The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Xiao Ji's eyes were cold, exuding a chilling majesty.

He strode up to Xiao Yin, the long sword in his hand like a black lightning bolt, pointed at his throat.

The cold blade gleamed with a sinister light, and the icy aura unique to iron, mixed with the pungent smell of blood, assaulted Xiao Yin's nostrils.

The strong smell made Xiao Yin's stomach churn, almost making him vomit.

The long sword in Xiao Ji's hand still bore traces of blood from the recent battle, dripping onto the ground and instantly staining it a shocking crimson, which stood out starkly in the dimly lit hall.

Xiao Yin's face was ashen, his eyes filled with terror and disbelief.

He couldn't understand how Xiao Ji had managed to break into the heavily fortified imperial city.

At this moment, he had long lost his former dignity and imposing presence, collapsing to the ground like a stray dog, his body trembling uncontrollably.

However, even in such a desperate situation, Xiao Yin was still unwilling to admit defeat.

He raised his head, a maniacal smile spreading across his face. He laughed twice, his voice tinged with a desperate struggle: "Xiao Ji, you are the traitor! I am the Crown Prince, the rightful heir to the throne. What wrong have I done?"

Xiao Ji snorted coldly, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly, "You plotted to murder the Emperor, colluded with the Empress to control the government, and persecuted loyal officials. Your actions have angered both Heaven and the people. How dare you say you are innocent?"

Today, I am here to act on behalf of Heaven and bring justice to your crimes!

Hearing Xiao Ji's accusations, Xiao Yin felt a pang of panic, but he still forced himself to remain calm and said through gritted teeth, "You're just looking for an excuse to usurp the throne. Do you think you can succeed? The people of this world will not approve of you!"

Although his voice was firm, his trembling tone betrayed his inner fear.

The tide has turned, and Xiao Ji will inevitably take his place.

But only one path awaited him: death.

"Cough, cough..." A faint but clear cough came from outside the hall, the voice full of exhaustion.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Emperor Wen, supported by Eunuch Fu, slowly and heavily walk in.

Emperor Wen's face was as pale as paper, his body was thin, and every step he took seemed extremely difficult.

"Your Majesty, please slow down." Eunuch Fu's face was full of worry as he carefully supported Emperor Wen, looking extremely apprehensive.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yin's eyes widened like copper bells, filled with shock and disbelief.

His lips trembled slightly, as if he had been punched hard, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Immediately afterward, a flush of anger rose on his face, and pointing at Eunuch Fu's nose, he burst into a tirade: "You dog slave, so you were just pretending to surrender! If I had known this, I should have killed you with one sword!"

His voice was sharp and angry, and his crazed appearance was utterly ridiculous.

Eunuch Fu continued to support Emperor Wen steadily, a faint smile on his face. He chuckled at Xiao Yin and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. This old servant's life was saved by His Majesty. Even if I die, this old servant will never betray His Majesty. The reason I pretended to surrender was thanks to the guidance of Prince Chu."

His tone was neither humble nor arrogant as he bowed to Xiao Ji with his hands clasped: "Your Highness is exceptionally intelligent and knows that the Emperor is trapped and urgently needs an inside agent. This old servant is willing to risk his life."

Xiao Yin's eyes widened even more, as if his eyeballs were about to pop out.

He looked at Xiao Ji in surprise, his face full of doubt and shock: "How did you know that I was going to rebel when you were thousands of miles away? And how did you get the news so quickly? Are you some kind of monster?"

Xiao Ji chuckled lightly, his laughter filled with undisguised contempt, as if mocking Xiao Yin's foolishness and overestimation of his abilities.

He slightly raised his chin and waved towards the outside of the hall.

Almost instantly, a carrier pigeon flapped its wings, flew into the hall, and landed steadily in his hand.

The homing pigeon's feathers shimmered softly in the candlelight, and a small bamboo tube adorned its red foot.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Yin was first stunned, then burst into laughter in anger.

A twisted smile appeared on his face, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness: "I never expected that you would actually rely on carrier pigeons to deliver messages."

"What I don't understand is how you infiltrated the city. It's impossible for you to breach the imperial city silently."

This is what puzzled Xiao Yin. No matter how capable Xiao Ji was, he couldn't possibly fly into the city, could he?

Xiao Ji tapped the ground with his sword: "Some of them crawled in through the tunnel, some swam in with the river, and some flew in from the sky."

"That's utter nonsense. How could people fly in the sky?" Xiao Yin felt his intelligence had been insulted. So many people flew into the imperial city from the sky, who did they think they were?

Is it a bird?

Tian Qi tossed a flight wing in front of Xiao Yin, looking smug: "Your Highness is probably ignorant. People really can fly. And this thing was even designed by the young prince. Otherwise, what do you think we'd be doing lurking in the forest?"

He chuckled softly and finished speaking, hoping to convince Xiao Yin completely.

“We arrived at a point 30 miles from the capital more than ten days ago. The reason we didn’t show ourselves was to prepare this flying machine.”

Actually, Tian Qi also admires Xiao Jinyan quite a bit.

Such a young child was able to draw such complex blueprints.

It actually worked!

When talking about his son, Xiao Ji was also full of pride, and the smile on his face was wide open.

Xiao Yin got up from the ground with hatred in his eyes. He staggered a little, but tried his best to remain calm and retreated step by step: "The winner is king and the loser is a bandit. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

Although he spoke casually, his slightly trembling body betrayed his inner panic.

Xiao Yin retreated to the wall, his back pressed tightly against the cold surface. He had reached a point where he had nowhere left to retreat.

However, just when everyone thought he was trapped, the wall suddenly creaked and slowly flipped over.

A hint of surprise flashed in Xiao Yin's eyes. Before anyone could react, he instantly disappeared into the opened secret passage.

When everyone came to their senses and rushed forward to touch the wall, they found that it was completely sealed and could not be opened no matter how hard they tried.

The wall was smooth and flat, without a single gap, as if everything just now was an illusion.

Xiao Ji's face instantly darkened, a flash of anger crossed his eyes, and he shouted sharply, "Chase!"

These secret passages in the palace are extremely well hidden, and no one knows about them except the emperor. Xiao Yin probably knew about this passage because the empress told him about it. This is their only way out.