In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Hurry! Hurry!!"

"Fire! Fire!" The shouts of the Imperial Guards echoed throughout the area, waking up the thousands of people staying at the post station and causing chaos.

"What's going on outside?" Situ Lan, who was coaxing her child to sleep, was startled awake. She tightly hugged her young daughter, with her eldest son beside her.

"Your Highness, it seems there's a fire outside."

Situ Lan's face turned pale instantly, thinking that someone was trying to harm her, and she immediately grabbed all the children.

She was very clear-headed: if the court wanted to kill her, she would rather die than let Li Yuanchang lose his child.

Snapped!

The door was pushed open, and Chi Lian rushed in, holding her son in her arms, who was crying loudly.

"Your Highness, His Highness's men have come to rescue us!"

Situ Lan was shocked, her beautiful eyes widened, and she stood up abruptly: "How did you know?"

"I heard the Black Ice Guard's unique communication voice. It was Lord Li informing me that we need to get up quickly and gather everyone together." Chi Lian's breathing was rapid, and her proud chest heaved.

Situ Lan was excited and nervous, taking deep breaths repeatedly: "Okay, quick, quick!"

"First, gather the children together."

"yes!"

"..."

The post station under the raging fire was a place where a single hair could affect the whole situation.

The Black Ice Guard's actions not only ignited a massive fire but also notified the Han Prince's family. The news was relayed from Chi Lian, the de facto second-in-command of the Black Ice Guard, down to the lower levels.

Guo Chao and his four hundred disarmed guards all regained consciousness and immediately formed a human wall to prevent the Imperial Guards from entering the pavilion.

"Get out of the way!"

"Fire! We need to move the Princess Consort of Han!"

"No, the Princess Consort of Han is of noble birth, and the building is mostly inhabited by women. No one is allowed to break in at night!"

"Captain Guo, what time is it now? If the fire spreads, neither of us can afford the consequences!" The Imperial Guard leader was extremely anxious.

"No!" Guo Chao led his men to form a human wall to buy time for the many family members inside the building.

The massive Imperial Guards dared not act directly, fearing it would cause conflict and casualties, so they could only stand guard outside and wait for the people inside to come out on their own.

Just then, a violent screech tore through the night.

"roar!!"

Rumble!

The sound was so loud and so dense that it quickly attracted everyone's attention.

One after another, warhorses charged out bathed in the firelight. They neighed, were agitated, and stomped their hooves wildly, rampaging and crashing into the already chaotic post station, leaving it in ruins.

boom!

Click!

"Someone is setting fire to the racecourse! Someone is setting fire to the racecourse!!" someone shouted.

The left and right guards reacted quickly and organized themselves well, forming a human wall to block the out-of-control warhorses. At the same time, hundreds more men entered combat mode and were not thrown off balance by the flames.

But at this moment, with the help of flames and warhorses, at least two hundred men from the Prince of Han's mansion, dressed in the armor of the Imperial Guard, had completely infiltrated the post station.

Using a feint attack to the east while striking in the west, a perfect infiltration, and a false imperial edict, the entire operation was meticulously planned and executed, almost completely controlling the Imperial Guards.

Li Yi personally led his guards to the post station's lodgings in a grand manner.

There were quite a few imperial guards here, and even more than several hundred guards from the Prince of Han's residence who were being escorted.

Under the firelight, the moment Guo Chao and Li Yi, old acquaintances, met, they hit it off almost instantly.

Guo Chao was excited, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"Damn it, what are you still doing? The fire is already coming over. Are you trying to get the Princess Consort and the Crown Prince burned alive?" Li Yi roared, his voice loud and without the slightest hint of guilt.

"No, we can't go in. We need to wait a little longer."

"Wait my ass! Get out of the way!"

"We have His Majesty's decree, and no one is allowed to interfere!" Li Yi drew his sword with his right hand and held the imperial edict in his left, directly turning the tables.

Immediately, countless people bowed and clasped their hands in greeting.

Guo Chao's face was grim. He pretended to hesitate, but finally relented and agreed to let the Imperial Guards enter.

These imperial guards were not imperial guards at all, but rather people from the Prince of Han's residence.

The actual Imperial Guards watched the entire process, and even helped guard against potential attacks from outside. This extremely dramatic scene actually happened.

Soon, the family members of the Prince of Han's residence were escorted by the Imperial Guards and began to retreat in another direction, a classic case of escaping unscathed.

At first, no one noticed anything unusual. After all, the post station was in chaos, with flames shooting into the sky. It was a normal situation to transfer people, especially since their disguises were so convincing.

They were all imperial guards, and no one questioned it, assuming that the other side was transferring personnel.

It wasn't until everyone had evacuated, and even the Black Ice Guards' rearguard were about to disappear from the post station in front of the collapsed fence, that several Imperial Guard generals realized something was wrong. They asked each other and discovered that no one had sent anyone.

"stop!"

"stop!"

"Whose men are you?" The Imperial Guards became suspicious and gave chase.

The fake Imperial Guards, who hadn't had time to withdraw, remained frozen in place, none of them turning back, trying to stall for time as much as possible.

The two sides were only a few meters apart, but the atmosphere was subtle against the backdrop of the flames.

The Imperial Guards weren't fools; one of them immediately changed his expression and roared, "Who are you? Whose men are you?"

"Walk!"

Someone shouted something, and all the disguised imperial guards suddenly charged and fled.

"They are not one of ours!"

"Chase!!"

"Someone has taken away the Princess Consort of Han!"

"Stop them!"

Along with the shouts, a dense chorus of gongs and drums sounded, serving as a warning. As soon as the gongs and drums sounded, the Imperial Guards began to surge in large numbers.

"Quickly, mount up!"

"quick!!"

"Protect the Princess Consort and the Crown Prince!"

"Everyone else, follow me and cover our retreat!" Huang Tu roared. The forest was in chaos, with horses and people everywhere.

Outside was the post station, its flames blazing into the sky.

Snapped!

The whip cracked, and the horses and carriages, which had been hidden in the woods beforehand, roared to life.

"Lord Huang!"

"Brother Guo, you go first. There are people waiting for you ahead. Don't look back!"

"Alright!" Guo Chao gritted his teeth, glanced at the Imperial Guards who had already caught up, and didn't have time to worry about anything else. He led his unarmed personal guards to escort the Han Prince's family members throughout the journey.

Thousands of people quickly moved away from the scene, while the Imperial Guards, who had lost their warhorses, were pushed back and unable to catch up. They were also stopped by the combined forces of the Black Ice Platform and the High Mountain Tribe.

But this did not make the Imperial Guards give up; instead, it made them even more frenzied and reckless.

To avoid close combat and massive casualties, Li Yi gritted his teeth and ordered the "Han Lei" to be thrown.

bang bang bang...

Boom!

More than ten thunderbolts exploded almost simultaneously, bursting into brilliant bursts of sparks, and their powerful shockwaves quickly knocked over dozens of people nearby.

Even the soil and rocks on the ground were blasted up more than ten meters high.

The other pursuing Imperial Guards were all jolted by the explosion, instinctively crouching down, their pupils dilating as they stared intently at the flames and black smoke ahead.

"Heavens...heavenly lightning?"

"What, what is that?!"

"..."