WBSGVS Chapter 210 V1

As expected, he had another move up his sleeve.

With a cold expression, Qingli stepped outside and saw the soldiers she’d brought standing at the doorway, facing off against a large group of people.

Leading the charge was Sima Chang. In front of him were his private guards, and behind him stood the ministers of the Six Ministries, senior court officials, and even Grand Councilors—pillars of the imperial court. Now they were all gathered, staring in alarm at the brightly lit, blood-scented imperial bedchamber.

“It is the National Preceptor?!” someone exclaimed the moment Qingli appeared.

Sima Chang shouted, “Of course it’s her! The National Preceptor colluded with the Second Prince to stage a coup. We still don’t know whether Father is dead or alive. Leyi, hand him over now! My royal brother might spare your life!”

“Hand over His Majesty!” the guards echoed.

The shouting grated on Qingli’s ears. She rubbed them in irritation, waited for the noise to die down, and then said calmly, enunciating each word: “I didn’t stage a coup. It was the Second Prince. I came with soldiers to rescue His Majesty. Believe it or not, that’s the truth.”

“Nonsense!” Sima Chang barked. “You’re the National Preceptor! It’s not your place to lead troops, much less lead a rescue! What have you done to the Emperor? Leyi, how could you, as his daughter, raise a hand against your father? Such disloyalty and disrespect!”

Qingli: “…”

So he was determined to brand her a traitor? She tilted her head and whispered to one of her guards, who then turned and went inside.

“Third Prince, surely she’s not the real culprit?” The Prime Minister, clearly pressured by Sima Chang, gave a strained smile. “The National Preceptor has no reason to commit treason.”

The Minister of Rites quickly added, “Yes, her status is already high. She has no reason to get involved in a power grab—especially as a woman.”

“Third Prince, the National Preceptor has never had any ties to the Second Prince. If it weren’t for him, she and the Fourth Prince wouldn’t have spent all those years in the Cold Palace. Why would she ever side with him?”

The ministers exchanged glances and began trying to reason with Sima Chang.

They were exhausted too—dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, told something was wrong in the palace, and then rushed here by Sima Chang only to hear him accuse the National Preceptor and the Second Prince of treason?

What kind of joke was that?

If the National Preceptor wanted to rebel, would she have come with such a small force?

Still, they were all civil officials. They could only speak—they had no real power to intervene.

At that moment, a trembling Sima Heng was helped over by two guards. Qingli kept a straight face and said to the emperor, “Father, your third son is accusing me of conspiring with the Second Prince to commit treason. Aren’t you going to clear my name?”

Sima Heng shot her a glare, his face still sour. But remembering that she had saved his life, he tilted his head up and said to Sima Chang, “Chang’er, Leyi didn’t rebel. She came to save me.”

The emperor’s words instantly swayed the hesitant ministers.

But Sima Chang’s expression didn’t change. He said coldly, “You can never truly know a person’s heart. What if she’s held a grudge all these years? Father is still in her hands—how do we know those words weren’t forced? Guards! Prepare to strike! Seize the traitor!”

With that, he drew his sword. “Charge!”

“Kill!” his private troops followed with weapons drawn and charged forward.

Qingli let out a mocking laugh, drew her sword again, and in one clean stroke, killed an oncoming soldier. Blood splattered, and the sight of the bloodstained blade snapped her soldiers into grim focus. They rushed toward Sima Chang’s men without hesitation.

“Kill!”
The clash of weapons and furious shouting filled the air once more.

The civil officials had never witnessed such chaos before. They panicked and backed away, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire. Even Sima Heng was trembling with fear—he had already been scared out of his wits by the Second Prince’s death. Seeing this, he stumbled back into the bedchamber to hide again.

But Sima Chang had come prepared this time. He’d brought far more men than Qingli.

From atop his horse, Sima Chang looked down at the chaos below, an excited smile curling on his lips.

Almost there.

If he could just take the chance to kill Sima Qingli, then there’d be no more threats. His father wouldn’t punish him—after all, there were no better sons left. And once she was dead, the military command would be his. With imperial power consolidated, the Emperor might even reward him.

“Finish this! Execute the traitor!” Sima Chang bellowed.

“Kill!”
His soldiers, riled up, shouted in unison and charged even harder.

Qingli shouted back, “Hold the line!”

She blocked an incoming strike, kicked her attacker back, and stabbed again.

Just as the battle reached its peak, the thunder of hooves sounded in the distance, rapidly drawing closer. The blood-soaked battlefield turned to look—and saw the heir of Prince Duan charging in on horseback, a vast army at his back.

Sima Chang’s face darkened in an instant. He shouted anxiously, “Hurry up! Kill her, now!”

If Prince Duan’s heir made it here, everything would be ruined.

But Qingli’s people weren’t few. Even though the enemy had greater numbers, they couldn’t get close to her. Anyone who tried was cut down on the spot.

Sima Chang grew increasingly anxious as he watched the scene unfold. Finally, unable to wait any longer, he gritted his teeth and lashed his whip across his horse.

The horse neighed loudly, reared for a couple of seconds, then charged forward, trampling several of the soldiers who had been guarding Sima Chang.

But he couldn’t afford to care about that now. His eyes were locked onto the woman in silver armor at the center of the battlefield. As soon as he got close, he would strike.

However, the woman—though facing away from him—seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Just as he approached, she suddenly spun around and drove her sword straight into the horse’s back.

“Aaagh!”

The horse went completely wild, thrashing and rearing in pain.

Caught off guard, Sima Chang quickly tightened his grip on the reins and clamped his legs against the horse’s sides, terrified of being thrown off. At the same time, Qingli had already withdrawn her sword and lunged at him.

Still swaying atop the horse, Sima Chang barely had time to react before he felt a sharp pain in his back. He looked down and saw the bloodied tip of a silver sword emerging from his chest, gleaming coldly.

“You—” Sima Chang growled, trying to lift his sword to strike back.