"It's best that way, otherwise..."
Ji Hong let out a chilling laugh, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes before quickly vanishing.
Mama Qin lowered her head, looking at the blood staining the ground. A cold glint flashed in her eyes. Otherwise? After today, Lin Yuan would belong to Miao疆. A puppet dared to threaten her?
"Imperial Son, rest assured!"
The Empress Dowager picked up a teacup and handed it to Ji Hong. The tea was still hot, as if freshly brewed. Ji Hong held the teacup, picked up the lid, and his face was reflected on the rippling surface of the water. Unfurled tea leaves curled and floated on top. Ji Hong blew away the leaves and brought the cup to his lips.
A small green snake silently crawled behind Mama Qin, approaching her feet, then suddenly leaped up and bit Mama Qin's ankle.
"Ah~"
The sudden, sharp pain made Mama Qin cry out. She quickly scrambled to her feet, turning to look at her ankle. A hint of blood flashed in her eyes. She grabbed the snake and, with a hard pull, tore it in half. Blood splattered on the ground, quickly mixing with the tea from the cup Ji Hong had knocked over.
Mama Qin followed the tea stains on the ground upwards. Her gaze met Ji Hong's smiling face. Her heart skipped a beat, and she then looked at the Empress Dowager. Just as she was about to say something, her vision suddenly went black.
Poison. The snake was venomous!
"Imperial physician, imperial physician..."
She heard the Empress Dowager's voice. In a daze, she saw a figure in imperial yellow squatting in front of her, smiling at her.
...
It took only a moment for Mama Qin to be bitten by the venomous snake and succumb to the poison. When the imperial physician approached, she had already stopped breathing.
"Imperial physician, how is it?" the Empress Dowager asked.
The imperial physician shook his head. "The poison acted too quickly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager's expression was grim. She glanced deeply at Mama Qin, lying on the ground, then impatiently shifted her gaze. She waved her hand. "Forget it, forget it. It was her fate. You may rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The imperial physician stood up, not daring to look at His Majesty. He remembered the Empress Dowager's words when the tea cup in His Majesty's hand had fallen to the ground right after Mama Qin was bitten by the snake, and the unfathomably profound smile that had suddenly appeared on His Majesty's face.
Heaven's will is unfathomable.
The imperial physician truly understood the meaning of these four words for the first time.
The Empress Dowager looked down at the teacup at her feet, her eyes drooping with fatigue. "Imperial Son, go and retrieve the military tally."
Ji Hong blinked slightly, then the next moment, he took out the military tally from his embrace. The Empress Dowager froze, her hand, clutching her prayer beads, suddenly tightened. "You brought it with you?"
Ji Hong explained, "Ever since you gave it to your son, I have worn it with me at all times, never parting from it!"
"So that's how it is!"
"Imperial Son, write an edict to dispatch the Jiyang Army to come to the capital's aid!"
Ji Hong toyed with the military tally in his hand but did not immediately write the edict. Instead, he turned and looked towards the hall entrance.
Guards assembled, blocking the path of the Demon Hunting Army. Mu Baiyu swiftly drew the saber at his waist, pointing it at the Demon Hunting Army. "Those who rebel shall be executed!"
The deputy general of the Demon Hunting Army said nothing more, raising his weapon to meet the attack.
However, at that moment, the sound of uniform footsteps echoed from afar. From the depths of the imperial palace, a group of soldiers in black armor emerged!
"Black Armor? The Black Armored Army?"
The deputy general of the Demon Hunting Army's eyes widened. Did the royal family still have the Black Armored Army?
"Those who rebel shall be killed without mercy!"
The earth-shattering roar resounded throughout the imperial palace, accompanied by the clamor of battle!
Listening to the sounds of fighting from outside, Ji Hong tucked the military tally back into his embrace and turned, smiling. "It seems an edict is not needed!"
The Empress Dowager abruptly stood up and looked at Ji Hong. "Imperial Son, you made arrangements?"
Ji Hong shook his head. "Does Mother still remember the army that was established at the founding of Lin Yuan?"
"You mean, the Black Armored Army?"
"Yes, the Black Armored Army!"
"Imperial Son, are you saying you control the Black Armored Army?" The Empress Dowager's eyes widened in shock. The Black Armored Army was a formidable force created by the first emperor of Lin Yuan. Like the Demon Hunting Army today, they were armies renowned throughout the era. Yet, Ji Hong was now telling her that the Lin Yuan royal family still possessed such an army?
How could she not know this?
"Yes, Mother!"
Ji Hong smiled gently, showing none of his earlier sinister demeanor. "This army has always been in the hands of the royal family, passed down through generations."
"Oh, it was given to your son by Father before he died, so Mother wouldn't have known!"
"You even kept this from me?" The Empress Dowager looked at Ji Hong in disbelief, suddenly feeling as if the person before her had become a complete stranger, unable to recognize any of his former self.
"Mother jests!"
"It's just that Father instructed that the existence of the Black Armored Army must not be revealed unless absolutely necessary!"
"Mother won't blame your son, will she?"
The Empress Dowager gazed at Ji Hong, remaining silent for a long time. In the end, she said no more, merely sitting back down.
...
Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo stood side by side, watching the armies clashing in the distance. Nan Shiying turned her head to look at Ji Jinmo. "Is today's business concluded?"
He had used her disappearance as an excuse to lead troops to surround the imperial palace.
One objective was to lure out the remnants of Miao疆 hidden in Jingren Palace.
The second was to probe Ji Hong's hidden strengths.
So, was there a third?
"Not yet!" Ji Jinmo replied. "There's one more thing!"
"What?"
"The treasury's Fotih Lian!"
Nan Shiying remembered that during the royal hunt, Ji Hong had tried to use the Fotih Lian as bait to lure her into participating.
So, was this the third matter for today?
"The Demon Hunting Army has already gone. We just need to wait!"
After the Demon Hunting Army stormed the imperial palace, they split into two groups. One team approached Jingren Palace, while the other headed to the treasury to seize the Fotih Lian.
Nan Shiying looked up at him.
She recalled the signal flare she had received from Xuan Yi when she entered the palace a few hours ago.
"You knew I would come?"
Ji Jinmo replied, "I guessed."
"What if your guess was wrong?"
"If I didn't come out within an hour, they would attack the imperial city!"
"You truly think of everything!" Nan Shiying narrowed her eyes, revealing her pearly white teeth.
Ji Jinmo looked down at her. "Xuan Yi is by your side, and I am at ease. Moreover..." Ji Jinmo pursed his lips and added, "The Shadow Guards have always been with you."
Besides Xuan Yi, Nan Shiying also had Shadow Guards by her side.
"A form of surveillance?"
"No!"
"Protection!"
Ji Jinmo said earnestly and sincerely.
Nan Shiying stopped smiling and turned to look at the distant flames. They had set a fire when they left the cold palace earlier. With the east wind today, the fire would likely spread to the back garden.