Chapter 439

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, no one would have associated the gentle Crown Prince from before with the man with an evil smile in front of them now. The difference between these two images was far too significant.

Baili Jinyi ignored Shen Ninghua’s expression and raised his head to look at the door. “From the looks of it, they should be near Chengqian Hall and the harem. Can you imagine how Fifth Brother will react after he finds out that the harem’s bedroom is empty and filled with skilled crossbowmen after going through so much to get there? Will he lose his mind from the shock? Haha!”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes suddenly widened. Skilled crossbowmen? She couldn’t believe that Baili Jinyi had actually mobilized the crossbowmen. “The skilled crossbowmen are all in the military camp. Did Xiao Jingran help you?”

“Why are you so surprised? I guess it’s okay to let you know now. Ever since Xiao Huanxi died, Xiao Jingran has sided with me. I gave him money and asked him to secretly train the skilled crossbowmen for this day. Most of Xiao Jingran’s forces are in the army, so he can easily train a group of people in secret. Speaking of which, I have to thank you and Fifth Brother. Xiao Jingran would not have surrendered to me so quickly if it hadn’t been for you two.”

Shen Ninghua’s expression was solemn. She looked at the flickering candlelight in the palace and racked her mind. She thought, “We have underestimated Baili Jinyi by a stretch. I wonder if Junyi can handle it?”

Soon after, the sound of tussling rang out again. This time, it sounded very near. There was even an arrow that pierced into the side palace’s door. Baili Jinyi waved his hand, and the fully armed guards quickly surrounded the hall while waiting outside the door.

Baili Junyi suddenly waved his sword and slashed the arrows beside him. He took out two balls from his pocket, lit them, and threw them into the palace with his internal strength. At first, he was worried that Baili Jinyi would be well-prepared, so he asked Chen Yun to prepare some poison powder in advance. He did not expect it to come in handy. It was perfect to use against the skilled crossbowmen undercover in the harem.

Ye Yi, who had gone to the Imperial Clan Court, had already rushed over. “Master, Princess Zhaohua is not in there. There is an assassin who disguised himself as Her Grace in the prison. I have killed him!”

Baili Junyi waved his sword and slashed a guard. “I know. Send my order to the Dark Shadow to search the palace. We must find out where Father Emperor and Ninghua are.”

“Yes, Master.”

The poison powder quickly took effect. Baili Junyi had given the antidote to his people beforehand, so he quickly rushed to the side palace with his people after searching around the hall and finding nothing!

The side palace’s guards stood in rows, but they did not make a sound. There was only silence and tension in the air. Baili Junyi looked at the shining armor reflecting in the night and could not help but narrow his eyes. He took over a bow from the subordinate beside him and shot an arrow at the guards near the palace gate.

The arrow was as fast as lightning, cutting through the night’s air. Suddenly, it pierced the front guard onto the ground. With that, the others panicked and quickly pointed their weapons toward the outside.

In the hall, Baili Jinyi stood up and walked to Shen Ninghua’s side. He pulled her up and used her as a human shield. He ordered the guards to make way and walked straight to the front of the hall. “Fifth Brother, I was wondering if you would go to the Imperial Clan Court to save her or the palace to save Father Emperor, but I didn’t expect you to come to the palace first. It seems that you don’t like Princess Zhaohua a lot. Otherwise, why would you care so little about her life?”

After Baili Junyi saw Shen Ninghua, his eyes suddenly widened and his heart swelled with anger and violence. “Baili Jinyi, you are really shameless for using Ninghua to threaten me!”

“Who cares about being shameless as long as the threat works? After all, a man of great ambition does not bother about trifles. Don’t you do this often?”

“Let go of Ninghua!”

“Let go? I can’t bear to let it go since I have such good leverage in my hands. Oh, right. I just made a bet with Fifth Sister-in-law. We were wondering if you would give up and kill yourself just to save her. Would you?”

Baili Jinyi took out a dagger from his sleeve and placed it on Shen Ninghua’s neck. The dagger was extremely sharp, leaving a faint cut on Shen Ninghua’s neck when it touched her skin. Slowly, her blood spilled from the cut.

Baili Junyi clenched his fists tightly, and his joints were crackling. “Ninghua…”

Seeing the wound, Baili Jinyi hurriedly said, “Oh, I’m really sorry. I accidentally put too much force. Fifth Brother, please don’t mind me. Old General Xiao gave me this dagger, and he said that it is extremely sharp. This is my first time using it, so I don’t know how to control my strength.”

As he said that, he grabbed Shen Ninghua by the throat with one hand and touched Shen Ninghua’s protruding abdomen with the dagger. “If I accidentally scratched her abdomen with a sharp dagger like this, it would definitely tear. Fifth Brother, don’t you think so?”

Baili Junyi widened his eyes and glared furiously at him. “Baili Jinyi, if you dare to hurt Ninghua, I will definitely rip you to pieces, grind your bones, and scatter your ashes!”

Baili Jinyi grabbed Shen Ninghua by the throat. Shen Ninghua choked, and her face turned red. “Don’t threaten me so lightheartedly. If you threaten me, I won’t be able to my control my strength. If I accidentally hurt Fifth Sister-in-law, it will hurt our relationship!”

Baili Junyi involuntarily took a step forward, and his eyes were filled with murderous aura. He said fearfully, “What do you want?”

