Reborn, I was pursued by the Prince of the Broken Sleeves

Ye Mo had come prepared.

Beneath the palace gates, torches crackled, casting flickering light on Ye Zhi's distorted face.

"My father is gravely ill, and Prince Qi, Ye Mo, has led his troops to force his way into the palace!" He brandished his sword and roared, his voice echoing across the empty square with a desperate madness, "This prince's journey is solely to purge the court of treacherous officials and eliminate the rebels!"

What a mouth that can twist the truth! In an instant, it pinned the charge of treason on someone else.

"Purge the court of corrupt officials?" Ye Mo seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He slightly raised his hand, and two guards escorted a bound and gagged person out of the shadows.

The man, dressed in fine clothes but now in disheveled state, was none other than the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department whom Ye Zhi had planted in the palace to open the palace gates for him tonight.

“From the first time he sent you a message, he became my man.”

Ye Mo's tone carried a hint of icy coldness, "What you heard and saw was only what I wanted you to hear and see."

"Ye Mo, you're despicable!"

Ye Zhi's pupils contracted sharply, and the panic in her heart grew wildly like weeds. Her words became increasingly frantic: "Of all the princes, you are the most adept at feigning compliance while secretly opposing them."

"Your father favored generals with the bearing of a commander, so you plunged into the frontier, won battle after battle, and gained your father's attention."

"Your father needs a benevolent successor, so you risked your life to save the people in the torrential rain, and afterwards you distributed porridge and provided medical treatment, as well as donated money and supplies, thus earning yourself a good reputation."

"You always act like you don't care about the throne, but in reality you're meticulously planning to get it."

"Now, you've even started plotting against your own father."

"Father's health is so good, how could he suddenly fall critically ill? It must be your future Princess Consort Su Manman who secretly sabotaged Father's health and caused it to deteriorate."

"Why do you defend such a wicked and wicked person who seeks fame and fortune?"

He roared and demanded answers from the soldiers around him.

"You unfilial son, shut up!"

An aged yet authoritative roar came from behind the Imperial Guards.

The imperial guards parted like a tide, and the Great Qian Emperor, supported by Li Dequan, slowly walked out.

His face was flushed with rage, his eyes were as cold as knives, and deep in his eyes surged the heartache and fury of being betrayed by someone he trusted.

"Father...Father Emperor?!" Ye Zhi was struck dumb, her last shred of hope shattered, and she screamed in despair, "You've come too. You were also the mastermind behind this trap?"

His expression was frantic, his eyes blazing as he demanded, "Since you love me the most, why can't you continue to do so! Why did you support Ye Mo? Why did you depose my mother and force me to this point! This empire should have been mine long ago!"

"Stubborn fool!" The Great Qian Emperor closed his eyes in anguish, and when he opened them again, all that remained in his eyes was the ruthlessness of an emperor. "Is this your reason for forcing the emperor to abdicate and murdering your father?"

"Do I have any other choice?" Ye Zhi's eyes were bloodshot, and he said in a hoarse voice, "If I don't act now, I don't know where I will die in the end."

He closed his eyes in anguish, then suddenly opened them again. "Where is Huang Feng, the leader of the Imperial Guards?"

The night was pitch black, and thousands of people stood silently at the entrance of the vast palace.

Ye Zhi's roar pierced through the crowd and carried far away.

No one answered.

"Huang Feng, the leader of the Imperial Guard, has captured Prince Qi, Ye Mo, who was attempting to seize power!"

Still no one responded.

Across from him, Ye Mo stared coldly at him, as if looking at a laughable puppet.

He waved his hand, and on the high city wall, two soldiers were holding down a general. The torchlight reflected on his face, revealing him to be Huang Feng, the commander of the Imperial Guard.

It turned out that he had been captured, and the entire Imperial Guard was now under Ye Mo's command.

Ye Zhi's eyes turned bloodshot, and he suddenly fired a signal flare into the sky, sending out a dazzling light.

He cried out in a hoarse voice, "Father, you are all surrounded. Your son pities your ailing health and is willing to take on the heavy responsibility of governing the country. Please write an abdication edict and do not make the situation too ugly."

The Great Qian Emperor's face was grim, looking at him as if he were a dead man. "Your Northwest rebels have been quelled by General Chi, and the White Cloud Mountain bandits and the remnants of Huanyue have long been wiped out by Xiao Ao. As for those around you—"

His voice resounded throughout the land: "You have all been deceived by Prince Jin. If you lay down your weapons now, I will forgive your past transgressions! Those who remain obstinate will have their entire families executed!"

With a clang, someone dropped their weapon.

Like the beginning of an avalanche, the rebel army collapsed in an instant.

Ye Zhi staggered, completely losing her mind.

No wonder!

The reinforcements promised by the Northwest Army have not yet arrived.

The notorious bandits who made the pact at Baiyun Mountain have vanished without a trace.

Even the most deeply hidden spies in Huanyue Kingdom vanished without a trace, leaving no trace.

Today, he is going to fight to the death.

Ye Zhi, her expression crazed, brandished her sword and shouted, "Listen to my command, everyone! If you help me ascend the throne, you will all be credited with supporting the emperor. You will be rewarded according to your merits, each of you will be promoted to the rank of general or marquis! Kill!"

He brandished his sword and roared wildly, his eyes turning completely red.

"Kill." Ye Mo's command was concise and deadly.

In an instant, the ambushers sprang up from all sides, and arrows rained down.

Not only the imperial guards on the outer perimeter, but also countless archers instantly appeared on the palace walls.

Although Ye Zhi's private army was elite, it was surrounded and its morale had collapsed. Coupled with the disparity in numbers, it was immediately trapped and became a sitting duck. Screams and the sound of clashing weapons filled the air.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Prime Minister Bai tried to escape in the chaos.

As soon as he turned around, he felt a numbness in his knees and involuntarily knelt forward. Before he could get up, several cold blades were already at his neck.

This so-called "palace coup" turned into a one-sided massacre and purge in the face of absolute power and scheming.

In the chaos, Ye Zhi, acting like a madwoman, brandished her longsword and charged recklessly towards Ye Mo. "It's all because of you! I'll kill you!"

Ye Mo stood expressionless and motionless.

As he rushed closer, he suddenly moved to avoid the attack, and his long sword, like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, struck first despite being behind!

"Qiang!"

After a piercing metallic clang, Ye Zhi's sword was easily knocked away.

The tip of Ye Mo's sword came to a steady stop just before his Adam's apple, the icy touch instantly freezing him.

“Brother,” Ye Mo’s voice was low, only the two of them could hear it, “you have lost.”

Ye Zhi's pupils contracted sharply, and she slumped to the ground in despair, muttering to herself, "It's over, it's all over!"

The battle ended quickly.

The rebels were either killed or surrendered.

Prime Minister Bai was ashen-faced and was imprisoned in the imperial prison.

Ye Zhi was stripped of her armor, bound hand and foot, and forced to kneel before the emperor.

The emperor looked at him, the last trace of warmth in his eyes vanished, leaving only the coldness of an emperor: "Prince Jin, Ye Zhi, colluded with foreign powers, privately raised troops, wreaked havoc in the palace, and plotted to assassinate the emperor and usurp the throne... The evidence is irrefutable, and Heaven and Earth cannot tolerate it! Demote him to commoner status, throw him into death row, and await execution!"

Upon receiving the news in the Cold Palace, the abandoned concubine Bai was so enraged that she vomited blood several times and fainted.

When she woke up again, she was in a mad state, throwing things around and knocking over candlesticks, which set the curtains on fire.

The fire in the Cold Palace burned for a day and a night, and Lady Bai perished in the flames.