Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

"BOOM—!!!"

The heavy vermilion doors of Fengxian Hall were completely smashed open by the rebel army!

Wood chips flew everywhere, and smoke filled the air.

Outside the door, the dark mass of rebels resembled a bloodthirsty horde of beasts.

The cold glint of swords pierced the smoke and dust, and countless pairs of scarlet eyes stared intently into the doorway—

Then, they were stunned.

The smoke and dust slowly settled.

The setting sun, like blood, slanted in through the broken palace gates.

A long, magnificent path of light was drawn through the Fengxian Hall.

The end of the path of light.

Shen Qingci, dressed in plain clothes stained with blood, stood upright like a pine tree.

With her left hand, she held Bao'er steadily.

In his right hand, he held aloft a piece of lustrous, warm white jade seal—the Imperial Seal of the State!

The jade seal shimmered with a thousand-year-old spiritual luster under the setting sun, and the blood stains on the dragon knob seemed to come alive, moving faintly in the light.

In her arms, Bao'er's eyes were wide open.

Looking curiously at the dense crowd outside the door,

Suddenly, he stretched out his little hand and pointed to the sky—

"Birds...so many birds..."

The child's innocent voice was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence.

Everyone instinctively looked up.

Then--

shocked.

Above the Fengxian Hall, hundreds and thousands of birds had gathered at some unknown time!

Sparrows, swallows, magpies, and even rare white cranes and eagles... all sorts of birds,

Like a pilgrim, they soared and danced in the golden-red glow of the setting sun!

They didn't call out, they didn't make a sound, they just circled silently.

The sound of wings cutting through the air merged into a deep hum.

It was as if—some kind of ancient, solemn ceremony!

A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix?!

"The heavens...the heavens are displaying strange phenomena..."

"A hundred birds...a hundred birds paying homage..."

"This...this could be...?"

Among the rebels, some men's knives began to tremble.

Even the generals, who were blinded by rage, stared blankly at the sky.

Look at the woman holding the jade seal amidst the circling flock of birds.

Shen Qingci took the first step.

Stepping over the threshold, over the splintered wood, over the doorway—the scattered corpses of rebels and the congealed pools of blood.

The setting sun gilded her white dress with a blood-gold edge.

Holding Bao'er and carrying the imperial seal, she walked down the stone steps of Fengxian Hall, one step at a time.

Every step was as steady as a mountain.

Behind her, Nangong Ye stood holding his sword.

Xuan Ying, Eunuch Li, Cheng Lie... all those who are still alive,

Like the most loyal guard, he silently followed behind her.

It was as if she were the true queen!

The rebels, involuntarily, took a step back.

The crowd automatically separated.

Make way.

The end of the road—

Prince Jing, Nangong Shuo, sat on his horse, his face ashen, staring intently at the jade seal in Shen Qingci's hand.

Beside him were dozens of officials, bound and gagged.

Those ministers who did not express their opinions in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, or who secretly favored the emperor and empress.

"Nangong Shuo".

Shen Qingci stopped in her tracks. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire palace square.

Look behind you—

Her gaze swept over the bound officials, over the corpses scattered on the ground,

A sweep across the palace stained crimson with blood:

"Look at the palaces built by our ancestors, and look what you've turned them into."

Nangong Shuo's pupils contracted, and he hissed with a cold laugh: "The victor is king, the loser is villain!"

Shen Qingci, you're holding a fake imperial seal, playing tricks, do you really think everyone in the world is blind?!

"A fake imperial seal?" Shen Qingci laughed.

That smile, bathed in the setting sun, possessed a breathtakingly poignant quality.

She raised the jade seal slightly, letting its gleaming white light illuminate her clear eyes:

"Nangong Shuo, you keep saying that the real jade seal was buried with the late Empress Dowager."

"Then do you know—why the late Empress Dowager hid the Imperial Seal?"

Before he could answer, her voice suddenly turned sharp:

"Because she saw through your ambition long ago! She saw through your father—Nangong Huan's—greed!"

"Because she knew that the late emperor, in his later years, became senile and had considered deposing the crown prince and installing your father in his place!"

