CH 63: Returning to the Palace

As the eastern sky began to brighten, Gui Yuehua turned away from the window, “No need to wait any longer.”

The other two pugilist guests exchanged glances and nodded in unison. The three of them approached the Emperor, with Gui Yuehua holding a dagger, while the other two wielded waist swords commonly used by the palace guards.

“I am Gui Yuehua, the Ghost Hand.”

“I am Liu Chixing, the Soaring Falcon.”

“I am Ke Yong, the Mountain-Breaking Ram.”

“Today…” The three of them began to speak simultaneously, not addressing the Emperor but expressing themselves.

“Wait!” Han Ruzi was genuinely afraid. These three pugilist were different from the people in palace; it seemed that they dared to be ruthless towards the Emperor.

The three of them looked at the Emperor, their eyes devoid of any hesitation or pity.

“Call Hua Bin,” Han Ruzi said, unsure of what to say but only wanting to buy some time. “I have something to tell him.”

Gui Yuehua replied, “Marquis Hua has already left. If you have something to say, speak to me. If not… you may say your goodbyes.”

“He has left?” Han Ruzi was surprised.

“If there was no news from the palace before midnight, Marquis Hua would leave the scene.” Gui Yuehua paused, “So, Your Majesty should understand that we have already put all our eggs in one basket.”

“Why waste time with idle talk? Raise the blade and strike, it’s that simple.” The man who claimed to be Ke Yong was the most impatient. He raised his blade but did not strike.

“Don’t rush. We agreed that the three of us would act together.” The other pugilist named Liu Chixing said, pressing down Ke Yong’s blade, “No matter what, he is still the Emperor; we should let him die knowing why.”

Han Ruzi’s heart tightened even more, and he couldn’t help but glance at the door and window. If Meng E didn’t appear to help him, he might really become a dead emperor.

Ke Yong snorted, “What a waste of time.” Though he said this, his blade still hung down, and he turned around to keep watch, guarding against anyone suddenly breaking in.

Gui Yuehua continued, “To cut a long story short, thirty years ago, Martial Emperor listened to slander and massacred thousands of heroic pugilists. Nearly one hundred thousand people were implicated, leaving their homes and moving to the frontier, suffering countless casualties along the way. All three of us lost fathers and brothers in that catastrophe, and from a young age, we vowed to take revenge. Today, we can finally fulfill our wishes.”

Han Ruzi leaned back slightly, “Debts should be claimed from those who owe them. I wasn’t even born thirty years ago. You should have… taken your revenge earlier.”

“Heh, Your Majesty wants to say that we are fear the strong and bully the weak, and were too afraid to take action against Martial Emperor, right?”

Han Ruzi hesitated but nodded. That was indeed his thought.

“The Martial Emperor massacred the pugilists for your sake.”

“Me?” Han Ruzi could hardly believe such a claim.

“That’s right. The Martial Emperor saw that his sons were weak and feared that his empire would not survive his death. So he took the initiative, and obtained the names of all the pugilists in the empire. Then, he selected one out of three at random, and executed them all for treason regardless of guilt. We did not take revenge on Martial Emperor because the time was not right. Chunyu Xiao was still persuading the lords to rebel, while we stayed in the Capital under the protection of Marquis Hua. Thank the Heavens that this day has come. Although Prince Qi was defeated, we have succeeded.”

Gui Yuehua seemed somewhat agitated, paused for a moment, and continued, “Our original plan was to have Chunyu Xiao become the Spiritual Leader and then the Emperor. He is a man of the pugilist world, with no worries about descendants. He could rule the world together with the pugilists. However, no news came out of the palace, and the Southern Army did not enter the city. It seems like things would probably not work out. Marquis Hua may leave, but we shall not. After we kill you, we shall enter the palace and kill everyone we encounter until we ourselves are killed.”

Han Ruzi had nowhere to escape and couldn’t help but glance at the ceiling again, thinking Meng E might be hiding there. But he saw nothing, “You… don’t need to be in a hurry. Luo Huan-zhang has taken the Empress Dowager hostage, and there’s still a chance for Chunyu Xiao to become the Spiritual Leader.”

