Fang Zheng let out a long sigh of relief upon hearing that his grandson was out of danger. He quickly ordered two hundred taels of silver to be prepared and given to the imperial physician. After all, the New Year was just a few hours away, and it was truly inconvenient for them to have come all this way.
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, Xiao An's mood had also improved considerably. It was New Year's Eve, and he had specially arranged for a banquet to be prepared. He had called Xiao Jingfeng to join him for drinks. As for the consorts and the Empress in the harem, Xiao An had not summoned any of them. This was because Xiao An needed to cultivate Xiao Jingfeng's prestige, and therefore, he had to suppress the influence of the harem.
Father and daughter, after several rounds of drinks and dishes, Xiao An looked at Xiao Jingfeng and said earnestly, "Jingfeng, your father has aged another year, and my energy is waning. From now on, you must make decisions on all matters, big or small."
Xiao Jingfeng repeatedly waved her hands, her face full of sincerity, and said, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? I am merely acting on your behalf in state affairs. You are still the Emperor of Da Cang!"
Xiao An glanced at Xiao Shunzi, who was guarding the door, and Bai Han, who stood there with a vigilant expression. Xiao An raised his hand, and the two of them immediately and discreetly withdrew.
Once they were alone, Xiao An lowered his voice and said, "Jingfeng, I am old and weak, and I don't know when I will go to meet our ancestors." He continued, "On the plaque of the Hall of Diligent Governance, I have already written an imperial decree. When I pass away, you will take it down in front of all the civil and military officials. It contains my arrangements."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden crash as the window was kicked in, and a shadowy figure burst through. It was Huang Wu. He had been hiding on the roof of the imperial palace, looking for an opportunity. Seeing Bai Han and the others leave the room, he knew his chance had come, so he acted immediately.
Princess Zhaoning was a skilled martial artist. Seeing someone break in, she immediately raised her wine cup and hurled it at the shadowy figure. Xiao An, who was speaking at the time and had his back to the window, reacted a little slowly. Huang Wu dodged the wine cup thrown by Xiao Jingfeng by slightly leaning to the side. In the next second, his sword flew out of his hand and pierced Xiao An's chest like lightning.
Immediately after, Huang Wu raised his hand, and several cold glints shot out, heading towards Xiao Jingfeng. Seeing this, Princess Zhaoning dared not delay. She spun around to dodge and shouted loudly, "Guards, quickly!"
The commotion in the room also alerted Bai Han. He did not know what had happened and was hesitating whether to ask. Upon hearing Xiao Jingfeng's shout, he realized something was wrong. He drew his sword and rushed in.
Upon entering, Bai Han was greatly shocked. A long sword was embedded in Xiao An's chest, and he was sitting in his chair, clearly breathing his last. Meanwhile, Xiao Jingfeng was fighting with a man in black. Bai Han shouted and charged forward with his sword. Together with Princess Zhaoning, they cornered Huang Wu.
Facing the attacks of the two, Huang Wu seemed unable to cope. After all, Princess Zhaoning had learned the true teachings of the Lotus Cult Leader and was not unskilled. Bai Han was an elite master. With their combined efforts, Huang Wu could only defend and not counterattack.
Seeing this, Huang Wu knew he had to leave if he wanted any chance. But then he thought that the mission Jiang Shang Piao had given him was not yet complete: to kill Xiao An and severely wound Xiao Jingfeng. Xiao Jingfeng was still alive and kicking, so be it. A true man would resort to any means necessary, so he decided to play dirty.
With this thought, Huang Wu feigned an attack and then raised his hand, sending several cold glints towards Bai Han again. Bai Han, seeing this, dared not be careless. He took a step back, then another step to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. As he retreated, Huang Wu immediately turned and attacked Princess Zhaoning. Huang Wu first threw out a handful of white smoke. Seeing this, Princess Zhaoning dared not be careless. She rapidly retreated backward. Then, Huang Wu's hands moved simultaneously, sending dozens of cold glints chasing after Princess Zhaoning, while he himself took the opportunity to leap out of the window and onto the rooftop.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Princess Zhaoning saw a cold glint flash and quickly twisted her body in mid-air to change direction. However, even so, she was still half a beat too late. She felt a sudden numbness in her calf as two poisoned needles struck her.
Bai Han also rushed out, chasing after Huang Wu while blowing a long whistle into his little finger. This was an emergency summons, and the imperial guards in the palace immediately became tense and deployed guards to intercept Huang Wu from higher positions.
At this moment, Princess Zhaoning began to feel something was wrong. She had thought the poisoned needles were not serious and wanted to help Bai Han, but as soon as she left the room, she felt her legs becoming weak and limp. As a martial artist, Princess Zhaoning understood such tricks. She immediately realized that these needles were poisoned. Having been poisoned, Princess Zhaoning quickly stopped, tore off a piece of her clothes, and tied it around her thigh. She then sat down on the ground and shouted loudly at Xiao Shunzi, who was still stunned, "What are you waiting for? Hurry and save my father!"
Xiao Shunzi then snapped back to reality and quickly summoned people to fetch the imperial physician. The palace became unusually chaotic.
At this moment, Bai Han had closed in to less than ten feet from Huang Wu. Huang Wu was only a few dozen more feet away from escaping the imperial palace. Although the palace walls were already manned by many imperial guards, Bai Han knew that it would be difficult for them to stop this person alone. After a moment of thought, Bai Han had an idea. Since Huang Wu resorted to sneak attacks and dirty tricks, he would not play by the rules either. With this in mind, he took out a bamboo whistle and blew it loudly. This whistle signaled the firing of arrows, and the imperial guards on the palace walls immediately raised their repeating crossbows.
Seeing this, Huang Wu became overconfident. He believed that these were just ordinary soldiers and that with his agility, which was second only to Jiang Shang Piao, they could not possibly stop him. It was precisely because of this thought that Huang Wu was fearless and charged towards the imperial guards. However, the imperial guards did not wait for him to get close. They began firing arrows from a distance of four or five feet. It was then that Huang Wu felt the pressure. At such a distance, the power of the repeating crossbows was not great, but they formed a barrier. If Huang Wu were to engage these imperial guards in close combat, it would take at least two more leaps. However, these two leaps would be fatal for him. After all, his long sword had been thrown away to kill Xiao An, and he was now unarmed. Facing the swarm of arrows, he had no better option than to dodge.
The first leap was successful, and he dodged the arrow swarm. This eased his mind considerably. He was now only a little over ten feet from the imperial guards. With another leap forward, he could knock over five or six of them and successfully escape the imperial palace. However, as soon as he leaped into the air, he suddenly found that the imperial guards in front of him uniformly moved to the side, and then a large net descended upon him.