This so-called rebellion came quickly and ended just as swiftly.

That night, countless torches flickered outside the palace, and the sounds of weapons clashing rose from all directions.

Startled from his sleep, amidst the panic of the surrounding palace servants, Zhao Zhen hadn’t even fully grasped the situation before a servant arrived to inform him that the rebels outside had all been captured.

Even so, he waited until all the unusual noises outside had completely ceased before, surrounded by Zhang Maoze and other palace servants, the Emperor hurriedly straightened his robes and cautiously ventured outside the hall.

Outside Zichen Palace, the scattered torchlights had not yet been completely extinguished. A thick, heavy scent of blood assaulted their senses…

Confronted with such a scene, Zhao Zhen and his party instinctively took a step back. It wasn’t until familiar voices rang out from not far away:

“Your Highness, the rebels at Xihua Gate have all been captured!”

“Reporting to Your Highness, the rebels at Xuande Gate have all been executed!”

“As Your Highness predicted, when we arrived at the rear palace chambers where the consorts and princesses reside, there were indeed scoundrels attempting to cause trouble amidst the chaos…”

The Commander of the Palace Command, the Infantry Commander…

Amidst the chaos, the voices of these Imperial Guard commanders were undoubtedly extremely familiar to Zhao Zhen.

However, at this moment, anyone could see that the person these men were now bowing and deferring to was not him, the Emperor.

But rather…

Zhao Zhen’s gaze instinctively fell upon the figure on the high platform.

Outside this blood-stained, weapon-strewn palace, the figure on the high platform, seemingly untouched by the filth, was exceptionally conspicuous.

The person wore a somewhat practical palace brocade robe, their long hair tied back simply with a bright red ribbon. Aside from the long sword fastened at their waist, they wore no other adornments.

Yet, even standing before a group of generals clad in armor and bearing swords, their aura did not diminish in the slightest. There was not a trace of timidity.

In fact, as they spoke, one could visibly see the expressions of the Imperial Guard generals grow increasingly respectful.

Thinking of his own earlier hesitation, hiding within the palace and unwilling to step forward, Zhao Zhen’s expression grew complex, and his steps forward paused momentarily.

It wasn’t until several rebel generals were brought before the hall one by one.

“Wait, this person…”

Upon clearly seeing the person before them, the group led by Zhao Zhen in the distance couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.

At the same time, An Ning stood with one hand behind her back, also observing the person before her with ease, her beautiful eyes curving into a pleasant arc:

“So it’s you, Commander Li… oh, no…”

“Or perhaps I should address you as Uncle from the Li Family?”

Firmly restrained by several soldiers before the hall, knowing escape was impossible, Li Zhang lowered his gaze and remained silent. However, Li Xun and others behind him lacked such restraint.

They immediately spat viciously on the ground:

“Hah, ‘Uncle’? As if Your Highness cares one bit about family ties!”

“When Your Highness was in the palace, just because you refused to marry, you tried to shoot my younger brother to death in public! Did you care even a little about family ties then?”

“Hah, Your Highness best not forget, no matter what, you still carry the blood of our Li Family in your veins…”

Tch!

Finding the “righteous indignation” of these individuals before her rather dull, An Ning couldn’t help but feel amused.

They spoke as if their actions today were all for the sake of some so-called brother.

Weren’t they quite quick to acknowledge his “death by falling” earlier?

“Wasn’t the reason for today’s actions simply fear that I would settle accounts with you all later?”

Bringing up this unlucky brother now was undoubtedly just a hope that she might feel some remorse and show mercy.

Unfortunately, remorse? An Ning let out a light laugh. To be honest, towards these people before her, she wouldn’t feel a shred of it, not in this lifetime, nor in eight lifetimes!

Thinking of the original host’s miserable fate in her previous life, allowing these people to live in glory until now was, she felt, already an extreme act of mercy on her part…

As her words fell, the expressions of the Li family members below changed.

“Hah! You call us traitorous rebels? Then what are you, Princess? Nowadays, everyone within the palace knows that you, Princess Fukang, arbitrarily play with power and disrupt the governance of the court!”

“Our actions today are for just three words! To purge the court of evil ministers!”

“If Your Highness has no guilty conscience, then may we ask, where is the Emperor at this very moment?”

“Indeed, setting aside success and failure for now, our actions today were merely to rid the Emperor of the treacherous ministers who disrupt the court!”

“A mere woman like yourself, Princess, forming cliques, plotting rebellion, and attempting to disrupt the court—you are the one who should be punished by all!”

“We were also acting to clear the court of rebellion for the Emperor…”

Below the platform, as if remembering something, many began to shout hoarsely:

“Even if our crimes are unforgivable, it should be for the Emperor to decide our fate, not a woman like you…”

“The Emperor…”

“If the Emperor were here…”

Unfortunately, as soon as the words were spoken, under the cold white moonlight, a blinding silver flash streaked past. The speed was so fast that no one saw when the person moved. In the next second, a round object thudded to the ground.

