Chapter 218: Crown Prince Xiao Youlan Seizes Absolute Power

Nan Xueyin did not act rashly again.

Xiao Mingyu turned his head to look in the direction of the Armory, "What are you still standing there for? Tie up Shu Yu and Wu Zhui!"

The Hidden Guards obeyed the order and raised their blades and swords once more.

Shu Yu and Wu Zhui had not rested for long before they were forced to throw themselves back into the battle.

Fortunately, although Nan Lizhu was just a little girl, she was clever after all.

During the brief lull just now, she wiped away her tears, pulled her brother Nan Fuguang to hide in a corner, and would not be injured by the chaotic fighting.

Shu Yu and Wu Zhui thus had few worries left behind.

"How much longer can you hold on?" Wu Zhui kicked one person away and asked, glancing to the side.

"I've always been the type to grow braver the more I fight!" Shu Yu refused to admit defeat.

Wu Zhui laughed when he heard this.

In the past, when the two were enemies, he had indeed felt that the one called Shu Yu in the Eastern Palace was very thorny and troublesome; he had sometimes been unable to help sighing, and had even viciously wished for him to be injured, sick, or dead.

Now that they were fighting side by side, he only felt that it was a pity they hadn't met sooner.

The two should have become good friends long ago.

"When we finish fighting and get out, once we are before Jianing, remember to tell the truth and praise my heroism a bit more," Shu Yu added.

Wu Zhui laughed out loud again.

"What are you saying?" Shu Yu turned his head to look at him.

Wu Zhui was about to respond when his sharp eyes caught a flash of cold light in the shadows that vanished in an instant.

Almost without thinking, he shouted, "Watch out!"

And then he lunged forward.

He pushed Shu Yu away just in time, and the arrow tip also steadily pierced into his shoulder.

Shu Yu turned back, used his sword to force back two Hidden Guards, and supported Wu Zhui's body, his forehead breaking out in a sweat from anxiety, "You still ran over to save me, are you stupid!"

Wu Zhui curled the corners of his mouth, "Isn't this... what I owe you?"

Shu Yu gritted his teeth, "Who said I wanted you to pay it back!"

Amidst the sharp pain, Wu Zhui closed his eyes, "I do regret it a little..."

Shu Yu wanted to live to go back and marry Song Jianing, and he also had to go back to see Jiang Lian'er; she was still waiting for him in the Eastern Palace.

Now, he didn't know if he could...

Wu Zhui turned his head and looked at Nan Xueyin not far away.

The current hope could only rely on her.

Nan Xueyin stared at Xiao Mingyu, wanting to find a flaw in him.

As long as there was no threat of Gunpowder, the situation could be stabilized.

"Prince! The Crown Prince... the Crown Prince is here!"

Before she could make a move, the Hidden Guard who had been scouting ahead came to report in a panic; he was so anxious that his feet slipped, and he fell to the ground.

Xiao Mingyu scolded, "Useless thing! So what if the Crown Prince is here?"

The Hidden Guard was covered in sweat, "His Highness the Crown Prince also brought..."

"Isn't it just his personal guards." Xiao Mingyu did not take this to heart at all.

He looked at Nan Xueyin again, "This Prince has been locked in a struggle with the Crown Prince for a long time, and we have never been able to determine a winner. Now, he thinks he has defeated this Prince, that he can seize the evidence of this Prince's treason and throw this Prince into the great prison... It's a pity, it's not that easy."

Nan Xueyin frowned.

"You will die here with this Prince, and Xiao Youlan is also destined to never return. Those elite personal guards of the Eastern Palace won't be able to escape either!" Xiao Mingyu narrowed his eyes, a light of resentment shooting from his pupils.

"Then what about your Imperial Father? And Consort Xian?" Nan Xueyin suddenly asked.

"If this Prince dies here, these matters of treason will not implicate Mother Consort," Xiao Mingyu said, "The Empress is long dead, the Empress Dowager is old, and the inner palace is entirely under Mother Consort's control. After this Prince and Xiao Youlan die, Father Emperor will surely be heartbroken, and his health will plummet. In this way, the former court will also mostly fall into Mother Consort's control. By then, no matter who is named Crown Prince or who the throne is passed to, it will all be manipulated by this Prince's Mother Consort..."

Speaking of this, Xiao Mingyu sensed a clue and frowned, "... Why did you suddenly ask about this?"

