Xiao Pingfeng appeared alongside Qin Erya.
The two striking figures in bright yellow were particularly glaring.
Yan Wanqing couldn’t help but squint her eyes.
The sun was exceptionally bright that day, shining on the handsome man and the beautiful woman, making for a pleasing sight.
She glanced at her own Phoenix Robe out of the corner of her eye, feeling a sense of irony.
"Wanwan," Xiao Pingfeng’s eyes flashed with amazement as he stepped forward to take her hand, only to have it lightly shifted away by her.
A look of disappointment briefly flitted across his dark eyes.
"I’ve seen elder sister," Qin Erya greeted Yan Wanqing with a curtsy.
When Yan Wanqing heard this address, a mocking smile appeared on the corner of her lips.
"Who are you making sick here?"
Her tone was aggressive.
Qin Erya’s face turned pale; her eyes filling with tears as she immediately looked to Xiao Pingfeng: "Your Highness, this concubine..."
Xiao Pingfeng’s expression grew tense. He turned to Yan Wanqing: "Wanwan, bear with it, today is our big day."
Once they climbed these steps, the coronation hall ceremony would be officially complete.
Yan Wanqing looked up at him, her eyes flashing with an emotion he couldn’t understand. Xiao Pingfeng wanted to look more closely, but she had already averted her gaze.
"For the Crown Prince’s sake, I won’t hold it against you today," she said flatly before turning to walk toward the master of ceremonies.
Xiao Pingfeng immediately followed her.
Qin Erya watched the two walk ahead together, relentless viciousness flickering in her eyes. Her gaze met Qin Huai’s in the crowd, both seeing the determination in each other’s eyes.
Success or failure hinged on today.
Grandfather had said that the road to advancement was always filled with difficulty, so what was a little humiliation?
She forced a gentle smile and followed them.
At that moment, the master of ceremonies bellowed, "The auspicious time has arrived—"
Xiao Pingfeng’s dark eyes were affectionate as he reached out to Yan Wanqing: "Wanwan, give me your hand."
Yan Wanqing intended to refuse, but the thought that this might be their last handhold softened her heart, and she placed her delicate hand in his.
"Walk with me up there. From now on, stay by my side for the rest of this life," his deep voice gently rang in her ear.
Yan Wanqing’s heart twinged, and she barely nodded.
Qin Erya followed behind them, step by step up the stairs.
They were almost at the top.
Suddenly, chaos erupted all around, as numerous people with black masks drew their long swords and charged.
As if expecting this, Xiao Pingfeng immediately shielded Yan Wanqing behind him.
"Enchantress! Die!" The masked assailants swarmed in, engaging with the Imperial Secret Police in combat.
The scene quickly descended into mayhem, and many officials were injured or even killed.
Yan Wanqing seemed to realize something as she frowned at the man standing before her.
Was it that everyone had chosen this day for a final, desperate stand?
The moves of these Imperial Secret Police were clearly professionally trained, nothing like their usual techniques, obviously from the eighteenth floor of hell itself.
Xiao Pingfeng had managed to plant his forces within the palace.
"A bunch of fools who don’t know how to live; how dare you be so presumptuous at my coronation! I order you to go to your deaths without return!" The imperial majesty burst forth from him, murderous intent surging.
He gave Qin Huai a deep look and curled his thin lips: "Otherwise, some people really think I’m a coward."
The pointed words turned Qin Huai’s face ashen beneath the stairs.
He exchanged glances with the Qin Family’s eldest and second master, seeing their final resolution.
Having decided to rebel, there was no turning back!
The second master exchanged a glance with those behind him; they were far from alone. Outside the city gates, there was a rebel army waiting to link up. As long as they took control of the Crown Prince, Dawei would take the opportunity to change the regime today!
After supporting the Xiao Family for so many years, it’s about time our Qin Family had the world in our grasp!
"More and more people are gathering." Yan Wanqing squinted her eyes as she observed the situation below, looking towards the distant palace gates where beacon fires pierced the sky, the whole Imperial Capital was plunged into a rebellion and chaos.
