That night, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess kept vigil, while the Empress and other concubines led the other princes to stand guard outside.
Inside the palace, Crown Prince Feng Zixiao wept bitterly, his entire being shrouded in deep sorrow.
Respect for the dead is paramount. Although Feng Chang had used her as a pawn, he was already dead, so Hai Ling did not choose this time to make a move.
She was somewhat unwilling to kneel in the inner hall with Feng Zixiao to keep vigil for the old emperor, and as a pawn, she couldn't really feel sad. When she was bored, she would occasionally glance at Feng Zixiao and could tell that the man was really heartbroken.
I heard that the late Emperor Feng Chang always doted on this Crown Prince, and the father-son relationship was unlike that of ordinary royal families, where there was no infighting. That's probably why he was so heartbroken.
As Hailin was thinking, she suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the darkness.
A strong killing intent emanated from the palace, causing her face to darken slightly and her small mouth to open.
No way, someone would actually attempt an assassination at a time like this? Who is so bold? The Emperor has just passed away, and they can't wait to make their move?
Who exactly are these people?
Could he be one of Prince Ning, Feng Ziyu's men? After all, Feng Zixiao will ascend the throne as the new emperor early tomorrow morning, making it difficult to eliminate him.
Tonight is a good time; only the Crown Prince and she are keeping vigil.
The eunuchs and maids inside the palace were utterly incompetent, so if the person who came was powerful enough, they might actually be in real danger.
Hai Ling thought to herself, and silently uttered the name "Fire Cloud Boots." The boots appeared on her feet. When the assassins broke in, she would be protected by the Fire Cloud Boots, making it impossible for ordinary people to harm her. However, she would not participate in the killings among the royal family, as she had no reason to help Feng Zixiao.
However, she felt something was off. The surroundings were filled with a strong killing intent, which even she, who had no internal energy, could feel. The Crown Prince Feng Zixiao, who was skilled in martial arts, seemed completely unaware of this and was still sadly shedding tears, unmoved.
Hailin couldn't help but squint in thought, when the person in the shadows began to move.
Behind layers of curtains, swords flashed and shadows fell in the blink of an eye. Dozens of skilled men in black, exuding a strong killing intent, split into two groups and rushed towards her and Feng Zixiao, while simultaneously attacking the eunuchs and palace maids kneeling on all sides.
The eunuchs and palace maids never expected that someone would launch a night attack on the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and they all fell to the ground and died.
Hai Ling had already planned ahead, so as soon as those people pounced on her, she leaped into the air, her figure spinning like a flower, nimbly avoiding the assassins' pursuit.
While dodging, he shouted towards the outside of the hall: "Help! Help! There's an assassin! There's an assassin!"
The assassins were visibly taken aback. They had thought they would kill the woman easily, but they hadn't expected to fail and instead let her scream and shout inside the spirit hall. Hatred rose in their hearts, their eyes turned like wolves, and their strength seemed to never stop as they frantically swung their gleaming silver swords forward.
Their attacks were ruthless and vicious, and the woman they were chasing lost her beauty and fled in panic, fiddling with things in the spirit hall and making loud noises.
While dodging, Hai Ling kept glancing at Crown Prince Feng Zixiao opposite her. She saw Feng Zixiao surrounded by a group of men in black. Feng Zixiao was filled with killing intent, and his eyes were bloodthirsty. He fought back against the men in black who approached him while retreating step by step. Then he suddenly shouted outside the tent: "Guards, catch the assassin!"
The commotion inside the hall had already alerted those outside, and soon a large group of guards rushed in and began fighting with the men in black who had appeared.
Not only the guards, but also many military officers from the court rushed in.
Among them were Left Prime Minister Xi Lingfeng, Major General Bai Ye, Imperial Censor Wei Lin, and even Jiang Batian rushed in.
As soon as the crowd rushed in, they pounced on the black-clad assassins. When Xi Lingfeng saw that someone was chasing Hai Ling, although he knew she could protect herself, a strong killing intent surged around him. He flew to meet the assassins, his wide sleeves sweeping out, and powerful qi struck the black-clad assassins, quickly sending them flying. The domineering internal force sent the assassins flying, leaving them seriously injured.
