Holding the script, I want to give up.

"Your Highness, Cining Palace is right in front of us. Please go in by yourself. This old servant will wait outside."

The old woman led Shangguan Zitong to the outside of Cining Palace and waited there. Shangguan Zitong then went inside to change her clothes. The tea-stained dress made her uncomfortable.

"Ah Li, I have a bad feeling about this. Come out and help me run away!"

"Ah Li?"

"Ah Li?"

Seeing no response, Shangguan Zitong could only change her clothes. Halfway through, everything went black and she collapsed. Youth is wonderful; she fell asleep instantly.

Damn, I was careless; there's something wrong with this incense. Her eyes were glazed over, and in her daze, she saw a figure running towards her as if trying to help her up, before she closed her eyes completely and lost consciousness.

"Your Highness! Fortunately, we arrived in time. I will take you out now."

Yi Bai was glad that he found Shangguan Zitong before Huangfu Hongxi. After helping her up, he saw that her clothes were disheveled, so he took a quilt and wrapped it around her. He then took a coat from the hanger, put an antidote pill in her mouth, and then carried her away quietly.

At the banquet, Huangfu Hongxi pretended to have something to ask the Northern Emperor and Empress for instructions and then left the banquet, while Song Yao remained at the banquet.

Inside Cining Palace.

"Yibai is truly loyal, actually leading my Crown Princess on an escape."

"No, he is the one who murdered the king."

"Granny, what is the punishment for abandoning your post without authorization?"

Huangfu Hongxi said to the cold-eyed old woman.

"Your Highness, please be magnanimous and forgive me this time. I will never dare to do it again."

"I only heard that you favor your concubines over your wife, which is why you haven't been taking good care of the Crown Princess."

The old woman knelt down, kowtowed, and begged for mercy.

"Hongjin, kill him."

Huangfu Hongxi waved his hand, and Hongjin appeared, killing the old woman with a single stroke.

"Favoring a concubine over one's wife? Well said, but unfortunately there won't be a next time."

He rubbed his temples with one hand.

"Leqi, you did a great job."

"Your family will be safe and sound. I will ensure their lifelong happiness."

Huangfu Hongxi turned and sat down at the head of the table. Hongjin then dragged the body out and buried it.

"Thank you, Your Highness. This is my duty."

Le Qi knelt and bowed, tears of helplessness welling in her eyes. Which was more important, her family or the Crown Princess? Although the Crown Princess had been very good to her, blood ties far outweighed the affection they had developed over the past few months. Her first choice, of course, had to be her family.

"The time to hunt has come, go!"

Huangfu Hongxi addressed the rest of the people in the hall. Those people responded and disappeared.

"Alright, let's go to the banquet to rescue the emperor."

"How can a play be considered a play if it doesn't have a central theme?"

Huangfu Hongxi said to Hongjin, then led the rest of the group away to the banquet.

The banquet was filled with melodious music and colorful fireworks, and everyone was so engrossed in the spectacle that they were unaware of the impending danger.

The archers on the palace wall took their positions, and the assassins leaped down like ghosts, surrounding the people at the palace banquet in preparation for their hunt.

Seeing this, the Northern Emperor brandished his hidden sword and fired a firework signal flare into the sky. The Imperial Guards quickly rushed to his aid, huddling together and watching the battle with fear in their hearts, afraid that they might be the ones struck.

There were no military officers present, only a group of weak civil officials. The military officers were all stationed at the border and had not yet returned home. General Nie of the General's Mansion had already resigned on Huangfu Hongxi's orders, taking his family to retire to his hometown, planning to move back after the palace coup. In reality, his family had left, but he and his subordinates had not, and were waiting in the woods outside the city gate.

Chaos erupted within the palace. Maids and eunuchs grabbed valuables and fled, only to be killed by stray arrows before they could even leave. Yi Bai tried to escape with her amidst the chaos, but their obvious presence forced them to hide temporarily in a corner tower. Meanwhile, Huangfu Hongxi led Hong Jin through a bloody battle to reach the banquet center and rescue the emperor.

"Father, Mother, please forgive me for being late in coming to your aid."

After Huangfu Hongxi ran to the Northern Emperor and Empress and bowed, he stood in a protective posture in front of them.

"what happened?"

Why are you covered in injuries?

The Northern Emperor said, hiding behind the Northern Empress.

"Father, I was careless and failed to notice anything unusual about the Crown Princess."

"The Crown Princess harbors resentment towards you because of her sister's affair and wants to assassinate you."

Huangfu Hongxi directed and starred in the drama himself.

"Ha, she's got guts. Then let her never return. Your Highness, go and capture her immediately."

"Execute him on the spot, and he shall not be buried in the imperial mausoleum after death."

