I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 194 Escaping with the Emperor

Ye Wanshu glanced sideways at Liu Zhang, who had followed her in. She knew that whether she wanted to or not, Liu Zhang would force the emperor to drink this pot of wine.

She vaguely remembered that the cavalry headquarters was very close by, and the only way at the moment was to make a big commotion to lure the cavalry headquarters to come to her rescue.

Seeing the questioning look in Emperor Zhaolie's eyes, Ye Wanshu raised the wine pot, tilted her hand, and the wine slowly flowed out of the pot.

"Your Majesty is joking. Although my father's personal morality has always been criticized, he knows how to behave properly when it comes to matters of principle."

Seeing that the poisoned wine was poured out by the young lady in an instant, Liu Zhang was furious and hurriedly stepped forward to stop her: "Young lady, don't you know what you are doing? If you are so stubborn, the Empress Dowager and Prince Dao'an will definitely not tolerate you."

"Of course I know what I'm doing," Ye Wanshu said calmly with a smile. "Liu Zhang, as long as I have a breath left, you can forget about touching His Majesty."

Having said that, she snatched a sword and held it to her own neck, saying sternly, "You and your master just want to use someone else to kill us, right? Well, my sword isn't as useful as you think."

“Miss, why are you doing this?” Liu Zhang smiled disdainfully: “This humble general knows that Prince Dao’an is deeply devoted to you, but today, for the sake of the Empress and Prince Dao’an’s great cause, if you insist on protecting Emperor Zhaolie, this humble general is willing to die with you.”

He glanced around at the densely packed guards, his mockery deepening: "But Miss, you should think this through. Even if you'd rather die than change the outcome."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cold, eerie sneer came from outside the door.

"Really? What if I'm included too?"

Everyone turned to look and saw Gu Tingzhou leading a large group of people in a long stride.

Upon seeing the sword Ye Wanshu held to his neck, Gu Tingzhou turned pale with fright and hurriedly stepped forward to snatch the sword away.

"Wanwan, don't do anything foolish. Let's protect His Majesty and get him out of here first," Gu Tingzhou advised.

"Why are you here?" Ye Wanshu asked, looking at him with some concern.

Last night, I sent him to find his father and persuade Han Jin, hoping that he could stay away from trouble today. He insisted on coming, and if Gu Tingchen finds out, he will surely die.

“I sensed something was wrong when I saw Liu Zhang bring you to the Hall of Mental Cultivation,” Gu Tingzhou explained, then glared at Liu Zhang with displeasure: “I didn’t expect my second brother to be so malicious.”

“Young Master, I urge you to think twice.” Liu Zhang frowned. “Don’t think His Highness doesn’t know what you’ve done. He’s only tolerating you because of the Duke. Don’t be so stubborn.”

Gu Tingzhou ignored him and looked directly at Emperor Zhaolie, smiling slightly: "Your Majesty, since Prince Dao'an has murderous intentions towards you, you can no longer stay in the palace. This humble subject and Princess Jinghe will escort you out of the palace."

After saying this, he stepped forward to help Emperor Zhaolie up and prepared to leave.

Liu Zhang swiftly drew his sword and blocked the crowd: "With me here, none of you will be able to leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation today."

"Liu Zhang, at this time you shouldn't be concerned about a deposed emperor, but rather the safety of the Empress Dowager and Prince Dao'an," Gu Tingzhou said, looking out of the hall where he could faintly hear the sound of horses' hooves.

He knew that Commander Ma had already begun his operation.

Liu Zhang listened intently and immediately sensed something was amiss. He asked warily, "What does the eldest son mean? Whose cavalry has broken into the palace?"

Gu Tingzhou chuckled softly, "You've been acting perversely, haven't you ever been wary of Prince Qi?"

After saying that, he immediately instructed Ye Wanshu, "Wanwan, let's go."

Hearing the approaching sound of horses' hooves, Ye Wanshu realized that this was the best time to leave with the emperor, and together they helped the emperor walk outside.

Liu Zhang, unaware of the situation outside, and his guards, gripping their swords warily, retreated further out. When they reached the outside of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, they saw a large entourage of cavalrymen surrounding them.

"Liu Zhang, I have been ordered by Prince Qi to purge the court of corrupt officials. Put down your sword immediately!" Commander Xue Ren rebuked him directly.

