Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 718 - 593 What do you want to do, Li Xuan?_1

Chapter 718: Chapter 593 What do you want to do, Li Xuan?_1

As the dark clouds over the Capital City began to disperse, Empress Sun, inside the deep palace, gazed out past the walls of the Ciqing Palace with icy cold eyes.

A total of two thousand soldiers, armed to the teeth, surrounded the Ciqing palace gate without any gaps. They held up swords and spears that shone coldly in the light, their armors were glinting ominously.

The deputy commander of the left Shenji battalion, Wang Yuan, led these soldiers.

There was also Helian Fulong sitting outside in person to guard against any unexpected accidents.

Empress Sun noticed the changes in the cloud cover above, but only glanced at it once before she turned her gaze away.

She knew it was the birth anniversary of the Immortal Master Shuide, Ao Shuying, so the cloud changes on this day did not bother her.

At this moment, the empress was preoccupied with more urgent matters; her mind was in turmoil, and she was incredibly irritated: "Assistant Minister of Rites Han Yue, did he really reply like this?"

"He personally told me this." Behind Empress Sun was her brother-in-law Sun Jizong. He replied with a pale face: "He said at this very moment, he is powerless."

Behind Sun Jizong stood a cold-faced girl in a Liudao Fumo Armor - his daughter, Sun Chuyun.

Ever since Yu Hongchang ordered the lockdown of the Ciqing Palace, nobody had been allowed to enter or leave the palace.

Sun Jizong could not get in or even send any messages with talisman paper, and could only rely on his daughter’s abilities to bypass the palace restrictions.

"This bastard!" Empress Sun crushed the armrest in her hand with anger, "He is such an ungrateful wretch! He seems to have forgotten who is it that put him in his current position. When he was exiled to Yunnan in the past, who was it that fetched him back?"

Sun Jizong had nothing to say, so he just bowed deeply.

In his view, Assistant Minister of Rites Han Yue’s attitude was not bad; he hadn’t switched sides.

The problem was that Empress Sun wanted Han Yue to mobilize the court officials to continue their attacks on Prince Xiang in the court meeting few days later.

Now the Golden Knife Case had come out, and many officials began to distance themselves from Empress Zhang. Han Yue was like a skilled cook with no rice.

Now even the members of the cabinet like Gao Gu and Shang Hong were just watching, wanting to see the actual situation of the Golden Knife Case first. Forcing Assistant Minister of Rites Han Yue to do something was a great difficulty.

"What about the Prince Yi, what’s the situation there?"

"Prince Yi is still running around advocating for Empress Zhang and the emperor. He has been non-stop from the time the case broke out yesterday till now. He has met with Chen Xun, Gao Gu and others, but..."

Sun Jizong hesitated for a moment, a trace of bitter smile appeared on his face: "I heard that some ministers who used to be close to Prince Yi have shut their doors to him. At present, only about a dozen Hanlin scholars stick to the Prince."

Upon hearing this, Empress Sun was stunned, then she murmured with a hoarse voice: "He’s a good boy."

But her emotions had nowhere to vent. Whirlwinds erupted within the newly built hall, pulverizing everything they touched into fine powder.

There was a trace of pallor on Sun Jizong’s face: "Empress, in fact, the situation now is not completely hopeless. Many court officials, like Gao Gu and Shang Hong, are only upset with the empress and the emperor because they believe they really intend to revolt and return to power.

Even so, they are not just standing by idly. Just a while ago, Shang Hong pleaded for the Empress and the emperor when he met with Monitor of the State and the Princess. So, as long as the charges against the emperor and empress are cleared, they will change their attitudes."

After hearing his words, Empress Sun laughed in a weird way: "Clear the charges, how should we clear the charges? What should we use to clear them?"

Sun Jizong’s breath was slightly choked, and he felt powerless from the imposing presence that enveloped his body: "In fact, Prince Yi once asked for the help of Marquis Guanjun to investigate this case, but it’s a pity that he was refused."

Sun Jizong thought that if Li Xuan investigated this case, it would be the best result.

Li Xuan was deeply trusted by the emperor, and his character was aboveboard. This man would obviously not lean towards the Empress and the Emperor, but he would never intentionally frame or set traps.

Unfortunately—

At this point, Sun Jizong turned his gaze to his own daughter.

Seeing this, Sun Chuyun immediately turned her head away, her eyes red with distress.

She knew what Sun Jizong meant; he wanted her to go and beg Li Xuan.

But what good would it do for her to beg in a matter of such high state importance? Why should he listen to her?

"Li Xuan?" The voice of Empress Sun was hoarse, and her fierce energy field enveloped her, growing more terrifying, destroying everything.

She thought of the Demon Master Ban Ruyi who had died at Li Xuan’s hands. When this man died, it was as if she lost one arm!

If Ban Ruyi was still alive, with his divine skills, how could she be stuck in a continuous deadlock?

Empress Sun had speculated that there was a not-so-small force behind this man, but since Ban Ruyi’s death, the contact between the two sides was almost cut off.

Thinking of this, Empress Sun turned her gaze to the side, where there was an hourglass that indicated the remaining lifespan of the Jingtai Emperor.

The sand in the hourglass was still dropping, but the speed had dropped by more than half compared to before.

At this moment, a figure suddenly materialized in the hall.

"Why does mother have to be so angry?"

It was indeed the True Emperor Zhengtong, dressed in the usual attire of an emperor. He deeply bowed to Empress Sun, "People tend to pay court to influential figures and kick a man when he’s down. There’s no need for you to be troubled by the disputes outside the court, Mother."

