Chapter 186: Ancestors and Founders, Take My Head!

Inside Fengtian Hall.

The air seemed frozen, heavy and suffocating.

Dong Jie, commander of the Jinwu Guard, stood within the hall, his gaze piercing through the window lattice toward the gradually weakening assault outside.

It's stopped! Everyone, be silent!

Yet his heart felt no relief, only weighed down by profound sorrow and self-reproach.

Reality is cruel!

The enemy forces outside numbered in the thousands—no fewer than four thousand heavily armored infantry—encircling Fengtian Hall tightly.

Another three thousand guards stood ready on the flanks, able to deploy ten thousand troops at a moment's notice.

Such a disparity in strength pressed upon Dong Jie like never before.

It's a tenfold difference!

Dong Jie knew that if not for his years of strict training and deep attachment to the Jinwu Guard, they would have collapsed without a fight.

Yet even so!

They could only hold out within this main hall, without water or food, their situation dire.

Had the enemy not hesitated, they would have been slaughtered long ago.

Dong Jie sighed—he had already lost.

But his heart refused to accept it. If it were true battle, he would not fear men like Lu Lu.

Even with a three- or fourfold numerical disadvantage, he still believed he could hold his ground.

But all of that was past now!

The Jinwu Guard, once a mighty army, now numbered barely a thousand within this hall—most of the rest in the Jinwu Guard headquarters in Jingcheng were likely dead.

His face bore only anguish and fury.

"A pack of cowardly scoundrels!"

The Grand Empress Dowager forged an imperial edict, summoning them back to the palace to protect the emperor; the Eastern Depot was destroyed, and Dong Jie, panicked, rushed to rescue the emperor.

Who could have imagined!

Lu Lu ambushed them outside Xuanwu Gate, causing catastrophic losses to the Jinwu Guard.

Now, all is lost!

What pierced Dong Jie's heart even deeper was that the Yulin Army, whom he had placed his hopes in, had failed to come to their aid.

As time passed, he had begun to suspect the truth—the Yulin Army had betrayed them!

The revelation struck like a thunderclap.

They were at the end of their rope.

Dong Jie's chainmail was soaked through with blood; he turned his gaze to a man in a yellow robe standing beneath the portraits of past emperors.

Zhou Zhen!

He knelt straight down, his voice choked with grief:

"My lord, Dong Jie is guilty—I was blind, I failed to see the edict was forged!"

He banged his head hard against the floor.

"And the Yulin Army—I entrusted them to the wrong man, bringing about this disaster!"

His voice echoed through the empty hall, thick with self-blame and helplessness.

For Dong Jie had once been a servant in the Second Prince's residence, and thus called him "my lord."

Zhou Zhen turned to face Dong Jie, his expression calm as still water, neither sorrowful nor joyful.

"It's not your fault."

He spoke softly, yet his tone carried an indescribable weight.

"It is I who entrusted power to the wrong man—I never imagined Xie Chunan would do this. The Yulin Army was under his command from the start; it has nothing to do with you."

At the mention of Xie Chunan's name!

Dong Jie's face flushed with rage again; his fists clenched, as if he longed to tear that old villain into a thousand pieces.

Zhou Zhen's gaze returned to the portraits of past emperors, each seated upon the dragon throne.

They radiated majesty, speaking of imperial glory.

Zhou Zhen spoke slowly:

"I only wonder—what does Xie Chunan truly want? I intended to rule with him as loyal minister and sovereign, to truly entrust my heart to him—but I never imagined…"

He paused, brows knitted, then continued: "Yet if he was involved in Chen Sanzhong's affair, he has already angered the Grand Empress Dowager—so why proceed further?"

As the two fell into silence, a Jinwu Guard rushed in to report:

"Your Majesty, the Empress and the Grand Empress Dowager have arrived!"

Zhou Zhen nodded silently, but upon hearing "Empress," a coldness involuntarily crossed his face.

This "trusted confidant" had immediately defected to the Grand Empress Dowager after he opposed the Northern Alliance.

"They say marriage is a blessing earned over a hundred, a thousand lifetimes…"

Zhou Zhen murmured, shaking his head, his voice laced with bitter self-ridicule.

"I, the Son of Heaven, am now controlled by two women!"

Dong Jie recalled the day's events—unpredictable beyond measure!

First, the Western Depot ambushed Lu Chen.

Then the Jinwu Guard exterminated the Western Depot.

Dong Jie used the golden arrow to recruit Lu Chen.

The City Gate Captain mobilized troops to annihilate the Eastern Depot, pushing the conflict to its peak.

All factions emerged: ministers like the Minister of Rituals and the Commander of the Capital Guards were drawn into the struggle.

Forged edicts, ambushes, purges—each shocking scene unfolded within the palace, leaving one breathless.

Yet!

When the dust finally settled, Dong Jie realized there was no true victor.

Though the Grand Empress Dowager appeared dominant, she had suffered heavy losses.

The destruction of the Western Depot, the death of Chen Sanzhong!

The City Gate Captain not only lost many troops, but worse—he dragged the imperial family's power struggle into the open, a devastating blow to imperial authority.

A pyrrhic victory.

And the root of it all? Only one man: Lu Chen's arrival in the capital.

And now, at the center of this storm—Lu Shenzhou—

Amazing!

Unharmed, untouched, safe and sound.

This man had cultivated for fifteen years, long removed from court politics—what role had he truly played?

Dong Jie felt countless riddles swirling in his mind, beyond comprehension.

But they must be tied to this Young Protector.

Another Jinwu Guard hurried in, urgently reporting:

"Your Majesty, the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress wish to see you."

Dong Jie snapped out of his thoughts and looked to his master.

The Grand Empress Dowager was his blood relative; the Empress, his wife of over a decade.

Even power struggles respected human ties.

Zhou Zhen laughed softly, his face filled only with sorrow.

"Tell them—I will not see them."

"It is I who refuse to see them!"

"Victory and defeat—what is there to say? Must I, Zhou Zhen, beg for mercy before two women?"

Zhou Zhen turned to Dong Jie and said:

"Ah Dong, come here!"

When Zhou Zhen was still in the Prince's residence, he had called Dong Jie "Ah Dong."

"Take your sword, cut off my head, and take it to claim the title of Battalion Commander."

"Zhou Zhen would rather die by your hand than by the hands of two women—how could I face the ancestors of Daqing?"

Dong Jie heard this as if struck by lightning; he shot his head up, eyes wide with disbelief and anguish.

He collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face, unable to rise.

Zhou Zhen sighed, his voice bitter.

"Eight years as emperor—and in a single day, all is lost—like a dream, like a phantom!"

"I, Zhou Zhen, once dreamed of achieving greatness like my ancestors—but in the end… ha."

"My posthumous temple name will be Emperor Xi—how laughable."

Only the highest temple names—Tai Zong, Gao Zong, Shi Zong, Zhong Zong—were reserved for true founders, restorers, or rulers of great civil virtue.

The upper tier: Ren Zong, Xiao Zong, Sheng Zong, Xian Zong.

Even my father was only a middling Shun Zong, and even that was due to his recovery of the northern lands.

Xi Zong is only slightly better than the temple name of a dynasty's last ruler.

Emperors bearing this title ruled while their realm lay in ruins, powerless over court affairs, essentially figureheads.

At this moment!

The Jinyu Guards outside the door exclaimed excitedly:

"It's the Yulin Army!"

"The Yulin Army has arrived!"

Instantly, everyone outside the hall was filled with intense excitement.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhen's eyes suddenly lit up.

(End of chapter)