Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

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

The hoarse roar of Prince Jing, Nangong Shuo, still echoed in the square in front of the palace.

The hundreds of assassins behind him, as if injected with a final frenzy, roared in unison and raised their swords—

Then they saw the light.

It's not the blood red of the sunset.

It wasn't the cold glint of swords.

Rather, it was the Imperial Seal of the State in Shen Qingci's hand—

Suddenly, a gentle, moonlit glow, yet pure and holy like the rising sun, burst forth!

The light was not dazzling.

Yet it seems to penetrate the skin and flesh, shining into the deepest part of the human heart.

It illuminates the eyes of every rebel—the remaining sliver of conscience and reverence, obscured by ambition and fear.

"Clang!"

The first knife fell to the ground.

It wasn't discarded.

Instead, it slipped from her trembling hands.

The soldier gripping the knife stared blankly at his hands, at the... well, not at...

I don't know when it became stained with the blood of my comrades.

She looked up again, at the birds still circling in the sky, and at the woman in white robes stained with blood, who held the imperial seal and embraced the crown prince.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!!!"

A chain reaction has begun.

It spread like a plague.

One rebel after another dropped their weapons.

They knelt on the ground, not to Prince Jing, but to—that jade seal!

The jade seal he knelt on represented the Nangong lineage, which had been passed down for three hundred years!

Kneeling before those birds in worship—the one destined by Heaven!

"What...what are you doing?!" Nangong Shuo turned around abruptly, his eyes wide with fury.

"Stand up! Kill! Kill them!!"

Nobody moved.

No.

Someone made a move.

But it wasn't aimed at Shen Qingci.

But -

"Your Majesty! This humble general...this humble general is willing to surrender!"

A general dismounted and knelt heavily before Shen Qingci—

No, it was to kowtow to the jade seal in her hand!

"This humble general was forced into it! Prince Jing threatened my entire family's lives... This humble general was foolish, Your Majesty!"

Once there's a first one, there's bound to be a second.

The third.

The fourth one...

"This humble general is willing to surrender!"

"We are willing to surrender!"

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty the Empress, spare my life!!!"

Like a toppled domino, the rebels' formation completely collapsed.

It's not just the lower-ranking soldiers.

Even many mid- to high-ranking generals abandoned their armor and knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

Because they know—

The True Seal has appeared in the world.

A hundred birds pay homage to the phoenix.

The late Empress Dowager's last will and testament have been revealed.

What do these three things together mean?

This means that Prince Jing's so-called "restoration of order" was a joke from beginning to end!

This means that Nangong Ye's throne is not only legitimate, but also won by the late Empress Dowager at the cost of her life!

This means that Empress Shen Qingci was not only a lawfully wedded wife, but also the "destined wife" chosen by the late Empress Dowager!

And they...

What are they?

A group of clowns, bewitched by ambitious individuals, are wielding their swords against the true emperor!

"No...no..."

Nangong Shuo looked around and felt the space around him growing emptier.

Looking at the rebel soldiers kneeling in unison,

Looking at those "confidants" who swore allegiance to him yesterday but now discard him like trash...

He trembled all over, and the madness in his eyes was gradually replaced by despair.

But at the end of despair—

It's a deeper madness!

"You...you have all betrayed me..."

He murmured, then suddenly looked up, staring intently at Shen Qingci, who was ten steps away.

"It's all your fault...it's all your fault, you wicked empress!!"

He suddenly spurred the horse's belly!

The warhorse neighed and charged straight toward Shen Qingci!

"Qing Ci!!!"

Nangong Ye roared and was about to pounce—

But someone was faster than him!

A dark shadow streaked past like a ghost!

Mysterious Shadow!

He held no sword, only a pair of bare hands—

But it drew a mysterious arc in the air.

He precisely caught the reins of the charging warhorse!

"Whoa—!!!"

The warhorse reared up and let out a painful neigh!

Nangong Shuo was violently thrown off his horse!

He rolled twice on the ground, just about to get up—

A withered, yet steady hand rested on his shoulder.

The hand was very light.

Yet it weighs as much as a thousand pounds.

Nangong Shuo froze, unable to move!

He slowly raised his head.

He met a pair of murky, yet deep-set eyes, as clear as an ancient well.

Li Dequan.

The old eunuch, who had been hunched over his entire life and whose martial arts skills had long since been rendered useless in everyone's eyes, straightened his back at this moment.

Although still old.

Although still thin.

But the sharp glint in his eyes, the naturally emanating, imposing aura—

This is clearly the kind of pressure only a top-level master can exert!

"You…" Nangong Shuo's pupils shrank sharply, "Your martial arts… weren't they crippled?!"

