Chapter 156

When Tang Peiyi arrived at the Xie residence with his men, he saw that one of the buildings in the front courtyard had caught fire.

The flames soared into the sky.

The blue stone paving before the gates had already been stained red with blood, and the crimson stream continued winding farther down the street.

The heavy snow drifting from the night sky fell into the sea of scarlet and melted instantly.

Corpses lay everywhere.

Xie Zheng stood among them, holding a halberd in one hand.

The black armor covering his body had long since been dyed dark red with blood. Crimson droplets still dripped from the ancient halberd blade engraved with the likeness of a Taotie beast.

His head was slightly lowered, making it impossible to see his expression.

Only the lower half of his pale jaw remained visible in the firelight.

Arrogant.

Untamed.

Like a god of slaughter.

Behind him stood several hundred guards who had clearly survived the same massacre.

Their killing intent was so dense that, at a glance in the darkness, they seemed more like demons than men.

Even Tang Peiyi and the others involuntarily sucked in a breath upon witnessing the scene.

The blood continued swallowing the snow and spreading toward the street.

When it reached the horses’ hooves, even the warhorses seemed intimidated by the suffocating aura.

Several stepped backward uneasily.

Only then did Xie Zheng raise his eyes and glance coldly toward Tang Peiyi.

From horseback, Tang Peiyi cupped his fists.

“Marquis.”

That single word left him momentarily speechless.

Judging from the corpses before the estate, at least five garrison units from the Central Division had participated in the siege.

Cannons had even been deployed nearby.

Yet all of them had died at the hands of the few hundred men guarding the Xie residence.

Wasn’t Marquis Wu’an only supposed to have eight hundred Blood-Clad Riders?

Fan Changyu had already taken seven or eight hundred of them away.

Then who were these men?

Tang Peiyi was too shocked for words.

The blazing firelight illuminated the varied expressions of those mounted nearby.

Xie Zheng casually kicked aside a corpse lying at his feet.

His bloodstained face remained eerily calm.

“They brought only two thousand men and dared bombard the gates of my residence.”

He gave a contemptuous snort.

“They were tired of living.”

The seventy-two garrisons of the Five Armies Camp varied in size.

The Central Division alone contained eight thousand soldiers.

For the Li family to commit a quarter of the Central Division’s strength against the Xie residence showed just how wary they were of Xie Zheng.

Unfortunately for them, they had still underestimated him.

Suddenly, another wave of galloping horses echoed from the far end of the street.

Torchlight intertwined like a fiery dragon.

The elite Xie soldiers who had just finished their bloody battle, along with Tang Peiyi’s men, all turned to look.

The commander leading the newcomers was unfamiliar.

However, judging from his armor, he belonged to the Three Thousand Battalion.

Xie Zheng observed the approaching force with cold eyes.

His expression remained astonishingly indifferent.

Handing the halberd to a guard behind him, he instead picked up a bow and nocked an arrow.

In a lazy tone, he remarked,

“The people hoping to reap the rewards have arrived.”

—

The snowstorm raged on.

Funeral paper offerings blown from somewhere drifted across the deserted streets.

The once-celebratory New Year’s night had become strangely sinister.

Outside Meridian Gate, blazing torches illuminated the darkness.

Massive formations of soldiers filled the square between the eastern and western watchtowers.

The front ranks raised heavy shields above their heads to block the arrows raining down from the towers.

Since no battering rams were available within the capital, the soldiers lifted one of the massive bronze cauldrons from the square and repeatedly smashed it against the palace gates.

Behind the military formation stood Grand Tutor Li in his crane-embroidered official robes.

Beside him stood a pale, gloomy-looking Qi Min wrapped in a cloak.

“The Imperial Guards contain our people,” Grand Tutor Li said while watching the sea of soldiers surge forward.

“The palace gates will fall within another quarter hour.”

Qi Min lazily lifted his eyes.

“No movement from Marquis Wu’an?”

Grand Tutor Li glanced at him.

Though the question clearly implied doubt toward the Li family’s arrangements, he remained outwardly calm.

“I’ve already persuaded four divisions of the Five Armies Camp to join us.”

“When Marquis Wu’an entered the capital, he brought no army.”

“The eight hundred personal riders at his side were all taken away by Meng’s daughter.”