"Because she knows that your lineage has never given up!"

Shen Qingci moved forward step by step, each step seemingly treading on Nangong Shuo's heart:

"The late Empress Dowager risked her life to ensure His Majesty's ascension to the throne!"

She hid the true seal not to protect herself from outsiders—

It's to protect you people, those who have the blood of the Nangong family flowing through your veins.

But the one who constantly plots to tear this empire apart—an internal traitor!!!

"You're talking nonsense!!!" Nangong Shuo roared in fury, "The True Seal was clearly buried with us—"

"Then what is this?!"

Shen Qingci abruptly turned the imperial seal towards him, towards all the rebel soldiers, and towards the bound officials.

The sound was like thunder from the heavens, exploding above the palace at dusk:

"The Imperial Seal of the State—is here!!!"

As the four characters were written, the imperial seal's luster surged!

As if in response to her words, the birds circling in the sky suddenly cried out in unison!

The calls merged into one, clear and solemn, like—heavenly music!

"besides--"

Shen Qingci held Bao'er in his left arm, while his right hand still held the jade seal high.

He then took out the letter written by the late Empress Dowager from his bosom and unfolded it!

The setting sun, like blood, shone on the letter paper.

The light shines on those powerful, blood-soaked characters.

"The late Empress Dowager's dying wish—is here!!!"

She surveyed the entire scene, and the rebels dared not look her in the eye!

"The late Empress Dowager said—"

She spoke loudly, each word distinct and resonant:

"He who holds this seal must not only be ordained by Heaven, but also possess benevolence and virtue!"

"Heaven's mandate rests with the legitimate heir! With the righteous! With the benevolent! With—the one who can bring peace to the world!!!"

She pointed sharply at Nangong Shuo, her voice like an ice blade scraping bone:

"And you—Nangong Shuo!"

"Colluding with Xiling to betray the border defenses!"

"Bribing court officials and forming cliques for personal gain!"

"Inciting rumors and framing the crown prince!"

"Today, we dare to mobilize troops to force the emperor to abdicate, massacre the imperial city, and slaughter our comrades!!!"

With each word she spoke, she took a step forward!

With each step, Nangong Shuo's face paled a little more!

The rebels around him took a step back!

"You disloyal, unfilial, inhuman, and unjust scoundrel—"

Shen Qingci finally stopped, standing ten steps in front of Nangong Shuo's horse.

The setting sun cast her shadow long, which, reflected in the pool of blood, resembled a drawn sword.

She looked up at him, at this prince who had once been gentle and refined, but was now as ferocious as a demon.

Then, slowly, he uttered the last sentence:

"What face do you have—"

"Talking about fate?!"

"What right do you have—"

"On orthodoxy?!"

"What face do you have—"

"Standing beneath the palace walls built by the ancestors of the Nangong clan—"

"Shout that out—"

"I?!!"

"boom--!!!"

The last sentence, like the last straw, broke the already wavering morale of the rebel army!

"Clang!"

The first knife fell to the ground.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!!!"

More and more people are laying down their weapons.

They watched the birds circling in the sky.

Looking at the jade-white seal in Shen Qingci's hand, which seemed to possess a true spirit,

Looking at the three-year-old prince in her arms who had caused the strange phenomenon...

Then look at Prince Jing, whose face is ashen and who is trembling all over.

Victory or defeat —

Already divided.

Nangong Shuo gripped the reins tightly, his fingernails digging into his palms until blood flowed freely.

He stared intently at Shen Qingci, at the jade seal in her hand, and at the child in her arms.

Then he smiled.

That smile was mad, desperate, like a vengeful ghost.

"Shen Qingci..."

He hissed, word by word:

"Even if you possess the Imperial Seal... even if you have the Empress Dowager's dying wish..."

"So what?!"

He suddenly raised his longsword and pointed it behind him—

The dark mass of the last few hundred loyal followers:

"I still have troops!"

"And a knife!!"

"today--"

A mad, suicidal glint flashed in his eyes:

"Even if I die—I will drag you all down to hell with me!!!"