207: Break into the palace

Zheng He sent Li Bao over; he was a Class A Hero and extremely skilled in naval combat.

Han Huohuo decided to bring everyone along for this operation. Since they weren't attacking a city, it wasn't suitable to bring the Mechanical Army; if the Mechanical Army appeared, everyone would know that the Old Emperor had been taken by Han Huohuo.

Hua Mulan loved this kind of activity, and it reminded her of the days when she and the Lord had wreaked havoc in Wanqing City.

The warship docked and headed south along the Tongtian River, quickly reaching the Wei City pier downstream. The group quietly entered Wei City.

This Wei City was Mu Jiu's territory, and the officials in the territory were startled to see the Princess suddenly appear.

"Seal the news. Do not tell anyone that we have arrived here."

"Yes!"

"Lord, Princess, you two don't need to take risks. We can go by ourselves, snatch the Old Emperor back, and then leave immediately."

"No, we must go. The Old Emperor won't trust you, so why would he go with you? Besides, only with me can we freely enter and exit the Imperial Palace. Do you intend to break into the Imperial Palace?"

Mu Jiu said with a frown.

Hua Mulan chuckled. Her original plan was indeed to sneak into the Imperial Palace under the cover of night; such things were second nature to her.

In the end, they decided to go together.

With the skills of this group, even if they didn't succeed, escaping back wouldn't be a problem.

Han Xin arranged some mechanical troops for support outside the Capital City and inside Wei City. After making the arrangements, the group disguised themselves and infiltrated the Great Capital.

The Imperial Palace was much colder than their last visit. The streets were messy, and no one was cleaning them. There were starving homeless people everywhere, a scene of an Empire's demise.

Mu Jiu was filled with emotion.

She thought of the Empire's Marshal again. When the Marshal was still around, everyone had a backbone and wouldn't be like this.

Her own father truly made her grit her teeth in anger.

If he wasn't her father, Mu Jiu would have wished to stab him to death with a sword.

Mu Jiu led the way, navigating through streets and alleys until they reached a large timber market. The households here all burned firewood. In summer, they didn't need heating, but for cooking and boiling water, wood was still required, even in the Imperial Palace.

All timber acquisition and procurement in the Great Capital took place here.

They waited for a long time.

In the distance, a large carriage was approaching. It had two swift horses, yellow paint on the carriage, and carved dragon patterns. Although slightly dilapidated, it was clearly very luxurious in its prime.

Carriages that came to purchase timber were always magnificent, so there was only one possibility: it was royal property.

A purchasing eunuch came to buy timber.

This eunuch was named Liu Jin. Mu Jiu specifically waited for him here because Liu Jin was Mu Jiu's inside contact arranged within the palace.

Liu Jin was selecting timber when someone suddenly bumped him. He looked up and saw a veiled girl. The girl quietly pulled back the veil from her face, and Liu Jin was greatly startled.

"Prin... Princess, why are you here?"

"Come, let's talk in the shadows."

"Yes... yes..."

Liu Jin shuffled with small steps, following Mu Jiu to an secluded spot. There were a few other people here, all burly and muscular, with weapons at their waists, none of them looking like good people.

"This is?"

"This is Lord Barbarian King. Don't be afraid."

When Liu Jin heard it was the Barbarian King, he became even more panicked. Legends of the Barbarian King in the Great Qian Dynasty portrayed him as a brutal killer who ate children's brains for breakfast.

"How has Father King been recently?"

"Oh, Princess, it's terrible! That He Jin is an absolute scoundrel. Recently, I heard that the hundred regional Lords are planning to advance towards the Great Capital, and he panicked. He forces the Old Emperor to write imperial edicts every day, telling them not to come, but even we servants know that's useless! Their slogan is to execute the corrupt officials around the monarch, meaning they want to kill He Jin. He also often throws drunken tantrums, and when his temper flares, he even beats the Old Emperor."

Liu Jin's face was filled with indignation as he spoke of the Old Emperor's plight.

"Take us into the Imperial Palace. I need to see Father King."

"Understood! I'll figure out a way."

Without another word, Liu Jin arranged for the group to get into the carriage, piling some timber outside as a cover.

"That's all it takes?"

"Princess, you don't know, the Imperial Palace is in chaos now. No one is in charge, and it's a mess everywhere."

Mu Jiu was speechless, but then she thought, this is good news; it will be easier to sneak in and take the Old Emperor away.

The timber carriages naturally couldn't use the main gate. The palace had a small gate, primarily controlled by eunuchs. The Imperial Palace required large quantities of food, timber, and other supplies daily, all of which entered and exited through this gate.

Liu Jin drove the carriage boldly, intending to enter.

"Get out, inspection!"

"Inspection my ass! I don't have time. I'll take you out to play tonight, so don't delay my entry into the city. I have to pee urgently."

The eunuchs guarding the gate laughed loudly and didn't stop him, opening the gate to let Liu Jin's carriage in.

They usually hung out together, constantly seeing each other, and no one wanted to be the bad guy. Besides, Liu Jin was always generous and took good care of his brothers, so no one wanted to offend him.

Just like that, he boldly brought people into the Imperial Palace.

Han Huohuo thought, so the Imperial Palace's defenses are nothing special after all. He had thought it was heavily guarded before.

However, internal betrayal is hard to guard against, which was also a reason.

Of course, this was no longer the center of power. The Old Emperor was now like a mascot, so it naturally wasn't as solemn and heavily guarded as before.

Currently, in the Great Capital, the Prime Minister's residence was truly heavily guarded, so much so that not even a fly could get in.

Liu Jin prepared eunuch robes for the group.

After changing, they hurried towards the Imperial Garden.

They happened to see a red-faced burly man storming out. Liu Jin was startled and quickly pulled the group aside to hide.

The burly man reeked of alcohol and had a precious sword at his waist.

He treated the Imperial Palace like his own home, and not a single guard came to stop him because these guards were all arranged by him.

After the man walked away, Han Huohuo couldn't help but ask, "Is that He Jin?"

Liu Jin looked left and right, saw no guards, and then whispered, "That's him. He's incredibly arrogant. He's had his way with all the concubines and palace maids, and the Old Emperor is helpless."

Mu Jiu gasped, thinking how fortunate it was that her mother had died early.

The group quietly arrived at the Imperial Garden and saw the Old Emperor sitting in a pavilion, looking sad, with a swollen face, clearly having just been beaten.

There were four guards around him, holding swords, not like bodyguards, but more like villains holding a hostage.

"Stop, what are you doing?" The guards were very alert and quickly stopped them when they saw them approaching.

"Hey, brothers, how come there's a monster in that lake? Didn't you see it?"

"What?"

The guards were a bit confused. They turned their heads, and the lake was rippling, but there was no monster.

Hua Mulan, holding a giant axe, was the first to charge forward, transforming into three phantoms. With a swing of her axe, she chopped off three heads, which fell into the lake.

Another person raised his sword, about to stab, when a golden brick suddenly appeared, instantly smashing his head like a rotten watermelon, splattering red and white everywhere, right in front of the Old Emperor.

The Old Emperor's eyes rolled back, and he fainted from fright.