Chapter Fifty-Three: A Man Should Do What a Man Must Do!

Dusk gradually receded, and the rays of the setting sun enveloped every corner of the Eastern Palace, bringing a rare touch of warmth to this winter day.

In the vast courtyard, figures of armored soldiers moved in and out. Under the roaring commands of the leading military officers, many still wore looks of bewilderment, but the habits cultivated over ordinary days made them subconsciously choose to obey.

The residual sun, resembling blood, shone upon the surface of the armor, reflecting chilling glimmers of light.

At the other end of the courtyard, two ministers clad in purple official robes stepped slowly into the courtyard. Seeing the courtyard full of armored soldiers, both of them came to a halt.

"Where is His Highness?"

The person asking the question was none other than Li Jingxuan. There was no longer any trace of the flattery he showed while in the company of the Crown Prince; instead, his face was filled with cold severity.

Even though the entire court laughed at him behind his back, when Li Jingxuan first began his campaign in Hexi, he had relied on the momentum of the Tang army to forcefully crush two opponents, right up until the Tibetan side appointed Qinziling as their commander, after which Li Jingxuan's forces collapsed like a falling mountain.

He indeed did not understand military strategy.

However, in the imperial court, Li Jingxuan had never tasted defeat over the past several decades; his choices were always right.

In this city of Chang'an, he would not lose.

The leading Eastern Palace generals recognized Li Jingxuan and hurriedly came forward to pay their respects. One of them spoke: "His Highness said he had matters requiring his temporary departure and ordered us to sharpen our weapons and ready our horses. He commanded that as soon as the curfew drum ceases, even if we do not see him, we must proceed to the Taiji Palace according to the prearranged plan."

Everyone present was part of their own inner circle, so the Eastern Palace general boldly spilled the entire plan without reservation. Li Jingxuan gave a light laugh and extended his hand backward. The purple-robed minister at his side immediately pulled a piece of yellow paper from his bosom.

"All matters and plans for tonight are hereby cancelled. You are all to immediately doff your armor, surrender your weapons, and sit quietly in the Eastern Palace for the night. After dawn tomorrow, those who do not leave the Eastern Palace shall be granted immunity from all crimes."

Li Jingxuan's voice was not low. The expressions of the two Eastern Palace generals shifted drastically, and both subconsciously placed their hands on the hilts of their waist blades. Behind them, more Eastern Palace generals and soldiers continuously walked over, staring fixedly at Li Jingxuan with unfriendly expressions.

"What does Lord Li mean by these words?"

"This is certainly not the meaning of this official."

Li Jingxuan took the yellow paper and unfolded it before them: "This is an imperial decree!"

The complexions of everyone present grew thoroughly gloomy. Some who knew the inner details of tonight's events spoke without the slightest hesitation:

"Our duty is to guard the Crown Prince. Tonight, we obey only the Crown Prince's commands, not an imperial decree!"

An empress known as a demon,

getting some old dying man to hold an imperial decree and come over here, could make a group of martial brutes simply lay down their arms?

Ridiculous!

Li Jingxuan had, after all, traveled the borderlands; these seemingly fierce Eastern Palace soldiers could not frighten him. He shook the yellow paper and said calmly, "Look closely, this is not a decree from the Heavenly Empress, but... an Emperor's Decree!"

If it were a decree from the Heavenly Empress, everyone was already poised with their arrows drawn and forced to fire; the former would be equivalent to nothing more than a sheet of waste paper.

But if it were an Emperor's Decree, it meant a great many things.

It was possible that the Southern衙 (Northern/Southern) court troops were already arrayed and waiting outside, it was possible that the Left and Right Yulin Guards had already completed the blockade and protection of the palace city—in any case, it basically meant success was impossible.

The Eastern Palace generals before him all took a deep breath and exchanged glances. Some wore hesitant expressions, while others grew increasingly fierce in their gazes.

Success or failure would only be known after trying.

Li Jingxuan took a deep breath, raised his voice, and shouted to the Eastern Palace armored soldiers filling the courtyard:

"Everyone in the Eastern Palace, the Emperor's Decree is here! Hear the decree at once!"

"The Decree of the Emperor of Li Tang is here! Those who disobey shall be treated as traitors!"

...

"Husband, are we rebelling tonight?"

Pei Yun asked.

Although she was still wearing her bridal gown, she knelt by Wu An's side, helping him adjust the ties of his armor.

