Boom!
A surge of spiritual energy charged straight into her mind, breaking through the Baihui acupoint and shooting toward the crown of her head!
Rumble!
The defensive grand array atop the main hall trembled incessantly!
Runes flickered everywhere, barely managing to absorb the surging energy.
"The Golden Core Realm!?"
"General Su, you've actually broken through to the Golden Core Realm!?"
The Empress's expression shifted drastically!
Su Chanjuan drew her spiritual energy back into her body and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I said before—the false charges you tried to pin on me, I will not accept. Today, I am taking my husband home. If anyone dares to block our path, do not blame me for disregarding the bonds between ruler and subject!"
With that, Su Chanjuan took Ye Tian by his left hand and walked out.
Old Ma, fists half-clenched, followed closely behind.
Eunuch Li's face turned extremely grim. "Someone come! Guards!"
Yet, not a single voice answered from outside.
With a leap, Eunuch Li rushed to the hall doors and saw over a hundred palace guards sprawled haphazardly across the ground outside!
He froze in utter shock!
He looked toward Old Ma, suddenly recalling a terrifying figure.
"It's him?"
"He's actually still alive!"
In the distance, Leng Ye came running in with a group of guards, only to pause in astonishment when he caught sight of Ye Tian and the other two.
The Empress had already appeared at the doorway of the hall and waved a hand at Leng Ye!
Leng Ye led his men to the steps outside the main hall, dropping to one knee in a salute.
"Your Majesty, we deserve death!"
"We just rushed to General Su's estate, but somehow the news leaked out. We arrived to find the place empty—General Su's entire family had already gone to the Prince's Estate!"
"Without Your Majesty's decree, we did not dare to act without authorization!"
The Empress said calmly, "Judging by your disheveled appearance, did you meet with resistance? Who would dare oppose the imperial guards?"
Leng Ye pointed toward the receding figures of Ye Tian and the others. "It was the Ye family's groom! That old man, Old Ma, is a Third Layer of Golden Core powerhouse!"
"What?"
The Empress's expression changed, and she couldn't help but look at Eunuch Li!
Eunuch Li's expression was heavy. "He is none other than Marshal Ma Buqun, who suddenly vanished twenty years ago!"
"Ma Buqun?"
"The Great Marshal Ma who once led three thousand elite cavalry to slaughter the Great Wasteland's one hundred thousand elite troops until rivers of blood flowed?"
The Empress was struck dumb!
Wasn't Ma Buqun supposed to have disappeared?
To think he had been hiding in the Prince's Estate all this time as a mere groom!
The Prince's Estate—no wonder people always said it was a dangerous place!
Eunuch Li clenched his fists. "Now! Right now, immediately—dispatch troops to surround the Prince's Estate!"
The Empress turned to look at him and shook her head. "No!"
Eunuch Li's eyes grew cold. "What, you refuse? Or perhaps you wish to see the entire Daxia perish because of you!"
The Empress's expression shifted!
***
Prince's Estate.
The carriage had just reached the gates when a crowd surged forward.
Aside from Su Xiaotang and Old Su, the group included Su Chanjuan's parents—Mr. and Mrs. Su Dingguo—as well as a dozen of the Su family's personal guards.
"Father, Mother, Xiaotang, Old Su, you're all here?"
"Ah, Chanjuan, Her Majesty didn't make things difficult for you, did she?" Su Dingguo and his wife asked with concern!
Ye Tian glanced around. "It's not safe here. Let's go inside first and talk!"
The group entered the estate and took their seats in the courtyard side-hall arranged by Madam Ye.
Only then did Su Chanjuan recount the events that had transpired in the main hall.
Upon hearing that their daughter had broken through to the Golden Core Realm, Su Dingguo and his wife were overjoyed!
"Good child, now that you're a Golden Core Realm powerhouse, I expect the Empress won't dare do anything to you!"
Su Xiaotang chimed in, "That's right, Sister! You were already the foremost expert in Daxia to begin with, and now that your cultivation has advanced, who in this world could possibly match you?"
Su Chanjuan shook her head. "When I was in the main hall, I faintly sensed danger. That Eunuch Li is no ordinary person!"
"The pressure he radiated was no lower than the Golden Core Realm!"
"Besides, I keep feeling there's something strange about him, as if he can manipulate the Empress's decisions!"
"Alas, Her Majesty was still a child when she ascended the throne, and Eunuch Li has been by her side the entire time. It's only natural that she relies on him."
At that moment, Ye Tian walked in.