No one knew that a cold anger was hidden in Xi Lingfeng's eyes as he quietly glanced at the Crown Prince Feng Zixiao in the very center. That glance contained a great deal of meaning.
Unfortunately, Hai Ling caught a glimpse of this and realized something. Could it be that this was actually a scheme orchestrated by the Crown Prince and the Left Prime Minister to eliminate Prince Ning, Feng Ziyu, and that they were simply crying wolf?
Prince Ning, Feng Ziyu, is indeed ambitious and wants to ascend the throne, but at such a time, sending assassins to kill the Crown Prince is by no means a wise move.
So this is His Highness the Crown Prince and the Left Prime Minister's plan. Hai Ling smiled, but it was a cold smile.
There were many people in the hall, and no one noticed her. Everyone was focused on catching the assassin, and then someone asked if the crown prince was injured.
Only the Left Prime Minister, Xi Lingfeng, quietly approached her and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
In fact, tonight's scheme was indeed a scheme orchestrated by Xi Lingfeng and Feng Zixiao. They discovered that Prince Ning, Feng Ziyu, was colluding with several ministers in the court. Prince Ning wanted to plot against the Crown Prince and become emperor himself, so they decided to strike first to turn the tide and win.
Xi Lingfeng hadn't expected that Feng Zixiao would send assassins to kill Hai Ling. Perhaps he wanted to kill two birds with one stone, dealing with both Prince Ning and Hai Ling, but he didn't know that this would anger Xi Lingfeng. Xi Lingfeng was very angry, but fortunately Hai Ling was unharmed, otherwise he would never have let Feng Zixiao off the hook.
"I'm fine."
Seeing the concern on Xi Lingfeng's face, and the worry hidden in his eyes, Hai Ling felt a warmth in her heart. At least among this group of people, someone still cared about her, so she quietly said, "Thank you."
When Xi Lingfeng heard that she was alright, he was finally relieved and strode back to the Crown Prince's side. Together with the guards, they captured the assassin in black.
Outside the palace, in addition to the military officers rushing in, the Empress also led her people in. Rouge followed behind the Empress and sneaked in. As soon as she got close to Hailing, she nervously asked her questions.
"Miss, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
A faint smile appeared on Hai Ling's lips. Something must be going on with her.
However, she was curious about how things would develop next. If she guessed correctly, Feng Zixiao originally wanted to use these people to kill her, because he would be crowned empress the next day when he ascended the throne. He probably didn't want an empress like her, so he wanted to take advantage of the chaos to get rid of her and then establish a new empress he was satisfied with.
What a cruel man! Even if he didn't love her, he wouldn't so easily abandon someone's life.
What do human lives mean to him? Are they as insignificant as ants?
While Hailing was deep in thought, the group had already subdued the assassins, many of whom were killed, and several assassins were captured.
At this moment, everyone quieted down. Young General Bai Ye, unnoticed by others, quietly approached Hai Ling and looked at her with concern. He had originally wanted to rush over to protect Hai Ling, but the Left Prime Minister Xi Lingfeng beat him to it, so he captured the assassins instead.
Hai Ling looked up at Bai Ye, recalling the time she drank with this man on her wedding day. He had said that he would never force her to do things she didn't want to do, so she didn't need to treat him as an enemy. Thinking this, she smiled slightly and shook her head.
Bai Ye knew she would be alright; with Xi Lingfeng's help, how could she possibly be in danger?
He glanced at her from afar and saw Xi Lingfeng looking at her with concern in his eyes. He was deeply shocked. Could it be that the Prime Minister likes her? How could that be?
He had been waiting for her. He knew that Crown Prince Feng Zixiao did not truly love her, so he would eventually depose her. At that time, he would overcome any obstacles to marry her. However, he did not expect that the Left Prime Minister had been secretly watching over her and protecting her, which made him uneasy.