Reborn Together: The General and I Reach for Power-Chapter 490 - 487: Here

As the arrow flew in, Li You kicked the stone table beside him. The table tilted, and Li You bent down and grabbed it in his hand.

"Thud thud thud," the arrows were blocked by the tabletop.

Li You seized the opportunity to dodge, and in a few steps, he reached the doorway.

"Don’t let him out."

Someone shouted, and everyone immediately rushed forward to stop Li You. However, at that moment, six or seven people rushed out from the side, both groups belonging to the Palace Department.

They were colleagues in daily life, but now they were fighting each other.

Amidst the entanglement, Li You cut down two people trying to stop him and rushed out of the courtyard.

"Find a way to get out," Li You shouted, "As long as someone can get out, immediately report to Prime Minister Xie. The Emperor is already speechless, and now Empress Xu is in power in the palace."

The Palace Department was supposed to guard the Emperor, and even if Li You raised objections and forcibly wanted to see His Majesty, he had his reasons. Such a matter, once made public, could not be discerned for right or wrong quickly; it could only be decided by the Emperor.

But the Emperor could not be seen.

So no matter what, Li You’s people must not step out of the Imperial Palace, otherwise, the situation would be uncontrollable.

However, this time Li You had evidently prepared, bringing only trusted confidants, and these people protected Li You as they fought their way out of the palace.

Most palace attendants were unaware of what had happened, and seeing the sudden chaos in the palace, they panicked and fled in all directions.

The palace gates were closed tightly according to the Empress’ orders. Had it been anyone else, they would surely die here. But unfortunately for them, Li You had been in command of the Palace Department for many years. The imperial guards guarding the gates saw it was Li You, and immediately someone drew a sword in resistance; some fell, some were injured.

After a skirmish in front of the palace gates, the blood-covered imperial guards forcefully reopened the palace gates.

An official in the duty room heard the commotion and walked out, seeing Li You and others with faces and official robes full of blood.

The official was startled and hadn’t come to his senses yet, when he saw a person soaked in blood rush to him and say, "Report to Prime Minister Xie, the Emperor is in trouble. Now Empress Xu rules the court; tell Prime Minister Xie he must find a way to save the Emperor."

Right after saying this, he saw more imperial guards surround them.

Li You was being chased and had no time to say much, only turning his head to shout a few words at the officials: "The Emperor... the Emperor... quickly... ask Prime Minister Xie to see the Emperor."

After saying this, Li You and his group snatched horses from the imperial guards and galloped towards the outskirts of the Capital City.

The sound of hooves grew fainter as the imperial guards went in pursuit.

The officials finally came to their senses. After Prince Lu’s and Prince Qi’s rebellion and the chaos in the Capital Camp, even the Palace Department was in turmoil.

Li You was someone by the Emperor’s side, and the close guards around the Emperor were all dispatched by Li You. Now even Li You was in trouble; what about the Emperor in the palace?

Thinking of this, those present couldn’t help but shiver.

In his haste, Li You said to ask Prime Minister Xie to see the Emperor, clearly indicating that the Emperor was in danger.

The only person in the palace who could mobilize so many troops was Empress Xu. As everyone had conjectured, Empress Xu was using the Emperor’s name to rule the palace.

No wonder troop movements now had to listen to the Secretariat, because Uncle Xu was serving as Vice Envoy there, and Empress Xu wanted the external family to control the government.

Li You, leading his people to rush out of the city, had calculated that if they couldn’t get out of the Capital City within half an hour, they would be trapped here.

Fortunately, a teacher had written to him in advance, asking him to send his family back to their clan; otherwise, even if faced with today’s situation, he wouldn’t be able to abandon his family and escape by himself.

Now without such burdens, the people he brought with him were in the same situation.

The message had already been sent, and those left in the Capital City would surely discern Empress Xu’s actions.

Once out of the Capital City, someone by Li You’s side asked, "Mr. Li, where are we heading next?"

