"Qingge, you must wake up." Ying Yuan whispered in a hoarse voice, "I promise you that I will avenge you."

There was a raging anger in his eyes. This anger was not only because of Shen Qingge, but also because of his anger towards this corrupt empire and those conspirators who were ready to make moves.

At the same time, the atmosphere in Hu Hai's mansion was much more relaxed. Hu Hai was leaning on the couch, playing with a jade pendant in his hand, with a smug smile on his face.

"Ying Yuan, do you think you won?" He said to himself, "You are just a puppet emperor. The real power is in my hands!"

Next to him stood a hunchbacked old man, who was the man in black who had conspired with him before, but this time he had taken off his nightgown, revealing a thin and dry face.

"Your Highness, Zhao Cheng is dead. What should we do next?" the old man asked in a low voice.

Hu Hai smiled contemptuously: "Zhao Cheng is just a dog, so he's dead. When he was still useful, I kept him. Now he's useless, so it's just right for him to die."

He paused, a sinister light flashing in his eyes: "As for the next step..."

He stood up from the couch, walked to the window, and looked at the brightly lit palace outside, his eyes full of ambition and greed.

"Of course, replace it!"

When the old man heard this, his whole body trembled and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

"Your Highness, this matter is of no small importance and requires long-term consideration," the old man advised.

"Let's take a long-term view?" Hu Hai turned around and stared at the old man fiercely, "I can't wait any longer! I can't sleep or eat well unless Ying Yuan is dead!"

"But we don't have enough power yet..."

"Power?" Hu Hai interrupted the old man with a strange smile on his face, "I will have enough power soon. Just wait and see!"

……

In the next few days, Li Si was ostensibly investigating the assassination, but secretly he was actively contacting court ministers to collect evidence for Ying Yuan.

Ying Yuan visited Shen Qingge every day and never left her side. He even learned how to make medicine and boiled it for Shen Qingge himself.

That day, Ying Yuan was feeding medicine to Shen Qingge when he suddenly heard a noise coming from outside.

"What's going on?" Ying Yuan asked with a frown.

A guard ran in hurriedly, knelt on the ground and reported: "Your Majesty, someone outside the palace wants to see you, saying that he has brought important clues about the assassination."

"who is it?"

"Yes... he is an old member of the Shen family."

Ying Yuan's heart moved when he heard this. He remembered what the man in black said, the old members of the Shen family... Could it be that they really knew something?
"Let them in." Ying Yuan ordered.

A moment later, an old man in coarse linen was brought in. The old man had gray hair and a wrinkled face, but his eyes were unusually firm.

"I'm Shen Zhong, nice to meet your Majesty." The old man bowed.

"Shen Zhong? Who are you to the Shen family?" Ying Yuan asked.

"I am the personal bodyguard of Shen Kuo, the head of the Shen family." Shen Zhong replied.

"Shen Kuo?" Ying Yuan frowned slightly. He seemed to have heard this name somewhere before.

"Your Majesty, I came here this time to expose Hu Hai's conspiracy!" Shen Zhong suddenly raised his voice, his tone full of anger and hatred.

"Hu Hai's conspiracy?" Ying Yuan was startled. "Explain it clearly." Shen Zhong took a deep breath and said slowly, "Your Majesty, I saw with my own eyes that Hu Hai and Zhao Cheng conspired to assassinate Your Majesty, and he also..."

When Shen Zhong said this, he suddenly paused, with a hint of hesitation on his face.

"What else does he have?" Ying Yuan asked.

Shen Zhong gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and said, "He also... defiled Miss Shen!"

"What?!" Ying Yuan became furious upon hearing that. He grabbed the teacup on the table and threw it to the ground.

With a loud bang, the teacup shattered and tea splashed everywhere.

Ying Yuan's face turned pale, his eyes full of murderous intent. He never thought that Hu Hai would be so cruel!
He always thought that Hu Hai just wanted to seize his throne, but he didn't expect that he would dare to touch Shen Qingge!
"Hu Hai!" Ying Yuan gritted his teeth and spat out these two words, his voice like a devil from hell, "I want you to die!"

At this moment, the door of the bedroom was suddenly pushed open and Li Si walked in hurriedly.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" Li Si's face turned pale and he spoke in a hurried tone, "Hu Hai... Hu Hai has rebelled!"

Li Si panted heavily, his face pale, and said intermittently: "Hu Hai... Hu Hai he... he rebelled! He has... has taken control of the palace!"

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Ying Yuan stood up suddenly, a chill running from his feet to his head. He grabbed Li Si's collar, his eyes red, and growled, "What did you say?!"

"It's absolutely true! Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards... the Imperial Guards have been bribed by him! We... we must escape now!" Li Si was terrified and his speech was incoherent.

Ying Yuan pushed Li Si away. His mind was in a mess. Shen Qingge was still unconscious. Hu Hai was actually rebelling at this time! He forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and asked in a deep voice, "Where is Shen Qingge?"

"Your Majesty, Miss Shen is still in the bedroom..." Before Li Si could finish his words, Ying Yuan had already rushed out.

He rushed back to the palace as quickly as possible, only to find that the entrance to the palace was surrounded by imperial guards.

"Get out of the way!" Ying Yuan roared. A powerful pressure emanated from him and the imperial guards could not help but take a few steps back.

"By order of the Second Prince, no one is allowed to enter!" said the commander of the imperial guards stiffly.

Ying Yuan sneered, "Second Prince? Who the hell is he! How dare he stop me!"

After saying that, he flashed through the imperial guards like a ghost and rushed into the bedroom.

In the bedroom, Shen Qingge was still lying on the bed, her face pale and her breathing weak. Ying Yuan walked quickly to the bedside, gently held her hand, felt her weak pulse, and felt relieved.

At this moment, Hu Hai came in with a group of people. With a smug smile on his face, he looked at Ying Yuan and said sarcastically, "Brother Emperor, I didn't expect that you would have this day, did you?"

Ying Yuan slowly stood up and stared at Hu Hai with cold eyes, murderous intent surging in his eyes, "Hu Hai, you are so audacious! How dare you rebel!"

"Rebellion? Haha, brother emperor, this throne should have been mine! You are just a guy who has usurped the throne!" Hu Hai sneered.

"You want to be the emperor? You are just dreaming!" Ying Yuan said disdainfully.

"Hmph! Now that the palace is under my control, what qualifications do you have to challenge me?" Hu Hai said proudly.

"Really?" Ying Yuan sneered. Suddenly, he flashed and appeared in front of Hu Hai in an instant. He grabbed his neck and lifted him up high.

"You...you let me go!" Hu Hai's face turned red and he struggled desperately.

"Today I will let you know who is the real emperor!" Ying Yuan's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and the strength in his hands gradually increased. (End of this chapter)