AUBTN -Chapter 50 Palace Coup (Part 2)

Yu Qing cried while cursing, but her hands never stopped moving.

She tore off the hem of her skirt and deftly bandaged a Jinyiwei whose thigh had been pierced by an arrow.

“Hang in there! I’m pulling the arrow out! One, two… here we go!”

“Ah—!”

The Jinyiwei let out a miserable scream and passed out from the pain.

Yu Qing’s hands trembled in fright, and her tears flowed even harder.

“Wuwuwu, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! My major was acting, not nursing! Why won’t this bleeding stop?!”

While wailing, she pulled out a bottle of wound medicine she had prepared earlier—an extremely precious golden wound powder she had secretly taken from Shen Jue’s private stores—and poured it over the injury as if it cost nothing.

【If this medicine were in the modern world, how much would it sell for! If that dead eunuch Shen Jue finds out I used his medicine to save the subordinates of his sworn enemy, he’ll definitely skin me alive! Whatever—saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. If I die, I’m definitely reincarnating as a rich second-generation!】

Up ahead, Lu Yan was still cutting down enemies, but Yu Qing’s noisy and vividly alive inner monologue kept ringing in his ears.

The nerves that had been stretched to their breaking point somehow relaxed just a little.

The corner of his mouth curved up ever so slightly.

What an idiot of a woman.

With Su Hewan directing the defense and making use of the terrain, the defensive line that had been on the verge of collapse miraculously stabilized.

The rebel army was blocked outside the massive thousand-jin iron gate, while the remaining enemies inside were quickly wiped out.

Outside the gate, Prince Ning stared at the iron portcullis that had suddenly dropped, his face turning ashen with fury. With a swing of his sword, he cut down the deputy general beside him.

“Trash! All of you are trash! Break it open for this king!”

Just then, the ground began to tremble.

The vibration grew stronger and stronger, even shaking loose dust from the city walls.

Prince Ning abruptly turned his head, his pupils shrinking.

On the horizon, a vast mass of iron cavalry surged forward like a black tsunami.

A massive military banner billowed violently in the wind like an enraged dragon.

“That’s… the Capital Garrison Camp!”

“Reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!”

Someone on the city tower shouted first, and immediately the surviving defenders erupted into earth-shaking cheers.

“Kill—!”

Wei Guang rode at the front, his long blade reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.

The iron cavalry of the Capital Garrison Camp—this was the most elite field army of the Great Zhou.

Attacked from both front and rear!

In that instant, the once-ferocious rebel army completely collapsed.

“It’s over… it’s all over…”

Prince Ning watched his army fall into rout. His body swayed, and he nearly fell from his horse.

He had calculated everything, but he had never expected Lu Yan and Shen Jue to actually persuade Wei Guang. Nor had he expected these two men—who had always been like fire and water—to join forces and hold out until now!

“Your Highness! We must retreat! As long as the green hills remain, there will be wood to burn!” his trusted guard shouted anxiously.

A trace of manic ferocity flashed in Prince Ning’s eyes. He stared fixedly at the resplendent imperial palace—his long-dreamed pinnacle of power, so close at hand, yet impossibly far away.

“No! This king hasn’t lost yet!”

He suddenly wheeled his horse around and charged toward a side gate.

“Follow this king! To the Golden Throne Hall!”

From atop the city tower, Lu Yan saw everything clearly, and his heart suddenly sank.

“Not good! He’s going to seize His Majesty!”

“At the end of his rope—he wants to hold the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords!” Shen Jue also realized Prince Ning’s intention, his face instantly darkening like a storm about to break.

“After him!”

Ignoring their injuries—and not even stopping to greet the newly arrived Wei Guang—Lu Yan and Shen Jue leapt onto their horses and galloped toward the inner palace along the imperial road.

The Golden Throne Hall.

At this moment, it was eerily empty.

The palace attendants who usually served there had long since fled. Only the seven-year-old little emperor sat alone on the massive dragon throne. The oversized imperial robe hung awkwardly on his small body. His pale little face was drained of color, and he clutched the imperial jade seal tightly in his hands, trembling all over.

Bang—!

The doors of the hall were violently smashed open.

Prince Ning stormed in like a vicious wolf, carrying a blood-dripping sword and followed by the dozen or so personal guards he had left.

“Royal Uncle…” the little emperor called out tremblingly, his voice thick with tears.

“Shut up!”

Prince Ning rushed up the steps in a few strides, grabbed the emperor by the collar, and pressed the sharp blade against the child’s tender neck.

“My dear nephew, don’t be afraid. As long as you behave and write an abdication edict, your royal uncle will spare your life.”

“Royal Uncle… I… I don’t want to write it…”

“Won’t write it? Then die!”

“Stop—!”

A furious shout rang out as Lu Yan and Shen Jue rushed into the hall almost at the same time.

Behind them, Su Hewan dragged the panting Yu Qing as they followed inside.

The four of them stood at the entrance of the hall, confronting Prince Ning on the raised platform from afar.

At this moment, Prince Ning’s hair was disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. The refined and elegant prince he once appeared to be was gone. Now he looked like nothing more than a gambler who had lost everything and gone mad.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Prince Ning tightened the sword in his hand, drawing a thin line of blood across the little emperor’s neck. The child burst into frightened sobs but didn’t dare struggle.

“Take one more step forward and I’ll kill him! At worst we’ll all perish together!”

Fearing for the hostage, Lu Yan had no choice but to stop. The hand gripping his saber bulged with veins, his knuckles turning white.

“Prince Ning! Your cause is lost. The palace is surrounded by loyalist troops—you can’t escape!”

“Release His Majesty. I’ll leave your corpse intact.” Shen Jue’s voice was icy and bone-chilling. He toyed with a throwing dagger in his hand, his gaze like a venomous snake searching for an opening.

“A whole corpse? Hahahahaha!”

Prince Ning laughed as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world, bending over with laughter. The sword in his hand trembled along with him, making Su Hewan and Yu Qing’s hearts jump in fear.

“Shen Jue, Lu Yan—do you really think I’ve lost? As long as this brat is in my hands, I am the ruler of Great Zhou! Would Wei Guang dare to charge in? Would you dare to move?”

Prince Ning’s face twisted as he roared:

“I want you to proclaim me the new emperor!”

“Otherwise, I’ll drag the emperor of Great Zhou down to the grave with me!”

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

The air seemed to freeze.

Su Hewan looked at the madman on the platform, her mind racing.

【This is classic hostage-taker psychology. He’s on the edge of extreme excitement and despair. Any stimulation could make him kill the hostage. I have to distract him and break his psychological defenses.】

She took a deep breath and suddenly stepped forward.

“Su Hewan!” Lu Yan shouted in a low voice, trying to pull her back, but Shen Jue stopped him.

Shen Jue looked at Su Hewan’s back, a complicated glint flashing in his eyes.

“Let her try.”

Su Hewan ignored the commotion behind her. She stared straight at Prince Ning. There was not the slightest trace of fear on her face—only a faint, mocking smile.

“Your Highness, do you really think that by taking His Majesty hostage, you’ll be able to live?”

Prince Ning froze for a moment, then glared at the reckless palace maid with vicious eyes.

“Who are you? Since when is it your place to speak here?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter.”

Su Hewan’s cool voice echoed through the great hall.