Under the cover of night.
Outside the palace gate.
The imperial guards surrounded the entire palace tightly and were on high alert.
Countless soldiers in armor stood in the cold wind, and the air was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
Until in the dark night, a black shadow suddenly appeared silently, hidden in the darkness, and moved at an extremely fast speed, leaving only a series of afterimages in its place.
It was not until it was approaching the palace gate that it finally attracted the attention of the imperial guards at the gate.
"who?!"
A sharp cold shout was heard.
But before the cold shout could even finish, in the darkness, the afterimage rushed directly towards the palace gate like a whirlwind.
The strong wind from under the robe knocked down several imperial guards in an instant.
The originally well-prepared formation was torn open abruptly!
"Someone is trying to break out of the palace by force, stop him!"
This cold shout finally attracted the attention of the other imperial guards.
Next second!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Several figures emerged from the imperial guards and approached from all directions, trying to stop the black shadow.
However, the black shadow turned a blind eye and did not take these imperial guards with strong martial arts skills seriously at all.
Under the wide black robe, a hideous bronze mask gave everyone a heavy and strange atmosphere.
"boom!"
The vast internal energy continuously emerged from the wide sleeves, forcing back all the imperial guards who were trying to approach.
The imperial guards had just approached when they were blown away by this powerful internal force.
No one can stop it!
This scene made the hearts of all the imperial guards present suddenly sink.
Something is wrong!
The martial arts of this mysterious master... are so terrifying!
The terrifying aura is too terrifying to look directly at!
Such momentum, more like...
"Grandmaster?!"
Many people looked terrified. There were only a handful of masters in the world.
Tonight, a master martial artist unexpectedly broke into the palace?!
"stop!"
In the dark night, the figure in black robes tore through the encirclement of the imperial guards as if they were in an empty space, and approached the palace gate as if they were in an empty space.
The palace walls that were almost insurmountable for ordinary people were no problem for him.
No one can stop it!
The imperial guards in the palace could only watch helplessly as the mysterious figure in black robe escaped from the palace in broad daylight right under everyone's noses!
"Quick, report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
"A suspected Grandmaster has appeared!"
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
“…”
Inside and outside the palace gate, it was already a mess.
Faced with the appearance of a suspected master, the imperial guards were helpless.
Although there are also masters in the palace, it is extremely difficult to kill masters of this level.
What's more, you want to stop the other party?
Just as the civil strife was raging outside the palace gate, a figure in black robes quietly left the palace and hid in the darkness.
Not long after, he appeared outside the palace gate, inside a secluded courtyard. The leader of the Celestial God Cult, dressed in a loose black robe, entered the courtyard.
"Master!"
Several figures had been waiting in the courtyard for a long time. When they saw the leader appear, they hurried forward to greet him.
"Where is Saint Liu?"
A deep and hoarse voice came from under the bronze mask.
I glanced at the crowd, but didn't see the person in red.
"Master, Saint Liu has not returned yet." Someone reported.
Upon hearing this news, the eyes beneath the bronze mask suddenly became sharp: "Is she still in the palace?"
"Where is the Third Prince?"
"The Third Prince's rebellion failed, and the palace gates have been sealed. No news from the palace can be heard... Currently, no news has come from the palace..."
Inside the Celestial God Sect, a gloomy look flashed across the eyes of the Third Elder, who said, "I wonder if Saint Lady Liu... has silenced the Third Prince!"
Silent and cold.
The leader of the Tianshen Sect, who did not speak, gave everyone present a fierce aura that made them shudder.
"Everyone, go down first."
After a while, the voice of the leader of the Tianshen Sect was heard.
"yes."
Everyone present spoke respectfully and left the courtyard one after another.
The third elder looked up at the leader, seemed to want to say something but hesitated. In the end, he said nothing and retreated.
After everyone left, the leader of the Celestial God Cult, who had always been calm, profound and mysterious, seemed to tremble slightly as he stood there.
Immediately following.
“Ahem…”
Accompanied by a series of coughs, it was visibly seen that the leader's breathing became disordered and his original momentum dissipated.
He covered his chest with one hand, and his eyes, which had been calm all the time, flickered with a hint of astonishment, as if he had not been able to accept it for a long time.
He, is injured?!
…
"Piaomiao, how are you? Are you seriously injured? Do you want to call the imperial physician?!"
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
When Li Ci Ning realized that Piaomiao was injured, he panicked.
