From cute to empress

"No..." I hugged Zhen Youcai's gradually cooling body tightly, tears streaming down my face. Despair drowned me like icy seawater. His sacrifice, his loyalty, his love, all turned into excruciating pain, engraved on my heart bit by bit.

But I had no time to grieve. That massive black shadow—the traitor and the Imperial Master's final trump card—was advancing fiercely toward the palace, as if ready to devour everything in the next second. I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, gently placed Zhen Youcai on the ground, and stood up, my eyes ablaze with fire.

"Zhen Youcai died protecting me! You traitors, don't even think about succeeding!" I drew the sword from my waist, pointed it at the dark shadow that blocked out the sky, and shouted, "All soldiers, listen to my order! We will defend the palace to the death!"

"We will defend the palace to the death!" The deafening roar resounded through the sky. Although the imperial guards were exhausted, their eyes were filled with determination to face death.

"kill!"

Shouts, the clashing of weapons, and screams mingled as the area outside the palace transformed into a raging battlefield. The massive black shadow was a siege engine, unprecedented in its scale. It continuously launched boulders and flames, and the palace walls, like paper, collapsed in the blink of an eye.

"Empress, we can't go on like this! We must find a way to destroy that damn machine!" General Wang, the commander of the imperial guards, ran up to me covered in blood and shouted anxiously.

"I know!" I forced myself to calm down and carefully observed the siege engine, trying to find its weakness.

"Youcai said that they have been secretly developing a terrible weapon. It seems that this is it." I said gritting my teeth, and my hatred for the traitors and the national teacher increased a little more.

"Their target is not just the palace, but the entire imperial city! We must not let them succeed!" General Wang's voice trembled with excitement.

"Pass the order down, destroy the siege equipment at all costs!" I raised my sword high, my voice firm and powerful.

Suddenly, an unexpected figure appeared in my sight... "Stop, Your Majesty, you have no chance of winning." A familiar and harsh voice came from a distance. I turned my head suddenly and saw the person I had been wary of - the envoy of the enemy country, walking towards me with a cold smile.

"What are you doing here?" I tightened my grip on the sword, feeling an ominous premonition in my heart.

"I'll help you." He smiled like a cunning fox, "as long as you agree to my conditions."

"What conditions?" I asked coldly, already guessing something in my mind.

"It's simple. Hand over your throne and your country to me." He paused, then added, "And of course, your head."

I sneered and said, "Do you think I will believe your nonsense? You are just trying to take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits."

"Your Majesty, you are wrong." He shook his head, pointing at the siege engine that was attacking frantically, and said, "Do you think you can stop the attack of this 'steel behemoth' by yourself? To tell you the truth, this is only the first step in our cooperation. As long as you and I join forces and overthrow the incompetent Crown Prince, the whole world will be ours!"

His words were like a bombshell, exploding in my ears. I remained calm on the surface, but within, a turbulent storm was brewing. So this was their ultimate goal: using the rebels' power to deplete the Crown Prince's influence, and then reap the benefits. What a brilliant plan!

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Now was not the time to show my emotions. I had to find a way to buy time and find their weakness.

"You say it so lightly, but how do I know you're not lying?" I asked hesitantly, "What if I promise you and you go back on your word? Wouldn't that mean I'll lose both the wife and the army?"

"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. I guarantee on my character that I will never deceive you." He said confidently, but a barely perceptible cunning flashed in his eyes.

"Your personality?" I laughed out loud, as if I had heard a funny joke. "Do you even have a personality?"

His face darkened, and he was about to explode, but I spoke first, "How about this? First, have your men stop attacking. Once I see your sincerity, we can discuss terms."

He hesitated, as if weighing the pros and cons. I took the opportunity to observe his expression, silently praying that my plan would succeed.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he waved to the soldiers behind him, signaling them to stop the attack. I was delighted when I saw this, but I remained calm on the surface.

"Very good." I nodded, then deliberately raised my voice and shouted to the enemy soldiers under the city wall, "Listen, you have been deceived by your leader! He doesn't care about your life or death at all, he just wants to use you to achieve his own goals!"

My words caused a commotion among the enemy soldiers. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion and anxiety.

"Think about it. Why would you come all the way here to attack a country you have no grudge against?" I continued. "Your hometown is suffering from floods, and your loved ones are desperately waiting for your rescue, and yet you are here, aiding and abetting the evil!"

With tears in my eyes, I accused the enemy envoy of his crimes, exposing his conspiracy bit by bit. The enemy soldiers became increasingly agitated, beginning to doubt the significance of their trip and wavering in their stance.

"Enough!" The enemy envoy finally lost his patience. He suddenly drew the sword from his waist, pointed at me and roared, "You witch, stop misleading the people with your lies!"