Surprise flickered in Empress Sun’s eyes, she hadn’t expected that Zhengtong, despite the rigorous military confinement, could project his Spirit here."

She took a closer look at Zhengtong, her expression shifting slightly, "Are the Darkdragon Guard helping you?"

The True Emperor Zhengtong stood up with a calm expression. "The Darkdragon Guard changes every sixty years and they are only loyal to the current Emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty. But, the ceremony, he left some tricks for me that I could use."

The ’ceremony’ he was referring to was ’Wang Zhen’. After the death of the grandmother of Xuan Emperor, Empress Zhang, Zhengtong called ’Wang Zhen’ for a ceremony and asked the officials to call ’Wang Zhen’ as the father-in-law."

Upon hearing this, Empress Sun knit her eyebrows together.

She had heavily relied on Wang Zhen in her early years to fight against the Empress. Later, Wang Zhen, with the trust of Zhengtong, held sway over the entire court affairs which led to the defeat of Zhengtong at Tumu Fort. Empress Sun had harbored a strong resentment towards him.

This was not the time to discuss ’Wang Zhen’. Empress Sun coldly inquired, "You arrived just in time. Is what Qianhu of the brocade clothes Lu Zhong said true or false? Did Ruan Lang, Chief Eunuch in control of the Nan Palace, act upon your order, use your golden daggers to connect with court officials and try to restore you?"

Towards her only son, Empress Sun was more and more unable to see through.

"I’m not that foolish or impatient."

Zhengtong gave a self-mocking laugh at this point, "The Emperor who cannot keep secrets would lose his kingdom, and the Minister who cannot keep secrets would lose his life. I had known this since the incident at Tumu Fort. Can Ruan Lang, a man like him, discuss affairs of the state?"

Seeing the slightly relaxed expression of Empress Sun, he again bowed: "What the truth is in the Golden Dagger case doesn’t matter anymore. Now, it is clear that Prince Xiang wants to kill both the child and the Empress. And my brother, probably, is willing to add fuel to the fire. If we just wait to be killed, I’m afraid within a year or two, it would be an irreparable situation."

Empress Sun wavered slightly, but her gaze towards him was still cold and sharp: "What exactly do you want to say?"

"My thought is, rather than waiting for a sip of poison someday or being shrouded in a silk cloth, we might as well break the net of death now!"

Zhengtong first met Empress Sun’s gaze unyieldingly for a moment, and then turned his eyes to the hourglass next to Empress Sun: "I know that mother once got a fragment of the ancient divine object ’Six Spirit Flag’ and planned to use this object in conjunction with ancient witchcraft to kill my brother. But for us now, I’m afraid, we can’t wait that long——"

At this moment, it might be because the Water Immortal Lord Ao Shuying ended the parade for his birthday and was no longer dispersing rain with his spells.

The sky over Beijing suddenly darkened, as though it was noon, it was like the dusk.

Empress Sun stared at her only son, torn about what to do.

"I know that mother isn’t sure, however——"

Zhengtong’s eyes revealed an odd gleam: "Khan of Vala Yexian once contacted me. As long as I swear by my soul that I will handle Yu Jie after ascending to the throne, he can lend me a helping hand!"

At this moment, a thunderbolt suddenly rumbled down from the sky, casting Zhengtong and Empress Sun’s pale face, making them look like corpses.

Sun Chuyun, however, opened her eyes wide in disbelief, watching this mother-son pair in front of her.

What followed was her seeing Empress Sun’s eyelids slightly closing: "I understand. However, we need to prepare this thoroughly and it cannot be rushed."

She gazed in the distance with an elusive expression, "The most pressing matter at present is to restore Liang Heng to his original position!"

※※※※

Li Xuan was not aware of what was happening inside the palace. He rushed back home after Ao Shuying completed the elevation to the Middle Heaven level.

At this moment, Ao Shuying needed to meditate in seclusion to stabilize her present status.

The Prince of the East Sea, Ao Mengsheng, wanted to retain his kinship and have a good drink with Li Xuan.

However, Li Xuan had some domestic affairs. Moreover, matters regarding his other uncle couldn’t be ignored, so he had to use the imperial edict to excuse himself.

Upon hurrying back to the Marquis of Guanjun residence, he immediately sought out ’Queen Bashe’, Chang Yingying.

Dugu Biluo kept this snake confined in a firewood room in the backyard. Not only did she pierce Chang Yingying’s body with the Zhenyuan Nail, but she was also tied up and hung from the beam.

This could be owing to the astonishing weight of ’Queen Bashe’ Chang Yingying, and the beam was losing its strength with a creaking sound.

Upon seeing Li Xuan, Chang Yingying’s eyes lit up slightly, "Xuan, have you come?"

"Who did you call Xuan?"

With a face turning pale with anger, Li Xuan gave a low growl and reached out to Dugu Biluo, "Give me a whip, a heavier one."

He decided to whip her three hundred times before questioning her to relieve his resentment.

However, perhaps Chang Yingying might have realized something, her face blushed, and a hint of smile began to seep through her lips: "So Xuan, you like it heavy, you should have told me earlier~"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, wondering what she was talking about.

Then he felt two fierce gazes full of cold murderous intention behind him. The freezing temperature from those eyes was almost enough to freeze him.

Luo Yan’s voice was rather cold as she spoke, "Li Xuan, what are you going to do?"