“Even if Xie Zheng is a military genius, what waves can he possibly stir without soldiers?”

Only then did Qi Min’s expression ease slightly.

Grand Tutor Li smiled faintly.

“The Bureau of Astronomy has already begun spreading rumors.”

“For years, floods and droughts have plagued the realm because the Dragon Veins are disturbed and the throne has been occupied illegitimately.”

“The people have long grown resentful of Wei Yan’s control over the government.”

“Crown Prince Chengde’s reputation among the populace remains as strong as ever.”

“Your Highness is his descendant.”

“Your ascension is both the will of the people and the wish of the court.”

Qi Min remained silent.

His eyes reflected the brightly illuminated watchtowers in the distance.

The night was thick and oppressive.

Even the imperial city, decorated with festive red lanterns, seemed dwarfed beneath the darkness, as though preparing to submit at his feet.

Seventeen years.

He had finally returned to this place.

Qi Min rubbed the jade thumb ring on his hand.

His expression remained calm, yet the feeling that everything was now within his grasp fed his ambition like fuel thrown onto a blazing fire.

Heaven and earth.

The cosmos itself.

The rising and setting of the sun and moon no longer mattered.

He was about to become the ruler of all under heaven.

At last, the palace gates gave way beneath the relentless pounding of the bronze cauldron.

The soldiers of the Five Armies Camp roared as they charged into the imperial city.

Blood splashed across the narrow passageways between the palace walls.

When Qi Min entered alongside Grand Tutor Li, he glanced at the corpses of the Imperial Guards littering the ground.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Whether mocking or merely questioning was impossible to tell.

“Wei Yan has controlled the government for over a decade.”

“This is all he can do?”

The general sent ahead to capture the young emperor in Taiqian Palace soon came rushing back.

“Grand Tutor!”

“There’s no one in Taiqian Palace!”

Both Qi Min and Grand Tutor Li immediately changed expression.

Grand Tutor Li shouted,

“Then search the entire palace! Find them!”

Though the general obeyed and left, neither Qi Min nor Grand Tutor Li felt reassured.

Had the palace’s weak defenses been intentional?

Were they being lured into a trap?

As if to confirm their fears, the sound of armored troops suddenly arose outside the palace gates.

The two men climbed one of the watchtowers and looked down.

Nearly two thousand cavalry had appeared in the square before Meridian Gate.

Every rider wore full armor.

These were clearly not ordinary soldiers of the Five Armies Camp.

A stern old man with a straight, powerful posture slowly rode forward from the cavalry formation.

His eagle-like eyes swept over Qi Min and Grand Tutor Li.

“Li Xing has attempted rebellion.”

“Arrest all such traitors.”

Grand Tutor Li’s face darkened, though he remained relatively composed.

Immediately, he shouted toward the old man.

“Wei Yan, do you truly think your mere Three Thousand Battalion can suppress the Five Armies Camp?”

Wei Yan replied calmly,

“Of course not.”

“But Grand Tutor Li has never commanded troops.”

“There is a saying in warfare: all warfare is based on deception.”

Before Grand Tutor Li could understand his meaning, Wei Yan made a gesture.

The archers atop the watchtowers instantly turned their bows away from the cavalry below and aimed directly at Grand Tutor Li, Qi Min, and their followers.

The guards around them immediately drew their swords.

Yet arrows were blind weapons.

The sudden reversal had happened too quickly.

Even the guards looked alarmed.

Among the four divisions that had supposedly joined the Li family, two had secretly belonged to Wei Yan all along.

The remaining two divisions stared uncertainly at the Li family’s guards.

Grand Tutor Li gritted his teeth.

“So those two divisions were yours all along?”

“When did this happen?”

Standing before the cavalry formation with his hands behind his back, Wei Yan cut an imposing figure against the cold wind.

“Perhaps Grand Tutor Li should ask himself.”

“If you couldn’t even protect your own grandson, what qualifications do you have to inspire confidence in others?”

Grand Tutor Li’s jaw tightened.

For the first time, his face visibly paled.

Qi Min, who had remained silent until now, suddenly began applauding.

“Well said.”

His smile widened.

“I wonder whether the soldiers will still trust you once your wife and son have been captured.”

Wei Yan lifted his eyes and looked at him coldly.

