You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 167 Your Highness, Something's Wrong
Imperial palace, palace gate.

Squads of palace guards stood watch at the four corners of the palace.

A general in armor casually patrolled back and forth at the palace gate.

However, if someone observes closely, they will notice that this armored general occasionally glances into the distance outside the palace gate, his eyes showing some anxiety.

"Lieutenant, we can keep watch here. Why don't you go up to the city wall and rest?"

An imperial guard stepped forward and spoke obsequiously to the armored general.

The Imperial Guards were puzzled as to why their deputy commander was patrolling the palace gates so frequently today.

You should know that normally their deputy captain would only patrol once at most before going up to the city wall to stay.

But today, their deputy commander patrolled back and forth several times, showing no intention of going up to the city wall.

"No need, the Empress Dowager should be returning to the palace soon."

"It wouldn't be good if the Empress Dowager saw this. I'll wait until she returns to the palace before I go up to the city wall."

The general shook his head and said.

"The Empress Dowager has returned to the palace."

No sooner had the general finished speaking than the Empress Dowager's procession returned from a distance outside the palace gates.

Upon hearing this, the general immediately shouted, "Let them pass!"

When the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, the Imperial Guards dared not conduct excessive questioning.

Although everyone entering and leaving the palace had to be checked by the Imperial Guards, it varied depending on who they were.

Not just anyone can be questioned by the Imperial Guard.

For example, the Empress Dowager is one of them.

Upon hearing the deputy captain's order, the palace guards immediately made way.

The Empress Dowager's entourage slowly entered the palace gates.

"and many more."

Just then, another general led a troop of imperial guards over.

Upon seeing the approaching general, the lieutenant's expression changed, and he immediately stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting, "Commander."

Indeed, the general who walked over was none other than Jin He, the commander of the Imperial Guards.

"Have they all been questioned?"

Jin He glanced at the deputy lieutenant and asked.

"Commander, this is the Empress Dowager returning to the palace."

"The Empress Dowager is returning to the palace; there is no need for questioning."

The lieutenant general said in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Jin He said nothing more, walked directly to the Empress Dowager's carriage, bowed and said, "This humble general Jin He greets the Empress Dowager."

"The Empress Dowager is unwell and does not wish to speak."

"Commander Kim, what are you trying to do?"

"Does this mean that when the Empress Dowager returns to the palace, your Imperial Guards will also conduct a thorough search?"

Before the imperial carriage, the old eunuch Wu She looked at Jin He and said with dissatisfaction.

"The general will not dare."

"But the people in the Empress Dowager's entourage look somewhat unfamiliar; I don't think I've seen any of them before."

Jinhe clasped his hands in a fist salute and said.

The old eunuch glanced at the people in front of him without changing his expression; "Commander Jin, these people are all newly appointed."

"So, Commander Kim, you look a little unfamiliar to me."

"Does Commander Jin suspect that the Empress Dowager might bring assassins into the palace?"

The old eunuch looked at Jinhe with a sinister gaze.

At this moment, King Zhou Zhi of Shu also stepped down from a carriage behind him.

"what happened?"

"The Empress Dowager is unwell and needs to return to Cining Palace for medical treatment urgently. Why did you stop?"

"Commander Kim, is there a problem?"

Zhou Zhi walked over and looked at Jin He with a stern expression.

Jin He immediately bowed to Zhou Zhi; "This humble general greets the King of Shu."

"no problem."

After Jinhe finished speaking, he stepped aside.

Seeing Jin He step back, Zhou Zhi returned to the carriage.

The Empress Dowager's entourage slowly entered the palace.

After the Empress Dowager's entourage disappeared through the palace gates, Jin He glanced at the deputy commander, and without saying a word, waved his hand: "Take him down."

Four imperial guards who had come with Jin He immediately stepped forward and seized the deputy captain.

"Commander, what are you doing?"

"What have I done wrong? You must remove me from office."

The lieutenant's expression changed, and he quickly spoke loudly.

You'll find out later.

"Take it down."

Jinhe waved his hand.

The deputy commander was immediately taken away by four imperial guards.

Jin He then ordered the imperial guards he had brought to replace the imperial guards currently on duty at the palace gates.

After arranging these matters, Jinhe leaped into the air and headed towards Shangyang Gate.

……

After entering the palace.

The old eunuch's tongue-less expression finally relaxed a little.

Just now at the palace gate, the old eunuch Wu She was not as calm as he appeared.

Especially when the golden crane paid its respects to the Empress Dowager's carriage, the old eunuch's heart was in his throat.

Because the person sitting in the imperial carriage was not the Empress Dowager at all.

If it weren't for the timely appearance of Zhou Zhi, the Prince of Shu, the old eunuch would have been really afraid that Jin He would have interrogated them!

