The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1681

Chapter 1681: 816 Fighting Against Counterfeits (First Update)

The Han Family didn’t believe that in the current situation, Xiao Liulang had any means to turn the tide, yet Xiao Liulang’s calmness was so unsettling that it made her suspect that there might be a flaw in her plan.

She instinctively looked back and saw Wang Xu had arrived at some point, accompanied by a large number of guards from Duwei Prefecture. Moreover, there were synchronized footsteps and the sound of cold armor rubbing against each other coming from the outer palace.

The next second, countless archers, dressed in armor and holding large bows, rushed in under the scorching sun. Each archer was in a ready position, whether in kneeling or standing stance, even the vantage points in the corners were occupied by archers.

The Wang Family had also divided up the Xuanyuan Family’s military power back then, and the Archery Camp was the most notable among them.

The Archery Camp had undergone fifteen years of change, with many shifts in its personnel, yet the Xuanyuan Family’s legacy remained. It still possessed Dayan’s most well-trained archers.

As soon as the archers’ murderous intent emerged, the atmosphere at the scene underwent an unbelievable reversal, and the arrogance of the Imperial Forest Army visibly diminished.

Of course, this did not mean that the Imperial Forest Army was inevitably inferior to the Archery Camp in combat; the Imperial Forest Army still had the advantage in numbers. However, the high morale of the Archery Camp made it daunting for anyone to confront them head-on.

Moreover, Wang Xu had not just brought the Archery Camp; he had also deployed the Forbidden army from four prefectures, making the Imperial Forest Army’s advantage less noticeable.

The Han Family never expected the arrival of Wang Xu.

Indeed, how could they forget his unwavering loyalty to the Emperor?

Forget about the Han Family, even the Emperor himself had forgotten.

With so much happening, the Emperor’s mind was muddled. If not for the Crown Prince mentioning it, he wouldn’t have recalled that he still had Wang Xu as an ace.

Xiao Hen did not show up today, but he was responsible for contacting Wang Xu.

Previously, Wang Xu had not met the Emperor.

"Minister Wang, it’s been a long time," the Han Family greeted him lightly.

Wang Xu politely clasped his hands together, not as a subordinate greeting a royal consort, but merely as a junior showing respect to an elder. After all, the Han Family had been demoted to commoners, and Wang Xu had no need to honor the royal etiquette for a commoner.

However, leaving the Cold Palace privately was a capital offence if the Emperor were to inquire.

"Everyone inside, come out!" Wang Xu said to the side hall with an authoritative tone.

According to Gu Chengfeng’s known plan, he was supposed to kill the false Emperor in the side hall, allowing the real Emperor to replace him, then disfigure the corpse and smuggle it out of the palace disguised as a retired eunuch from the Crown Prince’s residence.

But now that things had escalated, this move was obviously unworkable.

Otherwise, if mishandled, they would be confirmed guilty of murdering the "real Emperor" and replacing him with an impostor.

Gu Chengfeng had no choice but to release the false Emperor, who he had been restraining, and open the hall door.

The false Emperor masked his internal fear with rage as he stormed out, standing under the porch, coldly looking at Wang Xu, and shouting, "Wang Xu, you’ve entered the palace with troops without permission. Are you planning a revolt?"

The Emperor also addressed Wang Xu, "Wang Xu, why are you still standing there? Capture them immediately!"

Wang Xu looked at the false Emperor, then at the real Emperor, feeling utterly bewildered!

These two looked incredibly alike!

Except one was dressed in a eunuch’s outfit, and the other in a Dragon Robe.

On the way here, he was very confident. Someone impersonating the Emperor? Why fear? He believed he could discern the truth with his keen eyes!

But now—

His confidence was completely shattered!

The Han Family saw Wang Xu’s bewildered face and sighed in relief. She had thought Wang Xu believed Shangguan Qing’s slander and came to arrest the false Emperor, but it turned out he couldn’t distinguish between them.

Indeed, Wang Xu was solely loyal to the Emperor and would not be easily swayed by Shangguan Qing.

He had his own judgment.

Now, it was about who could win over Wang Xu.

The Emperor took a deep breath, suppressing his emotions, and seriously said, "Wang Xu, I once ordered you to the Imperial Mausoleum to teach Your Highness Changsun martial arts. Three months later, you returned to the palace to report that Your Highness Changsun was too weak to practice martial arts, but very intelligent, and suggested appointing several tutors for him. I agreed, yet he drove away all eight tutors one by one!"

Wang Xu’s body trembled fiercely; it was true! This incident did happen! And the Emperor, unwilling to lose face, did not want others to know about his care for Shangguan Qing and kept this matter private.

Gu Jiao touched her chin, murmuring, "Drove away eight tutors? Shangguan Qing suddenly has such a black history." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

The false Emperor calmly said, "Wang Xu, I once commissioned you to investigate the flood case in Yudong. You submitted a list to me, and because it implicated many, I suppressed the matter, leaving you quite displeased. You even contradicted me. I said to you, ’I shall pretend I didn’t hear your words just now, but remember, Wang Xu, I can tolerate it once, twice, but never a third time! If you die, fine, but don’t drag the whole Wang Family down with you!’"

Wang Xu’s body trembled again!

He had never mentioned this matter to anyone else!

Gu Jiao thought to herself, the Han Family has Dark Soul; it’s not impossible for them to eavesdrop on the Imperial Study Room, but Wang Xu didn’t know about Dark Soul’s existence; thus, he believed these private conversations were unknown to a third party.

The Emperor gritted his teeth and played a card of desperation: "Ten years ago, you accompanied me on a private trip, and I lost our expenses... so we stole a chicken from a village!"

Everyone was stunned, a dignified Emperor stealing a chicken!

The false Emperor did not back down: "Every year during the hunt, I could not catch any prey; it was all you who hunted them and hung them on my horse’s back!"

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