You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 32 Orders the Phoenix Guards to Stand by

"Damn Cao Zhengchun, I must kill him!" Empress Wu Ying thought fiercely to herself.

If it weren't for Cao Zhengchun, her influence within the palace wouldn't have suffered such a devastating loss.

"Wan'er."

Empress Wu Ying turned her head to look at Wan'er, who was kneeling.

"By order of the Palace, the Phoenix Guards shall be on standby at any time."

"and."

"Notify all the experts in our palace to prepare; we can't continue to be passive like this."

Empress Wu Ying's eyes flashed with a cold light.

She had reached her limit.

Given her influence in the court, if she had acted decisively earlier, even if Zhou Chen had the moral high ground, he might not have been able to do anything to her.

Unfortunately, one wrong step leads to another.

Now that Zhou Chen has put her, the Empress, in such a disadvantageous position, if she doesn't make a decision soon...

Once Zhou Chen has clipped all her wings as empress, then the only thing waiting for her as empress will be to drink herself to death.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wan'er's eyes flashed, and her heart couldn't help but tremble.

Phoenix Guards were Empress Wu Ying's sharpest claws in secret. They were established to guard against the Great Zhou Inner Guards. Their members were all experts that Empress Wu Ying had networked around during the reign of the two emperors. Their power was comparable to that of the Great Zhou Inner Guards.

It can be said that the Phoenix Guard was Empress Wu Ying's greatest secret support, hidden within the palace and spread out to Luoyang.

Any disturbance, whether inside or outside the palace, is generally difficult to conceal from the Phoenix Guard's investigation.

Now that Empress Wu Ying has ordered the Phoenix Guards to stand by, although she did not say it explicitly, Wan'er has already understood the deeper meaning behind it.

To be honest, Wan'er was a little scared.

Once you take this step, there's no turning back.

Success means survival, failure means the extermination of one's entire clan.

There will be no other outcome.

Of course, Wan'er had no way back, but she was unaware of it.

At this moment, Wei Zhong hurriedly walked in.

"Your Majesty, something has happened." Wei Zhong said with a solemn expression as he walked in.

Although Qingfeng Palace is still sealed off by the Imperial Guards, Wei Zhong, the steward of Qingfeng Palace, can still freely enter and exit for matters related to the normal life of Qingfeng Palace.

Therefore, Qingfeng Palace's connection with the outside world was not severed.

Of course, even if Qingfeng Palace were completely sealed off by the Imperial Guards, it would be impossible to sever Qingfeng Palace's connection with the outside world thanks to Empress Wu Ying's efforts over the years.

"What happened?" Empress Wu Ying frowned and asked, seeing Wei Zhong's solemn expression as soon as he returned.

Wei Zhong immediately said, "Your Majesty, all the spies we had hidden in the inner guard have been dug up and eliminated by Cao Zhengchun. Cao Zhengchun must have found out something."

""besides."

"The atmosphere in the palace seems strange today. The West Garden has been reinforced with security, and no one knows what the situation is with the Imperial Guards inside."

"Moreover, news just arrived at the palace gates that Cao Zhengchun, accompanied by the Eighth Prince, the Minister of War, and the Marquis of Weiwu, secretly entered the palace."

Wei Zhong recounted the news he had received and the changes within the palace.

Empress Wu Ying's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

Especially when Empress Wu Ying heard that Cao Zhengchun had secretly entered the palace with the Eighth Prince, the Minister of War, and the Marquis of Weiwu, a glint of light flashed in her eyes.

"Are you sure Cao Zhengchun brought the Eighth Prince, the Minister of War, and the Marquis of Weiwu into the palace?" Empress Wu Ying asked, looking directly at Wei Zhong.

"Your Majesty, although the Imperial Guards have been largely purged, there are still some of our spies among them. This is a message from the spy guarding the palace gates, so it should be accurate."

Wei Zhong said affirmatively.

Wei Zhong and Wan'er were Empress Wu Ying's two right-hand men in the palace.

Wan'er took charge of the Phoenix Guard and other important experts on behalf of Empress Wu Ying.

Wei Zhong, on the other hand, was in charge of most of the palace's spies and a portion of the inner guards for Empress Wu Ying.

Although the Imperial Guard has been abolished by the Emperor and its personnel have been handed over to Cao Zhengchun, Cao Zhengchun has also eliminated most of the Empress's spies.

But some things couldn't be hidden from Wei Zhong.

Upon hearing Wei Zhong's words, Wu Ying's expression kept changing. Wu Ying wasn't stupid.

On the contrary, Wu Ying possessed extraordinary talent in political maneuvering and foresight.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Wu Ying, a woman, to have been able to rule under two emperors for three or four years.

It is obvious that Cao Zhengchun's secret entry into the palace with the Eighth Prince, the Minister of War, and the Marquis of Weiwu was part of some ulterior motive.

Furthermore, considering Wei Zhong's account of the changes in the Western Garden Imperial Guards and Cao Zhengchun's discovery of the Inner Guard's spies, it seems that he has uncovered something.

Its purpose is probably self-evident.

Thinking of this, Empress Wu Ying looked at Wan'er with a solemn expression and said, "Wan'er, immediately notify the Phoenix Guard to investigate this matter. There must be a result before dark."

"besides."

"Go out of the palace to the General's residence in person and tell the General my thoughts and this matter, but don't let anyone find out."

Empress Wu Ying reminded her.

Although she already had some suspicions, she still needed to have the Phoenix Guard investigate.

Of course, the investigation did not affect her subsequent plans.

"Yes, ma'am."

After Wan'er left, Empress Wu Ying looked at Wei Zhong again; "Wei Zhong, inform our people to be on standby at any time, especially the people in the Imperial Guards, we must find a way to inform them."

Although many of Empress Wu Ying's people in the Imperial Guards had been purged, some still remained.

After all, Empress Wu Ying had been managing this palace for three or four years.

It's impossible to wipe out all their forces in one fell swoop.

"Yes, ma'am."

A hint of surprise flashed across Wei Zhong's face, but he quickly regained his composure, accepted the order, and left Qingfeng Palace.

"Everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared."

"Now we'll see who comes out on top."

After Wei Zhong left, Empress Wu Ying muttered to herself.

To be honest, she had been waiting for this day for a long time.

If successful, one will be promoted to the ninth rank and command the world.

The loser...

Empress Wu Ying laughed.

She never thought she would fail, and she, Wu Ying, would not fail.

……

The General's Mansion.

General Wu Jin sat in the main seat, with more than twenty civil and military officials seated below him.

These people were key members of the maternal relatives' faction, each wielding considerable power and influence in the court.

"Gentlemen, you have all seen what that person in the palace has been doing for the past two weeks—ignoring all the memorials from the officials. What do you all think we should do?" General Wu Jin said, glancing at the crowd.

The twenty-odd civil and military officials looked at each other, none of them speaking for a moment.

"how?"

"You don't want to say, do you?"

"Should we wait until that person in the palace has a knife to your throats before you speak?"

General Wu Jin scanned the crowd back and forth, his gaze slightly somber.

"General, we all understand the Emperor's purpose, but we don't have any good solutions right now."

"The only thing I can think of is for all the officials to submit a joint memorial so that the emperor will give in."

"But the Emperor has ignored the memorials from the officials and has remained unmoved for half a month. We are at a loss."

The Minister of Rites said with a troubled expression.

For half a month, all the officials jointly petitioned the Minister, but the Emperor remained unmoved.

What else can they do?
We can't exactly march into the palace with a knife and start a real rebellion!
(End of this chapter)