The Jinwu Guards?
Li Wanming's pupils suddenly constricted.
The general of the Jinwu Guards used to be Marquis Xuanping, Kang Wende. After Kang Wende was imprisoned, this position had been vacant.
Xiao Jingnan clearly told her that he had placed his own men in the Jinwu Guards to ensure that they would not interfere that night. So why...
The sounds of the fight were getting fiercer and seemed to be right in her ears.
"Princess Consort, look!" Chun Tao suddenly shouted.
In the distance, a column of fire shot up into the sky, like a tongue of flame tearing through the night sky and dyeing half of it blood - red.
"That's... the direction of the palace..."
The glaring firelight reflected on Li Wanming's suddenly pale face. She felt a bone - chilling cold creep up her spine, almost freezing her blood.
With such a big fire in the palace, what about Xiao Jingnan and the others...
"All men listen up!" Li Wanming suddenly drew out her sword. "No one is allowed to step out of the mansion gate! Those who disobey the order - beheaded!"
Since Xiao Jingnan told her not to go out, then she would stay in.
Even if the sky were to fall, she would wait in this mansion until the moment he returned.
...
The sounds of the fight outside the gate lasted for most of the night and gradually died down as the first light of dawn appeared in the east.
Throughout the whole night, everyone in the Prince Ning's Mansion was on high alert and didn't relax for a moment.
Thankfully, no rioting soldiers came to attack, and it was a night of alarm but no real danger.
But at this moment, Li Wanming's nerves were even more taut.
The outcome of the battle was decided now - if they won, Xiao Jingnan would surely send someone to report the victory; if they lost, the imperial guards in the palace would probably break into the mansion soon.
Li Wanming tightly gripped the hilt of her sword and stood in the middle of the courtyard. Her knuckles turned white from the excessive force, and her eyes stared fixedly at the red - lacquered gate.
As the morning light grew brighter, it illuminated her pale face. The exhaustion from staying up all night was completely suppressed by her highly tense nerves. All that was left was a terrifying thought swirling in her mind: if the Empress Dowager sent someone to arrest them, should she fight to the death or take the prince and princess to escape?
If they escaped, the charge of being a rebel would probably follow them for the rest of their lives...
Her wrist couldn't stop trembling, and she could hardly hold the sword anymore.
Only now did Li Wanming realize that the most agonizing time was not the night filled with sword - flashes, but the dawn when the outcome was decided but not yet revealed.
"Tap, tap, tap" - suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the gate.
Li Wanming trembled all over and instinctively picked up her long sword and held it across her chest. The guards in the mansion immediately lined up, and the clanging sound of unsheathing swords was particularly harsh in the morning light.
Two long and one short knocks sounded on the gate.
"Princess Consort!" It was Wu Yao's familiar voice. "The Crown Prince asked me to report to the mansion that he is very busy with official business and may not be able to return to the mansion to rest today. He told you to go to bed early!"
In an instant, Li Wanming felt completely drained of strength. The long sword in her hand could no longer be held and clattered to the ground.
Wu Yao's tone was so normal. He neither told them to escape nor said to destroy the letters and documents in the house...
That meant -
It was all right.
They had won.
"Princess Consort... Princess Consort?" Wu Yao was still waiting for a reply outside the gate. Seeing that she didn't respond, his voice became a bit anxious.
Li Wanming took a deep breath and swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Got it."
These three words were spoken steadily, but it had taken all her strength.
Wu Yao seemed to let out a sigh of relief. The sound of fluttering clothes came from outside the gate. He had already flown back to report.
The morning light finally pierced through the clouds. The gilded halo spread over the eaves, enveloping the entire prince's mansion in a warm golden light. Only then did Li Wanming notice that her inner clothes were already soaked with cold sweat and were sticking coldly to her back.
She opened the big gate of the Prince Ning's Mansion and slowly walked onto the street.
On the street where the morning mist had not yet dispersed, the yamen runners were driving water carts to wash the stone slabs. The washed bricks and stones were spotless, but only occasionally, dark - red water stains would be washed out from the gaps, looking like the residues in a fierce beast's teeth and making people shudder.
Farmers carrying fresh vegetables were already walking through the alleys. Steam was rising from the steam - bun stalls. The copper spoons at the wonton stalls clinked against the porcelain bowls, making a clear tinkling sound.
If it weren't for the ferocious sword mark on the corner of the wall and the undried blood on the armor of the patrolling guards, this would clearly be an ordinary morning.
Li Wanming stroked the mark on the corner of the wall cut by axes and watched the gradually bustling crowd in front of her.
The morning breeze brought the sizzling sound of fried dough sticks being put into the oil, mixed with the sound of children playing. This finally convinced her that this long, bloody night was really over.
However, even she didn't expect that the sword - flashes and shadows within the palace walls last night were far more tragic than she had imagined.
The newly - risen sun illuminated not only the capital city that had survived the catastrophe but also a brand - new chess game.
...
Xiao Jingnan returned a day later.
He looked a bit haggard. His lips were chapped, and there was a smell of gunpowder between his eyebrows, as if he had just returned from the battlefield.
However, instead of showing the high - spirited look of a triumphant hero, he exuded an indescribable exhaustion and sadness.
Only then did Li Wanming notice that there was a stretcher behind him. The plain white mourning cloth was slightly lifted by the evening wind, revealing a section of charred hand bone below.
"Wanming..." He called her, his voice hoarse beyond recognition. "Make arrangements for the funeral. Auntie... is gone."
Li Wanming's head exploded.
Gone?
That venomous Kang family member, the one who had repeatedly harmed her, was just... dead?
Plain white lanterns were hung one by one, and the hemp cloth fluttered like snow under the eaves. Even after the mourning hall was properly arranged, Li Wanming still felt that all this was not real.
As the twilight gradually deepened, in the side room next to the mourning hall, Xiao Jingnan held a cup of tea and finally told the thrilling events of the past two days.
"The night before last, under the pretext of clearing out the evil sorcery in the palace, we led troops into the palace. The Empress Dowager was extremely angry and accused us of being traitors..."
"She wanted to send troops to summon the prime minister and the grand tutor into the palace, but suddenly found that except for her personal guards, no one in the palace obeyed her orders anymore. Only then did the Empress Dowager realize something was wrong. It turned out that the guards in the palace had already been replaced by us."
Li Wanming thought to herself: Of course! Feng Xiao used to be a royal bodyguard and had already planted many spies in the imperial guards. Later, you took charge of the Huben Guards. It was easy to replace some people.
"Then the emperor went in and talked to her for a long time... I don't know exactly what was said. When he came out, the Empress Dowager seemed to have aged ten years. She agreed to hand over the imperial jade seal and return the power to the emperor."
Li Wanming couldn't help but let out an exclamation. "It's that simple? But I heard the sounds of fighting outside that night were earth - shattering..."
Xiao Jingnan glanced at her. "You heard right. It was the Jinwu Guards."
Li Wanming said, "I was just about to ask you. Didn't you say that you had already arranged your men in the Jinwu Guards..."
"We did." Xiao Jingnan's eyebrows gradually wrinkled. "The newly - appointed lieutenant of the Jinwu Guards was indeed our man. But that night, there was still a variable..."