Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 591: Chaos (Part 2)
At this moment, the danger was extreme.
A mere hundred paces is more than enough for skilled Divine Archers to take down any target. No matter how tall or robust a "meat shield" is, it cannot provide foolproof protection from all angles. As long as they keep releasing arrows, they are bound to shoot the person down.
Unfortunately, they would, at most, release a second arrow before they lose the chance to draw their bows again.
The "meat shield" charged forward at lightning speed, arriving in an instant. Immediately, several men rushed in and threw their weapons—spears, long knives, sharp swords, axes—all aimed at Jiang Yi.
All at once, the personal soldiers behind Jiang Yi could no longer worry about shooting arrows and killing; they roared in anger and rushed forward to block.
Zheng Chen reacted swiftly, instantly turning around to dodge. His skills were superior, and he was quite lucky, narrowly escaping a flying sharp sword without injury.
Yet, at this moment, the shock and anger in his heart surpassed even that of Jiang Yi.
More than two years of careful planning led to today’s sudden palace coup. According to the original plan he and Jiang Yi drafted, they would kill over half of Da Liang’s prominent ministers within Zhaohai Palace today, leaving a few weak ones to act as puppets. The Grand Empress Dowager Zheng, Empress Dowager Li, Imperial Concubine Fan, and the Princes from the Imperial Family were all on the list of those who must die.
The ones that needed to be killed would be eliminated thoroughly. Once all obstacles disappeared, he would stab Jiang Yi in the back and personally kill Jiang Yi to "correct the wrongs." Finally, he would help the foolish Prince Ping, Jiang Hao, ascend the throne as Emperor. Zheng Chen would become the youngest Prime Minister of Da Liang, the de facto ruler of Da Liang.
By then, the world would belong to the Zheng Family; it would be Zheng Chen’s world.
He had not expected Jiang Shaohua to arrive a few days earlier than expected. Even less did he expect Jiang Shaohua would burst into the court, reach Zhaohai Palace, at such a critical juncture.
In a flash, he felt a sense of despair and fury, as if "the grand plan was wasted"!
He didn’t have more time to indulge in wild thoughts.
A sharp long knife slashed toward him.
Zheng Chen’s heart trembled, and he swiftly dodged. The person wielding the knife was about forty years old, with a solemn face—it was Song Yuan, the Personal Guard Commander of Jiang Shaohua.
Song Yuan’s slash, carrying unmatched fury, came from above.
Zheng Chen was unarmed and could not resist its sharpness, so he had no choice but to retreat. This retreat cost him the initiative entirely. Song Yuan’s knife-like force, like a giant wave, swallowed him up in an instant.
Zheng Chen had no time to think, relying solely on instinct to dodge and evade.
He was usually renowned as the top young expert. Among his peers, he rarely met his match. He had always been proud of this. Until this life-and-death moment, he realized that he wasn’t as formidable as he thought.
A whooshing slash came, forcing him to retreat in a sorry state, but he didn’t know what he had stepped on. Suddenly, a sharp cry erupted.
Song Yuan frowned and quickly changed his knife’s momentum.
Without thinking, Zheng Chen grabbed a boy beside him, using him as a shield in front of him.
Sure enough, Song Yuan hesitated, and his knife was no longer swift as the wind.
The boy crying in Zheng Chen’s hands was Prince Ping Jiang Hao. By lineage, Jiang Hao was the rightful next Emperor of Da Liang. If Song Yuan accidentally injured Jiang Hao, it would implicate Jiang Shaohua. Hence, Song Yuan had many concerns.
It seems like a long story, but it was actually just a few blinks of an eye. Cold sweat poured from Zheng Chen like rain, narrowly saving his life. He had no time to congratulate himself and quickly looked toward Jiang Yi in the distance...
Jiang Shaohua wielded a long spear, with a nine-foot-tall man as a meat shield on the spear, yet showed no sign of fatigue.
With a forceful flick of the spear tip, Gao Shan’s corpse flew high and crashed into Jiang Yi. The personal soldiers beside Jiang Yi shouted in anger, blocking in front of their master. The meat shield collided heavily with the soldiers, causing one soldier’s face to turn pale, retreating two steps, and spitting blood.
"Protect the Princely Heir!"
The personal soldiers who had initially been intimidating the ministers with their knives immediately changed their expressions and, disregarding the hostage in their hands, angrily rushed over.
At this time, Song Yuan was dealing with Zheng Chen, and the other personal soldiers rushed into Zhaohai Palace one by one, unable to surround their master in the center. And those surging from the opposite side were all masters raised by Gao Liang Prince Mansion for over a decade. Each one was fighting with their life, and in an instant, life and death were seen.
The civil servants were collectively horrified, holding their breath. Those with timid dispositions, like Vice Minister Wang, had already closed their eyes, silently trembling in prayer.
Buddha bless the heavens, may Nanyang County Princess hold out until reinforcements enter the court. In this chaotic situation, death comes swiftly, and each slash brings a head—it’s truly terrifying!
Several military generals, much braver, were staring wide-eyed, fixated on Jiang Shaohua’s figure.
Only to see Jiang Shaohua’s form constantly changing, like a whirlwind, like lightning. The long spear in her hand danced with a flood of light and shadow, too fast for anyone to catch.
With a flick of the spear, a rebel screamed as they flew out. One rebel happened to land beside the Left General, already dead by the time they hit the ground, eyes wide open in death.
The Left General, whose right arm had been slashed once, spit a thick phlegm forcefully, feeling extremely elated.
General Liu, staring at the majestic and mighty figure of Jiang Shaohua who was killing in all directions, murmured softly, "The Commandery Princess is mighty." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The civil servants vie for power, engaging in verbal and mental sparring, while the military generals are much more direct and straightforward. Whoever can support the army earns their respect.
Jiang Shaohua provided people and provisions, aiding the border army in securing a great victory. Such magnanimity and courage could hardly fail to win the hearts of the military generals.
Especially the Left General, who had commanded the border army for over a decade, knew best the strength of the border army and realized internally that the border army was no match for the Rouran Cavalry. Barely maintaining control over Si State was already a testament to General Fan’s capability. Yet, the border army won several splendid battles, directly breaking the morale of the Rouran Barbarians and causing them to retreat on their own.
While everyone hailed the border army’s rise, the Left General knew very well that the credit belonged overwhelmingly to Nanyang County Princess.
Today, Jiang Shaohua, holding a long spear, challenged the rebels with Gao Shan as a meat shield and forcefully broke into Zhaohai Palace. Her divine power, exquisite and superb spear technique, successively pierced several rebels to death. Such ferocity and fearlessness, disregarding life and death, deeply moved everyone.
Jiang Yi was retreating step by step, with fewer and fewer people able to stand in front of him, his face growing paler and paler, his eyes shooting out boundless hatred.
"Jiang Yi is already defeated." The Left General, enduring his pain, whispered to General Liu, "Now I’m only afraid he will lash out like a cornered beast, dragging us with him."
He wasn’t afraid to die. It’s just that dying amidst the chaos of a palace coup felt too frivolous. Like Minister Li and his grandson, killed with a single slash, all of their ambitions and aspirations turned into empty dreams.
Only by staying alive is there a future.
General Liu, whose left leg had been slashed once, barely stood with his right leg for support. Leaning against the Left General, he shared the sentiment, "We must preserve ourselves for usefulness in the future, to serve the Commandery Princess... and the new Emperor."
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