"I believe my wife's vigilance is well-founded. In fact, I sensed it too—there is something wrong with Eunuch Li. Regardless of whether today's events stem from the Empress's true intentions or not, the imperial court has already begun targeting our Su and Ye families!"
"Our most urgent task now is to leave the Imperial City immediately, head to the Northern Prefecture, and join forces with my father!"
"My wife, since you returned this time without your troops, you should immediately go back to the military camp and reclaim control of the army!"
Ye Tian's words struck everyone like a bolt from the blue, turning them all to stone!
They stood rooted to the spot, staring at him in blank astonishment!
*(⊙0⊙) (⊙0⊙) (⊙0⊙) (⊙0⊙)...*
"What's wrong with you all? Am I wrong?" Ye Tian asked hurriedly.
Madam Ye sighed. "Xiaotang—no, Xiaotian, you mustn't speak such reckless words; it's a capital offense! Aren't you afraid the imperial court will slap you with the charge of treason?"
"Treason? That's right, we are going to rebel against the imperial court!"
"Can't you all see it yet? The court wants to wipe out both our Su and Ye families!"
"They've already put blades to our throats—are we supposed to just wash our necks and wait for them to hack away?"
"So, let's fight them!"
Ye Tian's words once again stunned everyone into silence!
"You foolish child, have you lost your mind from a fever?"
Madam Ye hurried over to take her son's hand, reaching up to feel his forehead.
Ye Tian shook his head. "Mother, there's no time. Everyone, listen to me. We must get out of the city immediately; otherwise, the imperial garrison will soon surround the estate!"
Saying this, Ye Tian couldn't help a sigh.
He had thought that crossing over to become a Young Prince would allow him to live a life of pampered luxury, but just how many days had it been?
And now he was already talking about rebelling!
Life from here on out certainly wouldn't be peaceful!
Yet, when he thought about it, was he really willing to just sit around in Daxia waiting to play the role of some Young Prince?
That campus belle had ruined his life to this extent—no matter what, he had to find the spatial rift and return to Earth!
"I think Xiaotian is right!"
At that moment, Su Chanjuan stood up!
"When the rulers drive the people to rebellion, we have no choice but to rebel!"
"It's not that we lack loyalty; the imperial court is simply unjust! I, Su Chanjuan, have rendered great and meritorious service to Daxia, but what did the Empress say in the main hall in the end?"
"She said she wanted to pin a charge of treason on me! To make me confess that the Shadow Gate and the Northern Wasteland Hall were founded by me!"
"And she wanted to behead me!"
Su Chanjuan hadn't wanted to reveal these things, but by now she realized that if she didn't let everyone know the court's murderous intent, they would all end up dying here in utter ignorance!
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Confusion, resentment, depression, complaints, anger—
All sorts of emotions flooded the hall!
"Let's rebel!" Su Xiaotang cried out loudly!
"That's right, let's rebel!"
"Rebel!"
At last, those conflicted hearts hardened.
Pairs of eyes filled with raging fire!
Public indignation surged!
"Let's go!"
With that, Madam Ye instructed Huamei, Xique, and her personal maid Bailing to quickly pack up their valuables and luggage!
She also had Steward Old Ma—no, Steward Old Ye—gather the estate guards and servants, telling those who wished to leave to do so with a parting sum of silver, disbanding them immediately!
Madam Ye was a kind-hearted person; she did not want the people of the Prince's Estate to be dragged into a life of wandering with her, saddled with the shameful label of betraying Daxia.
Some of the guards and servants with families wept bitterly as they were "disbanded"!
In the end, what remained were just over thirty estate guards and personal guards, along with Steward Old Ye,
plus the Su sisters, Mr. and Mrs. Su Dingguo, Old Su, the maid Suyue, and a dozen personal guards. A procession of over sixty people boarded two carriages and rushed out of the estate toward the city gates!
Ye Tian, Madam Ye, Huamei, Xique, and Bailing sat in the lead carriage!
Old Ma and Old Ye guarded the front and back respectively!
The Ye family's guards cleared the way ahead!
In the rear carriage sat Mr. and Mrs. Su Dingguo and Madam Ye's maid Suyue!
Old Su drove the carriage himself, while Su Chanjuan and Su Xiaotang stood on the carriage shafts gripping their weapons, looking majestic and awe-inspiring, with a dozen personal guards bringing up the rear!
In the distance, the sound of hooves shattered the quiet!
Footsteps pounded in chaos!
Ye Tian pulled aside the carriage curtain to look outside, only to see a massive sea of at least three thousand palace guards tightly surrounding the estate!