"To the west is Prince Lu, to the east is Prince Qi, and the palace is controlled by Empress Xu," Li You said, "We can only go north."

At this moment, going north to seek help from Song Xian was logical. Although leaving the Capital City to report to Song Xian was something he had arranged long ago, for the sake of caution, he couldn’t let too many people know, even his trusted confidants.

Li You took a long breath. In his youth, he had followed the Emperor to fight in battles all over. Would he ultimately have to personally overthrow the Daqi Dynasty? Thinking of this, he suddenly recalled his teacher’s words: "Lack of wisdom is salvageable; a crooked heart is not."

This was why the teacher had left.

He had seen too much around the Emperor, understood too much, and after much consideration, finally took this step.

Heading north now meant he was taking the people from the Palace Department to join Song Xian, naturally helping Song Xian rise to power.

...

When Empress Xu heard that Li You had escaped, her expression immediately became more sullen.

"Where did Li You go?"

A palace attendant said, "He should have gone north."

Hearing this result, Empress Xu frowned, suddenly feeling that perhaps everything had been prearranged.

Otherwise, how could Li You escape the palace when she had already made her move first?

From the Emperor’s bedchamber to the palace gates, out of the Capital City, all seemed meticulously calculated. Now that Li You couldn’t be caught, those officials who heard rumors would surely come to question her.

This situation would be hard to control.

The Empress turned to look towards the inner chamber, where the Heir of Prince Qi was. Her only chance was to hold onto the Heir of Prince Qi, because as long as he trusted only her, everything would be manageable.

With this in mind, Empress Xu softly instructed, "Li You attempted to assassinate the Emperor; I order the imperial guard to pursue Li You. Also, send a message to the Imperial Uncle to deal with Prince Qi as soon as possible. If Prime Minister Xie comes, let him see me here."

She could only tell Prime Minister Xie that the two Prefectures’ troops attacking Prince Qi were orders given when the Emperor was clear-headed. Such matters could be covered up, and now she had to find a way to appease the Heir of Prince Qi.

Empress Xu entered the inner chamber, where the Heir of Prince Qi sat nervously on a chair, continually looking outside.

The Heir of Prince Qi said, "Empress, is it peaceful outside?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Empress Xu shook her head, "Not yet."

The Heir of Prince Qi’s eyes reddened, and he got up to stand in front of Empress Xu: "What do they want to do?"

Empress Xu replied, "To kill the Emperor, kill me, and you. If we’re all dead, there will be no one in charge in the palace, and you are the Yang Family descendant eligible to inherit the throne."

The Heir of Prince Qi asked, "Who are they?"

Empress Xu shook her head, "I’m also investigating. Someone is plotting to seize the Daqi kingdom amidst this chaos. Li You and his followers went north; it now seems possible it’s Song Xian."

The Heir of Prince Qi shivered, and Empress Xu looked at this child with compassion. This child first worried for himself, then feared for his captive father, and now found others might want the throne.

The Heir of Prince Qi grabbed Empress Xu’s sleeve: "Empress, what should we do?"

Empress Xu sighed, "I will persuade the Emperor to see if we can retract the troops after your father, but this matter was ordered early on by the Emperor for the two Prefectures to handle. I say... it might not be useful."

The Heir of Prince Qi nodded.

Empress Xu continued, "You are a son of the Yang Family. Recently, you have always been by my side, like my own child. No matter what happens, as long as I’m here, I will try to protect you."

"I didn’t expect Li You would rebel. Now it’s hard to know whom to trust. Although they outwardly show loyalty to Daqi, they might have other intentions in their hearts. You should also be careful and not easily believe others."

"I only trust the Empress," the Heir of Prince Qi said, "Please don’t leave me."

Just as Empress Xu was about to comfort the Heir of Prince Qi, a palace attendant came to report, "Prime Minister Xie and several Chiefs of Staff are outside the palace; they wish to see the Emperor."

Empress Xu looked at the Heir of Prince Qi, "You see, they have already come."

The Heir of Prince Qi showed fear and instinctively hid behind Empress Xu.