Despite being surrounded by countless arrows, Qi Min displayed no fear whatsoever.

Instead, amusement danced in the corners of his mouth.

A disturbance suddenly arose beyond the cavalry formation.

Messengers from the Wei residence arrived on horseback.

“Prime Minister!”

“The Wei residence has been attacked!”

“Madam and Young Master have both been taken!”

The messenger’s arm was soaked in blood, evidence of a fierce battle.

Wei Yan looked at Qi Min again.

The two had crossed swords before.

He knew that Qi Min possessed a secret force left behind by Crown Prince Chengde.

These royal shadow guards were all loyal retainers who had once received the Crown Prince’s favor.

Their martial skills were extraordinary.

They obeyed only Qi Min.

Many of Wei Yan’s elite assassins had already died at their hands.

Qi Min had appeared tonight with very few attendants.

It turned out he had sent them to attack the Wei residence.

Grand Tutor Li was overjoyed.

Immediately, he shouted at Wei Yan,

“Wei Yan, let’s see whether you still care about your wife and son.”

“If you’re ruthless enough to abandon your only heir, then continue manipulating power like a eunuch.”

“When history records your deeds a hundred years from now, you’ll provide future generations with a fine joke.”

Before Wei Yan could respond, another voice drifted through the cold wind.

Lazy.

Cold.

Dangerous.

“The imperial city is unusually lively tonight.”

Everyone turned toward the rear of Wei Yan’s formation.

Almost instantly, the cavalry shifted formation and leveled their spears forward.

Xie Zheng appeared.

His black armor was stained with blood.

Behind him marched several hundred elite Xie soldiers, along with Tang Peiyi and the others.

They advanced toward the square before Meridian Gate as leisurely as if they were taking an evening stroll.

Qi Min had remained composed even when Wei Yan and the Three Thousand Battalion appeared.

The moment he saw Xie Zheng, however, his face finally darkened completely.

Turning to Grand Tutor Li, he asked,

“Didn’t you say he was trapped at the Xie residence?”

Grand Tutor Li noticed Tang Peiyi and the Jizhou officers among Xie Zheng’s group.

His face darkened with annoyance.

“Tang Peiyi must have led men to rescue him.”

“I underestimated those warriors.”

The night was too dark for him to see that the armor worn by Xie Zheng and his men looked as though it had been soaked in blood.

Otherwise, he would never have reached such a conclusion.

Seeing Qi Min’s expression grow increasingly grim, he quickly added,

“The Imperial Great-Grandson is still in Xie Zheng’s hands.”

“He likely intends to imitate what Wei Yan did seventeen years ago and place that child on the throne.”

“Who ultimately wins remains to be seen.”

Qi Min’s eyes darkened.

No one could tell what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he called out toward Xie Zheng.

“Marquis Wu’an, since you’ve come to join tonight’s festivities, why not join forces with me?”

Xie Zheng did not answer immediately.

Qi Min continued,

“Seventeen years ago, my father and General Xie both died in Jinzhou.”

“Surely I’m not the only one who wants vengeance for that.”

Xie Zheng lazily raised his eyes.

“It sounds as though Your Highness knows the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou.”

Qi Min laughed loudly.

“How could I not know?”

He pointed directly at Wei Yan.

“The fall of Jinzhou.”

“The massacre of its people.”

“The surrender of the twelve prefectures of Liaodong to the barbarians.”

“Every bit of it was orchestrated by Wei Yan in his ambition to seize Great Yin’s throne.”

The entire imperial city fell silent.

Most people present knew nothing of the truth behind Jinzhou.

Even Grand Tutor Li, who only knew fragments of the story, felt his heart skip a beat upon hearing Qi Min’s certainty.

The devastation caused by Jinzhou’s fall had plunged Great Yin into decline for more than a decade.

If Wei Yan had truly engineered it all, then ten thousand deaths would not have been enough punishment.

The hatred Qi Min had buried in his chest for seventeen years finally found an outlet.

Even the corners of his eyes reddened.

Looking at Wei Yan, he sneered.

“Did you think that after slaughtering the palace seventeen years ago, no one would ever learn of your illicit affair within the imperial harem?”

Wei Yan’s expression remained unchanged.

Yet his gaze became completely frigid.

Cutting off Qi Min’s words, he issued a single order.

“Attack.”