After being reborn with my scumbag ex-husband, I became his sister-in-law.

Emperor Guangqi, seeing the dense mass of soldiers surrounding him, turned to look at the Marquis of Anding, who was slumped to the side, and questioned him sternly:

"Lord An Ding, is this your intention?"

When Marquis Anding heard the news of He Yunce's death, he almost fainted. Now, after being yelled at by the emperor, several ministers hurriedly helped him up from the ground.

Marquis Anding then came to his senses.

He stared blankly in Song Xizhi's direction, his eyes lifeless, his pale lips trembling as he spoke, his voice barely a whisper: "Where is Yun Ce?"

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi recalled everything that had happened that night. He closed his eyes, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"He Yunze is dead, murdered by the Empress Dowager. For the sake of the Great Qian Dynasty, for my sake, he single-handedly lured away the pursuers and jumped off the cliff without hesitation..."

When Marquis An Ding heard this, he staggered a step, his eyes filled with sorrow as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

He looked up to the sky and howled, tears streaming down his face, his chest trembling: "I used to think my eldest son was dead, but now my youngest son is dead too... My manor has been burned down, I have nothing left..."

Upon hearing this, He Jingyan quickly seized the opportunity, kneeling before the Marquis of Anding and supporting him with all his might: "My brother is dead, murdered by the Crown Prince!"

"Father, I am your only son!"

"Now His Majesty has been bewitched by treacherous officials, and His Highness the Crown Prince has killed his son's wife and children and is plotting to usurp the throne. Father! What exactly are you insisting on?"

Please help me! I beg you to help me!

Everyone's heart was pounding. The emperor didn't speak, but just stared quietly into the eyes of the Marquis of Anding, his eyes filled with scrutiny.

None of the soldiers moved, and the situation remained deadlocked as everyone awaited the Marquis of Anding's reply.

The success or failure of the palace coup seemed to hinge on this one move.

Looking into Emperor Guangqi's unfathomable eyes, Song Xizhi suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, as if he had understood something.

So she hurriedly turned to Marquis Anding and said, "My lord, the real He Jingyan is not dead, the real He Jingyan is definitely not dead!"

Upon hearing this, He Jingyan stared at the Marquis of Anding with reddened eyes: "Father, do you believe her?"

"My son has served the country on the border for more than ten years, never once being able to be filial to you at your side, and this is the humiliation he has received in return..."

Before He Jingyan could finish speaking, he saw Marquis An Ding suddenly draw his sword, roar to the sky, and then thrust the sword into He Jingyan's heart.

"My...son will never betray us. The Marquis of Anding's mansion will forever be loyal only to His Majesty!"

After shouting these words, Marquis An Ding increased the force and stabbed the sword into He Jingyan's heart. The sword pierced through He Jingyan's heart, and blood almost spurted out, splattering onto Marquis An Ding's face.

His tears streamed down his face, as if they were tears of blood.

Everyone was shocked by the Marquis of Anding's sudden action.

Unexpectedly, Marquis Anding made such a decisive choice to kill He Jingyan in front of him.

It should be noted that Song Xizhi's words were only her side of the story, and they were far too shocking and alarmist. No one knew the truth of the matter.

The man before them had the exact same face as He Jingyan, and he also had the exact same memories as He Jingyan.

He knelt before the Marquis of Anding, repeatedly calling him father…

Marquis Anding only had this one son left.

Clearly, He Jingyan himself was also extremely shocked. The veins on his forehead bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and he opened his mouth wide in disbelief. But before he could speak, blood began to flow from his mouth.

Marquis An Ding then turned around, not daring to look at that blood-stained face.

He merely drew his sword with trembling hands, then turned to look in the direction of Emperor Guangqi, each word carrying the weight of a thousand pounds:

"All soldiers, protect His Majesty! Seize the Empress Dowager!"

Upon hearing these words from the Marquis of Anding, Emperor Guangqi, who had been tense all over, closed his eyes briefly.

The scene instantly descended into chaos as soldiers and imperial guards worked together to slaughter large numbers of monks.

The entire altar looked as if it had been stained with blood.

The Empress Dowager stared at everything before her with bloodshot eyes. She never expected that after learning of He Yunce's death, Marquis An Ding would still so resolutely kill He Jingyan, turning the tide of the situation in an instant.

She never expected this scene. She had always thought that her years of preparation were thorough and deep, but today's events felt like a slap in the face.

Seeing that her elite troops, which she had secretly trained, were about to be wiped out at this moment, and that decades of preparation would be destroyed in an instant, she began to tremble all over.

"Guards! Take me away first!"

Upon hearing this, the monks were about to make their move when Pei Yunyi suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wielding a long sword with its blade pointed directly at the Empress Dowager.

In an instant, the Empress Dowager was taken down.

Seeing that things were not going well, the remaining monks tried to break through the encirclement and storm into the homes of the people to take the hostages.

But little did they know that countless petite figures had already laid an ambush on the tiled walls and treetops of the common people's houses. They seized the opportunity and immediately appeared, joining forces to kill the group of martial monks.

The people were not threatened in the slightest, and even the rebels had not yet broken into their yards.

Song Xizhi stood on the altar, looking up into the distance. Watching their agile and well-trained movements, she smiled slightly, finally feeling a little gratified.

The person leading the team was A-Lian.

Everything that happened today was planned long ago by Emperor Guangqi and Pei Yunyi.

Whether it's A-Lian protecting the people, the Imperial Guards lying in wait, or even the soldiers under the Marquis of Anding, they all have a certain chance of winning.

The Empress Dowager's conspiracy, which she had been plotting for more than ten years, came to an end at this moment, and the blood-stained altar looked incredibly ironic.

The emperor eventually imprisoned the Empress Dowager in the imperial prison, where she spent her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers without uttering a single word.

Although the Empress Dowager was captured, the world of Daqian remained turbulent.

The remnants of the Western Rong tribes stirred up trouble in various places, using temples as strongholds to incite various believers, while artificially creating countless strange phenomena, causing uprisings to occur all over the country.

The first thing Emperor Guangqi did after seizing power was to ban temples in various places and launch a campaign to suppress Buddhism, but believers all over the world opposed it.

He was furious, but he could only postpone his plans. He sent out countless secret guards to secretly eliminate the Western Rong forces rooted in the temples of the world, and A-Lian was among them.

On this day, Emperor Guangqi personally went to the imperial prison to meet with the Empress Dowager.