"This old servant's martial arts skills have indeed been reduced to seventy or eighty percent."

Eunuch Li's voice was calm.

The hand on his shoulder,

But he slowly applied force, "but the remaining two or three tenths—"

"To deal with Your Highness—"

He paused, then smiled slightly:

More than enough.

"Click."

A slight cracking sound.

Nangong Shuo screamed in agony as his left shoulder blade was crushed!

He was in so much pain that his whole body was convulsing.

But he still gritted his teeth.

His bloodshot eyes glared at Eunuch Li: "You...you dare to hurt me?! I am a prince! The late emperor's grandson!!"

"The eldest grandson?"

Eunuch Li smiled.

There was compassion in that smile.

There was even a chilling sarcasm: "It was clearly written in the late Empress Dowager's will—in his later years, the late Emperor wanted to depose the Crown Prince and install your father in his place."

"If it weren't for the late Empress Dowager threatening suicide, who would be sitting on the dragon throne today—your father or His Majesty?"

He leaned down and whispered in Nangong Shuo's ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Your Highness, the direct descendant of your lineage, from the very beginning—"

"It was stolen."

"Now, it's time to pay it back."

Nangong Shuo was struck as if by lightning, his whole body trembling violently!

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't utter a single word.

Because—that's the truth.

It was his father who, on his deathbed, held his hand and told him the truth himself.

Their lineage has never been the orthodox one.

They were just... thieves who almost stole the throne.

Now, the original owner has come to collect the debt with solid evidence.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood spurted from Nangong Shuo's mouth.

It's not an injury.

Yes—my blood was boiling, and despair was overwhelming!

He collapsed to the ground, no longer struggling.

He just stared at the sky with empty eyes.

Looking at the birds still circling in the sky.

Watching the blood-red sunset slowly sink behind the palace walls.

He watched as the woman, holding a child and a jade seal, walked step by step toward him.

Shen Qingci stopped and looked down at him.

There was no triumph of the victor in their eyes, no satisfaction of revenge.

There was only a deep, cold calm.

"Prince Jing, Nangong Shuo".

She spoke, her voice clear and melodious, echoing throughout the silent square:

"You forced the emperor to abdicate, committed treason, massacred the imperial city, and slaughtered your comrades. The evidence against you is irrefutable."

"In the name of Empress Shengchen, by virtue of the late Empress Dowager's last will, and with the Imperial Seal of the State as witness—"

She paused, then slowly uttered the last sentence:

"I'll take you down."

The four characters fell.

Xuan Ying stepped forward and gripped Nangong Shuo's other intact shoulder with her iron-like hand.

Eunuch Li released his grip, took a step back, and hunched his back again, as if he had returned to being that inconspicuous old eunuch.

But everyone knows—

From this day forward, no one in this deep palace will dare to underestimate this veteran servant who has served three dynasties.

Nangong Shuo was dragged up.

He didn't resist, but stared intently at the jade seal in Shen Qingci's hand, at the baby in her arms, and let out a hoarse, bitter laugh:

"Destiny...destiny..."

"Hahahaha... What a stroke of fate..."

"Shen Qingci...you've won..."

"But do you think... that's the end of it...?"

He smiled, but tears mixed with blood slid down his cheeks.

"The Nangong family's empire... has long been rotten to the core..."

"You think... once you've taken me down... everything will be fine...?"

"Wrong... wrong..."

He abruptly looked up at Nangong Ye, his eyes flashing with a final, malevolent light:

"Nangong Ye! My dear imperial brother!"

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

"You can never change that—"

"You're a prince who almost got deposed!"

"You're someone who only managed to hold onto the throne by relying on women and eunuchs—"

"waste!!!!"

"Shut up!!!" Nangong Ye roared, thrusting his sword forward—

But it stopped abruptly three inches from Nangong Shuo's throat.

The tip of the sword trembled.

Nangong Ye's hands were trembling, and his whole body was shaking.

It wasn't because of anger.

It's because—every word Nangong Shuo said was true.

These are the truths that he fears most and dares not face deep in his heart.

Shen Qingci gently pressed down on his arm.

"His Majesty."

She looked into his bloodshot eyes and gently shook her head:

"Why bother with a mad dog barking?"

She turned away, no longer looking at Nangong Shuo, but facing the kneeling rebels, officials, and imperial guards in the square, her voice clear and resonant:

"Issue my decree—"

"Prince Jing, Nangong Shuo, is to be imprisoned in the Imperial Prison and placed under strict guard, awaiting joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices!"

"The remaining rebels who surrender will be punished according to the law, with their crimes reduced by three degrees!"

"Immediately, seal off all nine gates, impose martial law throughout the city, and search for any remaining members of Prince Jing's faction!"