Princess Zhaoling 10

The maid replied, "The Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance joined forces with some insiders in the Hundred Rivers Courtyard and attacked it from both within and without. The princess received word and hurried over there a couple of days ago. She went this time intending to wipe out the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance.

"I don't know who leaked the news, but those people took advantage of the princess's absence, when that old fossil Xuanyuan Xiao was the only one left in the palace. They turned the imperial palace into someone else's back garden, coming and going as they pleased."

As she spoke, she also glared at Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing.

Li Lianhua awkwardly rubbed his nose and, with the maid's help, finally escaped the imperial palace.

Afterward, Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing split up. Fang Duobing went to find the people from Heavenly Secret Manor, while Li Lianhua went to find Princess Zhaoling. In the end, they would bring together the strength of the jianghu and fight a decisive battle against Shan Gudao.

When Li Lianhua reached the Hundred Rivers Courtyard, however, he found only Yang Yunchun. "I have urgent news for the princess. Brother Yang, do you know where she is?"

Yang Yunchun had dealt with Li Lianhua many times during the Lotus-Gathering Manor bride case, the Women's Residence case, and others, and had long been well aware of his identity. Besides, when Shan Gudao appeared at Heavenly Secret Manor, the news that Li Lianhua was Li Xiangyi had spread like wildfire.

He looked at Li Lianhua. "The princess has already taken some guards from the Inspection Bureau to wipe out the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance. Before she left, she received word of unusual activity in the imperial palace and asked me to pass a message to Sect Leader Li. The situation is urgent, and Sect Leader Li should resume his identity and summon the heroes of the martial world as soon as possible. Once the princess returns, we will go back to the capital together to rescue His Majesty."

Thus, Li Lianhua became Li Xiangyi once more. As leader of the Sigu Sect, he led the people of the jianghu to meet up with Fang Duobing. When they reached the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance's headquarters together, all they saw was Princess Zhaoling, clean and fresh amid a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, walking lightly toward Li Lianhua.

She gave Li Lianhua a few unreadable looks, then cupped her fists in salute to the assembled people of the martial world. "The traitor Shan Gudao now intends to rebel, and my imperial father and the loyal ministers of the court are all under his control.

"The peace and stability of the realm now depend entirely on you heroes. I, Zhaoling, offer my thanks to you all on my imperial father's behalf. Once the traitor has been brought to justice, I will surely ask my imperial father to reward every one of you."

Li Lianhua made a gesture to help Zhaoling up. "Your Highness, you are too kind. Every commoner bears responsibility for the rise or fall of his country. How do matters stand with the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance now?"

Zhaoling smiled. "Among the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance, Jiao Liqiao and the other Nanyin remnants have been executed. The situation is critical, so why don't we hurry back to the imperial palace?"

Seeing that Li Lianhua still looked worried, Zhaoling leaned close to his ear and whispered suggestively, "I know you're worried about Di Feisheng. For your sake, and since he's only a cripple now, I naturally spared his life."

Because it concerned the secrets of Di Feisheng's martial arts, the Li Lianhua Zhaoling had known before had never mentioned how Sorrowful Wind in the White Poplars could be rebuilt after being broken. Although Zhaoling didn't know why Di Feisheng had later recovered his martial arts, she had still spared his life for Li Lianhua's sake.

What Li Lianhua didn't know was that Zhaoling still bore a grudge against Di Feisheng for competing with her for Guanyin's Tear at the First-Rank Tomb. Seeing his miserable state, she had mocked him mercilessly, until at last her words made him cough up a mouthful of heart's blood. Now he was barely clinging to life.

Wu Yan, who had witnessed everything, gave Zhaoling a look that was hard to describe. But after seeing the killing spree she had unleashed in the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance, he didn't dare say much for fear of displeasing her.