If that's the case, then they'll all be exposed.

Similarly, in the carriage of King Zhou Zhi of Shu, Zhou Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief.

The appearance of the golden crane just now really made Zhou Zhi nervous.

Fortunately, Jinhe did not question them.

Otherwise, they would all be exposed.

That's right. Of the people who followed the Empress Dowager back to the palace, apart from the old eunuch Wushe who was from the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace, the others were not from the palace.

Instead, they were from the three great families.

Zhou Zhi had already planned it out. The deputy captain at the palace gate was also someone Zhou Zhi had arranged. With the Empress Dowager's order, there shouldn't be any major problems for them entering the palace.

But no one expected that the Empress Dowager would suddenly leave the palace and go to the Prince of Shu's residence.

This unexpected event caused Zhou Zhi to slightly change his plans.

They directly replaced those who had left the palace with the Empress Dowager, and then Wu She and Zhou Zhi, the Prince of Shu, pretended to return to the palace with the Empress Dowager.

This is much easier than the previous plan.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager suddenly left the palace, so they slightly changed their plan and pretended to follow her into the palace.

Otherwise, according to their previous plan, they would not have been able to enter the palace so easily given the sudden appearance of the golden crane.

"Your Highness, is everything alright?"

Besides King Zhou Zhi of Shu, there were three other figures inside the carriage.

These three people were none other than the three clan heads of the Yuan family of Runan, the Zheng family of Rongyang, and the Fan family of Jiexiu.

The patriarch of the Fan family looked at Zhou Zhi and asked.

The other two clan leaders also stared straight at Zhou Zhi.

This is the imperial palace.

If anything unexpected happens to the plan, they could be in serious trouble.

"Rest assured, three clan leaders! We have successfully entered the palace gates."

"Once we pass Shangyang Gate, we can proceed according to plan."

Zhou Zhi looked at the three clan leaders and said softly.

The three clan leaders nodded and fell silent without saying anything more.

A few minutes later.

The carriage suddenly stopped again.

Zhou Zhi and the three clan leaders were visibly taken aback.

Before Zhou Zhi could ask any questions, a wary voice came from outside the carriage: "Your Highness, something seems amiss."

"Oh!"

Zhou Zhi's expression changed, and he immediately lifted the carriage curtain and stepped down. At this moment, the old eunuch Wu She also walked over with a solemn expression.

"No tongue? What happened?"

Zhou Zhi looked at the old eunuch Wu She and asked.

"Your Highness, something is not right."

"We have already entered Shangyang Gate."

"But after we came in, both the front and back doors were closed."

The old eunuch said with a solemn expression.

As a master at the peak of the Grandmaster realm, he has a more acute intuition for danger than others.

The old eunuch felt a sense of dread as he entered the Shangyang Gate.

The Shangyang Gate is too quiet, eerily quiet.

In particular, both the front and back gates were closed after they entered Shangyang Gate.

This made the old eunuch realize that something was wrong.

Upon hearing the old eunuch's words, Zhou Zhi looked around and, sure enough, both doors were closed.

Zhou Zhi's expression changed immediately, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.

Zhou Zhi glanced at the palace walls, which were dozens of meters high, and gestured to the old eunuch.

The old eunuch immediately understood and stepped forward, shouting loudly, "The Empress Dowager has returned to the palace. Who is on duty? Quickly open the palace gates!"

The old eunuch's powerful voice echoed throughout the Shangyang Gate.

"is it?"

"Now that Mother has returned to the palace..."

"Where is the Empress Dowager?"

No sooner had the old eunuch finished speaking than a figure appeared on the palace wall, which was dozens of meters high.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

The golden dragon robe worn by the figure on the palace wall was quite eye-catching.

"His Majesty!"

Upon seeing the figure appear on the palace wall, the old eunuch Wu She and Zhou Zhi's expressions changed, and their pupils contracted sharply.

Because the figure on the palace wall was none other than Zhou Chen, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"I heard that the Empress Dowager has left the palace and gone to the Prince of Shu's residence."

"Ninth Brother, where is Mother?"

Zhou Chen's voice came from the palace wall.

The old eunuch and Zhou Zhi exchanged a glance, their expressions changing once again.

They never expected that Zhou Zhi would appear on the palace wall of Shangyang Gate at this time.

They even trapped them inside Shangyang Gate.

This shows what.

It's as obvious as lice on a bald head.

It seems His Majesty really did know about their affair long ago and had already made preparations.

Zhou Zhi thought to himself.

"Your Majesty, Mother has suddenly fainted at your Prince Shu's residence."

"Then the emperor hurriedly escorted the empress back to the palace."

"Please, Your Majesty, summon the imperial physician immediately to treat Mother."