Before he could finish his words, he heard a cry of surprise from behind him. He turned sharply, his face turning pale... His soldiers had actually turned their guns and pointed them at him! The enemy envoy's face drained of all color. He had never imagined that his carefully planned plan would be ruined by his own people. Watching this scene before me, my heart was filled with the joy of victory, but at the same time, I also knew that this war was far from over.

"Your Majesty! Are you alright?" Zhen Youcai stumbled over to my side, blood all over his body. One of his arms had been sliced ​​open by a sharp blade, blood staining half his clothes red, but he seemed insensitive to the pain. He simply gripped his sword tightly, his gaze fixed firmly ahead.

"I'm fine. How are you?" I looked at him worriedly and signaled the guards to bandage his wound quickly.

"This little injury is nothing. I can still fight!" He gritted his teeth and swept his gaze over the chaotic enemy troops below the city wall, his eyes burning with rage. "I will not let any of these traitors and enemy bandits go!"

His voice, though weak, was filled with power, moving everyone present. Looking at his resolute profile, I felt a surge of warmth in my heart. He knew I needed him, and the country needed him.

At this moment, an old man squeezed in front of me in the crowd. He bowed and saluted, his tone respectful but anxious: "My queen, I have found a way to destroy that 'steel behemoth'!"

"What did you say?!" I looked at him in disbelief and asked anxiously, "Tell me quickly, what is the method?"

This old man is a famous master of mechanisms among the people. He had previously lived in seclusion in the mountains because he was dissatisfied with the tyranny of the national teacher. This time, he was inspired by Zhen Youcai and took the risk to come out of the mountains to help.

"Your Majesty, although the 'Iron Behemoth' is indestructible, it also has a fatal weakness: its power source." The old man pointed to the rear of the 'Iron Behemoth' and explained, "As long as we can destroy its power source, we can completely paralyze it!"

"But its power source is heavily guarded, and we can't get close to it at all!" I said worriedly.

"Don't worry, madam. I've found a way in!" The old man smiled mysteriously and pulled out a parchment scroll from his arms. "This is the fruit of years of research. It contains the design drawings and operating principles of the 'Steel Behemoth'. Simply follow the instructions and you'll find the source of its power!"

I took the scroll, a spark of hope igniting in my heart. At this moment, the old man lowered his voice and added, "Madam, I have discovered a secret..."

He told me that he accidentally discovered that the rebel leader and the national teacher often secretly entered and exited an abandoned mine outside the city. The mine was heavily guarded and seemed to be hiding some unspeakable secrets.

"Abandoned mine?" I pondered for a moment, and suddenly a flash of inspiration came to my mind. "I know where it is! Let's go and take a look!"

I took Zhen Youcai and a team of elite soldiers and headed straight for the abandoned mine outside the city. If my guess is correct, that's probably the rebels' base camp and the source of all their conspiracy!

Arriving at the mine's perimeter, we discovered it was heavily guarded, with patrolling soldiers everywhere. I signaled the soldiers to hide, and Zhen Youcai and I quietly crept to the cave entrance, ready to strike.

"Someone is coming!" Zhen Youcai suddenly said in a low voice and pulled me behind a huge rock.

I stuck my head out and looked out through the cracks in the rocks, only to see two familiar figures walking towards me—the rebel leader and the imperial teacher!

I held my breath, stared at them closely, and prayed silently in my heart that they would not discover us...

They lowered their voices, seemingly arguing about something. I strained to hear their conversation, but from the distance, I could only vaguely discern the words "opportunity," "change of plans," and "can't wait any longer." They hurried on, heading deeper into the mine.

"Your Majesty, should we follow?" Zhen Youcai asked in a low voice, with a hint of worry in his tone.

I pondered for a moment and shook my head. "No, don't pursue a desperate enemy. There must be something fishy going on here. Let's go back and make plans later."

Although Zhen Youcai was unwilling to give in, he still obeyed my orders. We returned the same way and reported our findings to several trusted ministers.

"It seems that this mine is indeed the rebels' lair. We must wipe it out as soon as possible!" said a general indignantly.

"Your Majesty, I believe this matter requires further consideration," a civil servant said cautiously. "Since the rebels dare to act so brazenly, there must be forces behind them that we are unaware of. We must not act rashly."

Just as everyone was discussing this, a guard rushed in in a panic, knelt on the ground, and reported in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The traitor... the traitor has disappeared!"

"What?!" Everyone was shocked and looked at each other.

"How could they disappear? So many people, could they just disappear out of thin air?"

"What happened? Tell me in detail!"

The guard took a breath and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, we surrounded the mine as you ordered, but...but when we rushed in, we found that it was already empty. Only some...some daily necessities and...and..."

"And what?" I asked, feeling a sense of foreboding.

"And... and some strange runes..."