Chapter 34：Violent Shade

"Jiejie, we shouldn't be caught up with the specifics now. There could only be one imperial will after all. What is jiejie worried about?" Imperial Consort Fa's voice had a soothing effect to everyone who was there.

She was his Majesty's most favored consort and also the mother of ninth prince Chang. Her words carried weight in the imperial harem, which almost equaled the Noble Imperial Consort.

The Empress wanted to argue further but didn't know how to. Cold sweat ran down her back. What was happening?

The scroll she gave the night before was definitely red. Why did it suddenly change to gold?

That slutty consort must have done something with it! She said that her son fully supported the third prince! Why was there a sudden reversal now?

The third prince also felt his mother's agitation. There was something wrong with the imperial edict.

It should contain Xia Yu Sheng's name as the next emperor but with his mother silently panicking like this, someone must have tampered with the edict.

Xia Yu Sheng's eyes gleamed with a cruel light.

Even if the last will was tampered, nothing would change!

I am the Emperor!

The third prince eyed an imperial guard who upon receiving his signal, backed away discreetly.

His private army now surrounded the imperial city. The outcome would still be the same no matter what was written on the edict.

It was just a shame that the Sacred Sky hall would be bathed with blood tonight.

Xia Yu Sheng squeezed his mother's hand in a reassuring manner.

The Empress soon calmed down.

Yin Hua Lei looked back and forth, and could understand the situation more or less.

The Empress employed Imperial Consort Fa's efforts to poison the Emperor, taking advantage of his fondness for the consort. And then, she was ordered to plant the imperial edict. But Imperial Consort Fa must have other plans as well.

Her eyes travelled to Xia Yu Heng. Yes, this was how he got the throne in the original storyline.

Earlier, Yin Hua Lei chose a spot that would overlook most of the people in the hall without getting too much attention. Her decision was right. This was indeed a first class seat to a grand play acted by the royal family.

As her eyes darted from face to face, Yin Hua Lei suddenly froze.

'Where is she?!'

Her mind instantly blanked. And in her growing panic, she yelled:

"XIA LIAN BEI!"

Never had Gao Le princess lost composure like this.

Feng wang shu who was by the eldest prince's side was instantly alarmed when he saw how agitated Yin Hua Lei was.

He looked around him and his face mirrored Gao Le princess' expression. Xia Lian Bei was focused on finding a timing to help the eldest prince and his consort mother that he became unaware of other things but now...

His heart pounded real hard as he watched the princess approaching like an angered tigress.

All the royalty, ministers, guards and palace servants were slack jawed as they looked at Gao Le princess who was stalking like a predator.

Listening to the imperial edict was almost forgotten because this was totally unexpected!

The pale haired wang shu stood and straightened his usually lazy posture; there was a feral look in his eyes as they darted around the hall.

What happened to these two?

But the eldest prince's wangfei seemed to understand what they were looking for as the princess consort became paler.

"Your Highness, Bao Bei... I... oh gods!" The wangfei's tears burst forth.

"She's not here anymore!" Yin Hua Lei hissed.

"Tenth niece also." Feng prince replied ominously.

Xia Lian Bei trusted Tiandi to the eldest prince's wife earlier when the commotion started because he knew that staying with him might be more dangerous. And he couldn't outright give his daughter to Yin Hua Lei for everyone to see.

But some people took advantage of the chaos from earlier.

Crimson eyes and inky black ones turned to glower towards the Empress' direction.

Empress Yi An was stunned by this. She understood it if Feng wang glared at her but why Gao Le princess?

Wave after wave of anger flared up inside Yin Hua Lei. Who would dare target the wang shu's daughter at this crucial time? She didn't need her brain too much to think.

But for now, they didn't have time to point fingers. They had to find Tiandi and Xia Luyoung fast.

Quick as lightning, the pair took off. Even the imperial guards could only watch them leave but Yin Hua Lei couldn't take it so her words echoed even if her presence faded.

"Be prepared..."

"Ben wang will slowly take your lives." Xia Lian Bei finished for her.

To whom this statement was for, only the culprits knew but everyone felt their hearts jolt upon hearing the voices that promised death.

"What's going on here?! Follow them!" Xia Yu Sheng bellowed.

The imperial guards also wanted to but both the Gao Le princess and the Feng prince took off in a speed none of them could match. Even without the heavy armors they were currently wearing, they doubted if they could still go after them.

But they still had to follow orders so a fourth of the imperial guards present went after the pair.

Xia Yu Sheng was greatly dissatisfied. This was supposed to be his day but some factors were really unpredictable.

But it was still the result that he wanted. The wang shu was currently preoccupied with finding his daughter so he wouldn't be able to protect his eldest imperial brother.

And now, he also had a reason to take down the Yin family who didn't ally with him.

