"What do you mean?" Li Sinian asked.
For some reason, he felt that the Empress now seemed somewhat terrifying. Her wicked smile made him feel uneasy.
"It means what it says," Xue Zining said calmly.
Li Sinian looked at her and said coldly, "Since Your Majesty has returned to court to court death, I, your subject, cannot defy your wishes. If Your Majesty surrenders obediently and writes the abdication decree, in the name of His Majesty the Cloud Emperor, I will take good care of Your Majesty and the others. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what? Regicide?" Xue Zining looked up at Li Sinian and asked coldly.
Li Sinian bowed slightly, "What I do is in accordance with the will of heaven."
Xue Zining sneered upon hearing this, "Well said, 'in accordance with the will of heaven'. I never knew that a traitorous official who commits regicide could change his tune to be in accordance with the will of heaven. Li Sinian, when it comes to lies, I am not as good as you."
Li Sinian, his face flushed with embarrassment from the sarcasm, became somewhat enraged. "Your Majesty, have you thought this through?"
"Although I am a woman, I am also a member of the Xue family. Your Aunt Liu was not wrong when she said that no one from the Xue family surrenders without a fight. Li Sinian, you think what you are doing will be praised by the world, but you are wrong. You are merely using this as an excuse. No matter how you change, you cannot alter the fact that you are a traitorous official and a regicide."
"Since Your Majesty does not agree, there is no point in me saying more. In that case, I can only apologize." With that, Li Sinian waved his hand.
Countless people surged forward. Xue Yan stepped forward, holding her long sword and pointing it at them, angrily saying, "Your lord has gone mad, have you all gone mad too? Regicide is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of kin. Do you not care, but what about your families?"
Li Sinian sneered, "Your Majesty need not worry about this. Those who can stand in my heart are already alone."
"What do you mean?" Xue Yan was somewhat startled.
Li Sinian said coldly, "To join me, one must be alone."
Xue Yan was stunned. Xue Zining heard this and said calmly, "Their families have likely been killed by their own hands, just so they wouldn't become their weaknesses."
Xue Yan shook her head, finding it hard to believe. "This... what's the difference between this and devils?"
"No difference, they are devils," Li Yaoqin said word by word through gritted teeth.
When her father chose to abandon her, she knew that from then on, she would be alone.
Suddenly, her shoulder felt a slight weight. She looked up to see the Empress patting her shoulder. "But you haven't become a devil like them, Li Yaoqin. If we all get out of this safely, come to my side. I lack people like you."
Li Yaoqin was taken aback. "Your... Your Majesty, aren't you afraid I'll go back to my old ways?"
Xue Zining chuckled softly upon hearing this. "You never defeated me before. Do you think you will in the future?"
Li Yaoqin also smiled. "I have never won from beginning to end, because His Majesty the Cloud Emperor was devoted to me. I have also realized that I want to find someone who is solely devoted to me."
Xue Yan twitched her lips upon hearing this. "Your Majesty, let's talk about these things later. For now, we need to figure out how to get out."
"Hold on a little longer, Lord Shen will bring troops to rescue us," Xue Zining said.
"Your Majesty, with so many people, I'm afraid I can't handle them alone." Xue Yan's eyes were about to water.
Xue Zining saw that Hua Yunjin was completely drained of strength. If the sword were not supporting his body, he would have already collapsed on the ground.
She sighed.
Li Sinian, seeing that no one was stopping his great undertaking, and that a single Xue Yan was not to be feared, slowly walked forward. "Your Majesty, surrender. Do not let your people make futile sacrifices in vain."
Lin Feng also stepped forward. "Please, Your Majesty, abdicate."
Sun Zhiyuan and Feng Yu stepped forward and bowed. "Please, Your Majesty, abdicate!"
Xue Zining sneered upon hearing this. "Do you really think I have no one by my side?"
Li Sinian said, "Your Majesty, at this point, do not be stubborn. Otherwise, you will be the one to suffer. You may not care about yourself, but what about your children?"
Xue Zining's gaze turned cold. "Li Sinian, I thought you were an intelligent person, but it seems you are merely self-righteous."
"Your Majesty, there is no point in saying more. It appears you have no intention of abdicating. In that case, I will not delay any longer."
With that, Li Sinian gave a signal.
Several men in black surrounded Xue Zining and the others, awaiting Li Sinian's order to strike them down.
Xue Zining suddenly felt a fierce kick to her stomach. She touched herself and said, "You can't wait any longer either, can you?"
"Miss Li, support His Majesty and leave first. Leave these people to me," Xue Yan said word by word.
"Lord Xue Yan..." Li Yaoqin asked tremblingly.
Xue Zining bit her lower lip and placed her hand on Xue Yan's shoulder. "Xue Yan, I have never abandoned my people."
Xue Yan trembled all over.
Xue Zining looked up, her delicate and beautiful face ashen pale. Her eyes were as clear and cold as frost, like ice that never melted, chilling people to the bone.
"Li Sinian, Lin Feng, Sun Zhiyuan, Feng Yu, you were once my loyal ministers, the people I trusted. Now you are the ones demanding my life. I cherish talent, and that's why I was reluctant to act. Now it seems I was too kind and soft-hearted..."
She sighed with immense regret. Suddenly, her expression turned icy, as heavy as a ten-thousand-pound boulder. Her voice became sharp and cold as she shouted, "Are the Feng Guards present?"
A gust of cold wind blew past, and two people stood before her, bowing. "Feng Wu is here."
"Feng Jiu is here."
Xue Yan was somewhat disbelieving. "You... didn't you resign and go back?"
Feng Wu looked up and smiled at her former junior sister. "Once you join the Feng Guards, how can you leave so easily?"
Feng Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. "I was watching from the shadows, my heart pounding. Your Majesty, you finally remembered to let us appear."
Xue Zining said, "I hope I never have to call upon you in this life."
"So Your Majesty has helpers? Your Majesty is indeed well-hidden. However, even with a few more people, the outcome is already decided. Besides, there are only two of them?" Li Sinian sneered.
Did this Empress underestimate them too much? What could two people do? They would only add to the casualties.
Only Feng Yu was stunned. He suddenly asked, "But... but the Feng Guards, once they appear, blood flows like a river?"
Xue Zining looked at Feng Yu with cold eyes. "Lord Feng knows?"
"Lord Feng, don't boost the morale of others and dampen your own spirits! What do you mean, 'blood flows like a river'?"
Feng Yu shook his head. "You haven't heard of them. That's the real devil, the true devil."
"Your Majesty, can I make my move now?" Feng Jiu asked, his chest burning with anger from watching from the shadows.
Xue Zining looked at Feng Jiu and Feng Wu, and said word by word, "Kill!"