The veins on the emperor's forehead bulged.
The entire secret chamber was in a complete mess because of him.
The chief eunuch staggered all the way and fell clumsily in front of the emperor, his face full of panic. "Your Majesty! The rebel army has invaded the imperial city!"
"Pei Zhaolin!"
This name was squeezed out between the emperor's gritted teeth.
Suddenly, thinking of Xie Rou's safety, the emperor gritted his teeth, turned around abruptly, and turned on the mechanism of the secret passage leading to the Fengyi Palace.
His figure suddenly disappeared into the gloomy secret passage.
Just as the chief eunuch was about to follow, the emperor stopped him. "You stay here. If any villains break in, kill them immediately!"
The chief eunuch held the whisk shiveringly, his face full of despair.
Was he supposed to kill the enemies?
The exit of the secret passage was behind the calligraphy and painting screen in the inner hall of the Fengyi Palace.
The emperor stepped out silently.
Then he heard a familiar female voice.
"Send the child out secretly through the secret passage. There will be someone to pick you up."
Xie Rou took a lingering look at the sleeping child. Then, with a determined heart, she turned around and pushed the wet nurse directly into the secret passage.
"Your Ladyship! Your Ladyship, it's dangerous!"
It was not until the secret passage was closed again that Xie Rou reluctantly opened her eyes.
As soon as she looked up, she met the emperor Qi Xuan's eyes.
The scene in front of him made Qi Xuan's blood almost freeze.
Qi Xuan's sharp eyes shifted little by little, from the secret passage to Xie Rou's face.
Whether out of panic or guilt, the color instantly drained from Xie Rou's face.
All his worries disappeared.
From Xie Rou's words just now, Qi Xuan instantly found the clue.
Qi Xuan's face was as cold as ice. "I was still wondering why Pei Zhaolin's Black Armored Army could penetrate so easily, as if there were no obstacles."
"So it was all you!"
"Your Majesty..."
Xie Rou's lips trembled. She subconsciously blocked the entrance of the secret passage with her body.
Rage and the pain of betrayal burned like poisonous fire in his heart.
The bottom of Qi Xuan's eyes was scarlet. Without even thinking, he suddenly drew out his sword, which was wrapped in a sharp wind.
"Puff!"
The sword had accurately pierced into Xie Rou's heart.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Xie Rou looked down at the sword that had penetrated her body, then looked up at the emperor.
Her eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Blood gushed from the corner of her mouth, and her body fell limply backward.
Qi Xuan's hand holding the sword hilt trembled slightly. He kept muttering, still the same words: "Why did you betray me?!"
Watching those eyes that had once been filled with love for him quickly lose their sparkle and become empty and dead, Qi Xuan suddenly calmed down.
The sword in his hand also fell to the ground.
Qi Xuan murmured, but his heart was surging with hatred for Xie Rou.
Just then, there came the sound of hasty footsteps outside the hall.
An unremarkable antique shelf had been moved aside. Cui Jintang rushed into the Fengyi Palace staggeringly, covered in blood.
"Sister Rou!" Cui Jintang exclaimed and rushed into the inner hall.
What came into view was Xie Rou's body lying in a pool of blood, and Qi Xuan standing beside her, his face covered in blood.
When her sight touched the dazzling scarlet, Cui Jintang felt as if her blood had solidified.
Her lips trembled. She wanted to shout but couldn't make any sound. Only broken sobs came out of her throat.
Cui Jintang staggered and knelt down. Her hands froze in mid - air.
Looking at the hideous wound on Xie Rou's body, she didn't dare to touch it, for fear of confirming this desperate reality.
"Sis... Sister?"
Cui Jintang struggled to call out the name. Her voice was extremely hoarse.
The great grief was like a sledgehammer smashing her chest. Then came the monstrous anger, which almost burned her last bit of reason.
"Rou'er... My Rou'er!"
Qi Xuan suddenly knelt on the ground and stroked Xie Rou's gradually cold cheek with his trembling hand.
His voice was hoarse, as if filled with great grief and disbelief.
"Just a little bit. Just a little bit and I could have saved you!"
Cui Jintang suddenly raised her head. Her eyes swept across the tragic scene, and a kind of almost crazy hatred and determination burst out from her eyes.
She clenched her fists tightly. Her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, but the pain was far less than one - ten - thousandth of the pain in her heart.
"Who?!"
Suddenly, Qi Xuan suddenly raised his head. His eyes, like poisoned arrows, looked in the direction of the Noon Gate.
"It's Pei Zhaolin! He forced the palace today in the name of purging the emperor's side. When I came here from the secret passage just now, I saw a Black Armored Soldier kill Rou'er directly!"
As he said this, Qi Xuan skillfully blocked the fallen sword with his body.
In order to prevent Cui Jintang from seeing something wrong from the wound.
In a fit of rage, Cui Jintang felt as if a corner of the world had collapsed.
Her heart was in great pain, and tears rained down.
Just then, the door of the Fengyi Palace was suddenly knocked open!
A dozen Black Armored Soldiers rushed in. The leader shouted eagerly, "Your Imperial Concubine! Your subordinate is ordered by the master to..."
The voice suddenly stopped when they saw the situation in the hall.
Taking the opportunity, Qi Xuan shifted the blame. He roared sorrowfully, "What a Pei Zhaolin! He killed my beloved concubine, and now he even won't let the corpse go?!"
"It's simply too much!"
Cui Jintang listened to all this and felt cold all over.
She took a handkerchief and slowly wiped the blood off Xie Rou's face with a trembling hand.
Then she helped Xie Rou up and sat her on the soft couch beside.
Cui Jintang showed a smile that was uglier than crying.
She said, "Sister, wait for me a while longer."
Just as Cui Jintang slowly stood up, a hesitant voice came from behind her. "Tangtang?!"
Hearing the sound, she slowly turned around.
The autumn rain was pouring down, constantly washing the blood - stained bluestones under the palace wall.
But it couldn't wash away the thick smell of blood.
Pei Zhaolin was standing between the rain curtain and the pool of blood. His black robe was soaked, it was hard to tell whether it was by rain or blood.
He tightly held an oil - paper umbrella in his hand.
But the thin streams that gathered along the umbrella ribs were not rainwater, but drops of blood.
The almost cold - blooded indifference on Pei Zhaolin's face suddenly froze and collapsed the moment he met her eyes.
Pei Zhaolin's pupils suddenly shrank. He asked almost helplessly, "Didn't you leave?"
He took a small step forward, then immediately stopped.
— He saw the sadness in her eyes.
It was so intense that Pei Zhaolin almost suffocated just by one glance.
"It was him who killed my Rou'er!"
Qi Xuan was extremely grief - stricken. He stepped forward but was blocked by the Black Armored Soldiers.
Only then did Pei Zhaolin see Xie Rou, who had lost all signs of life. His face changed suddenly. He quickly said, "It wasn't me!"
Cui Jintang closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were blood - red. "Then tell me, why did you force the palace today? Why did you come to the Fengyi Palace?"
Pei Zhaolin opened his mouth. When the words were on the tip of his tongue, seeing Qi Xuan beside him, he held them back.
He turned his head away in a hurry and only said, "I have my own plans for this matter. But I never ordered anyone to kill the imperial concubine."
"Even now, you still won't tell me anything."
Cui Jintang closed her eyes desperately. A clear tear slid down her face quietly.
Her trust in Pei Zhaolin was instantly shattered.
Great pain and despair instantly drowned her.
Pei Zhaolin's words sounded pale and weak. "Just trust me this once, okay?"