The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 409 Finale
Consort Shu stood up and spoke, and everyone agreed. The cries of Consort Rou and the others were drowned out by the singing and dancing.

Wu Jixiang gave a wink to the eunuch beside him, and Qiu Zongxi and Lord Wen were helped away.

With a loud bang, the palace gate of the Hall of Preserving Harmony was kicked open from the outside.

Prince Yao, clad in iron armor and wielding a bow and arrow, leaped into the air, the arrow whistling sharply as it pierced the air and struck Emperor Yuanwu precisely between the eyebrows.

He stood up, his face contorted with rage, only to fall down again.

Shen Qingwan was so frightened that her face turned pale and her breath caught in her throat.

"Prince Yao has rebelled!"

Someone in the crowd cried out in alarm, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony was thrown into chaos.

Today is the 100-day celebration for Consort Ying's daughter. Rong Yuze, as her uncle, had returned to the capital from Lingnan three days ago. He was sitting in the hall when he heard the noise and drew his sword.

The candlesticks fell to the ground, igniting the gauze curtains of the Hall of Preserving Harmony. Amidst the sounds of swords clashing, the cries of battle and screams filled the air.

Su Tianhe rushed in from outside the hall at some point, grabbed Shen Qingwan's hand, and pulled her towards a side door of the hall.

"Your Highness, Prince Yao has gone mad. It must be because of his wife; he's filled with resentment. Please come with me quickly..."

Shen Qingwan then suddenly came to her senses.

She refused to let the Princess Consort of Prince Yao out that day, causing her to kneel outside the Kunning Palace for a long time in the middle of the month. If it was really because of this incident, wouldn't she be the next one after he killed Emperor Yuanwu?

Shen Qingwan was so shocked that she broke out in a cold sweat and felt dizzy. She didn't know how she got back. When she arrived at Kunning Palace, Consort Jin was wearing the same gorgeous clothes as her.

Shen Qingwan was stunned.

This gorgeous outfit was a gift from Consort Jin, which is why Consort Jin came early this morning to help her comb her hair so that she could wear it.

Shen Qingwan seemed to realize something, and her heart tightened. "What are you going to do?"

"Your Highness, it's too late! Quickly change into this palace maid's outfit and hurry up. Prince Rui is waiting for you outside Shenwu Gate. If you don't leave now, it will be too late." Consort Jin urged her urgently, pushing Shen Qingwan towards the back gate of Kunning Palace as she spoke.

"Are you insane?" Shen Qingwan's chest heaved heavily. "You're wearing the same clothes as me right now. If I leave now, you'll all die today. You're trading so many of your lives for one of mine. How am I supposed to survive after this?"

A commotion outside Kunning Palace brought silence to the palace.

Consort Jin picked up the candlestick on the table and threw it out the window, and a fire suddenly broke out in the courtyard of Kunning Palace.

She recalled that when she returned, her feet were sticky; it turned out that Consort Jin had arranged for people to fill the courtyard of Kunning Palace with oil.

The group of people were kept outside the courtyard by the fire.

"Your Majesty, this fire won't hold them off for long. Prince Yao has long been colluding with the Northern Desert. He has been plotting for a long time and is determined to succeed. If you insist on staying in the palace, you will surely die. Prince Rui has been in love with you for so many years. He has already made arrangements in Jiangnan. Your Majesty, please leave quickly, or it will be too late!" Consort Jin cried out anxiously.

"But what about you? What will you do?" Shen Qingwan asked these questions, but she already had the answer in her heart.

When Consort Jin changed into the exact same clothes as her, she was already prepared to die.

"Your Majesty, my father is a first-rank general. Back then, General Pang was stationed in Dongliao, while my father was stationed in Xijing."

After General Pang captured the two cities of Dongguan, General Rong died in battle, and my father's army lost two more cities.

At that time, a secret agent discovered letters between my father and the leader of Xijing.

It is said that those letters clearly stated that as long as my father deliberately lost the battle, Xijing would promise him many benefits. The emperor was furious, and overnight, my maternal family's house was ransacked, and many precious items from Xijing were found in the house.

At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne and was most afraid of the court officials plotting rebellion. The emperor imprisoned my mother's entire family, along with his deputy generals Liang Zechuan and Wei Mingyu. Not long after being imprisoned, my father committed suicide in prison.

I always thought my father deserved his punishment, until that day when the emperor, drunk, came to my palace. He held me, crying and saying sorry to me, sorry to my father, sorry to my people. Only then did I realize that he knew everything.

Your Majesty, my father was framed. She was framed by the Pang family. The Pang family was afraid of my father and also afraid of the Rong family. They used the same methods to destroy my mother's family and the Rong family.

I hate the Emperor to the core. I only want him dead, but I don't have the courage. It was Consort Xia who was my father's deputy general Liang Zechuan's son, childhood sweethearts. They were supposed to have their wedding after the battle, but the Emperor ruined everything, and the Pang family ruined everything.

"Your Majesty, thank you. Thank you for bringing down Consort Xian. Thank you for collecting so many letters between Consort Xian and the remaining members of the Pang clan, which enabled us to wipe them all out."

Shen Qingwan staggered back a large step.

She had never thought so much about it, she had never done anything to help Consort Jin, yet now she…

The gates of Kunning Palace were breached by men led by Prince Yao's confidants.

Consort Jin pulled Shen Qingwan back a step, but their backs were already against the wall, leaving them with nowhere to retreat.