After Zhaoling led her people into the imperial palace, she naturally dealt with the likes of the Three Saints of Futú as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

What happened afterward was even more dramatic. Shan Gudao still tried to use the Mother Worm to resist to the bitter end, but their shiniang Qin Po suddenly appeared and used Li Lianhua's blood to destroy it. She also revealed that Li Lianhua was the descendant of Consort Xuan and Prince Fangji, while Shan Gudao was merely a petty man who had stolen a Nanyin identity.

In the end, Feng Qing swallowed a feigned-death pill he had prepared long ago, glanced at Zhaoling, and used his acting skills to give a lifelike performance of disbelief. Finally, he killed Shan Gudao and then committed suicide.

Afterward, thanks to Zhaoling's merit in suppressing the rebellion, and because the emperor had been poisoned and felt he had little time left, he seized the opportunity to cut through the tangled mess and name Zhaoling crown princess.

The ministers looked at the Inspection Bureau guards standing around them with sabers at their sides. Whatever they thought in their hearts, their faces showed wholehearted acceptance.

After that came rewards for merit. Zhaoling opened the doors wide to those who wished to join the Inspection Bureau. As for those whose ambitions lay in the jianghu, she rewarded each according to their aptitude and talent with a martial arts manual from the imperial collection, as well as gold, silver, and other treasures.

As for Xuanyuan Xiao, commander of the imperial palace guards, Zhaoling smiled. You old bastard, you looked down on me. Now your life or death rests on a single thought of mine.

She looked at Xuanyuan Xiao with disdain. "You couldn't tell right from wrong, wrongly trusted a treacherous man, and let a wolf into the house, nearly costing my imperial father his life. For your crimes, it wouldn't be excessive to confiscate your property and exterminate your entire clan. But Yang Yunchun pleaded for you, so I'll spare your life and merely cripple your martial arts. Go back to your hometown and spend your remaining years in peace.

"Xuanyuan Xiao, I have just one last piece of advice for you: a person's worth lies in knowing their own limitations!"

After Xuanyuan Xiao left in disgrace, command of the imperial palace guards fell to Feng Xiaoduo, one of the Inspection Bureau's deputy commissioners and a trusted confidante of Zhaoling.

At this point, the imperial physicians examined and treated the emperor and discovered that only the Lethe Flower could cure his poison. An investigation revealed that the Lethe Flower had passed through Di Feisheng's hands and was now with Li Lianhua. It was also the only treasure capable of curing Bicha.

When Zhaoling learned this, she merely looked at the emperor with deep concern. "Please permit me, Imperial Father, to seize the Lethe Flower at once.

"As for Li Lianhua's life, I will find another way to cure his poison. Even if I cannot cure him, I will conceive his child before he dies."

The emperor was very pleased with Zhaoling's reaction, but he looked at her in puzzlement. "Do you like Li Xiangyi that much? Even if he dies, you still want to have his child?"

There was no trace of shyness on Zhaoling's face as she said, "When I first took a fancy to Li Lianhua, I merely admired his talent and his good looks. It was not a matter of sharing life and death with him.

"But Imperial Father should know Li Lianhua's identity by now, so I must have his child."

Seeing Zhaoling's serious expression, the emperor waved all the servants out. "We both carry the imperial bloodline. Why must you bear his child? Prince Fangji died a rebel, after all. How could he be as legitimate as we are?"

With a worried look on her face, Zhaoling began patching up the matter of how conveniently she had left before the emperor was poisoned and Shan Gudao took control of the capital.

After all, on closer thought, Zhaoling was the one who had benefited most from the affair, and the timing of her departure really had been a little too convenient. The emperor was gravely ill now and wouldn't think too deeply about it, but what about later?

The court was unstable now, and Zhaoling's abilities were insufficient, after all. The emperor could not die yet.

"Forgive me, Imperial Father. I discovered a secret some time ago, a great secret concerning our bloodline and origins. It was also because I learned of it that I left the imperial palace to wipe out the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance.

"I needed to find Jiao Liqiao and confirm whether the secret I learned was true or false."