“What do I want? I haven’t really thought about this. At first, I thought that the crossbowmen at Chengqian Hall and the harem would have been able to kill you. However, those useless trash must have died because you’re still unscathed. Sigh, they are still my subordinates, after all. I will feel sorry for them if they die. How about this? I saw that you had brought quite a number of people over. How about you kill a few of them first to soothe my anger?”

Killing subordinates for a woman was taboo for those in power. He was extremely curious about Baili Junyi’s choice.

Shen Ninghua’s face was flushed red, and her vision darkened. She could barely stand.

Baili Junyi gritted his teeth and suddenly pulled Ye Yi over. He stabbed him in the abdomen and then kicked him toward Baili Jinyi. With that, blood instantly spread out from Ye Yi’s body. “Are you satisfied now?”

Baili Jinyi laughed and looked mockingly at the subordinates behind Baili Junyi. “See? This is the Master you followed. He threw your lives away for a woman. What future would you guys have if you follow such a person?”

Baili Junyi gnashed his teeth in hatred. “Baili Jinyi, don’t try to frighten my people!”

“Frighten your people? I didn’t. What I said was the truth.” Baili Jinyi let go of Shen Ninghua to let her catch her breath. Then, he placed the dagger on her abdomen and slowly tapped twice. “Fifth Brother, you killed one person for Shen Ninghua. I think you will have to kill at least ten people to save your child’s life. What do you think?”

Baili Jinyi thought, “Kill them! Kill them all! Kill all of your subordinates who brought you honor, and we shall see who will still obey you.”

Baili Junyi was furious. “You… You are a bastard!”

“Yes, I am a bastard. It is a pity that you didn’t know before. To achieve my current status, I have sacrificed too many people, including Zhao Family’s members and Mother Empress… Haha. How can you not sacrifice at all if you want to take this position away from me?”

Looking at the flustered and exasperated Baili Junyi, Baili Jinyi was extremely happy. He especially enjoyed the fun from teasing people. He could not help but press the dagger against Shen Ninghua’s belly. “Fifth Brother, are you going to make your move?”

Baili Junyi grabbed another subordinate from his side and raised his hand. He waved with the sword in his hand but looked quite hesitant about what to do next.

Baili Jinyi couldn’t help but widen his eyes slightly. His face was filled with excitement. He stared intently at Baili Junyi’s movements, as if he was afraid of missing out on a detail. Just as Baili Junyi was about to stab his subordinate, Baili Jinyi suddenly felt pain in his neck. A wave of nausea and drowsiness surged within him, and he felt pain in his chest before landing loudly on the ground!

It turned out that Shen Ninghua had taken advantage of the moment to pull the golden needle from her sleeve and ruthlessly stabbed it into the acupuncture point behind Baili Jinyi’s head. Ye Yi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up and kicked him in the chest so hard that he flew out!

Baili Junyi flew forward and kicked away the guard who was still in a daze. Then, he shielded Shen Ninghua as he brought her back to his side. “Ninghua, how are you?” Ye Yi was most skilled with the disguise and bone-shifting technique. Just now, Baili Junyi didn’t hurt him at all, and Ye Yi only had a small cut and bled a little.

Shen Ninghua grabbed Baili Junyi’s hand and forcefully endured the pain in her abdomen. “There is a secret mechanism on the side palace’s bed. Father Emperor should be hidden under the bed. Quick, go and save him!”

Before this, she had thought about where Baili Jinyi would hide Baili Qingcang. After that, she smelled a medicinal smell out of nowhere while lying on the bed. Therefore, she took the chance to sit by the bed and carefully examined it. She discovered that the medicinal smell came from under the bed, leading to her current deduction.

Baili Jinyi covered his neck and wanted to get up, but he couldn’t. He suddenly fell to the ground, and the guards quickly stepped forward to protect him. “Your Highness, are you okay?”

Baili Jinyi abruptly waved them away. “Kill Baili Junyi at once! Execute him without hesitation!”

“Yes!”

As the two forces fought together, violent roars rang through the hall. To break into the palace this time, Baili Junyi gathered all the elite subordinates in the capital, who were also known for their bravery. On the Crown Prince’s side, a new batch of people had been recruited, including members of the Dragon Scale Army and the Imperial Guards. Unfortunately, these people were not quite loyal to the Crown Prince.

The Dragon Scale Army and the Imperial Guards were incredibly loyal to the Emperor. Now that the Emperor was missing, they did not want to lose their lives for the Crown Prince. Therefore, it did not take long for Baili Junyi’s people to gain the upper hand in the fight.

After handing Shen Ninghua over to his subordinates to protect her, Baili Junyi rushed into the battle with his long sword. He charged straight into the palace hall. Any enemy that he encountered on the way was killed on the spot. Soon, he managed to enter the palace hall. This battle must end quickly!

Baili Jinyi finally felt panic. “Someone, kill him! Kill him quick!”

Baili Junyi lifted the spear on the ground someone left behind and threw it at Baili Jinyi. As the spear cut through the air loudly, it flew before Baili Jinyi.

Baili Jinyi was so scared that his face turned pale. The guard at the side suddenly pulled him, and only then did he manage to dodge. The spear scratched his cheek and impaled the pillar behind him. Meanwhile, the end of the spear kept rattling.

Baili Junyi ignored him. He glanced at the big bed before him and twisted the bed pillar at once. The bed opened with a loud bang, revealing the extremely thin Baili Qingcang below.

“Father Emperor!”