When the Northern Emperor saw that Huangfu Hongxi had come to protect him, his aura became stronger.

"Yes, I will go right away."

"Guards, escort His Majesty back to the palace."

After Huangfu Hongxi finished speaking, a group of his henchmen and Hongjin escorted the Northern Emperor and Empress away and placed her under house arrest.

"Your Highness was also frightened. I will send someone to take you back immediately."

Huangfu Hongxi addressed the Second Prince, who was pretending to tremble and cower in a corner.

"No need, I can walk by myself. Your Highness, you are really impatient."

The Second Prince simply stopped pretending and slowly rose, mocking Huangfu Hongxi as he regained his composure.

"Your Highness, the troublemakers in the palace have not yet been apprehended."

"To ensure your safety, let my guards escort you back."

Without waiting for the Second Prince's reply, Huangfu Hongxi immediately sent men to drag him back to his residence and lock him up, heavily guarding the place to prevent him from escaping.

He first sent people to inspect Shangguan Zitong's hiding places. After checking them one by one, he took Song Yao and Le Qi to the corner tower to capture the legendary traitor.

While passing through the garden, they encountered Huangfu Junwen, who was hiding and trying to escape.

"Eldest sister, stop hiding it, I'm not blind."

Huangfu Hongxi drew his bow and aimed an arrow at Huangfu Junwen.

"Oh? So, you're going to kill me?"

Huangfu Junwen hid in an inconspicuous garden amidst the chaos, but she was still discovered.

"I believe my elder sister is a smart woman. She knows what she should and shouldn't say without me having to remind her, right?"

Huangfu Hongxi aimed his arrow at her heart.

"Yes, I voluntarily request to leave and go to my fiefdom."

Huangfu Junwen looked at her and said.

"Since elder sister is so sensible, then I will send someone to escort you away."

Huangfu Hongxi put down the arrow in his hand and sent his trusted bodyguard to escort him away from the palace.

"Yaoyao, let's go. Just watch how I elevate you to the position of Empress."

Huangfu Hongxi led Song Yao toward the corner tower.

Inside the corner tower, Shangguan Zitong's effects wore off quickly after taking the antidote.

"Aish, where am I?"

Shangguan Zitong slowly woke up, lifted the blanket, saw Yibai next to her, put on her coat, got up and rubbed her forehead.

"Princess, Huangfu Hongxi wants to harm you. I will take you away once the palace coup is over."

Yi Bai turned away from her.

"Well, you don't need to say anything. I figured it out before I was overwhelmed by the incense in the room."

"Run! He won't do anything to me, but he'll try to kill you."

After putting on his coat, Shangguan Zitong coughed twice and weakly pushed him outside, hoping he could escape, as long as he could.

"Princess, I have smelled it, and there is no problem with the incense in the palace."

Yi Bai thought that Shangguan Zitong was suffering from dissociative identity disorder.

"Yes, but the medicine will take effect if it gets mixed with the tea stains on my body."

"Stop asking so many questions. Getting out of here is the most important thing, it's a matter of life and death."

Shangguan Zitong pushed him faster.

"No, Princess, I must take you with me when we escape."

Yi Bai knocked Shangguan Zitong unconscious, grabbed her by the back of the neck, and leaped onto the palace wall.

Damn it, Yibai, you have no sportsmanship, you're completely unreasonable. If you die, Ah Li's tail will have been lost for nothing. Isn't it better to live a normal life? You, on the other hand, insist on walking into the line of fire. I'm really screwed. Shangguan Zitong's inner thoughts were quite active before she was knocked unconscious.

"Escape? Where do you think you can escape to with the Crown Princess?"

Huangfu Hongxi shot an arrow directly into Yi Bai's calf. He lost his balance and Shangguan Zitong fell heavily to the ground along with him. Before landing, he reacted quickly and protected her head, cushioning the fall with himself.

After seeing Yi Bai fall to the ground, the archers led by Huangfu Hongxi surrounded them, making way for Huangfu Hongxi, Song Yao, and Le Qi.

"Leqi, it's you!"

He glared at Leqi with resentment.

How could you harm Her Highness the Princess!

He gently pushed Shangguan Zitong away and hid her behind him. He pulled the arrow out of his calf, blood gushing out. He casually tore off a piece of fabric from her skirt and wrapped it around his calf to stop the bleeding.

"If a man does not serve himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth."

"What did Leqi do wrong?"

"Yibai, you are indeed loyal, but you are just an eyesore to me."

Huangfu Hongxi stood in front of Le Qi, shielding her from Yi Bai's murderous gaze. Le Qi, filled with guilt, lowered her head, her eyes unsure of where to look.

......