Just as Liu Zhang was at a loss, he suddenly saw a large number of archers emerge from all the palace walls, completely surrounding the Yangxin Hall. Immediately afterwards, a steady stream of Imperial Guards rushed in from all the passageways.

Even from a great distance, Ye Wanshu spotted Gu Tingchen's figure and immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Could it be that Prince Qi did not enter the palace?" the emperor asked Ye Wanshu in a low voice.

Ye Wanshu also found it very strange. Today was Prince Qi's only chance. If he missed today, he would have no chance of winning.

Gu Tingzhou glanced at Xue Ren with a puzzled expression, but Xue Ren simply shook his head silently.

“Prince Qi wouldn’t be so foolish,” Gu Tingzhou said softly. “I agreed with him to start the uprising at noon, so he should have entered the palace by now.”

"I'm afraid he's still observing," Ye Wanshu speculated.

"Don't worry, Wanwan, I will definitely force him to make a move today."

Gu Tingzhou picked up his sword and shouted at Xue Ren, "Old Xue, today we must purge the court of corrupt officials on behalf of Prince Qi."

"Gu Tingzhou, you really have no sense of mortality."

Gu Tingchen roared with a sinister look in his eyes, then turned his sharp gaze to Ye Wanshu: "Wanwan, I can forgive and forget the old emperor who killed you. I will still marry you tomorrow, and you will still be my Princess Consort."

"Don't even think about it." Ye Wanshu stood tightly in front of the emperor and said sternly, "Gu Tingchen, even if I die today, I will never have any further dealings with you, you devil."

"Wanwan, take His Majesty back to the palace first. As long as we hold him off for two hours, Prince Qi will definitely bring his troops into the palace," Gu Tingzhou instructed, and then he and Xue Ren led the cavalry to charge forward.

Taking advantage of his cavalry, Gu Tingzhou quickly broke through the encirclement. Seeing that things were not going well, Gu Tingchen hurriedly ordered Liu Zhang: "Go, gather all the Imperial Guards here, and kill Gu Tingzhou as quickly as possible."

Liu Zhang frowned: "Your Highness, if Prince Qi really brings his men into the palace, who will be able to withstand his attack?"

"Fool! If we let the Ma Generals rebel and gain the upper hand, and then take the old emperor away from the palace, do you want Gu Tingzhou to stand against me?"

Gu Tingchen shouted angrily, kicked Liu Zhang out the door, and then personally led his men to block him.

In an instant, arrows flew in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and the sounds of fighting echoed throughout the palace.

Meanwhile, inside the palace's eunuch quarters, the Qi Prince's army, which had been lying in wait, were already itching to move upon hearing the sounds of fighting within the palace.

"Father, Young Master Gu has already led the Cavalry and the Imperial Guards into battle. All we need to do now is take men to Cining Palace, control the Empress Dowager and the officials, and the world of Daye will be yours," the Crown Prince said excitedly.

Prince Qi was delighted and was about to give orders when Ji Ningxi stopped him.

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" Ji Ningxi earnestly advised, "I still don't understand Gu Tingzhou's intentions. Don't fall into his trap."

"Even if he has wicked schemes, the sounds of fighting coming from the Hall of Mental Cultivation are undeniable." The Prince of Qi was indignant. "The Imperial Seal and the Empress Dowager are both in the Cining Palace. If we storm over there now and seize the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Seal, are we afraid that the Gu brothers will not surrender?"

“Your Highness is utterly foolish,” Ji Ningxi said. “Prince Dao’an would rather send so many innocent women to the northern border for marriage than lead troops there. How could someone who cherishes power so much hand over the Imperial Seal and the Empress Dowager to us?”

After a moment's thought, she looked at Prince Qi calmly and said, "Your Highness, the young prince is impulsive and doesn't always follow his lead. We should just wait until the Gu brothers are both badly injured, and ideally, kill the old emperor in the chaos. Then we can reap the benefits."

After being persuaded by her, Prince Qi finally had some reservations.

Seeing his father become hesitant, the prince felt increasingly frustrated: "Father, if we miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, our entire Qi Prince's Mansion will have no way out."

"Listen to your Aunt Ji, let's wait a little longer."

Prince Qi sighed softly, signaling everyone to remain still.