"Duke Yin, your granddaughter is getting braver by the day. Obstructing the announcement of the imperial edict. At this most crucial time, is your Yin clan planning to revolt?"

Such careless words said at this point could lead to someone's demise and that's what Xia Yu Sheng wanted.

The imperial guards who were surrounding the noble imperial consort and the eldest prince earlier all turned to Duke Yin and Lord Yin.

Yin Fang Qi's expression didn't change. But his father looked like he heard a really good joke because the old duke was currently howling in laughter and was repeatedly pounding his cane.

"Boy Highness, accusing this old man of treason is way too early for you ah! This old man's disciple hasn't been gone for a day and you're already acting like a king."

Yin Fang Qi wanted to stop his father because at this rate, these spears pointed at them just might really pierce them if he kept on taunting the third prince.

But sigh... could he really stop his father's big mouth?

Xia Yu Sheng's face turned red then green, then white in anger. This old duke didn't want his life anymore.

So he opened his mouth to order their execution but...

Without warning, countless black figures descended from the shadows.

They appeared like ghosts and the people present were all frightened to see masked figures with unknown abilities.

"Xiu... it's the Xiu!" One of the generals exclaimed.

All the children in the imperial city once heard stories about the Xia Dynasty's legendary force but in real life, the group had always been shrouded with mystery.

Were they real? Did they really have otherworldly powers? Or were they all just regular hidden guards?

Faced with another unknown variable, Xia Yu Sheng almost lost his head and he barely kept his calm.

"The Emperor's people, are you here to witness the announcement of your next master?" he spoke in a regal tone.

But the masked individuals didn't bow their heads nor bent their knees.

The one who seemed to be the leader spoke, "We, the Xiu, came here to enact our master's law!"

Because the Xiu group was only bound to the Emperor, they weren't under the normal rules of Da Xia so they never bowed to any prince or consort.

Xia Yu Sheng who was used to people bowing down to him immediately disliked the leader of the Xiu.

But who knew that the next thing the masked people would do was unsheathe their weapons and attack the imperial guards who were obeying the third prince and the Empress.

The Xiu leader remained standing while watching the chaos.

The consorts and the princesses all screamed as they saw mass murder right in front of their eyes. Even the hot blooded men couldn't stomach such a scene.

The armored soldiers were no match to legitimate assassins trained to only be loyal to one master. The imperial guards were meant for formations and protecting as they were also soldiers but the Xiu were all versatile killing machines.

Imperial guards were mere children in front of true cold blooded dispatchers who only ever evaded the light all their lives.

The hall was soon filled with shrieks of alarm, hysteria and short last cries of agony.

A gruesome dance of black and red accompanied this cacophony of sounds. Along with the sweet metallic smell reeking throughout the palace.

It took the time to burn two sticks of incense[1] for all the imperial guards inside the Sacred Sky palace to perish.

Dead silence...

Everybody was too stupefied to speak. The tide turned so swiftly.

"This is what happens to those who betray the dragon! The remaining of the royal guards has been warned." After uttering such words, most of the Xiu once again vanished like smoke leaving only a handful.

The surviving imperial guards just outside the Sacred Sky hall who were reluctant to obey the third prince earlier felt their lives hanging by a thread. It was as though the Xiu read their hearts. Now, they realized that their movements had been known since the beginning.

Even if they turned their backs on the Emperor, they couldn't escape judgment!

None of the royalty and ministers spoke. They were just tongue-tied. What exactly was this?

So the Emperor, after all this time had people this powerful on his side but never used them?

And why would they only make a move now that it was too late?

Xia Yu Sheng also began to hesitate with his plan. Should he continue or not? But it had already reached this point. He couldn't back down now. He would be the Emperor by nook or by crook.

At this side, the ninth prince Xia Yu Heng was also dubious.

All his life, he saw his imperial father as an incapable ruler, easily persuaded by beauties.

Wasn't his consort mother also a victim of his lust?

Back then, young lady Fa was a priestess of the Hong Mountain Temple. But Emperor Du Liang forced her into his bed which resulted in the ninth prince's birth.

Imperial Consort Fa never forgave him but he still pampered her to no end and in turn, Xia Yu Heng was also a favored prince.

But he hated his father because he knew his mother disliked Xia Yu Heng for being the spawn of such an evil man.

So he only watched on and even partly participated in the plot to put down the Emperor.

Still, he also couldn't watch his greedy third imperial brother sit on the throne and condemn innocent people so he had to make a move.

He looked at his wife, who for some reason didn't move or say a word up to now. He only passed it off as her being shocked.

Xia Yu Heng gently nudged Bai Chen Rong's hand. The beautiful woman looked at him and he nodded at her.

Tonight, they would stand as the pillars of this world.