From childhood to adulthood, his sister had always been a strong and calm woman. He had never seen Piaomiao so pale, and he had never seen his sister so weak as she was now.
Li Piaomiao now looks visibly more haggard.
Her face was still that cold and clear, but now it had a bit of unhealthy paleness, as if she was very tired, which made her look much weaker.
Especially these coughs made her breathing disordered.
Such a scene made Li Ci Ning extremely frightened and he immediately wanted to call the imperial physician.
“No need!”
Li Piaomiao waved her hand to stop Li Ci Ning.
She had a cold face and shook her head: "I'm fine."
But Li Qining didn't believe it at all. It was the first time in his life that he saw his sister with such an expression. He was very worried: "You are..."
"It's nothing serious!"
There was still not much emotion on Li Piaomiao's face. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to quietly practice Qigong to heal her wounds.
Li Ci Ning stood aside, not daring to slack off in the slightest, and was filled with worry.
Tonight, he had indeed already secured victory. From beginning to end, everything had unfolded just as he had anticipated.
The third brother wanted to kill him, and even more so wanted to force his father to abdicate, all in one go!
He knew his third brother's methods. Besides dealing with him, the Third Prince would definitely try every possible means to attack his father. However, Li Qining was not overly worried. His father had the protection of the top masters in the palace. There were many masters.
With Piaomiao in charge, nothing serious will happen.
But what Li Ci Ning didn't expect was that Piaomiao was injured.
Could it be that a master even more powerful than Piaomiao has appeared over there?!
Li Ci Ning was filled with worry, and after closing his eyes and practicing internal energy to heal his wounds for a while, Li Piaomiao slowly opened his eyes.
Her face was still pale and she was obviously injured, but she looked a little better.
"Piaomiao, how are you?"
"fine."
Li Piaomiao said, "It's nothing serious."
Hearing this, Li Qining breathed a sigh of relief, then asked nervously, "What happened? How did Piaomiao get injured? Did a master appear on Father's side?"
"Um."
Li Piaomiao nodded.
"Who is it?"
"The leader of the Celestial God Cult."
"The leader of the Celestial God Cult?"
Li Ci Ning frowned, having no impression of this title.
"What's the origin?"
Li Piaomiao looked calm as he recalled something: "It should be a cult organization that appeared in southern Xinjiang."
"Southern Xinjiang?"
Li Ci Ning's frown deepened. The situation in Southern Xinjiang was quite complicated. Although the Southern Xinjiang states had been destroyed by Lin Hengzhong over a decade ago and their territory incorporated into the Daning Dynasty, the dynasty's control over the region was not strong.
He had never heard of this Heavenly God Religion.
"What is the origin of this Celestial God Sect leader?"
Li Piaomiao shook his head.
She also had no idea of this person's origins; he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, leaving no clues. Even after fighting him tonight, Li Piaomiao couldn't tell which school of martial arts he had learned from.
Very weird!
"Forget it!"
Li Ci Ning shook his head. "I'll have someone investigate thoroughly later. This person appeared in the palace tonight. He's either related to my third brother or is a remnant of some powerful force in the capital... If he's related to Southern Xinjiang, he's probably the remnant of the former Southern Xinjiang states, trying to shake the foundation of our Daning Dynasty and restore the country..."
The countries in southern Xinjiang are already a thing of the past. No matter how much trouble these remaining forces cause, they cannot change the situation.
"Since they appeared in the capital, they must have left some clues."
Li Qining's eyes turned slightly cold. He took a deep breath, and his expression gradually returned to normal. He looked at Li Piaomiao and said, "Piaomiao, thank you for your hard work tonight!"
Li Piaomiao didn't say anything.
As the eldest princess, she has a share of responsibility for what happened tonight.
"Oh right, about the Queen Mother..."
Li Ci Ning said, "Such a big thing happened tonight. Was the Queen Mother not frightened?"
Li Piaomiao shook her head slightly: "Jinxiu and Anning are staying with the Queen Mother."
"That's good……"
Li Ci Ning breathed a sigh of relief. Jinxiu and An Ning were twin maids-in-waiting at Piao Miao's side. Jinxiu, though unskilled in martial arts, had a cheerful personality, while An Ning, while quiet, was highly skilled in martial arts. With the two of them by his mother's side, there was nothing to worry about.
So, Li Ci Ning said again: "You are injured, go back and rest and recuperate first, and leave the rest to me."
Li Piaomiao has already helped him a lot tonight, so he won't need her for the next thing.