This move by the Qin Family is not small.
Xiao Pingfeng patted the back of her hand, "Don’t worry, everything is within my expectations, those words I said to you, I have never gone back on them."
"What a loving and affectionate sight, the Crown Prince truly has deep affections for the Yan Family girl!" A coarse voice came from afar, only to see a man holding a large, broad-bladed long knife. The blade was sizable, and in the hands of the lean young man, it created a striking contrast.
That man was none other than Sun Hong, the leader of the most ferocious uprising lately!
"It’s you," Xiao Pingfeng said, narrowing his black pupils in contemplation.
Sun Hong revealed a smug grin, clapping a single hand down onto the skull of one of the Imperial Secret Police. In an instant, frozen stiffness splattered, and using the motion, he leapt up towards the steps.
"For the Crown Prince to remember Sun, it’s truly Sun’s great fortune!"
He then spun and stood atop the steps.
"Get down!" Xiao Pingfeng was about to step forward.
Yan Wanqing noticed his knife, still not bloodied.
This man is not to be underestimated!
She tugged on Xiao Pingfeng’s sleeve, "Be careful."
Xiao Pingfeng was touched by the concern, joy flashing in his eyes, "Are you worried about me?"
Ever since Qin Jun died, there had been a rift between Wanwan and himself.
It caused him unbearable pain, and so he numbed himself with official duties, but today, Wanwan started to show concern for him again... The gloom that had hung over Xiao Pingfeng for many days was swept away.
He tightened his grasp on Yan Wanqing’s hand, "Wait for me."
Then, he tore off the Dragon Robe he was wearing, revealing a tight suit underneath, and attacked Sun Hong!
Seeing this, Sun Hong knew that the Crown Prince had come prepared as well.
The two quickly became entangled in a fight.
Just as Yan Wanqing was about to step forward to help, she felt a wave of nausea in her abdomen, and at that moment Ding Dang swiftly stepped in front of her, "Your Majesty need not fear, the Crown Prince has made full preparations, and this servant will protect you."
His fair and tender little body, voice trembling even as he spoke, but still he insisted on speaking of protecting her.
Yan Wanqing’s lips curled into a smile.
If it weren’t for her heavy makeup today, her complexion would probably look very unsightly.
"Yan Wanqing, return my father’s life to me!" Sword energy, mixed with howling, rushed up from the steps as Qin Huai, holding a long sword, charged straight at Yan Wanqing!
Yan Wanqing raised her hand to push Ding Dang to the side, and with a wide sweep of her sleeve in the air, she swiftly enveloped half of the long sword.
"Qin Jun was not killed by this palace." She would never admit to something she hadn’t done.
Qin Huai sneered, "Lies! When you get to Yama Hall, tell that to King Yan!"
In that instant, the sleeves of the Phoenix Robe were torn apart, rendered into tatters.
The sky filled with red fabric, floating down like butterflies, was a spectacle to behold.
Yan Wanqing felt desolate inside.
She had thought that after marrying him, she could then depart this life.
But it seemed that not even the heavens desired to grant her that much.
"Qin Huai, you deserve to die!" If she couldn’t kill Qin Erya, could she not kill Qin Huai?! Since it was a fight to the end, then there would be no holding back.
Ling Dang was pulled from her wrist. Infusing it with her Inner Strength, she shook the bell vigorously, and the Hidden Guards from Stormy Building and the Yan Family appeared in unison.
"The Qin Family has staged a rebellion, show no mercy in killing them!"
"The Crown Prince has been bewitched by an enchantress, I, as an official, lead my peers to purge the imperial side, what is wrong with that?!"
When words fail to match, even half a sentence is too many.
Then let’s skip the talk and fight!
In an instant, Yan Wanqing kicked a long sword off the ground, catching it with a backhand, as her fiery red Phoenix Robe rustled in the wind. Her delicate features were set in deadly seriousness!