With a scream, all the palace maids guarding outside Kunning Palace were killed, and archers unleashed a volley of arrows. Zhen'er and Su Tianhe stood in front of the two.

Just when they thought they were doomed, a faint scent of ambergris flashed by, and a black figure leaped in through the window. The gauze curtain that was casually torn off was blocked the arrows that were shot at Shen Qingwan.

"Who?"

Prince Yao suddenly stopped in his tracks, and when he saw the person in front of him clearly, his gaze sharpened.

"Proton?"

Mo Ganjunyi's handsome face held a hint of amusement, as if the scene before him was nothing more than a farce.

He turned his head and smiled at Shen Qingwan, "I told you a long time ago to come with me, but you wouldn't listen. Look, now you can't leave even if you want to!"

"You already said that?" Consort Jin raised her eyebrows in shock when she heard these words.

Prince Yao finally came to his senses. "Mogan Junyi, kill her! Emperor Yuanwu is dead. As long as you kill her, I promise you, you can live a carefree life to the ends of the earth."

Mo Ganjun slowly turned his head, his eyes revealing a cold sharpness, but he smiled and said, "Since Emperor Yuanwu is already dead, why make things difficult for an empress in name only? Since you want to let me go free, why not do a good deed to the end and let me take her with me."

Prince Yao's voice grew increasingly stern, "This woman has a grudge against me, I advise you to mind your own business!"

"I'll interfere!" As soon as Mo Ganjunyi finished speaking, he leaped up, quickly lifted the gauze curtain that had just been covered with arrows, and with a wave of his hand, the arrows wrapped in the curtain were shot towards Prince Yao and his entourage.

However, those arrows, though shot from bows, were not harmless; they were quickly knocked to the ground.

"You traitor!"

Prince Yao's eyebrows twitched violently. "This woman caused my brother-in-law's tragic death and nearly killed my wife. Today, I will take her down! Mo Gan Junyi, get out of my way! Get her!"

"Your brother-in-law brought this upon himself. At a time like this, he's preoccupied with the life or death of a woman and willing to sacrifice the life of a bodyguard who has risked his life for you. Prince Yao, how can you be considered a man destined for greatness?" Mo Ganjunyi sneered.

Whether or not something great will be accomplished depends on my arrows!

"Let me ask my sword first."

No matter how agile Mo Ganjunyi was, he couldn't withstand an army all by himself, especially since he also had to protect the safety of the people behind him.

His sword energy surged, his figure moved like lightning, weaving through the enemy ranks. A sword was drawn, grazed his arm, and flew straight towards Shen Qingwan.

"what……"

Consort Jin screamed in terror.

Just as the arrow was about to strike Shen Qingwan's chest, a dark figure pounced from the side.

With a whiff of blood, Shen Qingwan's vision went black. Before she could even reach out to support the man in front of her, he collapsed to the ground.

"Prince Rui!"

The moment the arrow pierced Prince Rui's chest, blood splattered onto Shen Qingwan's face. Her pale complexion was punctuated by a drop of blood that slid down her brow bone and into her eye.

She couldn't tell if it was blood or tears blurring her vision.

She just wanted to hold Prince Rui in her arms as much as possible so that he wouldn't die.

"Are you crazy? Why did you save me?"

I'm not her!
The woman you love died a year ago.

Why should I ask you to risk your life to save me?

Shen Qingwan knelt on the ground, hugging him and crying her heart out.

In fact, from the moment he watched her eat five crabs in one go at the palace banquet after she recovered from her serious illness, he knew that his Wanwan was no longer there.

Because his wife said that if it weren't for the crabs causing famine, so many people wouldn't have died.

His Wanwan never eats crabs.

Even though he knew she wasn't Wanwan, he couldn't bear to watch someone who looked exactly like Wanwan die in front of him.

Prince Rui's pale lips curved into a faint smile. He raised his hand and wiped away Shen Qingwan's tears that she couldn't wipe away. "Don't cry, it doesn't hurt!"

"It's not worth it, I'm not worth you doing this. The person you want to save isn't me, you..."

Shen Qingwan spoke haltingly, unsure how to explain everything to him, but she didn't want to leave him in the dark.

Prince Rui laboriously raised a hand and placed it on her lips, "I know you're not..." her!

The word "she" blurred amidst the sounds of blades and cries...

Taking advantage of the moment, Mo Ganjunyi drew his sword and leaped into the air. A chilling aura filled the surroundings, as if even the air itself had frozen. His long sword sliced ​​across Prince Yao's neck. His face contorted in rage, and before he could even close his eyes, his head rolled over and over on the ground.

Prince Yao is dead.

Those who followed him into Kunning Palace were leaderless and instantly descended into chaos.

Jiang Wenlan led the Imperial Guards in, and amidst the flashing swords and the stench of blood, the air was thick with the scent of blood.

"Empress Huang's mother!"

Jiang Wenlan, covered in blood, rushed in and paused slightly when he saw Prince Rui lying in Shen Qingwan's arms.

"Su Tianhe, escort...the Imperial Uncle and Imperial Mother to the Divine Martial Gate!"

Consort Jin set herself on fire, burning everything in Kunning Palace, leaving nothing behind that had anything to do with Shen Qingwan.

As Consort Xia watched the Shenwu Gate close from afar, she drank the poisoned wine in her hand. As the poison passed through her intestines, a smile she had never shown before appeared on her lips.

The carriage sped through the night, traveling for an unknown amount of time, before finally stopping at the foot of Huguo Temple Mountain under a sweet osmanthus tree...

(本书完2025年5月7日10:50)