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On the stone bridge, the Crown Prince and Xiao Wenxuan stood facing each other.
Xiao Wenxuan’s words enraged the Crown Prince. He roared, “As long as you die, I will be the Emperor of Great Yu Empire!”
“No, you won’t be the Emperor of Great Yu Empire. You are merely a pawn of the Prince of Zhao. From the moment the Thirteenth Prince was born, he has been using your desire for the throne to gain the supreme power he wants. Now that the Prince of Zhao has arrived with his forces, you will be the next to die, rebellious son. You have ruined Great Yu Empire and everything of the royal family!”
As he spoke in anger, Xiao Wenxuan’s face suddenly flushed.
“Impossible, absolutely impossible! I am the Emperor! The Prince of Zhao must obey me! I will not believe your words anymore!” The Crown Prince shook his head and suddenly raised his sharp sword, stabbing towards Xiao Wenxuan.
The outer palace guards looked at the Crown Prince in horror at this moment. A scene of regicide unfolded before their eyes.
Blood flowed down the cold sword. Xiao Wenxuan spat a large mouthful of blood onto the Crown Prince’s body. At this moment, a hint of relief suddenly appeared in Xiao Wenxuan’s eyes.
He didn’t escape not just because he was deeply poisoned and beyond saving, but more so out of self-reproach. If he hadn’t supported the Crown Prince, things wouldn’t have come to this.
If he hadn’t indulged the Zhao family, the Prince of Zhao wouldn’t have grown stronger and more arrogant day by day. If it weren’t for his suspicions back then, the Prince of Ning and the Prince of Kang wouldn’t have died, leading to the weakening of the royal family, nor would the barbarians have occupied the sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun.
“I have failed my ancestors, failed my loyal ministers, and failed my people.” Life was slowly slipping away, and Xiao Wenxuan was filled with remorse.
After spitting a mouthful of blood onto the Crown Prince’s body, Xiao Wenxuan used all his strength to swing his sword at the Crown Prince.
At this moment, the Crown Prince was startled by Xiao Wenxuan’s blood. When he regained his senses, he saw Xiao Wenxuan’s sharp sword cutting towards him. In great alarm, he immediately dodged.
However, because they were too close, he didn’t have time to dodge. A scream rang out as the Crown Prince cried out, clutching his arm; one of his arms was cut off by Xiao Wenxuan and fell to the ground.
“I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!” The intense pain completely drove the Crown Prince insane. He kicked the tottering Xiao Wenxuan.
At this moment, Xiao Wenxuan could no longer support himself, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
“I will beat you to death! Beat you to death!” The Crown Prince was still not satisfied, kicking Xiao Wenxuan’s body with all his might, but a sudden burst of gunfire abruptly startled him.
He looked towards the source of the gunfire and saw the outer palace guards falling continuously under rounds of fire from the musketeers, and Luo Quan was looking towards him.
Seeing this, the Crown Prince was greatly alarmed. He said to his personal guard, “Go quickly and light the beacon.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The personal guard, upon receiving the order, immediately ran towards the Eastern Palace. Not long after, a plume of smoke rose into the sky.
The Prince of Zhao, who was leisurely approaching the imperial palace, was overjoyed when he saw the beacon. He said, “The Crown Prince has lit the beacon. Xiao Wenxuan is dead. Immediately charge into the imperial palace and round up all the rebels!”
“Yes.” The general behind the Prince of Zhao immediately led the cavalry along Vermillion Bird Avenue and charged towards the imperial palace.
At this time, in the palace, under the attack of the musketeers, the outer palace guards scattered. The Crown Prince, seeing this, also followed the guards and fled towards the Eastern Palace.
Seeing Xiao Wenxuan in his dragon robe on the stone bridge, Luo Quan spurred his horse and rushed over.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
Luo Quan knelt before Xiao Wenxuan, gently shaking him.
As if he heard Luo Quan’s voice, Xiao Wenxuan opened his eyes as if regaining consciousness. He suddenly grasped Luo Quan’s hand and said, “I have let you down. I was so suspicious of you, and yet at the moment of my death, it is you I see.”
“Your Majesty.” Luo Quan’s voice choked.
Xiao Wenxuan tightened his grip on Luo Quan’s hand and continued, “Today, only King Qi can turn the tide. I have already made a last will appointing him to succeed to the throne. You should assist him as you assisted me. Also, I do not wish for concubines, princes, and princesses to suffer humiliation. If they cannot escape, then kill them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Luo Quan nodded heavily.
After saying this, Xiao Wenxuan closed his eyes. He understood Luo Quan. If there hadn’t been this last order, he would have fought to the death without retreating, but he didn’t want such a trusted official to perish with him.
Luo Quan looked deeply at Xiao Wenxuan, then suddenly stood up.
At this time, the palace was in great chaos. Concubines, princes, and princesses were in a disarray. Some concubines followed Concubine Zhen and fled towards the Royal Garden, while some were sobbing in fear, not knowing what to do.
Seeing this scene, Luo Quan sighed. He ordered, “Immediately protect the princes and princesses and head to the Royal Garden!”
“Yes, General.”
At this time, Luo Quan’s army was mixed with musketeers, private soldiers, and some Left and Right Guard soldiers from the city. The arrival of the Prince of Zhao made many soldiers understand the situation.
But at this point, the tide had turned. The city walls and palace walls were still in the Crown Prince’s hands, and a continuous stream of cavalry was entering Chang’an City. He had only seven or eight thousand soldiers gathered, and most of them had scattered.
Following Luo Quan, the soldiers searched for princes, princesses, and concubines in the imperial palace. All who were willing to follow them departed together towards the Royal Garden.
Meanwhile, in the Royal Garden, the secret guards had completed the preparations for heating the hot air balloons, and Fiji and other pro-war ministers had also arrived with their families.
Luo Quan’s appearance with his soldiers made them overjoyed.
“General, you all quickly take the people to the Chang’an pier. All the Qingzhou merchant ships docked at the Chang’an pier have received His Highness’s orders. You will be safe once you board the ships.” Li San said.
Luo Quan looked at the hot air balloons and said, “Aren’t we taking these?”
“General, these two hot air balloons are only to be used in the worst-case scenario. The plan is proceeding smoothly now, so there’s no need. We need to use them to lure the enemy.” Li San said, “The real escape method is by ship.”
Luo Quan nodded, realizing that the secret guards had two plans. These hot air balloons were merely a last resort, and likely only intended to save Concubine Zhen, while the ships were the second plan, to rescue most of the escaping people.
“Luo Quan, I thought I wouldn’t see you again.” Fiji suddenly smiled and said, “Let’s go quickly, Concubine Zhen has already boarded the ship. The rest are us.”
Luo Quan nodded, “The Emperor left a last will appointing King Qi to succeed to the throne, and ordered me to protect the princes and princesses, so I can only keep this old life of mine.”
“King Qi.” Fiji nodded. “Making such a choice under these circumstances was also the last wise move. However, even with the last will, it won’t be of much use. The fragmentation of Great Yu Empire is already unavoidable.”
“You are right. The vassal kings of different surnames have been waiting for the decline of the imperial family for too long. Now they can finally declare independence legitimately.” Luo Quan sighed deeply.