

“The Third Prince and Consort Liu, for plotting against the Crown Prince and usurping the throne, are to be imprisoned in the Imperial Dungeon. All involved officials, including Elder Liu, shall also be arrested and await the new emperor’s judgment.”

No one dared question Beichen Yuan’s authority.

Cries for mercy rang out.

Consort Liu glared at him, shrieking, “Beichen Yuan! I am the emperor’s consort! You have no right to sentence me!”

“We are innocent! We merely supported the Third Prince — we did not rebel! Please, Battle King, see the truth!”

“We protest! You have no right to judge us!”

Despite their protests, they were all taken away.

Liu Shimao was dragged off like a dead dog.

Xiao Ruiye tried to resist but failed.

He wanted to deny everything, but no matter what he said, he couldn’t shake his guilt.

Consort Liu’s headwear fell to the ground in her struggle.

Her luxurious robes were torn and disheveled.

Prime Minister Su hid in the corner, trying to make himself invisible, immensely relieved that he hadn’t stepped forward too early — otherwise, he might’ve been taken away as well.