Zhou Zhi stepped forward and said loudly.

At this point, everyone was already quite aware of the situation.

But if you can pretend, you should keep pretending.

Besides, the Empress Dowager wasn't even on the imperial carriage.

Therefore, Zhou Zhi could only use the excuse of fainting as a pretext.

The Empress Dowager has fainted; how can she possibly leave the imperial carriage?

"is it?"

Zhou Chen remained silent for a moment while standing on the palace wall.

"Zhou Rushan, go and see how the Empress Dowager is doing?"

Zhou Chen's voice came through again.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhi and the old eunuch's expressions changed.

They originally intended to use this excuse to lure Zhou Chen down.

After all, the Empress Dowager fainting was a serious matter.

As a subject, shouldn't Zhou Chen rush down upon hearing that the Empress Dowager has fainted?
But to everyone's surprise, Zhou Chen didn't fall for it.

Instead, they sent Zhou Rushan down to investigate the Empress Dowager.

Who is Zhou Rushan?
This is the current ancestor of the royal family.

A powerful being who is halfway to the Celestial Realm.

When Zhou Rushan came down to investigate the Empress Dowager's condition, they could no longer pretend.

They never expected that Zhou Rushan was also on the palace wall.

This is enough to show that His Majesty on the palace wall already knows that they took action today.

Zhou Zhi's expression shifted between light and shadow.

But there was nothing they could do but wait for a forceful intervention.

Fortunately, the emperor on the palace wall was unable to recall Lü Bu and Cao Shaoqin in time. No matter how well he prepared, Zhou Rushan alone could not stop them.

Zhou Rushan took a step forward, leaped down the palace wall, and instantly arrived beside the imperial carriage.

Just as Zhou Rushan reached out to lift the silk curtain on the phoenix carriage to see what was inside,

A mutation has occurred.

A powerful aura erupted from the phoenix carriage.

A withered hand slapped towards Zhou Rushan from inside the phoenix carriage.

Zhou Rushan was also prepared and met the attack with a palm strike.

"boom……"

After a powerful collision.

Both Zhou Rushan and his opponent were forced back a distance by the force of each other's powerful attacks.

The phoenix carriage was also shaken and shattered into pieces.

After retreating a distance, Zhou Rushan steadied himself and stared intently at the figure rushing out of the phoenix carriage, his gaze turning slightly cold. "Yuan Tianshu, you old codger, you dare to hide in the phoenix carriage and infiltrate my Great Zhou Imperial Palace. You really want to die."

That's right, the person in the phoenix carriage was none other than Yuan Tianshu, the patriarch of the Yuan family and a half-step Celestial Realm expert.

"Hehe, Zhou Rushan, I didn't infiltrate the palace."

"I entered the palace openly and legitimately at the invitation of the King of Shu to help him restore order."

Yuan Tianshu gave a cold smile.

He paid no attention to Zhou Rushan's slightly cold gaze.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rushan coldly glanced at the old eunuch Wushe and Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi immediately felt a powerful aura pressing down on him, which made his face turn pale and he took a step back.

Even the old eunuch, a Grandmaster at the peak, just one step away from becoming a Celestial, still took a step back, just like Zhou Zhi, when faced with Zhou Rushan's overwhelming aura.

Simultaneously.

The three clan leaders sitting in King Zhou Zhi's carriage also flew out and landed beside Zhou Zhi.

The other palace maids, eunuchs, and guards who had accompanied the Empress Dowager out of the palace also removed their disguises, revealing their true identities and that they were not palace people.

Now that Yuan Tianshu has been discovered and exposed by Zhou Rushan, there is no longer any point in them hiding.

Zhou Chen, standing on the palace wall, watched these people remove their disguises without showing any surprise.

It seems this was something he had expected all along.

In fact it is.

Zhou Chen summoned Du Ruhui, Liu Ye, and the Eighth Prince Zhou Xian to the palace to discuss matters concerning the Empress Dowager.

Liu Ye guessed that King Zhou Zhi of Shu might take advantage of the Empress Dowager's return to the palace to bring people into the palace.

This explains Zhou Chen's current action of stopping the Empress Dowager's carriage from returning to the palace at Shangyang Gate.

Seeing that the people who followed the Empress Dowager back to the palace were all from the three great families, Zhou Chen couldn't help but think to himself, "Liu Ye was right after all."

Taking advantage of the Empress Dowager's trip to the Prince of Shu's residence, Zhou Zhizhen replaced the people the Empress Dowager took with members of the three major families, hoping to gain entry into the imperial palace.

The atmosphere inside Shangyang Gate was eerily oppressive at this moment.

No one spoke again.

He didn't make any more moves.

And so it remained silent.

(End of this chapter)