Siege of the Capital Outer Wall
Her Majesty stared at the shattered spoon, its broken head uncannily evoking the fate that had befallen Prince Ling...
A cold wave of terror surged in Her Majesty’s heart. She sat bolt upright, her body rigid with apprehension.
Princess Lily Hayes calmly placed another spoon into Her Majesty’s hand and said with unhurried grace, “Your Majesty, this is your last meal. Please, eat and drink well.”
Her Majesty snapped back to her senses, flung the spoon away in a panic, and shouted at Princess Lily Hayes, “How dare you! Outrageous! Are you cursing me?”
Princess Lily Hayes smiled faintly, supporting her belly as she rose and strolled leisurely toward the inner chamber. She paused, turned, and flashed a dazzling smile: “Your Majesty, remember this—You insisted on attacking Prince of Qin’s Manor and branded us as traitors. So whatever happens to Prince Ling, it’s all the doing of you and your husband. You have no one to blame but yourselves!”
With that, Princess Lily Hayes lifted the beaded curtain, settled herself on the couch, leaned back, and closed her eyes to rest, gently cradling her belly.
Her Majesty, peering through the beaded curtain at Princess Lily Hayes’s serene figure, felt a chill seep into her bones: Why was Princess Lily Hayes so calm? Could it be... that Prince of Qin’s Manor held the advantage? But that couldn’t be! They’d launched a surprise attack, caught Prince of Qin’s Manor off guard, and the Hayes Regiment was still stationed in the nearby town—there’d been no word of their arrival in the capital.
But if everything was proceeding smoothly, why hadn’t Prince Ling returned yet? Could it be that Prince Ling truly...
A dreadful thought surged in Her Majesty’s mind, draining the color from her cheeks. Without hesitation, she rushed toward the Imperial Study.
Her Majesty arrived at the Imperial Study, only to find neither Emperor Jin Xuan nor Imperial Grand Tutor Gu present.
Unlike before, the Imperial Study was no longer peaceful—an air of tension hung over every corner.
Her Majesty hurriedly asked a young eunuch attending Emperor Jin Xuan, “Where is His Majesty?”
The young eunuch’s face turned pale. He replied, “Your Majesty, His Majesty—His Majesty went up to the Inner Palace wall!”
“The Inner Palace wall? Why would His Majesty go there?” the Empress pressed.
“Th-this servant does not know!”
Sensing something was amiss, Her Majesty made her way to the Inner Palace wall herself.
The imperial capital of Jin was divided into inner and outer walls.
The outer city had its own walls. The news Her Majesty received at noon was that Alexander Hayes was attacking the east gate of the outer city.
After breaching the outer city, one still had to pass through the inner wall to reach the Inner Palace, where the Emperor and his consorts resided.
Her Majesty quickened her pace toward the Inner Palace wall. From afar, she could hear shouts and the clash of battle. Frightened, she covered her ears and looked up to see Emperor Jin Xuan and Imperial Grand Tutor Gu atop the wall, surrounded by a throng of people—clearly, something had happened.
Worried for the safety of the Emperor and Prince Ling, Her Majesty climbed up the wall herself.
“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!” someone shouted. Emperor Jin Xuan turned and saw the Empress.
“Why are you here!? This is no place for a woman—don’t add to the chaos!” Emperor Jin Xuan’s face was ashen as he scolded the Empress.
“I—I was worried about Your Majesty and Prince Ling, so…” The Empress had barely finished speaking when a thunderous boom erupted from below the wall, as if tens of thousands of firecrackers had gone off at once. Startled, the Empress shivered—why would there be firecrackers at a time like this?
Her Majesty hurried to the edge of the wall and was stunned by what she saw!
Below the wall, soldiers dressed in Hayes Regiment uniforms lined up in five horizontal rows, two by two. One held a shield, the other held something black and hollow—like an iron tube.
The shield bearer protected both of them from arrows behind the shield.
The one with the iron tube aimed it through the gap in the shield.
The deafening boom, like firecrackers, came from those iron tubes. After each blast, the palace guards charging forward seemed bewitched—whole ranks fell dead, collapsing into pools of blood.
The plaza was already piled high with the corpses of palace guards, their blood staining the white marble floor crimson...