in2ebook Chapter 513 Memories
Chapter 513 Memories
Princess Mingzhu said in a trembling voice, "The enemy you are dealing with is the Queen!"
Ah Tian narrowed her eyes. "Actually, our real enemy is the Emperor! He's your father, but as an emperor, he's surrounded by people who are truly invulnerable. There's nothing we can do! We can only settle for the Empress. After all, she's the target of everyone in the harem! Her people are much easier to attack than those around the Emperor!"
Ah Tian tightened her wrists again, and Princess Mingzhu's cheeks almost flushed. Ah Tian's gentle yet malicious voice rang in the Grand Princess's ears: "However, my biggest enemy is the Queen! I did all this, and lived in the palace for several years, just to get rid of the Queen! Because - I came here for Mr. Xiaolin!"
Princess Mingzhu's mind was in a mess. She didn't understand what the relationship was between Mr. Kobayashi, the Queen, and this matter.
Ah Tian was lost in her memories. She said to herself, "Mr. Xiao Lin is the most talented and gentle man in the world. He has always been gentle and polite to me. Even the name Ah Tian was given to me by him!"
A smile appeared on A Tian's cheek, that was a rare sweet moment for her.
"But--"
Ah Tian's voice sternly said, "He died on that mountain! He had clearly been guarding the mountain and not leaving! But the Emperor still hunted him down and killed him! The former Concubine Yi, now the Empress, was brought back to the palace by the Emperor, but he left behind a raging fire! Everything was burned to ashes, not even a handful of ashes left for me!"
How could she not hate him! Such a tall, graceful, and handsome man, a man who brought her such beautiful memories, just disappeared like that! He would never come back!
The eldest princess was a little shocked. She didn't know that her father and the empress had such an experience. She was still young at that time and only remembered that Concubine Yi disappeared from the palace for a while. Her father said that Concubine Yi stayed in the temple for a while to pray for the country and for the imperial grandmother.
"Originally, I asked you to follow me and disappear during the chaos, not caring about anyone else. But Mr. Kobayashi refused to leave, determined to find Concubine Yi! The next time I got the news, everyone on that mountain had been burned to ashes!"
The eldest princess was silent for a moment before she asked, "Why does Mr. Xiaolin insist on looking for the former Concubine Yi?"
Ah Tian's face, which had been quite pretty at first, twisted in an instant as she recalled the past. She said bitterly, "Why? Of course it's because the current Empress is Mr. Xiaolin's ex-fiancée! Mr. Xiaolin has fallen into the position of an aide to the abandoned king because the current emperor demoted him from the palace examination, saying his character was flawed and barring him from taking the exam again for ten years! When the news got back to the family, even the Lin family was ostracized on the border! Mr. Xiaolin's future is ruined, and all because the Lin family canceled a verbal engagement whose authenticity is unknown!"
"How ridiculous! The Lan family has been powerful on the border for three generations, and they've been suppressing the scholarly Lin family ever since! Even more abominable is that the Lan family girl wasn't implicated in the broken engagement. She should have been sent to a temple to live a life of poverty, surrounded by the Buddha's eternal companions! Why was she even taken into the palace to be a favorite concubine?"
"All this made Mr. Qi depressed all day long! By chance, he met Mr. Lin, the first staff member of the Qi King, and was introduced to the Qi King. The Qi King was impressed by his talent and we respectfully called him Mr. Xiao Lin!"
The eldest princess's brows furrowed, and she couldn't help but speak coldly, "From what you said, it was Mr. Xiaolin who was the first to betray us and maliciously ruin the marriage. With such a character, it's no wonder that the emperor deposed him! Everything that happened later was also because he and his family failed to climb up the social ladder. They brought it upon themselves! He doesn't deserve any sympathy!"
Ah Tian pinched the eldest princess's neck hard, and said angrily: "What do you know! That girl from the Lan family lived in seclusion and was unknown in the past. How could she be worthy of Mr. Xiaolin! Who could have known that the girl from the Lan family would become the current queen!"
There was silence inside and outside the Nanjing Tower. Ah Tian did not deliberately hold back her voice. People who practiced martial arts had sharp ears and eyes, so the Emperor Shenwu, Wei Yanting, the eldest prince and the Xuanyu Guards standing in front could hear everything clearly.
Emperor Shenwu's eyes were dark and unclear. Wei Yanting took a step forward and heard Ah Tian's warning voice: "Don't move! Otherwise Princess Mingzhu will suffocate!"
The eldest princess's face was indeed flushed, and her neck was bruised from being pinched.
Wei Yanting winked at his men and said, "Don't be impulsive! What happened back then is now dust. You're carrying these guards and so many lives. You can't just ignore them! After all, whether it's Prince Qi or Mr. Xiaolin, they've already confessed their crimes and been punished. What does this have to do with you? Why risk so many lives? As long as any one of you stops today, you can all leave the palace safely!"
Ah Tian, who was on the third floor of the Nanjing Tower, sternly said, "Don't try to persuade us with sweet words! We have already made up our minds to die today! We won't lose anything if the Emperor's bloodline dies with us! We can also comfort the souls of the Abandoned King and Mr. Xiaolin!"
The eldest princess felt a cold gaze sweeping over her. She gritted her teeth and said, "I can stay! But my child is innocent, so please let him go! I will stay!"
Ah Tian laughed and said, "Do you think I'm stupid? I'll start with this brat!"
The child in her arms felt the cold and heavy atmosphere and started crying loudly. Ah Tian was annoyed and reached out her hand.
The eldest princess screamed, "What are you doing! Stop it! You can do anything, but don't touch my child! I will agree to whatever you want! Stop it now!"
Ah Tian's fingertips gently rubbed the child's delicate skin, a strange light flickering in her eyes. "Great! Your father is the emperor, and we can't see him even though we wish for him. So please ask your father to let the Empress come to see me! I am of low status, and I have only seen the Empress from afar in the years I have been in the palace. I have always been shocked by her. What kind of woman could have won the emperor's favor and caused my husband to be killed!"
The Emperor's expression grew even colder. One of his lieutenants quietly approached him and whispered, "Your Majesty, several of us with good archery skills have ascended to the third floor of Beijing Tower, but with two tightly closed window lattices between us, we are not sure we can kill the female assassin with one strike! We are useless."
The Emperor Shenwu nodded slightly, and the deputy general continued, "We've found out that besides the palace maid who was secretly helping us, there are five black-clad assassins on the third floor. Two of them are guarding the palace maid Ah Tian from a distance of five or six steps. The eldest princess and the young master are being held captive by Ah Tian."
Wei Yanting was talking and negotiating with A Tian at the front, and Emperor Shenwu kept making gestures and redeploying the troops.
The Xuanyu Guards changed their formation silently.
The eldest princess screamed miserably, "Father! Father, save me!"