Chapter 759

Mr. Wen, leaning on his cane, looked at Gu Kang seated in the chair, and said slowly: "Kang'er, move all the officials' families from inside the palace to the palace gate, have the Murong Family's dead men guard them; if anyone dares to flee, kill them without exception!"

Gu Kang's heart skipped a beat, and he looked toward his mentor.

He initially held Mr. Wen in the utmost respect, after all, he was a great scholar of the age, his talent and learning left him deeply convinced.

But later, upon learning that he was a descendant of the Murong Family, Mr. Wen, as a loyal retainer of the Murong Family's royal clan, had supported him all the way to this position.

Both publicly and privately, he could not bring himself to hate this person.

But at this moment, a sense of aversion welled up in his heart, and a wave of intense fatigue washed over him.

However, having drawn the bow, there was no turning back; he could only grit his teeth and press on, walking until he could no longer walk, until death.

At this moment, he faintly felt fear in his heart; he had accompanied his elder sister and brother-in-law to this point, and he knew those two were certainly not good people.

How could he easily have his empire snatched away? This journey had been far too easy, to the point that both he and Mr. Wen had fallen under an illusion.

He had even thought that Xiao Yin would readily admit defeat, but that was merely his own delusion.

Gu Kang felt somewhat numb at this moment, and he secretly sighed.

"Someone! Pass the order! Bring all the family members detained in the palace to the palace gate!"

The attendant hurriedly obeyed, but not long after—half an hour later—the attendant rushed into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, escorted by two guards drenched in blood, stumbling and swaying.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something's wrong! Something's wrong, Your Majesty!"

Gu Kang hurriedly rose to his feet, and before he could speak, Mr. Wen beside him trembled as he stood and urgently asked.

"What is the cause of such panic?"

The leading guard of the Murong Family dropped to his knees with a thud and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, Mr. Wen, the Imperial Harem... those..."

"What exactly happened? Speak quickly!" Gu Kang's face darkened.

That guard's voice was trembling.

"In reply to Your Majesty, Zhao Lang led men in a charge from the Taiye Pond, and the family members previously confined in the palace have all been rescued?"

"What?" Mr. Wen's face turned ashen, his voice trembling as he spoke, and he incredulously lunged forward a few steps.

Gu Kang too was ashen-faced, collapsing onto the Dragon Throne.

Cheng Ming led two hundred thousand troops in rebellion against him, treating them like monkeys.

Now they hope to use those family members inside the palace as leverage to negotiate terms with Xiao Yin.

After all, in the early days of a new dynasty, talent is needed; if too many officials die, it is not advantageous to Xiao Yin.

Who would have thought that this final condition would also be gone, and that Zhao Lang would actually fight his way out of the Taiye Pond inside the palace?

When exactly did he enter the palace? How did he manage to get in?

Instantly, the other officials in the Hall of Mental Cultivation all changed their expressions somewhat.

Some of these officials were promoted by the Murong Family, and they are absolutely loyal to Gu Kang.

But most of them only acknowledged the restoration of the Li Dynasty under duress from the authority of Gu Kang and Mr. Wen.

Their compliance stems from the fact that their wives and children are in Gu Kang's hands, leaving them no choice but to obey.

Now that the leverage is gone, where on their faces can one still see the former respect?

Some were even itching to act, but little did they know that the few who were about to move were instantly slain by the guards beside Mr. Wen.

For a moment, cries and shouts mingled with rebukes of Gu Kang and Mr. Wen, creating a noisy uproar.

There was no semblance of imperial court dignity; it felt like a bustling market.

After executing those officials with divided loyalties, Mr. Wen went on to throw his head back and burst into loud laughter.

He laughed and laughed, tears welling up in his eyes, and he kept muttering under his breath.

"The tide has turned, the tide has turned; I knew all along that not killing Xiao Yin would leave this world to the Xiao Family, to the Xiao Family."

Mr. Wen suddenly turned, bowed deeply before Gu Kang seated on the Dragon Throne, and then ordered the left and right guards to protect Gu Kang at his side.

"Gu Kang, you are of the Murong Family's bloodline; take these people and go."

"They are all servants of the Murong Family; they can keep you safe and alive—this ability they still possess."

Gu Kang never expected that, at this critical juncture, Mr. Wei would have everyone escort him away.

He himself clearly did not wish to leave this palace city; indeed, Gu Kang could see that Mr. Wen would sacrifice his own life as a final offering to the Murong Family.

He for a moment Xin Tou Bu Zhi Dao Shuo Shénme, having step by step pushed himself into this awkward predicament, while also driving himself into an irredeemable abyss; Gu Kang even lacked the strength to speak.

He was like a puppet on strings, his arms supported by the guards on either side as they lifted him from the chair.

Gu Kang had just risen to leave the Hall of Mental Cultivation when a hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

The first to stride in was Zhao Lang, gripping a heavy sword in his hand, blood droplets falling to the ground.

At this moment, Zhao Lang emanated a killing aura that made people want to retreat three leagues; this is likely the unique intimidation of a warrior, his mere presence there inspiring dread.

Behind Gu Kang, a large group of soldiers marched in, then split to the left and right, clearing a path.

Xiao Yin entered slowly, accompanied by Gu Jiu Ling; the two little ones beside Gu Jiu Ling were taken away by Jiu Yue and Yun Duo to the Phoenix Rites Hall of the Imperial Harem.

After all, the scene was somewhat bloody, and it would not be good for children to witness it.

From raising troops in Bazhou all the way to entering the city, Xiao Yin had seen blood only outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

At this point, Zhao Lang had already brought his men to fully control the entire palace city.

These days, living with his wife and children in the Imperial Harem, bored to death, he finally got to stretch his limbs.

Upon seeing Xiao Yin at that moment, Mr. Wen's expression turned ashen; he realized that in this contest, the Murong Family had been weakened once more, and thoroughly defeated.

At this moment, Mr. Wen, contrary to his earlier panic, leaned on his cane and slowly rose, gazing at the approaching Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin.

Mr. Wen said with a light smile: "I underestimated you; you actually managed to return alive from Mang Shan."

Xiao Yin's face hardened; in fact, if it were not for Gu Jiu Ling's lineage, Mr. Wen would probably have won this round.

Mr. Wen's greatest mistake was failing to keep Gu Jiu Ling under the control of the Murong Family.

Xiao Yin also did not wish to waste words with this old man on the brink of the coffin; he looked at Mr. Wen and said: "This time, the reason I am still alive is largely thanks to the Empress, after all she is of the Murong Family's bloodline, which allowed us to fortuitously hide in the Murong Family's underground palace."

After hearing the words 'the Murong Family's underground palace', Mr. Wen's complexion changed somewhat instantly; leaning on his cane, he staggered forward a few steps, staring fixedly at Xiao Yin.

"How is that possible? You don't have the Murong royal bloodline; how could you have walked out of there alive?"

Xiao Yin gave a faint smile; the secret of his own empress is not something ordinary people deserve to know; he turned his face to look at Gu Jiu Ling beside him.

"My love, it's time to make things clear; let this old man also have a long memory, so that in the future just anyone cannot stand in for the Murong family's bloodline."

As soon as Xiao Yin's words fell, Gu Kang, who was standing to the side, instantly changed complexion somewhat.