Chapter 719: 468, Return to Beijing_2
Zhao Douan, sitting by the fire, calmly said: "I’m afraid, they have already rebelled."
During the time waiting for the Empress to wake up, Zhao Douan had also been simulating scenarios in his mind. At this moment, he appeared exceptionally calm, with clear thoughts:
"It’s not just Prince Jing. I suspect, the Eight Princes have likely all turned. The Sealing Ceremony had been in preparation for quite some time, so it’s imaginable that this assassination must be a result of long-term plotting. How could a single Prince Jing have enough leverage to accomplish this? Now that Your Majesty’s sealing has failed, and your power is weakened, it’s probably the best opportunity for them to cause chaos."
Pausing, he stared into the Empress’s eyes and asked: "May I ask Your Majesty, were there two Heavenly Humans on the mountain at that time?"
Xu Zhenguan collected her thoughts, nodded heavily, and said through gritted teeth: "The other was Wu Xiankui..."
One person’s plan is short, two people’s plan is long. Not hiding anything, she recounted everything that happened on the mountaintop to him.
Wu Xiankui from Qingshan took action? I see... With just Xuan Yin’s avatar, it wouldn’t have been enough to succeed... At that time, with Duan Shuiliu and Prince Jing’s father and son entangled together, I suspected something was wrong with Qingshan... Preemptive martial arts contest, a so-called martial arts pinnacle, turned out to be a hypocrite... Zhao Douan’s thoughts surged as he listened, his blood pressure rising.
He took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice:
"If that’s the case, the likelihood of the Eight Princes raising an army has reached ninety percent! Wu Xiankui, along with Xuan Yin, and the Sorrow God mentioned by Your Majesty... Such a significant investment, it’s definitely not just to sabotage the Sealing Ceremony, but rather to put Your Majesty to death! In such a situation, even if the Eight Princes don’t all rebel, surely a few restless ones will cause turmoil!"
At this moment, he felt a strong sense of gratitude. Had it not been for Pei Niannu’s mention back then, he decided to go up the mountain and decisively crushed the "Transmission Jade" to escape in time.
Had any link been missing, the Empress and the rest of them might have already perished on Luo Mountain.
And even if they were fortunate enough to escape, the situation was still extremely dire.
Without the Empress to suppress, leaderless, surrounded by formidable foes, Zhao Douan had no doubt that Prince Jing would quickly take over the entire Jiancheng Road.
Plus, with other vassal kings, the Yu Country, in long-standing peace, would undoubtedly fall into turmoil unseen for centuries!
To know, the Xuanmen Coup three years ago was only a "palace coup"!
It did not result in war engulfing the entire dynasty, but this time, things are significantly different.
A multitude of heroes competing, fires of war rising, expectations pinned on the "New Policy," hoping to peacefully resolve the threat of the Eight Princes, yet ultimately leading to the worst step.
Just one step away from total defeat!
But who would have thought, there would be such a variable as the Magic God?
In the Earth God Temple, the firelight flickered, rain pattered in the bamboo grove, and the pair of sovereign and subject fell into a brief silence.
...
For a long while.
Suddenly, Xu Zhenguan bit down on her silver teeth, her beautiful eyes reflecting the flickering campfire, as she attempted to rise:
"If the speculation is true, I must immediately set off and take charge of the situation... Ah..."
While sitting, she hadn’t noticed, but the moment she placed her two slender jade legs on the ground and tried to stand up, her body went limp and she fell to the ground!
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Zhao Douan stepped forward swiftly, supporting the Empress, then exerted strength with both arms to place her back on the cold stone offering table, eyeing her with concern: "Your Majesty’s injuries..."
Xu Zhenguan was initially shocked, then a trace of panic surfaced on her face. She hurriedly closed her eyes to examine the condition within her body.
A moment later, her already weak face became visibly paler!
She knew her injuries were severe, but only after introspection did she realize the extent of the severity!
If she had only endured Xuan Yin’s two strikes, it wouldn’t have been too grave, but the key point was that at that time, she was fully engaged in battle with Wu Xiankui.
During the attack, she hastily withdrew her strength, causing the Qi mechanism within her to reverse, compounded with Xuan Yin’s long-accumulated power, two expertly timed strikes.
And, with the "sealing" failure, leading to the dispersal of Dragon Qi... Many contributing factors combined, making her injuries far worse than expected!
Not only were almost all her meridians broken and Qi Sea damaged, but most deadly of all, there was a remnant of Xuan Yin’s cold "hand force" left within her body.
Like a venomous snake, it continuously roamed, damaging her organs.
Without the Dragon Qi, she ultimately was not a "Heavenly Human body"!
At this moment, the Empress attempted to gather Qi mechanism to attack that "hand force," but not only did she fail, it caused her blood and energy to surge, suddenly spitting blood!
In the Worldly Realm, how could she contend with the power of the Heavenly Human Realm?
"Your Majesty?!" Zhao Douan witnessed the Empress spitting blood, his face changed dramatically, clutching her slender hand, trying to transmit Qi mechanism to help stabilize the rampaging Qi mechanism.
"No... no problem..." Xu Zhenguan opened her eyes, swayed slightly, subconsciously wanting to retrieve a healing pill from an ancient jade bracelet on her wrist.
This jade bracelet was her storage Magic Artifact, yet she failed.
Xu Zhenguan paused, then gave a bitter smile. She had forgotten that the jade bracelet was a top-grade item of the Royal Family, adorned with numerous restrictions, and only she could open it. But in her current state, she couldn’t even open the jade bracelet.
Such was her grievous injury!
Zhao Douan’s face was anxious, but he had almost used up all of his pills, and his own Qi mechanism at Divine Chapter Realm couldn’t suppress the chaotic force within Zhenbao.
At a critical moment, he suddenly recalled when the two of them once attempted to cultivate with "Dragon Essence" in the palace.
Immediately he leaped onto the stone offering table, saying earnestly: "Your Majesty, my cultivation is insufficient, I can only attempt to borrow the power of the Dragon Essence."
Both were cultivating the "Martial God" path, their Qi mechanisms of the same origin and source.