Gui Yuehua shook her head, “Luo Huan-zhang is a good person, and he can be considered half a pugilist. But we are only using each other. He treats the heroes of the pugilist world as his lapdogs, while we deceived the Cui clan to join us through him. Dawn is approaching, and Bu Hengru may have already taken action in the palace. We must join him.”

Gui Yuehua nodded to Liu Chixing beside him, signaling that he had finished speaking. Liu Chixing also wanted to say a few words, “The emperor kills pugilists, so pugilists kill the Emperor. You’re just unlucky. The previous emperors died early, so you’re the one caught up in this. Ke Yong, let’s go. The three of us will act together to kill the Emperor!”

Han Ruzi racked his brains, but the reason for the other party wanting to kill him was so absurd that it was difficult to refute, “Killing me will be useless. The Han imperial clan has many descendants, and a new emperor will be chosen quickly…”

“That’s not important.” Gui Yuehua pressed the dagger against the Emperor’s chest, “The Martial Emperor killed pugilists, choosing one out of three, to strike fear in the hearts of the people. We shall kill the Emperor, with three blades united, to tell the world that the heroic pugilists have not surrendered! The Han clan may have seized the empire, but they shall lose it!”

Ke Yong turned around and strode forward, unable to wait any longer. He raised his blade high, but suddenly stopped, “Someone is coming from downstairs.”

The three of them surrounded the Emperor, with two blades and a dagger pressing against his vital points. Even if a skilled expert were to descend from the Heavens, there would be no time to save him.

Han Ruzi did not dare to breathe as he stared intently at the door.

“Great, you not acted yet.” The person who arrived was Bu Hengru, standing at the door and wiping the sweat from his forehead, “The Empress Dowager has relented. She will soon summon the officials to the Hall of Diligent Administration. She will cite the earthquake as a reason to gather the world’s Daoist and sorcerers. Within ten days, Chunyu Xiao shall be appointed Spiritual Leader. We have succeeded. The Emperor is useful for now, so let’s send him back to the palace.”

Han Ruzi was surprised that the Empress Dowager had actually given in, but he breathed a great sigh of relief. Even if he was just a puppet, and would eventually be deposed or even killed, he could not face imminent death with indifference.

The three who had planned to kill the Emperor showed different expressions. Gui Yuehua was the first to withdraw his dagger, “That’s good. We need to inform Marquis Hua and ask him to return to the Capital as soon as possible.”

Ke Yong, however, was greatly disappointed. He reluctantly sheathed his blade, suddenly swung it up again, and let it pass over the Emperor’s head, “He got off easy. Killing the Emperor would have been such a great feat. What a pity.”

Only Liu Chixing kept his blade unsheathed. He turned his head in confusion and asked, “We succeeded? Just like that?”

Bu Hengru was displeased, “Easy? Do you know how dangerous it was in the palace? The Empress Dowager was extremely stubborn, and Luo Huan-zhang couldn’t persuade her at all. In the end, it was the Grand Consort who… Never mind, there’s no point in telling you all this. Take the Emperor with you and follow me to the palace.”

Bu Hengru turned around and went downstairs. As expected, Liu Chixing was always a step behind in everything. He slowly kept his blade and said to the other two, “It’s better to be cautious.”

Gui Yuehua shook his head dismissively, believing that Bu Hengru was trustworthy. He said to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, please return to the palace.”

Han Ruzi felt deeply disappointed. He had just managed to escape and did not expected to be sent back, “What about my two attendants?”

“Your Majesty should worry about yourself first.” Gui Yuehua unceremoniously reached out to pull the Emperor.

Han Ruzi dodged and stood up on his own, “You’re not truly avenging the grievances of thirty years ago. You’re just a group of gamblers taking risks to obtain wealth and fortune.”

Gui Yuehua sneered, “Wasn’t the Founding Emperor of Chu also a gambler? He won, and so did we. Let’s go. At least you were an emperor for a few days. The other descendants of the Han clan will have no such chance.”

