Liang Yong thought he had misheard. He asked incredulously.
"What did you say?"
Li Ying’s smile vanished. He spoke, enunciating every word.
"I’m going to burn this godforsaken place down."
A den of iniquity like the Imperial Palace could only be purified by fire.
Liang Yong was dumbstruck. "Then what about you? If the Imperial Palace is set ablaze, you and Wu Wang won’t be able to escape either."
The corners of Li Ying’s eyes were tinged red, his gaze ruthless and resolute. He looked like a madman betting everything on a final, desperate gamble.
"If we can’t escape, then we’ll all die together."
Liang Yong quickly turned to Wu Wang, hoping he would help talk some sense into Prince Wu Zhang.
But Wu Wang said only one thing.
"Start the fire at Hanzhang Hall."
Hanzhang Hall was the Emperor’s residence.
The Emperor was currently unconscious, lying motionless on his bed in Hanzhang Hall.
If Hanzhang Hall caught fire, the Emperor would certainly be burned alive.
Liang Yong could only think that this uncle and nephew before him had both gone mad.
Only madmen could come up with such an insane plan!
Wu Wang issued the order to assemble all remaining Night Owl Guards and have them douse the palace in oil.
Hanzhang Hall was a key target; it was soaked in oil, inside and out.
The palace maids and eunuchs inside the hall had already been tied up by the Night Owl Guard. Unable to resist, they could only cry and beg for their lives.
However, Wu Wang didn’t even spare them a glance.
He looked at the tall, majestic palace before him, and the image of Tang Bitong before her death appeared in his mind.
Back then, she had been nothing but skin and bones, her body covered in wounds. She was withered and gaunt, her eyes filled with despair and hatred.
She had said in a hoarse, grating voice.
"You must avenge me!"
Wu Wang blew on the fire lighter.
The small fire lighter sparked to life.
He murmured softly, "Atong, don’t be afraid. Big Brother will avenge you now."
He threw the fire lighter in his hand, and it landed softly on the oil-soaked ground.
WHOOSH! Flames erupted and spread rapidly in all directions.
The palace maids and eunuchs screamed in terror, their cries incessant.
Wu Wang quietly watched them struggle and die in the sea of fire, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Tang Bitong had been tormented by the people in this palace until she was barely human. Now, he would let them taste the same despair of having their cries for help go unanswered.
Even if these people had not directly tormented Tang Bitong, they had never lifted a finger to help her. Their indifference was just another form of abetting the evil.
’They’re all accomplices. They all deserve to die!’
Wu Wang walked straight into Hanzhang Hall without a sideways glance, heading directly for the bedchamber.
He saw the Emperor lying on the bed.
The Emperor’s eyes were shut tight. He was completely still, oblivious to the changes around him.
Thick smoke from the fire poured into the room, stinging Wu Wang’s eyes and making it hard to breathe.
He coughed twice but had no intention of leaving.
’No one in this Imperial Palace is innocent.’
’And the most sinful of all is the Emperor lying on this bed.’
’He is the true culprit behind Tang Bitong’s death!’
Wu Wang picked up a pillow and pressed it over the Emperor’s face.
The pressure from his hands increased.
He would kill the Emperor with his own hands to avenge the deceased Atong.
The Emperor’s mouth and nose were smothered by the pillow, cutting off his breath.
The intense suffocation sent a searing pain through his chest, forcing his unconscious mind into a state of semi-awareness.
Driven by instinct, he began to struggle desperately, trying to push away the pillow on his face.
However, his meager strength was nothing to Wu Wang, who was trained in martial arts.
No matter how much the Emperor struggled, he could not escape the despair of suffocation.
Gradually, the Emperor’s movements slowed.
Seeing that the Emperor was on the verge of death, a surge of vindictive pleasure filled Wu Wang’s chest.
He had abandoned his dignity as a man and endured for many years, all for this very moment.
’Now, I can finally have my revenge!’
But in the next moment, something slammed into the back of Wu Wang’s head. A sharp pain shot through him, making him release his grip involuntarily.
The Emperor seized the opportunity to shove the pillow aside, gasping desperately for air.
Wu Wang turned around and saw Zuo Ji, who was holding a vase high with both hands.
Zuo Ji was trembling so violently he could barely hold the vase.
He stammered, "Y-You... how dare you! How dare you try to assassinate the Saint!"
Wu Wang touched the back of his head.
His hand came away sticky with blood.
He never would have thought Zuo Ji would still be here.
Ever since Wu Wang took control of the Night Owl Guard, he had become the most powerful eunuch in the rear palaces. Even Zuo Ji, once deeply trusted by the Emperor, had been forced to keep his distance.
Especially after the Emperor fell unconscious, Zuo Ji’s presence had diminished further and further, to the point where he almost never appeared before Wu Wang.
Wu Wang had almost forgotten such a person even existed in the palace.
He looked coldly at Zuo Ji, his voice chilling and full of murderous intent.
"Since you’re so loyal, I’ll let you die with the Dog Emperor."
After Hanzhang Hall caught fire, other palaces began to burn one after another.
The early morning sky was stained crimson by the glow of the flames.
It was as glaring as if it had been soaked in blood.
Figures were scurrying everywhere in the palace like rats, their screams rising and falling.
Some people were accidentally set on fire, writhing on the ground in agony and scaring others into fleeing in panic.
Hua Qingqing, clutching the Seventh Prince, fled swiftly toward the palace gates.
She was surrounded by several palace maids and nannies.
As they were about to reach the palace gates, they ran right into Prince Zhao, who was charging into the palace.
Prince Zhao’s silver armor was splattered with blood. More blood dripped continuously from the long spear in his hand. His black eyes were filled with a chilling killing intent, making him look less like a living man and more like a demon from hell.
He had led his soldiers into the Imperial Palace and was about to look for Manman when he spotted Hua Qingqing fleeing outward with the crowd.
Li Ji reined in his horse, stopping it short. With a sweep of his spear, he blocked Hua Qingqing’s path.
Her path blocked, Hua Qingqing was forced to look up at him.
When she saw clearly that it was Prince Zhao, Hua Qingqing was overjoyed.
"Your Highness, you’re finally here!"
Li Ji asked in a grim voice, "Where is Manman?"
Hua Qingqing froze for a moment, then subconsciously asked back.
"Hasn’t Manman escaped yet?"
The palace was in chaos. The Night Owl Guard and the Yulin Guards were too preoccupied to spare any effort to capture Princess Consort Zhao.
Hua Qingqing had thought her second younger sister would have escaped during the chaos.
But Prince Zhao’s reaction gave her a bad feeling.
’Don’t tell me Second Sister is still in the palace?’
At this thought, Hua Qingqing lost her composure completely and cried out anxiously.
"Prince Wu Zhang and Wu Wang have gone mad! They had the Night Owl Guard set fires everywhere in the palace! The fire is huge, and Second Sister is pregnant! She’s in danger, you have to go quickly—"
Before she could finish, Li Ji had already snapped the reins, charging off on his horse like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Chen Wangbei and the trusted aides followed close behind.
Soon, Bian Ziming also led his men in pursuit.
The sound of hooves faded into the distance.
Hua Qingqing hugged the Seventh Prince tightly, staring at the towering flames behind her. Only one thought remained in her mind—
’Second Sister, please be safe!’