Wu An gave a hum of acknowledgment. At that moment, a maid walked in and whispered that someone outside was requesting an audience.

When Wu An, clad in black armor, stepped into the main hall, the guest waiting outside did not panic; instead, a smile appeared on his face.

"This humble person is here to wish Commandant Wu victory on your first try."

The visitor was Ming Chongyan, whom he had briefly crossed paths with inside the palace. It was also he who had first earnestly persuaded Wu An to kill the Pei woman on his wedding day to win the trust of the Heavenly Empress.

The Heavenly Empress had carried out similar actions in history, and Wu An did not doubt whether she truly harbored such thoughts in her heart, but after all, she had not yet personally made such a demand to his face.

Therefore, Ming Chongyan's incessant chattering seemed somewhat excessively self-satisfied.

"Why have you come?" Wu An asked.

"Hearing that the Commandant is taking a bride today, I've come specially to deliver a gift."

Ming Chongyan's gaze fell upon the black-armored youth, noticing that the other party had already placed his hand on the hilt of his waist blade. Instead of showing fear, he let out a light laugh.

He was the confidant of the Heavenly Empress; no matter how angry this newly arrived boorish fellow might be, what could he possibly do?

"Commandant Wu, you probably don't know that Li Jingxuan has long since stood on the side of the Heavenly Empress. Today, he took the imperial decree to take over the military power of the Eastern Palace. By then, not a single soldier will be able to leave the Eastern Palace!"

Ming Chongyan paused for a moment and added:

"The grand局 (overall situation) is already set. If you don't listen to me now and find a way to quickly pledge your loyalty to the Heavenly Empress, I'm afraid you'll be outshined by Li Jingxuan."

A person with no father, no mother, no wife, and no children was the most terrifying, because he had no fatal weakness. But for Wu An, marrying a woman of the Pei clan actually added wings to a tiger, growing thorny barbs on his body that made it difficult even for the Heavenly Empress to directly control him anymore.

A faint sound of footsteps reached their ears. Wu An glanced back and saw that, at some unknown point, Pei Yun in her bridal gown was already standing there, a misty veil of water seeming to shroud her eyes.

Clearly, she had heard every word of the conversation just now.

Wu An seemed to ignore Ming Chongyan's subsequent words and only asked, "Li Jingxuan has long stood with the Heavenly Empress?"

"Indeed."

Ming Chongyan was about to continue speaking when he saw the black-armored youth suddenly draw the hand resting on his blade's hilt forward.

"Plop!"

The blade left its scabbard and slashed directly across Ming Chongyan's neck in the next instant.

Ming Chongyan opened his mouth wide as if emitting a silent wail, his body going limp as he collapsed directly to the ground.

Trembling, he raised a hand to cover his wound, his gaze still fixed on this crude fellow.

Ming Chongyan could not understand; he truly could not understand.

Wu An slightly adjusted his angle and swung his blade once more at the neck, which was already severed halfway through.

The corpse collapsed limply.

Pei Yun's complexion turned pale, but she slowly walked up to Wu An's side and actually used her sleeve to wipe the bloodstains from the blade.

The color of the wedding gown, stained with blood, became even more vividly crimson.

"Husband?"

Wu An lifted the blade, glanced at her, and said indifferently, "Go back to the room and rest."

He kicked the corpse aside and strode out of the main hall. In the courtyard outside, figures rapidly rose to their feet. A moment later, the crowd parted, and Heichishi Changzhi, also clad in armor, walked up to him.

The two exchanged glances. Seeing the fresh blood on Wu An's chest armor, Heichishi Changzhi could not help clicking his tongue.

"A dog may indeed bark annoyingly, but it is the Heavenly Empress's dog after all. Why kill it?"

"All previous plans are cancelled."

Wu An did not answer Heichishi Changzhi's question. His gaze swept past him and landed on the faces of the soldiers in the courtyard.

He drew a dark gold fish tally from his bosom and proclaimed in a clear voice:

"There are rebel forces inside the palace! Let the entire Qianqi Camp follow me into the palace to suppress the rebellion!"

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

Heichishi Changzhi lowered his voice beside him: "The Heavenly Empress has made too many arrangements. Even if the five hundred men of the Qianqi Camp follow us blindly to storm the palace gates, we will gain no advantage."

"We are not going to the North Gate."

Wu An looked at everyone and shouted loudly:

"Qianqi, hear my command! Follow me into the Eastern Palace to rescue the sovereign!"