Nan Xueyin tilted her head, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Xiao Mingyu secretly thought that things were bad.

The Hidden Guard on the ground over there said with a trembling voice, "Prince! The Crown Prince brought more than just personal guards; he also brought the Emperor and the Empress!"

Xiao Mingyu's pupils dilated suddenly.

It was also at this moment that he heard bursts of footsteps behind him.

The voice of Emperor Yongzheng rang out eerily, "Consort Xian, you really have given birth to a good son for Us."

Xiao Mingyu's legs went weak, and for a moment he dared not turn his head.

His mind was in chaos; he did not know why his Imperial Father had woken up, nor could he figure out why things had reached this point today.

"Xiao Mingyu?"

He seemed to hear Nan Xueyin calling his name, but for a moment he could not distinguish whether it was a fantasy or reality.

Not until his wrist was gripped by someone did the sharp pain finally pull his thoughts back to reality.

Xiao Mingyu saw Nan Xueyin's face close at hand; she had approached at some unknown time, clamped onto his wrist, snatched away the fuse and Fire Oil, twisted his arms behind his back with brute force, and kicked him in the back of the knee, pressing him to the ground.

"Two people, come here!" Nan Xueyin raised her voice toward the personal guards.

Xiao Mingyu heard the noisy footsteps.

Nan Xueyin instructed the newcomers, "Hold him tight, don't let him commit suicide, and don't let him escape."

Feeling her loosen her restraint on him, Xiao Mingyu struggled to lift his head, calling to her with red eyes, "Yinyin!"

But Nan Xueyin did not turn back, and it was as if she hadn't heard that call at all.

Xiao Mingyu saw Xiao Youlan walk over.

Nan Xueyin went to meet him.

Xiao Youlan looked at Nan Xueyin with eyes full of tenderness and asked her, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Nan Xueyin shook her head, but seemed to think for a moment, then reached out her hand, "I'm hurt here, it hurts, blow on it."

Her voice was exceptionally soft, something Xiao Mingyu had never heard before...

No, he had heard it.

In the past, when he did not yet have so many women around him, and even less disdain for her identity as an Assassin, she had once spoken to him like this.

At the time, he only thought it was ordinary; now, he has lost it completely.

Over there, Xiao Youlan chuckled softly, truly took Nan Xueyin's hands, brought them close to his lips, and patiently blew on them.

Xiao Mingyu closed his eyes in pain.

It was he who had personally given Nan Xueyin to someone else.

When he possessed her, he refused to cherish her, yet Xiao Youlan treated her like a precious treasure at all times.

Xiao Mingyu's loss was, in the dark, already destined.

The Eastern Palace personal guards entered the scene, and the Hidden Guards and Death Soldiers brought by the Prince of Duan were completely finished.

Shu Yu and Wu Zhui were finally able to fully let out a breath, the two of them leaning against each other and slowly sitting on the ground.

Shu Yu asked him, "Does it hurt?"

Wu Zhui leaned on his shoulder and did not speak.

Shu Yu snorted, "But you also deserve it. Back then, you shot me with an arrow, and it hurt for several days too."

Wu Zhui still did not speak.

Shu Yu had a bad premonition; he turned his head and pushed him, "Wu Zhui! Wu Zhui!"

Seeing Wu Zhui's face deathly pale, Shu Yu's heart skipped a beat, and after thinking it over, he reached out to check his breath.

Before his hand could touch him, he was swatted away by Wu Zhui.

"Not dead," Wu Zhui said, still keeping his eyes closed, "tired, resting for a while."

Shu Yu finally let out a long sigh of relief, "As long as you're not dead, as long as you're not dead."

He let Wu Zhui lean on him, and after a moment of silence, he added, "When I have my grand wedding with Jianing, remember to come and attend."

Wu Zhui gave a grunt of assent.

After a pause, Shu Yu began to mutter, "After the wedding, I want to ask for leave and go out to have some fun with Jianing. Fighting and killing every day is exhausting."

Wu Zhui agreed in his heart and gave another grunt of assent.

This night, the people of Fengdu were all deep in their own dreams, unaware of what had happened in the city.

But the next day, the entire imperial court was shocked.

The Emperor awoke.

The Prince of Duan was imprisoned.

The Crown Prince Xiao Youlan took sole control of power.

Anyone with a discerning eye knew that now, there was no one left in the world who could shake Xiao Youlan's position.