It's almost dawn!
Such a big thing had happened, and the news had probably reached the capital by now. After dawn, it was New Year's Day, a day when all officials had a day off and did not have to attend the morning court.
But this incident happened at the beginning of the new year. I am afraid that these officials will have a difficult new year.
"Um."
Li Piaomiao didn't say much. She was indeed injured. Although it wasn't serious, she still needed to rest.
She slowly stood up and was about to leave when a report from a soldier suddenly came from outside the hall.
"Your Highness, Crown Prince, Your Highness, Princess, someone wants to see you outside the palace!"
ask to see?
Li Ci Ning was puzzled: "Who?"
"His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Lin!"
When these words were spoken, both people in the hall were stunned.
Li Ci Ning looked slightly stunned and a little surprised.
Prince Lin?
Lin Jiangnian?
Why is he here at this time?
Even Li Piaomiao seemed a little surprised, but then she narrowed her eyes slightly, as if realizing something.
"sister……"
Li Ci Ning subconsciously turned his head to look at Li Piaomiao beside him: "Why is he here tonight?"
Li Piaomiao looked forward and said calmly, "I don't know."
Li Ci Ning paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something, and then said, "Let him in."
"yes!"
“…”
Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The atmosphere is depressing.
The air was still filled with a faint smell of blood.
Just outside the palace, several fully armed imperial guards wearing armor were standing with serious expressions, as if facing a powerful enemy.
They felt anxious, as if there was some oppressive atmosphere, which made them stay extremely alert and not dare to slack off in the slightest.
Not far in front of these imperial guards, outside the palace, two figures stood quietly.
Two beautiful women with stunning temperament!
Both of them are dressed in black, but the difference is that the woman on the left is wearing a tight suit, looking heroic, while the woman on the right is wearing a black dress, looking elegant and cool.
Both of them had extremely cool and beautiful temperaments. Even in the dark, people still dared not look directly at them.
More importantly, the imperial guards outside the palace felt an invisible sense of oppression from these two stunningly beautiful women.
This oppressive atmosphere forced them to deal with it with caution as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
These two women... are not simple!
…
at the same time.
Outside the hall, Liu Su and Zhi Yuan stood outside the Yangxin Hall. They stood side by side, a moderate distance between them. Both looked forward, silent.
Such a strange and seemingly harmonious scene is very weird!
a long time.
"Oh, this is his method?"
Liu Su looked quietly at the gate of the Yangxin Palace in front of her, and a sneer appeared on her cold face.
I thought this guy had some powerful ideas, but I didn't expect him to go find the prince?
He, a prince of the Lin King, showed up here tonight. Instead of trying to conceal his identity and leave quietly, he even took the initiative to turn himself in... Stupid!
He wouldn't really rely on his engagement with the eldest princess to try to get close to the prince, right?
Could the prince let him go for the sake of his reputation?
Thinking of this, Liu Su turned her head to look at Zhiyuan beside her: "You, didn't you try to persuade him just now?"
Zhiyuan didn't turn around and said calmly, "What do you want to persuade me?"
"If he goes to the Crown Prince...isn't he afraid of being mistaken for the Third Prince's accomplice and being arrested and imprisoned for treason?"
The imperial court is now worried about how to take action against Prince Lin's Mansion. Isn't his action tonight trying to give the imperial court an advantage?
Zhiyuan didn't say anything, but just turned his head and looked at her.
Eye contact.
"What's that look?"
Liu Su quickly noticed something wrong in Zhiyuan's eyes. Why did this woman look at her with eyes that seemed... to be filled with some care?
"Why do you want to persuade me?"
Zhiyuan turned his eyes away from her and said lightly: "He's not that stupid!"
The nonchalant tone instantly made Liu Su realize...she was deliberately making fun of him!
What do you mean 'he's not that stupid'?
What you mean is, are you calling her stupid?
That guy isn't that stupid, yet he still dares to go find the prince. So there's only one explanation... He already had a plan!
That guy had already made plans, and this woman also knew about it?
The two of them were very sweet, sharing their feelings with each other, and were in love with each other...but she was the only one who was excluded from their relationship.
Like a fool?
Thinking of this, Liu Su felt as if something was piling up in her chest, making her feel stuffy and angry.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get!
"Are you showing off in front of me?"
Liu Su looked at her coldly.
Zhiyuan looked back at her, his eyes remaining calm.
“Do I need to show off?”
“…”
