Chapter 1664

The black ladybug following Zhao Song also flew over, wanting to see what exactly had happened in the thick fog. But just as it approached, something flashed in the white mist and actually dragged it in too!

It didn't even spare a little ladybug. Soon, the Jade Spring Palace returned to tranquility.

Bai Hengbo was dead; Zhao Song chopped off his head with a blade, and unable to suppress his curiosity, he walked to the back of the palace to investigate.

It seemed... the enemies had just been dragged to the back of the palace?

However, the back of the hall was empty; apart from a few pieces of peeling wall and mud dust on the ground, and some miscellaneous items frozen in the cracks of the ground, there was nothing here.

Zhao Song scratched his head, but didn't dare to think too much, leading three hundred palace guards himself, and whispered to the remaining people: "You go back the way you came and protect the King's safety!"

The King of Yao had previously instructed that the battlefield for attacking Bai Hengbo must be chosen at the Jade Spring Palace, so there would be no slip-ups.

So, the King knew very well what would happen here?

The political situation was tense, and Zhao Song had no time to think too much, charging toward the Frost Immortal Hall with his men, and the other palace guards also quietly slipped back.

Although they all returned there, the methods were different; the so-called "original path" was a tunnel!

Yes, actually, once explained, it wasn't worth much; the back hall of the Frost Immortal Hall had a secret passage leading directly to the Jade Spring Palace.

When the Frost Immortal Hall was renovated back then, this trick was left behind.

But before tonight, the number of people in the world who knew of the existence of this secret passage did not exceed three.

Even Qiu Long, the old palace attendant by the King of Yao's side, was not among them.

At a critical moment, the King of Yao couldn't care about keeping secrets; not only did he send Zhao Song's three hundred palace guards through the tunnel, but he also allocated over a hundred people from his own imperial guards to sneak into the Jade Spring Palace in advance to lie in ambush, all to ensure that dealing with Bai Hengbo would be a sure thing! This person held a key position and was too important for Qingyang's uprising. The King of Yao wanted to cut off Qingyang's arm first, while simultaneously eliminating the strongest threat by his side.

With Bai Hengbo dead, the King of Yao felt that the pain of being strangled had dissipated by more than half, and he could finally heave a long sigh of relief.

This was the head start brought to him by He Xiao's tip-off! The first layer of threat had been lifted; next, it depended on the south gate of the palace city, because Zheng Da, who had regained the power of the Minister of Justice, immediately took over a more important task—

Replacing the palace guards at the south gate!

Speed is the essence of war.

Bai Tan led the reorganized army and immediately rushed to the south gate of the royal palace.

The Yao royal palace was in the center of the north of the city; every day after sunset, the palace gates were locked and closed, and they would not be opened until the cock crowed the next day.

The royal palace was a city within a city; its palace walls were no thinner than the Tianshui city walls, and it had various defensive works built inside. As the final barrier guarding the royal family, it also enjoyed the blessing of numerous great arrays; with the troops Bai Tan had on hand, it was absolutely impossible to take it by force in a short time.

Staging a secret uprising in Tianshui City, they lacked suitable siege equipment; furthermore, the defenses of the Yao palace walls were astonishing, and there had never been a precedent of them being breached in the past two hundred years.

Once the King of Yao held the palace gates, Bai Tan might not be able to break in even if he besieged it for more than ten days.

By then, troops from all over the Yao Nation would have arrived to serve the King.

But there is an old saying: the sturdiest palace gates are always opened from the inside.

Bai Tan and his nephew had long been prepared; Xu Yankun, the city gate captain on duty at the south gate of the palace city today, was formerly Bai Tan's subordinate and was now Bai Hengbo's confidant.

"Faster, faster, faster!"

Bai Tan gave several orders in a row, urging the army to head north.

It was no secret that General Bai had a short temper; the generals dared not object and led their troops to run fast.

Then, they charged to the foot of the south gate of the palace city.

"Stop, stop!"

"The palace gate is a forbidden area; how dare you trespass! Come any closer and you'll be riddled with arrows!"

The palace walls were teeming with heads, and warnings rang out one after another.

Bai Tan held his official plaque and order high, gathered his qi, and shouted: "I am Bai Tan, ordered to enter the palace to exterminate the rebels and protect our King. Xu Yankun—open the gates immediately and let us pass!"

No one answered on the city gate, and Bai Tan's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be?

The city gate guards parted, and a new person appeared, looking down at him from above.

Bai Tan's heart sank all at once:

The fluorescent spores on the palace walls were bright enough to illuminate this person clearly.

This was the other Minister of Justice in the palace, Zheng Da! Xu Yankun, who was supposed to guard the palace gate tower and open the gates for Bai Tan, was gone, replaced by Zheng Da.

Trouble, Bai Tan clenched his fists all at once.

Zheng Da smiled disdainfully: "Ordered? Whose order are you pretending to follow?"

He threw down a head: "That lackey of yours, Xu Yankun, has already been beheaded by me!"

In the firelight, the head's expression was baring its teeth; it was indeed Xu Yankun himself.

Zheng Da held the King of Yao's handwritten order high and shouted: "The King's order: Bai Tan and Bai Hengbo are plotting rebellion; now dismissed..."

Before he could finish speaking, more than a dozen arrows were shot up from below, and he hurriedly dodged.

Torches were everywhere above and below the palace city; taking advantage of the interruption, Bai Tan gathered his qi and roared: "Zheng Da, you are in league with the rebels, previously attempted to harm the Fourth Prince, and now you have forged an order to kill Xu Yankun and block my path to serve the King; your crime deserves death!"

He slashed his long blade forward and ordered with full breath: "Attack the city! Take down this traitorous thing!"

He must not let Zheng Da continue to bewitch the army's morale.

Both men were stern and righteous, both pointing at the other as the rebel army, both holding tokens in their hands; the troops above and below the city listened to this one and then that one, all a bit dazed for a moment, not knowing who to listen to.

Neither sounded guilty.

But when it came to fame, status, or even character, everyone knew that General Bai Tan was a thorough royalist, a die-hard, and was deeply trusted by the King.

This image was as consistent as ever, never changing.

Looking at Zheng Da, he should also be loyal; otherwise, he couldn't have served in the royal palace for many years, as palace security was the most critical priority. But Lord Zheng had recently been involved in the Fourth Prince's poisoning case, exposing his shortcomings of using power for personal gain and nepotism.

Some things, everyone sees through but doesn't say. Once put on the table, it's ugly.

Not wanting to give everyone time to think deeply, several of Bai Tan's confidants shouted at the right moment: "Charge! Enter the palace gate, kill the villain, save the King!"

The slogan had to be simple, concise, and catchy to stir up the majority. Thus, their subordinates also shouted together, waves of sound rolling in, overwhelming the sky.

Then, the army began to smash the gates with a 'bang, bang, bang'.

How many people could stand on the palace gate tower? How could they compare their voices to those below? The guards on the gate tower shot arrows hesitantly; on one hand, General Bai really didn't look like a rebel, and on the other hand, those arranged in the front row of the siege were the Imperial Guards, who saw the people on the city gate every day, many of whom were brothers and familiar faces, some even patrolling and eating together yesterday.

How could they bring themselves to do it?

Seeing Bai Tan distorting the truth and still winning the hearts of the people, Zheng Da was furious, exerted his true power, and shouted: "The King's decree: dismiss Bai Tan from his post and rank, label him the ringleader of the rebels, and those who collude with him will be treated as accomplices!"

(End of chapter)