The Empress has abandoned me? I'll support a new emperor and destroy your kingdom!

A piercing roar suddenly came from outside the palace!

Accompanied by the loud sounds of weapons being drawn, armor clashing, and brief clashes of fighting!

The officials in the hall were horrified!

The tightly closed doors of Weiyang Palace were suddenly smashed open from the outside!

The firelight and the cold glint of weapons surged in instantly!

Dozens of rebel soldiers, fully armored and armed with sharp blades, charged in like ferocious demons, led by a general!

The leading general was none other than Feng Tang, the commander of the Northern Imperial Guards!

Behind him, surrounded by rebel soldiers, was none other than the Third Prince Yun Huan, who had just been dragged out but was now dressed in military uniform, his face filled with madness and resentment!

"Protect the Emperor! There's an assassin!" the eunuch in charge of ceremonies cried out in alarm.

Chaos erupted inside the hall!

The civil official panicked and shrank behind the imperial steps.

The military officers rushed forward to block the imperial steps, and although they were unarmed, they adopted a desperate stance.

Marquis Zhao Qingcang, his beard and hair bristling, his eyes wide with rage, roared, "Feng Tang! How dare you rebel?!"

"Rebellion?" The Third Prince Yun Huan grinned maliciously, his eyes filled with a desperate madness.

"You forced me to this! That old fool is senile, actually wanting to hand over the throne to a woman and a dying old scoundrel! And that wicked Su Zhe! I am the true Son of Heaven! Tonight is your death night! General Feng, what are you waiting for? Kill! Kill them all! Get the imperial edict!"

"You unfilial son...you...you dare..." On the throne, the emperor trembled with rage, pointing at Yun Huan. He couldn't catch his breath and coughed violently, spitting out blood.

"Your Majesty!" The eunuch rushed forward in a panic.

"Kill—!" A struggle flashed in Feng Tang's eyes, but thinking that things had come to this point and there was no way out, he steeled his heart and pointed his sword at the Imperial Steps.

"Purge the court of corrupt officials and eliminate the witch's henchmen! Those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

The rebels roared and charged toward the imperial steps!

Although their numbers were small, they were all elite troops and fully armed.

Inside the palace, apart from a few imperial guards who had weapons, all the civil and military officials were unarmed!

A bloody massacre is about to unfold in the heart of the empire!

"Protect His Majesty and the imperial edict!" Marquis Weiyuan roared, grabbing a heavy gilded incense burner and lunging forward.

At this critical moment—

Su Che, who had been standing silently in the shadows, suddenly moved.

He neither charged towards the rebels nor went to protect the imperial guards.

He simply took two steps forward, walked to the edge of the imperial steps, and gently clapped his hands in front of the dark night sky outside the hall.

"Slap, slap, slap."

Three crisp claps were almost inaudible amidst the shouts of battle.

However, the moment the applause subsided—

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Suddenly, countless cold stars lit up on the rooftops, walls, and even the beams of the main hall!

Those were crossbow bolts that had been laid in ambush long ago, so numerous they were terrifying!

The crossbow bolts pierced the air with a shrill whistle like the sigh of death, accurately covering the rebel army that rushed into the hall!

"Aaaaaah—!"

Screams erupted instantly!

The rebels fell like felled wheat!

Many people didn't even understand what was happening before they were simultaneously pinned to the ground by several crossbow bolts!

Feng Tang was riddled with more than ten arrows, his body quilled like a hedgehog. With disbelief in his eyes, he slowly knelt down and died.

A volley of fire decimated the two hundred rebel soldiers who had stormed into the hall, killing or wounding most of them!

The rest were terrified by this sudden, deadly attack from all sides and were thrown into chaos.

Immediately afterwards, countless elite figures emerged from the palace gates, side gates, and even behind the screen behind the throne. They were dressed in black soft armor, their faces covered with black cloths, their eyes were cold, and they held long, narrow battle swords!

They moved with lightning speed and perfect coordination, like tigers among sheep, pouncing on the remaining rebels. With flashes of blades, severed limbs flew everywhere, and in an instant, they slaughtered all the rebels in the hall!

They are the "Dragon Soaring" and "Tiger Ben" guards!

The emperor's most mysterious and loyal secret guard force!

Under Su Che's command and arrangement, they had already quietly taken control of every high point and key position inside and outside Weiyang Palace, waiting only for the signal!

The Third Prince Yun Huan was stunned by the hellish scene before him.

The rebels around him had been almost all killed or wounded, leaving only a few personal guards who fought desperately to protect him.

He looked at the black-clad guards who appeared like ghosts and killed without blinking an eye, and then at the figure in a blue robe who slowly turned around on the steps and looked at him calmly. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"It's...it's you! Su Zhe!" Yun Huan pointed at Su Che, his voice trembling with fear.

"You...you knew all along?! You've been setting this up all along?!"

Su Che did not answer, but simply nodded slightly to a man who appeared to be the leader of the "Dragon Guard".

The leader understood, and with a wave of his hand, several black-clad guards pounced on him like wolves and tigers, easily dealing with Yun Huan's last few personal guards, pinning him to the ground, and binding him like a dumpling.

"Let me go! I am a prince! I am a king! Su Zhe, if you dare to touch me, I will haunt you even as a ghost!" Yun Huan struggled and cursed wildly.

Su Che walked up to him, squatted down, and looked calmly at his face, which was distorted by fear and anger. His voice was flat and without any emotion.

"Third Prince, I have given you chances. After the assassination attempt in Willow Shade Lane, after the Changping Granary case, and even after the news from Baima Ferry... I have given you many chances to pull back from the brink and turn back before it's too late."

He shook his head gently, as if lamenting the ignorance of a child.

"Unfortunately, you chose the worst path. Colluding with rebellious vassals, poisoning the emperor, forcing the emperor to abdicate... each one is unforgivable, deserving of death. His Majesty is merciful and may spare your life out of filial piety. But as for me..."

Su Che's voice suddenly turned cold, like an icicle in the twelfth lunar month.

"Anyone who touches someone I, Su Che, want to protect, will pay the price. And you, Third Prince, will pay the price tonight, right here, utterly disgraced and forever infamous."

"What...what do you want?" Yun Huan trembled all over.

"I don't want anything." Su Che stood up, no longer looking at him, and said to the black-clad leader.

"Take him away and keep him under strict guard. We await His Majesty's and...the Regent Princess's decision."

"yes!"

Yun Huan was dragged away, and the cursing gradually faded into the distance.