Meanwhile, the long sword in An Ning’s hand remained utterly unstained by blood, glinting with a cold, chilling light under the moon…

Before the great hall, an eerie silence fell instantly…

Such a fast sword, such a clean technique. The speed made even the generals who prided themselves on their martial prowess glance sideways in awe.

Those who had been shouting moments ago fell into a deathly quiet.

It wasn’t until the final “rebel conspirator” of the night, An Ning’s cousin, the current Huai Kang Military Commissioner Zhao Zonghui, was brought into the front courtyard, just as everyone thought the night was truly over, that a commotion suddenly arose outside the palace gate.

Another group of guards pressed forward a crowd of men and women:

“Release the Duke, or these officials and their wives will die here with us today…”

As they spoke, a group of elderly ministers were pushed to the front at the palace gate. Unsurprisingly, the leaders among them were all important court officials—neutral factions, and even those who had previously openly supported An Ning were there, now with swords pressed against them!

Oh, not bad! An Ning’s gaze turned towards her convenient cousin nearby.

She had thought he was merely a puppet pushed forward by the ministers, but it seemed he actually had some skill.

Having failed to capture the palace women earlier, he had placed his backup plan outside the palace to secure an escape route for himself.

A pity. Just as the rebel generals were pressing forward step by step and the officials were trembling with fear, An Ning raised her hand and directly took a long bow from a soldier beside her.

Before anyone could react, three long arrows had already pierced through the throats of the leaders.

Three arrows shot simultaneously, each hitting squarely in the center of the throat…

In an instant, both the leading Zhao Zonghui and the generals guarding the officials lost all signs of life…

***

In a flash, the noisy square became so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

By the time everyone reacted…

Perhaps because they were leaderless, or perhaps too frightened by what they had just witnessed, before An Ning could even raise her hand to draw another arrow, the soldiers behind them scrambled over each other to drop their weapons.

For a moment, countless swords and weapons clattered to the ground, the sound particularly prominent in the previously silent space.

Without needing a word, the armored soldiers standing ten meters away knelt down in neat rows.

An Ning: “…”

Well… they seem rather proficient at this.

Even so… why isn’t this very surprising?

An Ning, who had thought it would require more effort, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

It wasn’t until they were successfully rescued from the rebels that the poor officials and their wives found their legs were still weak. Barely supported by guards, they managed to stand, especially those who had been closest to the rebel leader moments before, having witnessed the fatal arrows up close…

One could say that if Her Highness’s archery had been just a little bit less accurate…

Thinking of her decisive, almost without hesitation movement just now, the officials felt as if their hearts had been plunged into icy water in the depths of winter.

Chilling!

And one of those shot dead just now, if they remembered correctly, was Her Highness’s own cousin, a genuine member of the imperial clan!

Sss~~

At this thought, many felt their bodies grow even weaker.

At this very moment, they saw the figure on the high platform walking directly towards them.

One step, two steps…

Watching the Princess approaching as calmly as if strolling in a garden, even though there was still some distance, everyone instinctively bowed with weakened limbs:

“Your… Your subjects thank Your Highness for the great mercy of saving us!”

“This… this humble wife thanks Your Highness for the life-saving grace!”

“You are too courteous, esteemed officials!”

Pretending not to notice their discomfort, An Ning stepped forward and smiled at them as usual:

“You have all suffered! But rest assured, upon discovering the unrest in the palace, I immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to various parts of Bianjing and notified all inspectors to maintain order within the city…”

“Not at all, not at all, Your Highness is the one who has worked hard!”

Uh, good… hehe, very good.

Not daring to ask where a Princess got the authority to deploy troops, everyone offered another round of thanks. Finally, it was Academician Ouyang and others nearby who, still concerned, asked:

“Your Highness, given that such a major event has occurred in the palace, logically speaking… might we inquire about the Emperor’s whereabouts…”

Casually handing the bow to an attendant beside her, An Ning maintained her usual expression:

“Rest assured, esteemed ministers. I was just informed by a palace servant that Father was likely overly frightened and is currently unwell, unable to rise for the time being. After dealing with the matters at hand, I will personally go to see him!”

“As for you esteemed ministers, the hour is already late…”

It wasn’t until the slightly staggering figures of the officials had completely disappeared from sight that An Ning turned her head to look at the vermilion-robed figure being slowly assisted out of the side hall behind her by a group of palace servants.

“This…”

Seeing the crisscrossed corpses before him, Zhao Zhen’s heart instinctively skipped a beat, especially when his gaze fell upon the young man in official robes whose features bore a faint resemblance to his own.

Unfortunately, before he could say anything, he heard Fukang speak up beside him:

“What are you standing around for? Can’t you see Father has been frightened and shouldn’t be moved recklessly?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, before Zhao Zhen could react, the palace servants behind him had already efficiently and firmly taken hold of him. Zhang Maoze, in particular, was the first to say:

“Your Majesty, the Princess is right. The wind outside is quite chilly. Your Majesty should return inside early!”

Speaking, he hurriedly used both hands to pull the Emperor back towards the palace. All the soldiers along the way stared straight ahead, not glancing sideways. It wasn’t until they had covered more than half the distance that Zhao Zhen finally reacted:

“No, Maoze, Qinshu, you… you all…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep