The sky was already turning pale, and the morning light shone on the palaces and buildings, with the colored glaze reflecting a white glow.
In the Wenzhao Hall, lights were burning. In the shadow of the flickering flames, civil and military officials stood in a row like puppets, with their heads bowed in silence. On the imperial steps, Chen Shubao yawned and waved his dragon sleeves in a sleepy state.
"My Lords, do you have anything important to report?"
Below, figures immersed in the shadows said in unison: "The country is peaceful and the people are safe. There is nothing to report to Your Majesty."
So neat
Ha... That's fine, I can just go back and hug my beloved concubine to have another sleep. With this thought in mind, the emperor stood up from the dragon chair, yawned again, walked down the dragon court, suddenly thought of something, and asked the eunuch accompanying him.
"How long is it until Mid-Autumn Festival?"
"Your Majesty, today is August 15th."
Chen Shubao's expression froze for a moment, and he subconsciously looked towards the palace door, remembering the words spoken by someone standing on the Imperial City Tower that night half a month ago.
"On the 15th day of August, the 100th day of my master's death, Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain will come to you to ask for an explanation!"
He seemed to hear those angry words again, and asked hurriedly, "Is the Master in the palace today?"
"Your Majesty, the Dharma Master left the palace for the altar yesterday and should be back in the evening."
"Send someone to invite him immediately!"
The emperor was anxious. He glanced at the civil and military officials in the court, turned around and was about to leave in disappointment. At this moment, a roar suddenly sounded outside.
"—How dare you, the demons and monsters, occupy the emperor's palace? Get out!"
Get out here!
Get out... Get out... Get out... Get out...
The majestic roar came back, startling Chen Shubao. He heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that it was not the scholar's voice. On the other side, in the hall, a group of civil and military officials became panicked upon hearing the voice.
A rustling sound could be heard faintly among the crowd.
"Why are you panicking? This is my palace!"
The emperor flicked his dragon sleeves and strode over. A guard from outside had already trotted in, kneeling on one knee and bowing: "Your Majesty, the person shouting loudly outside is Zuo Zhengyang, a thousand-guard from the arrest department!"
"These petty officials are making a lot of noise in the palace, saying that there are demons and monsters in my palace. Isn't this just pointing at me and scolding me!?"
Chen Shubao seemed to have a shadow in his heart. The current situation reminded him of the two things that happened in the palace, and he yelled in anger.
"Why don't you take him down!!"
The wide sleeves with dragon patterns and gold thread were blown away, and as the emperor finished speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps and people shouting suddenly came from outside.
"Zuo Qianwei, what are you doing?!" "... Step back, don't disturb His Majesty and the civil and military officials!"
"Mr. Zuo, this is the imperial palace! Don't mess around!"
More than a dozen guards held down the hilts of their swords as they strode up the stone steps, shouting. In the distance, a group of masters from the palace were rushing over.
"You guys get out of the way—"
Zuo Zhengyang stepped onto the last step and screamed loudly, but the palace guards around him ignored him.
"If you don't tear apart the civil and military officials inside and dig out the centipede, no one will believe it, including your majesty."
Thoughts together.
Just as the guard in front of him moved around to create a gap, Zuo Zhengyang stepped down suddenly, and the white rock bricks cracked with a "clang" and brick chips flew out.
The whole person was like a cannonball, knocking over the person in front of him and rushing straight towards the palace gate.
“Ahh—”
As his cloak fluttered backwards, it was torn apart by the guard who also drew his sword at the same moment. As Zuo Zhengyang rushed to the palace gate, he stepped over the threshold, scaring the eunuch on the side so much that he squatted with his head in his hands.
clang—
The thin knife was pushed away by his thumb, emitting a flash of cold light, and he slashed horizontally at the minister closest to the emperor. The cold light drew a semicircle, and the civil official with the knife light reflected in his eyes quickly stepped back, reached out to grab the emperor, and pushed him up.
"ah!!!"
Chen Shubao looked at the blade falling on his head and screamed in panic. The next second, the blade, which was almost touching his scalp, suddenly turned and slashed into the air. The bronze lamp post on one side, which was far away, was cut into two by the blade. The lamp oil splashed and sparks flew up. The scattered oil exploded in the air, sticking to the pillars of the temple and burning, and some fell on people, causing screams.
"Who pushed me! Who pushed me!" The emperor covered his crown with his hands and ran towards the steps under the protection of the eunuchs, shouting: "I will kill all three of his clans!!!"
Flames were burning, and in the chaos, Zuo Zhengyang slashed wildly with the blade in his hand without any rules. However, the civil and military officials were equally agile. Taking advantage of the moment when the guards rushed in, they all ran out of the hall. In the blink of an eye, their figures disappeared one by one in the sunlight.
"Get out of the way! The demons are running away!"
"How dare you! The demon you are talking about might be you!"
The guards with their backs to the palace gate could not see the disappearing civil and military officials, but the palace guards and martial arts masters who were rushing from behind stopped in fear.
In the palace, there were several sounds of weapons colliding. Seeing that it was useless, Zuo Zhengyang moved away from several guards and looked at the emperor who was sitting on the dragon throne with his crown crooked and clasped his hands.
"Your Majesty, the Protector of the Nation is the demon. The civil and military officials have been hollowed out by it and turned into puppets. The Minister of Revenue, Lord Min, was also attacked and had to flee the capital to seek help from a master! When I was chasing him, I saw those monsters with my own eyes. When I came back to the capital, I also went to an official's mansion to verify it. Everything was correct!"
Sitting on the dragon throne, Chen Shubao saw that the surrounding guards and palace soldiers had all arrived, and his panic eased a little. He straightened his crown, clenched his teeth, and looked at the figure below, his pointing hand trembling.
"You are lying. I only saw you carrying weapons into the palace with the intention of committing a crime. Moreover, if the master was a monster, how could I be alive today? Would the guards and maids in the palace still have a chance to survive? How could my empire be so prosperous and peaceful? It's obvious that you are just making excuses!"
The emperor excitedly stood up from the dragon throne and pointed downwards: "Catch him for me!"
The guards were about to step forward with their knives in hand when a group of soldiers rushed over from outside. Someone shouted, "Your Majesty, Zuo Qianwei was right. Just now, a group of civil and military officials disappeared while running!"
"Yes, we saw it with our own eyes." Someone in the hall also shouted, "Bullshit, why didn't we see it!"
Amid the noise, Zuo Zhengyang, who was kneeling on one knee with a knife in hand, closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and raised his knife towards the imperial steps.
"If your majesty doesn't believe me, then I will go to the altar with my knife and personally meet the guardian of the country, forcing him to reveal his true form! Your majesty will then believe what is right and wrong."
As he said this, he bowed his head, which was his greatest courtesy.
After a moment, he stood up, swung the long sword in his hand fiercely, splitting the weapons blocking his way, and rushed out of the hall quickly. Chen Shubao stamped his feet and yelled: "Chase him and bring him back to me!!"
The emperor's order was hard to disobey, so the guards outside had to bite the bullet and chase after him with their colleagues inside. However, Zuo Zhengyang's lightness of body skills were beyond their reach. He jumped on his horse, turned around and galloped towards the palace road, his horse's hooves tumbling wildly over the floor tiles. The soldiers at the palace gate and the imperial city gate had not received the news yet, so they could only watch him rush out on horseback. Soon, they realized that something was wrong when they saw a group of palace guards riding their horses to chase after him. Then, they heard the sound of gongs and drums from the city wall.
Boom boom!