WBSGVS Chapter 210 V2

But Qingli had already leapt into the air, kicked off his horse, and used the momentum to launch herself backward.

Splurt! With a sickening sound, the sword was pulled free, and Qingli landed safely out of reach.

All strength drained from Sima Chang’s body. The horse, driven mad with pain, bucked violently. Sima Chang lost his grip on the reins and fell. The horse reared up and stomped down—its front hooves landing squarely on his chest.

“Ugh!!” A muffled, despairing groan escaped his lips.

A young officer locked in combat with Qingli’s forces turned his head just in time to witness the gruesome scene. His voice cracked in horror as he screamed, “Your Highness!!”

At that moment, Prince Rui’s heir arrived, riding at the head of a massive army. He shouted in a deep voice, “Arrest every last traitor!”

With their leader dead, the enemy soldiers lost all will to fight. One after another, they dropped their weapons and surrendered.

The chaos quickly subsided.

Inside the bedchamber, Sima Heng—who had been hiding—finally noticed that the shouting outside had stopped. He cautiously poked his head out and asked, “Is it over?”

What he saw was the blood-soaked corpse of a young man lying not far from the door. His chest had caved in from the impact of hooves, and blood poured from his mouth. His eyes were bulging, as if they were about to fall out of his skull.

Sima Heng stared blankly for a long while before murmuring, “Why… why does he look so much like Chang’er?”

One of Qingli’s soldiers, hearing him, answered matter-of-factly, “That is the Third Prince. He tried to assassinate the National Preceptor, fell off his horse, and was trampled to death.”

Hearing this, Sima Heng’s heart seized violently. A sharp pain shot through his chest, his vision went black, and he collapsed straight backward.

“Your Majesty!” the ministers, only now recovering from the shock, cried out in alarm.

That same night, Sima Qinghe—claiming to be ill—remained hidden in the inner palace.

She didn’t know exactly what Sima Chang was planning, but it was something big. So, she and Consort Wan had been lying low for days. Normally, they would have visited the Qilin Hall often, but this time they used illness as an excuse to stay away.

Then, one day, a palace maid rushed in and woke them in a panic.

“Second Prince conspired with the Prince Regent to rebel and was slain by the National Preceptor. Third Prince thought she was involved too and tried to arrest her, but he fell off his horse and was trampled to death!”

“His Majesty… had a stroke from the shock!”

Both Consort Wan and Sima Qinghe were stunned.

How had the entire world turned upside down overnight?!

Sima Qinghe’s face went pale. She collapsed into her mother’s arms, trembling. “Mother… it’s over… It’s really over!”

“I told Third Brother to stop! To give up! We could’ve still found a way to survive while Father was alive. Why push it so far?” she sobbed bitterly.

She had warned him. Begged him to stop stirring things up. There might still have been a way out for them. But now…

It was too late.

Consort Wan took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but her limbs were growing colder and colder.

As her mother, she knew all too well what Sima Qinghe had done—how she had refused to marry the King of Chu, and instead pulled the forgotten Sixth Princess from the Cold Palace to take her place, even going so far as to threaten the Fourth Prince to make it happen.

Who could have guessed that this woman, once as lowly as an ant, would rise to become the National Preceptor… gain Prince Duan’s support… take control of the military seal… and now—

She gave a bitter laugh and covered her face. “We miscalculated.”

Who would’ve thought?

Someone they once dismissed so easily had become powerful enough to destroy them without breaking a sweat.

Sima Qinghe cried even harder. “Mother, what do we do now? Third Brother is dead, Father’s had a stroke… what are we supposed to do?”

Consort Wan blinked, tears welling in her eyes. She didn’t know either.

She had spent half her life scheming against Consort Shu in the inner palace. After the empress died and Consort Shu fell from grace, she became the most powerful woman in the harem. But even then, she had to tread carefully around the emperor to survive.

And now… the emperor was incapacitated, and she and her daughter were completely isolated.

Worse yet, the one now in power was their sworn enemy.