Qinglan Shangren had always believed that after so many years of management,
with the young new emperor and the deterrence of the Bloodthirsty Hall, the Tianlang Kingdom was firmly in his grasp.
Who knew that in the five years he was away,
the new Tianlang emperor, Rao Disha, who had been obediently acting as his puppet,
had secretly allied with all the ministers of Tianlang and taken control of the Tianlang army.
His methods were so skillful that even his confidantes in the Bloodthirsty Hall found no trace of it.
His acting was so superb that he himself was kept in the dark.
Just as he was loudly accusing and ordering Rao Disha to revoke the Tianlang kingdom's name,
and to lead the Tianlang ministers to surrender to Ji Shiyou,
Rao Disha finally revealed his true colors and stopped playing along.
The young emperor, abandoning his previously obedient demeanor before him, forcefully declared,
"The Tianlang Kingdom will not surrender to Langyue, nor will it become a pawn for Tianxuan Kingdom's restoration.
Tianlang is Tianlang, and any individual is an enemy of all citizens of the Tianlang Kingdom.
He also warned Qinglan Shangren that if he dared to utter such disrespectful and treasonous words again,
he would be dealt with as a traitor. He then feigned concern, saying,
"Qinglan Shangren has worked hard for the Tianlang Kingdom for so many years.
Now that he has grown up, he no longer needs his uncle to oversee the state.
He should retire and enjoy his old age." On the spot, he revoked Qinglan Shangren's position as the Hall Master of the Bloodthirsty Hall,
ordering him to leave the palace to recuperate. The words were pleasant, but in reality, it was an expulsion.
At that moment, eight thousand imperial guards were present. Tianlan Shangren understood that Rao Disha had made thorough preparations.
If he dared to utter a single word of refusal, his good nephew
would not let him leave the Tianlang imperial palace alive.
A wise man knows when to retreat. He could only be forced to accept the decree,
though his heart was filled with venom towards Rao Disha. He never expected that while he was always hunting geese, he would be pecked by one.
He had suffered a setback at the hands of the nephew he had personally supported, who appeared to be obedient and docile.
Thus, he thought that after leaving the palace, he would gather the men of the Bloodthirsty Hall,
storm the imperial palace, and depose Rao Disha.
He would then enthrone another obedient emperor.
Since Rao Disha was out of control, there was no need to keep him alive.
Who knew that when he left the palace, he discovered that
his confidantes in the Bloodthirsty Hall had all been massacred by Rao Disha.
The remaining death warriors were all Rao Disha's men.
No one paid any attention to him, the former old Hall Master, and they urged him to leave.
Therefore, the only people he could rely on in the Bloodthirsty Hall were the eight death warriors he had previously sent to Yuecheng
to monitor Ji Shiyou and Mingyue.
Thus, Qinglan Shangren rushed to Yuecheng, only to discover that those eight death warriors had been captured by Ji Shiyou and taken into the imperial palace.
His purpose in coming to Yuecheng this time was to have Ji Shiyou send troops to attack the Tianlang Kingdom.
Firstly, to complete the unification of the continent and restore the name of Tianxuan Kingdom.
Secondly, he could not swallow his pride and was determined to kill Rao Disha.
So he sneaked into the imperial palace. What made him even angrier was
that he discovered Ji Shiyou, disregarding his earnest efforts,
was willing to endure the torment of love's affliction every month rather than sever his affections and desires.
This led to their earlier argument, but it also allowed Ji Shiyou to learn the entire truth.
However, he did not yet know that Ji Shiyou had already killed the seven captured death warriors.
He was now truly alone, a solitary figure.
"Master, with you saying this, I understand.
Your disciple just wants to say, if the Emperor of Tianlang can do something,
do you think your disciple dares not to? Now you are betrayed by everyone.
You can't go back to the Tianlang Kingdom, can you? What makes you think
your disciple will obey you and make a big move just to vent your anger for you?
Treating the lives of everyone in the world as mere grass, sending troops to Tianlang?"
Ji Shiyou's aura surged, the domineering presence of an emperor flashed, and he looked down at Qinglan Shangren from above.
He finally understood that everything Qinglan Shangren had done
was for his own purposes, and he did not regard him as a disciple.
Rather, he was merely a tool for Qinglan Shangren to achieve his goals.
Therefore, despite calling him "Master," his attitude no longer showed the respect due to a master.
"Hahaha! This is how the Son of Heaven should be!
You will agree. I will give you three days to consider.
After three days, I will come to find you again, and I believe you will agree.
Send troops north and annex Tianlang."
Seeing Ji Shiyou's attitude towards him, Qinglan Shangren not only did not get angry,
but he laughed heartily. Then he left the study and disappeared.
Looking at the doorway, Ji Shiyou did not know what Qinglan Shangren was up to.
After a moment of hesitation, he walked out of the study.
He saw Dongnan and over a dozen guards all lying on the ground.
Clearly, Qinglan Shangren had struck their acupoints to make them unconscious. Ji Shiyou's heart tightened.
"Mingyue!"
He ignored Dongnan and the others on the ground and immediately used his Qinggong to rush towards Lanyue Palace.
Qinglan Shangren had left with such confidence, and he had confidently stated
that Ji Shiyou would agree to his demands.
This must mean he had a bargaining chip to control Ji Shiyou and force him to comply without daring to resist.
In this world, there was only one person who could threaten Ji Shiyou, and that was Mingyue.
Mingyue was Ji Shiyou's fatal weakness. By holding Mingyue hostage, he could completely control Ji Shiyou.
Qinglan Shangren would not fail to see the importance of Mingyue to Ji Shiyou.
"Qinglan Shangren, if you dare to touch a single hair of Mingyue's, I, Ji Shiyou, will not rest until we are both dead!
Mingyue, please be alright, I'm coming!"
Ji Shiyou pushed his movement technique to the extreme, like an afterimage,
as he swept towards Lanyue Palace, his heart shouting continuously.
He knew Mingyue's temper; she would never be captured without a fight and would rather die than yield.
If Qinglan Shangren wanted to abduct her, Mingyue would fight to the death,
even risking mutual destruction with the enemy. This was his greatest fear.
Lanyue Palace was just ahead. The main gate was wide open. Ji Shiyou floated through.
He saw that the courtyard was in disarray. Several servants were lying on the ground, bathed in blood.
"Mingyue!"
Ji Shiyou's eyes turned red, and he roared, passing through the collapsed doorway and entering the main hall.
He saw Shiwang and Renjia collapsed at the door, Cui Mu slumped in the corner, lifeless.
Yanliu lay in front of a table, still holding a teapot that had not been thrown.
"Mingyue! Qinglan Shangren, I will kill you!"
With no sign of Mingyue anywhere, Ji Shiyou let out an enraged roar.
He blamed himself. He should have realized earlier and taken precautions.
He should have followed Qinglan Shangren out of the palace.
He should have deployed imperial guards to protect Lanyue Palace.
He blamed himself for sending Xing Sheng away out of jealousy.
Otherwise, with Xing Sheng there, they could have held out longer, giving him time to arrive and stop it.
Mingyue would not have allowed Qinglan Shangren to take her away. He wondered if Mingyue was injured.
"Cough, cough, cough, Your Majesty, quickly go save the Princess.
A person with a streak of white hair on their forehead broke in.
The Princess feared he would harm us and led him to the backyard.
Please hurry and help, I fear the Princess is in danger."
Granny Yang crawled out from behind the couch, clutching her waist, panting as she spoke.
Upon hearing Granny Yang's words, Ji Shiyou rushed towards the backyard.
As a result, he collided head-on with a figure.