As Han Ruzi walked towards the door, Liu Chixing took the lead and shouted downstairs, “Mister Bu, there’s another expert…”

Suddenly, an arrow shot down from above, hitting Liu Chixing right on top of his head. His reaction was quick but his voice was abruptly stopped regardlress. He fell to the ground, kneeling and motionless.

Han Ruzi, who was less than three steps away, was stunned by the scene in front of him. Behind him, Gui Yuehua and Ke Yong were both shocked and pale. They then made completely different choices. Gui Yuehua turned and ran towards the window. He had observed it for a long time and thought that there was a chance to escape the palace. However, Ke Yong charged straight at the Emperor, swinging his blade down.

Han Ruzi could not see the threat behind him, so naturally, he could not dodge it. Suddenly, someone rushed in from outside the door, tackling the Emperor at the waist. At the same time, they raised their blade to block the incoming attack. A clang sounded and sparks flew. Ke Yong was furious. He gripped his blade with both hands and swung down for a second strike.

More people rushed in from outside the door. Five or six blades were brandished at Ke Yong simultaneously. Ke Yong roared and fought back, but he was ultimately outnumbered. After three or four moves, he had sustained multiple injuries and was forced to retreat. After seven steps, he received a stab to his chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fell to the ground.

“One got away! Chase him!” “Save the Emperor first!”

The crowd was talking all at once, and Han Ruzi was completely stunned. He was pulled up by someone and dully walked towards the door. After a few steps, he gradually regained some awareness and turned his head to see that it was Meng E who had saved him. She seemed to be injured, with blood on her shoulder. Just as Han Ruzi was about to speak, he was surrounded by guards and led out the door, walking past the kneeling Liu Chixing and quickly descending the stairs.

Downstairs, there were even more palace guards gathered. They stepped aside and whispered to the outside, “His Majesty is unharmed.”

Han Ruzi walked dazedly, having imagined many scenarios of being saved. However, when the miracle actually happened, he found it hard to believe. He caught a glimpse of several corpses lying at the feet of the guards, but before he could get a good look, he was led out of the building.

A large number of guards and soldiers rushed in from all directions. Bu Hengru stood at the door and, as soon as he saw the Emperor, knelt down, “It was me who saved Your Majesty, it was me…”

A group of eunuchs ran over and took the Emperor from the guards, practically lifting him up and placing him in a small horse carriage. Among the eunuchs, Han Ruzi saw the Director of Palace Attendants, Jing Yao, and exclaimed in surprise, “How did you…”

“Your Majesty, please return to the palace quickly.” Jing Yao pushed the Emperor into the carriage and lowered the curtain.

The carriage moved forward, and Han Ruzi gradually realized that Luo Huan-zhang’s palace coup had failed.

The carriage stopped, and Han Ruzi returned to the familiar area within the inner palace. In front of him was the Empress Dowager’s Cishun Palace, with a large number of guards standing at the entrance. He did not know if he felt happy or disappointed.

Jing Yao walked over and whispered, “Please enter the palace, Your Majesty. The Empress Dowager is waiting for you.”

Han Ruzi didn’t move, “What about the two eunuchs, Cai Xinghai and Zhang Youcai? Were they saved?”

“Both of them are fine. Your Majesty will see them soon.”

“What exactly happened?”

“It would be better for Your Majesty to hear from the Empress Dowager.”

Han Ruzi entered Cishun Palace. There were not many people in the courtyard, only a few eunuchs and palace maids who knelt as soon as they saw the Emperor.

There were quite a few people in the main hall, and it was a bit crowded. The Empress Dowager still sat in her original position, as if she had never moved. Maiden Wang accompanied her, and several guards stood on both sides. A few steps away, the Grand Consort and Luo Huan-zhang stood without kneeling.

There were also more than ten senior officials in the room, including Chancellor Yin Wuhai and the Chief Commander Han Xing. The Founding Emperor’s treasured sword was held in the latter’s arms.

“Alright.” The Empress Dowager spoke with a cold expression, “Now that His Majesty has arrived, we may deal with the rebels.”